The American Center for Law and Justice wrote in a recent letter to Sen. Ted Budd that it strongly supports his legislation to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit visas for people involved in religious persecution.
The legislation restricts visa issuance to foreign nationals who commit, direct or support violations of religious freedom.
“Sadly, the persecution of religious believers remains a daily reality for millions across the globe. The ACLJ has long been engaged in defending persecuted Christians and other religious minorities worldwide,” the ACLJ said in its letter.
“Nowhere is this crisis more evident than in Nigeria, where extremist violence and systemic failures by authorities have left Christian communities vulnerable to regular devastating and deadly attacks.”
Mr. Budd, North Carolina Republican, introduced the Banning Perpetrators of Religious Persecution Act earlier in the year. The bill specifically targets violators who have targeted religious minorities, including Christians in Nigeria and Uyghurs in China.
The ACLJ calls Mr. Budd’s legislation “a targeted and effective tool to hold perpetrators accountable” and that by “restricting visas for those who have directed, supported, or carried out violations of religious freedom, Congress can ensure that those responsible for persecution cannot enjoy the privilege of entering the United States.”
This method focuses on consequences for those responsible for the abuse rather than imposing far-reaching penalties that may harm innocent populations, the organization said.
Manufacturers: Cutting red tape lowers electricity prices
A member of the National Association of Manufacturers board told Sen. Elizabeth Warren that ending the permitting gridlock would lower electricity costs.
EQT Corporation President and CEO and NAM board member Toby Rice told the Massachusetts Democrat that increasing the growth of U.S. liquefied natural gas exports will lead to lower energy prices for consumers.
“We strongly agree with the goal of keeping energy affordable and reliable for citizens of the United States,” Mr. Rice said.
“EQT Corporation worked toward this goal for decades. We disagree, however, with the characterization that the growth in exports of liquefied natural gas is the cause of the high utility bills being experienced by Americans.”
Mr. Rice said the U.S. has some of the lowest electricity prices in the world, and much of the credit is owed to natural gas.
“Not only did the boom allow the United States to maintain its energy independence, it unlocked such an abundance of low-cost natural gas that the United States began to export in the form of LNG, almost exactly 10 years ago today,” he said.
Ms. Warren and eight other Democratic senators last month urged Energy Secretary Chris Wright to reconsider a plan to increase LNG exports.
Remain in Mexico fought in court
The Federation for American Immigration Reform, the border protection organization, filed a brief in a California federal district court declaring that the reimplementing of the Trump Migrant Protection Protocols at the border must stay in place.
The organization filed the brief after an anti-borders activist group brought a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s immigration policy known as “Remain in Mexico,” a program of Mr. Trump’s first term that made migrants claiming asylum wait for their asylum hearings in Mexico instead of the U.S. It was rescinded by President Biden and then restored in Mr. Trump’s second term.
The Federation for American Immigration Reform, in its brief to the court, argued that the court lacks jurisdiction to hear this challenge and that the Immigration and Nationality Act allows an administration to institute the Remain in Mexico program.
Additionally, the organization argues that the president has inherent authority to prevent aliens who claim asylum but are not entitled to it from entering and remaining in the U.S., and that courts have no jurisdiction to review such exercises of the president’s authority over foreign affairs.
“If you want to control the border and have a compassionate asylum system, making those claiming asylum wait in Mexico is the only way to stop yet more illegal aliens from pouring in to make yet more meritless asylum claims, which swamp real claims and hurt those actually persecuted in their home countries,” said Christopher J. Hajec, deputy general counsel of FAIR.
’Political speech isn’t pollution — it’s protected’
Washington Legal Foundation called for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit to uphold a lower court decision striking down a California statute aimed at suppressing AI-edited political speech.
WLF was joined in its brief last week by the Manhattan Institute and Americans for Prosperity Foundation.
The case stems from a state law that requires social media platforms to delete or label political speech about candidates or election officials if the content was digitally modified.
Although the law is supposedly aimed at purported deepfakes, the law itself says that its reach goes beyond that classification “to the point where the famous ’Dukakis in the tank’ ad might have been outlawed under California’s regime. The law itself compares digitally edited speech to pollution,” the brief says.
“Political speech, even if distasteful or opposed to those in power, isn’t pollution — it’s protected.”
The group notes that when a state asks a social media platform to delete or edit speech, it will hit section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields social media companies and other online platforms from liability for content published on their sites.
“Even without section 230 immunity, the law violates the First Amendment,” the brief says.
• The Advocates column is a weekly look at the political action players who drive the debate and shape policy outcomes in Washington. Send tips to theadvocates@washingtontimes.com.
