The day began and ended with activity related to President Trump’s executive order on immigration.
Continue readingCategory: legal
Sawant crosses the line
Council member Kshama Sawant, her staff, her Socialist Alternative party, and their partner organizations have done some incredible work over the past several weeks in organizing rallies and protests to give voice to opposition to President Trump’s most abhorrent executive orders and policies. But last week she turned the rhetoric knob to 11, and in so doing argued for some actions that are not just ill-conceived but illegal, dangerous to public safety, and a threat to one of the most important foundations of our democracy. And that places her in clear and direct violation of her duties and responsibilities as a City Council …
Continue readingDaniel Ramirez is Still In Detention. Here’s Why.
Daniel Ramirez Medina’s attorney went into court this morning in the hope of securing his immediate release from an ICE detention facility. That didn’t happen, but they also didn’t leave empty handed.
Continue readingRamirez DACA case goes to crazy-town
One of the big stories this week — locally and nationally — has been the arrest and detention of Daniel Ramirez Medina, a 23-year-old resident of Washington State who was brought to the US illegally as a child and has been a beneficiary of the Obama Administration’s Deferred Access for Child Arrivals (DACA) program since 2014. Last Friday he was arrested and is still being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). And at a time when immigrants — both legal and illegal — are living in fear of the Trump administration’s saber-rattling about immigration policy, this has become …
Continue readingACLU gets cool reception from judge on homeless encampment cleanups
This afternoon, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Martinez had his first hearing on the ACLU’s lawsuit on behalf of Seattle’s homeless to try to stop the so-called “sweeps” of unsanctioned homeless encampments. It didn’t go well for the ACLU.
Continue readingUnderstanding Trump’s “sanctuary city” executive order
Today President Trump signed an executive order which, as promised, proposes to withhold federal funding from so-called “sanctuary cities.” And Mayor Murray, along with some Council members, stood their ground. Back in November I wrote a summary of what the city could lose in federal funding, but at the time is was difficult to tell whether Trump would really follow through, and if so how he would structure such an order. Now that he’s clarified that, it’s time to examine exactly what his executive order, and the local and federal laws, say.
Continue readingACLU files class-action lawsuit against Seattle and WSDOT for homeless sweeps
Today a class-action lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court by the ACLU on behalf of Seattle’s homeless, against the City of Seattle and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). The suit charges that the city and WSDOT’s “sweeps” of homeless encampments violate the constitutional rights of the encampments’ residents by seizing and destroying the property of people who are living outside without adequate and effective notice, an opportunity to be heard, or a meaningful way to reclaim any property that was not destroyed.
Continue readingUber sues the city over collective bargaining rules, in a weird way
Everyone knew it was coming: today Uber filed a lawsuit against the City of Seattle to stop the collective bargaining process for its drivers from moving forward. But they’ve chosen a strange legal maneuver to do it.
Continue readingNews roundup: judges make rulings, secure scheduling, tenant protections
Lots happening this morning. Let’s get to it.
Continue readingNew protections against slumlords on their way
The Council held its first hearing this morning on a new ordinance, authored by Council member Kshama Sawant, to restrict slumlords from raising rents for non-compliant housing units. But the details are a little tricky, so it’s worth diving into the details.
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