Civil Rights News: Idealism Survives at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; All Sides Rally During Supreme Court Hearings on Health Care Reform; State Anti-immigration Bills Lose Traction

Compiled by Wally McElwain, a Spring 2012 intern at The Leadership Conference Education Fund

Government’s Not Dead Yet
Joe Nocera – Op-Ed
The New York Times

The newly created Consumer Financial Bureau has attracted idealistic young people that still believe the government can be a force of good, writes Nocera. The Bureau’s faith in government is reminiscent of the government agencies active during the Great Depression. Many of the Bureau’s employees were drawn in by its brainchild, Elizabeth Warren, whose book The Two-Income Trap has inspired recent college graduates to work for greater consumer protection. The agency’s first director, Richard Cordray, has also taken advantage of young people’s enthusiasm and talent for helping people.

On Street, Crowd Gives Louder Side of Health Law Argument
Sabrina Tavernise
The New York Times

Simultaneous political demonstrations occurred outside of the U.S. Supreme Court during the opening days of the hearing on the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

States’ Anti-Illegal Immigration Bills Hit Roadblocks
Alan Gomez
USA Today

In 2010, Arizona passed an anti-immigration bill that targeted the Latino community and sought to required law enforcement to stop anyone suspected of being in the U.S. without documentation. More recently, Republican-controlled state legislatures in Utah, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Indiana have been working to pass copycat laws. Lawsuits, some led by the Department of Justice, have blocked some of the most controversial provisions and slowed the laws in general. Some state legislatures have waited to appeal federal court decisions until after November elections. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments next month on Arizona’s anti-immigration law, which could alter the development of similar laws in other states.