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Asylum seekers with criminal records would be more quickly removed under Biden proposal
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced Thursday it’s proposing changes to the asylum system that would allow immigration officials to reject asylum seekers who have a criminal record that poses a threat to national security or public safety and quickly remove them. Those changes will occur during the initial screening stages, a senior U.S. Department […]
U.S. House Republicans pass bill to stop census from counting noncitizens
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans passed a bill Wednesday to add a citizenship question to the census and exclude noncitizens from the official headcount when determining population for representation in Congress and electoral votes. The legislation, which passed on a 206-202 party-line vote, is part of a trend of House GOP bills relating to immigration […]
‘It’s up to Mike Johnson’: Reps. Massie, Greene again stall vote on U.S. House speaker
WASHINGTON — Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene and Kentucky’s Thomas Massie left a meeting with U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday, saying the “ball is in his court” on whether they hold a floor vote to remove him from leadership. Greene filed the so-called motion to vacate in late March and has been using […]
Biden decries campus antisemitism in Holocaust remembrance speech
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden warned Tuesday of rising antisemitism in the U.S. and said too many are forgetting the attack on Israel in October. During a Holocaust memorial speech at the U.S. Capitol, Biden stressed the importance of honoring the 6 million Jews who were killed in the Holocaust, and the victims of Hamas’ […]
U.S. Reps. Massie and Greene huddle with U.S. House speaker they’re trying to oust
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene plan to meet privately Tuesday amid her calls for him to resign or face a floor vote that could, but likely won’t, remove the Louisiana Republican from leadership. Greene announced the meeting Monday evening after she and Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie met […]
Biden administration to issue rule expanding DACA health care access
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will publish a final rule Friday that will allow about 100,000 uninsured people in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to enroll in state-run or private health insurance plans provided under the Affordable Care Act, administration officials said. The new rule from the U.S. Department of Health and Human […]
Biden backs peaceful protest, denounces campus ‘chaos’ over Gaza
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden responded Thursday to weeks of protest on college campuses calling for a ceasefire in Gaza with a brief statement that the right to protest should be protected, but “not the right to cause chaos.” “We are not an authoritarian nation where we silence people or squash dissent,” Biden said from […]
U.S. House approves definition of antisemitism as campus protests continue
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans Wednesday passed a bill, with heavy support from Democrats, that would define antisemitism for the Department of Education, amid nationwide college campus protests in which students are calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. The 320-91 vote would codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism in Title VI of […]
Millions of salaried workers to become eligible for overtime under new Biden rule
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor Tuesday announced a final rule that means millions of salaried workers who are employed in the executive, administrative or professional industries will become eligible for overtime pay. The rule will affect roughly 4 million workers in the first year of implementation and will be broken into two checkpoints. […]
U.S. Supreme Court appears to lean toward Oregon city in complex homelessness case?
WASHINGTON — A majority of U.S Supreme Court justices Monday seemed inclined to side with an Oregon town’s law that bans homeless people from sleeping outdoors, in a case that could have broad implications for local ordinances related to homelessness across the country. During oral arguments in City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, conservative […]
U.S. House votes down border bill favored by conservatives
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House Saturday failed to pass a border security bill that Republican leadership intended as an incentive for conservatives to support a foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. The border bill, turned down on a 215-199 vote with five Democrats joining all Republicans in voting in favor, was brought to […]
Biden administration to roll back the Betsy DeVos Title IX rules
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Education on Friday announced a final rule that will update Title IX regulations governing how schools respond to sexual misconduct, undoing changes made under the Trump administration and former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. “For more than 50 years, Title IX has promised an equal opportunity to learn and thrive […]