Gabriela is a dance major at the Brooklyn High School of the Arts and dances outside of school seven days a week. Senior year got especially intense, with college and scholarship applications capped by an unexpected highlight of getting to perform at Broadway’s Shubert Theatre in March as part of a city showcase of high school musicals.
It includes major changes to immigration policy, imposing a $1,000 fee on migrants seeking asylum — something the nation has never done, putting it on par with few others, including Australia and Iran.Overall, the plan is to remove 1 million immigrants annually and house 100,000 people in detention centers.
in new money for the Defense Department and national security.It would provide $25 billion for Trump’s “Golden Dome for America,” a long-envisioned missile defense shield, $21 billion to restock the nation’s ammunition arsenal, $34 billion to expand the naval fleet with more shipbuilding and some $5 billion for border security.It also includes $9 billion for servicemember quality of life-related issues, including housing, health care and special pay.
A wholesale revamping of the student loan program is key to the legislation, providingThe proposal would replace all existing student loan repayment plans with just two: a standard option with monthly payments spread out over 10 to 25 years and a “repayment assistance” plan that is generally less generous than those it would replace.
Among other changes, the bill would repeal Biden-era regulations that made it easier for borrowers to get loans canceled if their colleges defrauded them or closed suddenly.
There would be a tax increase, up to 21%, on some university endowments.“The likelihood of that being enforced is higher now because of the focus on removing undocumented people from the United States,” Walker said.
Alabama’s legislation is similar to a 2023 Florida law, which made it a state crime to knowingly transport someone who entered the U.S. illegally. A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction against the Florida law last year, noting it’s preemption by federal law. But in March, the judge narrowed that injunction to block the law’s enforcement only against some who sued, including several individuals and members of The Farmworker Association of Florida.Democratic Rep. Phillip Ensler testified against the Alabama bill, saying the crime already exists under federal law. He conceded that exemptions made the bill better but said, “It just seems very cruel and overly broad that we’re going to criminalize people doing innocent things.”
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, signed a law last week that criminalizes harboring, transporting or hiding individuals without legal immigration status “for the purpose of commercial advantage or private financial gain.”Texas also has toughened its immigration laws. Last year, it increased prison sentences under a state anti-smuggling law that prohibits transporting individuals with the intent to conceal them from law enforcement.