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GOP bill targets personal pronouns at Florida government workplaces
By Jim Saunders On November 21, 2023 TALLAHASSEE — In what could fuel a new round of legislative battles about gender identity, a House Republican on Tuesday filed a bill that would place restrictions on government workplace use of personal pronouns. The bill (HB 599), filed by Rep. Ryan Chamberlin, R-Belleview, for the 2024 legislative…
Florida drag shows win temporary victory in Supreme Court
By Nina Totenberg and Annie Gersh On November 16, 2023 The U.S. Supreme Court refused Thursday to reinstate a Florida law that punishes businesses for allowing children into drag shows. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law the “Protection of Children Act” in May to ban “children” from any “adult live performances” that feature sexual…
Texas school reverses decision that banned transgender student from role in musical
On November 14, 2023 SHERMAN, Texas (AP) — A Texas school district has apologized and reversed a decision that ousted a transgender student from a part in the musical “Oklahoma!” The school board in Sherman voted unanimously Monday to reinstate the original show and cast after a meeting in which dozens criticized them and spoke…
ACLU and families of trans teens ask Supreme Court to block Tennessee ban on gender-affirming care
By Kimberlee Kruesi On November 1, 2023 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Attorneys representing Tennessee transgender teens and their families asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to block a ban on gender-affirming care for minors that a lower court allowed to go into effect. Should the nation’s highest court agree to take the case, it…
1 in 3 U.S. Asians and Pacific Islanders faced racial abuse this year, says AP-NORC/AAPI Data poll
By Terry Tang On November 16, 2023 Despite ongoing advocacy and legislation to combat anti-Asian racism that arose after the pandemic, about a third of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders say they have experienced an act of abuse based on their race or ethnicity in the last year, including being on the receiving end of verbal harassment, slurs, physical…
EPA promised to address environmental racism. Flint is still waiting
By Yvette Cabrera, Jamie Smith, and Grey Moran On November 2, 2023 FLINT — Civil rights law offers a tool for communities of color trying to stop unequal exposure to pollution. Over and over, Flint residents have tried to make it work. From 1992 to 2015, residents and community groups filed a series of federal complaints…
USCIS Establishes Family Reunification Parole Process for Ecuador
On November 15, 2023 Process will allow family members to reunite in the United States while they wait for immigrant visas to become available WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced a Federal Register notice implementing a new family reunification parole (FRP) process for Ecuador, advancing the Biden-Harris Administration’s successful combination of expanded lawful pathways and strengthened…
USCIS Potomac Service Center Will No Longer Accept Paper Responses
On November 6, 2023 As of Aug. 21, 2023, the Potomac Service Center (PSC) has begun to move to a new facility in Camp Springs, MD, and can no longer receive paper responses to correspondence such as Notices of Intent to Deny (NOID), Notices of Intent to Revoke (NOIR), Intents to Deny (ITD), Requests for…
USCIS Updates Guidance on EB-5 Regional Center Program
On October 25, 2023 We are updating the USCIS Policy Manual with new guidance on the EB-5 Regional Center Program and new content on regional center designation and obligations, project applications, and direct and third-party promoters. This update incorporates changes from the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 into the Policy Manual, building…