The U.S. Justice Department said it formed a multi-agency task force to fight antisemitism in schools and universities, while the Education Department announced it was investigating five universities for alleged antisemitic harassment.
The task force follows an executive order from President Donald Trump in which he warned “resident aliens who joined in pro-jihadist protests” that they would be deported, referring to pro-Palestinian protests on U.S. college campuses.
Trump also pledged to revoke the student visas of those he called “Hamas sympathizers.” Many pro-Palestinian protest groups have rejected allegations of supporting extremism.
The Education Department said it was opening investigations of antisemitic harassment at Columbia University, Northwestern University, Portland State University, University of California, Berkeley; and University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
The department under the administration of former President Joe Biden settled with some universities through resolution agreements over alleged antisemitism and Islamophobia.
Those deals were labeled as toothless by the Trump administration. It was not clear how they would be impacted under Trump. The Education Department did not respond to requests for comment on that or on whether it plans similar probes over allegations of anti-Muslim bias.
The Health Department said it was starting compliance reviews for four medical schools over alleged antisemitism during 2024 commencement ceremonies. It did not name the schools.
The Justice Department task force will coordinate efforts through its civil rights division.
