President Donald Trump's administration has sent a letter to Harvard University saying it has referred the university to the US Justice Department to address allegations of "Harvard's antisemitic discrimination."
In June, the Trump administration stated that an investigation had found Harvard had violated federal civil rights law by refusing to address harassment of Jewish and Israeli students.
Critics, human rights specialists and some professors had argued that such investigations are an excuse to claim federal authority over schools and undermine academic freedom and free speech.
Harvard has been involved in negotiations and a court battle with the Trump administration, requesting the release of billions of dollars of frozen federal funding for medical research and other projects. It sued the Trump administration earlier this year.
"The parties' several months' engagement has been fruitless," said the letter dated Wednesday from the US Department of Health and Human Services to Harvard's leadership.
"OCR (Office for Civil Rights) therefore has no choice but to refer the matter to DOJ to initiate appropriate proceedings to address Harvard's antisemitic discrimination."
Trump threatened to withdraw federal funding from universities due to pro-Palestinian demonstrations against US ally Israel's Gaza war. The government accuses universities of permitting antisemitism during last year's pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
Protesters, and some Jewish groups, claim the Trump administration incorrectly equates their objections to Israel's military attacks in Gaza and occupation of Palestinian lands with antisemitism, and support for Palestinian rights with espousal of extremism.
Protesters called on an end to US support for Israel and a pledge that their colleges will stop investing in weapons manufacturers and Israeli occupation-supporting companies.
Harvard did not offer an immediate response on the Wednesday letter. The university has maintained it seeks to fight discrimination.
April reports issued by Harvard's Islamophobia and antisemitism task forces reported fear and prejudice experienced by Jewish, Muslim and Arab students.
The Trump administration has not made parallel investigations into Islamophobia.
Columbia University last week settled federal investigations by agreeing to pay more than $220 million. Harvard had reportedly been willing to spend as much as $500 million to settle its case with the government, The New York Times reported.
