News & Commentary

The 84 percent of Americans who oppose civil asset forfeiture can be forgiven for having the impression that the U.S. Supreme Court ended abusive use of this practice last month in Timbs v. Indiana when it ruled that the Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment applies to the states. Some media hailed it as a huge victory.  But the celebration is premature. So what really happened? The Timbs opinion recognizes that the Con

On Nov. 20, 2018, Wanrong Lin was stranded at an airport in Shanghai, China, almost 7,000 miles away from his wife, kids, and home in St. Mary’s County, Maryland. He found himself wandering China — with no money, no cell phone, and no goodbyes exchanged — after Immigration and Customs Enforcement illegally arrested and deported him when he and his wife showed up for his “marriage interview.” Alone back at home for weeks, Lin’s wife, Hui Fang Dong, tended to their three children, while running their Chinese restaurant alone. The Lins are victims of ICE’s “bait and switch” practice, in which the agency separates immigrant couples who are

The Kentucky Legislature passed two bills on this week, and unless a court blocks them, abortion will effectively be banned in the state. One bill, passed on Thursday night, prohibits abortion after six weeks in pregnancy bef

Last week, Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen of the Department of Homeland Security and Kevin K. McAleenan, Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, testified at the same time in different congressional hearings. They seemed to be in a competition to see who could be more misleading about border realities.  Nielsen claimed that she lacked “context” to address what Politifact has

We’ve come a long way since 2011. That year, New York Police Department officers made nearly 700,000 stops as part of then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s aggre

In the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election, the Democratic National Committee was hacked, and thousands of its emails and other private documents were stolen. Those documents were eventually released to the public through a website run by “Guccifer 2.0” (an online persona allegedly maintained by the Russian government) and through WikiLeaks. Early last year, the DNC sued those it believes are responsible for the hack, including the Trump campaign and Russian officials. The DNC also sued WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. In its complaint, the DNC alleges that WikiLeaks r

On Wednesday, the Equality Act — legislation that would provide LGBTQ people with explicit and comprehensive nondiscrimination protections — was iintroduced in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives with the support of nearly 300 members of Congress. If passed, it would transform the civil rights landscape in the United States. The harsh reality — despite increasing support among the public and representation in popul

On Wednesday, the Equality Act — legislation that would provide LGBTQ people with explicit and comprehensive nondiscrimination protections — was introduced in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives with the support of nearly 300 members of Congress. If passed, it would transform the civil rights landscape in the United States. The harsh reality — despite increasing support among the public and representation in popul

Gov. Gavin Newsom dealt a major blow to the nation’s already anemic death penalty on Wednesday when he announced a moratorium on the practice in California. With 737 death row prisoners, the state has by far the nation’s largest death row, dwarfing the next largest states, Florida with 353 and Texas with 232. The death penalty is a barbaric penalty that is riddled with error and bias, and other states should follow California’s lead in halting its use immediately.    The impact of Gov. Newsom’s decision cannot be understated. By suspending the death penalty in California, Newsom re