Hundreds protest on UCLA campus as President Trump takes aim at universities nationwide
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Hundreds participated in a protest on UCLA's campus Tuesday after letters from the U.S. Department of Education were sent out to 60 universities across the country, claiming Jewish students are facing antisemitic discrimination.
Protesters marched to UCLA, although the university was not one of schools that received that letter.
The goal of the protest was to defend free speech and academic freedom, as well as to bring attention to Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist who was detained near Columbia University.
Khalil, who helped lead an encampment protest at Columbia last year, was detained by ICE agents over the weekend despite the fact that he's in the U.S. legally. He's now being held at an immigration jail in Louisiana.
Trump said his arrest and potential deportation is the first of "many to come." But a federal judge said Khalil should not be deported while the court considers his case.
Trump takes aim at SoCal universities
The president has threatened to strip federal funding from schools that he says allowed "illegal" protests.
Now, some of those universities could face penalties from the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, pending investigations into allegations of antisemitic discrimination.
USC, Chapman University, Pomona College and Santa Monica College and UC Santa Barbara are among the 60 universities nationwide that a received the letter saying such.
It informed them of their need to fulfill their obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act which prohibits any institution receiving federal funds from discriminating on the basis of race, color, and national origin, including uninterrupted access to campus facilities and educational opportunities, the Department of Education announced Monday.
National origin includes shared Jewish ancestry.
Last year, protests broke out at both UCLA and USC campuses. They became violent at times, and resulted in the detainment of demonstrators after parts of the campuses were blocked off because of the pro-Palestinian encampments. Similar scenes played out across the county.
"From what I remember, UCLA's protest was worse than our school's so it's crazy that they're coming after USC and not UCLA," one student said.
Some USC students say they feel like this is unjustified.
"Since like 3rd grade we're taught 'oh you have the right to protest. You have the right to express this," another student told Eyewitness News.
USC pledged to share "everything we have done to create a welcoming and non-discriminatory campus environment for all members of our community," in a university statement responding to a letter from the Department of Education.
"The university has publicly and unequivocally denounced antisemitism in all its forms, and has taken strong actions to protect all of our students -- including members of our Jewish community -- from illegal discrimination of any kind," the USC statement said. "USC is proud to enroll one of the largest Jewish student bodies in the country."
Meantime, UCLA's chancellor announced a new initiative to combat anitsemitism.
The school will implement recommendations of a task force, which include enhancing relevant training and education, improving the campus complaint system and more
City News Service contributed to this report.
