A lawsuit filed by Students For Fair Admission argues that Harvard discriminates against Asian-American applicants.
The Justice Department said in a court filing that Harvard has failed to demonstrate that it does not discriminate on the basis of race.
The Supreme Court permits colleges and universities to consider race in admissions decisions, but says it must be done in a narrowly tailored way to promote diversity and should be limited in time.
Published 11:13 AM ET Thu, 30 Aug 2018 Updated 12:20 PM ET Thu, 30 Aug 2018
The Associated Press
Harvard University
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Michael Fein | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Harvard University
The Trump administration on Thursday sided with Asian-American students suing Harvard University over the Ivy League school's consideration of race in its admissions policy.
The lawsuit, filed by Students For Fair Admission on behalf of the students, argues that Harvard discriminates against Asian-American applicants.
The Justice Department said in a court filing that the school has failed to demonstrate that it does not discriminate on the basis of race.
"We are deeply disappointed that the Department of Justice has taken the side of Edward Blum and Students for Fair Admissions, recycling the same misleading and hollow arguments that prove nothing more than the emptiness of the case against Harvard," Harvard's Office of Public Affairs told CNBC.
"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," the university added.
The Supreme Court permits colleges and universities to consider race in admissions decisions, but says it must be done in a narrowly tailored way to promote diversity and should be limited in time. Universities also bear the burden of showing why their consideration of race is appropriate.
But in Harvard's case, Justice Department officials said, the university hasn't explained how it uses race in admissions and has not adopted meaningful criteria to limit the use of race.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said, "No American should be denied admission to school because of their race."
Sessions argued the school's use of a "personal rating," which includes highly subjective factors such as being a "good person" or "likeability," may be biased against Asian-Americans. Sessions said the school admits that it scores Asian-American applicants lower on personal rating than other students. Sessions also argued that Harvard admissions officers monitor and manipulate the racial makeup of incoming classes.
"The Supreme Court has called such attempts to 'racially balance' the makeup of a student body 'patently unconstitutional,'" Sessions said.
The statement of interest filed by the Justice Department opposes Harvard's request to dismiss the lawsuit before trial.
The Justice Department is separately investigating Harvard's admissions policies, a probe that could also result in a lawsuit.