Federal judge halts White House effort to collect university data on applicants’ race

Trump ordered data collection after raising concern about race being used as factor in college admissions

A federal judge on Friday halted efforts by the Trump administration to collect data that proves higher education institutions aren’t considering race in admissions.

The ruling from the US district court judge F Dennis Saylor IV in Boston granting the preliminary injunction follows a lawsuit filed earlier this month by a coalition of 17 Democratic state attorneys general. It will only apply to public universities in plaintiffs’ states.