In a ruling that may reshape a decades-old peacekeeping arm of the U.S. Justice Department, a federal judge has allowed the Trump administration to move forward with mass layoffs at the agency long known as “America’s peacemaker.”
The decision clears the way for nearly all employees at the Community Relations Service (CRS) — a division created under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to calm racial and ethnic tensions — to be dismissed. Only one of its 15 remaining staffers is expected to stay.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, sitting in Boston, refused to grant an emergency order requested by civil rights groups seeking to stop the layoffs. The organizations argued that the firings were part of an unlawful plan to dismantle the CRS altogether.
But the judge said the plaintiffs hadn’t shown immediate, irreparable harm — noting that even if the staff were spared, they’d be on unpaid leave anyway due to the ongoing government shutdown.
Still, Talwani’s ruling left the door open for a comeback. In her written order, she acknowledged that the challengers are “likely to succeed on the merits,” pointing out that only Congress — not the White House — has the power to eliminate a congressionally established agency.
The CRS, born out of the civil rights era, has mediated conflicts during school desegregation battles, racial unrest, and in the aftermath of events like the 2020 killing of George Floyd. Under the current administration, however, it has reportedly stopped accepting new cases or community mediation requests.
The Justice Department maintains that the layoffs are part of a reorganization rather than an attempt to abolish the office. Civil rights groups, including branches of the NAACP and the Ethical Society of Police, disagree — citing a termination notice that explicitly references “the dissolution of the Community Relations Service.”
Trump’s latest budget plan includes no funding for the CRS, underscoring his administration’s long-standing desire to shut it down.
For now, the firings move ahead — but the judge’s warning suggests the real legal clash is yet to come.
