Trump Admin Probes California State University System Over Anti-Semitism, Racial Bias Claims

The twin probes put all 22 campuses of the system in the crosshairs of federal investigators amid allegations of anti-Semitism and racial discrimination.

Pro-Palestinian protesters at a campus encampment at California State University, Los Angeles, in Los Angeles on May 6, 2024. Etienne Laurent/AFP/Getty Images

The Trump administration has launched an investigation into all 22 campuses of the California State University (CSU) system over allegations of anti-Semitism and racial discrimination.

Chancellor Mildred Garcia said in a Sept. 26 letter to the Cal State community that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has launched “a systemwide antisemitism complaint” against Cal State. Garcia said investigators have already begun contacting faculty and staff to review allegations and speak with them about their experiences on campus.

Garcia also revealed that the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has initiated a separate inquiry into Cal State. That probe centers on allegations of racial discrimination “due to interactions with the PhD Project,” a nonprofit organization created to diversify business education and the corporate workforce.

Garcia said that news of the investigations “may be unsettling” for faculty and staff, and she denied any misconduct and emphasized that Cal State intends to cooperate fully with the probes.

“The CSU does not discriminate against or give preference to any individual or group based on race, ethnicity, nationality, shared ancestry, religion or any other protected status,” Garcia wrote.

She added that the system is “firmly committed” to ensuring that admissions and hiring are based solely on merit.

The probes place the nation’s largest four-year public university system under the scrutiny of two federal agencies, raising questions about academic freedom, privacy, and university governance.

Garcia’s letter was circulated on social media by the Caucus of Rank and File Education Workers (CREW), an unofficial caucus within the California Faculty Association (CFA). The group, composed of lecturers, faculty, and other academic staff, has pushed for stronger union accountability and greater transparency at Cal State.

CREW also released on Instagram a separate communication sent to faculty and staff at Cal State Los Angeles by the campus vice president. That email disclosed that EEOC had issued a subpoena requiring the university to provide personal phone numbers and email addresses for all employees.

“The university is legally required to respond to this federal subpoena,” the email stated. “The university is committed to handling your information responsibly and will only release what is specifically required by the EEOC. This request does not mean that you, individually, are the subject of an investigation.”

CFA President Margarita Berta-Ávila said the demand for personal contact information “raises serious questions about ... members’ privacy.”

“Our members are demanding a copy of the subpoena and asking that [Cal State Los Angeles] not comply with the subpoena until we have had a chance to review it and formulate a response,” she said in a statement.

Berta-Ávila further advised faculty and staff that if they are contacted by federal investigators in connection with either the anti-Semitism or racial discrimination probes, they are not obligated to respond immediately.

“Let them know you will get back to them after you have had a chance to consult with your union or legal counsel,” she wrote.

Cal State Los Angeles, the target of the subpoena, was the site of a high-profile pro-Palestinian encampment in 2024, part of a broader wave of campus protests across the country over Israel’s war with the terrorist group Hamas, which was triggered by the group’s attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Protesters at Cal State Los Angeles occupied campus grounds for weeks, and clashes broke out before the administration ultimately barred demonstrators from returning.

“For forty days, there has been an Encampment on our campus,” Berenecea Johnson Eanes, Cal State Los Angeles president, said in a statement in June 2024.

“We have been in ongoing formal and informal communication with the Encampment and its advisors. ... So long as the Encampment remained non-violent, I was committed that the university would continue to talk. Last night, those involved with the Encampment chose violence and destruction.”

Although no arrests were made, Eanes later declared that protesters would no longer be welcome on the campus.

The Cal State investigations are part of a larger federal effort targeting universities accused of violating civil rights laws or engaging in discriminatory practices. Since taking office, President Donald Trump has issued a series of executive orders barring anti-Semitism, race-based hiring, and the participation of men who identify as women in women’s sports on college campuses. His administration has opened more than 60 investigations nationwide, including high-profile cases at Harvard, Columbia, and Duke.

The government’s actions have already produced major financial settlements. In July, Columbia University agreed to pay $200 million to resolve allegations of discrimination in exchange for the restoration of federal grant funding. A month later, Brown University struck a $50 million settlement with the government. At about the same time, the Justice Department found George Washington University in violation of federal law for its handling of pro-Palestinian protests.

An EEOC spokesperson said in an emailed statement that, under federal law, charges filed with the EEOC are confidential.

“The EEOC can neither confirm nor deny the existence of any charge,” the spokesperson said.

The Epoch Times has reached out to the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights with a request for comment on the probes.