The move follows the Solicitor General’s claim that HSI funding violates the Fifth Amendment; over 500 institutions, including FIU, brace for major losses.
Alicia Bolton | Contributing Writer
On September 10, 2025, the Trump administration announced it would cease grants to Hispanic-serving institutions. It followed a letter issued in July by the Solicitor General of the United States, D. John Sauer, which stated that the grants were discriminatory and unconstitutional. The letter cites the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause as its justification: the government must follow fair legal procedures, which include non-discriminatory practices.
The cessation of these grants would apply to any college or university that meets the Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) threshold of 25% or more. This would mean that any university with a Hispanic student body population above that threshold is at risk of funding cuts. However, it is not just HSIs that are at risk.
In the same announcement, the Department of Education (DOE) also listed that Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) are on the chopping block. Resulting in cuts to predominantly Black, non-tribal Native American (including Native Alaskan and Native Hawaiian), and Asian American institutions.
The DOE, in its press statements and on its website, has maintained that racial quotas in higher education are unconstitutional. Previously, higher education institutions held a quota for enrollment of underrepresented populations to qualify for funding, which is where the 25% threshold is derived.
Among the universities with the highest HSI thresholds for undergraduate enrollment are the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (93.6%), South Texas College (95.4%), the University of Texas at El Paso (81%), and Florida International University (65.5%). Of the universities listed, FIU ranks first overall in terms of student population, with over 44,904 students. However, the HSI threshold is comparatively lower due to sheer population density on campus.
Since the announcement, HSI grants have been cut for the 2025 fiscal year, amounting to roughly $350 million. These funds will likely either be reallocated to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities, and charter schools, or to ‘administration priorities’ that are ethnically/racially ambiguous.
As of now, FIU will be one of the approximately 500 institutions that will face the impacts of this ruling. Currently, things are in an uncertain state; several programs and essential services are likely to be cut. So, it is only a matter of playing things by ear.
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