Free Republic

An appeals court on Tuesday ruled that part of Florida’s law restricting how race and gender are taught in classrooms, specifically provisions restricting how those topics are taught in colleges, violates free speech rights. In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit determined part of the Stop Wrongs Against Our Kids and Employees Act, or Stop WOKE Act, signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in 2022 is unlawful. The law was designed to restrict public universities, K-12 schools and private workplaces from promoting certain concepts related to racism, gender and systemic privilege. This week’s...

A federal judge in Ohio has ordered the Trump administration to resume processing certain immigration benefit applications, delivering the latest legal setback to a broader effort by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to freeze or delay immigration cases. U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley granted a preliminary injunction Monday in a case brought by 25 foreign nationals who said their applications for work authorization, green cards and other immigration benefits had been stalled under USCIS and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policies tied to countries covered by President Donald Trump's travel restrictions. The decision could affect immigrants seeking green...

Massachusetts US District Judge Myong Joun struck down the Trump Administration's attempt to disallow public service workers from receiving debt relief for working with employers that are deemed to have a "substantial illegal purpose." The Judge said that "the Biden Administration classified student debtors working with organizations like USAID as eligible for debt forgiveness. Later evidence indicating that some of these employers were engaged in efforts to promote illegal immigration and terrorists cells cannot undo the promised debt relief. Trying to single out these activities for punitive action can be seen as an impermissible suppression of their right to freedom...

A federal judge is again directing the Justice Department to formally address whether the Trump administration's "Anti-Weaponization Fund" is dead, as the agency has claimed. The order, filed Wednesday by District Judge Leonie Brinkema, comes after the Justice Department refused to issue a signed declaration verifying the $1.8 billion fund was not moving forward. In her order, Brinkema said she is not satisfied with the DOJ's contention that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's recent testimony before Congress is proof enough that the fund is dead. "That the defendants have refused to accord a genuine degree of trustworthiness to their representations...

A federal judge on Thursday blocked Philadelphia ​from enforcing a new city law that would have prohibited federal law enforcement agents ‌from wearing masks, ruling the city cannot dictate how they conduct operations amid a national debate over masked immigration agents carrying out arrests. U.S. District Judge Chad Kenney, at the request of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, issued a ​preliminary injunction, opens new tab barring Philadelphia from enforcing key provisions of the law against federal officers ​before they are scheduled to take effect on Tuesday. Philadelphia’s mask ban was enacted ⁠earlier this year as part of a larger “ICE...

A progressive protest group has been flying an 8647 flag on federal land near the National Mall, aimed squarely at the President of the United States. The National Park Service called it a true threat and moved to shut it down. An Obama-appointed federal judge just told the government to leave it alone. On June 29, 2026, U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss, appointed by Barack Obama, granted summary judgment to Accountability NOW USA and entered a permanent injunction against the Park Service and Interior officials. The order blocks the government from revoking the group’s demonstration permit or seizing and...

REUTERS—A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the U.S. Postal Service’s proposed restrictions on mail-in voting, finding that they violated a settlement with a leading civil rights group that required expedited mail-in ballot handling. The decision by Washington-based U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan marked the second defeat in the courts in as many weeks for U.S. President Donald Trump’s push to severely restrict mail-in voting ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections, with his Republican Party locked in a tight battle to maintain control of both houses of Congress. The Postal Service in May proposed a rule requiring states to provide...

A federal judge on Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Pentagon's policy requiring escorts for reporters. US District Judge Paul Friedman, a Clinton appointee, sided with the New York Times and blocked the Pentagon from enforcing its policy requiring the reporters to be accompanied by an official escort. The judge's injunction only applies to reporters with the New York Times. Politico reported: A federal district court judge on Tuesday blocked the Defense Department from requiring journalists to be accompanied by an official escort in the Pentagon, siding with The New York Times in its latest legal fight with the...

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday blocked the Trump administration from immediately moving forward with its plan to dramatically slash the bloated workforce at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) by roughly two-thirds. This is the latest chapter in the ongoing war between President Trump’s mandate to drain the swamp and the entrenched bureaucracy that refuses to die. The D.C. Circuit granted the administration’s motion to send the case back to the district court for further review of an earlier injunction, but they flat-out refused to lift the stay preventing the workforce reductions...

A Tennessee state court judge temporarily blocked on Monday Republican Governor Bill Lee's deployment of National Guard troops to the city of Memphis, ruling that the use of troops was likely not legal under the state's militia law. Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal of the Davidson County Chancery Court in Nashville said the militia law required Tennessee's General Assembly to call in the National Guard for public safety. She ruled that crime rates in Memphis were not a "grave emergency" or "disaster" that would authorize Lee to send troops in his role as commander-in-chief of the state’s military forces. Her order...

A federal judge on Friday blocked the IRS from giving ICE the home addresses of taxpayers who might be undocumented immigrants — dealing a blow to the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts. The ruling is a significant victory for immigrant-rights group and liberal activists who are trying to resist the mass deportations that President Donald Trump has made a top priority for the first year of his second term. The Trump administration can appeal the decision, and it has a decent track record this year of overturning lower-court losses. A separate federal judge in a related case previously declined to...

A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked a Trump administration policy that sought to require members of Congress to submit requests a week before visiting and inspecting Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities. U.S. District Court Judge Jia Cobb ruled that the policy likely violated an appropriations law passed by Congress saying that the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, cannot use funds to require lawmakers in Congress to "provide prior notice of the intent to enter a facility" to conduct oversight. That DHS policy, announced in June, said members of Congress should file requests to inspect ICE facilities...

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must stop requiring that grant applications not include terms related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), including the term “pregnant people,” under a new order from a federal judge. U.S. District Judge Ricardo Martinez, based in Seattle, said in the Jan. 5 ruling that plaintiffs in the case provided examples of harm related to instructions on grant applications from HHS. He ordered the government to stop enforcing a requirement that applicants certify they would not “operate any programs that advance or promote DEI ... or discriminatory equity ideology in violation of Federal...

NEW YORK, Jan 9 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Friday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's administration from freezing access by five Democratic-led states to more than $10 billion of federal funds for child care and family assistance based on what it said were concerns about fraud. U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, an appointee of Democratic former President Joe Biden, said he issued a temporary restraining order for the reasons stated in a legal filing by California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York, which filed the lawsuit. The states sued the Trump administration late on Thursday, two days after the...

A federal judge on Wednesday blocked President Donald Trump's administration from withholding $80 million to administer Minnesota's food stamp program while the state reviews the eligibility of 100,000 households amid claims ​of widespread fraud.

A federal judge on Friday issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) and blocked ICE from arresting so-called peaceful protestors. US District Judge Katherine Menendez, a Biden appointee, also blocked ICE agents from deploying non-lethal munitions and crowd dispersal tools against protestors. Six individuals sued The DHS, DHS Chief Kristi Noem and other federal agencies to restrict ICE’s tactics. Approximately 3,000 federal agents have descended on Minnesota to arrest criminal illegal aliens. Judge Menendez also ruled that protestors may ‘safely’ follow ICE vehicles. The judge ruled: Covered Federal Agents are hereby enjoined from: a. Retaliating against persons who are engaging in...

BOSTON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's push to terminate the legal status of more than 8,400 family members of U.S. citizens and green card holders who moved to the United States from seven Latin American countries. Boston-based U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued a preliminary injunction late on Saturday that prevents the Department of Homeland Security from ending the humanitarian parole granted to thousands of people from Cuba, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. They had been allowed to move to the United States under family reunification parole programs that were...

On Saturday, a federal judge refused Minnesota’s bid to halt the Trump administration’s expanded immigration enforcement operation in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area, leaving in place the deployment of thousands of ICE and Border Patrol agents. Minnesota state officials had asked the court for an emergency injunction to stop “Operation Metro Surge,” a surge of roughly 3,000 federal immigration officers that they argued went beyond lawful federal authority and violated state sovereignty. They had accused the administration of using enforcement as political leverage against the predominantly Democratic state, alleging civil-rights violations and disproportionate targeting.

A federal judge blocked the Trump administration's attempt to force Michigan to hand over its full, unredacted voter registration rolls. The judge ruled that federal law does not require the state to disclose voters' private information. U.S. District Judge Hala Jarbou of the Western District of Michigan dismissed a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice after Michigan refused to provide a complete voter list containing personally identifiable details. Jarbou, who was appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term, granted the state's request to toss out the case. The dispute began last year as the Justice Department...

HHS secretary violated federal procedures in revamping advisory committee, judge saysA federal judge in Boston has temporarily blocked federal health officials from cutting the number of vaccines recommended for every child, and says Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. likely violated federal procedures in revamping a key vaccine advisory committee. The decision Monday halts an order by Kennedy -- announced in January -- to end broad recommendations for all children to be vaccinated against flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, some forms of meningitis, and RSV. Leading medical groups voiced alarm at the changes. The American Academy of Pediatrics and...