Trump administration set to drop seven major housing discrimination cases

Trump administration set to drop seven major housing discrimination cases

The Trump administration has announced plans to shut down seven major investigations and cases concerning alleged housing discrimination and segregation, according to records obtained by ProPublica. The move, which signals a retreat from fair housing enforcement, includes cases where the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) had already found civil rights violations [2].

Among the high-profile cases is one involving a protracted dispute over a scrap metal shredding plant in Chicago. The plant had operated in a largely white neighborhood but was allegedly relocated to a minority neighborhood in southeast Chicago due to environmental concerns. HUD found that the relocation would bring environmental benefits to a predominantly white neighborhood and environmental harms to a predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhood [2].

Another case involves a plan pushed by the city of Corpus Christi, Texas, to build a water desalination plant in a historically Black neighborhood already fringed by oil refineries and other industrial facilities. The city denied the allegations, but construction of the plant is expected to conclude in 2028 [2].

The Trump administration's decision to drop these cases has been met with criticism from civil rights advocates who argue that it will embolden local politicians and developers to take actions that entrench segregation without fear of federal punishment. Four HUD officials said they could recall no precedent for the plan, which they said signals an acceleration of the administration’s retreat from fair housing enforcement [2].

The move comes as the Trump administration has set a target to arrest 1 million undocumented immigrants per year, leading to unprecedented expansion of the nation's detention capacity. The administration has added about 59,000 detention beds in the U.S. since Trump took office [1]. This expansion has also prompted the use of military bases for immigrant detention, including Joint Base Maguire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey, which has been certified for temporary use by the Department of Homeland Security to house immigrant detainees [1].

References:
[1] https://www.phillyvoice.com/new-jersey-immigrant-detention-trump-joint-base-maguire-dix-lakehurst/
[2] https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-administration-prepares-drop-seven-114626465.html