ICE Using Interview Process to Trap Immigrants

A new court filing from the ACLU alleges that the Boston-area US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has been coordinating with local ICE officials to arrest, and in some cases, initiate the deportation process of undocumented spouses when they appear at government offices to interview for legal status. Matthew Seagal, an ACLU attorney working on the case, argued, “They (USCIS) have represented to the public that people can come in for these interviews and be safe from arrest unless they pose a threat to public safety or national security. And at the very same time that USCIS was making those claims, it was working behind people’s backs to have them arrested.” According to 2016 PRRI polling, nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of Americans said the immigration system should allow immigrants currently living in the country illegally to become citizens provided they meet certain requirements; 15 percent preferred allowing immigrants living in the country illegally to become permanent legal residents but not citizens; and fewer than one in five (16 percent) said these immigrants should be identified and deported.

Schools Close After Angry Parents Threaten Transgender Teen with Violence

A post from a Facebook group used by parents in an Oklahoma school district caused the district to shutter schools for two days. Parents in the group threatened a transgender middle schooler in the Achille Public School district after someone alleged that the child was looking over the stalls in the girl’s restroom. Parents threatened the student with a beating and a knife attack, which alarmed local LGBTQ advocates. A planned demonstration and the possibility for confrontation with counter-protestors prompted law enforcement to recommend that the schools close. According to the girl’s mother, the incident that sparked the post was a misunderstanding. “She hadn’t been told where the staff bathroom was,” Brandy Rose told KXII. “Before she was able to be told, she had to pee, so she used the girls bathroom one single time.” Rose has since filed a protective order against one of the parents. According to KXII the FBI is investigating the threats. A recent PRRI report shows that much of the country believes that transgender individuals face less discrimination today than when polled five years ago. “Roughly six in ten (59 percent) Americans say transgender people face a lot of discrimination in the U.S. today, compared to more than seven in ten (71 percent) who expressed this opinion in 2013,” the survey reports.

Report Details Sexual Abuse by More Than 300 Catholic Priests

A grand jury report shows that documents from inside six Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania indicate that more than 300 priests have been accused of sexually abusing more than 1,000 children. The report also states, “We believe that the real number of children whose records were lost or who were afraid ever to come forward is in the thousands.” While many of the cases are too old to prosecute due to statute of limitation laws, charges have been filed against two priests — one in the Erie diocese and another in the Greensburg diocese — both of whom have been accused of abusing minors. A 2015 PRRI survey shows that when asked what the first word or phrase that comes to mind about the church, former Catholics are about twice as likely as current Catholics to make a negative comment (39 percent vs. 22 percent, respectively) and are five times more likely to mention the clergy sex abuse scandal (11 percent vs. 2 percent, respectively).

How Anti-Abortion Activists are Training The ‘Next Generation of Pro-Life Leaders’

Sophie Novack wrote an article in The Texas Observer about the Joseph Graham Fellowship, a program that brings young people across the state of Texas to “prepare the next generation to advance the Culture of Life” throughout their time in college. Named after the late founder of Texas Right to Life, the program’s training takes a two-pronged approach: Turning public opinion against abortion and fighting to end legal abortions. Novak writes, “The fellowship has grown from about eight students when it began to about 75 now. Participants, who receive $1,000 each semester, must establish an anti-abortion group on campus if one doesn’t exist and complete at least 50 hours per semester of “pro-life projects and events,” including tabling, organizing programs for pregnant students and other events to “change the culture,” said Rachel Bush, a Texas Right to Life education associate. “We want to make abortion unthinkable,” Bush emphasized. A 2018 PRRI report shows that 38 percent of Americans overall believe that it is at least somewhat likely that abortion will become completely illegal in the U.S. in their lifetime.

Former Teacher of the Year Makes History in Connecticut

On Tuesday evening, Jahana Hayes got one step closer to Washington, D.C. with a victory in Connecticut’s Fifth Congressional District primary. The long-shot candidate beat out Connecticut political veteran Mary Glassman by nearly 10,000 votes. If elected in November, Hayes would become the first black Democrat ever to represent the state. The 2016 recipient of the “National Teacher of the Year,” award recently spoke to The New York Times about her views as an educator and mother, the period of her life when she was homeless, and her campaign. “There’s an appetite for change,” Hayes says of the Democratic Party. “People are hungry for something different. And I think that the party leadership has to hear that and begin to adjust accordingly.” A 2016 PRRI survey, conducted prior to the election of President Donald Trump found that 58 percent of the country believed that the nation would be better off if more women held political office.

VOX: Republicans are Trying to Scare You

In a recent piece for Vox, Dylan Scott examines the heightened rhetoric used by Republicans against their Democratic opponents in political races around the country. Scott compares some of the imagery in recent campaign ads to that of a horror movie. He points to shots of limousines burning in the street and comparisons to murderous militias, rapists and killers are popping up in more and more Republican political campaigns. Scott writes, “Donald Trump took the oath of office while bloviating about ‘American carnage’ — which really could be the subtitle for the next Purge movie. This kind of fearmongering is a staple of American politics. Still, it’s notable that these ads are airing in what is in fact the safest time in recent history to live in America.”