On July 25, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to Congress announcing that it does not intend to defend the constitutionality of Higher Education Act provisions that provide funding to Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), which are being challenged in State of Tennessee v. Department of Education. Under the statute, HSIs are defined as colleges where at least 25% of full-time equivalent undergraduates are Hispanic.
Plaintiffs in the case allege that federal programs offering aid to HSIs are unlawful. In its letter, the Department of Justice stated that the 25% enrollment requirement violates the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. Citing Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (2023), the Solicitor General explained that racial quotas are “patently unconstitutional” and that the government has no legitimate interest in differentiating universities based on whether a specified share of students come from “preferred ethnic groups.”