The Department of Justice declined to defend the Hispanic-Serving Institutions program against a lawsuit by Tennessee and Students for Fair Admissions, which called the program unconstitutional and discriminatory for requiring 25 percent Hispanic enrollment for certain federal grants. U.S. solicitor general D. John Sauer told House Speaker Mike Johnson that the program violates the Constitution. About 600 HSIs exist nationwide, including community colleges and public four-year institutions. A 2024 GAO report found widespread infrastructure and repair needs among HSIs. HACU leaders called the decision troubling and legally unsound, and HACU filed to intervene in the case.
Hispanic-serving institutions find themselves in a precarious position after news broke Friday that the Department of Justice won't defend them from a recent lawsuit. The lawsuit-filed by the state of Tennessee and the group Students for Fair Admissions-deemed the HSI program "unconstitutional" and "discriminatory" for requiring institutions to enroll at least 25 percent Hispanic students to qualify for specific federal grants.
The complaint lists the Education Department and Education Secretary Linda McMahon as defendants, but the DOJ has no plans to fight the legal challenge on their behalf, according to a July 25 letter from U.S. solicitor general D. John Sauer to House Speaker Mike Johnson, first reported by The Washington Free Beacon. Sauer agreed with the plaintiffs that the program "violates the Constitution."
Of the roughly 600 HSIs across the country, 236 are community colleges and 191 are public four-year institutions, according to 2023-24 data from the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, which represents HSIs. While some HSIs are well-to-do research institutions, a 2024 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that, as a group, they wrestle with extensive infrastructure needs and delayed campus repairs.
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