Defend Disability Rights Against DOJ's Attack

For nearly 27 years, the Supreme Court’s landmark 1999 decision in Olmstead v. L.C. has protected Americans with disabilities from being forced into institutional care and nursing homes against their will, affirming their right to live independently in their own communities. Last week, the Trump Department of Justice (DOJ) quietly released a memo undermining that decision and arguing that Olmstead and related disability rights laws actually contribute to homelessness. Legal experts say the claim is not supported by the facts or by virtually any court, and the DOJ’s own memo acknowledged that their interpretation is “out of step” with legal consensus.

While the memo itself does not change the law, it signals a dangerous shift in how the Trump administration intends to treat disability rights protections. Following its release, HHS quietly took down its webpage on Olmstead and community living. Without federal enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act—the laws that underpin Olmstead—states will no longer face consequences for institutionalizing disabled people against their will. This could allow states to effectively re-segregate people with disabilities, reversing decades of progress toward community integration. Combined with the administration’s sweeping Medicaid cuts, which are eliminating home and community-based services that allow disabled people to live independently, this could force millions of Americans back into the kind of institutional settings that Olmstead was designed to end.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) has introduced a resolution calling on the Trump administration to rescind the DOJ memo, reaffirm the protections of Olmstead, and reverse Medicaid cuts that are pushing disabled Americans toward institutionalization. Call your representatives in Congress to support this resolution, and urge your Governor to maintain full enforcement of the ADA and Rehabilitation Act in your state.