(Washington, D.C.) — Black farmers can now defend the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) debt relief program after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit reversed a district court ruling denying them the right to intervene in the Miller v. Vilsack lawsuit, currently pending in the U.S District Court for the Northern District of Texas on Tuesday.
Following decades of longstanding racial discrimination in the administration of the USDA’s loan programs, Congress attempted to correct historic wrongs with the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act which provided $4 billion dollars of debt relief to Black farmers. Before funds could be released, white Texas farmers sued the USDA to block disbursement of the funds, alleging that the loan forgiveness payments violate the U.S. Constitution. The court issued a preliminary injunction that has temporarily halted the program, pushing many Black farmers to the brink of foreclosure.
Black farmers stand to lose their farms, land and livelihoods without loan forgiveness according to the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Public Counsel, and pro bono counsel Winston & Strawn LLP which represent The Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund. The groups plan to vigorously defend the program to allow Black farmers to obtain relief.
“This is a critical decision,” advised Dania Davy, Director of Land Retention and Advocacy at The Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund. “Since these lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of Section 1005 of the American Rescue Plan were filed, this Appellate Court was the first to seriously consider the devastating impact of the delayed implementation of the debt relief program on our member-farmers. By guaranteeing the Federation’s right to intervene, the Court ensured that the ongoing, race-based discrimination our member-farmers continue to face can be entered as evidence in the litigation which will significantly strengthen the defense of this program’s constitutionality.”
“For decades the USDA discriminated against Black farmers by denying them loans, upending their livelihoods and preventing them from building generational wealth,” said Dorian Spence, director of Special Litigation and Advocacy for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “Black farmers have a right to defend the debt relief program and we are happy that the Fifth Circuit agrees.”
“We are very pleased that the court of appeals reversed the trial court’s decision,” said Andrew Tauber, the Winston & Strawn LLP appellate and critical motions partner who argued the case in the Fifth Circuit. “We are grateful for the opportunity to continue our advocacy on behalf of the Federation and its members as we fight to uphold the constitutionality of the debt relief program.”
“This case is about the future of Black farming in America: Black farmers once owned 14% of all farms in the country—today they own just over 1%, in part due to governmental discrimination that they continue to endure,” said Nisha Kashyap, staff attorney in the Consumer Rights & Economic Justice project at Public Counsel. “The experiences of Black farmers are integral to the defense of this vital debt relief program. We look forward to the opportunity to present this crucial evidence and uplift the voices of our clients.”
Read the intervention here.
Read U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit reversal here.
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About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law – The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Lawyers’ Committee), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination. The principal mission of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice for all, particularly in the areas of voting rights, criminal justice, fair housing and community development, economic justice, educational opportunities, and hate crimes. For more information, please visit https://lawyerscommittee.org.
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About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law – The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Lawyers’ Committee), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination. The principal mission of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice for all, particularly in the areas of voting rights, criminal justice, fair housing and community development, economic justice, educational opportunities, and hate crimes. For more information, please visit https://lawyerscommittee.org.