Civil Rights Coalition Applauds Garland-led DOJ for Commitment to Civil Rights Enforcement Under Clarke and Gupta, Calls for Continued Vigorous Enforcement of Laws

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Patrick McNeil, [email protected]

WASHINGTON — Jesselyn McCurdy, executive vice president for government affairs at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, released the following statement in response to the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division’s report on its enforcement work over the past four years:

“This week’s report from the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division highlighting its enforcement work during the Biden administration is both a powerful reminder of the federal government’s vital role in enforcing civil rights laws and of the very real impact that this enforcement can have on the lives and rights of communities across the nation. From challenging discriminatory voting laws and abortion restrictions, to investigating police departments and prison conditions, to fighting modern day redlining, and working to combat hate and protect people with disabilities and LGBTQ people, this Civil Rights Division has prioritized meaningful action that honors the DOJ’s storied history of defending civil rights.

“We’re grateful to the career lawyers in the division and to Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Kristen Clarke for her steadfast and courageous leadership since 2021 to ensure the division takes its historic role seriously. Ms. Clarke revitalized the division following the previous administration’s abandonment of civil rights enforcement and its reversal of positions, policies, and protections that represented an across-the-board assault on our rights and freedoms. We also applaud the leadership of Vanita Gupta, who as associate attorney general pursued important police reform work, led the department’s Reproductive Rights Taskforce, and oversaw a range of litigation efforts to protect fundamental rights, in addition to the leadership of Attorney General Merrick Garland, who ensured the Department of Justice was fair and independent.

“Today, we know there are very real threats ahead to multiracial democracy and civil rights as proposed in Project 2025 and the America First Policy Institute’s ‘America First Agenda,’ and as demonstrated by the president-elect’s previous term in office and past statements. Appallingly, his nominees to lead the DOJ — the nation’s civil rights law enforcement agency — and the Civil Rights Division, Pam Bondi and Harmeet Dhillon, both possess anti-civil rights records and lack independence, and their nominations signal that the incoming Trump administration seeks to reverse the progress we have made and advance extreme ideological viewpoints over the rights and protections that protect every person in America. The Senate should refuse to confirm them so that our voting rights, access to health care, ability to hold the government accountable for wrongdoing, and more are not under attack from within. The people of this nation deserve better.

“Throughout history, the civil rights community has looked to the Department of Justice as a leader in the fight for civil rights. The Civil Rights Division has played a significant role in desegregating schools, requiring police and fire departments across the country to open their ranks to people of color and women, forcing counties to give up election systems that locked out voters of color, and prosecuting hate crimes when no local authority had the will. That is the Department of Justice and the Civil Rights Division that the nation continues to need today.

“For decades, the civil rights community has been committed to fighting for a Justice Department that is fair and independent, that robustly enforces federal civil rights laws, and that upholds the principles of equality and justice that are foundational to American democracy. As we thank the Biden administration for their commitment to these enduring values, we urge the incoming administration to uphold the DOJ’s critical civil rights mission in pursuit of an America that is just, fair, and free.”

Resources

The Leadership Conference’s statement for the record for Pam Bondi’s attorney general confirmation hearing is available here, and a memo following her testimony is available here. The Leadership Conference responded to the president-elect’s nomination of Harmeet Dhillon to lead the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, which is available here.

For more information about civil and human rights actions taken during the Biden administration, including at the Department of Justice, view The Leadership Conference’s timeline here.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 240 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

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