Legal News
Reports on lawmaking, constitutional issues, and court cases. The Daily Signal combines news reporting with conservative commentary and legal analysis.
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news
Immigrant Restaurant Owners Targeted After Serving Free Meals to Law Enforcement
When “ICE Out” protests spread across Arizona in recent months, one restaurant found itself at the center of the ICE storm. At Sammy’s Mexican Grill, owners Jorge and Betty Rivas—immigrants who have lived the American dream—chose to stay open and continue their five-year tradition of serving free meals to all law enforcement officers. The Rivas’… -
news
Fairfax County Leaders Push Back as Lawmakers Advance Tysons Casino Bill
Virginia lawmakers recently passed a bill that would make Fairfax County, outside Washington, D.C., eligible to host a casino—a move county leaders say undermines local decision-making. The bill was first introduced in 2023 by state Sen. Dave Marsden, D-Fairfax, and has since been supported by state Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax. After years of debate and repeated stalling, lawmakers pushed the… -
news
EXCLUSIVE: Lawmakers Mull Push to Strip Democratic Socialists of America of Nonprofit Status
Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., put it succinctly to The Daily Signal when he said, “Communists are going to [be] communist.” Fine is one of several lawmakers on the federal and state level considering an effort to strip the Democratic Socialists of America of its tax-exempt nonprofit status after the DSA announced last week that it… -
news
Will Congress Help States Challenge SCOTUS Ruling That Gives Illegal Immigrants Massive Benefits?
A House subcommittee is exploring ways to challenge a 1982 Supreme Court ruling that radically expanded illegal aliens’ access to state benefits. In Plyler v. Doe, the Supreme Court struck down a Texas law that barred illegal immigrant children from enrolling in public schools and argued these illegal immigrants were entitled to that benefit, and… -
news
SCOTUS Agrees to Hear Trump Bid to Rein in Temporary Protected Status
The Supreme Court announced Monday it will hear the Trump administration’s appeal to end Temporary Protected Status for certain immigrants, including those from Syria and Haiti. Immigration groups have argued that people can’t return to the two countries due to unsafe conditions. However, the Trump Justice Department has argued that the Department of Homeland Security… -
news
Democrat-Passed Law May Have Allowed Shooter to Enter Old Dominion Undetected
A shooting on Old Dominion University’s campus has left Americans asking how someone who pled guilty to helping ISIS was able to enroll at an American university. The unsettling answer is that Virginia Democrats passed a law forbidding public colleges from asking applicants about their criminal history. Republicans in Washington are now looking to take… -
news
Could SCOTUS Rule to Hold Those Who Hire Illegal Immigrant Truck Drivers Accountable?
As President Donald Trump and Congress look to hold illegal immigrant truckers accountable, a future United States Supreme Court decision could modify a federal law that could allow victims of commercial vehicle crashes to hold those responsible for hiring the driver behind the crash accountable. The ruling, which is expected before June, could overturn a… -
news
SCOTUS Order on California Law to ‘Keep Secrets From Parents’ a Positive Sign for Parental Rights, Heritage Scholar Says
Is a recent ruling from the Supreme Court “a sign of good things to come” for parents? Corey DeAngelis, The Heritage Foundation’s new research fellow at the Center for Education Policy, believes so. On Monday, the Supreme Court temporarily prevented the state of California from blocking school policies that would require telling parents if their… -
opinion
Supreme Court Ruling Is Welcome News for Immigration Judges
Imagine that you’re one of the 520 or so immigration judges trying to slog through the estimated 3.3 million pending immigration cases, many of which are asylum cases. Unlike other judges, you don’t have contempt authority to hold attorneys accountable. And most denial of asylum decisions you make get appealed to the Board of Immigration… -
news
After Supreme Court Ruling, Tariff Refund Battle Just Beginning
The Trump administration will pay interest on refunds for global tariffs if ordered to do so, according to a court filing on Wednesday. U.S. officials have not committed to full refunds on the money collected from tariffs, as President Donald Trump has said he would find other laws to continue his tariffs. However, litigation and negotiations… -
news
EXCLUSIVE: Congress Eyes New ‘Dalilah’s Law’ Proposal to Ban Illegal Immigrants From Trucking
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Two Indiana Republicans introduced an effort to force states to reform the commercial driving licensing process and bar commercial driver’s licenses, or CDLs for short, from falling into the hands of illegal immigrants. Rep. Erin Houchin, R-Ind., introduced her version of “Dalilah’s Law” in the House on Wednesday. The legislation is… -
news
Ohio’s Abortion Amendment Used to Block Fetal Remains Law
Ohio’s pro-abortion Reproductive Freedom Amendment, passed in 2023, has now been used to block a state law requiring the humane burial or cremation of aborted children. Last week, Ohio’s 1st District Court of Appeals upheld a ruling against Ohio’s SB 27, which mandated fetal remains be buried or cremated. The appeals court concluded “that the… -
news
‘WATERSHED MOMENT’: Supreme Court Rules on Gender Secrecy Policies
The Supreme Court Monday vindicated parental rights, upholding an injunction against California’s gender secrecy policy, which mandated that school staff hide a student’s claimed transgender identity from parents unless the student expressly consented to reveal it. “This is a watershed moment for parental rights in America,” Paul Jonna, special counsel at the Thomas More Society,… -
opinion
Supreme Court Explains Contours of Sixth Amendment’s Right to Counsel in Villarreal v. Texas
The Sixth Amendment has long guaranteed a criminal defendant the right “to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.” But what does that right entail in practice—particularly when a defendant takes the witness stand in his own defense? And by taking the witness stand, what limitations, if any, exist with respect to his right… -
opinion
United States v. Hemani: SCOTUS to Hear Arguments in Important Second Amendment Case
As the Supreme Court returns to hearing oral arguments this week, it will take up a technical—yet consequential—criminal law case. In United States v. Hemani, the justices will consider whether 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), which bars anyone “who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance” from “possess[ing] … any firearm or… -
news
Justices Invoke Founders’ Drinking Habits in Weighing Gun Ban for Drug Users
Most justices appeared skeptical of a federal law banning gun possession for illegal drug users and addicts during Supreme Court arguments Monday. Intermingling gun rights and the war on drugs, the case has put the ACLU and the National Rifle Association on the same side, while President Donald Trump’s Justice Department is defending the existing… -
opinion
It’s Official: Illegal Alien-Loving Dems Cannot Stand American Citizens
President Donald Trump could not have made it easier for congressional Democrats. During Tuesday night’s State of the Union address, Trump’s simple offer to them, and their Republican counterparts, was like a college professor telling his students: “Anyone who wants 10 points of extra credit, please stand up if you believe the Earth is round.”… -
analysis
A Legal Analysis of the Supreme Court’s Tariff Ruling
The Supreme Court has struck down President Donald Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs by a vote of 6-3, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing for the majority. Notably, the majority opinion made clear: “We claim no special competence in matters of economics or foreign affairs. We claim only,… -
news
5-Year-Old’s Near-Death Experience Moves Congress to Stop Illegal Aliens From Truck Driving
This story has been updated to include comment from Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. Congressional Republicans are pushing to prevent illegal immigrants from obtaining commercial driver’s licenses in the wake of President Donald Trump acknowledging 5-year-old Dalilah Coleman during his State of the Union address. Dalilah was nearly killed in 2022 by Partap Singh, an illegal… -
news
9-0 SCOTUS Ruling Could Trigger Wave of ICE Detention Lawsuits
The Supreme Court, in a 9-0 ruling, sided against a private prison firm that contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain illegal aliens. The outcome could subject privately-owned prisons currently contracting with ICE or other government agencies to more litigation. The ruling stems from a lawsuit that has languished in court for more than a…