blogging the beltway

(The Root) — In one of his biggest moves on immigration, on Friday President Obama announced that his administration will stop deporting some undocumented youths and provide them with work authorization. The immigrants in question are those who would qualify under the mired DREAM Act (pdf) — young people up to age 30, who were…

(The Root) — The White House is facing another case of leaked information with the release on Wednesday of a document detailing the Obama administration’s trade negotiations. Posted on the website of the consumer-rights advocacy group Public Citizen, the leaked document reveals that a proposed trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific region would controversially give broader…

(The Root) — The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights announced on Friday that it will launch a special investigation into “Stand your ground” laws and whether racial bias plays a role in how they are enforced. The legislation — which allows people to use deadly force, without any obligation to retreat first, when they believe…

(The Root) — Not-so-distant history repeated itself on Friday as President Obama urged Congress to pass his legislative jobs proposals. The president first presented this plan, the American Jobs Act, before a joint session of Congress last September. While Congress agreed to pass a few parts of the bill — including an expansion of the…

(The Root) — Last week the U.S. Department of Justice ordered Florida’s Secretary of State Ken Detzner to halt the state’s plan to purge thousands of registered voters from the voter rolls. Florida’s database-matching process for deciding which residents are ineligible noncitizens had not been cleared with the Justice Department — a step that the…

(The Root) — The dramatic Wisconsin recall election came to an end Tuesday night, as Republican Gov. Scott Walker defeated his Democratic challenger, Tom Barrett. Although Walker’s victory was largely expected, with multiple public polls showing him ahead of Barrett — not to mention his campaign vastly outspending Barrett’s ($45.6 million for Walker, compared with…

(The Root) — Nearly 26 million Americans are affected by asthma, including 7 million children, and research has shown for decades that poor and minority children bear the greatest burden of the respiratory disease. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, asthma rates for African-American children are at 16 percent — and 16.5…

(The Root) — Two contentious efforts regarding voting in Florida, led by Republican Gov. Rick Scott, suffered major setbacks on Thursday. In a legal one-two punch, both were struck down. First up: a provision in a state law that requires anyone who registers voters to hand in all registration forms no later than 48 hours…

(The Root) — On day 2 of the national meeting of the Conference of National Black Churches (day 1, in partnership with the Congressional Black Caucus, focused solely on voting matters), black church leaders explored a range of issues: economic inequity, technology and the black church and how faith leaders can foster healthier communities. But…

(The Root) — “Our duty today,” said Barbara Arnwine, executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, before a crowd of African-American clergy members, “is to remember that the Bible tell us: ‘For lack of knowledge, the people perish.’ “ With this guiding mantra, the Congressional Black Caucus and the Conference of National…