A looming U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the Louisiana v. Callais case could eviscerate the federal Voting Rights Act, which is meant to ensure that voting laws and procedures don’t discriminate against Black voters. The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Will Sutton reports on an effort for Louisiana to create its own Voting Rights Act:
What that legislation would look like and what voting protections might be pursued are yet to be determined as conversations continue. (Attorney Janai) Nelson (who argued the Callais case before the Supreme Court) said State Sen. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans, has agreed to help develop the bill and bring it before the Louisiana Legislature. The spring legislative session will be important and interesting for a number of reasons. It’s about to become even more important, as we the people have a Louisiana Voting Rights Act considered by our elected legislative leaders.
The Court’s upcoming ruling could clear a path for Louisiana’s Legislature – and other state legislatures – to redraw Black-majority districts and strip Black voters of their right to elect candidates of their choice.
ICE is using Medicaid data to find out where immigrants live
A recent court ruling allows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to resume using Medicaid data to locate people who are in the country legally and illegally. Stateline’s Anna Claire Vollers explains how the ruling is affecting immigrant families and communities and causing people to forgo crucial health care:
In Chicago, for example, a patient at an Esperanza Health Center delayed her first prenatal visit until her third trimester because she worried enrolling in Medicaid could put her husband at risk of deportation, the clinic reported in a December court filing. By the time she received care, she had complications that could have been addressed with earlier health visits.
Federal law prevents Medicaid funding from being used on people who are in the country illegally, but many states have used their own dollars to cover noncitizens:
(N)early half of states, including some led by Republicans, have chosen to use their own Medicaid money to extend coverage to certain groups of people, such as children and pregnant women, regardless of immigration status. … “States have constantly reassured people that their health care information won’t be used against them, and that’s changed,” said Tanya Broder, senior counsel for health and economic justice policy at the National Immigration Law Center, an advocacy organization focused on immigrant rights.
WIC works
The federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) finances healthy foods and other support for pregnant and postpartum women and their children. A new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities explains how effective the program is at improving child health:
- Healthier babies. Nutrition influences health at every stage of life. Individuals who participate in WIC during pregnancy give birth to healthier babies who are more likely to survive infancy. …Â
- More health care access. Children in families participating in WIC are just as likely to receive immunizations as children in more affluent families and are more likely to receive preventive medical care than children in low-income families who don’t participate in WIC.
- Stronger cognitive development. Children whose parent participated in WIC while pregnant scored higher on assessments of mental development at age 2 than similar children whose parent did not participate, and they later performed better on reading assessments while in school.
Churches offer shelter through Community Lighthouse network
South Louisiana communities can expect to spend days or weeks without electric power when major hurricanes hit. The advocacy group Together New Orleans, led by religious congregations around the region, is helping to alleviate some of that suffering with local “resiliency hubs,” which are powered by solar energy and battery storage. The Lens’ Delaney Dryfoos explains how the Community Lighthouse Project helps New Orleans communities during power outages:
Since Hurricane Ida, Together New Orleans has established 14 Community Lighthouses across the city to generate clean electricity and store it for emergency use. Solar energy also reduces electricity costs during normal weather — no small thing in a city known for its oppressive heat and humidity. The project aims to build a network of 86 lighthouses so that every New Orleanian could walk to one in less than 15 minutes. … “The largest microgrid in the world is in New Orleans,”[Rev. Shawn] Anglim said. “It’s called Community Lighthouse.”
The Lighthouse network offers more than electricity:
The initiative works with organizations such as the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers to hire unionized green energy experts and the Louisiana Green Corps to offer apprenticeships to young people interested in finding their place in the green energy economy. And in addition to technical training, the initiative prepares lighthouse keepers to respond to mental health crises.
Number of the Day
19.4 million – Enrollment at undergraduate and graduate programs at U.S. colleges and universities in fall 2025, a 10-year high. (Source: National Student Clearinghouse Research Center)