US immigration courts

The US Supreme Court has cleared the way for states to use the federal SAVE database to verify the citizenship status of registered voters. The decision permits election officials to cross-check voter rolls against immigration records, a move backers say protects election integrity and critics warn could lead to eligible voters being wrongfully purged. The ruling is drawing sharp reactions from voting rights groups and election officials across the country.

The US Supreme Court has ruled that Trump administration officials may use a federal immigration database to cross-check voter registration records. The decision allows states and federal officials to verify voter eligibility using immigration status data, a move supporters call a safeguard against noncitizen voting and critics warn could wrongly purge eligible voters. The ruling is expected to intensify ongoing legal and political battles over election integrity and voting access ahead of upcoming elections.

Across the United States, people are showing up at immigration court hearings to accompany immigrants and deter ICE from detaining them. Among them is Sister Rose Patrice, a Catholic nun whose presence supporters say matters, as faith leaders have been shown to influence outcomes in these cases.

A Cuban man has spent a year in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention in Texas, and his case is being used to test the reach of a recent Supreme Court ruling on immigration detention. Reported by El Paso Matters, the story highlights how the high court's decision is being applied in practice to people held for prolonged periods, raising questions about how long immigrants can be kept in custody and under what legal limits.

A federal judge has denied a request to block Tennessee Highway Patrol traffic stops conducted in coordination with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The ruling allows the joint enforcement operations to continue while the legal challenge proceeds. The decision is likely to draw reaction from immigration advocates who oppose the stops and from supporters of tougher immigration enforcement.

US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has apologized to Justice Brett Kavanaugh after publicly criticizing his opinion in an immigration case. The episode is notable for the court, whose justices traditionally avoid openly disputing each other's reasoning in public, and comes amid heightened political attention to the judiciary's handling of immigration rulings.