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Judge weighs Trump administration’s request to end protections for immigrant children

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — A judge on Friday was considering a Trump administration request to end a decades-old policy on protections for immigrant children in federal custody that the government says is inhibiting its immigration crackdown. The administration asked U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee in Los Angeles to dissolve the policy, which limits how long Customs and Border Protection can hold immigrant children and requires them to be kept in safe and sanitary conditions. Gee, who oversees what is known as the Flores agreement, expressed skepticism at the government’s request but did ...

How closely do congressional delegations reflect how people vote?

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Constitution makes it clear: “The People” get to pick those who’ll represent their interests in the U.S. House of Representatives. But just how closely do those choices reflect the overall political leanings of the people? The question is at the heart of a power play in Texas, where Republicans are trying to reshape the state’s congressional boundaries to help them maintain control of the House in next year’s midterm elections. In many cases, a state’s congressional delegation doesn’t align very closely with what would seem to be the will of the ...

How Texas Democrats’ walkout has launched a fight over political maps

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A weeklong walkout by Texas House Democrats is blocking redrawn congressional maps sought by President Donald Trump and put in motion a broadening fight across the U.S. over redistricting. There is still no swift end in sight to the standoff that has scattered dozens of Texas Democrats to Illinois, New York and California, where they have been given a warm reception by blue state governors and national party leaders. As the holdout has dragged on, Texas Republicans have ratcheted up the pressure to try compelling them back. GOP state leaders have asked courts ...

Trump’s new tariffs go into effect as US economy shows signs of strain

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump began imposing higher import taxes on dozens of countries Thursday just as the economic fallout of his monthslong tariff threats has begun to cause visible damage to the U.S. economy. Just after midnight, goods from more than 60 countries and the European Union became subject to tariff rates of 10% or higher. Products from the EU, Japan and South Korea are taxed at 15%, while imports from Taiwan, Vietnam and Bangladesh are taxed at 20%. Trump also expects the EU, Japan and South Korea to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the United ...

Florida updated agreement on handling detainees at ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ but after it opened

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — More than a month after Florida opened “Alligator Alcatraz” in the Everglades, the state and ICE signed an updated agreement spelling out how state corrections officials should handle federal immigration detainees at non-correctional facilities. The addendum signed this week updated a 2020 agreement between the Florida Department of Corrections and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that had explained how to handle federal immigration detainees at correctional facilities, but not at places like this new detention center. The update was made public ...