DOJ backs Asian-American students’ Harvard lawsuit
Feds say school has not explained its use of race in admission.
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department lent its support Thursday to students who are suing Harvard University over affirmative action policies that they claim discriminate against Asian-American applicants, in a case that could have far-reaching consequences for the use of affirmative action in college admissions.
In a statement of interest, the department supported the claims of the plaintiffs, a group of Asian-Americans rejected by Harvard. They contend that Harvard has systematically discriminated against them by artificially capping the number of qualified Asian-Americans from attending the school to advance less-qualified students of other races.
“Harvard has failed to carry its demanding burden to show that its use of race does not inflict unlawful racial discrimination on Asian-Americans,” the Justice Department said in its filing.
The filing said that Harvard “uses a vague ‘personal rating’ that harms Asian-American applicants’ chances for admission and may be infected with racial bias; engages in unlawful racial balancing; and has never seriously considered race-neutral alternatives in its more than 45 years of using race to make admissions decisions.”
In recent years, the Justice Department has increasingly used such statements of interest to intervene in civil rights cases. Before 2006, such statements appeared only seven times in civil rights-oriented disputes, according to a recent paper by law school student Victor Zapana. Between 2006 and 2011, they were drafted in at least 242, almost all by the Obama administration on issues such as videotaping police brutality or preventing police from arresting homeless people who cannot find shelters.
But the Trump administration is now turning the same tool against affirmative action in college admissions, a major — and contentious — legacy of the civil rights era. In the past few years, affirmative action has faced a fresh barrage of scrutiny from Asian-Americans who argue they are being held to a higher standard, losing out on coveted slots at places like Harvard as African-Americans, Latinos and other groups get a boost. Universities that factor race into admissions have also seen a powerful new opponent of the policies emerge in the Trump administration, which argued Thursday the court should deny Harvard’s request to dismiss the case.
The government said that Supreme Court rulings require that universities considering race in admissions meet several standards. They must define their diversity-related goals and show that they cannot meet those goals without using race as a factor in admissions decisions.
The department argued Harvard does not adequately explain how race factors into its admissions decisions, leaving open the possibility that the university is going beyond what the law allows.
“Harvard has failed to show that it does not unlawfully discriminate against Asian-Americans,” the Justice Department said in a statement.
Harvard responded, saying it was “deeply disappointed” but not surprised “given the highly irregular investigation the DO J has engaged in thus far.”
“Harvard does not discriminate against applicants from any group, and will continue to vigorously defend the legal right of every college and university to consider race as one factor among many in college admissions, which the Supreme Court has consistently upheld for more than 40 years . ... Universities must have the freedom and flexibility to create the diverse communities that are vital to the learning experience,” the university said in a statement.