On multiple fronts, the far right is attacking the well-established legal right of disabled people to be supported to live in their communities instead of being institutionalized. People with disabilities and their allies are pushing back, but threats to the idea won through militant struggle, that disabled people should be supported to live in their communities, are real.
Attack on the integration mandate of Section 504
Originally known as Texas v. Becerra, a lawsuit was filed in 2024 by 17 states, setting its sights on accommodations for transgender people, by demanding the removal of gender dysphoria as a qualifying disability under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Once the second Trump administration assumed office, this bigoted demand was met through executive order. However, the lawsuit also claimed that the entirety of Section 504 was unconstitutional.
In January of this year, nine states relaunched the lawsuit, now known as Texas v. Kennedy. The focus has now shifted to ending what is known as the “integration mandate;” that for states to get funding for services under 504, people with disabilities must be supported in living integrated in communities, not hidden away in institutions. The plaintiffs are now arguing that the integration mandate impinges on the states’ rights to decide how to care for people in their states, with echoes of the segregationist dog whistle of “states’ rights.” Of course the right of people with disabilities to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” is nowhere mentioned.
Due to the advocacy of people with disabilities, caregivers and allies, led by Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, two states (Indiana and South Dakota) dropped out in May, but a core group of seven remains. DREDF will be filing an amicus brief.
Cuts to Medicaid threatens paid parent caregiver program, other programs supporting people with disabilities
One program that has helped people with disabilities remain in the community has been Medicaid funding that pays family members to be caregivers to disabled adults living at home. This support can be life-changing for the entire family, supporting consistency in care and reducing stress. This program will undoubtedly face cuts or elimination due to the cuts to Medicaid caused by Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill.”
Far-right politicians have targeted this program as being full of fraud. In typical bigoted fashion, claims are being made that family members are being paid to “hang out and watch TV!”
This kind of language is reminiscent of the talk of “welfare queens” that led to the “reform” of welfare during the Clinton administration. The reality is, home-based care work is work. Socialist theorists have named this kind of labor “reproductive labor” because it helps to maintain and reproduce the working class itself.
Research by the American Association of Retired People estimates:
- 59 million family caregivers helped an adult family member, neighbor, or friend with daily activities during the year;
- Family caregivers provided a total of 49.5 billion hours of care during the year;
- Total economic value of this work equaled $1.01 trillion at an average of $20.41 per hour
Proposed rule change also threatens adults with disabilities living at home
Currently, adults with disabilities can qualify to receive Supplemental Security Income, a basic income. Because this is usually not enough for a person to rent their own apartment, many adults with SSI may live with family, who may also provide care. Now, a rule change being considered by the Trump administration would deduct the value of the bedroom’s rent from the monthly SSI check, even if the family qualifies for SNAP (food stamps). Up to 400,000 poor and disabled or elderly people could have their support cut or eliminated, according to a ProPublica analysis of actuarial figures from the Social Security Administration.
It’s not as if anyone is getting rich off this kind of support. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the typical SNAP household that is also supporting a person who receives SSI has an annual total income of $17,000.
While the move to change the rule is framed in terms of “eliminating waste and fraud,” the real waste is found in the constant need for people to prove they “qualify” for SSI.
SSI is earned by 7.5 million Americans with severe disabilities unable to work. It is not easy to qualify for this program. It may take years and more than 2/3 of applicants are rejected. Once in the program, recipients are constantly scrutinized to make sure they still qualify, financially or in terms of their ability to work.
All this scrutiny is paid for with tax dollars. While SSI distributes 5% of all Social Security Administration benefits, the program accounts for nearly 35% of the agency’s administrative budget. (ProPublica)
Even assistance animals are under attack
It would be difficult to live in modern day society and not be aware of people using animals to support independent living, probably the most well known being guide dogs for the blind. But animals can be trained to provide a wide range of services for people with disabilities that allow them to live more safely and independently.
Some assistance animals, though not trained to provide a specific service, still play an important role in supporting well-being and community integration. A well-known example of support animals are dogs supporting veterans and others with PTSD.
On May 22, the New York Times reported “The Trump administration on Friday narrowed the definition of an ‘assistance animal’ allowed to live with disabled tenants in housing, a move that could lead to thousands of animals and their owners being evicted.”
While the first Trump administration issued guidance to allow “support” animals as well as “service” animals (specifically trained), HUD now is going after “support” animals, rewriting guidance to allow landlords to deny them as pets, or require a pet deposit.
People with disabilities won integration through struggle
For much of the 19th and 20th centuries in the U.S., people with disabilities were excluded from society and kept invisible in private homes or institutions. While reforms were proposed and sometimes implemented, the real game-changer was the emergence of a militant disability justice movement that took its inspiration from the Black liberation movement. Disabled people were loud and proud. A new generation of activists refused to take no for an answer. These struggles resulted in laws such as Section 504, IDEA and ADA. Fundamental to all of these laws is the principle that disabled people have a right to live and learn in their communities.
Today this notion is under attack by the billionaires’ agenda, as part of an attempt at a wholesale rollback of the victories won by the labor, civil rights, women’s, LGBTQ, environmental and disability justice movements.These victories are seen as standing in the way of the ability of capitalists to reap the maximum profit.
In order to stop this rollback, we need a re-emergence of militant working class struggle and cross-issue solidarity. As can be seen, the disability rights struggle has its roots in the civil rights movement. Today’s attacks on community integration are justified by racist, sexist and anti-trans ideology. Being disabled is the only “minority” category that anyone can end up joining, representing more than 25% of the adult population in the U.S.
The other lesson we can learn from today’s attacks on our rights is that under capitalist democracy, reforms can be won and they can be taken away. We need a new system, a socialist system, that places political power in the hands of working class people so we can put the needs of the people — all people — first.
