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…
Undercover ICE agent spies on Baptist church
Leaders and members of a Minnesota Baptist church were stunned and angered to learn recently that an undercover immigration agent entered their facilities to spy on the congregation in May. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer reportedly entered University Baptist…
Fourth Circuit upholds order protecting houses of worship from ICE
A Trump administration policy that gives immigration officers free rein to carry out enforcement actions at or near the houses of worship was blocked again today by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit today. The Aug. 18…
IRS employee union joins fight against Trump’s slush fund
A union representing Internal Revenue Service employees has joined a lawsuit to block a $1.776 billion slush fund for President Donald Trump’s political allies and to prevent the president and his family from achieving immunity from tax audits. “At its…
Trump-appointed judge sees no problem with Religious Liberty Commission
A lawsuit against the Trump administration’s Religious Liberty Commission has been dismissed by a federal court, plaintiffs’ legal representatives announced July 27. A multifaith coalition filed the legal action in February to challenge the legality, secrecy and religiously narrow makeup…
Courts disagree on states’ access to national voter database
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has rejected the Trump administration’s request to lift a previous ruling barring use of a voter database designed to investigate and potentially purge U.S. citizens from voter rolls across the country. However, the ruling…
The Intercept challenges Trump’s retaliation against protesters
An online news organization sued the Trump administration June 24 to win the release of documents related to a federal database established to retaliate against protesters and others exercising constitutional rights. The Intercept is asking the U.S. District Court for…
Court blocks Trump’s federal voter database
A federal court has ordered the Trump administration to dismantle a massive database created to investigate and potentially purge U.S. citizens from voter rolls nationwide. Maintained by the Department of Homeland Security, the databank was formed by merging sensitive data…
Rise of American authoritarianism demands a choice, Perryman says
The rise of American authoritarianism frees people of faith from having to question how they would have responded during the Civil Rights Movement, Democracy Forward President Skye Perryman said. “If you ever wondered what you would do then, guess what…
Court again demands Trump’s slush fund be verified as dead
A federal court granted a preliminary injunction preventing the Trump administration from establishing a nearly $1.8 billion slush fund for the president’s political allies as a lawsuit against the account moves ahead. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Virginia issued the…
Lawsuit seeks to protect Stars and Stripes from Hegseth’s control
A lawsuit filed against the Pentagon seeks to reverse its takeover of Stars and Stripes, the news organization that provided independent news coverage for the U.S. military since 1861. Federal regulations governing the publication ensured its ability to provide “a…
Trump faces barrage of lawsuits, loses hundreds of cases
President Donald Trump says courts are “highly politicized” and judges treat him “so unfairly.” It’s true that no previous president has been the subject of so many lawsuits in the first 18 months of a term, but no previous president…