Trump administration ‘gutted’ federal civil rights enforcement, HRW says

A new report finds key federal agencies have stopped providing oversight of Civil Rights laws nationally.Sweeping changes to staffing and policies in the Trump administration have “gutted” crucial monitoring and enforcement of Civil Rights laws in the US, according to new findings from Human Rights Watch.“The federal government plays a unique and irreplaceable role in enforcing anti-discrimination laws,” Human Rights Watch said in its report released on Thursday. “In some cases, federal law is more comprehensive than state laws, and in some cases, Congress gave federal agencies sole jurisdiction to bring these legal actions.”Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Leading expert on US far-right groups charged with fraudlist 2 of 3Rights groups launch new legal challenge to Trump campaign against ICClist 3 of 3US plans to equip ICE officers with electric-shock glovesend of listThe rights group conducted interviews with former federal government officials, reviewed court filings and other records, and spoke with community leaders and Civil Rights lawyers about the impact of the Trump administration’s pivot away from advocating for the rights of minorities, transgender individuals, and others.The report comes amid high-profile court rulings, including by the US Supreme Court, that have upended decades-old legal provisions relied on for ensuring minorities have access to polls and are fairly represented in electoral districts.Federal agencies that had departments devoted to investigating discrimination in the criminal justice system, housing, education, and employment have been largely gutted since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, Human Rights Watch said.The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division lost three-quarters of its lawyers by early 2026, and dropped reform agreements it had secured with police in places like Louisville and Minneapolis. In nearly 70 cases nationally, the federal agency stopped work, dismissed, or reversed its supporting position for plaintiffs who alleged discrimination.