Author: Reporter

While a federal judge on September 13 declared illegal a revised version of a federal policy that prevents the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, he declined to order an immediate end to the program and the protections it offers to recipients. U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen agreed with Texas and eight other states suing to stop the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program. The judge’s ruling was ultimately expected to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, sending the program’s fate before the high court for a third time....

Republicans who gerrymandered their control the Wisconsin Senate voted on September 14 to override three of Governor Tony Evers’ vetoes, including one that attempted to enshrine school funding increases for 400 years. Republicans had the necessary two-thirds majority to override the vetoes in the Senate and did so in a series of 22-11 votes along party lines. However, they do not have enough votes in the Assembly. Vetoes must be overridden in both chambers in order to undo them. Two of the votes on September 14 attempted to undo partial vetoes Governor Evers made in July to the state...

States that declared themselves refuges for transgender people have essentially issued an invitation: Get your gender-affirming health care here without fearing prosecution at home. Now that bans on such care for minors are taking effect around the country, patients and their families are testing clinics’ capacity. Already-long waiting lists are growing, yet there are only so many providers of gender-affirming care and only so many patients they can see in a day. For those refuge states — so far, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Washington and Vermont, plus Washington, D.C. —...

The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Assembly passed a nearly $3 billion income tax cut proposal on September 12, despite promises from Democratic Governor Tony Evers to veto it. The heavily gerrymandered Assembly passed it 64-35 with all Republicans in support and Democrats against. Republicans claimed the measure was designed to combat inflation and make more Wisconsin retirees stay in the state. Democrats echoed Governor Evers in saying they did not think the tax cut was sustainable and efforts should instead focus in other areas, like making child care more affordable and tax cuts more targeted to the middle class. Governor Evers...