Due to the Trump Administration’s actions, the Office for Civil Rights has been unable to adequately address cases of discrimination
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned witnesses during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled “Never to be Silent: Stemming the Tide of Antisemitism in America.” In 2023 alone, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported nearly 2,000 hate crimes against the Jewish community. More than two-thirds of all reported religious-based hate crimes in 2023 were driven by anti-Jewish bias. There has been a resurgence of antisemitism in America since the horrific Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Durbin first questioned Ms. Meirav Solomon, a junior at Tufts University, about the Trump Administration laying off at least a dozen officials from the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) under the Department of Education and ordering remaining staff to halt most of their work. OCR has been a tool for students and their families to file complaints of discrimination based on race, gender, national origin, or disability; however, the Trump Administration has shifted its focus to “directed investigations”—investigations the Administration has ordered. In the first weeks of the Trump Administration, at least 20 new cases that align with President Trump’s priorities have been opened.
“If we are going to close down diversity, equity, and inclusion [programs], which [are] not only proactive but reactive to discrimination—if we are going to underfund the Office of Civil Rights… Who is going to litigate the claims that are made of antisemitism on campus or anywhere else? If you want to stop antisemitism, you have to leave open the possibility there will be some way to litigate your case. Ms. Solomon, have you seen this experience?” Durbin asked.
Ms. Solomon responded, “Yes, I have seen this experience across campus. The fear for Jewish students to now report and be able to access avenues of advocacy, to be able to advocate for themselves on college campuses where they face antisemitism on the right or left has been severely harmed by this current Administration.”
Durbin then asked Mr. Kevin Rachlin, Washington Director of the Nexus Leadership Project, the same question.
Mr. Rachlin responded, “I couldn’t agree with Ms. Solomon more. The data shows as of last year, before the new Administration decided to stop funding [for OCR] and investigate whether or not the Department of Education should exist, there was a 50 to one caseload in terms of 50 cases per one investigator at OCR. The office has been underfunded and consistently up for cuts by Congress.”
“If we agree on the premise that antisemitism should be stopped, where do you go to stop it? If the new Administration believes it shouldn’t be the Department of Education—some have called forabolishing it—and it should not be the Office of Civil Rights, where do you turn? You can’t declare this is wrong and we need to stop it, and we need to give due process to those that are aggrieved and then shut down the funding, the philosophy, and the venues that are important for this to happen. That just seems so obvious. I hope we can resolve that,” Durbin said.
Video of Durbin’s questions in Committee is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s questions in Committee is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s questions in Committee is available here for TV Stations.
As Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Durbin held a hearing entitled “A Threat to Justice Everywhere: Stemming the Tide of Hate Crimes in America.” The hearing examined the threats facing marginalized communities and how the federal government can better protect the civil rights and safety of all Americans, including Jewish, Arab, and Muslim Americans.
Additionally, under Durbin’s leadership as Chair, the Committee held several other hearings to examine the issue of hate crimes, including a hearing on “Combating the Rise in Hate Crimes” shortly after the January 15, 2022, synagogue attack in Colleyville, Texas, and a hearing on the “Metastasizing’ Domestic Terrorism Threat After the Buffalo Attack,” which explored the continued threat posed by violent white supremacists and other extremists, including those who have embraced the so-called “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory, after a mass shooting by a white supremacist in Buffalo on May 14, 2022; the white supremacist who murdered 11 people at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018 also embraced this conspiracy theory.
Last Congress, Durbin reintroduced the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act, which would establish federal offices to combat domestic terrorism, require federal law enforcement agencies to regularly assess the threat, and provide training and resources to state, local, and tribal law enforcement to address it. In May 2022, Senate Republicans filibustered the House-passed Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act, less than two weeks after the racially-motivated attack at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket that killed ten Black Americans.
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