Human Rights Watch Report: Civil Rights Agencies Gut Under Trump

Human Rights Watch says civil rights enforcement in the United States has slipped under the Trump administration. A fresh report shows federal agencies cutting back on the number of cases they pursue as staff numbers drop. The nonprofit group released a 112-page analysis Thursday covering government activity from January 2025 through early 2026. That window captures the opening months of President Donald Trump's second term.

Trey Walk, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement that while the administration claims to protect all Americans, it is rolling back systems communities have long turned to for relief. Top-down directives from Trump have de-emphasised the federal government's role in protecting civil rights across the country, according to the group.

The report concludes that agencies responsible for stopping discrimination have largely been gutted of their staff. It examines four key agencies within the federal government dedicated to civil rights. They include the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice, the Office of Civil Rights at the Education Department, the Fair Housing Office at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Human Rights Watch spoke with current and former federal workers, lawyers, complainants and community groups who had been involved in cases alleging discrimination. The team also reviewed court filings and federal agency directives that illustrated the pivot in priorities under the second Trump administration. This work highlights a specific reality: access to information is limited and privileged, leaving many without a clear view of what happened inside these offices.

The history of civil rights enforcement in the federal government stretches back centuries, starting with the US Constitution. In 1791, Congress ratified an addition to the founding document that established civil protections like freedom of religion. Those first ten amendments became known as the Bill of Rights. Over decades, more amendments were added, most notably after the US Civil War, to guarantee rights like equal protection under the law. The Constitution contains explicit language about religion and race, but critics point out there is no language that confers equal protection based on sex or gender.

The history of the Department of Justice is closely entwined with the need to enforce civil rights law after the Civil War. Created in 1870, the department addressed several needs, including a push to professionalise and centralise the country's federal law enforcement. It also helped prosecute violent white supremacist groups at a time when local authorities, particularly in southern states, sometimes refused to do so. The US Civil Rights Movement, starting in the 1950s, spurred a surge in federal infrastructure. The Civil Rights Act of 1957 established a dedicated civil rights division within the Justice Department.

Trump's second term ushered in a backlash towards policies broadly considered part of the diversity, equity and inclusion movement, or DEI. That movement gained popularity in the early 2020s, particularly after the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, sparked a public reckoning over racial inequality. Trump has called DEI racially discriminatory.

Communities now face reduced support from federal agencies that once stood as a shield against discrimination. Local authorities often lack the resources to handle these cases alone. The shift means fewer complaints get investigated and fewer violators face consequences. This retreat puts vulnerable groups at risk when they most need help.

Donald Trump claimed during his second-term campaign that a definite anti-white feeling existed within this country. Once inaugurated, he immediately moved to reverse policies his administration viewed as granting unfair advantages to women and minorities. Federal agencies like the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division paused cases on sexual harassment and transgender rights. New probes opened instead, including one targeting Nike for alleged discrimination against white employees.

In May 2025, the Department of Justice halted investigations and reform deals involving police departments accused of racial bias in places like Louisville, Kentucky, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. These cities faced scrutiny after public outcry over killings of unarmed Black people, including George Floyd. A Human Rights Watch report documented a general weakening of federal bodies meant to protect civil rights. Staff cuts and resignations fueled this decline. The Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice had roughly 365 lawyers in January 2025 when Trump took office. By year's end, three-quarters of those lawyers departed. Human Rights Watch labeled this exodus a coordinated effort to undermine career staff.

A spokesperson for the Justice Department told Al Jazeera that its Civil Rights Division remains dedicated to protecting the rights of all Americans. The department added 100 personnel since the 2025 departures. According to the spokesperson, the division now focuses on protecting religious liberty, Second Amendment rights, and women's and girls' spaces. It stands against illegal race-based policymaking and DEI while defending parents' fundamental right to direct their children's upbringing and education.

Other offices suffered similar losses in rank and civil rights work. The Office of Fair Housing shrank from 31 staffers to 11 by mid-2025. Some 115 complaints prepared by the office and referred to the Justice Department for possible legal action were quashed, per the report. At the Department of Education, the Office for Civil Rights initially employed 568 workers across 12 offices when Trump took office in 2025. These reductions limit access to information and resources for communities seeking justice. The shift prioritizes specific agendas over broad protections.

Inside just a few months, seven offices closed their doors while half of the civil rights staff walked out. The numbers tell a stark story. Between May and September 2025, the office dismissed roughly 90 percent of nearly 10,000 complaints it received. This rejection rate is far higher than historical averages, according to the new report.

What does this mean for victims? Human Rights Watch found that many people facing discrimination lost their only federal lifeline. Communities grappling with bias no longer have an agency ready to help them fight back. One housing group told investigators that the Department of Housing and Urban Development stopped answering complaints about anti-LGBTQ discrimination quickly enough.

Federal agencies seem to be stepping aside from their core duties now. The report suggests they abandoned their role in monitoring hate and enforcing reforms across the nation. The Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights has a long track record of investigating claims and forcing school districts to change. But that office has largely stopped handling complaints under Trump.

The drop in action is measurable and severe. In the first half of 2024, the office demanded policy changes or monitoring for 336 cases. Only 59 cases received such a remedy during a similar window in 2025. This slowdown leaves schools vulnerable to unchecked misconduct.

Consider Springfield, Massachusetts. Parents complained after white students held a mock slave auction on Snapchat where they bid to sell their Black classmates. That specific case is no longer being pursued by the Office of Civil Rights as of last year.