Hispanic colleges Trump.

FILE - Pedestrians cross University Ave on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe, Ariz., July 25, 2018. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

Justice Dept. declines to defend grants for Hispanic-serving colleges, calling them unconstitutional

The Trump administration says it will not defend a decades-old grant program for heavily Hispanic universities that is being challenged in court, declaring that the government believes the funding is unconstitutional. In a memo sent Friday to Congress, the Justice Department said it agrees with a June lawsuit attempting to strike down grants that are reserved for colleges and universities where at least a quarter of undergraduates are Hispanic. Congress created the program in 1998 after finding that Latino students were going to college and graduating at far lower rates than white students. Justice Department officials argued the program provides an unconstitutional advantage based on race or ethnicity.

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