The Department of Justice is reportedly planning to redirect money earmarked for civil-rights enforcement and spend it on action against universities that allegedly “discriminate against white applicants” by adhering to affirmative-action policies.

The New York Times cites an internal document sent to the department’s civil-rights division that asks staff lawyers to work on a new project involving “investigations and possible litigation related to intentional race-based discrimination in college and university ­admissions.”

Conservatives, who have long fought affirmative action, hailed the project as “long overdue.”

A civil-rights lawyer, however, told the Times that the project was “deeply disturbing.”

“It would be a dog whistle that could invite a lot of chaos and unnecessarily create hysteria among colleges and universities,” Kristen Clarke told the paper.