Nwexx

Posts

Inspection shows sanitation, use-of-force transparency lacking at La. ICE detention center

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer's badge and weapon are seen as ICE conducts a vehicle checkpoint in Washington, D.C. in August, 2025. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — A Louisiana detention center that houses roughly 1,500 immigrants failed to ensure sanitary conditions, properly store perishable food, properly notify use-of-force incidents and maintain medical records of detainees, according to a report published Thursday by the Department of Homeland Security’s internal watchdog. The findings stem from an unannounced visit from federal inspectors in March 2025 to the Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield, Louisiana. The report from the DHS Office of Inspector General comes on the heels of multiple hunger strikes from immigrants at detention centers, protests outside facilities , a rise in deaths in detention and calls from Democratic lawmakers to shut down certain sites due to poor and inhumane conditions. In a statement, a Department of ...

US House approves measure to restrain Trump action in Iran

President Donald Trump salutes as a U.S. Army carry team moves a flag-draped transfer case containing the remains of Sgt. Declan J. Coady at Dover Air Force Base on March 7, 2026 in Delaware. Six soldiers from the 103rd Sustainment Command were killed in action by an Iranian drone strike on March 1 in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait. (Photo by Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — The U.S. House passed a resolution Wednesday to force President Donald Trump to withdraw from the war with Iran and require congressional approval for further military action in the country. The 215-208 vote, in which four Republicans voted with all Democrats to adopt the resolution, is the strongest rebuke to date against Trump’s handling of the months-long war that has left more than a dozen military troops dead, killed thousands of Iranian civilians and disrupted global supply chains of fertilizer and oil with the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz. Republican Reps. Tom Barrett of Michigan, Warren Davidso...

The Supreme Court’s Allen v. Milligan decision is a political farce

The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 29, 2024. The nation's high court on Tuesday allowed Alabama to use a 2023 congressional map a lower court had deemed racially discriminatory. (Jane Norman/States Newsroom) Last month, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts bemoaned the public’s perception of the court. “I think, at a very basic level, people think we’re making policy decisions; we’re saying we think this is how things should be, as opposed to what the law provides,” he said at a conference in Hershey, Penn., for judges and lawyers. “I think they view us as purely political actors, which I don’t think is an accurate understanding of what we do.” Well, sir: If the court walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, you’ll have to forgive me if I assume that it is, in fact, a duck. GET THE MORNING HEADLINES. SUBSCRIBE What other conc...

States face tight timeline as feds unveil new Medicaid work requirement rules

Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, speaks at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., in December. CMS this week released guidance on how states should implement new Medicaid work requirements. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) The federal government released new guidance this week on how states should roll out the Medicaid work requirements that will affect healthcare coverage for millions of Americans. The new interim rule, issued by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, is intended to give states more details on how they’re supposed to verify the work status for about 20 million adults enrolled in Medicaid, the publicly funded health insurance program for people with low incomes. The new details come as states are staring down the January 1, 2027, deadline to put the new work requirements in place, and have requested more clarity from the feds on how they’re supposed to implement ...

US Senate panel pans DHS plan to stop customs processing at blue-city airports

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin leaves at the conclusion of the public portion of his confirmation hearing on March 18, 2026. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin appeared before the U.S. Senate Appropriations Homeland Security panel Tuesday and defended his threats to cripple international air travel into some cities led by Democrats. Democratic senators on the panel also pressed Mullin about aggressive immigration tactics from federal officers; whether the department would follow court orders from federal judges; and his recent televised comments floating plans to pull customs employees from airports in cities that don’t cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. Republicans also probed Mullin about visa issues affecting rural hospitals and employers in the hospitality industry. It was the first time Mullin, who was advocating for President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2027 budget request, has appeared befo...

Supreme Court allows Alabama to use 2023 congressional map in August special primary

The U.S. Supreme Court as seen on April 9, 2026. The Supreme Court on Tuesday evening allowed Alabama to use a 2023 congressional map that was previously ruled racially discriminatory, blocking a lower court's ruling, in an August special primary. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom) The U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday evening allowed Alabama to use a 2023 congressional map, reversing a lower court’s ruling that repeatedly deemed the map racially discriminatory. In an unsigned 6-3 decision on the case known as Allen v. Milligan, the court wrote that the lower court’s map would not be “more convenient” for Alabama than the congressional map the Legislature passed in 2023. “Here, the District Court interposed itself into Alabama’s ongoing efforts to conduct its imminent 2026 congressional elections under maps that its elected representatives selected,” the justices wrote. “While federal courts should not impose changes close to an election, states are free to decide for themselves...