Latest news with #JaneBeckering
Epoch Times
09-05-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
Michigan Town Asks Appeals Court to Allow It to Stop Chinese Battery Plant Project
A small Michigan town, Green Charter Township, took its fight against a Chinese-owned battery plant to the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Ohio on May 8. The case highlights growing unease on the local, state, and federal levels regarding Chinese land purchases in rural areas, especially those near military facilities or sensitive infrastructure. In the Gotion Inc. v. Green Charter Township case, arguments on May 8 centered on whether the township breached its agreements with Gotion and a lower court's preliminary injunction ordering the township to fulfill those agreements. The controversy surrounding the case began when community members voiced concerns about Gotion's ties with China after the township board voted to support the project in 2022. Gotion Inc. of California is a wholly owned and controlled subsidiary of Gotion High-Tech Inc., a battery manufacturer headquartered in China. Project leaders have Related Stories 7/5/2024 4/4/2025 In November 2023, the township's residents recalled the entire board that supported the project and replaced them with new members. Green Township's supervisor, clerk, treasurer, and two trustees—all Republicans—were replaced by challengers. One week after the election, at their first meeting in November, the new board rescinded a resolution that the previous board had passed to route water directly from the Big Rapids city system to the Gotion site. The five officials who were replaced participated in a 7–0 vote in December 2022 to approve the Gotion project in Mecosta County. Gotion filed a federal lawsuit in March 2024, alleging that the township broke the development agreement, which requires the township to assist the company in obtaining the permits and authorizations needed for the project. According to court documents, Gotion claims that the township rescinded a water extension agreement resolution, making it impossible to obtain the water needed to complete the project and thereby breaking the agreement. Last spring, District Judge Jane Beckering approved a preliminary injunction requiring the township to comply with the development agreement for the $2.36 billion project until the case was resolved. During appellate court arguments on May 8, Robert Dube, of the Michigan law firm of Fahey Schultz Burzych Rhodes, argued that the township has the right to revoke any water deal under Michigan law. Dube told the three-judge panel that while Gotion could seek damages, the contract was subject to future ordinances and laws that might impact the agreement. He added that Gotion never applied for a single permit from the township, so the company cannot blame the township for the lack of development. 'They haven't even applied for zoning,' he said during the hearing. 'We don't think Gotion has shown that they have the damages they're claiming.' Scott Hamilton, an attorney for Dickinson Wright of Michigan, appeared on Gotion's behalf. He said Gotion's deal with the township had been years in the making and involved contracts with the Michigan Strategic Fund and the Michigan Department of Economic Development. He said those contracts, along with tax incentives, attracted Gotion to Costa County in Michigan, specifically to Green Charter Township. 'They essentially said, Gotion, please come and build your facility here, and we will give you all of these incentives to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars,' Hamilton said. If Gotion can't continue with the project, it will suffer 'irreparable' harm, he claimed, because of its obligations with other entities within the state. 'You can't calculate the domino effect,' he said. After the hearing, the town's supervisor, Jason Kruse, who attended the hearing, commended its attorneys. 'Our legal team has done an excellent job defending Green Charter Township, and I look forward to the judge's opinion,' Jason Kruse, Green Township supervisor, told The Epoch Times. Gotion's attorney did not respond to a request for comment.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge grants injunction protecting WMU international students' enrollment status
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — A judge granted a preliminary injunction to a number of international students, including three at Western Michigan University, saying the federal government must keep their information in a database that tracks their enrollment status. U.S. District Court Judge Jane Beckering issued the preliminary injunction in a written order Wednesday. She told Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that she may not terminate the students' records in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System 'absent valid ground' as set forth by law. The judge also told the federal government it may not arrest, detain or move the students out of the jurisdictions they are already in without telling the court first. Beckering had already issued a temporary restraining order to keep the students' information in SEVIS ahead of a hearing on the matter. That was held Tuesday. 'At oral argument on May 6, 2025, Defendants argued that the general authority that Congress conferred under 8 U.S.C. § 1372 to 'develop and conduct a program to collect … information' about nonimmigrant students somehow provides them specific authority to terminate Plaintiffs' status,' Beckering wrote in part in the injunction. 'The Court finds the argument wholly unpersuasive and Defendants' reliance on § 1372 for this proposition misplaced.' Beckering told the government to provide proof by May 13 that the students' information is back in SEVIS. The injunction remains in effect indefinitely as the students' lawsuit against the federal government moves forward. The three WMU students are among 10 at various universities in Michigan and elsewhere who are suing the government, saying it unlawfully terminated their status in SEVIS. According to a redacted version of the original lawsuit previously sent to News 8, the reason government officials stated for terminating the students' SEVIS status in an email was 'OTHERWISE FAILING TO MAINTAIN STATUS: Individual identified in criminal records check and/or has had their VISA revoked.' According to the suit, one WMU student is a 27-year-old man from India who is expected to graduate this year with a master's in industrial engineering. He completed probation in January and a misdemeanor retail fraud case was dismissed. A speeding violation was also dismissed. Attorneys in the complaint said that whether or not the dismissal is considered a 'conviction' in immigration law, it does not make the student removable or inadmissible form the U.S. The second student is a 27-year-old man from Nepal who previously graduated from WMU with a bachelor's and master's degrees in aerospace engineering. In his record is one traffic violation, which lawyers say was dismissed after he paid a fine. A third is a 31-year-old woman who is a Chinese citizen. The doctoral education student is married to a U.S. citizen, has a daughter who is a U.S. citizen and is expecting another child. In December 2020, she got a speeding ticket in Nebraska, which was later dismissed the following year. The government has until June 17 to file its response to the lawsuit. In April, WMU leaders shared that six students had their SEVIS status terminated, with one student's visa revoked that the university was aware of. —News 8 photojournalist Nick Ponton contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge orders WMU students' enrollment status reinstated
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — A judge has told the federal government to put three Western Michigan University international students back into a database that tracks their enrollment status. U.S. District Court Judge Jane Beckering issued a temporary restraining order dated Wednesday telling Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to put the students' information back in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System and keep it there 'absent a valid ground for termination of nonimmigrant status' as set forth by law. The order also told the federal government it may not arrest, detain or move the students out of the jurisdictions they are already in without telling the court first. The judge said the students may not be deported based on their SEVIS status. WMU international students file lawsuit over status change The three WMU students are among 10 at various universities in Michigan and elsewhere that filed the federal lawsuit, saying the government unlawfully terminated their status in SEVIS. According to a redacted complaint sent to News 8, the reason government officials stated for terminating that status in an email was 'OTHERWISE FAILING TO MAINTAIN STATUS: Individual identified in criminal records check and/or has had their VISA revoked.' Last week, WMU leaders shared that six students so far had their SEVIS status terminated, with one student's visa revoked that the university is aware of. Student status change worries WMU students, organizations According to the complaint, one WMU student is a 27-year-old man from India who is expected to graduate this year with a master's in industrial engineering. He completed probation in January and a misdemeanor retail fraud case was dismissed. A speeding violation was also dismissed. Attorneys in the complaint said that whether or not the dismissal is considered a 'conviction' in immigration law, it does not make the student removable or inadmissible form the U.S. The second student is a 27-year-old man from Nepal who previously graduated from WMU with a bachelor's and master's degrees in aerospace engineering. In his record is one traffic violation, which lawyers say was dismissed after he paid a fine. A third is a 31-year-old woman who is a Chinese citizen. The doctoral education student is married to a U.S. citizen, has a daughter who is a U.S. citizen and is expecting another child. In December 2020, she got a speeding ticket in Nebraska, which was later dismissed the following year. The judge wrote in her order that the students have shown they could win their claim and that they would suffer irreparable injury without the injunction. 'In sum, this Court … determines that the balance of factors weighs in favor of granting temporary injunctive relief,' Beckering wrote. 'Granting emergency relief will merely maintain the status quo that has been in place for the several years that Plaintiffs have been in the United States.' The temporary restraining order is in effect for 14 days, though it could be extended. A hearing in the case has been set for May 6 in federal court in Grand Rapids. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Republican AGs ask federal appeals panel to overturn Michigan's conversion therapy ban
LGBTQ+ flags fly outside the state Senate building during Michigan Pride in Lansing on June 26, 2022. | Photo by Laina G. Stebbins The Republican attorneys general for Iowa and South Carolina are leading a coalition of 11 states in seeking to overturn Michigan's ban on conversion therapy for minors. Contending that the law censors therapists' speech, the coalition filed a brief Friday in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals requesting a reversal of a decision issued in January by U.S. District Judge Jane Beckering. Beckering, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, found the Michigan law does not govern free expression of religion or speech, but instead professional conduct, which she said the state has a 'legitimate interest' in regulating. Passed in 2023 by Michigan's then Democratic-led Legislature, the law prohibits mental health professionals from seeking to alter a minor's sexual orientation or gender identity, a practice known as conversion therapy, or risk facing disciplinary action that could result in the loss of their professional licenses. However, the group of Republican attorneys general says the ruling sets up a 'censorship regime' that forces mental health professionals to 'choose between making a living in a licensed profession and retaining their right to speak freely.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The case stems from a lawsuit filed in July 2024 by Catholic Charities of Jackson, Lenawee and Hillsdale Counties on behalf of Emily McJones, a licensed therapist from Lansing, whose practice, Little Flower Counseling, provides 'evidenced-based treatments from a perspective that is faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church, while loving and caring for each client.' However, the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry has determined that not only do conversion therapies 'lack scientific credibility and clinical utility,' there is 'evidence that such interventions are harmful.' That stance is shared by the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, as well as the American Psychological Association and the National Association of School Psychologists. Regardless, the Republican attorneys general argue Michigan's ban risks tainting medicine with politics. In addition to the attorneys general in Iowa and South Carolina, the brief is signed on by AGs in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, and North Dakota. 'Free speech should protect the medical field from political pressure seeking to stifle scientific advancements. And it is far from clear that the ideological partisan bent embodied in Michigan's law is 'settled' in any meaningful sense,' the brief said. A similar law in Colorado is set to be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court later this fall.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Federal judge denies request to stop Michigan's ban on conversion therapy
A federal judge has denied a request to stop a Michigan law banning practicing conversion therapy for LGBTQ minors, ruling in a lawsuit brought on by religious groups last year, although plaintiffs have appealed the ruling. U.S. District Judge Jane Beckering ruled Tuesday the state law does not appear to violate the free speech of mental health therapists in Michigan. A lawsuit, filed in July on behalf of the Catholic Charities of Jackson, Lenawee and Hillsdale Counties and Emily McJones, a Lansing-based therapist, sought to have a preliminary injunction issued against the law. In a 36-page ruling, Beckering denied the motion for a preliminary injunction, writing plaintiffs were unlikely to succeed on the merits of their case. "The language of the law, on its face, concerns treatment and does not target speech," Beckering wrote. "The law provides that licensed mental health professionals shall not 'engage in conversion therapy with a minor,' with 'conversion therapy' defined as a 'practice or treatment.'" Beckering is an appointee of former President Joe Biden. The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a Washington-based nonprofit legal group that aims to defend religious expression, represented the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Plaintiffs filed an appeal to the Cincinnati-based U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday, court records show. Conversion therapy is the practice of trying to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity through counseling or psychoanalysis, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP). According to AACAP, there is no evidence conversion therapy is effective, however, there is evidence the practice can be harmful to children's development. In 2023, the Michigan House and Senate passed bills banning the practice, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the ban into law in July of that year. The bills passed mostly along party lines, with Democrats supporting them and Republicans largely opposed. At the time, LGBTQ advocacy organizations commended the legislation. Under Michigan's ban, the definition of conversion therapy would not include counseling for individuals undergoing gender transition, counseling for those coping with questions about their sexual orientation or gender identity, or interventions for unlawful sexual conduct or abuse, so long as the interventions don't attempt to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit argued the law violates their free speech, free exercise of religion and due process rights because it limits how they can practice counseling minors who are questioning their gender identity or sexual orientation. A Becket official criticized the law and said the plaintiffs look forward to a ruling in their appeal. "Michigan's new law pushes vulnerable children down a dangerous path of drugs, hormones, and surgeries that have been banned by the majority of states and federal government," Luke Goodrich, vice president and senior counsel at Becket, said in a statement provided to the Free Press. "It harms children, defies the best available scientific evidence, and cuts children off from the compassionate, evidence-based counseling they need." Twenty-three states currently have laws prohibiting conversion therapy for minors, according to the Movement Advance Project. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, whose office represents the state in litigation against its laws, applauded Beckering's ruling and said her office would continue its efforts to have the lawsuit dismissed. 'The harms of conversion therapy on our children are well known and documented, which is why Governor Whitmer and health officials took action to protect their mental health,' Nessel said in a statement. 'States have a duty to shield their residents, especially kids, from treatments proven to cause devastating harm, and I am glad the Court denied this request to block the enforcement of this critical law." Whitmer, Nessel, state health and licensing officials, including Michigan Department of Health Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel, and members of the state's Board of Counseling, Board of Social Workers and Board of Psychology are listed as defendants in the lawsuits. Beckering's ruling removed Hertel as a defendant, with the judge ruling plaintiffs had failed to demonstrate her standing in the case. Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Judge denies request to stop Michigan's ban on conversion therapy
