September 2025
DOJ establishes Civil Rights Fraud Initiative to censor DEI programs among federally-funded recepients
The Department of Justice releases a new Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, which will leverage the False Claims Act to investigate and pursue claims against recipients of federal funds who “knowingly violate civil rights laws.”
The memorandum states:
“The False Claims Act is also implicated whenever federal-funding recipients or contractors certify compliance with civil rights laws while knowingly engaging in racist preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities, including through diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs that assign benefits or burdens on race, ethnicity, or national origin.”
Signs to report “un-American” history placed at memorials for incarcerated Japanese Americans
Visitors at national parks across the United States may have been surprised this summer to see new signs put up as a result of the recent executive order, Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.
Posted alongside QR codes, the signs urge visitors to:
“Report any signs or other information that are negative about either past or living Americans or that fail to emphasize the beauty, grandeur, and abundance of landscapes and other natural features.”
These signs were placed at national parks that honor the history of incarcerated Japanese and Japanese Americans during World War II, such as Manzanar, California, and Minidoka, Idaho. The Japanese American National Museum was quick to denounce the actions of the National Park Service, promising to challenge any attempts to revise or censor historical truths.
Fort Bliss, former center for Japanese American incarceration during World War II, now largest detainment center for ICE
Fort Bliss, also known as Camp East Montana, is located on a military base near El Paso, Texas. During World War II, thousands of Japanese and Japanese Americans were wrongfully incarcerated here, many of whom were U.S. citizens. Today, the U.S Department of Homeland Security uses the base to intern roughly 1,000 men detained by ICE.
SB 599 expands housing protections to immigrants living in Oregon
Oregon’s Senate Bill 599 makes it illegal for landlords to treat people differently because of their citizenship or immigration status. While immigration status is not an official statewide protected class, this legislation adds significant housing protections to immigrants living in Oregon.
Under SB 599:
- A landlord may not inquire about the immigration or citizenship status of an applicant, a tenant, or a member of an applicant’s or a tenant’s household.
- If a landlord requires verification of the identity of an applicant or tenant, the landlord shall accept any of the following, or any combination thereof, necessary to verify an applicant’s name, date of birth, and physical appearance:
- (a) A Social Security card or evidence of a Social Security number;
- (b) A certified copy of a record of live birth;
- (c) A permanent resident card issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services;
- (d) An immigrant or nonimmigrant visa;
- (e) An individual taxpayer identification number card issued by the Internal Revenue Service;
- (f) A passport, driver’s license, or other government-issued identification, regardless of expiration date; or
- (g) Any nongovernment identification or combination of identifications that would permit a reasonable verification of identity.
- A landlord may not discriminate against an applicant, a tenant, or a member of an applicant’s or a tenant’s household on the basis of actual or perceived immigration or citizenship status.
- A landlord may not, with the intent or purpose of harassing, retaliating against, or intimidating, disclose or threaten to disclose the immigration or citizenship status of an applicant, a tenant, or a member of an applicant’s or a tenant’s household.