Tag Archives: FIEL Houston

The lawsuit over the omnibus voter suppression law has begun

Posted on September 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Settle in, this will take awhile. Two years after voting rights groups challenged Texas Republicans’ sweeping overhaul of its voting and election laws, the case comes to trial Monday in a federal court in San Antonio. The lengthy roster of … Continue reading →

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Part of the omnibus voter suppression law struck down

Posted on August 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Some good news. A federal judge in San Antonio ruled this week that it is illegal for Texas elections officials to reject mail-in ballots and the applications for them over ID mistakes on elections paperwork. The requirement was part of … Continue reading →

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Miles picks a team

Posted on June 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

He keeps moving, I’m trying to keep up. Newly appointed Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles‘ first cabinet selections include a mix of HISD staff members, former employees of his charter school network, administrators from across Texas and educational analysts. Miles’ … Continue reading →

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Most of the lawsuit against the voter suppression law survives a motion to dismiss

Posted on August 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Some good news. In a limited order this week, a federal judge threw out some civil rights and discrimination claims brought as part of a complex and ongoing legal dispute over strict new voting rules in Texas. The lawsuit filed last year alleges that the … Continue reading →

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A brief update on the Gutierrez/Eckhardt redistricting lawsuit

Posted on October 31, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

First news we’ve had in awhile. Plaintiff: Democratic state Sens. Roland Gutierrez and Sarah Eckhardt What the lawsuit argues: Ahead of lawmakers’ third special session, two Democratic state senators sued to block the Legislature from redistricting in a special session … Continue reading →

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First lawsuit filed against the redistricting maps

Posted on October 19, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Why wait? We already know they suck. Before they’ve even been signed into law, Texas’ new maps for Congress and the statehouse are being challenged in court for allegedly discriminating against Latino voters. Filing the first federal lawsuit Monday in … Continue reading →

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First two lawsuits filed against the voter suppression bill

Posted on September 4, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

No time wasted. The top elections official in Harris County and a host of organizations that serve Texans of color and Texans with disabilities have fired the opening salvos in what’s expected to be an extensive legal battle over Texas’ … Continue reading →

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Abbott’s migrant roundup order still blocked

Posted on August 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A federal judge in El Paso on Friday extended her order blocking Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive to state troopers to pull over drivers transporting migrants “who pose a risk of carrying COVID-19.” U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone lengthened her … Continue reading →

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Another lawsuit filed against Abbott’s migrant transport order

Posted on August 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Bring them on. Immigrant rights groups backed by the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit against Texas Governor Greg Abbott over his executive order restricting the transportation of migrants, claiming it goes against federal law and amounts to racial profiling at the … Continue reading →

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Sheriff Gonzalez nominated to lead ICE

Posted on April 28, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that he will nominate Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, a vocal skeptic of cooperating with federal immigration authorities in certain circumstances, to serve as director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. As head of … Continue reading →

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More local pushback against SB7 and HB6

Posted on April 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Mayor Sylvester Turner invited a diverse group of elected officials, community leaders, and business executives to stand in solidarity against voter suppression bills in the Texas Legislature. More than 50 individuals and organizations have vowed to fight … Continue reading →

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The local response (so far) to the ICE raids

Posted on July 14, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This is good. Houston’s top elected and law-enforcement officials sharply criticized federal authorities’ plans to arrest large numbers of immigrant families living without legal permission in major U.S. cities, contending that the raids targeting groups of recent arrivals would harm … Continue reading →

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We need a coordinated strategy to fight these immoral immigration raids

Posted on July 13, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I feel such despair about this. Federal authorities are expected to try to arrest thousands of immigrant families in at least 10 cities, including Houston, beginning as early as Sunday, rattling communities across the country who faced a similar scare … Continue reading →

Posted in La Migra | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments

When might Houston file a lawsuit over SB4?

Posted on June 1, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Unclear at this time. Responding to calls for Houston to take a tougher stance on immigration legislation, Mayor Sylvester Turner said Tuesday he still is reviewing a controversial state law passed this month that allows police to ask people their … Continue reading →

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