Civil Rights
Several American Congressmen, both Democrats and Republicans, have been supporting Diane Rwigara and her mother Adeline Rwigara by using the hashtag #FreeDianeRwigara on Twitter. The social media support campaign started since Wednesday, November 26, 2018. This surprise mobilization comes one week before the long-awaited verdict in the Kigali trial against the Rwigara family.
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici says she will continue to defend the right of workers to organize and bargain collectively, even as a recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court heads in another direction.
The Democrat from Beaverton spoke last week after she met with representatives from Local 503 of Service Employees International Union, which not only represents the largest group of state government employees but also child and home care workers. They met in Beaverton.
Lawmakers say they are renewing efforts to find what has been elusive legislation to keep families together at the U.S.-Mexico border, as the Trump administration announced it would meet the latest court deadline for reuniting more than 1,400 children it had separated from their immigrant parents.
U.S. Representative Suzanne Bonamici honored Ruthie Berman & the late Connie Kurtz for their tireless activism in our LGBT community & in addition to acknowledging their efforts Bonamici along with her colleagues Florida Representatives Ted Deutch & Charlie Christ advocated for the passage of the Ruthie & Connie LGBT Elder Americans Act. The bill introduced in 2017 would better serve LGBT elders who face higher rates of poverty, pronounced social isolation & less access to health care due to barriers in the aging system & past discrimination.
Immigration detainees at a federal facility in Sheridan say harsh, prison-like conditions have left them feeling depressed and suicidal, according to court documents filed this week.
Oregon's federal public defender filed habeas corpus petitions Wednesday on behalf of five unnamed men being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Sheridan. They are among the more than 120 detainees sent to the Yamhill County facility on May 31 to await criminal prosecution under the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance" immigration policy.
The federal agency that controls the detention center where immigrant children are being held in Portland again denied requests July 17 from the state's five Democratic congress members to visit the facility.
On July 3, the U.S. Department of Education announced it would rescind legal guidelines for universities that use race as a factor in their student admissions process, and instead will begin promoting race-neutral admission policies.