By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON, July 30 (Reuters) - Five nonprofit organizations sued the U.S. Agriculture Department on Thursday over grant conditions they say restrict speech in support of diversity initiatives and immigration rights.
Here are details:
• The lawsuit filed in a federal court in Seattle seeks to vacate the conditions put forward by the Trump administration for those grants, according to the filing.
• The plaintiffs in Thursday's lawsuit included Agroecology Commons, Oregon Farm Corps,
Syracuse-Onondaga Food Systems Alliance, Third Sector New England, and the Washington Farmland Trust.
• The lawsuit objected to a memo signed by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on December 31 on terms for issuing grants.
• Rollins said the Trump administration was taking action to eliminate "radical left ideology."
• "The new terms and conditions include several provisions that impose vague and unprecedented substantive requirements on USDA grantees by mandating that grantees follow the Trump Administration's position on issues of social policy, including on issues of race and diversity, gender identity, and immigration," the lawsuit said.
• The Agriculture Department did not respond to a request for comment. Its website says it distributed over $145 billion through 287 programs in FY 2025.
• Trump has attempted to restrict grants and federal funds for nonprofit groups and educational institutions over many issues.
• These include diversity programs, pro-Palestinian protests against U.S. ally Israel's assault on Gaza, transgender policies and climate programs.
• Trump has particularly cracked down on diversity programs, arguing they are anti-merit and discriminate against white people and men.
• Civil rights groups say such programs help marginalized groups like women, the LGBT community and ethnic minorities by addressing systemic and generational inequities.
• Trump has also pursued an aggressive immigration crackdown widely condemned by rights groups.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
