On July 25th the Justice Department released a statement which says that it will withhold federal funding from Sanctuary Cities. Specifically, the DOJ stated that the federal government will withhold funding for the popular Justice Assistance Grant Program(JAG). The JAG grant program provides money for local police forces to buy…
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Massachusetts Supreme Court Ruling Protects Sanctuary Cities
On July 24th the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that Massachusetts law enforcement agencies do not have the right to detain people solely under Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers. An ice detainer is One of the main methods that ice uses to detain undocumented immigrants. An ICE detainer is a written…
GOP Health Care Dead Again, Again
In the early hours of Friday morning, Senator John McCain of Arizona unexpectedly voted against a “skinny repeal” of Obamacare. The skinny repeal would have eliminated some controversial parts of the Affordable Care Act, such as individual and employer mandates, Planned Parenthood funding, and more. This latest bill would..
Donald Trump Jr.’s Meeting with the Russians
This past week brought a series of explosive revelations to the world of the various Russia investigations, beginning with the New York Times reports about Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting last summer with a Russian lawyer who had offered damaging information about Hillary Clinton. Jared Kushner and Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort…
Trump Terminates Program Arming Syrian Rebels
Before President Trump’s July 9th meeting with the G20, the administration decided to conclude an operation that provided weapons to anti-Assad rebels in Syria, according to senior administration officials. President Obama initiated this secret program in 2013 through the CIA in order to establish military credibility in the region…
SCOTUS’ Ruling on Hawaii’s Travel Ban Appeal a Mixed Bag
In response to an appeal from the state of Hawaii, the Supreme Court issued an order in a pending case, which provided both good and bad news for opponents of Trump’s Travel Ban. In short the basis of both the appeal and the Supreme Court’s response to it, hinged on the definition of a “bona fide relationship”. The definition of…
GOP Health Care Dead Again
On Tuesday, the GOP accepted another defeat on the healthcare front, conceding once again to “let Obamacare fail” on its own. This conclusion comes after a delay due to lack of support, a delay due to John McCain’s medical leave, a few unpopular amendments with hopes of rallying Republican support, and even a repeal…
Disapproval of Waste Prevention, Production Subject to Royalties, and Resource Conservation
After the GOP failed attempt to reverse the Obama-era methane flaring restriction, Donald Trump attacked the rule using his energy plan, and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt placed a two-year moratorium on the rule’s enforcement. On July 3rd a federal appeals court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency cannot suspend…
Trump Administration Quietly Implementing Muslim Ban Through Changes in Immigration Policy
As the courts have nullified Trump’s ability to ban immigration from Muslim majority countries outright, the Trump Administration has used other methods, not currently under judicial review, to drastically lower Muslim immigration. The methods have included agency level policy reviews. An example of this is the State Department’s…
Student Protections from For-Profit Universities Postponed
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has postponed the implementation of two Obama era guidances aimed at protecting students from predatory for-profit colleges. The rules that were set to go into effect on July 1, called the “borrower defense to repayment” and “gainful employment” regulations, are stricter versions of protections…