Trump's attack on in-state tuition for Dreamers is bad law — and worse policy
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Among the targets of the administration's hostility, none elicits more sympathy from the public than the so‑called Dreamers — young people brought here unlawfully as children, who have grown up as Americans in everything but paperwork. (According to Gallup,
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In lawsuits filed this spring against Texas, Minnesota, and Kentucky, the Justice Department maintains that offering in‑state tuition to students without legal immigration status — even if they were brought here as small children and essentially grew up American — violates federal law. In reality, it is the administration's assault that distorts federal law. It is also a brazen power grab that tramples states' rights, to say nothing of basic decency.
Beginning in 2001, Democratic and Republican legislatures decided that if young people grow up in a state, are educated in its schools, and want to pursue higher education within its borders, it makes no sense to penalize them financially merely because of their immigration status. If there are good reasons to give a break on tuition to local students who want to go to a local college, what difference does it make whether they have a passport, a green card, or neither?
Yet on April 28, President Trump
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But that isn't true. Federal law does
not
say that undocumented immigrants must be excluded from any in-state tuition benefit. It
Accordingly, the states that offer reduced tuition to undocumented immigrants condition the offer on criteria other than residency.
States that offer in‑state tuition to undocumented students are acting not just humanely but rationally. Such policies reflect the common-sense principle that justifies giving a tuition break to any local student: It is in every state's interest to help its homegrown young people be as successful and well educated as possible.
Lower tuition makes higher education more affordable, which in turn boosts the number of local families that can send their kids to college, which in turn expands the state's population of educated adults. A more educated population strengthens the state's economy, since college graduates are more likely to be employed and to earn higher incomes. For states like Massachusetts, which suffers from high outmigration, a particularly strong argument for the in-state tuition break is that graduates of public institutions are more likely to
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None of these arguments has any logical connection to immigration or citizenship. They apply with equal force to those born abroad and to those born locally. And it is irrelevant whether those born abroad were brought to America by parents who had immigration visas or by parents who didn't.
Dreamers aren't freeloaders. Like their families, they pay taxes — property taxes, sales taxes, income taxes, and even the payroll taxes that fund Social Security and Medicare benefits, for which they are ineligible. (In 2022, according to the latest estimate from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, undocumented immigrants
Aside from the Trumpian hard core, most Americans sympathize with the plight of undocumented immigrants who grew up in this country and have known no other home. That explains why (as Gallup reports) 85 percent of them would like Congress to make it possible for them to acquire citizenship. It also explains why in-state tuition for Dreamers has bipartisan support: The states that have enacted such policies include Oklahoma, Kentucky, California, and New York.
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The Trump administration's lawsuits deserve to be dismissed on their legal merits, but they also deserve to be reviled as one more example of MAGA malevolence, which is grounded in nothing except a desire to hurt immigrants —
Few Americans have any desire to punish young people who have done nothing wrong. The cruelty at the heart of Trump's immigration policy may thrill his base, but it repels a far larger America unwilling to abandon its values.
Jeff Jacoby can be reached at
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Yahoo
16 minutes ago
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Trump tariffs live updates: EU readies its reprisals as Trump pushes for higher tariffs
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'The uncertainty has led us to spend all our time trying to rejigger what we're ordering, where we're bringing it in, when it's going to get here,' Mac Harman, CEO of Balsam Hill parent company Balsam Brands, said. 'We don't know which items we're going to have to put in the catalog or not." Months of confusion over which foreign countries' goods may become more expensive to import has left a question mark over the holiday shopping season. U.S. retailers often begin planning for the winter holidays in January and typically finalize the bulk of their orders by the end of June. The seesawing tariffs already have factored into their calculations. Read more here Hawaii coffee growers say Trump tariffs may curb demand (Bloomberg) — Hawaiian coffee farmers have a message for President Donald Trump: Steep tariffs on major exporters such as Brazil will end up hurting them, too. Hawaii at first glance might seem the obvious beneficiary of tariffs on coffee. It is the only state in the country where the tropical goods grow, with the vast majority of java imbibed by Americans imported from South America and Vietnam. Higher priced foreign imports should, in theory, make the island state's products comparatively more affordable. But growers say the opposite is true: rising prices across the board will hit consumers already struggling with inflation, curbing demand on everything from popular everyday roasts available at grocery stores to luxury Kona beans. While the discourse around trade and Trump's 'Buy American' mantra could draw attention to Hawaiian goods, the upshot for the state's farmers is that 'tariffs will probably will hurt us as much as it would hurt the mainland roasters,' said Suzanne Shriner, the vice president of the Kona Coffee Farmers Association and the president of Lions Gate Farms. Read more here Trump pushes for 15%-20% minimum tariff on all EU goods President Trump appears to have settled on a tariff rate on all EU member countries, according to reports. Financial Times reports: Read more (subscription required). Battery materials stocks jump after US lays out 93.5% graphite duty Bloomberg reports: Stocks of battery material makers climbed after the US announced it would impose preliminary anti-dumping duties of 93.5% on graphite imports from China. Shares of Australian graphite miner Syrah Resources Ltd. (SYAAF) surged as much as 38%, while shares of South Korea's Posco Future M Co. ( climbed 24%. Novonix Ltd. (NVNXF), an Australian-listed company with a graphite production plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, surged 21%. Gains in these and other Asian stocks tracked earlier jumps in Canadian peers including Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. (NMG) The Commerce Department issued the preliminary determination Thursday, and a final plan should be announced by Dec. 5. The US determined that China, which dominates the processing capacity of graphite, had been unfairly subsidizing the industry. Graphite is a key raw material in the anodes of electric-vehicle batteries. About two-thirds of the material imported by the US still came from China last year. Read more here. China: Trade talks show there's no need for tariff war Reuters reports: Read more here. US set to impose 93.5% tariff on key battery material from China Bloomberg reports that the Commerce Department imposed preliminary anti-dumping duties of 93.5% on Chinese imports of graphite, a key battery component, after concluding the materials had been unfairly subsidized. From Bloomberg: Read more here. Trump Tariff added $115M in aluminum costs for largest US producer The largest producer of aluminum in the US, Alcoa Corp., claims that tariffs cost it $115 million in Q2. 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Big Three automaker Stellantis (STLA) warned on Monday that it expects a 2.3 billion euro ($2.7 billion) net loss for the first half of 2025, hit by restructuring costs, ebbing sales, and an initial hit from US tariffs. The Chrysler maker's US-listed shares slipped nearly 2% in premarket, mirroring a drop in its stock in Milan. Reuters reports: Read more here. EU to prepare its retaliation plan as US hardens its stance on trade talks EU negotiators are scrambling to make a trade agreement with the US as the Aug. 1 tariff deadline closes in. But they are also stepping up preparations to strike back if the two sides fail to secure a deal. Bloomberg reports: Read more here. EU negotiators are scrambling to make a trade agreement with the US as the Aug. 1 tariff deadline closes in. But they are also stepping up preparations to strike back if the two sides fail to secure a deal. Bloomberg reports: Read more here. Lutnick 'confident' US will get tariffs deal done with EU before Aug. 1 deadline WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Sunday he was confident the United States can secure a trade deal with the European Union, but August 1 is a hard deadline for tariffs to kick in. Lutnick said he had just gotten off the phone with European trade negotiators and there was "plenty of room" for agreement. "These are the two biggest trading partners in the world, talking to each other. We'll get a deal done. I am confident we'll get a deal done," Lutnick said in an interview with CBS' "Face the Nation." President Donald Trump threatened on July 12 to impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico and the European Union starting on August 1, after weeks of negotiations with the major U.S. trading partners failed to reach a comprehensive trade deal. Lutnick said that was a hard deadline. "Nothing stops countries from talking to us after August 1, but they're going to start paying the tariffs on August 1," he said on CBS. Read more here WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Sunday he was confident the United States can secure a trade deal with the European Union, but August 1 is a hard deadline for tariffs to kick in. Lutnick said he had just gotten off the phone with European trade negotiators and there was "plenty of room" for agreement. "These are the two biggest trading partners in the world, talking to each other. We'll get a deal done. I am confident we'll get a deal done," Lutnick said in an interview with CBS' "Face the Nation." President Donald Trump threatened on July 12 to impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico and the European Union starting on August 1, after weeks of negotiations with the major U.S. trading partners failed to reach a comprehensive trade deal. Lutnick said that was a hard deadline. "Nothing stops countries from talking to us after August 1, but they're going to start paying the tariffs on August 1," he said on CBS. Read more here Trump's tariffs are already shaping the holiday shopping season NEW YORK (AP) — With summer in full swing in the United States, retail executives are sweating a different season. It's less than 22 weeks before Christmas, a time when businesses that make and sell consumer goods usually nail down their holiday orders and prices. But President Donald Trump's vacillating trade policies have complicated those end-of-year plans. Balsam Hill, which sells artificial trees and other decorations online, expects to publish fewer and thinner holiday catalogs because the featured products keep changing with the tariff rates the president sets, postpones and revises. 'The uncertainty has led us to spend all our time trying to rejigger what we're ordering, where we're bringing it in, when it's going to get here,' Mac Harman, CEO of Balsam Hill parent company Balsam Brands, said. 'We don't know which items we're going to have to put in the catalog or not." Months of confusion over which foreign countries' goods may become more expensive to import has left a question mark over the holiday shopping season. U.S. retailers often begin planning for the winter holidays in January and typically finalize the bulk of their orders by the end of June. The seesawing tariffs already have factored into their calculations. Read more here NEW YORK (AP) — With summer in full swing in the United States, retail executives are sweating a different season. It's less than 22 weeks before Christmas, a time when businesses that make and sell consumer goods usually nail down their holiday orders and prices. But President Donald Trump's vacillating trade policies have complicated those end-of-year plans. Balsam Hill, which sells artificial trees and other decorations online, expects to publish fewer and thinner holiday catalogs because the featured products keep changing with the tariff rates the president sets, postpones and revises. 'The uncertainty has led us to spend all our time trying to rejigger what we're ordering, where we're bringing it in, when it's going to get here,' Mac Harman, CEO of Balsam Hill parent company Balsam Brands, said. 'We don't know which items we're going to have to put in the catalog or not." Months of confusion over which foreign countries' goods may become more expensive to import has left a question mark over the holiday shopping season. U.S. retailers often begin planning for the winter holidays in January and typically finalize the bulk of their orders by the end of June. The seesawing tariffs already have factored into their calculations. Read more here Hawaii coffee growers say Trump tariffs may curb demand (Bloomberg) — Hawaiian coffee farmers have a message for President Donald Trump: Steep tariffs on major exporters such as Brazil will end up hurting them, too. Hawaii at first glance might seem the obvious beneficiary of tariffs on coffee. It is the only state in the country where the tropical goods grow, with the vast majority of java imbibed by Americans imported from South America and Vietnam. Higher priced foreign imports should, in theory, make the island state's products comparatively more affordable. But growers say the opposite is true: rising prices across the board will hit consumers already struggling with inflation, curbing demand on everything from popular everyday roasts available at grocery stores to luxury Kona beans. While the discourse around trade and Trump's 'Buy American' mantra could draw attention to Hawaiian goods, the upshot for the state's farmers is that 'tariffs will probably will hurt us as much as it would hurt the mainland roasters,' said Suzanne Shriner, the vice president of the Kona Coffee Farmers Association and the president of Lions Gate Farms. Read more here (Bloomberg) — Hawaiian coffee farmers have a message for President Donald Trump: Steep tariffs on major exporters such as Brazil will end up hurting them, too. Hawaii at first glance might seem the obvious beneficiary of tariffs on coffee. It is the only state in the country where the tropical goods grow, with the vast majority of java imbibed by Americans imported from South America and Vietnam. Higher priced foreign imports should, in theory, make the island state's products comparatively more affordable. But growers say the opposite is true: rising prices across the board will hit consumers already struggling with inflation, curbing demand on everything from popular everyday roasts available at grocery stores to luxury Kona beans. While the discourse around trade and Trump's 'Buy American' mantra could draw attention to Hawaiian goods, the upshot for the state's farmers is that 'tariffs will probably will hurt us as much as it would hurt the mainland roasters,' said Suzanne Shriner, the vice president of the Kona Coffee Farmers Association and the president of Lions Gate Farms. Read more here Trump pushes for 15%-20% minimum tariff on all EU goods President Trump appears to have settled on a tariff rate on all EU member countries, according to reports. Financial Times reports: Read more (subscription required). President Trump appears to have settled on a tariff rate on all EU member countries, according to reports. Financial Times reports: Read more (subscription required). Battery materials stocks jump after US lays out 93.5% graphite duty Bloomberg reports: Stocks of battery material makers climbed after the US announced it would impose preliminary anti-dumping duties of 93.5% on graphite imports from China. Shares of Australian graphite miner Syrah Resources Ltd. (SYAAF) surged as much as 38%, while shares of South Korea's Posco Future M Co. ( climbed 24%. Novonix Ltd. (NVNXF), an Australian-listed company with a graphite production plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, surged 21%. Gains in these and other Asian stocks tracked earlier jumps in Canadian peers including Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. (NMG) The Commerce Department issued the preliminary determination Thursday, and a final plan should be announced by Dec. 5. The US determined that China, which dominates the processing capacity of graphite, had been unfairly subsidizing the industry. Graphite is a key raw material in the anodes of electric-vehicle batteries. About two-thirds of the material imported by the US still came from China last year. Read more here. Bloomberg reports: Stocks of battery material makers climbed after the US announced it would impose preliminary anti-dumping duties of 93.5% on graphite imports from China. Shares of Australian graphite miner Syrah Resources Ltd. (SYAAF) surged as much as 38%, while shares of South Korea's Posco Future M Co. ( climbed 24%. Novonix Ltd. (NVNXF), an Australian-listed company with a graphite production plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, surged 21%. Gains in these and other Asian stocks tracked earlier jumps in Canadian peers including Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. (NMG) The Commerce Department issued the preliminary determination Thursday, and a final plan should be announced by Dec. 5. The US determined that China, which dominates the processing capacity of graphite, had been unfairly subsidizing the industry. Graphite is a key raw material in the anodes of electric-vehicle batteries. About two-thirds of the material imported by the US still came from China last year. Read more here. China: Trade talks show there's no need for tariff war Reuters reports: Read more here. Reuters reports: Read more here. US set to impose 93.5% tariff on key battery material from China Bloomberg reports that the Commerce Department imposed preliminary anti-dumping duties of 93.5% on Chinese imports of graphite, a key battery component, after concluding the materials had been unfairly subsidized. From Bloomberg: Read more here. Bloomberg reports that the Commerce Department imposed preliminary anti-dumping duties of 93.5% on Chinese imports of graphite, a key battery component, after concluding the materials had been unfairly subsidized. From Bloomberg: Read more here. Trump Tariff added $115M in aluminum costs for largest US producer The largest producer of aluminum in the US, Alcoa Corp., claims that tariffs cost it $115 million in Q2. Bloomberg reports: Alcoa Corp., the largest US aluminum producer, said tariffs on imports from Canada cost it $115 million in the second quarter, showing how US President Donald Trump's trade agenda has affected the industry. The company redirected Canadian produced aluminum to customers outside the US to mitigate additional tariff costs, it said Wednesday while reporting earnings that beat analyst estimates. Alcoa shares rose as much as 6.4% Thursday in New York, the biggest intraday increase since June 26. Metal producers are navigating the trade tumult Trump created after raising import tariffs on steel and aluminum, first to 25% in March and then to 50% in June, in an effort to revive domestic production. Alcoa's latest toll from tariffs is about six times more than in the first quarter when the Pittsburgh-based firm said the levies, which were then 25%, had cost it an additional $20 million. Mining giant Rio Tinto Group also revealed Wednesday that its Canada-made aluminum generated costs of more than $300 million in the first half due to the tariffs. Read more here. The largest producer of aluminum in the US, Alcoa Corp., claims that tariffs cost it $115 million in Q2. Bloomberg reports: Alcoa Corp., the largest US aluminum producer, said tariffs on imports from Canada cost it $115 million in the second quarter, showing how US President Donald Trump's trade agenda has affected the industry. The company redirected Canadian produced aluminum to customers outside the US to mitigate additional tariff costs, it said Wednesday while reporting earnings that beat analyst estimates. Alcoa shares rose as much as 6.4% Thursday in New York, the biggest intraday increase since June 26. Metal producers are navigating the trade tumult Trump created after raising import tariffs on steel and aluminum, first to 25% in March and then to 50% in June, in an effort to revive domestic production. Alcoa's latest toll from tariffs is about six times more than in the first quarter when the Pittsburgh-based firm said the levies, which were then 25%, had cost it an additional $20 million. Mining giant Rio Tinto Group also revealed Wednesday that its Canada-made aluminum generated costs of more than $300 million in the first half due to the tariffs. Read more here. Nordic finance heads urge EU to stand firm in US trade talks Financial leaders in European Union member countries are clearly telling their peers to hold their ground and act fast in trade talks with the US. Bloomberg reports: Read more here. Financial leaders in European Union member countries are clearly telling their peers to hold their ground and act fast in trade talks with the US. Bloomberg reports: Read more here. EU lines up tariffs on US digital services as retaliation: Sources The European Commission is drawing up a list of measures against US services as part of its potential response to President Trump's 30% levies due to kick in on Aug. 1, sources told the Financial Times. The FT reports: Read more here. The European Commission is drawing up a list of measures against US services as part of its potential response to President Trump's 30% levies due to kick in on Aug. 1, sources told the Financial Times. The FT reports: Read more here. EU stalls probe into Musk's X amid US trade talks The EU seems to be treading carefully during negotiations to avoid a 30% tariff it sees as "prohibitive" to transatlantic trade. The Financial Times reports: Read more here. The EU seems to be treading carefully during negotiations to avoid a 30% tariff it sees as "prohibitive" to transatlantic trade. The Financial Times reports: Read more here. Volvo CEO wants EU to cut 'unnecessary' auto tariffs Reuters reports: Read more here. Reuters reports: Read more here. Trump eyes tariffs of 10% or 15% for the 150+ countries, muses on EU deal President Trump said the tariff rate could be 10% or 15% for the more than 150 countries he has promised will get a notification letter soon. Bloomberg reports: Read more here. President Trump said the tariff rate could be 10% or 15% for the more than 150 countries he has promised will get a notification letter soon. Bloomberg reports: Read more here. Trump says he'll soon send letters to 150 countries, will 'live by the letter' on Japan President Trump on Wednesday said he'd soon send letters to over 150 countries that are smaller trade partners with the US, dictating tariff rates their goods will face coming into the US. He also said he would "live by the letter" with Japan — his letter last week had outlined a 25% tariff on Japanese imports — and hinted at a possible deal with India soon. From Bloomberg: And Reuters: President Trump on Wednesday said he'd soon send letters to over 150 countries that are smaller trade partners with the US, dictating tariff rates their goods will face coming into the US. He also said he would "live by the letter" with Japan — his letter last week had outlined a 25% tariff on Japanese imports — and hinted at a possible deal with India soon. From Bloomberg: And Reuters: Canada announces new tariff measures on non-US imported steel to protect domestic industry Reuters reports: Read more here. Reuters reports: Read more here. Striking trade deal with US was an 'extraordinary struggle,' Indonesia says Nearly 24 hours after President Trump announced a trade agreement with Indonesia on Tuesday, Indonesia's government confirmed the deal, saying that the talks were an "extraordinary struggle." A government spokesperson said Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto negotiated the deal directly with Trump over the phone. 'This is an extraordinary struggle by our negotiating team led by the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs,' Hasan Nasbi, the Indonesian president's spokesperson, told Reuters. Trump stated that the agreement calls for the US to impose a 19% tariff on Indonesia's exports, whereas Indonesia would not charge any tariffs on American exports. Trump also said Indonesia committed to buying '$15 Billion Dollars in U.S. Energy, $4.5 Billion Dollars in American Agricultural Products, and 50 Boeing Jets, many of them 777's.' Read more here. Nearly 24 hours after President Trump announced a trade agreement with Indonesia on Tuesday, Indonesia's government confirmed the deal, saying that the talks were an "extraordinary struggle." A government spokesperson said Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto negotiated the deal directly with Trump over the phone. 'This is an extraordinary struggle by our negotiating team led by the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs,' Hasan Nasbi, the Indonesian president's spokesperson, told Reuters. Trump stated that the agreement calls for the US to impose a 19% tariff on Indonesia's exports, whereas Indonesia would not charge any tariffs on American exports. Trump also said Indonesia committed to buying '$15 Billion Dollars in U.S. Energy, $4.5 Billion Dollars in American Agricultural Products, and 50 Boeing Jets, many of them 777's.' Read more here. France adds support for using most-potent trade tool on US France has reportedly joined fellow European Union members in deciding to respond more directly to looming tariff threats. If activated, the EU would take retaliatory action against the US in trade activity. Bloomberg reports: Read more here. France has reportedly joined fellow European Union members in deciding to respond more directly to looming tariff threats. If activated, the EU would take retaliatory action against the US in trade activity. Bloomberg reports: Read more here. Rio Tinto: Tariffs added $300 million in aluminum costs Bloomberg reports: Read more here. Bloomberg reports: Read more here.
Newsweek
17 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Nine Ways To Suppress African American Votes—the Republican Playbook
Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the interpretation of facts and data. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Give Republican state legislators their due. They work hard to make it as burdensome as possible for African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and college students to vote in both state and federal elections. To accomplish this, they first have to pretend that voter fraud is widespread. That is hard enough, since the data conclusively show voter fraud to be exceedingly rare. Then, they must claim that their actions are the only way to restore "election integrity." That's even harder, since selectively disenfranchising huge swaths of the eligible voting population would seem to undermine, not promote, election integrity. Finally, they need to pretend that only illegal voters are affected. For that claim, the tens of thousands of disenfranchised U.S. citizens in states like Kansas and Georgia stand awkwardly in the way. Voters hold up their stickers after visiting a polling place to cast their ballots on Nov. 5, 2024, in Austell, Ga. Voters hold up their stickers after visiting a polling place to cast their ballots on Nov. 5, 2024, in Austell, that poll taxes and literacy tests are illegal, suppressing votes is harder still. But Republican legislators have been equal to the task. Here are their nine favorite tricks: 1. Make voter registration harder. Several Republican-controlled states have taken aim at voter registration drives, which account for disproportionately high percentages of Black and Hispanic registrations. A federal appellate court had to strike down a North Carolina law that intentionally targeted would-be Black registrants with "surgical precision." 2. Purge registered voters. Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, running (successfully) for governor in 2017, purged 107,000 eligible voters from the rolls. In Ohio, failing to return a postcard from the state can cost you the right to vote. 3. Require photo IDs. Although voter impersonation is exceptionally rare (more Americans are struck by lightning), many states require voters to present photo IDs. This requirement disproportionately affects racial minorities. At least four solid red states accept gun licenses but not university IDs. Not coincidentally, college students vote overwhelmingly for Democrats while Republicans are more than twice as likely as Democrats to own guns. 4. Require documents that prove U.S. citizenship. To vote in federal elections, individuals already must swear under penalty of perjury that they are U.S. citizens. Non-U.S. citizen voting, therefore, is virtually unheard of. Who would risk criminal prosecution, imprisonment, and deportation for the miniscule chance that their one vote would swing an election? Nonetheless, in 2022, Republican bills requiring voters to document their U.S. citizenship were pending in at least 10 state legislatures. The U.S. House has now passed a bill that would require such documentation nationwide. But how do you prove you are a U.S. citizen? More than 21 million Americans—predominantly the poor, African Americans, and young people—lack birth certificates and passports. For married women who have changed their surnames, even birth certificates would be insufficient. Moreover, since most of us don't pack birth certificates or passports when we go to shopping malls, political demonstrations, parks, outdoor concerts, places of worship, or the like, requiring documentary proof of U.S. citizenship would make voter registration drives impossible. 5. Slash early voting. Democrats vote early in much greater numbers than Republicans. So Republican legislatures have shortened early voting periods in states all across the country; North Carolina and Wisconsin are among the more extreme examples. In a decades-old tradition called Souls to the Polls, Black churchgoers have resisted voter suppression by traveling together to the polls after Sunday services. Republican legislatures in North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Georgia have responded by drastically curtailing Sunday voting. 6. Limit ballot drop boxes. Ballot drop boxes avoid long postal delays. They are hard as a rock, safely located, and secure against fraud. Their open hours especially ease the burden on working class voters, particularly those who work nights or irregular shifts. They are used disproportionately by Black voters. But a rash of Republican-led states have banned them entirely or severely shrunk their numbers. In 2020, Texas' Harris County—which was 64 percent Black or Hispanic—had one drop box for its 4.7 million people. 7. Restrict third-party delivery of absentee ballots. Third parties frequently deliver other people's ballots. There is no evidence of widespread abuse, and they are a boon to the elderly and the disabled. Native Americans on tribal reservations sometimes live hours from the polls and lack mail service. Black churches often gather their congregants' ballots and deliver them en masse. Republican-controlled states have responded by imposing particularly severe restrictions. 8. Disenfranchise citizens with criminal convictions. The states vary widely as to which crimes disqualify citizens from voting and when voting rights may be restored. As of 2024, some 4,000,000 U.S. citizens were disenfranchised because of criminal convictions, roughly half of them even after fully serving their criminal sentences. A disproportionate number have been African American; five states, all Republican-controlled, have disenfranchised more than 10 percent of their African American adults because of criminal convictions. 9. Selectively close polling stations. Since 2013, when the Supreme Court effectively gutted the heart of the Voting Rights Act, states with hallowed histories of racial discrimination in voting have ravenously reduced the number and hours of their polling stations—disproportionately in counties with large African American populations. Among the results are long lines and major transportation issues for the affected voters. In 2018, the average wait time in precincts where 90 percent of the populations were white was only 5.1 minutes; in contrast, in precincts where over 90 percent of the voters were nonwhite, the average wait time was 32.4 minutes. In some precincts, wait times exceeded five hours. In 2016, these problems induced an estimated 560,000 eligible voters to sit out the election. Republican strategists have also called for closing polling stations on college campuses, especially in swing states with large in-state student populations. This is not democracy. Stephen Legomsky is the John S. Lehmann university professor emeritus at the Washington University School of Law. He is the author of Reimagining the American Union: The Case for Abolishing State Government (Cambridge University Press, 2025). Professor Legomsky served in the Obama administration as chief counsel of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and later as senior counselor to Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
San Francisco Chronicle
18 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Harvard is hoping court rules Trump administration's $2.6B research cuts were illegal
BOSTON (AP) — Harvard University will appear in federal court Monday to make the case that the Trump administration illegally cut $2.6 billion from the storied college — a pivotal moment in its battle against the federal government. If U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs decides in the university's favor, the ruling would reverse a series of funding freezes that later became outright cuts as the Trump administration escalated its fight with the nation's oldest and wealthiest university. Such a ruling, if it stands, would revive Harvard's sprawling scientific and medical research operation and hundreds of projects that lost federal money. 'This case involves the Government's efforts to use the withholding of federal funding as leverage to gain control of academic decisionmaking at Harvard,' the university said in its complaint. 'All told, the tradeoff put to Harvard and other universities is clear: Allow the Government to micromanage your academic institution or jeopardize the institution's ability to pursue medical breakthroughs, scientific discoveries, and innovative solutions.' A second lawsuit over the cuts filed by the American Association of University Professors and its Harvard faculty chapter has been consolidated with the university's. Harvard's lawsuit accuses President Donald Trump's administration of waging a retaliation campaign against the university after it rejected a series of demands in an April 11 letter from a federal antisemitism task force. The letter demanded sweeping changes related to campus protests, academics and admissions. For example, the letter told Harvard to audit the viewpoints of students and faculty and admit more students or hire new professors if the campus was found to lack diverse points of view. The letter was meant to address government accusations that the university had become a hotbed of liberalism and tolerated anti-Jewish harassment on campus. Harvard President Alan Garber pledged to fight antisemitism but said no government 'should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.' The same day Harvard rejected the demands, Trump officials moved to freeze $2.2 billion in research grants. Education Secretary Linda McMahon declared in May that Harvard would no longer be eligible for new grants, and weeks later the administration began canceling contracts with Harvard. As Harvard fought the funding freeze in court, individual agencies began sending letters announcing that the frozen research grants were being terminated. They cited a clause that allows grants to be scrapped if they no longer align with government policies. Harvard, which has the nation's largest endowment at $53 billion, has moved to self-fund some of its research, but warned it can't absorb the full cost of the federal cuts. In court filings, the school said the government 'fails to explain how the termination of funding for research to treat cancer, support veterans, and improve national security addresses antisemitism.' The Trump administration denies the cuts were made in retaliation, saying the grants were under review even before the April demand letter was sent. It argues the government has wide discretion to cancel contracts for policy reasons. 'It is the policy of the United States under the Trump Administration not to fund institutions that fail to adequately address antisemitism in their programs,' it said in court documents. The research funding is only one front in Harvard's fight with the federal government. The Trump administration also has sought to prevent the school from hosting foreign students, and Trump has threatened to revoke Harvard's tax-exempt status. Finally, last month, the Trump administration formally issued a finding that the school tolerated antisemitism — a step that eventually could jeopardize all of Harvard's federal funding, including federal student loans or grants. The penalty is typically referred to as a 'death sentence.'
