A federal judge in Wisconsin halted Joe Biden’s anti-white farmer debt relief program.
Judge William Griesbach of Wisconsin’s Eastern District, a George W. Bush appointee, issued the temporary stay this week in response to a lawsuit filed by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty.
In March Joe Biden signed a gargantuan $1.9 trillion ‘Covid’ stimulus package that had nothing to do with Covid – the Democrats buried the racist, anti-white farmer relief program in the massive spending bill.
The racist program was only available to producers who are Black, American Indian or Alaskan native, Hispanic or Latino, and Asian American or Pacific Islander.
The conservative group is representing 12 farmers in several different states including Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Arkansas and others.
“The Court recognized that the federal government’s plan to condition and allocate benefits on the basis of race raises grave constitutional concerns and threatens our clients with irreparable harm, said Rick Esenberg, president and general counsel for WILL. “The Biden administration is radically undermining bedrock principles of equality under the law.”
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported:
A federal judge halted payments for a loan forgiveness program that provides relief to agricultural producers of color.
The group alleged that the Biden administration used an unconstitutional program in an effort to end systemic racism and should make the relief available to white farmers, too.
“There should absolutely be no federal dollars going anywhere just based on race,” he said.
The group is also representing farmers from Minnesota, South Dakota, Missouri, Iowa, Arkansas, Oregon and Kentucky.
The plaintiffs allege that because race discrimination is barred under the U.S. Constitution, the federal government “must prove that its discriminatory benefit is narrowly tailored and serves a compelling government interest.”
In the suit, WILL asked that Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Zach Ducheneaux, administrator of the Farm Service Agency, not consider race when determining recipients of the relief funds.
Since the filing of the lawsuit, the U.S. Department of Agriculture officials have continued to implement the program and is currently reviewing what the restraining order means for the program.
“We respectfully disagree with this temporary order and USDA will continue to forcefully defend our ability to carry out this act of Congress and deliver debt relief to socially disadvantaged borrowers,” said a USDA spokesperson. “When the temporary order is lifted, USDA will be prepared to provide the debt relief authorized by Congress.”