Case Particulars

Tribunal

Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights

Date Filed

July 21, 2025

Docket No.

OCR Case Number 04-25-2476

Case Status

OCR Complaint Filed; OCR Initiated Investigation

Case Overview

On July 21, 2025, the Equal Protection project (EPP) filed a Civil Rights Complaint with the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) against the University of Miami (UMiami), a private university, “for discrimination in the UDreamers scholarship program open only to DACA/undocumented students, in violation of Title VI.”

The Complaint continued:

The scholarship listed below is currently offered to UMiami students and applicants for admission, according to the UMiami website, and violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VI”) and its implementing regulations by illegally discriminating against students based on their national origin.

The Complaint then used UMiami’s own website to demonstrate the discriminatory nature of the UDreamers scholarship.

The Complaint next explained why the UDreamers scholarship violates federal law:

Because DACA only applies to persons born outside the United States who meet certain additional criteria, restricting scholarship eligibility to DACA recipients constitutes discrimination based on national origin and violates Title VI. Similarly, “undocumented” status only applies to students born outside the United States. This scholarship discriminates against American-born students. (citation omitted for clarity). . . .

 

UMiami is a private university that receives federal funds, including from the U.S. Department of Education. It is therefore liable for violating Title VI, and OCR therefore has jurisdiction over this complaint.

Finally, the Complaint requested OCR take action:

The Office for Civil Rights has the power and obligation to investigate UMiami’s role in creating, funding, promoting and administering this scholarship and to impose whatever remedial relief is necessary to hold it accountable for that unlawful conduct. This includes, if necessary, imposing fines, initiating administrative proceedings to suspend or terminate federal financial assistance and referring the case to the Department of Justice for judicial proceedings to enforce the rights of the United States under federal law.

 

Accordingly, we respectfully ask that the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights promptly open a formal investigation, impose such remedial relief as the law permits for the benefit of those who have been illegally excluded from UMiami’s scholarship based on discriminatory national origin criteria, and ensure that all ongoing and future scholarships and programming at UMiami comports with federal civil rights laws.

OCR evaluated EPP’s Complaint for further action.

UPDATE: On July 21, 2025, EPP received a letter from OCR indicating that OCR was initiating an investigation into UMiami’s UDreamers Scholarship and whether that scholarship violates federal law.