A Woodbury County jail inmate is suing the federal government, alleging she’s being unlawfully detained by ICE and faces a year of confinement while being denied her due process rights. The case is one of hundreds of similar lawsuits filed around that nation against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and […]
Clark Kauffman, Iowa Capital Dispatch
Posted inCommunity/News
Public defender sues state, claiming she was fired for comments about Charlie Kirk
The State of Iowa is being sued by an attorney who claims she was fired from the Office of the State Public Defender for online comments made in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder in September. Maria Ruhtenberg, an attorney for the State Public Defender, is suing the State of Iowa and State Public Defender […]
Posted inCommunity/News
A third lawsuit challenges Iowa’s new law to support small, rural pharmacies by regulating drug-cost middle-men
A third lawsuit has been filed against Iowa’s insurance commissioner over the legality of a new state law regulating pharmacy benefit managers, the third-party companies that act as intermediaries between insurance companies, drug manufacturers and pharmacies. A group of insurance companies argue SF 383, signed into law earlier this year, “upends the prescription-drug coverage that […]
Posted inCommunity/News
ICE detainees held in Iowa jails are being denied due process, federal judge says
A federal judge has ordered the U.S. government to follow due process and provide bond hearings for two individuals being detained in Iowa county jails by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Both people have sought asylum in the United States, claiming they are fleeing persecution in their home country. In recent months, hundreds of […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Judge rules in favor of Iowa teacher facing dismissal for Charlie Kirk-related posts
A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order preventing the Creston Community School District from moving forward with plans to fire a teacher for her comments regarding the slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Last month, Melisa Crook, a high school English teacher from Creston, was informed that she was facing termination for a social […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Sioux City roofer held in jail by ICE sues over being denied a bond hearing
An Iowa man who claims he is being held in jail while facing deportation, without the opportunity to argue for release on bond, is suing county and federal officials for alleged violations of his due process rights. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, alleges the actions of federal […]
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More Iowans sue Homeland Security over delays in naturalization process
A Bettendorf man and a couple from Perry are suing the federal government over what they claim are years of unexplained delays in the citizenship and naturalization process. Konstantin Konev, a citizen of Belurus and a legal permanent resident of the United States for more than five years, is suing the U.S. Department of Homeland […]
Posted inCentral Iowa
Department of Homeland Security moves to deport Iowa couple that’s suing the agency
Federal officials are moving to deport a central Iowa couple who is suing the government over a five-year delay in processing their naturalization application. The stated rationale for the attempted removal of Justin and Victoria Kokeh from the United States is that the couple lied in 2013 when they claimed to have no children. According […]
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Sharply divided Iowa Supreme Court dismisses wrongful imprisonment claim
A sharply divided Iowa Supreme Court has affirmed a lower court decision dismissing a former prisoner’s claim for damages due to wrongful imprisonment. In strongly worded dissenting opinions, two of the Iowa justices called the majority’s decision in the case on Friday “frightening” and “profoundly wrong,” warning that it could remove any disincentive for state […]
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AG Bird continues case against sheriff over Facebook post on ICE, tells court Winneshiek County must lose its state funding
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is continuing to pursue a lawsuit against Winneshiek County and its sheriff, Dan Marx, for allegedly violating Iowa law by discouraging law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration officials. In her latest court filings, Bird has criticized Marx, alleging the sheriff has, in essence, asserted that “federal immigration officials should […]
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Judge cites lack of confidence in Homeland Security, issues injunction protecting four UI students in lawsuit
Stating that she has “little confidence” the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will comply with its own regulations, a federal judge on Thursday issued a preliminary injunction protecting four University of Iowa students and graduates from deportation. The three international students and one international-student graduate are suing Homeland Security for revoking their status as students […]
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Iowa Supreme Court rejects LULAC’s lawsuit over English-only voting materials
The Iowa Supreme Court has reversed a district court decision that cleared the way for election officials to distribute voter materials in languages other than English. Without directly addressing the merits of Iowa’s law restricting the dissemination of government records in languages other than English, the court found that the League of United Latin American […]
