The word “alien” is a technical term defined by Merriam-Webster as “relating, belonging, or owing allegiance to another country or government.” But U.S. Representative Ruben Gallego says it’s “dehumanizing and offensive.” He recently signed on to co-sponsor a bill, introduced by Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), that would strike the word…
Federal inspectors charged with investigating allegations of abuse in immigrant detention centers appear to be helping to perpetuate it, a new report states. The report released Wednesday by the National Immigrant Justice Center and the Detention Watch Network, follows months of protests from immigrant-rights activists over the death of 31-year-old Mexican…
Local Muslim woman Sumayyah Dawud says a civil rights organization defending her in a religious-discrimination case against the Phoenix Police Department dropped her as a client after learning she is transgender. The Council on American and Islamic Relations, the largest Muslim civil rights organization in the country, offered to represent…
It’s hard to say why U.S. Senator John McCain is so frequently the butt of late night TV jokes. Maybe it’s his relentless willingness to say or do anything for votes? Maybe it’s his “maverick” unpredictability and love of the spotlight? Or maybe it’s just that he’s such a good…
Within a 24-hour period, both a state and federal judge handed down two separate decisions about medication abortions in Arizona —- decisions plaintiffs are calling “major victories for the pro-choice movement, women, and the reproductive health of women in Arizona.” In the first, a 2012 state law that placed restrictions on…
U.S. Senator John McCain announced his new Hispanic voter-outreach effort today at the back of El Mercado De Los Cielos, a small mall-within-a-mall of Latino-owned businesses, restaurants, and kiosks in west Phoenix. “Unidos con McCain,” or “United with McCain,” is the senator’s latest efforts to garner favor with the growing…
Mere hours after U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders told the American public that the greatest danger to national security is climate change, a large crowd is expected to descend on the Arizona capital building in Phoenix to demand that state leaders take aggressive action to combat the threat. The planned action…
Despite months of hype and planning, Jon Ritzheimer’s Global Rally for Humanity did not draw the thousands and thousands of people he expected would join him in rallying against Islam. Ritzheimer, the de facto leader of Arizona’s Islamophobia movement, garnered attention earlier this year after he organized a large anti-Islam…
It’s time to take off your “Make American Great Again” hats and put away your Ben Carson and Jeb! paraphernalia because finally, after two lively debates between the Republican presidential candidates, it’s time for the Democrats to take the stage. Tonight’s event in Las Vegas is the first of six…
Halloween’s a great time to relax your inhibitions and dress up as anything or anyone you want. Or not. Thanks to cell-phone cameras and social media, wearing the wrong costume now is a potentially Google-able faux pas that may haunt you for many Octobers to come. On the other hand,…
For the second time this year, a big anti-Islam rally is scheduled to take place outside of the Islamic Community Center of Phoenix. Officially part of the “Global Rally for Humanity,” Saturday’s demonstration will be one of many purportedly taking place around the world, intended to draw attention to the…
It’s a good week for Arizonans who support Democratic Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. Not only is Sanders coming back to the state for a second political rally this Friday, but Arizona Congressman Raúl Grijalva is expected to give the Vermont Senator his first official congressional endorsement. Grijalva, a Mexican-American liberal…
Arizona U.S. Senator John McCain was booed by the audience last night when he appeared Monday night on The Late Night Show With Stephen Colbert. The buildup to the comment that drew the audience’s ire came after Colbert asked him if, as one of the senior leaders in the Republican Party, he…
Immigration advocates vow to appeal the so-called “papers, please” provision of Arizona’s controversial SB 1070 immigration law, which was upheld last month in a trial court ruling. SB 1070 was born as the state’s anti-immigrant sentiment flared in 2010. With state Senator Russell Pearce — who was later recalled from…
The last time Republican Pinal County Sheriff Babeu ran for Congress on an anti-illegal immigration platform, his Mexican lover outed him as a gay man and accused him of blackmail in a bombshell tale reported first in New Times. Babeu pulled out of the 2012 race in the middle of…
Despite four out of 11 Arizona congressional delegates voting to shut down the federal government over Planned Parenthood funding, citizens can take a deep breath knowing that the country narrowly averted that fate — at the very last moment, both houses of Congress passed stop-gap spending bills, giving lawmakers a…
Is the Phoenix City Council attempting to limit citizens’ free speech because activists have lined up to call for more police training in a city notorious for citizens getting shot by cops? A group of residents sure thinks so. They’re furious about a last-minute amendment proposal tacked onto today’s council…
Across Arizona, hundreds of Planned Parenthood supporters gathered in front of health clinics, politicians’ offices, and on college campuses in defiance of those threatening to shut down the federal government and defund Planned Parenthood. Their rallies Tuesday were part of a nationwide movement called Pink Out Day, in which more than a…
Presidential candidate and Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who has ridden a wave of pubic support after the most recent Republican primary debate, announced this week that he’s tapping state Attorney General Mark Brnovich to head his ground campaign in Arizona. Brnovich feels that ”Marco’s positive vision for the 21st Century will…
With the possibility of a government shutdown looming in the very near future, supporters of Planned Parenthood in Arizona will gather in at least a dozen locations throughout the state Tuesday afternoon as part of a national movement called Pink Out Day. “We’re going to demonstrate just how many people…
Arizona Republicans were quick to celebrate after U.S. Speaker of the House, Ohio Republican John Boehner, announced this morning that he would resign at the end of October. Whether through tweets or formal statements, the general gist of their statements was: “Thanks for your service, but step aside and make…
Jon Ritzheimer, the face of Arizona’s anti-Islam movement, wrote an open letter to the American people earlier this week in which he declared his intention to drive around the county with other militiamen and systematically arrest and detain U.S. Senators who support President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran. The group…
