The University of California, Berkeley, confirmed on Friday, September 12, that it has provided the names of 160 faculty members, students, and staff to President Donald Trump’s administration as part of a federal investigation into alleged antisemitism on campus.
The disclosure was made to the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which launched an investigation several months ago into the university’s handling of complaints, reported Reuters.
UC Berkeley said the affected individuals were notified last week.
“Numerous documents were provided over recent months to OCR, including the names of individuals in those reports,” the university said in a statement.
The move comes as the Trump administration intensifies its scrutiny of US campuses, accusing them of tolerating antisemitism during pro-Palestinian protests. Trump has threatened to cut federal funding to universities that fail to address these allegations and has sought to deport foreign students involved in the demonstrations, though those efforts have faced legal obstacles.
The Office of the President of the University of California emphasised that its campuses are required to comply with state and federal oversight.
“UC is committed to protecting the privacy of our students, faculty, and staff to the greatest extent possible, while fulfilling its legal obligations,” a spokesperson said.
The Trump administration’s actions have fuelled debates over free speech, due process, and academic freedom.
Rights advocates have also noted a rise in antisemitism, anti-Arab bias, and Islamophobia amid the ongoing Middle East conflict, but point out that no equivalent federal investigations into Islamophobia have been announced.
In July, the government settled similar investigations with Columbia University, which agreed to pay more than $220 million, and Brown University, which agreed to pay $50 million. Settlement talks with Harvard University are ongoing.
A separate proposed $1 billion settlement with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) was rejected by California Governor Gavin Newsom, who called the demand “an extortion attempt.”