Yassamin Ansari Warns That Trump Dismantling Department Of Education Will Harm Efforts To Fight Antisemitism

5 months ago

At today's House Education Committee hearing, Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) spoke about the effects of President Trump gutting the Department of Education in efforts to take on civil rights violations.

Transcript

00:00The gentlelady from Arizona, Ms. Ansari.

00:02Thank you, Mr. Chair.

00:04Thank you to all the witnesses for being here today.

00:06Anti-Semitism has undoubtedly been on the rise for years.

00:10As we all know, although Jews constitute only 2% of the U.S. population,

00:15anti-Semitic attacks account for 15% of all hate crimes

00:19and almost 70% of all religion-based hate crimes in the country.

00:24In the current climate, almost 50% of Jewish college students

00:27report feeling uncomfortable, unwelcome, or unsafe on campus

00:31because they are Jewish, that is unacceptable.

00:34Particularly on college campuses, we've heard concerns

00:37about faculty members using rhetoric that, at times,

00:40crosses the line into anti-Semitism

00:42and creates hostile environments for Jewish students.

00:45And while we are holding hearings to combat anti-Semitism on campuses,

00:50the very office in the Department of Education

00:53that works to protect Jewish students,

00:55the Office for Civil Rights, has been attacked,

00:58undermined, and cut by the Trump administration.

01:01This office works to protect individuals based on race,

01:05color or national origin, sex, age, religion, and disability.

01:09And I would be remiss if I didn't mention

01:11that in addition to the sharp rise in anti-Semitism,

01:15data shows a very clear rise in Islamophobia as well,

01:18especially in recent months,

01:20a rise in anti-Asian hate,

01:23persistently high rates of bias-motivated crimes

01:26against black communities,

01:27and FBI data also shows prejudice

01:30against sexual orientation,

01:32gender identity, and disability bias.

01:35And just yesterday,

01:36the Trump administration

01:37and the Trump-appointed Supreme Court

01:40affirmed his plan

01:42to dismantle the Department of Education

01:44and fire nearly 1,400 employees,

01:48one-third of their workforce.

01:51Mr. Nosinchuk,

01:52what effect will the decimation

01:54of the Department of Education,

01:56and especially this Office of Civil Rights,

01:58have on efforts to combat college anti-Semitism?

02:01Thank you for that question, Congresswoman.

02:06It is the job of the Office for Civil Rights

02:08to enforce civil rights laws

02:10and keep students safe.

02:12If there aren't the investigators

02:14and the resources to do the job,

02:17who is going to be going on to these campuses

02:20in response to complaints

02:22when instances of anti-discrimination occur

02:24to protect these students?

02:25I'm trying to think of another instance

02:27where there's a policy preference

02:30that says we need to prioritize

02:31this particular policy objective,

02:34and now we're going to gut the office,

02:36charged with the responsibility to do the work.

02:40And since mass layoffs earlier this year,

02:42has the pace of investigation

02:44and resolution become faster or slower?

02:48My understanding is it's become slower,

02:50and that one approach that's been taken

02:53is just to dismiss wholesale,

02:56a whole host of complaints,

02:58some unprecedented number

03:00within a three-month period.

03:01So on that note, if you could clarify,

03:04do you know how many civil rights cases

03:05have been dismissed by the Trump administration

03:07and how that may compare to prior administrations?

03:11Well, I do know that there was this,

03:12about 3,400 that were dismissed

03:14within a three-month period

03:16from March through June.

03:18That outpaced any rate of dismissal before.

03:21You know, the way in which OCR operated

03:24when I worked there

03:25is every complaint that was filed that stated claim

03:29that which was within the jurisdiction of OCR

03:32was opened for investigation.

03:34It doesn't mean that it necessarily resulted

03:36in a resolution agreement,

03:37but it was opened for investigation

03:39because the belief was that every student

03:41who has a complaint needs to be heard,

03:45and their complaint examined

03:47to determine whether there has been discrimination

03:50that rises to the level of harassment

03:52or a hostile environment under Title VI

03:54and what the university that is accountable

03:57for protecting that student's civil rights

03:59is doing about it.

04:00Thank you so much.

04:01This year, in addition,

04:02the Trump administration shuttered

04:04seven out of 12 civil rights enforcement offices,

04:07including the offices in New York City

04:08and San Francisco,

04:10two of the regions that are obviously represented

04:12on this panel today.

04:14Those offices were in the middle

04:15of handling over 6,000 cases.

04:17Mr. Nostanchuk,

04:19what role did these offices play

04:21in combating anti-Semitism

04:23under your tenure

04:24at the Office of Civil Rights?

04:26Thanks for that question.

04:27They played a very significant role.

04:29The offices that were shuttered

04:31were some of the most effective offices within OCR.

04:35I don't think, frankly,

04:36that that's a coincidence,

04:37and it happened that a number of those offices

04:39were the ones where

04:40a significant majority

04:41of the unprecedented number

04:44of anti-Semitism-related investigations

04:47that we opened were being handled,

04:49and there was tremendous expertise.

04:51You know, if you added it up,

04:52I imagine it would be, you know,

04:53decades or centuries of expertise

04:55if you added all the years

04:56of all the investigators

04:57who worked in these offices

04:59and really were deeply committed

05:01and are now shattered by the fact

05:03that they've lost their jobs

05:04and seen the office

05:05that they were dedicated

05:07to be basically eviscerated.

05:12This administration has been weaponizing

05:14the rise of anti-Semitism

05:15in their war against higher education.

05:17If they were serious

05:18about protecting Jewish students

05:20and educators,

05:21they would be providing more funding

05:22and more staff

05:23for the Office of Civil Rights.

05:26Thanks, the gentlelady.

05:27Her time has expired,

05:28and I recognize the gentleman

05:29from Missouri, Mr. Ronder.

05:31Thank you, Mr. Chairman,

05:32and thanks to all the witnesses

05:33for being here today.

05:36Chancellor Lyons,

05:37the UAW represents

05:38the UAW represents

Yassamin Ansari Warns That Trump Dismantling Department Of Education Will Harm Efforts To Fight Antisemitism

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