Plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed Friday claim the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights cannot fulfill its mandated duties after nearly half the department’s staff was laid off this week, as President Donald Trump moves to shut down the agency entirely.

Many of the office’s cases over the decades have served as a catalyst for broader policy change and social reforms.

At least 50 staffers were fired in Chicago or pushed out, including the entire Office for Civil Rights. The layoffs are part of a dramatic downsizing directed by the president.