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Immigration

Are we in trouble? Biden ICE official meets with activist whose motto is ‘Abolish Borders’

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Setareh Ghandehari, who serves as an advocacy director of the anti-immigration detention group Detention Watch Network and promotes the hashtag “AbolishBorders” took to social media to brag about her high level meeting with a Biden administration official.

Ghandehari said she met with Michael D. Lumpkin, the chief of staff for the Biden Administration’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Tuesday. The open border supporter said the meeting held the purpose of sharing the organization’s demands.

“Yesterday I met with ICE’s new Chief of Staff to make clear our demands for a world without ICE detention & a future where all people are able to live freely w/ the support of their community and loved ones, not behind bars as they navigate their immigration cases,” Ghandehari said.

“The Biden administration can still take steps towards making that world a reality by shutting down detention centers, like Torrance, Winn & Adelanto, that have exemplified an entirely unrepairable & unnecessary detention system that must be abolished completely,” Ghandehari said, referring to ICE detention centers, in another message she sent out on X on Wednesday.

It is disturbing that the administration would even acknowledge such a group, let alone indulge them with a meeting. The Daily Caller News Foundation reports on the horrendous border statistics:

The Biden Administration has limited immigration enforcement to those deemed to be threats to public safety and national security. Additionally, the Biden Administration has let thousands of detention beds go empty while taxpayers still foot the bill for them.

ICE held an event in December 2022, where it hosted a panel featuring Peter Markowitz, a law professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University and director of the school’s Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic who once created his own “blueprint” to “allow us to abolish ICE.”

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Elections

Voters in Multiple States Approve Measures Prohibiting Noncitizen Voting

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Many lessons were learned on election night, at least for those who are willing to listen. Among the most pivotal addresses voter integrity. Voters across the United States turned out in force to weigh in on voting rights and election integrity in state ballot measures, with particular focus on the contentious issue of noncitizen voting.

In every state where voters were asked to decide on prohibiting noncitizens from voting, the measures passed with significant majorities. The results reveal a strong consensus across the states, with approval rates all exceeding 62%. The Center Square gives the details:

– South Carolina led with the highest support, with 86% voting in favor of the ban.

– Oklahoma (81%), North Carolina (77.6%), Iowa (76%), and Missouri (68%) also saw overwhelming majorities in support.

– Wisconsin (70%), Idaho (65%), and Kentucky (62%) similarly passed measures to restrict voting to U.S. citizens only.

These ballot measures reflect a growing trend among states to explicitly prohibit noncitizen voting, a policy that has gained traction since Congress passed a 1996 law banning noncitizen voting in federal elections for the U.S. Senate, House of Representatives, and presidency. However, federal law does not extend to state and local elections, leaving the decision to individual states.

While all state constitutions require U.S. citizenship for voting, laws regarding noncitizen voting vary at the state level. Some states explicitly prohibit noncitizen voting in state and local elections, including Arizona, North Dakota, Georgia, Florida, and Ohio. However, a few jurisdictions, such as parts of California, Maryland, and Vermont, have allowed noncitizen voting in certain local elections, prompting states to seek clearer, uniform policies.

The push to restrict noncitizen voting has intensified in recent years, with Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, North Dakota, and Ohio all enacting bans from 2018 to 2022. This year’s decisive votes in eight additional states signal that the trend is likely to continue.

In Iowa, voters also approved a measure permitting 17-year-olds to participate in primary elections if they will be 18 by the time of the general election, aligning with similar policies in other states that aim to engage younger voters.

Missouri voters passed a measure prohibiting ranked-choice voting, while Nevada enacted a requirement for voter identification with 74% support, underscoring voter concerns over ballot security.

Meanwhile, Connecticut passed a measure by 57% authorizing laws for no-excuse absentee voting, aiming to expand voter access while balancing concerns over election security.

The conversation around these ballot initiatives reflects ongoing tensions around election policy and state sovereignty in election law. The U.S. Supreme Court recently granted an emergency stay in Virginia to keep noncitizens off voter rolls, a decision expected to influence similar cases nationally as states prepare for the 2024 presidential election.

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