A group of 82 conservative lawmakers, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), filed an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in favor of Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), a group looking to ban the use of race in the college admissions process, Politico reported.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court agreed to hear two cases brought by SFFA against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, alleging that both institutions discriminated against Asian American applicants in their admissions processes. The outcome of the consolidated cases, which the court will likely take up in the term that begins in October, could have broad ramifications for how colleges and universities consider race in admissions decisions. More specifically, SFFA's lawsuit asks the court to overturn the landmark 2003 Grutter v. Bollinger ruling, which allows race-conscious admissions in higher education in the interest of achieving student body diversity.
"Race-conscious admissions decisions inflict a heavy toll on Asian-American students," the lawmakers wrote in their brief. "Treating them differently because of their race is a stark departure from equal protection decisions issued early on by this Court, which guarded Asian immigrants from racial prejudice. And the burdens imposed on petitioner illustrate a wider trend. Asian-Americans are increasingly victimized by discriminatory practices."
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