The "proposed cuts would result in a dangerous reduction of civil rights enforcement across the country, leaving communities of color, LGBT people, older people, people with disabilities, and other marginalized groups exposed to greater risk of discrimination," the statement read. The commission will "examine the degree to which current budgets and staffing levels allow civil rights offices to perform their statutory and regulatory functions."The group's statement highlights a number of concerning proposed staff and budget cuts across a number of government agencies. It describes the Justice Department's decision to place US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in courthouses as "a dangerous impediment to access to justice for all Americans." It also points to the proposed 121 positions being cut in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.
The Department of Education's proposed cuts include 46 roles from the Office of Civil Rights, which "investigates sex, race, disability and age-based civil rights complaints." The commission said the cuts were "particularly troubling" after Education Secretary Betsy DeVos's recent refusal to confirm whether the department would step in if federally funded schools discriminate against LGBT students.
The 15 percent cut to the Department of Housing and Urban Development budget would see "billions of dollars of cuts" to housing and community grant programs for the "most vulnerable." The budget would also eliminate federal funding for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), which supports legal aid for low-income Americans.
The Trump administration's proposed budget cuts to civil rights enforcement has prompted the US Commission on Civil Rights to begin a two year investigation into the "dangerous reduction of civil rights enforcement."
Comment: What are the effective outcomes of spending more or less on civil rights enforcement? All opinions are based on current/recent past numbers which are arbitrary to say the least. If those numbers were higher or lower than the actuals, the argument against reduction would still be the same. The concept is flawed. What is the dollar value for elimination of discrimination? More money doesn't equate positive societal change. A civil society needs to rise to the occasion and regulate itself as to civil rights and human acknowledgement. Enforcement and prosecution should never have to be the leverage for common decency and equality for all. Putting effort into creating a vibrant national economy, where workers are able to hold a solid income, could begin to ease the need for already extensive governmental support of various grant programs and subsidies.