Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is suing the Biden administration for allegedly discriminating against white farmers.
“These racial exclusions are patently unconstitutional, and the court should permanently enjoin their enforcement,” a complaint about the Biden administration’s policy of excluding white farmers in its COVID-19 relief package said. “Doing so will promote equal rights under the law for all American citizens and promote efforts to stop racial discrimination, because ‘[t]he way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.’”
The lawsuit, which is backed by America First Legal Foundation, argues the exclusion of white farmers from the relief package is in violation of the U.S. Constitution and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The $1.9 trillion bill passed last month includes a loan forgiveness program for “socially disadvantaged” farmers up to 120% of the value of the loan.
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The complaint argues that some white ethnic groups have also faced discrimination in the past and that they should “unambiguously qualify as members of a ‘socially disadvantaged group,’ and as ‘socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers.’”
“Indeed, throughout American history, many white ethnic groups have been subject to ‘racial or ethnic prejudice because of their identity as members of a group without regard to their individual qualities,’ including Irish, Italians, Germans, Jews and eastern Europeans,” the complaint reads. “Members of these ethnic groups unambiguously qualify as members of a ‘socially disadvantaged group,’ and as ‘socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers,’ under the plain text.’”
The complaint goes on to argue that the racial discrimination of excluding whites is also a violation of the constitution.
“An interpretation of the underlying statutes that excludes plaintiffs like Miller because he is not ‘black enough’ would raise grave constitutional concerns under Bolling v. Sharpe and it should be rejected for that reason alone,” the complaint reads. “For the same reason, the statutes should not be construed to empower the Department of Agriculture to choose a minimum threshold of minority ancestry when determining eligibility for benefits.”
The legal group representing Miller was founded by former Trump administration adviser Stephen Miller, who launched the organization in an attempt to use the legal system as a way of fighting back against Biden’s new administration.
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“Those who believe in America First must not shy away from using our legal system to defend our society and our families from any unlawful actions by the left,” Miller said of the organization. “Those looking to hold the new administration in Washington to account finally have their answer. Our self-imposed policy of legal disarmament is now over.”
