Trump admin to University of Michigan: Stop antisemitism, or face 'enforcement'

• University of Michigan named on federal list warning schools to protect Jewish students amid Pro-Palestinian protests
• Former board chair Sarah Hubbard says she hopes the US Department of Education will see U-M has changed 
• Some Pro-Palestinain protestors are facing charges in court 

The University of Michigan is on a Trump administration target list of schools that could face “enforcement actions” if they do not ensure Jewish students are protected from antisemitism. 

The US Department of Education’s Civil Rights Office put U-M and 59 other schools on notice Monday in an attempt to crack down on pro-Palestinian protests that spread across campuses last year amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. 

The universities in question are either "under investigation or monitoring" because of anti-discrimination complaints, according to the department. 

It is not immediately clear what potential “enforcement actions” the schools could face, but the department can withhold funding and noted the administration recently terminated $400 million in federal grants and contracts with Columbia University.

“The department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite US campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year,” US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement. 

The University of Michigan did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Regent Sarah Hubbard said U-M has made changes to address protests she acknowledged were “disruptive and made people uncomfortable.”

“We erred on the side of free speech during the protests because we have a rich history of (student activism),” Hubbard told Bridge Michigan Tuesday. “I feel the changes we’ve made in policy and posture have made a difference.”

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The announcement comes less than a week after the federal government cancelled grants and contracts for Columbia, in New York, citing “the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.” 

The Trump administration also recently arrested a Palestinian activist who helped lead protests at Columbia even though he is a legal resident, drawing criticism from US Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Detroit and other Democrats.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators held several protests last year on the U-M campus calling on U-M to “divest” from funds they say contribute to Israel’s war effort in Gaza. Israel responded after Hamas killed and kidnapped Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, 2023. 

Activists built an encampment last year on the Ann Arbor campus, which lasted just under a month until police closed it. Demonstrators disrupted the May 2024 commencement ceremony and over the summer, some brought fake body bags covered in artificial blood to the home of Hubbard, the former board chair.

The university suspended the pro-Palestinian group Students Allied for Freedom and Equality (SAFE) for up to two years and is no longer recognized as a student organization following the protests.

University board members also approved a “Principles on Diversity of Thought and Freedom of Expression” statement in January 2024, which references “freedom of expression” but says “not all ideas are of equal value.”

“Our deep commitment to free expression does not extend to speech or conduct that violates the law or university policy, including targeted speech that constitutes bullying, defamation, destruction of property, discrimination, harassment, violence, or threats,” the statement said.

U-M police also made several arrests during the protests, and some of those legal cases are still playing out in court after Attorney General Dana Nessel charged seven individuals.

Elijah Wiseman, a junior at U-M and vice president of external communications at Michigan Hillel, told Bridge that Jewish students felt “very uncomfortable and very unsafe” during the encampment. But he said the university has been “attentive”  and praised the university’s decision to largely not comment on political or social issues, which the board adopted in October 2024. 

“There are productive ways of doing activism that don’t involve supporting discrimination or targeting or destruction of physical or social institutions on campus," he said.

Hubbard said she had not yet seen the letter from the Trump administration officials to the school, but she believes the university has taken actions since the protests that should alleviate the need for federal enforcement.

“We’re hopeful” the Department of Education will acknowledge those actions and “see we’ve responded appropriately,” she said.