The Remaining Major 2023 Supreme Court Cases and Decisions

On the heels of the Supreme Court’s highly anticipated Moore v. Harperdecision, The Washington Post’s Robert Barnes, Ann E. Marimow, Nick Mourtoupalas and Mark Berman summarize the important cases that have yet to be decided by the Supreme Court. The term’s remaining opinions include decisions about free speech and gay wedding websites (Creative LLC v. Elanis), accommodations for employees’ religious observances (Groff v. DeJoy), and affirmative action in college admissions (Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard/Students for Fair Admissions v. UNC). The court’s final decision days of this term are scheduled to be tomorrow and Friday. Last fall,PRRI found three-quarters of Americans (75%) agreed that there should be term limits for Supreme Court justices, including 86% of Democrats, 77% of independents, and 68% of Republicans.

GOP Presidential Field Embraces Trump’s Border Wall

Axios’ Alex Thompson and Stef W. Kight report that almost every Republican running for president has publicly supported constructing a wall along the southern border, including candidates who were previously unsupportive such as former Govs. Nikki Haley and Chris Christie. The authors describe this as another way former president Donald Trump has shaped the party’s approach to immigration. Earlier this week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced his immigration proposal, which calls for reinstating Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy and making asylum agreements with Central American countries to combat drug cartels. PRRI research finds that 57% of Americans believe immigrants living in the U.S. illegally should be allowed a way to become citizens provided they meet certain requirements.

Democrats Introduce Federal Conversion Therapy Ban

For The Hill, Brooke Migdon writes that Congressional Democrats recently re-introduced bills in the House and the Senate to ban “conversion therapy,” a scientifically discredited practice that aims to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Similar bills were proposed, but failed to pass, in the four most recent congressional terms. PRRI’s latest survey report found that more than 8 in 10 Americans know someone who is gay, lesbian, or bisexual, including 25% who say they have a family member who belongs to one of these groups; fewer Americans know someone who is transgender (36%).

Diwali Is Set to Become a School Holiday in New York City

Troy Closson of The New York Times reports that Mayor Eric Adams announced Diwali will become a holiday for New York City public schools once Governor Kathy Hochul signs a recently-passed bill that allows public schools to observe the holiday. Diwali, the festival of lights, is celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, and some Buddhists. Earlier this year, Congresswoman Grace Meng (D-NY) introduced a House bill to make Diwali a federal holiday. The 2020 PRRI Census of American Religion found that Queens County, New York has the fourth-highest concentration of Hindu Americans of all U.S. counties.

What’s Buzzing?

Read PRRI’s full report “Are Immigrants a Threat? Most Americans Don’t Think So, but Those Receptive to the “Threat” Narrative Are Predictably More Anti-immigrant” here.