Houston investigated for slow response to Black and Hispanic residents who call 311

But Lone Star alleged that Houston city officials move to address those complaints at a significantly slower pace than they do to similar ones from predominantly white neighborhoods. The evidence that the clinic provided as part of its complaint caught the attention of the justice department, and the federal government is now examining whether Houston officials are illegally discriminating against minority residents through how they provide their 311 services.

That program originally aimed to give poor white people without land the chance to own houses while also relieving congestion in inner cities. But over the years, whites have left the area, leaving mostly Black and Hispanic residents to contend with the problem of illegal dumping and other problems marking the neighborhood.