Civil Rights + Immigration
Idaho brought hundreds of Afghans to safety. Will they be allowed to stay?
Toddlers and young children skipped through the hallways of the Hispanic Cultural Center of Idaho in Nampa the evening of Aug. 18. They came and went from a packed banquet room, where their parents and families shared dinner, fresh baklava and tea, and talked about their former home, Afghanistan, and their current home, Idaho. Most […]
Minidoka director Kurt Ikeda wins Idaho Humanity Council’s highest honor
The Idaho Humanities Council awarded Kurt Ikeda the 2021 Outstanding Achievement in Humanities Award, the organization’s highest honor, awarded annually to recognize achievements that encourage a better understanding of the humanities. Ikeda serves as the Minidoka National Historic Site’s director of education and interpretation and previously worked as an education specialist for southern Idaho parks. […]
U.S. House on bipartisan vote passes bill protecting right to same-sex marriage
WASHINGTON — Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. House voted Tuesday to enshrine the right to same-sex and interracial marriages in federal law, though the bill’s path forward in the Senate is unclear. The 267-157 bipartisan vote stemmed from concerns that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last month to overturn the constitutional right to an […]
Same-sex marriage and contraception at risk after abortion ruling, U.S. House panel told
WASHINGTON — Advocates told Congress on Thursday that a U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning a landmark abortion rights case is likely only the beginning, and could be followed by similar action by the high court on same-sex marriage, contraception and more. Witnesses at a U.S. House Judiciary Committee advised that to prevent that from happening, […]
Acknowledging Boise’s past: Student research helped create law to allow removal of race covenants
McKay Cunningham began the Redline Project after looking at an interactive map. The map showed all the cities where the federal government participated in redlining, a practice following the Great Depression that ensured residential segregation would be kept in place in cities and counties throughout the United States. The College of Idaho professor, who also […]
Idaho organization collects supplies for farmworkers to beat summer heat, smoke
To read this article in Spanish, click here. Earlier this month, the Idaho Immigrant Resource Alliance announced it will conduct its second annual Heat and Smoke Relief Fund to collect supplies to help Idaho farmworkers withstand extreme heat and smoke in the summer. With drop off locations throughout the Treasure Valley, the resource alliance is […]
Biden directs federal agencies to protect LGBTQI+ rights under attack in GOP-led states
President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday aiming to curtail conversion therapy, expand health care access and promote safe learning for LGBTQI+ people. The order is meant to counter laws in Republican-led states that restrict the rights of LGBTQI+ kids and their families. A senior administration official referenced Texas and Florida as two states […]
Idaho agencies will host World Refugee Day celebration with food, dance, music, citizenship ceremony
Members of Idaho’s refugee community will gather in Boise and Twin Falls this month to mark World Refugee Day with music, food, dance and a citizenship ceremony. World Refugee Day recognizes people who fled their home countries to escape war or persecution. “It’s a day to remember the hardships that folks went through, but also […]
Federal judge allows continued Title 42 migrant expulsions at the border
WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Louisiana on Friday temporarily blocked the Biden administration from ending Title 42, a designation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that has allowed border patrol officials to turn migrants away at the border. The order from U.S. District Court Judge Robert Summerhays for a preliminary nationwide injunction […]
Hispanics are a growing driver of Idaho’s economy, with millions in buying power
Restaurateurs. Importers of artisan goods from Mexico. A horticulturist. A photographer. A family with untapped savings. Nearly all of Idaho’s racial and ethnic groups saw their buying power expand faster than the U.S. average over 10 years, according to a new Idaho Department of Labor report. But with a growing number of Hispanic Idahoans in […]
Federal judge temporarily blocks Biden administration from ending Title 42
A federal judge in Louisiana said Monday he will block the Biden administration from lifting a public health order that keeps immigrants seeking asylum out of the United States. U.S. District Judge Robert R. Summerhays told Republican state attorneys general and the federal government that he planned to grant the Republicans’ request for a temporary […]
U.S. immigration, border agencies face funding shortfall after public health order ends
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security expects to be short on cash for border and immigration operations later this year after the federal government ends a Trump-era policy that prevents migrants from claiming asylum during a health crisis. A halt to the program, known as Title 42, has divided Democrats, some of whom […]