UPDATE: On Tuesday, July 14, the Trump Administration announced that it will rescind the policy referenced in this post, which would have barred international students from the United States if their colleges canceled in-person instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic, following several lawsuits filed by universities and states.

On Monday July 6th, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced a new policy that puts international students at risk of being deported if their classes are fully online in the fall. With a half-dozen colleges and universities in the DC metropolitan region, and many more within a short commuting distance of the District, many individuals in Legal Aid’s client community will shoulder the impact of this policy change, which is unnecessarily strict and places an undue burden on international students. Read more →

As the U.S. House of Representatives prepares for a historic vote on the issue later today, Legal Aid strongly urges every member of Congress to support making the District of Columbia the 51st state of the Union. The case for D.C. statehood has always been compelling, but in light of the national pandemic and a renewed spotlight on deep racial inequities, it is more powerful now than ever.

The District of Columbia is more populous than Vermont and Wyoming, and its more than 705,000 residents pay more in taxes than do the residents of 22 of the 50 states. Yet D.C. has no representation in Congress. D.C.’s lone delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton, is a non-voting member of the House, and D.C. lacks a voice all together in the Senate. And unique to the District and the District alone, any permanent changes to our laws must be sent to Congress for a period of 30 days (or 60 days for certain criminal legislation) before becoming effective. Read more →

“Zoom Court” is the new norm. As with all other aspects of life, justice is now being delivered virtually. According to the National Center for States Courts, all fifty states plus the District of Columbia have either suspended or given localities the option to suspend in-person proceedings. In Texas, hundreds of courtrooms have been operating remotely over Zoom, with live streamed proceedings. In Florida, a major voting rights case, about whether Florida residents with felony convictions must pay back court fines and fees before regaining their right to vote, was heard via video conference. Here in the District, some courtrooms in the Criminal, Probate, and Family Court Divisions are also operating remotely. The Civil Division is prioritizing hearing emergency and urgent matters remotely, with some additional types of hearings depending on availability of the Court and parties. High volume courts, including the Landlord and Tenant Branch, will start to hear some matters remotely. Read more →

On Monday and Thursday of this week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued rulings that handed important victories for LGBTQ individuals and Dreamers, undocumented individuals who came here as children.

In Bostock v. Clayton County Georgia, the Supreme Court held that discrimination against LGBTQ people in employment is prohibited under the Title VII prohibition against discrimination on the basis of sex. Writing for the majority, Justice Gorsuch declared:

An individual’s homosexuality or transgender status is not relevant to employment decisions. That’s because it is impossible to discriminate against a person for being homosexual or transgender without discriminating against that individual based on sex. Read more →

At a time when people across the country – including District residents – have taken to the streets to demand justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and black people across the country who have been killed by police officers, it is crucial that we take a closer look at whether the decisions of our local leaders truly reflect the fundamental value that these protests seek to uphold: that black lives matter.

Read more →