Thomas, J., dissenting
any HHA developments built outside of those areas will increase the concentration of racial minorities. Unsurprisingly, the threat of disparate-impact suits based on those concentrations has hindered HHA's efforts to provide affordable housing. State and federal housing agencies have refused to approve all but two of HHA's eight proposed development projects over the past two years out of fears of disparate-impact liability. Brief for Houston Housing Authority as Amicus Curiae 8–12. That the majority believes that these are not “ ‘dire consequences,'" see ante, at 24, is cold comfort for those who actually need a home. *** I agree with the majority that Griggs "provide[s] essential background" in this case, ante, at 10: It shows that our disparate-impact jurisprudence was erroneous from its inception. Divorced from text and reality, driven by an agency with its own policy preferences, Griggs bears little relationship to the statutory interpretation we should expect from a court of law. Today, the majority repeats that error.
I respectfully dissent.
