The Department of Justice has opened an investigation into a program at the City University of New York that it alleges provides educational benefits to certain minority students, particularly Black males, based on race.

The DOJ said in a news release Tuesday that the university's "Black Male Initiative" is a systemwide program that "encompasses recruitment, admissions, student aid, as well as academic support and professional development" and "appears to favor select non-white minorities — primarily Black males — over applicants of other races."

"Race can never play a role when deciding how to distribute educational resources or opportunities," Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, said in a statement. "This Justice Department will not tolerate universities directing educational benefits to certain students over others based on their race."

The university's website states the program's mission is to "increase, encourage, and support the inclusion and educational success of students from groups that are severely underrepresented in higher education," including African, African American/Black, Caribbean, and Latino/Hispanic males.

On May 31, the Equal Protection Project filed a complaint with the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights against the university. The group alleges the "Black Male Initiative" discriminates on the basis of race, color, or national origin in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

EPP founder William Jacobson told the New York Post that his group is "pleased" to see the DOJ "acting on our complaint."

"Every student deserves equal treatment, and recruiting for educational opportunities never should be dependent on race or ethnicity," Jacobson said.

Newsmax has reached out to CUNY for comment. When asked about the EPP's pending complaint, a university spokesperson told the Post that the program "is open to all students regardless of race, gender or national origin."