The U.S. House of Representatives voted to approve H.R. 4371, a bill that would expand the federal government’s power to detain unaccompanied immigrant children and authorize invasive search practices, which the ACLU warns could cause serious psychological harm to children.
Voters across the political spectrum are increasingly concerned about President Donald Trump’s use of executive power, and many believe Congress must reassert its authority to protect civil liberties.
The Housing BOOM Act, proposed by U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, seeks to increase housing production across the country, with a focus on affordable and middle-income housing, by expanding the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, creating new federal programs, and investing in homelessness prevention.
The Bail Project is urging the Senate to reject H.R. 5215, the D.C. Cash Bail Reform Act, which it argues would return Washington, D.C. to a system of mass pretrial detention and wealth-based incarceration, undermining decades of local progress and democratic self-governance.
182 House Democrats have signed a letter opposing the Save Our Bacon (SOB) Act, arguing that it would “usurp the longstanding power of states” and undermine existing animal confinement regulations.
The Prison Policy Initiative released a report outlining 34 criminal legal system reforms for 2026, which advocates say could reduce incarceration and reverse decades of harmful “tough-on-crime” policies.
State Senator Scott Wiener has announced his decision to run for Congress to represent San Francisco, emphasizing the need to defend democracy, rebuild federal capacity, and address national challenges on housing, healthcare, and climate policy.
The Sentencing Project warns that the overreach of federal criminal law into local offenses disproportionately harms Black and Latino communities, and Congress has introduced legislation to limit federal prosecution of conduct already handled at the state and local levels.
A leading legal scholar warns that a government shutdown could give President Donald Trump the opportunity to consolidate power and push forward an authoritarian agenda, while also allowing him to use emergency powers and make personnel decisions with little oversight.
Nearly 15,000 individuals and over 100 organizations are urging the FCC to reinstate caps on prison phone rates after the agency suspended protections earlier this summer.
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is set to review and vote on a package of bills that could strip Washington, D.C., of control over its criminal legal system, impose intrusive federal authority and deliver longer, harsher sentences, even for children.
The ACLU is urging Congress to pass the VISIBLE Act, which would ban federal agents from hiding their identities, and is providing resources to help people know their rights if they are stopped by law enforcement or military police in D.C.
Radley Balko and Ezra Klein argue that the militarization of American policing is a sign of a shift towards authoritarianism, and that the only way to resist this trend is to build state-level counter-capacity and to remember that the true power lies with the citizenry.
Gregory “Joey” Johnson, the protester at the center of the landmark Supreme Court case Texas v. Johnson (1989), issued a statement condemning President Donald Trump’s new executive order targeting flag burning, calling it a violation of basic rights and an act of repression.
Congress passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” which cuts Medicaid and Planned Parenthood funding to fund President Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda, threatening the health and rights of millions of Americans.
The ACLU has warned that the Trump administration is converting Fort Bliss into one of the nation’s largest immigration detention sites, with capacity for up to 5,000 people, and has condemned the move as a misuse of military resources to facilitate the deportation of immigrants.
Congress has approved a $170 billion immigration enforcement package that critics say will increase deportations, funnel billions into private detention, and sideline due process protections, marking one of the largest expansions of immigration enforcement in U.S. history.
Our Revolution criticized President Trump’s decision to federalize the D.C. police and deploy National Guard troops as a power grab, while the White House defended it as necessary to protect public safety and federal operations.
Wealth inequality in the United States is growing, and while some argue that it is a necessary part of a meritocratic system, it is actually undermining the American dream and should be addressed through policies such as increasing the capital gains tax and decreasing the estate tax threshold.
Attorney Raphael Goldman has raised constitutional concerns about President Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan nationals and detain them in El Salvador, arguing that the government cannot impose criminal punishment without due process and congressional authorization.