The U.S. State Department has released a 45-second video that mixes Jesus’ Great Commission to the church with American foreign policy. The video is narrated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who begins: “Our faith calls us outwards into the…
‘If your vote wasn’t important, they wouldn’t be fighting to get rid of it’
Civil and legal rights groups are urging solidarity, courage and action as months of organizing are about to culminate in midterm elections Nov. 3. In webinars, church gatherings, bus tours and public rallies, voting rights advocates say Americans can stand…
Whose Christian values?
Last week, I attended a conference on rural poverty. It was the annual meeting of Together for Hope, a coalition of nonprofits scattered from the North Carolina coast west to the Four Corners region and from Northern Minnesota to the…
Trump’s Justice Department drops discrimination cases
The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice Department has withdrawn from, closed or sought to end more than 36 cases of discrimination involving Black, Latino and Native American victims, Democracy Forward reported. The Washington, D.C.-based legal organization recently released…
Appeals court revives suit against immigration enforcement
A federal appeals court has revived a lawsuit filed by FaithWorks and more than two dozen other religious organizations to prevent immigration enforcement actions in houses of worship and other sensitive locations. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District…
Trump tries shifting child care funds to stay-at-home parents
The Trump administration wants to change a Clinton-era program designed to help working single mothers afford child care to instead help married, stay-at-home parents offset the cost of staying home. The planned shift is part of the administration’s goal of…
Civil rights groups sued to stop DHS voter intimidation
Civil rights and voting rights organizations have sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to stop its “secretive and unlawful effort” to gather and use sensitive voter information to help sabotage next month’s midterm elections. “DHS claims that it needs…
Trump administration announces plan to remove resettled refugees
The Trump administration is laying the groundwork to detain and deport refugees lawfully resettled in the United States. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services posted an interim final rule reducing the amount of time individuals can contest the termination of their…
Catholic and Methodist leaders condemn livestreamed firing squad
Roman Catholic and United Methodist leaders have joined the condemnation of Pete Hegseth’s planned livestreamed execution of Nidal Malik Hasan. Any Catholics assigned to the firing squad are “obliged” to request to be excused from this action, which is “contrary…
Trove of documents shows Trump plans to subvert midterms
Ongoing legal developments are casting light on the disturbing lengths the Trump administration is willing to go to subvert the November midterms. Democracy Forward announced Oct. 7 its receipt of records from Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement…
Justice does not require spectators
Nearly 20 years ago, I opposed the execution of Saddam Hussein. Not because I believed Hussein was innocent. His regime was responsible for brutality, repression, torture and death on a staggering scale. I opposed his execution because I could not…
Federal investigation documents inhumanity of ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
Detainees at the now-closed “Alligator Alcatraz” in Florida were kept in “inhumane” living conditions that included lack of clean water and enclosures small enough to violate human health and safety standards, according to a new federal report. The study was…