The University of California is at the centre of a major legal battle as faculty, staff, student groups, and labour unions have sued the Trump administration, accusing it of weaponising civil rights laws to suppress academic freedom and free expression.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court in San Francisco, comes shortly after the administration fined UCLA $1.2 billion and froze its federal research funding over allegations of antisemitism and civil rights violations. UCLA became the first public university to face such sweeping funding restrictions, following similar actions against private institutions including Harvard, Brown, and Columbia.
Court filings claim that in its proposed settlement with UCLA, the administration demanded access to faculty, staff, and student data, disclosure of admissions and hiring records, the elimination of diversity scholarships, restrictions on campus demonstrations, and cooperation with immigration enforcement.
While the UC system itself is not a party to the lawsuit, spokesperson Stett Holbrook said the university is deeply concerned. “Federal cuts to research funding threaten lifesaving biomedical research, harm America’s global competitiveness, and put the health of millions at risk,” he said.
The legal action is being led by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and supported by Democracy Forward, a group that has previously challenged the Trump administration over research funding freezes. Their filing described the abrupt termination of federal funding as “unilateral and unlawful,” warning that such measures endanger both universities and the broader public interest.
UC President James Milliken called the federal actions “one of the gravest threats in the university’s 157-year history,” noting that the system receives over $17 billion in federal support annually, including nearly $10 billion tied to Medicare, Medicaid, research, and student aid.
The administration has defended its aggressive use of funding leverage, claiming it is addressing antisemitism and discriminatory practices in higher education. Earlier this year, Columbia University agreed to pay $200 million to resolve similar allegations, a deal that also restored $400 million in frozen research funds. Observers believe the settlement has become a model for how the administration is now approaching other universities.
Beyond higher education, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has opened dozens of investigations into K–12 districts across the country, signaling a broader campaign to reshape education policy through the control of federal dollars.
(With PTI inputs)
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