Wisconsin Right Now

  A coalition of state attorneys general sent a letter Monday to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas backing Texas in its border battle with the Biden administration. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott defied the Biden administration last week, making clear he would continue to put up concertina wire fencing at the southern border to help stop the flow of illegal immigration, which has soared since Biden took office. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the issue last week, saying federal agents could continue to remove the concertina wire, but the ruling did not prohibit Texas from installing the border defenses. Abbott said after the ruling that the federal government had broken its pact with the states for not stopping what more than 50 Texas counties have declared an “invasion.” That court case is the latest touchpoint for the ongoing immigration crisis and frustration of many border states and Republicans who argue Biden is willfully aiding millions of ille...

  A coalition of 19 attorneys general filed a brief with the Colorado Supreme Court arguing an appeal to keep former President Donald Trump off the primary ballot can’t be decided by the courts. The 41-page brief , led by Republican Attorneys General Patrick Morrisey of West Virginia and Theodore Rokita of Indiana, argues Congress should decide any alleged violation of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The brief states the “courts have no business second guessing Congress’s decisions to enforce – or not enforce—the Clause,” referring to the insurrection clause in the amendment. “The Fourteenth Amendment entrusts Insurrection Clause questions to Congress—not state officials or state courts,” the brief states. “The Amendment vests Congress with ‘power to enforce’ the Insurrection Clause ‘by appropriate legislation’ and power to ‘remove [the] disability’ it imposes.” The brief was filed on the same day as a brief by three Republican secretaries of state arguing t...

A group of 20 attorneys general want the U.S. Supreme Court to overrule a lower court's restrictions on local governments enforcing homeless camping bans. In their petition regarding Johnson v. City of Grants Pass, the attorneys general wrote that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals was wrong to prohibit state and local governments from enforcing laws that bar public spaces from being used as homeless encampments. “The Constitution nowhere strips States of the power to regulate use of public spaces,” the attorneys general wrote. “It empowers States and guarantees an inviolable sovereignty meant to address local issues like homelessness.” Meanwhile, the attorneys general said the 9th Circuit “relied on this Court’s ‘evolving standards of decency’ jurisprudence,” something they said “lacks textual, historical, or structural support.” “The Court should put that troublesome jurisprudence to bed once and for all,” they added. In 2018, the 9th Circuit ruled that the Eighth Amend...

In May, the USDA announced it will interpret the prohibition on discrimination based on sex in Title IX to include discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Half of the state attorneys general in the country want the Biden administration to walk back new federal guidance on sex-based discrimination for schools and other organizations that receive federal money for food programs. The AGs, 26 of the 27 Republicans in those offices across the country, claim in a letter to President Biden the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s guidance means states, local agencies and programs that receive federal food dollars through the Food and Nutrition Act and the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program could lose funding if they don’t comply, including in hiring practices. "Using hungry children as a human shield in a policy dispute violates basic decency," Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said. "Aren’t there any parents in the Biden administration that c...

Fourteen Republican attorneys general, led by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, have sued the Biden administration for not responding to a Freedom of Information request related to the Department of Justice calling for surveillance of parents expressing opinions at school board meetings and other forums. The lawsuit follows a chain of events that began last October. It was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana Indianapolis Division. It asks the court to force the Biden administration to respond to the requests for information. It names President Joe Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland, the U.S. Department of Justice, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and the U.S. Department of Education as plaintiffs. The coalition, led by Rokita, are from the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Utah. On Oct. 4, Garland issued a memo on the “disturbing spike ...