Free Republic

The Supreme Court has voted to allow the Trump administration to enforce its new rule that restricts the eligibility of new immigrants who are deemed to likely become “public charges” if they receive visas.The top court justices voted 5-4 on Monday to grant a stay on nationwide injunctions issued by a lower court, allowing the Trump administration to enforce its “public charge” rule across the country, except for Illinois, while the appeals play out in court. A separate injunction ordered by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois remains in effect but only in that state.Justices...

A federal judge in Maryland has blocked the Trump administration's executive order allowing state and local governments to turn away refugees from resettling in their communities. In September, President Trump announced that groups that help refugees find places to live must first get written consent from local and state jurisdictions before resettling them. Immigration advocates challenged the executive order in federal court, calling it cruel and shortsighted. U.S. District Judge Peter Messitte said the executive order "does not appear to serve the overall public interest." In his 31-page opinion issued Wednesday, he wrote that the order gives states and local...

A federal judge has rejected President Trump’s push to dismiss a lawsuit against him for allegedly violating the emoluments clause of the Constitution. U.S. District Judge Peter Messitte in Maryland shut down the Justice Department’s arguments to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the attorney generals in D.C and Maryland, according to court documents. Trump is accused of violating the clause, which prevents elected officials from receiving gifts or benefits from foreign governments without Congress’s approval. --This breaking news report will be updated.

The Supreme Court has twice protected the Catholic nuns. Now their case is before the Court once again.WASHINGTON, D.C., January 17, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — The Supreme Court will once again weigh in on the case of the Little Sisters of the Poor in their legal battle against the HHS contraceptive mandate. The Supreme Court has twice protected the Catholic nuns, and an HHS rule issued in 2018 protects religious non-profits, but several states have dragged the Little Sisters of the Poor back to court. In Little Sisters of the Poor v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Little Sisters are defending their...

The Supreme Court will consider allowing the Trump administration to enforce rules that allow more employers to deny insurance coverage for contraceptives to women. The justices agreed Friday to yet another case stemming from President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, this time about cost-free birth control. The high court will review an appeals court ruling that blocked the Trump administration rules because it did not follow proper procedures. The new policy on contraception, issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, would allow more categories of employers, including publicly traded companies, to opt out of providing no-cost birth control...

A federal appeals court has ruled the Trump administration can divert $3.6 billion in military funds to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Multiple reports indicate the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to temporarily stay a lower court ruling out of Texas. Reuters reports the stay is pending an appeal by the Trump administration of the ruling by a federal judge that prevented the transfer of funds. El Paso County, Texas, and the Border Network for Human Rights have been challenging the funds transfer. The panel noted that the U.S. Supreme Court had issued a stay in...

A federal appeals court in Louisiana on Wednesday ruled the government can use $3.6 billion in military funds to construct border barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border. In a 2-1 ruling, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New Orleans, granted the administration's request for the court to stay, or temporarily halt, a ruling made last month by a federal judge in El Paso that blocked officials from using the Pentagon funds to fulfill one of President Trump's main campaign pledges.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - WA federal appeals court on Wednesday refused to set aside an injunction blocking the Trump administration from enforcing a rule that would withhold green cards from immigrants likely to require government assistance such as Medicaid or food stamps. In a brief order, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan also set an expedited schedule for the White House’s appeal of a lower court ruling against the rule, with legal papers to be submitted by Feb. 14 and oral arguments to be held soon afterward. The “public charge” rule unveiled last year would make it...

ALLAS (AP) — A federal judge has ruled the city of Dallas is not liable for an off-duty police officer fatally shooting a man in his own apartment last year. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn dismissed the city from civil lawsuit that the family of Botham Jean brought after the 26-year-old was killed by Amber Guyger.

A federal judge on Monday rejected Michael Flynn's comprehensive requests for exculpatory information that may have been withheld by the FBI, saying that the former national security adviser had waived his fundamental constitutional rights by pleading guilty to making false statements. The order from U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan in Washington also set a Jan. 28 sentencing date in the case, and essentially crushed any remaining hopes that Flynn might see his guilty plea tossed. The ruling came just days after Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz identified a slew of misconduct by FBI agents investigating former Trump aide...

Donald Trump's dream of building a "big, beautiful wall" along the southern border took a hit yesterday when a federal judge ruled that Pentagon funds totaling $3.6 billion diverted for 11 construction projects along the southern border could not be used for wall construction. Significantly, the judge, David Briones of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, ruled that other funds, already approved by the Supreme Court, could be spent. Those funds, which come from a Pentagon counter-narcotics fund, could still be used for wall construction. The argument being used by the city of El Paso was...

Full title: Von Spakovsky and Phillips: Bizarre federal court ruling halts Indiana efforts to clean up voter rolls With the 2020 presidential election less than a year away, America’s voter registration rolls are woefully out of shape. Yet well-funded liberal organizations are working to stop states from cleaning up rolls. Their latest victim is Indiana. A federal district court has temporarily halted the state’s effort to compare its voter rolls with those of other states to eliminate duplicate registrations. A three-judge panel of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals went to extraordinary lengths to come up with excuses for why...

Earlier this year, the Trump administration announced that it would expand the list of government benefits it considers when defining a person as a “public charge.” Under the new terms, an immigrant receiving, say, food stamps, emergency cash assistance, or living in public housing may see those benefits count against him when he seeks to upgrade or extend his visa status or apply for citizenship. It was long believed that immigrants to the United States should not impose social burdens and should thus secure local sponsors who could guarantee their expenses until they got settled. The Immigration Act of 1891,...

A federal court on Tuesday blocked new rules established by the Trump administration that would have allowed employers with religious or moral objections to opt out of an Obamacare requirement that includes birth control coverage in employee health insurance plans. Two out of the three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit concluded that a birth control exemption violated the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate, which requires all employers to provide birth control coverage with no co-payment. The Health and Human Services Department, Labor Department, and Treasury Department in 2017, started adopting new rules that allowed...

A federal judge blocked a Trump administration rule just days before it was due to go into effect and make it harder for low-income migrants to obtain green cards, dealing a serious blow to the president’s immigration agenda. New York federal Judge George Daniels on Friday issued a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration’s “public charge” rule, which takes into account a foreign national’s use of government benefits when they apply to live in the U.S. on a more permanent standing. Daniels — who was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by President...

A federal judge ruled Friday that President Donald Trump violated federal law when he used his declaration of a national emergency to get millions for building a wall on the southern border, NBC News reports. The ruling is a victory for El Paso County, Texas, and the Border Network for Human Rights, which sued to stop border construction in their community. They argued that Trump had no legal authority to spend more than what Congress appropriated for the wall project. In January the president asked for $5.7 billion to build "a steel barrier for the Southwest border," but Congress approved...

A federal judge in New York has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s “public charge” rule linking immigrants’ legal status to their use of public benefits. Judge George Daniels in the Southern District of New York issued a temporary nationwide injunction stopping the administration from enforcing the requirements, as well as a stay of the effective date. The rule was scheduled to take effect Oct. 15. The final rule, which was announced in August, targets immigrants trying to enter the United States or those already living here who are trying to obtain a green card. Under the rule, any immigrant who...

A federal judge in Texas declared on Friday that President Trump's proclamation of a national emergency on the southern border is unlawful, blocking the plan to divert funding for a border wall. Judge David Briones of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas said in his opinion that the plan would be blocked after getting input from both sides in a lawsuit for the scope of an injunction. The lawsuit was brought by El Paso County in Texas and a group called the Border Network for Human Rights. Briones, who was appointed to the court by President...

A federal judge in El Paso, Texas, rules against the Trump administration on border wall funding, saying the national emergency declaration by Pres. Trump was unlawful.

Federal appeals court rejects Trump's appeal of House subpoena for his tax returns