The civil rights division has been instructed not to agree to settlements or initiate new cases
The US justice department’s civil rights division has halted ongoing litigation and has been instructed not to agree to settlements or initiate new cases, Reuters reported.
An internal memo reviewed by Reuters was sent to the division on Wednesday. It froze all activity in the division and indicated that the department would re-evaluate some recent settlements reached during former president Joe Biden’s administration.
Among the settlements likely to be affected is an agreement with Minneapolis this month to implement police department reforms after federal investigators identified a pattern of civil rights abuses in the wake of the George Floyd murder in 2020. Last month, Louisville also agreed to impose police reforms in response to a discovered pattern of discrimination against Black residents.
The justice department did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
According to Reuters, the Biden administration had hurried to complete its work on police oversight before the end of its term. Pam Bondi, current President Donald Trump’s pick for justice department head, is awaiting Senate confirmation; presently, longtime justice department immigration attorney James McHenry serves as acting attorney general.
Since taking office on January 20, Trump has initiated an immigration crackdown. Prosecutors have been instructed to criminally investigate local officials who pushed back against immigration enforcement efforts, per a memo sent by acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove to justice department staff.
The policy’s implementation signals potential conflict with “sanctuary cities” like New York and Chicago. State and local officials resisting enforcement could be charged with defrauding the US or illegally harboring immigrants under federal laws, according to the memo seen by Reuters. It also said the justice department could object to laws challenging the crackdown effort.
In addition to the immigration crackdown, Trump also shut down diversity programs in federal agencies,
The US justice department’s civil rights division enforces anti-discrimination laws.
