WASHINGTON, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Justice Department is investigating complaints accusing Harvard University's intentional discrimination against Asian-Americans by limiting the number of Asian students who are admitted, it was reported Tuesday.
The department has also accused the university of failing to cooperate with the probe into the use of race in its admission practices, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing documents it reviewed.
In a letter from the department to Harvard's lawyers, dated Nov. 17 and reviewed by the Journal, the school was being investigated under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin for organizations that receive federal funding.
The letter also said Harvard had failed to comply with a Nov. 2 deadline to provide documents related to the university's admission policies and practices.
The department told Harvard it "may file a lawsuit" to enforce compliance if Harvard doesn't hand over the documents by a new deadline of Dec. 1, according to a separate letter dated Nov. 17 from John M. Gore, the acting assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division of the department.
The complaints formed the basis of a federal civil lawsuit filed by a nonprofit called Students for Fair Admissions in 2014 in Boston, according to the documents.
Harvard has previously said its admissions process is consistent with the legal precedents set over the past 40 years by the Supreme Court, which have allowed universities to consider race as a factor in admissions to obtain the benefits of a diverse student body.
