Social Movements & the Law

Even with the pandemic wreaking havoc on the U.S. and global health care systems and economies, reproductive health care needs and decisions cannot be put on hold during the COVID-19 crisis.

The decision of whether and when to have children is a personal, private matter and an individual right. Over the years, reproductive rights have been advanced and rolled back in federal courts, impacting access to safe and legal abortion; insurance coverage for basic health care; when a woman may choose to terminate a pregnancy, and beyond. For better or for worse, the judges sitting in lifetime seats on the federal bench interpret the law and decide how it should be applied. Though the public and the media tend to focus on a few high-profile cases each year heard by the US Supreme Court, every day critical decisions are also being made in federal district and circuit courts. Justice for all depends on a diverse, fair, and independent judiciary committed to core constitutional rights, including reproductive rights.

As the grassroots arm of the women’s movement, NOW’s purpose is to promote feminist ideals, lead societal change, eliminate discrimination, and achieve and protect the equal rights of all women and girls in all aspects of social, political, and economic life.

Group takes steps to protect members after ‘traumatizing’ reports of people being stopped or detained by agents

This webinar discusses the harmful effects of book bans and curriculum limitations and what role the law can play in combating them.

In the 2021-22 school year, RWU Law co-sponsored, along with the City University of New York School of Law and Jurist, an ongoing Integrating Doctrine & Diversity Speaker Series.

John Fetterman, whose wife was famously undocumented, now pushing to deport people like her

Statements recognizing indigenous rights to territories seized by colonial powers may be well-meaning. But some indigenous leaders fear these acknowledgements may become routine and performative.

Danny Lopez spent over 30 years teaching the Tohono O'odham Nation's traditional way of life to its people and surrounding community.

Analyses of death records over the two decades in the United States reported greater mortality from infectious and parasitic diseases, injuries and respiratory and cardiovascular diseases associated with exposures to flooding events, particularly floods caused by tropical cyclones and heavy rain.

Deb Haaland, the country's first indigenous cabinet secretary, used her term at the Interior Department to make what activists say is irreversible impact in recognizing the painful history of the government's treatment Native Americans

Legal experts and researchers say incoming President Donald Trump's promised mass deportations could actually end up undermining goals of public safety and national security.

President Trump took office Monday, marking the beginning of a new era in Washington. The changing of the guard was, perhaps, marked most significantly by sweeping new executive actions that will h…

Two major U.S. state bar associations have pushed back after President Donald Trump took aim at efforts to promote more diversity in the legal profession.

The Homeland Security Department has scrapped a Biden policy that kept immigration authorities away from sensitive community places.

Securing America's Borders

As hundreds of new miles of border wall system have been constructed, they have pushed cartels to traffic their poisonous products precisely where DHS is best equipped— our Ports of Entry. The drugs we are seizing as a result of this new wall that never enter and devastate our communities, and never line the pockets of cartels.

The Border Patrol Tactical Unit provides an immediateresponse capability to emergent and high-risk incidents requiring specialized skills and tactics. BORTAC has a cadre of full-time team members headquartered in El Paso, Texas and non-full-time members dispersed throughout the United States. The teams can be called upon to deploy immediately when needed.

Use this form to request that we consider granting or renewing deferred action on a case-by-case basis using guidelines described in the final rule.

Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad F. Wolf announced that in response to the Supreme Court’s decision, the Department of Homeland Security will take action to thoughtfully consider the future of the DACA policy, including whether to fully rescind the program.

ALERT: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Final Rule Effective Oct. 31, 2022.

PHOENIX — Attorney General Kris Mayes announced today that she is joining a multistate federal lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s unconstitutional order attempting to unilaterally strip citizenship from citizens across the United States, including thousands of babies born in Arizona each year.

The orders require drafting strategies to enforce the gender binary (within 30 days) and meetings on fighting DEI and environmental justice (monthly).

A library book she found when she was 10 inspired Melanie McKay-Cody to pursue a career studying Native American sign languages. Now a researcher in the College of Education, she's one of the foremost experts at the intersection of Native and Deaf identity. She shares her story in this article and video.

On December 17, 2024, the Archivist of the United States, Dr. Colleen Shogan, and Deputy Archivist, William J. Bosanko, issued a public statement refusing to publish the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), following pleas in favor of publication of the ERA from Congress members and women’s rights activists, and over 100 years of collective advocacy.  The […]

President Joe Biden announced a major opinion Friday that the Equal Rights Amendment is ratified, enshrining its protections into the Constitution, a last-minute move that some believe could pave the way to bolstering reproductive rights.

As Donald Trump returns to the White House, a newly emboldened anti-DEI bloc has gained powerful allies.