Civil Rights & Immigration
The Rittenhouse shootings started a gun debate in Kenosha that hasn’t ended
This story was published in partnership with The Trace, a nonprofit newsroom covering gun violence in America. It can be viewed here on THETRACE.ORG. Sign up for their newsletters here. It’s been more than two years since a police officer fired seven shots into the back of 29-year-old Jacob Blake, Jr., setting off days of protest […]
U.S. government failed to properly count deaths of people in prisons and jails, Senate report says
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice did not properly count nearly 1,000 deaths of incarcerated people in jails and prisons, according to a bipartisan report released Tuesday by a U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee. The 10-month investigation by the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, chaired by Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, found […]
‘Crisis pregnancy centers’ that oppose abortion questioned by U.S. Senate Democrats
Seven U.S. Senate Democrats questioned a leading Ohio-based antiabortion group Tuesday about its practice of collecting personal information from patients seeking abortions. So-called crisis pregnancy centers—facilities that often mirror abortion provider aesthetics but actually provide services to discourage abortion—collect sensitive data from patients. That presents troubling new complications as states move to increase penalties for […]
Confronting history, Congress studies addition of lynching sites to national park system
The U.S. House is considering a bill that would put lynching sites in western Tennessee on track to become part of the National Park Service, part of a trend this year of Congress using the agency to advance discussions of the nation’s troubled and often violent racial history. A bill from U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, […]
U.S. Senate delays same-sex marriage vote until after midterm elections
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate won’t vote on legislation to secure marriage equality for millions of Americans until after the midterm elections, bipartisan negotiators announced Thursday. The move follows weeks of behind-the-scenes discussions among five U.S. senators from both political parties who have been drafting an amendment to the House-passed legislation that they hoped would […]
White supremacists exploit ‘false narrative’ of racial motivation in Waukesha parade tragedy
In the 10 months since six people were killed and more than 60 injured when an SUV slammed into the Waukesha Christmas Parade, white supremacist and neo-fascist groups have cultivated a belief that the incident was a racially motivated attack on white people. That belief, which was indulged by one high-ranking Republican Party official in […]
Bill codifying same-sex marriage nears critical vote in U.S. Senate
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate is on track to vote on a bill codifying marriage equality as soon as next week with negotiators increasingly confident it could become law. Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins said Wednesday they’re close to getting at least 10 Republicans to back the same-sex marriage […]
Wisconsin sheriffs working with ICE push immigrants from jail to deportation
This story has been updated to reflect a change in Dane County Sheriff’s Office policy in August of 2021. The department no longer informs ICE when it has an undocumented immigrant in custody. Relationships, both formal and informal, between Wisconsin sheriff’s offices and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cause immigrants to be deported for […]
Wauwatosa lawsuits over curfew, protester list continue
A federal lawsuit filed against the city of Wauwatosa’s handling of protesters during its October curfew in 2020 continues to unfold in court. While U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Joseph decided that nine of the lawsuit’s 14 claims will not go forward, the claims the court will consider touch on some of the most discussed controversies […]
Burlington School district undergoes new discrimination training
On Monday morning, every employee of the Burlington Area School District (BASD) participated in mandatory anti-racism training. Planned since the spring, the training stems from incidents of racial harassment by the district’s students. On Friday, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) found that the district failed to follow its discrimination policy after members of its […]
Kenosha community members reflect on 2020 unrest
Two years after the unrest that followed the shooting of Jacob Blake, a sense of mournful angst loomed thick in the Kenosha’s Civic Park Wednesday evening as a modest gathering of community members assembled to unpack those few chaotic nights. The evening was one of reflection, but also refusal to allow Kenosha’s uprising to be […]
Federal judge signals he’ll side with disabled voters in absentee ballot lawsuit
A federal judge suggested in a Wednesday hearing that he’ll soon issue a decision siding with Wisconsin voters with disabilities who have sued to ensure they can get help from others when returning an absentee ballot. The pending order from U.S. District Judge James Peterson would protect the rights of voters with disabilities following a […]