Department of Justice

The Department of Justice (DOJ) states that it is “charged with enforcing the law and ensuring the law is fairly applied; ensuring public safety against both foreign and domestic threats; and seeking just punishment for those who have behaved unlawfully.” The purview of DOJ thus includes upholding laws that protect bodily autonomy. This encompasses the rights and safety of abortion providers and their patients, as well as the enforcement of laws that create safe environments to have a child, not have a child and parent children. It is also DOJ’s responsibility to protect the rights of people on the basis of race, disability, gender identity and sexual orientation—including the right to access fair housing, be employed in a nondiscriminatory environment, make healthcare decisions and parent. Individuals who are incarcerated in federal prisons are under the supervision of DOJ, which makes it DOJ’s responsibility to protect their access to reproductive health care as well as to protect their human rights.

Light Inside tracks the following offices within DOJ:

• Office of the Attorney General
• Office of Immigration Litigation
• Executive Office of Immigration Review
• Civil Rights Division
• Office of Legal Policy
• Board of Immigration Appeals