The Trump administration released a memo last week that seeks to upend landmark disability laws and court rulings that prioritize people with disabilities receiving care while living in their community instead of at institutions like nursing homes.
The memo — written by the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel in response to an inquiry from White House officials — breaks with decades of disability law and practice and argues that the “integration mandate” is not actually a mandate, especially for people with “severe mental illness or disabilities.”
“This is potentially devastating for the rights of people with disabilities,” said Jennifer Mathis, deputy director for the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law and a former deputy assistant attorney general in the DOJ’s civil rights division.
“Trump administration declares that crosswalks will no longer have ramps or audible devices, one parking space (the closest) at each building will be painted gold and dedicated to Trump.”
That’s not enough: there have to be additional physical barriers added to prevent access and to demean and harass people with disabilities.