Civil Rights & Immigration
Ruling in Alabama case could boost suits increasing Black voters’ power in other states
In one sense, the Supreme Court’s surprise ruling striking down Alabama’s 2022 congressional maps maintains the legal status quo. By 5-4, the justices rejected the state’s attempt to restrict the ability of the Voting Rights Act to block gerrymanders that suppress the power of minority voters. But that dramatically understates the impact of the case, […]
U.S. House Democrats push for congressional hearing on child labor violations
WASHINGTON — Top Democrats on the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee are urging Republican Chair Virginia Foxx of North Carolina to hold a hearing this month on the uptick in child labor violations. Democratic Reps. Bobby Scott of Virginia, the ranking member of the committee, and Alma Adams of North Carolina, the ranking member […]
Lauren Boebert sued for defamation in federal court by activist
A North Carolina political activist filed a defamation lawsuit against U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert of Silt in federal court Thursday. Plaintiffs David Wheeler, who last year publicized information about Boebert in an effort to derail her reelection bid, and the super PAC American Muckrakers claim that Boebert defamed Wheeler by falsely accusing him of defaming […]
White House to name coordinator to push back against book bans, among new LGBTQ protections
WASHINGTON — As part of the celebration of Pride month, the Biden administration on Thursday announced several new protections for LGBTQ+ youth and families, including the position of a federal coordinator to counter the massive wave of book bans across the country. President Joe Biden was scheduled later Thursday to host a Pride event at […]
U.S. House committee approves bills on whole milk, condemns sheltering migrants in schools
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee on Tuesday passed several bills that are a rebuke of not only the Biden administration’s policies on immigration, child nutrition and healthcare, but regulations from the Obama era. The committee passed a resolution that condemns the use of public schools to shelter undocumented people, a bill […]
All Colorado DMVs now offer driver’s licenses to undocumented residents
Every driver’s license office in Colorado will now offer license and ID card services to undocumented residents and international students, Gov. Jared Polis announced Friday. In 2013, then-Gov. John Hickenlooper signed into law the Colorado Road and Community Safety Act, which made obtaining a standard driver’s license accessible for undocumented immigrants and international students. At […]
Residents resist censorship of LGBTQ books in Douglas County libraries
Some of the more than 60 residents at a Douglas County libraries meeting Wednesday called certain LGBTQ books in local libraries obscene and pornographic and demanded that they be removed from public view. It was the second meeting in a row where they made such a demand. But this sentiment was challenged almost 2-to-1 by […]
New bipartisan immigration legislation proposed in U.S. House
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of six U.S. House lawmakers on Tuesday described details of proposed legislation that would create a legal pathway for citizenship for undocumented people through work requirements, and would also fund border security measures. The two Latinas who spearheaded the bill, Reps. Veronica Escobar, a Texas Democrat, and María Elvira Salazar, […]
Deadly animals and cartel members: Migrants in Denver describe their journey
The Darién Gap is a 60-mile-wide no-man’s-land of dense, mountainous jungle that swallows the border of Panama and Colombia. There is no road, only a muddy path rife with hundreds of thousands of migrants, and cartel members charging a fee to cross it. The Gap is a common route for migrants trying to reach the […]
As Title 42 ends, U.S. immigration policies will be more restrictive against people seeking asylum
This commentary originally appeared in Source NM. The Biden administration is not treating the end of Title 42 as the expiration of a public health policy but rather as a pivot point where a crisis will justify a massive investment in border externalization. Border externalization occurs when wealthy countries like the U.S. set up policies […]
Federal judge in Florida blocks Biden administration from releasing some migrants
A federal judge in Florida in a late Thursday order granted the state’s emergency request to temporarily halt a new Biden administration policy to release from federal custody some immigrants who enter the country without prior authorization. The order from U.S. District Judge T. Kent Wetherell II, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, […]
U.S. House passes bill to reinstate Trump-era immigration policies
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans on Thursday pushed through a border security package that mirrors Trump-era immigration policies, aiming criticism at the Biden administration for ending a pandemic-era public health measure used to expel millions of migrants from the country. The House passed the measure in a 219-213 vote. Only two Republicans voted in opposition, […]