The Obama
administration was among the most aggressive administrations in recent history
in its use of administrative law and executive enforcement to pursue civil
rights objectives. Among many examples, the Obama administration: actively
pursued voting rights litigation after the invalidation of the Voting Rights
Act pre-clearance formula in Shelby County; promulgated new administrative
interpretations of sex discrimination law to provide coverage for LGBT
individuals; and issued executive orders such as DACA, providing new
protections for certain categories of undocumented immigrants. The Trump
administration has been equally quick to change direction, and to use
administrative and executive action for other, often opposite, aims. This panel
will provide up-to-date information about how these shifts in administrative
law and executive enforcement may affect a variety of civil rights domains,
including race, sex, disability, LGBT rights, immigration, and economic
justice/opportunity. Including panelists with diverse areas of expertise, the session
will explore the ways that the executive and administrative law backdrop to
civil rights law has, and has not, changed, and the implications for affected
communities.