This week’s federal policy roundup covers government funding, immigration enforcement, civil rights, education, and public health, and their impact on our communities. Key developments include a short-term funding extension; court rulings protecting birthright citizenship and university free speech; federal efforts to dismantle equal opportunity programs and expand immigration enforcement; and disruptions to federal food-safety research during a major cyclospora outbreak.
Congress Extends Federal Funding Through December
President Trump signed a short-term federal funding law Wednesday, averting a government shutdown and funding federal agencies through December 11. The measure generally maintains current funding levels while giving Congress additional time to negotiate full-year appropriations. It also delays a proposed rule that would give political appointees greater authority to block federal grants to programs they consider inconsistent with the president’s agenda. Although it continues to restrict the Department of Homeland Security from transferring additional funds to border patrol and ICE, those agencies already have billions in unspent funds. The changes provide temporary protection against disruptions to federal programs and services, but the broader funding decisions, including potential cuts to domestic programs, remain unresolved until December.
Federal Court Blocks Latest Effort to Restrict Birthright Citizenship
Birthright citizenship remains a constitutional right despite President Trump’s latest effort to restrict it. A federal judge in Maryland temporarily blocked an August executive order that sought to withhold citizenship documents from certain children born in the United States to noncitizen parents. The order followed Trump’s January 2025 attempt to deny citizenship to children born to undocumented immigrants and people with temporary status, which the Supreme Court rejected in June. The August order sought narrower restrictions, including denying citizenship documents to children whose parents fall into certain categories and to children born after so-called “birth tourism.” The judge found the order almost certainly unconstitutional because it would deny citizenship to children the Supreme Court has already recognized as citizens at birth.
Court Protects University Speech on Palestine as House Moves to Restrict It
A federal court ruled last Friday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio violated the First Amendment rights of The Stanford Daily newspaper and a student plaintiff by using immigration law to punish protected speech. It found that Rubio’s use of immigration powers to revoke visas and pursue deportation based on pro-Palestinian advocacy and criticism of Israel chilled international students’ participation in the newspaper and other reporting on Palestine, Israel, and Gaza. The ruling underscored that using immigration laws to punish speech threatens the ability of citizens and noncitizens alike to speak, publish, learn, and criticize government policy. It shows how restrictions on free speech targeting noncitizens and focused largely on Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim communities limit the freedoms of everyone. The court also found the provisions unconstitutionally vague under the Fifth Amendment but did not broadly bar their use nationwide.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, the House of Representatives passed a bill with bipartisan support that would condition federal funding for universities on their commercial and academic relationships with Israel, raising more free speech concerns. Beyond restricting boycotts, the bill would limit universities’ ability to end commercial ties with Israeli entities and require some to certify access to academic programs with Israel. It would give the administration greater leverage over university policies and mandate support for programs that exclude some Americans based on Palestinian or Arab ancestry. The bill needs 60 Senate votes to pass.
IRS Proposal Threatens Racial Equal Opportunity Programs at Private Schools and Universities
On Thursday, the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) proposed a federal rule that could strip tax-exempt status from private schools and colleges over programs or policies the IRS determines improperly consider race. The proposal expands the administration’s effort to dismantle programs intended to address racial disparities and support students from historically disadvantaged communities to provide equal educational opportunities. It would also give the IRS a powerful new tool for pressuring tax-exempt organizations to change policies an administration opposes, raising broader concerns beyond equal opportunity programs. Losing tax-exempt status could affect donations, scholarships, investment income, and borrowing. The proposed rule could affect as many as 18,000 educational institutions and remains subject to public comment through November 3 and further rulemaking before taking effect.
EEOC Finds Cisco Likely Discriminated Against Middle Eastern and Muslim Employees
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) found reasonable cause to believe Cisco subjected Middle Eastern and Muslim employees to a hostile work environment in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The finding followed a complaint filed on behalf of employees involved with Bridge to Humanity, a predominantly Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim employee group. Employees documented Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian messages, death threats, and doxing on company-moderated platforms after more than 1,700 employees signed an open letter. They alleged Cisco removed the letter while failing to respond to reports of harassment. Cisco maintains it investigated and took appropriate action. Mediation failed to produce an agreement, leaving the EEOC the option to sue. The reasonable-cause finding is not a final court judgment but represents a federal determination that workplace hostility around pro-Palestinian advocacy may violate civil rights law when employees are targeted because of national origin, faith, or association with those communities.
Federal Food Safety Capacity Shrinks During Cyclospora Outbreak
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is losing much of its capacity to research cyclospora, a difficult-to-study foodborne parasite that has sickened more than 17,000 people this summer. Congress defunded two of USDA’s three principal cyclospora projects, while scientists on the remaining project have declined a planned relocation from Maryland to Iowa. Other USDA parasitologists are retiring or leaving, potentially leaving the agency without specialists on these parasites. USDA says research will continue, but employees report that work has largely stopped. The loss of scientists, laboratory capacity, and research samples could make it harder to identify outbreak sources, investigate how cyclospora spreads, and strengthen food safety protections.
ICE Purchases Electric-Shock Gloves for Arrests and Crowd Control
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) awarded a $16.7 million no-bid contract for 6,000 pairs of electric-shock gloves, which function as standard patrol gloves until activated to deliver an electric shock directly against a person’s skin. ICE plans to deploy the gloves during arrests, detainee transportation, and protests outside detention facilities. The agency states officers may use them against people who are actively or passively resisting. It has not released the usage policies or training safeguards it said would ensure safety. The gloves give ICE officers a concealed method of inflicting pain on detainees, protesters, and others encountered during civil immigration enforcement. The absence of publicly available limits, reporting procedures, and review standards makes it unclear when officers may activate the gloves or how misuse will be investigated. Use of these gloves is likely to expand to other federal and local law enforcement.