The AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) is among three nonprofits suing President Donald Trump and his administration over his discriminatory executive orders related to diversity, equity and transgender people.
AFC, the National Urban League and the National Fair Housing Alliance filed the lawsuit Wednesday in federal court in Washington, D.C. They’re being represented by the Legal Defense Fund and Lambda Legal.
The lawsuit aims to halt three executive orders that mandate an end to equity-related grants; forbid federally funded organizations from engaging in diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEI) programs; and work to prevent groups from recognizing the existence of transgender people.
John Peller, president and CEO of AFC, said the three orders prevent his organization from effectively working to end the HIV epidemic.
“We can’t end HIV, particularly among the populations that are most impacted, without engaging in DEI, racial equity work and supporting transgender people,” Peller said.
Most new HIV cases are seen among Black and Latino gay men, transgender women and Black or Latina women, Peller said.
“What the Trump administration is trying to do with their executive orders is say that we can’t tailor services to those populations, and we can’t even use the words equity or transgender in the services we’re providing,” Peller said.
The lawsuit against the Trump administration claims these executive orders violate their First Amendment right to free speech by censoring their views on diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.
The lawsuit also alleges the executive orders are too vague, so that organizations don’t know what is or is not prohibited. Additionally, the orders discriminate against people of color, women and LGBTQ+ people.
AFC, which turns 40 this year, is a nonprofit receiving $34.8 million annually from the federal government, according to the lawsuit. Without that funding, services would be eliminated for nearly 7,000 people a year, including 1,300 who receive housing assistance.
These actions taken by the Trump administration have cast a “cloud of uncertainty” over AFC and the people it serves, Peller said.
Will, an AFC program participant and caseworker for another organization who declined to share his last name, said in a statement he is “deeply concerned about the threat these orders represent to AFC’s ability to serve our communities if they can’t even name the issues our people are facing.”
Peller said the attacks from the Trump administration have left other AFC clients feeling “incredibly anxious.”
“This is really a moment where we need the community to stand up and be great advocates,” Peller said.
The executive orders are just one of several initiatives from the Trump administration that are impeding work at AFC, Peller said. The organization already took a stance against Trump’s previous federal funding freeze, which attempted to pause federal funding while his administration conducted an across-the-board review to uproot progressive initiatives.
But there are additional threats to the federal funding that organizations like AFC receive, Peller said.
“They’re talking about cutting Medicaid by billions of dollars, and Medicaid is the number one provider or payer of health care services for people living with HIV in Illinois,” Peller said. “Forty percent of people living with HIV in the state get their health care coverage through Medicaid, so the cuts are just tremendous.”
AFC is calling on people to take a stance against the Trump administration’s policies by writing to members of Congress and urging them to reject all proposals to cut Medicaid during the budget reconciliation process. People can reach their elected representatives through AFC’s form here.
“We are committed to seeing this lawsuit through, and we are really doubling down on our advocacy with elected officials … to make sure they’re hearing the message,” Peller said.
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