Our Work

"When Gov. Maura Healy signed the PROTECT Act in Chelsea last week, she called it the strongest law in the country to protect people against the “dangerous” tactics of President Trump’s federal immigration enforcement actions." (References SDRI Research).

"Glenwood Springs City Council members voted Thursday to sue the owner of the building where U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is running a short-term detention facility in violation of city zoning rules, hoping to avoid a more risky legal confrontation with the federal government as it attempts to stop the operation."

On August 5, the State Democracy Research Initiative’s faculty co-directors, Miriam Seifter and Rob Yablon, filed an amicus brief with 5 other legal scholars in United States v. New York et al., a case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The appeal concerns whether the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution bars three provisions of New York’s Driver’s License Access and Privacy Act that seek to limit disclosure of sensitive state data for immigration enforcement purposes. The federal government sued, arguing that New York’s policies were preempted by federal law and violated the judge-made doctrine of “intergovernmental immunity.” DOJ has made similar arguments in a range of recent cases.

"Missouri Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins said Tuesday that he wouldn’t certify a referendum seeking to undo the state’s new GOP-drawn congressional map, arguing that the effort was unconstitutional."

On July 30, SDRI Legal Director Danielle Friedman spoke with Bob Bauer on Executive Functions. They discussed state criminal statutes that could apply to federal deployment of military or ICE and examine the limits of executive authority in the context of potential federal interference ahead of the November midterms.

"The federal government is suing the city of Milwaukee over its ordinance preventing law enforcement officers from wearing masks. The lawsuit, filed July 23 in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, calls the ordinance "blatant unconstitutional regulation of the Federal Government." The lawsuit argues that the city's ordinance violates the U.S. Constitution's Supremacy Clause, which says that if local and federal law are in conflict, federal law takes precedence. The mask ordinance stemmed from Milwaukee Common Council members trying to take a stand against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, who have operated in the city with masks covering their faces." (References SDRI Research).

"Wisconsin’s Democratic primary for governor has officially gone off script, leading to a crowded field and the fear that a weaker general election candidate will emerge with just a plurality rather than a majority of the vote. Could the use of ranked-choice voting in the parties’ nomination process do a better job elevating candidates with more widespread support?"

"University of Wisconsin Law School State Democracy Research Initiative attorney Bryna Godar discusses the state Elections Commission barring requests for new absentee ballots if a candidate drops out."

"Wisconsin election officials may reignite a legal battle over absentee voting with a July guidance stating that voters cannot void a returned absentee ballot and cast a new one, even if Election Day is weeks away or the candidate they supported has dropped out. It’s the latest development in a legal dispute that began in 2022 and was reopened by an appeals court decision earlier this year."

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has vastly expanded Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) presence across the country, extending its reach to nearly every state and major city. In response, state and local governments are increasingly looking to location-specific protections, and to property law more broadly, to address the effects of this federal presence.