Blog
All Blogs
-
People For in ActionJuly 5, 2019 3:16 pm | By Surya Swaroop
Sen. Richard Blumenthal Talks Recent Supreme Court Term in PFAW Telebriefing: “We’re in for a rough ride.”
On July 2, 2019, PFAW hosted a member telebriefing with Senator Blumenthal, D-Conn., to discuss the big takeaways from the Supreme Court term. The senator and PFAW’s experts focused on the impact that Kavanaugh’s replacement of Kennedy had on the…
-
News and AnalysisJuly 5, 2019 1:53 pm | By Tori Slatton
Activists Around the Country Demand our Government #CloseTheCamps
After nearly three years of Donald Trump’s dangerous and abhorrent anti-immigrant rhetoric, it should be no surprise that the treatment of immigrants under his administration has been increasingly devastating. A harrowing report from the Department of Homeland Security’s independent watchdog…
-
News and AnalysisJuly 5, 2019 9:26 am | By Tori Slatton
The Lives of 800,000 DACA Recipients are Now in the Hands of the Supreme Court
Nearly 800,000 young immigrants protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (“DACA”) have been living in political limbo for years under a unique status that safeguards them from the immediate threat of deportation without a pathway to citizenship…
-
People For in ActionJuly 3, 2019 5:00 pm | By Jen Herrick
PFAW Foundation Brief Urges Supreme Court to Affirm LGBTQ+ Protections
People For the American Way Foundation was among the allied organizations that came together in April 2017 on a friend-of-the-court brief supporting Aimee Stephens' claim that her rights were violated when she was fired for living and dressing consistent with…
-
People For in ActionJuly 3, 2019 9:27 am | By Marge Baker
Judicial Nominees Should Be Committed to Brown v. Board—Oppose Damon Leichty
On July 17, 2018, President Trump nominated Damon Leichty to be a federal judge in the Northern District of Indiana. The Senate Judiciary Committee held Leichty's hearing on November 13, 2018 and reported him to the full Senate on February…
-
Federal UpdateJuly 2, 2019 12:15 pm | By Elliot Mincberg
Gorsuch and Kavanaugh Vote to Empower Trump Administration to Add Citizenship Question to Census and Almost Let It Do So Dishonestly
“Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears” is a blog series documenting the harmful impact of President Trump’s judges on Americans’ rights and liberties. In a splintered June decision in Department of Commerce v. New York, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the…
-
News and AnalysisJuly 1, 2019 1:58 pm | By Surya Swaroop
LGBTQ+ Immigrants Are Subject to Abuse and Denied Basic Human Rights
On June 1, Johana Medina Leon, a transgender woman seeking asylum from El Salvador, died in a Texas hospital after her release from ICE custody. She had been denied medical attention for an existing illness and tested positive for HIV…
-
News and AnalysisJune 28, 2019 3:59 pm | By Tori Slatton
Democratic Debates Covered Immigration, Abortion, Health Care. The Common Thread is Our Courts.
In a time when our rights, the environment, and our country is under attack, the stakes for the 2020 election have never been higher. This week, many anxious viewers watched the Democratic primary debates, hoping to find both a standout…
-
News and AnalysisJune 28, 2019 1:27 pm | By Elliot Mincberg
Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears: Four Trump Circuit Judges Try to Allow Religious School to Fire Employee Because of Breast Cancer
“Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears” is a blog series documenting the harmful impact of President Trump’s judges on Americans’ rights and liberties. Four Trump judges on the Ninth Circuit, along with five other Republican appointees, dissented from a decision in Biel…
-
Federal UpdateJune 27, 2019 3:35 pm | By Paul Gordon
On Partisan Redistricting, Kavanaugh Closes the Door that Kennedy Had Left Open
“Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears” is a blog series documenting the harmful impact of President Trump’s judges on Americans’ rights and liberties. The Supreme Court’s decision on partisan redistricting demonstrates the enormous impact on our democracy of replacing Anthony Kennedy with…
-
News and AnalysisJune 27, 2019 2:42 pm | By Tori Slatton
Celebrities are Speaking Out About the Mueller Report
The Mueller report, officially titled Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election, is a stain on the Trump administration and a reminder of Trump’s ongoing corruption. Upon its release in April 2019, Attorney General William…
-
People For in ActionJune 26, 2019 10:21 am | By Marge Baker
Judicial Nominee Peter Phipps, Opposed by Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey, Disrespected Transgender People
On May 13, President Trump nominated Peter Phipps of Pennsylvania to be a judge on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals over the objection of home state senator Bob Casey. The Senate Judiciary Committee held Phipps' hearing on June 5…
-
News and AnalysisJune 21, 2019 6:19 pm | By Rio Tazewell
Bipartisan Experts Criticize Trump Stonewalling and Willingness to Accept Russian Election Interference
On June 20, the House Judiciary Committee held its latest hearing aimed at exploring the findings of the Mueller report and the ongoing threat of foreign interference in our elections. The hearing featured several witnesses with various legal expertise and…
-
News and AnalysisJune 21, 2019 1:22 pm | By Jen Herrick
Stonewall at 50: Honoring Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera with Action
On June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn in New York City. The resistance of the Stonewall patrons, who had long been the target of anti-LGBTQ+ police bias and harassment, sparked the modern equality movement. Their uprising is why…
-
News and AnalysisJune 21, 2019 12:54 pm | By Elliot Mincberg
Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears: Kavanaugh and Gorsuch Cast Deciding Votes to Overrule Another Precedent, Both Harming Local Government and Endangering Roe v. Wade
“Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears” is a blog series documenting the harmful impact of President Trump’s judges on Americans’ rights and liberties. Trump-appointed Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh joined a 5-4 June decision in Knick v. Township of…
-
News and AnalysisJune 20, 2019 10:40 am | By Surya Swaroop
Eric Swalwell Would Nominate “Experienced, Qualified” Judges
With the first Democratic debate scheduled for June 26, PFAW continues to urge presidential candidates to address the importance of our federal courts and outline their plans for nominating fair-minded constitutionalists. At a gun violence prevention roundtable in Las Vegas,…
-
News and AnalysisJune 19, 2019 3:58 pm | By Marie Lindberg
Ken Cuccinelli Hates Immigrants: 11 Examples Over the Years
Ken Cuccinelli has not come right out and told us that he hates immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, and people who want reproductive freedom, but his years as an elected official in Virginia—first as a state senator and then as attorney general—clearly…
-
People For in ActionJune 19, 2019 11:38 am | By Marge Baker
Judicial Nominee Jason Pulliam’s Record Suggests Anti-Trans Bias
On March 5, President Trump nominated Jason Pulliam to be a federal judge in the Western District of Texas. The Senate Judiciary Committee held Pulliam's hearing on May 22 and has scheduled his committee vote for June 20. People For…
-
News and AnalysisJune 18, 2019 5:22 pm | By Elliot Mincberg
Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears: Trump Circuit Judges Barrett and Brennan Joined Dissent Foreshadowing Clarence Thomas’ Anti-Abortion Screed
“Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears” is a blog series documenting the harmful impact of President Trump’s judges on Americans’ rights and liberties. Trump Judges Amy Coney Barrett and Michael Brennan joined a June 2018 dissent in Planned Parenthood of Indiana and…
-
People For in ActionJune 17, 2019 6:15 pm | By Tori Slatton
Voting Rights Continue to Suffer Six Years After the Shelby County Ruling
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA), one of the most critical pieces of civil rights legislation in U.S. history, was born out of necessity during one of the darkest periods in our democracy. Although the Constitution protected the right…