Latest news with #ColleenKollar-Kotelly
Boston Globe
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Rulings coming fast and furious in lawsuits over Trump's policies on immigration, elections, and DEI
DEI Judges blocked the administration from enforcing its Advertisement A federal judge in New Hampshire blocked a series of directives from the Education Department, including a memo ordering an end to any practice that differentiates people based on their race, and another asking for assurances that schools don't use DEI practices deemed discriminatory. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Judges in Maryland and Washington, D.C., also halted portions of the department's anti-DEI efforts. Elections A federal judge blocked the Trump administration Advertisement U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington sided with voting rights groups and Democrats, saying that the Constitution gives the power to regulate federal elections to states and Congress — not the president. She noted federal lawmakers are currently working on their own legislation to require proof of citizenship to vote. Immigration The Trump administration is appealing a judge's order barring it from deporting people from Colorado under a rarely used 1798 law. Attorneys for the administration filed the appeal in the 10th U.S. Circuit Court, arguing that Denver-based U.S. District Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney lacks jurisdiction and that it is legally sound to invoke the Alien Enemies Act against the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. In another case out of Maryland, the Trump administration was ordered to facilitate the return of a man who was deported to El Salvador last month despite having a pending asylum application. U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher in Maryland said the government In a Texas lawsuit, a court document from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official was unsealed, revealing that migrants subject to removal under the Alien Enemies Act are only getting about 12 hours to decide if they want to contest their planned deportation to a prison in El Salvador. Earlier this week, government attorneys in a different Alien Enemies Act lawsuit told a judge in Colorado that migrants were being given 24 hours to make the decision. Advertisement The American Civil Liberties Union says the time period Yet another federal judge based in San Francisco barred the Trump administration from denying federal funds to 'sanctuary' cities that limit immigration cooperation. U.S. Judge William Orrick said the temporary ban is appropriate because the executive orders are unconstitutional, just like they were in 2017 when Trump announced a similar order. Orrick said the administration can't freeze any federal funds in San Francisco and more than a dozen other municipalities until the lawsuit brought by those cities is resolved. Transgender rights The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday Trump signed an executive order a week into his term that claims the sexual identity of transgender service members 'conflicts with a soldier's commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one's personal life' and is harmful to military readiness. In response, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a policy that presumptively disqualifies transgender people from military service. But in March, U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle in Tacoma, Washington, ruled for several long-serving transgender military members who say the ban is insulting and discriminatory. Advertisement Associated Press journalists from across the U.S. contributed, including Collin Binkley, Ali Swenson, Geoff Mulvihill, Nicholas Riccardi, Janie Har and Rebecca Boone.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge blocks part of Trump election overhaul
A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from enacting certain changes to how federal elections are run, which included proof of citizenship in order to register to vote. In an order Thursday, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly granted a preliminary injunction to stop the citizenship requirement from being implemented immediately while the lawsuit carries on. The proof of citizenship portion of President Trump's order is similar to the GOP-led Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which requires documentary proof of citizenship when people go to register to vote. The order has sparked backlash among critics who argue large numbers of voters will be disenfranchised. The judge also blocked part of Trump's order that required people enrolled in public assistance programs to have their citizenship assessed before receiving access to the federal voter registration form. Kollar-Kotelly refused to block part of the order that tightens mail-in ballot deadlines and Trump's order for the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to compare immigration databases and state voter rolls. Late last month, Trump signed an executive order that said it was his administration's policy to enforce federal law and 'to protect the integrity of our election process.' A group of organizations sued the administration to block Trump's order, calling it unconstitutional. The group of plaintiffs, represented in part by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), argues that the order violates the Constitution's clause that says states have the authority to determine election procedures, not the president. 'This executive order is part of a broader attack on our democratic elections by promoting baseless nativist conspiracy theories,' the ALCU's director of its Voting Rights Project, Sophia Lin Lakin, said in a statement. 'Today, the court blocked a key strategy of this attack. And we will keep fighting to ensure every eligible voter can make their voice heard without interference or intimidation.' The groups noted that the order would complicate lives for many people who are unable to secure a passport but should still be allowed the right to vote. They called for the order to ultimately be struck down. Michael Gates, who represents the Trump administration, said during an April 17 hearing that a preliminary injunction from the court was not necessary since the order had yet to be implemented and the proof of citizenship requirement would not be part of the process for many months, The Associated Press reported. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge blocks Trump effort to expand proof of citizenship requirement for voter registration
A federal judge has halted parts of an executive order signed by President Donald Trump that sought to boost requirements that Americans show documents proving their citizenship when registering to vote. Senior District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly blocked a Trump directive in the order that the requirement be added to a federal voter registration form that is available for most Americans to use. 'Our Constitution entrusts Congress and the States — not the President — with the authority to regulate federal elections. Consistent with that allocation of power, Congress is currently debating legislation that would effect many of the changes the President purports to order,' she wrote. 'And no statutory delegation of authority to the Executive Branch permits the President to short-circuit Congress's deliberative process by executive order.' The judge is also pausing a separate provision in the executive order that would require federal agencies that offer registration opportunities to assess a person's citizenship before providing a person a voter registration form. Kollar-Kotelly, a Bill Clinton appointee who sits in Washington, DC, is considering cases filed by non-partisan groups including voting rights organizations, as well as a lawsuit brought by several entities of the Democratic Party. The challengers in the cases before her targeted other parts of the executive order, including its provisions aimed at punishing states that count mail ballots that arrive in a certain period after Election Day. The judge said that she was not blocking those provisions yet because the challengers' arguments were procedurally premature or because they're more squarely in front of other courts that are reviewing lawsuits filed by states challenging the executive order.
Axios
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Judge blocks Trump order to require proof of citizenship for voting
A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote. The big picture: President Trump signed an executive order last month to make sweeping changes to federal elections, including a proof of citizenship requirement, triggering alarm bells among voting and civil rights organizations. The order included federal funding cuts for states that did not comply. Driving the news: U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said in a 120-page opinion that adding a proof of citizenship requirement "is contrary to the manifest will of Congress." When enacting the National Voter Registration Act, Congress considered and rejected such a proposal, concluding that it was not necessary or consistent with the purpose of the law, the judge wrote. " The President has no constitutional power over election regulation that would support this unilateral exercise of authority," the judge said. "The Constitution vests that power in the States and Congress alone." Kollar-Kotelly also prohibited the Election Assistance Commission from withholding federal funds from states that did not comply with Trump's order. Zoom out: The House this month passed a bill requiring voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship when they register to vote. exceptionally rare and illegal.
CNN
24-04-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Judge blocks Trump effort to expand proof of citizenship requirement for voter registration
A federal judge has halted parts of an executive order signed by President Donald Trump that sought to boost requirements that Americans show documents proving their citizenship when registering to vote. Senior District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly blocked a Trump directive in the order that the requirement be added to a federal voter registration form that is available for most Americans to use. 'Our Constitution entrusts Congress and the States — not the President — with the authority to regulate federal elections. Consistent with that allocation of power, Congress is currently debating legislation that would effect many of the changes the President purports to order,' she wrote. 'And no statutory delegation of authority to the Executive Branch permits the President to short-circuit Congress's deliberative process by executive order.' The judge is also pausing a separate provision in the executive order that would require federal agencies that offer registration opportunities to assess a person's citizenship before providing a person a voter registration form. Kollar-Kotelly, a Bill Clinton appointee who sits in Washington, DC, is considering cases filed by non-partisan groups including voting rights organizations, as well as a lawsuit brought by several entities of the Democratic Party. The challengers in the cases before her targeted other parts of the executive order, including its provisions aimed at punishing states that count mail ballots that arrive in a certain period after Election Day. The judge said that she was not blocking those provisions yet because the challengers' arguments were procedurally premature or because they're more squarely in front of other courts that are reviewing lawsuits filed by states challenging the executive order.
