LOS ANGELES, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The Trump administration on Tuesday sued the University of California, accusing its Los Angeles campus of allowing a hostile educational environment for Jewish and Israeli students.
The complaint alleges that the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), violated federal civil rights law by showing "deliberate indifference" to the harassment of Jewish and Israeli students during a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus in April 2024.
The lawsuit cites Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin in programs receiving federal funding.
This marks the second lawsuit filed by the Justice Department against UCLA this year over allegations of antisemitism.
"Earlier this year, we sued UCLA for subjecting its Jewish and Israeli employees to an antisemitic hostile work environment," Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said in a statement on Tuesday. "Now, the Department of Justice calls UCLA to account for its toleration of the equally appalling hostile educational environment against its Jewish and Israeli students."
In addition to seeking enjoinment of the university from "unlawful discrimination against and harassment of Jewish and Israeli students," the latest lawsuit is also seeking the return of all federal grant funds paid to UCLA during its alleged period of noncompliance.
"Let me be direct: the suggestion that UCLA has been passive in the face of antisemitism is simply wrong," UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk said Tuesday in a statement, adding that the university has taken "numerous concrete actions to combat antisemitism."
In August 2025, UCLA said that the Trump administration had suspended around 584 million U.S. dollars in federal research grants, citing allegations of failed responses to antisemitism. Later that month, the Trump administration demanded a 1 billion-dollar settlement from UCLA to resolve the accusations. A federal judge in September ordered the administration to restore most of the suspended research grants.
In the spring of 2024, pro-Palestinian demonstrations swept across college campuses in the United States, including several of the University of California system's 10 campuses. More than 200 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested on May 2, 2024, as police moved to dismantle an encampment at UCLA. ■
