Trump admin rescinds race guidelines from Obama-era

Democrats, rights group slam move they claim closes doors for poor

Washington, July 4: The Trump Administration has rescinded the Obamaera guidelines that encouraged American schools, colleges and institutes of higher education to use race and ethnicity as a factor in the admissions process to promote diversity among students, triggering widespread criticism.

The guidelines were among 24 policy documents revoked on Tuesday by the US Justice Department for being “unnecessary, outdated, inconsistent with existing law, or otherwise improper.”

“In the Trump administration, we are restoring the rule of law,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said, alleging that in previous administrations agencies often tried to impose new rules on American people without any public notice or comment period, simply by sending a letter or posting a guidance document on a website.

“That’s wrong, and it's not good government,” he argued.

“That’’s why in November I banned this practice at the Department and we began rescinding guidance documents that were issued improperly or that were simply inconsistent with current law,” Sessions said.

Education secretary Betsy DeVos said that the Supreme Court has determined what affirmativeaction policies were constitutional, and the court’s written decisions were the best guide for navigating this complex issue.

The move was slammed by Opposition Democratic party and rights groups.

Anurima Bargava, who headed civil-rights enforcement in schools under Obama’s Justice Department and helped craft the Obama-era documents, told Wall Street Journal that said they simply offered guidelines to schools and colleges looking to continue using affirmative action legally.

“The law on this hasn’t changed, and the Supreme Court has twice ruled reaffirming the importance of diversity. This is a purely political attack that benefits nobody,” Bhargava was quoted as saying.

— PTI