Judge issues preliminary injunction against aid program that helps only minority farmers

The government program was already temporarily paused because of a restraining order in a case involving a white Wisconsin farmer, according to the Post. 

The judge wrote that in developing the program benefitting farmers on the basis of race, "Congress also must heed its obligation to do away with governmentally imposed discrimination based on race." She noted "it appears that in adopting Section 1005’s strict race-based debt relief remedy Congress moved with great speed to address the history of discrimination, but did not move with great care."

The judge also communicated that the U.S. Agriculture Department could persist in getting ready to supply the debt relief until the program is deemed to be "constitutionally permissible."

"This program is discriminatory because it bases eligibility for loan forgiveness solely on the basis of being a member of a minority group, regardless of your circumstances," said Wen Fa, an attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation which is the group the filed the Florida suit. "If you’re a White farmer, regardless of your circumstances, you are categorically ineligible."