Nation
Anti-domestic violence groups are suing over the Trump administration’s grant requirements
Seventeen statewide anti-domestic and sexual violence coalitions are suing President Donald Trump’s administration over requirements in grant applications that they don’t promote “gender ideology” or run diversity, equity and inclusion programs or prioritize people in the country illegally.
The groups say the requirements, which Trump ushered in with executive orders, put them in “an impossible position.”
If they don’t apply for federal money allocated under the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, they might not be able to provide rape crisis centers, battered women’s shelters and other programs to support victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. But if the groups do apply, they said in the lawsuit, they would have to make statements they called “antithetical to their core values” — and take on legal risk.
In the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island on Monday, the coalitions said that agreeing to the terms of grants could open them to federal investigations and enforcement actions as well as lawsuits from private parties.
The groups suing include some from Democratic-controlled states, such as the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, and in GOP-dominated ones, including the Idaho Coalition against Sexual and Domestic Violence.
The groups say the requirements are at odds with federal laws that require them not to discriminate on the basis of gender identity, to aid underserved racial and ethnic groups, and to emphasize immigrants with some programs and not to discriminate based on legal status.
The U.S. Department of Justice, which is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, did not respond to a request for comment.
The suit is one of more than 200 filed since January to challenge President Donald Trump’s executive orders. There were similar claims in a suit over anti-DEI requirements in grants for groups that serve LGBTQ+ communities. A judge last week blocked the administration from enforcing those orders in context of those programs, for now.
New York
Mahmoud Khalil requests transfer from Louisiana jail after judge blocks his release
NEW YORK (AP) — Attorneys for the Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil requested that a federal judge immediately release him on bail, or else transfer him to New Jersey to be closer to his family, as the Trump administration seeks to keep him in custody in Louisiana.
The latest request, filed Monday afternoon, follows a whirlwind week in the legal case against Khalil, a lawful permanent resident who has been detained since March on allegations that his presence in the country poses a threat to U.S. foreign policy.
While the judge, Michael Farbiarz, ruled that Khalil could not be deported for that reason, he declined Friday to grant Khalil’s release, pointing to a secondary rationale advanced by the government: that he had omitted information on his green card application about his work history and affiliations.
In their filing, lawyers for Khalil said the government’s move to keep him detained on those grounds was “exceedingly rare and extremely unusual,” reflecting the retaliatory nature of their case. Khalil has strongly disputed that he was not forthcoming on the application.
If the release is not granted, Khalil’s attorneys urged the judge to at least transfer him to a detention facility in New Jersey so he could be closer to his wife and newborn son.
Their request cited an internal U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement directive that says detained parents should be held “as close as practicable” to their children.
Emailed inquiries to the Justice Department and ICE were not returned.
An ICE official previously denied the transfer request. Last month, the government sought to block Khalil from holding his 1-month-old son, arguing that their first meeting should be “non-contact.”
Khalil, a former Columbia University graduate student, was detained at his Manhattan apartment on March 8, becoming the first target of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on those who joined protests against the war in Gaza.
He has not been accused of a crime. Rather, the Trump administration has argued that Khalil should be expelled from the country for beliefs that could undermine their foreign policy goals around fighting anti-semitism.
The allegations that Khalil lied on his green card application were added after his arrest, and have been strongly contested by Khalil and his lawyers.
While the government claimed he served as an “officer” of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, Khalil has denied that, claiming he completed an internship at the agency that was approved by Columbia University.
He said the government also overstated the length of time he had worked for the British Embassy.
In a previous ruling, the federal judge said it was “overwhelmingly unlikely” that the government would seek to detain Khalil solely on charges that he misrepresented himself on the application.
Still, the judge said Khalil’s lawyers had not presented sufficient evidence countering the claims and proving that he was being held illegally.
“The government is making desperate, last-ditch attempts to keep my husband unjustly imprisoned,” said Noor Abdalla, Khalil’s wife, in a statement Monday. “We are not afraid and will not be intimidated, because we know, and the government knows, it is only a matter of time before Mahmoud is free.”
Anti-domestic violence groups are suing over the Trump administration’s grant requirements
Seventeen statewide anti-domestic and sexual violence coalitions are suing President Donald Trump’s administration over requirements in grant applications that they don’t promote “gender ideology” or run diversity, equity and inclusion programs or prioritize people in the country illegally.
The groups say the requirements, which Trump ushered in with executive orders, put them in “an impossible position.”
If they don’t apply for federal money allocated under the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, they might not be able to provide rape crisis centers, battered women’s shelters and other programs to support victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. But if the groups do apply, they said in the lawsuit, they would have to make statements they called “antithetical to their core values” — and take on legal risk.
In the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island on Monday, the coalitions said that agreeing to the terms of grants could open them to federal investigations and enforcement actions as well as lawsuits from private parties.
The groups suing include some from Democratic-controlled states, such as the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, and in GOP-dominated ones, including the Idaho Coalition against Sexual and Domestic Violence.
The groups say the requirements are at odds with federal laws that require them not to discriminate on the basis of gender identity, to aid underserved racial and ethnic groups, and to emphasize immigrants with some programs and not to discriminate based on legal status.
The U.S. Department of Justice, which is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, did not respond to a request for comment.
The suit is one of more than 200 filed since January to challenge President Donald Trump’s executive orders. There were similar claims in a suit over anti-DEI requirements in grants for groups that serve LGBTQ+ communities. A judge last week blocked the administration from enforcing those orders in context of those programs, for now.
New York
Mahmoud Khalil requests transfer from Louisiana jail after judge blocks his release
NEW YORK (AP) — Attorneys for the Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil requested that a federal judge immediately release him on bail, or else transfer him to New Jersey to be closer to his family, as the Trump administration seeks to keep him in custody in Louisiana.
The latest request, filed Monday afternoon, follows a whirlwind week in the legal case against Khalil, a lawful permanent resident who has been detained since March on allegations that his presence in the country poses a threat to U.S. foreign policy.
While the judge, Michael Farbiarz, ruled that Khalil could not be deported for that reason, he declined Friday to grant Khalil’s release, pointing to a secondary rationale advanced by the government: that he had omitted information on his green card application about his work history and affiliations.
In their filing, lawyers for Khalil said the government’s move to keep him detained on those grounds was “exceedingly rare and extremely unusual,” reflecting the retaliatory nature of their case. Khalil has strongly disputed that he was not forthcoming on the application.
If the release is not granted, Khalil’s attorneys urged the judge to at least transfer him to a detention facility in New Jersey so he could be closer to his wife and newborn son.
Their request cited an internal U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement directive that says detained parents should be held “as close as practicable” to their children.
Emailed inquiries to the Justice Department and ICE were not returned.
An ICE official previously denied the transfer request. Last month, the government sought to block Khalil from holding his 1-month-old son, arguing that their first meeting should be “non-contact.”
Khalil, a former Columbia University graduate student, was detained at his Manhattan apartment on March 8, becoming the first target of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on those who joined protests against the war in Gaza.
He has not been accused of a crime. Rather, the Trump administration has argued that Khalil should be expelled from the country for beliefs that could undermine their foreign policy goals around fighting anti-semitism.
The allegations that Khalil lied on his green card application were added after his arrest, and have been strongly contested by Khalil and his lawyers.
While the government claimed he served as an “officer” of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, Khalil has denied that, claiming he completed an internship at the agency that was approved by Columbia University.
He said the government also overstated the length of time he had worked for the British Embassy.
In a previous ruling, the federal judge said it was “overwhelmingly unlikely” that the government would seek to detain Khalil solely on charges that he misrepresented himself on the application.
Still, the judge said Khalil’s lawyers had not presented sufficient evidence countering the claims and proving that he was being held illegally.
“The government is making desperate, last-ditch attempts to keep my husband unjustly imprisoned,” said Noor Abdalla, Khalil’s wife, in a statement Monday. “We are not afraid and will not be intimidated, because we know, and the government knows, it is only a matter of time before Mahmoud is free.”
