Image Credit: Belmont University / Facebook & @charliekirk11 / X
The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
Nashville’s Belmont University is under fire as undercover video has surfaced of a school official admitting their department is harboring illegal aliens from discovery and deliberately manipulating language and programs to circumvent federal anti-DEI mandates stemming from several Trump Executive Orders.
On Wednesday morning, the university caught the attention of national commentator and activist Charlie Kirk who posted the now-viral footage showing Assistant Director of “Student Success and Flourishing” Jozef Lukey discussing the school’s subversion tactics.
In the first clip, Lukey outright admits his department is harboring illegal alien students and deliberately hiding their information from faculty and law enforcement to better operate “in the shadows.”
“We definitely have to navigate very carefully and just cautiously just because we just don’t ever know, especially with like the ICE raids that are happening in the city, that impacts our campus. We do have undocumented students here. We don’t communicate to anybody externally who’s undocumented, who it is. And so, I guess we know who it is, faculty don’t really know, how could they unless it’s indicated in the system somewhere… We’re doing the work; we may just not be as loud as other people about it. If you’re navigating in the shadows, like nobody’s paying attention to Belmont.”
The second clip features Lukey talking about Belmont’s rebranding of their DEI department, which was absorbed into the Office of Hope, Unity, and Belonging (HUB) in 2022 to get ahead of the curve.
The first sentence of HUB Vice President Dr. D’Angelo Taylor’s biography on the Belmont website reads, “Taylor draws from his upbringing, education, and professional experience to fulfill his commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
Lukey continued in the video, “The HUB is Hope, Unity, and Belonging, that’s DEI, let’s be real. We’re always going to keep doing what we’re doing, the work never stops. We just change on how we talk about it. We always try to just adapt to what’s happening around us, but that doesn’t mean like what we’re focusing on completely stops. We just change the terminology and the language that we use. We try to create as an inclusive space as possible here at Belmont. We’re not going to make any outward statements, however the work, the initiatives, the things that are happening on campus, that’s how we show how inclusive we’re being. We try to use our language very carefully.”
He credits HUB VP Taylor with being a politically savvy “mastermind” who has helped to coach the team on how to react in the shifting political landscape to avoid “having the microscope” on them.
Belmont is not the only institute of higher learning attempting to game the system.
A report from Townhall, the outlet that originally obtained the footage, noted a report from Defending Education has tracked 245 universities which still have institution-wide DEI offices, with an additional 28 institutions and schools/colleges appearing to have renamed or rebranded their DEI offices instead of shuttering them. Only 18 universities were reported to have removed webpages and/or shut down DEI initiatives.
In response to Belmont’s indiscretions, social media was ablaze with calls for federal investigations into the school and extreme skepticism of the university’s designation as a Christian institution from not just citizens, but also lawmakers and government officials.
One such official was Harmeet Dhillon, U.S. Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, who reposted the video with the caption, “Um what?!”.
Congressman Andy Ogles relayed that he has already sent a letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon demanding a full investigation and revocation of funds if necessary.
“Belmont University claims to be a Christian school rooted in Biblical principles, but its teachers deal in deception,” he wrote. “President Trump has rightly demanded that all colleges and universities dismantle their DEI cartel or risk losing federal funding. So why are Belmont officials on camera bragging about their ‘clever’ scheme to simply rename their DEI offices and keep pushing the same agenda?”
More locally, conservative Congressional candidate and state representative Jody Barrett (R-Dickson-District 69) issued a scathing press release condemning the university for running a “sanctuary scam.”
“They’re hiding illegal aliens in dorms while working families in Tennessee pay the price. It’s illegal. It’s dangerous. I’ve fought it in the State Legislature, and I’ll fight it in Congress,” he said.
Barrett sponsored legislation this year that created a misdemeanor offense for harboring or hiding illegal immigrants. The bill included a $1,000 fine per individual who was concealed, harbored, or shielded from detection.
“It’s simple: if you hide illegal aliens, you should be held accountable,” Barrett added. “No sanctuary campuses. No safe havens. No exceptions.”
Though a private institution, Belmont does accept federal money in the form of student financial aid, thereby making it accountable to federal education directives and giving the Trump administration the ability to launch an investigation and enact consequences should it desire.
Furthermore, harboring, concealing, or shielding those in the country illegally is a federal crime under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of 1952, giving federal authorities a second justifiable cause to take a closer look at the Nashville college.
About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
