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EXCLUSIVE — The federal government wants to shut down reparations programs in the U.S., accusing state and local officials of “virtue signaling” and trying to get “votes” as they push the measure.
“Our philosophy here at this Department of Justice, consistent with recent Supreme Court precedent, is that all Americans are entitled to be judged on their own merits, and not instead as part of some bucket of collectives,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s (DOJ) Civil Rights Division told Fox News Digtal.
“I think that this reparations program, while obviously I understand the positive tensions, is an ill match for the Constitution, because it cannot withstand the strict scrutiny required whenever there are racial classifications and giving of government benefits. And that’s what’s present here,” she continued.
Assistant AG Harmeet K. Dhillon. (Noam Galai/Getty Images)
Dhillon’s comments came after the DOJ joined an existing class-action lawsuit challenging the “Local Reparations Restorative Housing Program” in the City of Evanston, Illinois.
The DOJ contends that the Chicago suburb’s initiative unlawfully distributes public benefits based strictly on race and ancestry.
“None of the beneficiaries of this are people who themselves personally suffered discrimination that can be traceable to any government action,” Dhillon said.
“We can’t have this system of spoils in this country where people who didn’t discriminate are being forced to pay people who didn’t suffer discrimination,” she added. “That’s just a wealth transfer. It is not a narrowly tailored justification for racial classifications and that’s why we’re taking action.”
The DOJ’s proposed complaint alleges that the program violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, as well as the Fair Housing Act, because the housing-related financial assistance is distributed on the basis of race.
SAN FRANCISCO JUDGE NOT CONVINCED REPARATIONS FUND WILL BE DISCRIMINATORY DURING LAWSUIT HEARING
In a filing submitted by the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, federal prosecutors sought on Tuesday to join an existing class-action lawsuit challenging the City of Evanston’s “Local Reparations Restorative Housing Program.” (Brendn Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Approved by the city in 2019 and launched in 2021, the first-of-its-kind program provides eligible Black residents or their direct descendants with $25,000 grants. The funds can be used for home purchases, mortgage assistance, property repairs or received as direct cash payments.
To qualify, applicants must be Black and have lived in Evanston as adults between 1919 and 1969 — a period documented by the city as marked by systemic housing discrimination and redlining — or be a direct descendant of a resident from that era.
The initiative has become a flashpoint in a broader national debate over racial reparative justice. While proponents view the program as a necessary blueprint for addressing generational economic gaps, the federal government argued in its filing this week that the program is not “narrowly tailored” because it uses race as the sole qualifying metric without requiring individuals to prove they personally suffered specific financial or physical harm from city policies.
The litigation began in May 2024 when Judicial Watch, a conservative legal group, filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of six non-Black descendants of Evanston residents, arguing they were unconstitutionally excluded from the program.
In March, U.S. District Judge John F. Kness denied the city’s motion to dismiss the case, allowing the lawsuit to move forward. That same month, the DOJ opened its own civil rights investigation into the city’s practices.
To date, Evanston has distributed more than $7 million of an allotted $20 million fund, utilizing revenue generated from a local tax on legal recreational marijuana sales. Earlier this year, the city’s Reparations Committee announced it had cleared another wave of funding, issuing $25,000 payments to an additional 44 residents.
Following the DOJ’s intervention, the City of Evanston released a brief statement standing by the initiative but declining to expand on the specifics of the active trial.
“The City of Evanston maintains its position on the legality of the Evanston Reparation Program,” the city told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “While we are cognizant of the filing made by the DOJ, the City does not provide comments regarding active litigation.”
The federal government’s request to formally intervene is currently pending before the court.
CALIFORNIA LAWMAKER AIMS TO PROTECT REPARATIONS PAYMENTS TO BLACKS FROM TAXATION
Reparations programs have become a flashpoint of debate around the country. (Getty Images)
Other cities and states are looking to issue reparations in some form, including Illinois.
“I took aim at North Carolina — Asheville, North Carolina’s program,” Dhillon said, referencing that city’s mayor trying to pursue reparations. “And as I identify and find others, we will be looking at those as well. Now, all of them are not the same.”
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The U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to Buncombe County in September threatening to investigate and take action if it approves recommendations from the Asheville-Buncombe Community Reparations Commission.
