The Trump administration must prove to a federal judge that its surveillance of a Baptist church and other congregations did not violate an injunction barring the government’s clandestine efforts. U.S. District Judge Dennis Saylor in Massachusetts scheduled a Sept. 4…
Lawsuit seeks to force Trump admin to disclose use of voter database
A nonprofit housing-justice organization filed a lawsuit to force federal agencies to disclose how they are using an immigration-related database to track benefits given poor and working Americans. Democracy Forward announced the litigation filed Aug. 26 in the U.S. District…
Perryman’s book an instant bestseller with advice for saving democracy
It’s time to pick up a shovel and stop complaining about the impending death of democracy in America, according to Skye Perryman. The president of Democracy Forward in Washington, D.C., is well known to BNG readers because she is frequently…
Baptist minister among six jailed for protesting ICE in Missouri
An 81-year-old Baptist minister, author and former Southern Baptist state organization official was one of six people recently arrested for protesting immigration enforcement at the Greene County Sheriff’s Office in Springfield, Mo. Robert Lee Perry and his fellow protesters were…
Jewish couple asks Tennessee court to end adoption discrimination
A Jewish couple denied foster and adoption training by a state-funded Christian organization urged a Tennessee court to rule their religious rights were violated by a law that funnels taxpayer funds to faith-based child placement providers. Attorneys for Elizabeth and…
Study documents ICE hiring violent criminals as agents
At least 152 federal immigration agents have been charged with or convicted of violent crimes including rape, kidnapping, child molestation and murder at some time in their lives, according to a new report by the Ohio Immigration Alliance. The organization…
60% of US executions will come from this one state
Florida will account for nearly 60% of all U.S. executions this year if Harold Gene Lucas is put to death as scheduled Sept. 1. If carried out as planned, Lucas’ lethal injection will be the 14th for the state and…
Court overrules Trump ban on visas based on nationality
The Trump administration broke U.S. law with a policy denying visas to people based on nationality, a federal court has ruled. U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas in New York held Aug. 21 that the 75-nation ban exceeded U.S. Secretary of…
EEOC pursues claim against Apple for religious accommodation
Apple Inc. will pay $150,000 and update its religious-observance policies to settle a discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. EEOC said the litigation resulted from Apple’s refusal to grant a Jewish employee time off for sabbath…
Supreme Court’s majority won’t preempt Trump’s mail ballot threats
The U.S. Supreme Court granted the Trump administration an emergency appeal Aug. 24 allowing the president to implement portions of an executive order that threatens mail-in voting in the midterm elections in November. The action clears the way for the…
Catholic bishops won’t take lessons from Florida attorney general
The Catholic bishops of Florida took state Attorney General James Uthmeier to school on basic freedoms enshrined in the First Amendment and on the rights of religious institutions, not politicians, to decide matters of theology. It all began in late…
DHS claims it did not violate court order by spying on Baptist church
The Trump administration claims its spy mission in a Baptist church did not violate an injunction barring immigration actions on or around the property because its operative infiltrated a gathering other than a worship service, according to an Aug. 23…