The Virginia Senate passed a constitutional amendment Friday that would allow lawmakers to pursue congressional and legislative redistricting outside the traditional post-census cycle, clearing the final legislative hurdle required to place the proposal before voters. The amendment would modify the Virginia Constitution, which currently ties redistricting to the decennial census. Passage in both chambers during [...]

The US District Court for the District of Minnesota on Friday granted in part and denied in part a motion for a preliminary injunction brought by six individuals who say federal immigration agents unlawfully arrested, stopped, threatened and/or used chemical irritants against them while they observed, recorded, and protested immigration enforcement activity in the Twin [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on Thursday reversed a district court’s decision that released Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil from immigration detention. The court held that the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) stripped the US District for the District of New Jersey of subject-matter jurisdiction because the INA requires deportation challenges [...]

The FBI searched the home and electronic devices of a Washington Post reporter on Wednesday, seizing her phone, Garmin watch, and two laptops, one of which belongs to the newspaper. According to the Post, the warrant said the search of reporter Hannah Natanson’s home was connected to the investigation of Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a systems engineer [...]

A UN expert warned on Thursday that growing use of excessive and unlawful use of lethal force by US military and security forces both internationally and domestically is “gravely concerning.” The report came from Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. He condemned US official statements indicating a “shoot-to-kill” policy and explained [...]

The US Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a Republican congressman may bring suit to challenge an Illinois mail-in ballot law. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the 7-2 majority decision, which confirmed that Congressman Michael Bost had standing to continue his lawsuit in federal court, writing: Candidates have a concrete and particularized interest in the rules [...]

The US State Department announced on Wednesday that it will suspend the ability for citizens of 75 countries to obtain immigrant visas beginning on January 21. The affected countries include Latin American countries like Brazil and Colombia, South Asian countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh, and multiple countries in the Middle East, Africa, and the Caribbean. [...]

President Donald Trump on Thursday warned that he may invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy troops in Minnesota to quell protests over the massive deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to the Twin Cities. The protests escalated following the January 7 fatal shooting of Minneapolis resident Renee Good, 37, by an ICE agent [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday released a previously classified memorandum assessing the legality of the Pentagon’s Operation Absolute Resolve, which led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Heavily redacted, it concludes that the president possesses the constitutional authority to order the military operation, which ultimately moved forward on January 3. [...]

Twelve states’ attorneys general sued the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Tuesday for conditioning its funding of health programs on compliance with the Trump administration’s policy of recognizing the existence of only two genders. The new HHS condition comes from its new Grants Policy Statement, among other similar policy changes, which sets [...]