A federal court in Miami has ordered Florida to temporarily pause construction of the “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention center. And ICE is now hiring “patriotic Americans” as young as 18. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams ruled Aug. 7 the state…
Equal Justice USA to shut down
Equal Justice USA has announced the “hard news” that it will shut down due to the Trump administration’s revocation of more than $3 million in federal grant funding. “After dozens of meetings and hours of analysis and deliberations, the leadership…
‘White identitarians’ draw bipartisan rebuke in Missouri
News of a whites-only group seeking to establish a private community in Missouri is generating mounting opposition from a broad range of religious, civic and political leaders. “Return to the Land is a white-supremacist group that wants to create a…
Court counters Homeland Security move to lift protection for 60,000 immigrants
A federal judge in San Francisco has extended Temporary Protected Status for approximately 60,000 immigrants from Honduras, Nicaragua and Nepal, at least until November. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem decided last month to revoke the status, saying conditions…
Lawsuits stack up, but Trump administration stonewalls challenges to Anti-Christian Bias Task Force
A constitutional watchdog group has filed a second lawsuit against the Trump administration’s Anti-Christian Bias Task Force. The president created the commission in a Feb. 6 executive order directing U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to launch investigations into “anti-Christian conduct”…
Federal judge stops Arkansas from posting Ten Commandments in public schools
A federal judge has blocked Arkansas from implementing a new law requiring Ten Commandments displays in public-school classrooms. In issuing the Aug. 4 preliminary injunction, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Brooks described Arkansas Act 573 as “plainly unconstitutional” under the…
Man-made catastrophes devour possibility of ending hunger
A perfect storm of war, pestilence and budget cuts has dashed any hope of ending national and global hunger by 2030, anti-poverty advocates say. The United Nations set a goal in 2015 of eradicating global food insecurity by the end…
Immigration detention update: Ohio chaplain, Maryland pastor, new lawsuit
A former children’s hospital chaplain remains detained in Ohio as the federal government attempts to deport him. Attorneys for Ayman Soliman had hoped an immigration judge would release “the interfaith imam” during a hearing July 29, but the court instead…
Trump admin says federal workers may proselytize
Federal workers are now free to preach and pray in the workplace and are even encouraged to proselytize colleagues while on the job, according to a new memo from the U.S. Office of Personnel and Management. “Employees may engage in…
Trump tries to criminalize homelessness
Claiming the nation is under threat from unhoused people, the Trump administration has announced “a new approach” to ending homelessness that includes expanded police powers and mass incarceration. “Shifting homeless individuals into long-term institutional settings for humane treatment through the…
1,000 nonprofits protest loosening Johnson Amendment
More than 1,000 churches and nonprofits in 50 states have signed a letter protesting the Trump administration’s attempt to shield congregations from a law banning tax-exempt organizations from endorsing political candidates. Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Billy Long agreed July 7…
New lawsuit again seeks to block ICE raids at churches
The Alliance of Baptists and American Baptist Churches USA have joined a coalition of religious groups in a new lawsuit seeking to bar immigration enforcement actions in houses of worship. The federal action was filed July 28 by Democracy Forward…