Rubenfeld Slips Up on Nationwide Injunctions
We agree with the general principle expressed in Jed Rubenfeld's op-ed 'Nationwide Injunctions? Only if the Supreme Court Has Spoken' (May 31). District judges shouldn't be able to force any president to abide by their will through nationwide preliminary injunctions on issues where the Supreme Court hasn't spoken clearly and definitively. Aside from raising the legal standard for issuing such injunctions, the Supreme Court should also consider procedural steps that could be taken to challenge a nationwide injunction once issued, such as an expedited appeal to the regional circuit or to the high court itself.
Yet we do object to how Mr. Rubenfeld applies his argument to President Trump's executive order on the limits of birthright citizenship for the children of parents who have unlawfully entered the country. The Supreme Court hasn't yet ruled on whether birthright citizenship applies to such children, even though executive officials may have assumed that to be the case several decades after the adoption of the 14th Amendment. In the decades leading up to the 1900s, however, executive officials took a much narrower view of automatic citizenship at birth.
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12 minutes ago
Families of trans kids worry about what's next after Supreme Court rules on gender-affirming care
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A U.S. Supreme Court decision Wednesday upholding Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors is leaving transgender children and their parents uncertain and anxious about the future. The court handed President Donald Trump's administration and Republican-led states a significant victory by effectively protecting them from at least some of the legal challenges against many efforts to repeal safeguards for transgender people. The case stems from a Tennessee law banning puberty blockers and hormone treatments for transgender minors. Opponents of gender-affirming care say people who transition when they're young could later regret it. Families of transgender children argue the ban amounts to unlawful sex discrimination and violates the constitutional rights of vulnerable Americans. Eli Givens, who is transgender and testified against Tennessee's gender-affirming care bill in 2023, said it's devastating that lawmakers 'who have called us degenerates, have told us that we're living in fiction' are celebrating the court's ruling. The nonbinary college student from Spring Hill received mastectomy surgery in 2022 at age 17. They said the legislation inspired their advocacy, and they attended the Supreme Court arguments in the case last December, on their 20th birthday. 'We're not making a world that trans youth are welcomed or allowed to be a part of,' Givens said. 'And so, it's just a really scary kind of future we might have.' Jennifer Solomon, who supports parents and families at the LGBTQ+ rights group Equality Florida, called the ruling a decision 'that one day will embarrass the courts.' 'This is a decision that every parent should be concerned about,' she said. 'When politicians are able to make a decision that overrides your ability to medically make decisions for your children, every family should worry.' Chloe Cole, a conservative activist known for speaking about her gender-transition reversal, posted on social media after the court's decision that 'every child in America is now safer.' Cole was cited as an example by Tennessee Republicans as one of the reasons the law was needed. Matt Walsh, an activist who was one of the early backers of Tennessee's law, applauded the high court. Three years ago, Walsh shared videos on social media of a doctor saying gender-affirming procedures are 'huge moneymakers' for hospitals and a staffer saying anyone with a religious objection should quit. 'This is a truly historic victory and I'm grateful to be a part of it, along with so many others who have fought relentlessly for years,' Walsh posted on social media. Rosie Emrich is worried the court decision will embolden legislators in New Hampshire, where legislation banning hormone treatments and puberty blockers for children is expected to reach the governor's desk. Lawmakers are weighing whether to block the treatments from minors already receiving them, like Emrich's 9-year-old child. 'It's definitely disappointing, and I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to talk to my kid about it,' Emrich said. Emrich said she and her husband have considered moving from New Hampshire and are waiting to see what will happen. 'The hard part is, like, I've grown up here, my husband has grown up here, we very much want to raise our family here,' she said. 'And we don't want to leave if we don t have to.' Erica Barker and her family moved from Jackson, Mississippi, to North Las Vegas, Nevada, a little over two years ago so one of her children could start receiving gender-affirming care. Barker's transgender daughter, then 12, had been in therapy for three years, and the family agreed it was time for medical treatments. Mississippi passed a ban on gender-affirming care for minors the next year, which Barker said she saw coming. Barker said the move was complicated, involving a new job for her husband and two mortgages when their Mississippi home was slow to sell, but it also brought access to care for her daughter, now 14. 'Our hearts are hurting for folks who are not having the same experience,' Barker said. In another state with a ban on gender-affirming care for minors, Oklahoma resident Erika Dubose said finding care for her 17-year-old nonbinary child, Sydney Gebhardt, involves a four-hour drive to Kansas and getting prescriptions filled in Oregon and mailed to their home. 'I just wish the younger folks wouldn't have to go through this,' Gebhardt said. 'These folks deserve to be focusing on their academics and hanging out with their friends and making memories with their families and planning out a safe and happy future.' Sarah Moskanos, who lives near Milwaukee, said her 14-year-old transgender daughter went through nearly a decade of counseling before she started medical gender-affirming care but has been sure since the age of 4 that she identified as a girl. 'I would say that there is decades of research on this very thing,' she said. 'And we know what works and we know what will save trans kids' lives is gender-affirming care.' Wisconsin doesn't have a gender-affirming care ban, but Moskanos said getting her daughter that care has not been easy. She now worries about what the future holds. 'We are but one election cycle away from disaster for my kid,' she said. Mo Jenkins, a 26-year-old transgender Texas native and legislative staffer at the state Capitol, said she began taking hormone therapy at 16 years old and has been on and off treatment since then. 'My transition was out of survival,' Jenkins said. Texas outlawed gender-affirming care for minors two years ago, and in May, the Legislature passed a bill tightly defining a man and a woman by their sex characteristics. 'I'm not surprised at the ruling. I am disheartened,' Jenkins said. 'Trans people are not going to disappear.' ___ Mulvihill reported from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press journalists Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut; Kenya Hunter in Atlanta; Laura Bargfeld in Chicago; Nadia Lathan in Austin, Texas; and Daniel Kozin in Pinecrest, Florida, contributed to this report.
22 minutes ago
Voice of America and Radio Farda's Persian services cover Israel-Iran conflict despite cutbacks
In the early days of Israel's attack on Iran, U.S.-operated Radio Farda, which broadcasts in the Persian language in Iran, debunked a state media report that an Israeli pilot had been shot down and captured. Its journalism has continued despite the Trump administration's threat to its future, along with a Persian-language television outlet run by Voice of America. Radio Farda, a branch of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and based in Prague, has continued broadcasting even though its managing editor estimated that more than half of its staff had been furloughed. VOA's Persian staff, ordered to go on administrative leave in March, were suddenly ordered back to work last Friday afternoon. 'We've been giving information to Iranians minute by minute about the conflict,' said Golnaz Esfandiani, managing editor of Radio Farda. That includes explanatory stories about Iran's nuclear program and short videos posted on social media, she said. Several Iranians have contacted the radio network to express appreciation for reporting that they do not get on Iranian state media, she said. At the same time, families in Iran of five Radio Farda staff members have been pressured by people in the government who want to see the broadcasts stopped, she said. Through the U.S. Agency for Global Media, the Trump administration has sought to dismantle or sharply curtail the government-funded outlets that provide news reports to countries where there isn't a tradition of free press. The administration says these services operate with a liberal bias. Both Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty are fighting the efforts in court. Employees at Voice of America's Persian service were notified in an email last Friday from Crystal Thomas, USAGM's human resources director, that they were being recalled and needed to report to work immediately. Kari Lake, who is running USAGM, told Fox News that 'we are ramping up — as we've always planned to do — to meet this historic moment.' One person who got that email was at the office within three hours and worked until midnight, helping to put out a one-hour broadcast, said the employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak to the press. About 50 people have returned to work. Voice of America is banned in Iran, but many of its citizens find ways through the internet to bypass the ban. Voice of America's broadcasts — and social media posts — have become a challenge to produce because the administration has canceled subscriptions to news services like The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse, said a second employee, who also spoke on condition of anonymity. For the employees, it's a stressful time, putting out urgent news reports without any sense of how long — or whether — they will continue to have a job. 'I'm grateful they've brought back our Persian service to continue their role as a trusted voice covering the region for the Iranian people,' said Patsy Widakuswara, VOA's White House correspondent, who is a plaintiff in the court fight to keep the agency alive. 'But why smash a working system only to cobble it back together when you realize you need it?' Widakuswara asked. 'And how many crises would it take for them to realize that all VOA language services are important — before, after and during breaking news?' During video reports posted online this week, a Voice of America anchor explained where Iranian counterattacks were landing in Israel, and how Iranians were trying to send out information about what is happening through social media. The danger for a service like VOA, having been off the air and off social media for more than two months, is that Iranian citizens will become accustomed to looking elsewhere for news, said Tom Kent, a media consultant and former president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 'You would hope that people would learn from this that international broadcasting cannot be turned on and off like a light bulb,' said Kent, also a former AP editor. Despite an Israeli airstrike on its headquarters Monday while the Republic of Iran News Network was broadcasting live, the state-run news service is still operating. Radio Farda has stayed on the air despite cutbacks. It also continues to have access to news services like the AP, but those contracts will expire at the end of the month, Esfandiani said. Three people have been brought back from furlough to help cover the war, she said. She said she hopes the conflict lets people who question the service's existence know its value. 'It's an information war, absolutely,' Esfandiani said. 'These countries — Iran, Russia and China — would be very happy if we were gone.' One of the VOA employees called back to work said they have not been told how long it will be for. Despite evidence this week that someone in the administration saw value in what they do, might they still lose their job eventually? 'I don't want to think about that,' the person said.
New York Times
26 minutes ago
- New York Times
Brad Lander Tried to Escort Immigrants Facing Arrest. He's Not Alone.
When Brad Lander, the New York City comptroller, was arrested on Tuesday by federal agents at an immigration courthouse in Manhattan, Mr. Lander said he had simply been trying to escort an immigrant whom agents wanted to detain. His arrest underscored a trend that has emerged in New York City's immigration courts: A growing number of volunteers and activists have begun showing up to escort immigrants out of courthouses amid President Trump's month-old campaign to arrest people showing up for routine hearings. During the past few weeks, a loose network of immigration activists and advocates has sprung up in the city's three main immigration courts. Their goal, they say, is to help immigrants who show up without lawyers to navigate a labyrinthine and daunting system, and to accompany migrants past federal officers, who are often masked and not wearing uniforms. Before, volunteers might have accompanied immigrants to hearings, but only in recent weeks have they had to consider what happens when they leave 'because ICE wasn't waiting on the other side of the door before,' said Camille J. Mackler, the founder and executive director of Immigrant ARC, a collaborative of immigration legal services providers. 'We really are just there to bear witness in a nonviolent way.' Mr. Lander, who is running for mayor, maintained that is what he was trying to do on Tuesday when federal officers approached an immigrant named Edgardo to arrest him. Video shows Mr. Lander appearing to hold on to Edgardo and refusing to let go as officers were trying to arrest the man over Mr. Lander's protestations. The Department of Homeland Security saw it differently. The agency accused Mr. Lander of assaulting and obstructing federal officers as they were performing their duties, all to boost his mayoral campaign. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
