The Biden administration is expected to announce new federal rules as early as today that would allow immigration officials to deport migrants who are ineligible for asylum much faster than they can now. CBS News More: The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday heard from youths harmed by Trump-era restrictions on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that offers some legal protection to the children of undocumented immigrants. NBC News Some 400,000 young people remain in legal limbo after the federal courts blocked the registration of these new “Dreamers.” During the hearing, Republican senators reiterated their opposition to a path to citizenship for these youths. UPI/Medill News Service
The politics of campus protests. Police cleared the George Washington University campus of pro-Palestinian protesters on Wednesday. Nearly three dozen people were arrested hours before Washington, D.C. officials were scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill about their response to the protests. The hearing was then canceled. The Washington Post Someone made the decision to call state police to the University of Virginia campus last weekend to break up a protest encampment. But no one has stepped forward to take credit, or blame, for the action. The Daily Progress Related commentary: The words protesters choose matter. The Atlantic
“Staring at a blank wall all day everyday just makes me want to give up.” Corrections officials in New York have refused to fully implement a two-year-old law restricting the use of solitary confinement, according to a new class-action lawsuit filed by prison advocates. State law now bars the use of isolated detention for people with mental illness and limits the use of long-term solitary confinement for all prisoners. But guards continue to hold incarcerated people with disabilities in isolation for extended periods. The New York Times TMP Context: Inside the underground economy of solitary confinement. The Marshall Project
The Battle of Castle Hills, Texas. The U.S. Supreme Court could rule soon on a local dispute between a 72-year-old city councilwoman and police and other local officials that now has national implications. The justices have been asked to determine whether to revive or extinguish Sylvia Gonzalez’s lawsuit alleging that she was wrongfully arrested in retaliation for her actions as a councilor by police officers she claims were in cahoots with city officials. The 5th Circuit ruled against Gonzalez using a narrow definition of “retaliatory arrest” that would, critics say, allow for all sorts of politically motivated arrests of local officials. Texas Observer
Troy Finner is out as police chief in Houston, Texas, the mayor announced on Wednesday. The Houston Police Department is under investigation after the recent discovery that hundreds of thousands of police incident reports, including violent crime cases, were never investigated. The Associated Press Larry Satterwhite, one of Finner’s assistants, is now serving as acting chief of police. Houston Public Media
The Georgia Court of Appeals agreed on Wednesday to hear Donald Trump’s disqualification motion challenging Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ continued involvement in the election interference case against him. Atlanta Journal-Constitution Related: Read the ruling. Georgia Court of Appeals
Republican legislators in Louisiana refused to add exceptions for rape and incest to the state’s restrictive anti-abortion law this week. The Associated Press TMP Context: Reproductive care was awful in prison even before Roe v. Wade was struck down. The Marshall Project
In the span of two weeks, the UCLA campus in Los Angeles, California, has gone from the scene of peaceful pro-Palestinian protests to violence to questions about the tactics of campus police and other officials. Los Angeles Times
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals says executions in the state will be set 90 days apart to allow executioners and other corrections staff extra time to recover emotionally from the stress of killing a person sentenced to death. The Oklahoman
“I refuse to celebrate Mother’s Day until we are together again.” This Sunday, amid the brunches and the flowers, incarcerated mothers all over the U.S. will be apart from their children. The Appeal TMP Context: Why mothers are the unsung heroes of prison. The Marshall Project
“Perception is reality. Nobody is buying the narrative that crime is getting better.” Fear of crime of immigrants, of many other things, real or imagined, fuels support for former President Donald Trump. The Atlantic
“I think there is a misperception about the law and about what this case is about.” What must prosecutors prove in Donald Trump’s “hush money” election interference trial now underway in New York? Lawfare More: A key part of Trump’s defense is a familiar one for him—to blame and shame a woman. Slate
A clear and obvious breach of legal ethics. Activist “conservative” federal judges want to ban Columbia University students from prestigious clerking jobs over the university’s positions on pro-Palestinian protests and free speech. The New Republic
Defying trends, border crossings by asylum-seekers and other migrants continue to drop. They are down 40% this year. That’s little consolation for people stuck in Mexico trying to make their way north. CBS News
A 2019 #MeToo law gets some teeth. The New Jersey Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled in favor of a female police sergeant who criticized her former department as a “good ol’ boy” club after settling a discrimination lawsuit. NJ.com
A fight over privacy rights for travelers breaks out. A bipartisan group of U.S. senators want to block the expanded use of facial recognition technology at airports. The New York Times
Is there a money-back guarantee on prison tablets? The Bureau of Prisons disables chat apps in electronic tablets that corrections officers give out to some federal prisoners. Wired TMP Context: Giving incarcerated people what they want. Better news access. The Marshall Project
Racial disparities worsen even as fewer youths are sentenced to life. There’s been a substantial decrease in the number of juveniles serving life-without-parole sentences. “However, despite these positive shifts, the percentage of Black children serving juvenile life without parole has risen significantly – from 60% historically to nearly 80% today.” Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth
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