Civil Rights + Immigration
New directive limits — but doesn’t end — police use of baby blood samples
Under the new rules, law enforcement would in most circumstances require court-issued subpoenas or warrants to obtain newborn blood spots.
Juneteenth celebrates just one of the United States’ 20 emancipation days
The actual day was June 19, 1865, and it was the Black dockworkers in Galveston, Texas, who first heard the word that freedom for the enslaved had come. There were speeches, sermons and shared meals, mostly held at Black churches, the safest places to have such celebrations. The perils of unjust laws and racist social […]
Biden to unveil protections for some undocumented spouses, easier DACA work visas
President Joe Biden will formally make the announcement during an afternoon White House event to celebrate the 12th anniversary of the DACA program.
Immigrant advocates alarmed by prospect of new immigrant jail in Newark
A federal judge's 2023 order allowing a private firm to run an immigrant jail in Elizabeth makes the opening of a new one more likely, advocates fear.
Immigration group pleads for help bringing deported relatives back to the U.S.
Immigrant advocates want Congress and President Joe Biden to reform the American immigration system and allow their loved ones to return.
New Jersey’s D.C. Democrats say Biden administration should not support new immigrant jail
GEO Group wants to open an immigrant detention center at Delaney Hall in Newark. Democrats say the Biden administration should not support its plan.
Lawsuit over baby blood samples to resume after settlement talks break down
The suit alleges that the state’s retention of baby blood samples for purposes other than disease screening violates the Fourth Amendment.
Executive order limiting asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border signed by Biden
The White House has been dealing with the largest number of migrant encounters at the southern border in 20 years.
Biden administration seeks to speed some asylum cases with new immigration docket
The recent arrivals docket will allow asylum cases to be decided in 180 days, or six months, rather than years.
Lawmakers eye fines for businesses that coerce workers over immigration status
No worker should be afraid of reporting their employer for violating labor laws out of fear of being prosecuted for their immigration status, bill sponsor Sen. Teresa Ruiz said.
N.J. health officials advise adding genomic sequencing to newborn disease screening
N.J. health officials aim to add genomic sequencing, which allows scientists to document someone’s whole DNA, to mandatory newborn blood testing.
County officials’ criticism of planned Gaza protest undermined free speech, ACLU says
The commissioners said the planned walkout of Camden County high school students last month would have invited anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric.