Case Summary
White farmers and ranchers are excluded from the American Rescue Plan Act’s “Socially Disadvantaged” Farmer and Rancher Debt Relief Program solely due to their race, violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Fifth Amendment. We are suing the Biden administration on behalf of our client, Colorado farmer Sara Rogers, who was excluded from the relief program because she is white.
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Case History
In March 2021, the Biden administration signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”) COVID-19 stimulus plan, which provided $4 billion to forgive loans for socially disadvantaged farmers. But white farmers and ranchers are excluded.
The U.S. Constitution generally forbids discrimination by the federal government against any citizen because of their race. Any racial classification must meet strict scrutiny, or in other words, must be narrowly tailored to achieving a compelling government interest.
The Biden administration’s farm loan relief is available only if you are a “socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher.” The United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) interprets the phrase “socially disadvantaged group” to include explicit racial classifications. Indeed, to be eligible for ARPA’s debt relief, farmers and ranchers must be “Black, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Hispanic, or Asian, or Hawaiian/Pacific Islander.” Noticeably absent from this list are Whites/Caucasians.
Our client, Sara M. Rogers, owns a farm in Washington County, near Otis, Colorado. Ms. Rogers is a third-generation Colorado farmer whose family started farming in the area in 1965. Ms. Rogers farms wheat, corn, and millet on her 320-acre farm, which has been in her family since 1965.
In 2017, she took out an initial real estate loan from the FSA, which is covered under the terms of ARPA. In 2020, she took out a subsequent real estate loan from the FSA, which is also covered under the terms of ARPA.
Ms. Rogers would be eligible for the loan forgiveness program except for the fact that she is not a member of any of the racial groups that are eligible for loan forgiveness.
Excluding white farmers—particularly women like Ms. Rogers—solely due to their race is neither a compelling government interest, nor is the exclusion narrowly tailored. For this reason, it is unconstitutional.
We either want Ms. Rogers and all other qualifying white farmers and ranchers to be deemed eligible to receive loan forgiveness under ARPA or else to have the racially discriminatory program struck down in its entirety.
By choosing who gets loan forgiveness solely on the basis of race, the government is engaging in the very discrimination that it purports to be fighting against.
This blatant racial discrimination is not only illegal and unconstitutional, but it also further stokes racial tensions at a time in which unity is needed most in this country. MSLF is fighting to ensure that all Americans, regardless of race, are viewed equally in the government’s eyes and treated accordingly.
Mountain States Legal Foundation also represents Wyoming rancher Leisl Carpenter in a similar legal challenge to the Biden administration’s racist farm relief bill. Click here for details on that case.
