Each week we will provide you with a rundown of top news stories and must-read articles.
Headlines
Trump Administration ends DACA
The Trump Administration announced that it will end DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) in six months. Congress is now scrambling to come up with a solution before then. The end to DACA will make 800,000 young people who arrived in the U.S. as children subject to deportation. This decision by the Trump administration is a heartless attack on so many immigrants who have made this country their home.
Injustice at the Justice Department
Trump Administration agencies have been quickly unraveling policies that promote equality and justice. Jeff Sessions’ Justice Department has been particularly damaging. The Attorney General doesn’t get as much attention as Trump, but his actions on criminal justice and immigration are cause for alarm.
Kentucky may lose last abortion clinic
The state of Kentucky could become the first state without an abortion clinic if the EMW Women’s Surgical Center loses a legal battle with their governor. The constitutional right to an abortion was established decades ago in Roe v. Wade. Legal challenges and excessive regulations are part of the perpetual conservative attack on a women’s right to choose.
STAFF PICKS: Here’s what ACLU of Maine staff are reading and watching this week.
Portland play on panhandling
A Portland studio is staging a production of a play that tells the story the ACLU’s case to overturn a ban on panhandling (or otherwise standing) in city medians. The play, entitled “Anything Helps, God Bless”, looks at the 2012-14 battle that resulted in a federal judge finding the ban unconstitutional.
