Nashville’s Belmont University has been caught harboring illegal immigrants and deliberately circumventing federal anti-DEI mandates, undercover video appears to show — and university officials were reportedly bragging about it.
The explosive footage, obtained by Townhall and posted by national commentator Charlie Kirk, reportedly shows Assistant Director of “Student Success and Flourishing” Jozef Lukey admitting the university is hiding illegal immigrants from law enforcement while operating “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,” Lukey is heard saying in the video. “If you’re navigating in the shadows, like nobody’s paying attention to Belmont.”
The undercover video also revealed that Belmont rebranded its DEI department as the Office of Hope, Unity, and Belonging (HUB) in 2022 to avoid scrutiny.
Lukey openly discussed the university’s strategy to continue DEI programs to defy federal law.
“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,” the video appears to overhear him say. “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’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 seems to have said.
The university official credited HUB Vice President Taylor as being a politically savvy “mastermind” who has helped coach the team on how to react in the shifting political landscape to avoid “having the microscope” on them.
Indeed, Taylor’s biography on the Belmont website doesn’t appear to have been updated: “Taylor draws from his upbringing, education, and professional experience to fulfill his commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
Belmont’s deceptive practices caught the attention of high-ranking federal officials.
Harmeet Dhillon, U.S. Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, reposted the video —
Um what?! https://t.co/EzLpQiLUWj
— Harmeet K. Dhillon (@HarmeetKDhillon) July 16, 2025
Rep. Andy Ogles, R-T.N., responded to the leaked video by sending a letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon demanding a full investigation and revocation of federal funding.
“Belmont University claims to be a Christian school rooted in Biblical principles, but its teachers deal in deception,” Ogles 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? I just sent a letter to [Sec. McMahon] demanding a full investigation into Belmont—and, if necessary, a cut to their funding. Not in Tennessee. Not on my watch.”
State representative Jody Barrett condemned 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,” Barrett said. “It’s simple: if you hide illegal aliens, you should be held accountable. No sanctuary campuses. No safe havens. No exceptions.”
While the video from Belmont appears shocking, the scandal is nothing new. A recent report from Defending Education tracked 245 universities which still have institution-wide DEI offices, and an additional 28 institutions appearing to have renamed or rebranded their DEI offices instead of shuttering them. Only 18 universities were reported to have actually shut down DEI initiatives.
While Belmont operates as a private institution, it accepts federal money in the form of student financial aid, making it accountable to federal education laws and giving the Trump administration the ability to launch investigations and enact consequences.
Ogles’ letter to Secretary McMahon asks for a compliance review of Belmont’s HUB operation, guidance on “cosmetic name changes,” and a report to Congress on DEI rebranding across federal institutions.
The letter claims the school’s actions would violate Executive Order 14173 and possibly the Title VI Civil Rights Act of 1964.