The Trump Administration is moving to end a $350 million-a-year federal program that funnels taxpayer dollars to so-called “Hispanic-Serving Institutions” (HSIs), determining the race-based initiative is unconstitutional. This decision will sunset one of the largest identity-driven grant programs in higher education and may set a precedent for dismantling similar schemes throughout the government.
The Department of Education reserves hundreds of millions exclusively for universities with at least 25 percent Hispanic enrollment, locking out schools that fail to meet the racial quota. In June, the state of Tennessee and Students for Fair Admissions challenged the program, arguing it incentivizes affirmative action, which the Supreme Court struck down in 2023.
In a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, Solicitor General D. John Sauer declared, “The Department of Justice has decided not to defend the constitutionality of certain provisions of the Higher Education Act of 1965. The Department of Justice has determined that those provisions violate the equal-protection component of the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.”
A senior Education Department official confirmed the administration is reviewing three HSI grant programs “to determine the legal path forward.” Importantly, officials clarified that Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) do not face the same constitutional problems because their status reflects history, not racial quotas. “The quota-based eligibility formula for HSI programs distinguishes them from HBCUs,” the official said.
This marks a sharp correction to decades of race-preferential policies that have skewed higher education. As Sauer made clear, “those provisions violate the equal-protection component of the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.”
