Justice Department cancels diversity training, including for immigration judges

Tal Kopan for the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the U.S. Justice Department has suspended all diversity and inclusion training and events for its employees, according to a memo obtained by The Chronicle, which would include immigration judges.

The October 8 memo is in response to an executive order issued by President Trump that labeled racial bias training as “offensive and anti-American race and sex stereotyping and scapegoating.”

The DOJ memo was issued by Lee Lofthus, the assistant attorney general for administration. “To ensure compliance with requirements specific to Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) training for employees, DOJ Components are instructed to suspend all D&I related training, programs, activities, and events that employees are required or permitted to attend while on Government-paid time,” Lofthus wrote. Any new diversity training must be approved by the federal Office of Personnel Management, he said. He offered no timeline for resuming training.

The suspension applies to all divisions of the Department of Justice but could be of particular importance to the immigration courts.

KJ