United States
Immigration
Beneficiaries of the Special Immigrant Juvenile program no longer automatically receive work permits and protection against deportation while they await the green card process. This is a significant step toward reducing fraudulent applications. (NBC News)
The number of undocumented immigrants apprehended at the southern border in June was 9,306, down from 140,415 in June 2022 and a peak of 207,834 in 2021. A total of zero illegal immigrants were allowed into the interior of the country, making the border the most secure in living memory.
Congressman Jim Jordan met with the White House to discuss an immigration package that would significantly restrict legal immigration in the United States, including limits on asylum and parole eligibility. It would also require employers to use E-Verify. This online system allows them to verify an individual’s eligibility to work in the U.S., while establishing a new minimum of 22,000 active-duty agents for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency. A 2023 report by the Congressional Budget Office estimated that 4.4 million people would also no longer be eligible for parole or asylum. (Politico)
The Ninth Circuit Court has ruled that the illegal aliens who are near the United States’ southern border but still in Mexico have a right to apply for asylum, despite still being on foreign soil. The ruling subverts the whole notion of borders. The Administration is appealing to the Supreme Court. (The Washington Times)
Education
California Democrats are warring over their once celebrated “ethnic studies” program that celebrated and taught history through the eyes of the oppressed. Legislators have already pushed for it to be severely restricted due to a rise in antisemitism in schools, and Gov. Gavin Newsom has since withheld the funding needed for the new course requirement to take effect by the fall deadline, potentially propelling the initiative toward an anticlimactic collapse. In some cases, districts are reeling in initiatives of their own accord; last week, the San Francisco Unified School District announced it would pause the development of its own ethnic studies curriculum following complaints from parents that the material was too progressive. (The Guardian)
Major Stories
Ambassador Mike Huckabee has sent a strongly worded letter to the Israeli Interior Minister Moshe Arbel over his dissatisfaction with Israel's refusal to grant collective entry visas to numerous Christian organizations. According to Huckabee, the Israeli Interior Ministry has been independently investigating each evangelical organization, requiring them to submit detailed forms regarding their religious beliefs, activities, and assets in Israel. As a result, these groups have been denied new visas for their religious representatives, pending the conclusion of the investigation. The Israeli minister was shocked by Huckabee’s forcefulness. (The Jerusalem Post)
A federal appeals court issued a ruling allowing Arkansas to proceed with its ban on the teaching of critical race theory in public schools. The decision, which was issued on Wednesday, overturned a previous preliminary injunction that had temporarily blocked the law’s implementation. The ruling clarified that neither citizens nor students can demand that the government maintain a particular curriculum or endorse a specific message. (Resist the Mainstream)
A federal judge in Maine recently blocked a law passed by ballot initiative that significantly reduces the amount of money someone can donate to a Super PAC. The state is appealing the decision to the very liberal First Circuit Court in an attempt to overturn the Citizens United case. (Open Secret)
Four Pennsylvanians, including the son of a former governor and a talk radio host, have filed a lawsuit asking the state Supreme Court to declare the commonwealth's longstanding closed primaries unlawful. This could have significant implications ahead of the next gubernatorial election, where Republicans have a long history of nominating candidates too conservative to be elected statewide. If the closed primary system ends, it likely means that the party will moderate its approach. (Philadelphia Inquirer)