How could new federal policies affect Houston? Harris Co. Attorney speaks on potential impact
HOUSTON - One of the many executive orders signed by President Donald Trump that's getting a lot of attention is the president putting an end to federal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs.
DEI ending in U.S. and Texas
The backstory:
President Trump says he's doing away with federal DEI initiatives because "Illegal DEI policies also threaten the safety of (Americans) by diminishing the importance of individual merit, aptitude, hard work, and determination when selecting people for jobs and services".
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has now "warned" financial institutions such as "Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley...their apparent continued commitment to DEI and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) policies...may place them in violation".
Texas Governor Greg Abbott says "We banned DEI in higher education and cut funding for any DEI positions. This session we will ban DEI in K-12 grades and cut funding".
In President Trump's executive order he says, "60 years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, critical and influential institutions of American society, including the Federal Government, major corporations, financial institutions, the medical industry, large commercial airlines, law enforcement agencies, and institutions of higher education have adopted and actively use dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race and sex-based preferences under the guise of so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion".
"We’re moving in the wrong direction."
What they're saying:
"I think [Trump's] argument would be [that] these protections are no longer necessary. But if you look in the wake of affirmative action being revoked, if you look at schools like Yale, like Harvard and their enrollment of minorities, especially racial minorities who have a direct connection to slavery, enrollment has declined substantially. I would argue these things are very much still necessary in this country," says Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee.
How could the change affect Harris County?
"I think what you're going to see is universities, other public entities scaling back on their efforts to ensure their workforce represents the great diversity of the communities that they're in. You're already seeing corporations now get rid of many programs that were created and funded in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. I think it's a signal that we're moving in the wrong direction," says Menefee.
President Trump says in his executive order "The Federal Government is charged with enforcing our civil-rights laws. The purpose of this order is to ensure that it does so by ending illegal preferences and discrimination."
Environmental impacts
President Trump has also signed a number of executive orders relating to the environment.
In Houston's Fifth Ward, a cancer cluster was identified years ago and residents there have been at the center of an environmental battle for some time.
Some have concerns that ending the executive order put in place back in 1994 by President Bill Clinton and replacing it with new policy, will be dangerous for low income and mostly minority neighborhoods such as Fifth Ward where the environment and pollution are believed to be the cause of residents getting sick and even dying, for decades.
"We've seen a number of programs that are being rolled back - especially on the environmental justice front - that have resulted in direct dollars coming to Harris County communities to ensure that areas are being cleaned up, that communities that are typically hyper concentrated with pollution are being protected and that money could be frozen. That money could be snatched back. Those were going to be dollars into our community that are no longer coming because of this executive order. This has been an agency that has been committed to ensuring the last, the least and the lost in our communities are protected. They're going to have entire divisions that will be abolished. That's a real travesty because we know here in Texas especially in Harris County we're one of the birth places of the environmental justice movement. We have communities like Fifth Ward, Aldine, Manchester, Kashmere Gardens that have seen pollution cause health issues, cancer issues, asthma and breathing issues and even shorter life spans but because of this action by President Donald Trump we now see that these folks are going to be at risk again," Menefee adds.
How will this affect Fifth Ward?
"We don't know yet. We haven't seen any guidance issued by the EPA as a result of President Trump's executive order. Right now things are in limbo," says Menefee.
In President Trump's executive order it states this new policy is "Terminating illegal Discrimination in the Federal Government".
The Source: FOX 26 reporter Damali Keith spoke with Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee.