Civil Rights + Immigration
Gov. Little to have final say on transgender health care bill for Idaho youth
Idaho Gov. Brad Little will have the final say on whether to criminalize gender-affirming care for transgender youth now that both legislative chambers approved an amended version of House Bill 71. On Tuesday, the House of Representatives voted 56-13 to move forward with the bill, with all 11 Democrats and two Republicans voting against it. […]
Idaho bill to ban gender care for trans youth clears Senate, heads back to House
A bill that would criminalize gender-affirming care for transgender youth is headed back to the Idaho House of Representatives, who will have to pass it again before reaching Gov. Brad Little’s desk. On Monday, the Idaho Senate voted 22-12 to pass an amended version of House Bill 71 with all seven Democrats and five Republicans […]
U.S. proposes ‘huge’ fee increase for most green card applications
Nearly 7,000 comments were submitted in response to a proposed increase in U.S. visa fees, with the majority voicing fierce opposition and concerns. Last week, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ended public comment for a proposed fee increase unveiled by the Biden administration in January. The deadline for public comment was initially set for […]
In Selma, President Joe Biden vows to continue work on voting rights
President Joe Biden on Sunday praised the courage of civil rights activists and condemned efforts to restrict voting and attack the election process in a speech commemorating the 58th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma. In his 20-minute address delivered at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where a law enforcement posse attacked civil […]
Idaho committee advances bill creating restricted driver’s license for undocumented residents
The Idaho Legislature’s Senate Transportation Committee voted Tuesday to advance a bill that would create a restricted driver’s license available to all people 16 and older residing in Idaho, regardless of their immigration status. However, the divided committee took the unusual step of sending Senate Bill 1081 to the Senate floor without a recommendation attached […]
Mission of Wounded Knee activists continues 50 years later with children, grandchildren
The world had largely forgotten about Native American people by the early 1970s, said Marcella Gilbert. Native populations had been decimated by disease and colonization; their sprawling homeland where ancestors had roamed was splintered into reservations. The Lakota language was nearly extinct and practicing the Lakota religion was illegal. “People across the world didn’t even […]
Biden administration proposes major new limits on asylum at the border
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is rolling out a proposed rule that for two years would bar migrants from applying for asylum at the Southern border if they have not first asked for protection in a country they traveled through. The administration is seeking to limit asylum requests at the U.S.-Mexico border as a pandemic-era […]
U.S. House speaker visit to Arizona border labeled publicity stunt by White House
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and a handful of Republican freshman lawmakers traveled to the U.S. – Mexico border Thursday, where they continued to blame the Biden administration for the fentanyl drug crisis. Leading up to the visit, the White House called it a “publicity stunt.” McCarthy said that there needs to be […]
Eastern Idaho senator presents restricted driver’s license bill for undocumented residents
A proposal to create a restricted driver’s license for Idaho residents who do not have a Social Security number in the United States was introduced in the Senate State Affairs Committee on Friday by Sen. Jim Guthrie, R-McCammon. Guthrie told the committee Senate Bill 1081 follows a resolution that passed the Idaho Senate in 2021 […]
Idaho Senate approves bill exempting public works contractors from gender considerations
A bill exempting state public works contractors from requirements to provide access to non-gendered multi-use restroom or locker facilities on job sites easily passed the Idaho Senate on Wednesday in a 28-7 vote. Senate Bill 1016 is sponsored by Sen. Scott Herndon, R-Sagle, and would allow projects that are funded only by state or local funding […]
U.S. House Judiciary’s debut hearing on the border centers on blame for fentanyl crisis
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans on the Judiciary Committee blamed the Biden administration for fentanyl drug smuggling at the U.S.-Mexico border during a Wednesday hearing. Chair Jim Jordan of Ohio also blamed U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for the number of migrants at the border, and said there are already hundreds of […]
Lengthy timeline for DACA legal fight puts lives on hold for years
WASHINGTON — Karen Judith Briseno Ortiz mailed in her application for a program meant to protect undocumented children from deportation, one day after her twin sister’s application. Her sister was accepted into the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, but Briseno Ortiz, who grew up in Dallas, was not. Now her application is in limbo […]