Two more individuals detained in Iowa jails by immigration officials are suing the federal government, alleging their rights are being violated. In recent months, Iowa State Patrol troopers and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have worked together in pulling over commercial truck drivers near weigh stations along Interstate 80 as part of what they […]
U.S. Department of Justice
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Federal judge blocks Iowa’s attempt to create its own deportation system
A federal judge in Des Moines issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the enforcement of SF 2340, the Reynolds administration’s attempt to appropriate the federal government’s power to create and enforce immigration laws, establishing a state-level deportation process. U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Locher’s ruling came one week after he heard oral arguments in two lawsuits […]
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Federal judge hears arguments in lawsuits challenging Iowa’s attempt to create its own system to deport immigrants
A federal judge in Des Moines heard arguments on Monday on the attempt by the Reynolds administration to appropriate the federal government’s power to create and enforce immigration laws. SF 2340 makes it a state crime for a person to be in Iowa if they have previously been denied entry into the U.S., or been […]
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Two lawsuits filed over Iowa’s attempt to usurp federal immigration law and set up its own deportation system
Two lawsuits challenging the attempt by Republicans in the Iowa Legislature to let the Reynolds administration appropriate power belonging to the federal government in order to arrest and deport immigrants in Iowa based on their past, not current, immigration status were filed in federal court on Thursday. SF 2340, which Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law last […]
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DOJ will sue Reynolds administration if the state attempts to enforce its new immigration law
The U.S. Department of Justice has warned Gov. Reynolds that it will sue the state of Iowa if the Reynolds administration attempts to enforce SF 2340, the Des Moines Register reported on Friday. That bill, which Reynolds signed into law last month, would usurp the federal government’s enforcement of immigration laws by transferring some federal […]
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Cedar Rapids schools will stop using seclusion rooms after district reached settlement with Justice Department over disciplinary practices
The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Monday it had reached a settlement agreement with the Cedar Rapids Community School District regarding what it determined to be the school district’s “discriminatory use of seclusion and restraint against students with disabilities.” The Civil Rights Division began its review of whether […]
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Iowa Republican leaders line up behind Trump after FBI raid: ‘We’ve got a right 2b skeptical’
Iowa’s leading Republicans once again followed Donald Trump’s lead and used social media on Tuesday to suggest corruption led to FBI agents executing a search warrant at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property on Monday. Not corruption on Trump’s part, of course. Iowa GOP leaders have consistently ignored or avoided acting on evidence of Trump’s corruption, whether personal, […]
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Cedar Rapids Police Department receives federal grant to continue addressing mental health needs
A federal grant of $222,345 will support the Cedar Rapids Police Department (CRPD) in its work with Foundation 2, a nonprofit human services agency, to connect individuals experiencing mental health issues to appropriate resources, instead of incarcerating them.
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Trump’s Justice Department drops its support for an Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuit
The U.S. Justice Department’s sudden reversal in a case involving the Americans with Disabilities Act is adding to concerns about the Trump administration’s commitment to protecting civil rights.
