News & Commentary

In 2012, José Vaello-Madero, a U.S. citizen born in Puerto Rico but living in New York, applied for and received Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits because severe health problems left him unable to support himself. A year later, he moved to Puerto Rico to rejoin his family and care for his ailing wife. He continued to receive SSI benefits, unaware that federal law excludes Puerto Rico residents from the program, simply because they live in a U.S. territory rather than a state. In 2016, the federal government sued Vaello-Madero to collect over $28,000 it claimed it “overpaid.” On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear his case in United States v Vaello-Madero, a case that could help put an end to unconstitutional discrimination against residents of Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories. S

Texas plans to execute John H. Ramirez, but state officials are not satisfied with merely taking his life. They are also intent on denying him the right to practice his faith when it matters most—in his final moments. Mr. Ramirez, a Christian, has asked that his longtime pastor be able to touch him and pray aloud over him as he dies. When the state refused this modest religious accommodation, the Supreme Court stepped in, delaying the execution and agreeing to hear Mr. Ramirez’s case. Oral argument is set for November 9. I

In 2006, the FBI ordered an informant to pose as a Muslim convert and spy on the congregants of several large, diverse mosques in Orange County, California. The agent, Craig Monteilh, professed his conversion before hundreds of congregants during the month of Ramadan. Renaming himself “Farouk,” the informant quickly made friends and impressed members of the community with his seeming devotion. The whole time, he was secretly recording conversations and filming inside people’s homes, mosques, and businesses using devices hidden in everyday objects, like the keychain fob of his car keys. A

In March, Gov. Bill Little signed into law a bill (SB 228/HB 3) that bans trans students from participating in school sports. Two federal courts have blocked similar laws in Idaho and West Virginia, while a federal court in Connecticut has dismissed a challenge to that state’s policies that supports participation for trans students. Luc, along with his parents, have sued Tennessee because he is now denied the opportunity to try out for the boy’s golf team. I

There are 13 churches in Horn Lake, Mississippi. But there are no mosques, and there never will be if city officials get their way. Earlier this year, the city’s Planning Commission and Board of Aldermen denied site-plan approval for the Abraham House of God mosque, even though the property for the proposed mosque is zoned for houses of worship and the city’s own staff determined that the application met or exceeded all requirements. One Alderman ominously warned, “if you let them build it, they will come,” exhorting his fellow board members to “stop it before it gets here.” T

“I’m sorry, we don’t serve people with disabilities.” “That’s okay, I don’t eat them.” T

“Ben G.” is a 35-year-old veterinarian from Nicaragua who fled to the United States after he was beaten and tortured by police. When he crossed the border into the U.S., he requested asylum. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) eventually transferred Ben to the Winn County Correctional Center, an ICE detention facility in rural Louisiana located four hours away from the nearest metropolitan area. It is also the facility with the fewest immigration attorneys available in the entire country. D

The morning started out like any other. I was on my way to work at a food safety lab, in a new car with tinted windows and a temporary plate displayed behind tinted windows. A highway patrol officer pulled me over and gave me a ticket for the windows and for not having a license plate, because he couldn’t see it. I thought it was a minor infraction. I didn’t know it would kick off an ordeal that has cost me thousands of dollars and three jobs for over a decade since. That traffic ticket changed my life and I am still feeling the effects every day. I

Last week, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) published a shocking report detailing the failure of ICE detention facilities and field offices to comply with rules governing the use of solitary confinement or segregation. The report also discusses ICE’s destruction of documents regarding its use of solitary confinement, which raises serious red flags considering the agency’s