Employees in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights have been told they are being placed on paid administrative leave as the agency executes the Trump administration’s executive order to wipe out all program offices it deems as tied to diversity,

The Trump administration has placed on leave nearly 200 employees who work on environmental justice programs at the Environmental Protection Agency, and is pursuing staff reductions in similar programs at the Justice Department.

Advocates and former EPA officials say the imminent closure will likely have lasting harmful impacts on Black, brown and poor communities.