Trump administration refers Harvard to Justice Department over alleged antisemitism

US President Donald Trump’s administration has sent a letter to Harvard University saying it has referred the school to the US Justice Department to address allegations of “Harvard’s antisemitic discrimination.”

In late June, the Trump administration said an investigation had concluded that Harvard violated federal civil rights law for failing to address harassment of Jewish and Israeli students.

Critics, rights experts, and some faculty members said such probes are a pretext to assert federal control over schools, threatening academic freedom and free speech.

Harvard has been embroiled in talks and a legal fight with the Trump administration, seeking the restoration of billions of dollars of frozen federal funds for medical research and other programs. It sued the Trump administration earlier this year.

“The parties’ several months’ engagement has been fruitless,” said the letter dated Wednesday from the US Department of Health and Human Services to Harvard’s leadership. “OCR (Office for Civil Rights), therefore, has no choice but to refer the matter to DOJ to initiate appropriate proceedings to address Harvard’s antisemitic discrimination.”

The letter was sent a day after Harvard informed its staff that it would comply with the Trump administration’s demands that it turn over employment forms for thousands of university employees, but for the time being, was not sharing records for those employed in roles only available to students.

In an email to university employees sent on Tuesday, Harvard said that earlier this month, it received a notice of inspection and a related subpoena from the Department of Homeland Security, seeking to inspect the I-9, or Employment Eligibility Verification, forms and supporting documentation for university employees.

Harvard said federal regulations entitle the government to access a US employer’s paperwork, including information on employment eligibility.

Harvard said that, for now, it was not sharing records with the government for people employed in roles only available to students, as it was determining if such a request complied with privacy protection requirements.

The New York Times reported on Monday that Harvard was open to spending up to $500 million to end its dispute with the government. That amount was more than twice what Columbia University agreed to pay last week to resolve federal probes.

The newspaper said negotiators were still discussing the financial details of the Harvard deal and that Harvard opposed allowing an outside monitor to oversee the deal.

Trump has threatened to cut federal funds for universities over pro-Palestinian protests against US ally Israel’s war in Gaza. The government alleges universities allowed antisemitism during last year’s pro-Palestinian protests.

Protesters, including some progressive Jewish groups, say the Trump administration wrongly equates their criticism of Israel’s military assault in Gaza and its treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank with antisemitism, and advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism.

Campus protesters demanded an end to US backing for Israel and a commitment that their universities will cease investing in weapons makers and companies that support Israel’s military control over the Palestinians.

Harvard had no immediate comment on Wednesday’s letter. The university has said it aims to combat discrimination. Reports released in April by Harvard’s antisemitism and Islamophobia task forces found fear and bigotry faced by Jewish, Muslim and Arab students.

The Trump administration has not announced equivalent probes into Islamophobia.