Putin's Military Parade Masks Uncertain Legacy
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Vladimir Putin is hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders in Moscow for 80th anniversary celebrations of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
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Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Federal prosecutors now charging immigrants who don't submit fingerprints under dormant 1940s law
Federal officials have begun carrying out President Donald Trump's orders to enforce a World War II-era criminal law that requires virtually all non-citizens in the country to register with and submit fingerprints to the government. Since April, law enforcement in Louisiana, Arizona, Montana, Alabama, Texas and Washington, D.C., have charged people with willful 'failure to register' under the Alien Registration Act, an offense most career federal public defenders have never encountered before. Many of those charged were already in jail and in ongoing deportation proceedings when prosecutors presented judges with the new charges against them. The registration provision in the law, which was passed in 1940 amid widespread public fear about immigrants' loyalty to the U.S., had been dormant for 75 years, but it is still on the books. Failure to register is considered a 'petty offense' — a misdemeanor with maximum penalties of six months imprisonment or a $1,000 fine. In reviving the law, the Trump administration may put undocumented immigrants in a catch-22. If they register, they must hand over detailed, incriminating information to the federal government — including how and when they entered the country. But knowingly refusing to register is also a crime, punishable by arrest or prosecution, on top of the ever-present threat of deportation. 'The sort of obvious reason to bring back registration in the first place is the hope that people will register, and therefore give themselves up effectively to the government because they already confessed illegal entry,' said Jonathan Weinberg, a Wayne State University law professor who has studied the registration law. But the Trump administration also has another goal. It says one purpose of the registration regime is to provoke undocumented immigrants to choose a third option: leave the country voluntarily, or, in the words of the Department of Homeland Security, compulsory 'mass self-deportation.' Those efforts, alongside the administration's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act and a more aggressive approach to immigration raids, are meant to achieve a broader, overarching campaign promise: the largest deportation program in the history of America. 'For decades, this law has been ignored — not anymore,' the department said in a February announcement that it would enforce the law. The department called 'mass self-deportation' a 'safer path for aliens and law enforcement,' and said it saves U.S. taxpayer dollars. The Department of Homeland Security did not answer questions about its enforcement policies. The Alien Registration Act was passed in 1940, amid fears about immigrants' loyalties. A separate provision of the statute criminalizes advocacy for overthrowing the government. For about two decades, that provision was used to prosecute people who were accused of being either pro-fascist or pro-Communist. The registration provision, though, remained largely dormant, and had not been enforced in 75 years. It applies to non-citizens, regardless of legal status, who are in the U.S. for 30 days or longer. Certain categories of legal immigrants have already met the requirement. Immigrants who have filed applications to become permanent residents are considered registered by DHS, for example. And even some undocumented U.S. residents are already registered: U.S. residents who have received 'parole' — a form of humanitarian protection from deportation — are also considered registered. Still, DHS estimates that up to 3.2 million immigrants are currently unregistered and are affected by the new enforcement regime. The administration has created a new seven-page form that non-citizens must use. The form requires people, under penalty of perjury, to provide biographical details, contact information, details about any criminal history and the circumstances of how they entered the U.S. After DHS issued regulations to enforce the registration requirement in April, the administration announced that 47,000 undocumented immigrants had registered using the new form. The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights and other advocacy groups filed a lawsuit challenging Trump's move to revive the registration requirement in March. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, initially expressed skepticism toward the administration, saying in a recent hearing that officials had pulled a 'big switcheroo' on undocumented immigrants. But McFadden in April refused the plaintiffs' request to temporarily block the policy, saying the Coalition likely lacks the legal standing to sue because it has not shown that it would be harmed by the policy. The group has appealed McFadden's decision. In the meantime, the administration has begun to prosecute people for failure to register for the first time in seven decades. The prosecutions so far have stumbled. On May 19, a federal magistrate judge in Louisiana consolidated and dismissed five of the criminal cases, saying prosecutors had no probable cause to believe the defendants had intentionally refused to register. Judge Michael North wrote that the Alien Registration Act requires 'some level of subjective knowledge or bad intent' behind the choice not to register. The prosecutions, the judge wrote, are impermissible because most people are simply unaware of the law, and the government 'did not provide these Defendants — as well as millions of similarly situated individuals here without government permission — with a way to register' since 1950. But North also pointed out that the government may have an easier path to proving probable cause in the future, given that DHS created a new registration form in April. And government attorneys have appealed the five dismissed cases. The Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana declined to comment on recent charges filed under the law. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia said the office 'is aggressively pursuing criminals in the district and will use all criminal justice resources available to make D.C. safe and to carry out President Trump's and Attorney General Bondi's direction to support immigration enforcement." The other federal district attorneys whose offices filed charges did not respond to a request for comment. Michelle LaPointe, legal director at the American Immigration Council, an immigrants' rights advocacy group, said these initial cases are the 'tip of the iceberg.' LaPointe is among the attorneys representing the Coalition in its lawsuit against the administration. 'I don't expect them to abate just because there were some dismissals,' LaPointe said, pointing to North's statements about future charges. 'They have already stated that they intend to make prosecution of the few immigration-related criminal statutes a priority for DOJ, and it's very easy for them to at least charge, even if they're not always gonna be able to sustain their burden to secure a conviction.' Weinberg, the Wayne State law professor, agreed that the administration will likely continue attempting broad enforcement. 'If they bring a whole lot of prosecutions and end up losing all, they may step back,' Weinberg said. 'If they bring a whole lot and win a few, they'll say, 'Well, that's the basis on which we can move further'' and appeal — potentially all the way to the Supreme Court, he noted.
Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
What has happened to America's humanity and compassion toward itself and others?
Every day I wake up to one headline or another that breaks my heart. It could be the entire population in Gaza starving and terrorized or one immigrant who is lawfully here torn from his family and illegally deported with no due process. It could be the thousands of deaths that have resulted from the halting of USAID funds to mitigate HIV infections or the lives torn asunder from massive federal employee firings and layoffs across multiple government agencies. Letters: House budget provision exempts executive branch from following court orders It could be students shut out from financial aid, ending their dreams of a college education or women who suffer physically and emotionally from the lack of available reproductive health care. Where do we draw the line on cruelty? Barbara Markoff, Milwaukee Letters: PSC's decision to OK gas plants feels like rubber stamp for WE Energies It saddens me every day that our government is disappearing in the face of the self-interest of a few. An entire generation of Americans, including my parents, fought in World War II alongside Great Britain and even the Soviet Union, and then when the war was over formed an alliance with European nations, NATO. Now these European allies are being discarded and shunned by the current administration. Veterans in this country also fought in the Korean War, and we have troops stationed in South Korea as a deterrent to North Korea, who is being supplied with nuclear weapons from Russia. The administration wants South Korea to pay more for the troops stationed there. It seems our history and the wars we fought in are being forgotten. Opinion: Trump gives off strongman pageantry with military parade we're paying for USAID, the organization for providing aid to third world countries, has been decimated and countless people are dying. Immigrants who have been living here for years are being persecuted and deported. What has happened to our country that was founded by "we the people, for the people?" What has happened to our humanity and compassion toward others? I don't think our country is being made great again. I'm afraid our greatness is behind us. Maureen Burke, Milwaukee Once upon a time Republicans were right. Republican President Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery in the United States and put his party on the right side of history. But being right no longer means being correct. Republicans are currently working to destroy progressive ideas such as equal rights, due process, voting rights and democracy. They recently convinced working class voters that Donald Trump would work for them. Claiming to understand the plight of everyday citizens, Trump pledged to decrease grocery prices and create better paying jobs for American workers. Opinion: My dad was a beloved bartender and sheriff. He was also an alcoholic. Once in office, he began raising tariffs, firing workers, creating chaos and seeking revenge on his perceived enemies. Caring for the less fortunate, once viewed as 'Christian' behavior, is now 'Socialist.' Trump's cruelty has become Republican policy. Today Democrats firmly stand on history's correct side, but they hold a minority in all three branches of our federal government. They need our assistance to hold the president accountable. Republicans in Congress, fearing retaliation, refuse to challenge Trump's missteps. There are two ways to remedy this problem. First, demand that frightened Republicans in Congress grow a spine. Second, if we are still holding elections, vote to give Democrats a majority in Congress. Trump requires guardrails. Susan Swoboda, Whitewater Opinion: Prosecution of Judge Hannah Dugan undermines centuries of legal precedent Here are some tips to get your views shared with your friends, family, neighbors and across our state: Please include your name, street address and daytime phone. Generally, we limit letters to 200 words. Cite sources of where you found information or the article that prompted your letter. Be civil and constructive, especially when criticizing. Avoid ad hominem attacks, take issue with a position, not a person. We cannot acknowledge receipt of submissions. We don't publish poetry, anonymous or open letters. Each writer is limited to one published letter every two months. All letters are subject to editing. Write: Letters to the editor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 330 E. Kilbourn Avenue, Suite 500, Milwaukee, WI, 53202. Fax: (414)-223-5444. E-mail: jsedit@ or submit using the form that can be found on the on the bottom of this page. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Headlines every day on every new cruelty is heartbreaking. | Letters
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Zelenskiy says Ukraine halts Russian troops' advance in Sumy region
KYIV (Reuters) -Ukrainian forces have stopped Russian troops advancing in the northeastern Sumy region and are now battling along the border to regain control, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. In remarks released for publication by his office on Saturday, Zelenskiy said that Moscow has amassed about 53,000 troops in the direction of Sumy. "We are leveling the position. The fighting there is along the border. You should understand that the enemy has been stopped there. And the maximum depth at which the fighting takes place is 7 km from the border," Zelenskiy said. Reuters could not verify battlefield reports. Russia's troops have been focusing their assaults in the eastern Donetsk region, but since the start of the month, they have intensified their attacks in the north-east, announcing plans to create a so-called 'buffer zone' in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions. The Russian war in Ukraine is in its fourth year but it has intensified in recent weeks. Ukraine conducted an audacious drone attack that took out multiple aircraft inside Russia and also hit the bridge connecting Russia to the annexed Crimean peninsula using underwater explosives. Zelenskiy said that the Ukrainian troops had maintained their defensive lines along more than 1,000 kilometres of the frontline. He also dismissed Moscow's claims that Russian troops had crossed the administrative border of the Ukrainian central region of Dnipropetrovsk. Zelenskiy said that Russia was sending small assault groups "to get one foot on the administrative border" and make a picture or a video but these attacks were repelled. Dnipropetrovsk region borders three regions that are partially occupied by Russia – Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Russia now controls about one-fifth of Ukrainian territory. Zelenskiy acknowledged that Ukraine was unable to regain all of its territory by military force and reiterated his pleas for stronger sanctions on Russia to force Moscow into negotiations to end the war. Two rounds of peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow in Istanbul produced few results that could lead to a ceasefire and a broader peace deal. The two sides agreed only to exchange prisoners of war. Several swaps have already been conducted this month, and Zelenskiy expected POW swaps to continue until June 20 or 21. Ukrainian officials responsible for exchanging prisoners of war said on Saturday that Kyiv had received the bodies of 1,200 of its soldiers killed in the war with Russia. The bodies were handed over to Ukraine on Friday. "The agreement is that the exchanges will be completed, and the sides will discuss the next step," Zelenskiy said.
