CALIFORNIA — The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division has pursued cases involving California universities, prisons, and law enforcement agencies under the leadership of Harmeet Dhillon, who heads the division. The enforcement campaign has resulted in the division being involved in twice as many cases in California as in any other state, according to an analysis of cases brought by the Justice Department.

California accounted for a higher proportion of Civil Division actions in the second Trump administration than during the same time period in the Biden administration, according to an examination of press statements. During the first two years of President Trump’s second term, the Civil Division focused on combating diversity initiatives, rolling back pro-transgender policies, and investigating allegations of election fraud.

The Civil Division announced more than a dozen actions involving universities in California, largely focused on allegations of antisemitism at University of California campuses and alleged racial preferences in hiring and admissions. The division concluded that the medical schools at UC Davis and UCLA racially discriminated against white and Asian applicants. The Department stated that an investigation by its Civil Division found racial bias in admissions at UC Davis’ School of Medicine.

The Civil Division concluded that UCLA failed to adequately respond to complaints of antisemitic harassment of Jewish and Israeli students. Dhillon said California is where some of the most significant violations of federal civil rights law have occurred, as demonstrated by the division's enforcement actions.

Dhillon stated that the division brings cases wherever it sees violations of federal law. She said being clear about violations of federal civil rights law isn’t political or combative — it’s transparent. She added that she stands behind the work the division has done since she took over.

She stated that while the division operates within the administration’s law enforcement priorities, investigative and prosecutorial decisions are made by the Division based on the law and the facts. She told podcast host Michael Malice in May that she was in constant contact with the White House on a daily, sometimes several-times-a-day basis. Dhillon is a California lawyer and former chair of the San Francisco Republican Party who brought legal challenges against many California institutions prior to leading the Civil Division.

Twelve former attorneys in the Civil Division stated that the division has taken on a more partisan approach under Dhillon’s leadership. Regan Rush, former chief of the division’s special litigation section, said it is an ideological civil rights division in a way that has not been seen before. Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the law school at UC Berkeley, said if there’s any state that is the antithesis of the Trump administration, it’s California.

Ejaz Baluch, a former Department attorney, said it was never explicitly stated that California institutions were of particular interest, but it was something that was very easy to notice. Kristen Clarke, the assistant attorney general overseeing the Civil Division during the Biden administration, said there was a fairly sturdy and necessary wall between the Department and the White House, and that the current situation is a complete 180. Nearly three-quarters of the roughly 400 attorneys in the Civil Division at the beginning of 2025 departed, according to Dhillon.

The U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division was created in 1957 with an initial focus on combating racial inequality and protecting voting rights. Dhillon was a leading legal figure in challenges to COVID-19 mandates, and her firm represented Donald Trump in his successful 2024 fight to remain on the ballot in Colorado.