At least 60 colleges and universities received warnings from the Department of Education to follow their obligation to protect Jewish students on campus or face repercussions, just days after the Trump administration revoked $400 million in grants and contracts to Columbia University for what they call a failure to combat antisemitism on campus.
Newly appointed Secretary of Education Linda McMahon sent a letter to 60 schools on Monday, some being the site of contentious pro-Palestinian protests last year, warning them of financial actions should they fail to follow President Donald Trump’s executive order to “combat antisemitism.”
“U.S. colleges and universities benefit from enormous public investments funded by U.S. taxpayers,” McMahon wrote in a statement. “That support is a privilege, and it is contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal anti-discrimination laws.”
Six of the eight Ivy League Universities, including Columbia University, were mentioned on the list. Trump’s alma matter, the University of Pennsylvania, was not.
The letter to the schools arrived after immigration enforcement agents arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate who led a Palestinian advocacy group at the school last year. Khalil, a Palestinian refugee, is a green card holder who studied at Columbia on a student visa. Khalil and other members of the Columbia University Apartheid Divest rejected claims of anti-Semitism. However, the group at times has voiced support for the leaders of terrorist-designated Hamas and Hezbollah.
Trump’s executive order, issued in January, directs the Department of Justice to prosecute what it considers to be threatening actions against American Jews and calls for the removal of “aliens” who carry out the activity.
It was enacted following the surge of pro-Palestinian protests on campuses last year as Israel carried out a war in Gaza in retaliation for the October 7 Hamas attack that left 1,200 dead.
Student protesters across the nation called for the U.S. government to withdraw its military support for Israel and demanded their schools divest from investments tied to support for Israel. But the movement sparked concerns for the safety of Jewish students as reports emerged of antisemitic behavior.
“The Department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite U.S. campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year,” McMahon wrote in her letter. “University leaders must do better.”
Since taking office, the Trump administration has taken more aggressive action to hold campuses accountable for antisemitism.
So far, they’ve launched investigations into at least five universities and revoked $400 million in grants and loans from Columbia University, where pro-Palestinian protests resulted in mass arrests after protestors refused to vacate part of the campus.
