Latest news with #GeorgetownLaw
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Homeland Security faces lawsuit over ‘massive surveillance dragnet' collecting immigrant DNA — including from children
Immigration authorities are collecting DNA from immigrants — including children — and feeding that information into a massive criminal database. Most of those immigrants are not accused of committing any crime, but federal law enforcement agencies can now access their detailed DNA profiles as part of a 'massive surveillance dragnet that sweeps in information about everyone,' according to a lawsuit demanding information from Donald Trump's administration. Monday's lawsuit from the Georgetown Law Center on Privacy & Technology calls on the Department of Homeland Security to answer how, exactly, the agency 'collects, stores and uses' those DNA samples. Georgetown Law and two other immigration groups filed a Freedom of Information Act request for information last year. Nine months later, without any response, the groups are now suing the agency for answers. DHS is 'quickly becoming the primary contributor of DNA profiles to the nation's criminal policing DNA database,' according to Stevie Glaberson, director of research and advocacy for Georgetown Law's Center on Privacy & Technology. The Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, is administered by the FBI. The network is used by local, state and federal enforcement agencies to match DNA from crime scenes to identify suspects. Last year, Georgetown's center discovered that border agents are collecting DNA from virtually anyone in their custody, no matter how long they have been detained. That information is fed into CODIS, where it lives indefinitely, 'simply because they were not born in the United States,' according to Daniel Melo, an attorney with Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, which joined Georgetown's lawsuit. Homeland Security has added more than 1.5 million DNA profiles to the database since 2020, marking a 5,000 percent increase in submissions between 2000 and 2024, the report found. That figure includes more than 133,000 children, according to data reviewed by Wired. Nearly 230 children are under the age of 13 and more than 30,000 were between 14 and 17 years old. 'The government's DNA collection program represents a massive expansion of genetic surveillance and an unjustified invasion of privacy,' report author and Center on Privacy & Technology Justice Fellow Emerald Tse said at the time. 'The program reinforces harmful narratives about immigrants and intensifies existing policing practices that target immigrant communities and communities of color, making us all less safe,' Tse added. 'Americans deserve visibility on the details of this program, and the department's lack of transparency is unacceptable,' Glaberson said Monday. The lawsuit joins a wave of litigation against Trump's expanding 'mass deportation operation,' which is deploying officers across all federal law enforcement agencies to ramp up arrests and rapidly remove people from the country. Emily Tucker, executive director at Georgetown Law's Center on Privacy & Technology, said it's a 'mistake' to consider DNA collection part of 'immigration enforcement.' The president is instead relying on broad immigration authorities to justify Trump's expansion of federal law enforcement, according to Tucker. 'This program is one part of a massive surveillance dragnet that sweeps in information about everyone,' Tucker added. 'They will use it for deportation, but they will also use it to intimidate, silence, and target anyone they perceive as the enemy.' Last week, reports emerged that the administration has deepened the federal government's ties to Palantir, a tech firm allegedly building wide-ranging data tools to collect and surveil information for millions of Americans. Palantir — co-founded by Silicon Valley investor, Republican donor, and JD Vance mentor Peter Thiel — is reportedly working inside Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, among other agencies. The administration has reportedly spent more than $113 million with Palantir through new and existing contracts, while the company is slated to begin work on a new $795 million deal with the Defense Department. The Independent has requested comment from Homeland Security.
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The Independent
a day ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Homeland Security faces lawsuit over ‘massive surveillance dragnet' collecting immigrant DNA — including from children
Immigration authorities are collecting DNA from immigrants — including children — and feeding that information into a massive criminal database. Most of those immigrants are not accused of committing any crime, but federal law enforcement agencies can now access their detailed DNA profiles as part of a 'massive surveillance dragnet that sweeps in information about everyone,' according to a lawsuit demanding information from Donald Trump 's administration. Monday's lawsuit from the Georgetown Law Center on Privacy & Technology calls on the Department of Homeland Security to answer how, exactly, the agency 'collects, stores and uses' those DNA samples. Georgetown Law and two other immigration groups filed a Freedom of Information Act request for information last year. Nine months later, without any response, the groups are now suing the agency for answers. DHS is 'quickly becoming the primary contributor of DNA profiles to the nation's criminal policing DNA database,' according to Stevie Glaberson, director of research and advocacy for Georgetown Law's Center on Privacy & Technology. The Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, is administered by the FBI. The network is used by local, state and federal enforcement agencies to match DNA from crime scenes to identify suspects. Last year, Georgetown's center discovered that border agents are collecting DNA from virtually anyone in their custody, no matter how long they have been detained. That information is fed into CODIS, where it lives indefinitely, 'simply because they were not born in the United States,' according to Daniel Melo, an attorney with Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, which joined Georgetown's lawsuit. Homeland Security has added more than 1.5 million DNA profiles to the database since 2020, marking a 5,000 percent increase in submissions between 2000 and 2024, the report found. That figure includes more than 133,000 children, according to data reviewed by Wired. Nearly 230 children are under the age of 13 and more than 30,000 were between 14 and 17 years old. 'The government's DNA collection program represents a massive expansion of genetic surveillance and an unjustified invasion of privacy,' report author and Center on Privacy & Technology Justice Fellow Emerald Tse said at the time. 'The program reinforces harmful narratives about immigrants and intensifies existing policing practices that target immigrant communities and communities of color, making us all less safe,' Tse added. 'Americans deserve visibility on the details of this program, and the department's lack of transparency is unacceptable,' Glaberson said Monday. The lawsuit joins a wave of litigation against Trump's expanding 'mass deportation operation,' which is deploying officers across all federal law enforcement agencies to ramp up arrests and rapidly remove people from the country. Emily Tucker, executive director at Georgetown Law's Center on Privacy & Technology, said it's a 'mistake' to consider DNA collection part of 'immigration enforcement.' The president is instead relying on broad immigration authorities to justify Trump's expansion of federal law enforcement, according to Tucker. 'This program is one part of a massive surveillance dragnet that sweeps in information about everyone,' Tucker added. 'They will use it for deportation, but they will also use it to intimidate, silence, and target anyone they perceive as the enemy.' Last week, reports emerged that the administration has deepened the federal government's ties to Palantir, a tech firm allegedly building wide-ranging data tools to collect and surveil information for millions of Americans. Palantir — co-founded by Silicon Valley investor, Republican donor, and JD Vance mentor Peter Thiel — is reportedly working inside Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, among other agencies. The administration has reportedly spent more than $113 million with Palantir through new and existing contracts, while the company is slated to begin work on a new $795 million deal with the Defense Department.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Opinion: Corporal Punishment Is Losing Ground — But Some Still Favor It for Certain Kids
Every day, approximately 600 students across the U.S. are physically punished at school — hit with wooden paddles or struck by objects by adults charged with their education and care. While corporal punishment may seem like a relic of the past, it remains legal in 17 states, including Mississippi, where it remains especially common. While the practice itself is troubling, new research I conducted reveals something even more troubling: Corporal punishment isn't just disproportionately used on Black and gender-expansive students — those whose gender identity falls outside traditional norms — it's also disproportionately condoned by the public when it's used on these children. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter I surveyed more than 600 Mississippi residents to understand their attitudes about school discipline. Most disapproved of corporal punishment in general, but that feeling weakened when the child being punished was Black or gender-nonconforming. In short: Who a child is imagined to be affects whether that child is believed to deserve protection — or punishment. This finding echoes years of research and advocacy warning that corporal punishment is more than just an outdated disciplinary practice. It reveals deep-rooted inequities in America's schools. Research shows that physical punishment contributes to worse academic outcomes, higher dropout rates,and even increased involvement with the criminal justice system. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry has linked it to long-term mental health impacts such as anxiety, depression and PTSD. In Mississippi, Black students are far more likely to be physically punished than their white peers. A key reason is a well-documented bias called adultification — the perception that Black children are older, less innocent and more culpable than white youngsters. This leads educators and even the public to support harsher punishments for similar behavior. Research from Georgetown Law's Center on Poverty and Inequality has shown how adultification affects Black youth, especially girls. My study confirms that the problem doesn't stop at how discipline is applied — it extends to how it's justified. Even though 61% of respondents in my study agreed that corporal punishment should be banned, support for the practice increased or decreased depending on the perceived identity of the child. For example, on a six-point scale where higher scores indicated stronger support for corporal punishment, participants rated it significantly more appropriate ('fitting the crime') for a hypothetical Black gender-expansive student (2.73 on the scale) than for a white gender-expansive student (2.32) or a Black cisgender female student (2.26). That's not just unfair — it's dangerous. The good news is that public opinion may be shifting. A 2023 national survey revealed that 65% of U.S. adults agreed with a federal ban on physical punishment in schools, while only 18% were opposed. This growing consensus is reflected in recent legislative actions: Colorado and Idaho banned physical punishment in public schools in 2023, while Oklahoma and Tennessee introduced legislation in 2024 to limit the practice. My findings also show that a majority of Mississippians oppose corporal punishment in school. Yet state and federal laws still permit it, revealing a stark disconnect between policy and public will. That gap must be closed. Here's how: First, Mississippi lawmakers — and those in the 21 other states where corporal punishment is still allowed — should immediately ban the practice in all schools. No child should fear physical harm at the hands of a teacher or principal. Nationwide advocacy efforts by organizations like the National Coalition to Abolish Corporal Punishment in Schools emphasize the critical need for legislative reform. Second, schools should adopt restorative justice practices, which focus on accountability, dialogue and healing. These methods reduce conflict and improve school climate without resorting to violence. Resources from the International Institute for Restorative Practices offer practical guidelines to help educators to implement these approaches. Finally, transparency is essential. School districts should be required to report disciplinary data by race and gender identity so communities can see what's happening and push for changes when needed. Right now, the U.S. Department of Education's Civil Rights Data Collection offers a national framework for doing just that — including statistics on the demographic breakdown of students exposed to corporal punishment. However, with the ongoing uncertainty around federal policy, there's a risk that this resource could be cut, which would make it harder to track how corporal punishment is being used in schools nationwide. We need to speak up to make sure this data collection continues and even gets stronger. Ending corporal punishment in schools takes a multi-pronged approach. It means changing laws, updating policies and working with communities to push for positive discipline methods that help children thrive without fear of physical punishment. It's time to end this antiquated practice. Not just for some students, but for all of them.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Morning Joe's Mika Brzezinski Celebrates Daughter Emilie's Georgetown Law Graduation: ‘We Are So Proud'
Mika Brzezinski is celebrating the special achievements of her graduate — daughter Emilie Hoffer. The Morning Joe cohost shared a post on Instagram congratulating her daughter for completing her studies at Georgetown Law. 'A fantastic evening celebrating the 2025 graduates of @georgetownlawofficial Congratulations to all the graduates, especially our @emiliehoffer — We are so proud of you! And Cali too!!! #congratulations #youdidit #georgetownuniversitylawcenter,' the proud mom captioned her May 19 Instagram post. Mika, 58, attached several photos of her daughter on the big day as she wore her cap and gown and celebrated with family. The Know Your Value founder shares Emilie and daughter Carlie Hoffer with her ex-husband, Jim Hoffer. The journalists were married from 1993 to 2016. She went on to marry her second husband, Morning Joe cohost Joe Scarborough, in 2018 and they continue to host the talk show together. The mom of two has opened up about motherhood a number of times through the years, whether it's online in a candid post or on social media. 'This year, my girls have stepped up for me in ways I couldn't imagine years ago. And I am so grateful,' she reflected in a May 2023 post on MSNBC after losing her mother, Emilie Benes Brzezinski, the year prior. 'And when your daughters develop their own relationships, navigate their first careers, or decide to have kids, they'll go through great highs and low lows – and they'll begin to realize they need their moms a lot more than they thought,' she added. 'So, in the really tough moments, (especially if you feel like you have to walk on eggshells) know that your daughter also loves you so much, and she is likely still learning who she is and how to express herself.' 'I hope the young women out there learn this lesson faster than I did,' she said. In addition to her two daughters, Joe shares four kids with his exes. Joe also previously dished on his parenting style and how his relationship with his father shaped the way that he parents his own children. 'My view of fatherhood has changed through the years. I'm 55 now, and it took me about 50 years to understand just what being a good father is,' he told MSNBC in June 2018. 'I look back at my own father, and while we had a great relationship, I did what a lot of children do – we judge some of the things our parents did, nitpick about things we didn't agree with.' 'But the older I got the more I realized how blessed I was to have him always there. He was there when we went to church, when we were getting ready for school, for my baseball games. He was a constant presence in our lives and that's what counts,' he said. 'Someone once told me, 'There's no such thing as quality time. Fatherhood is all about quantity. You can't water a plant once a month – you have to be there day in, day out.' That's something I've always remembered. More than anything, I judge myself as a father.'
New York Post
22-05-2025
- Automotive
- New York Post
Meet the 24-year-old law school dropout who started Long Island's only silent, self-driving lawn-mowing biz
Customers have no objections. A 24-year-old Georgetown Law dropout is all the buzz on Long Island as he commands the only local fleet of silent, self-driving lawnmowers that are revolutionizing the industry with their motion sensor capabilities. 'We market them as a Roomba for your lawn,' Kevin Boodram, who started Huntington-based Serenity Lawncare at age 21, told The Post. 3 Kevin Boodram dropped out of law school to pursue his Huntington-based Serenity Lawncare. Dennis A. Clark 'When we first told customers about them two years ago, I remember it like yesterday, they were extremely interested and hardly anyone was skeptical.' The futuristic device made by Husqvarna, which Boodram and his team leave at people's homes and check in on weekly, also allows customers to cut their lawn at pre-set times. 'It's so quiet that some people will set it to cut their grass overnight because neighbors can't even hear it,' he said. Admittedly, Boodram 'had no interest in getting into the lawn care industry,' but was compelled when the noise from other landscapers working in his Floral Park neighborhood made it hard for him to do his law school studying. 'Law school was the plan, but I got fed up with the gas lawn mowers making noise in my neighborhood while taking classes remotely. I literally couldn't concentrate because of it.' That was enough for Boodram to begin his grassroots business. And in just a few years, it has grown into 60 all-electric mowers — quieter than birds chirping and about the size of a car tire with no handlebars — that service about 80 customers on the North Shore of Suffolk County, all the way to Western Nassau. 3 'We market them as a Roomba for your lawn,' Kevin Boodram said. Dennis A. Clark Serenity installs guidewires to curbs to keep it from going onto a driveway or street and implants a battery port on the lawn as well. Guidewires also lead the mower back to charge automatically when its battery is getting low. 'It's also extremely safe around children and animals,' Boodram added after sticking his hand below the $700 unit to show how it will automatically stop for obstacles. Boodram does have some traditional, non robotic, employees, who do things such as seeding and edging that can't be so easily automated. 3 Serinity's next step is leasing the electric mowers — and landscapers are the most interested market. Dennis A. Clark The grass is always greener Needless to say, at first, Boodram's family wasn't thrilled to hear their son had foregone Georgetown Law for lawn care. At the time, he didn't even have robots as part of his company; instead, he was driving a noiseless push mower from job to job in his black 2001 Mustang. 'When I was mowing lawns in my neighborhood, I had random people come out and yell at me — people had never met in my whole life and say, 'What are you doing? I thought you were going to school!'' Boodram recalled. 'Random people thought it was crazy to see me, because they didn't really understand what I was trying to do…dropping out became the best business decision I could have ever made.' Initially, before calling it quits academically, Boodram was awarded grants from Georgetown for his eco-friendly business model that got the motor for Serenity running. After initial success and proof of concept, last January, Boodram hit it big with another grant for $20,000. The extra green to invest in greens allowed him to expand his robotic fleet — one that complements other all-electric devices. It includes a supplemental drivable lawnmower for customers who want their grass cut faster than the robot, which moves slowly. Now, conventional gas-guzzling landscapers are shaking more than their mowers as some customers literally tell Boodram, 'Serenity now!' like Frank Costanza of 'Seinfeld' iconically proclaimed. 'One of the other landscaping companies who does some of the houses got out of his truck and started yelling at me,' Boodram said. ''You're crazy, you don't know what you're doing, your company's trash, your equipment is trash, this battery stuff is garbage.'' Really, it was fear of the future vocalized, Bodram believes. As it is, Serinity's next step is leasing the electric mowers — and landscapers are the most interested market. 'The house they were working on when I was yelled at is now my customer.'
