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For Immediate Release
October, 04 2010, 01:19pm EDT
Contact:
Robyn Shepherd, (212) 519-7829 or 549-2666; media@aclu.org
ACLU in Federal Appeals Court Tuesday to Argue Against Sex-Segregated Classes
Sex-Segregated Program in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana Public Schools Based on Harmful Stereotypes
NEW ORLEANS, La.
The American Civil Liberties Union will be in court Tuesday, October 5, to argue that a sex-segregated program at a middle school in Vermilion Parish School District perpetuates gender stereotypes and violates federal law.
The ACLU filed a lawsuit challenging the program in September 2009, claiming it violated Title IX, which prohibits discrimination based on sex and sex stereotypes, and the Fourteenth Amendment guarantee of equal protection. In April, a district court denied the ACLU's request for an order blocking the program, ignoring the plaintiffs' claims of violations under Title IX. With respect to plaintiffs' equal protection claim, the court wrongfully held that although the school intentionally segregated students by sex, the school board did not violate the Equal Protection Clause because it did not intend to harm the students. The ACLU appealed the decision in June.
More information about the case is available online at: www.aclu.org/womens-rights/doe-v-vermilion-parish-school-board
WHAT:
Oral arguments in Doe v. Vermilion Parish School Board, a federal appeal seeking the discontinuation of the sex-segregated program at Rene A. Rost Middle School in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana.
WHO:
Mark W. Friedman of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, will be arguing the appeal. Other attorneys on the case who will be in attendance are Mike Potenza, also from Debevoise & Plimpton; Lenora M. Lapidus and Amy L. Katz from the ACLU Women's Rights Project and Katie Schwartzmann from the ACLU of Louisiana.
Attorneys and plaintiffs Jane, Jill and Joan Roe and witnesses will be available for comment following arguments. The argument will be heard by Judges Rhesa H. Barksdale, Carl E. Stewart and Leslie H. Southwick of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
WHEN:
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
9:00 a.m. CDT
WHERE:
John Minor Wisdom United States Court of Appeals Building
600 Camp Street
New Orleans, LA
Room 209
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
(212) 549-2666LATEST NEWS
Dems Rebuke GOP for Using Trump's Illegal Iran Invasion to Push DHS Funding
"The idea that we should fund an agency that is killing Americans here at home because this president has launched an illegal war of choice abroad is absolutely ludicrous," said Sen. Raphael Warnock.
Mar 05, 2026
As the US Senate took up the issue of Department of Homeland Security funding on Thursday, three weeks into a partial shutdown of the agency, Democrats in Congress rejected Republicans' suggestions that restoring funding to DHS is key to keeping Americans safe amid President Donald Trump's war on Iran.
The war started last weeked after negotiations on Iran's nuclear program were reportedly making progress toward a deal; despite that, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began launching strikes that have now killed more than 1,000 people in the Middle Eastern country.
Trump and top White House officials have insisted Iran posted an "imminent threat" and Republicans in Congress this week have used similar rhetoric about the country to demand that Democrats fund DHS, which includes the Transportation Security Administration, the Coast Guard, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as the two agencies that led Democrats to reject funding the department in recent weeks, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The latter two agencies have led Trump's mass deportation and detention campaign across the country, with thousands of federal agents deployed to cities where they've carried out roving patrols, engaged in racial profiling, assaulted protesters, and fatally shot at least eight people including three US citizens.
The House passed a measure to fund DHS through September earlier this year, before legal observer Alex Pretti became the third American to be shot and killed by federal agents. Seven Democrats joined the Republican Party in passing the bill.
That bill failed in the Senate for a third time on Thursday, and the House was set to vote on a similar proposal later in the afternoon.
On Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (D-La.) accused Democrats of "playing political games" and refusing to protect Americans by funding DHS.
"Now is the time to be vigilant at home and to ensure that all of our doors are locked, so to speak," Johnson said. "Obviously everyone understands that it's a heightened threat environment. Global tensions are high, threats are constantly evolving and America's adversaries are watching for any sign of weakness on our part."
Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) said it was "absolutely ludicrous" for Republicans to suggest "that we should fund an agency that is killing Americans here at home because this president has launched an illegal war of choice abroad."
Democrats and rights advocates have warned that under the second Trump administration, DHS has done little to keep Americans safe. At least 170 US citizens have been arrested or detained by immigration agents, and the agency's own records call into question the White House's frequent claim that it is targeting the "worst of the worst" violent criminals.
The Cato Institute found in November that between October 1-November 15, only 5% of people booked into ICE detention had violent criminal convictions, and 73% had no convictions at all.
In the House on Wednesday, Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) said Democrats would "continue to oppose this terrible Homeland bill because they're trying to use ICE and CBP money against US citizens."
.@RepPeteAguilar on DHS Funding: "We'll continue to oppose this terrible Homeland bill because they're trying to use ICE and CBP money against U.S. citizens. They've already killed two. Their policies are the problem." pic.twitter.com/UsgS1u0ivk
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 4, 2026
"Their policies are the problem," said Aguilar.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said that it was "insane" for the Republicans to push for DHS funding amid Trump's war on Iran, which experts have said clearly violates international law including the United Nations Charter."
"Donald Trump launches an unauthorized war in the Middle East, he characterizes it as endless, he decides that he wants to spend billions of dollars to bomb Iran, rather than spend taxpayer dollars to lower the grocery bills that are crushing the American people, and then wants to use his unauthorized war as an excuse to continue spending taxpayer dollars to brutalize or kill American citizens by continuing to unleash ICE without restriction on the American people," Jeffries said Tuesday. "Make it make sense, because it does not."
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'Good Riddance': Trump Fires Kristi Noem From DHS, Names 'MAGA Warrior' as Replacement
"Trump's violent, cruel deportation agenda didn't begin with Kristi Noem, and it won't end with her firing," said Rep. Summer Lee, who called for dismantling DHS and prosecuting everyone "violating our rights."
Mar 05, 2026
Amid mounting calls for the ouster of US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem over her department's deadly immigration operations and detention facilities denounced as concentration camps, President Donald Trump announced Thursday that she will take on a new role and Sen. Markwayne Mullin will replace her.
Trump said on his Truth Social platform that the Republican senator from Oklahoma will take over the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on March 31, while Noem, "who has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!), will be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere we are announcing on Saturday in Doral, Florida."
The initiative will seemingly build on Trump's fatal bombings of boats allegedly trafficking drugs and a new joint operation that's sending US troops to Ecuador. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the governments attending the summit "have really formed a historic coalition to work together to address criminal narco-terrorist gangs and cartels and counter illegal and mass migration into not only the United States but the Western Hemisphere, which remains a key and top priority of this president."
After thanking Noem for "her service at 'Homeland,'" Trump promoted Mullin as "a MAGA Warrior, and former undefeated professional MMA fighter" who "truly gets along well with people, and knows the Wisdom and Courage required to Advance our America First Agenda."
Trump touted Mullin's Native American heritage and said he "will work tirelessly to Keep our Border Secure, Stop Migrant Crime, Murderers, and other Criminals from illegally entering our Country, End the Scourge of Illegal Drugs and, MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN."
Mullin's conduct in Congress has notably included threatening to physically fight Teamsters president Sean O'Brien during a 2023 Senate hearing. His formal nomination to lead DHS will require confirmation by the Senate, which is narrowly controlled by Republicans. According to Fox News, Noem "will likely be at least temporarily replaced by Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar, a Navy veteran and former mayor of Los Alamitos, California, in the line of succession for the agency."
Trump's announcement came just hours after the National Review reported that Trump "is privately furious" with Noem "for suggesting in her Senate Judiciary Committee testimony on Tuesday that he gave advance approval of a taxpayer-funded $220 million ad campaign contract that was subcontracted to one of her allies."
During that Senate hearing, Noem faced outraged Democrats and Republicans. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) ripped into her over DHS agents' killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis—a topic retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) also addressed, noting the infamous passage of Noem's book in which she describes shooting her family's dog and goat.
Responding to Trump's announcement, Zeteo founder Mehdi Hasan said, "Good riddance to the racist, lying puppy killer."
Graham Platner, one of the Democrats running to challenge Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) in November, similarly said "good riddance" to what he called one of Collins' "worst confirmation votes ever."
The progressive oyster farmer and combat veteran also renewed his call to "dismantle" the DHS agency Immigration and Customs Enforcement, stressing that "the sickness at ICE goes far deeper than one person at the top."
Progressives currently serving in Congress joined Platner in welcoming Noem's departure from DHS but also reiterating criticism of the department leading Trump's mass deportation campaign.
"It's about time," declared Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.). "But Trump's violent, cruel deportation agenda didn't begin with Kristi Noem, and it won't end with her firing. We need to abolish ICE, dismantle DHS, and prosecute everyone responsible for violating our rights, bypassing due process, and killing people in our streets."
Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar (D-Texas) said that "this is a big win. Kristi Noem was a disaster, and people speaking up got her fired. But Kristi Noem is not the architect of Trump's dangerous mass deportation policies, and we can't let up the pressure. Fire Stephen Miller."
DHS remains partially shut down due to a congressional funding fight. Just a day after grilling Noem on the Fourth Amendment during a House Judiciary Committee hearing, Rep. Pramila Jayapal said "good riddance" to her while also arguing that "Congress still cannot fund DHS until there is real, tangible proof that this will be a meaningful, structural change."
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'Medicare Advantage Is Not Medicare': Democrats Proposal Would Unmask For-Profit Fraudsters
"We don't allow banks to call themselves the U.S. Treasury Investment Fund," said Rep. Mark Pocan. "We don't allow anyone to call themselves USPS Plus. So why allow insurance companies to call private insurance Medicare Advantage?"
Mar 05, 2026
A group of Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday reintroduced legislation aimed at reining in for-profit insurance companies who use the Medicare name to market their plans.
The "Save Medicare Act," being reintroduced by US Reps. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), bars private insurers from using the word "Medicare" in marketing their plans, imposing "significant fines" for any insurer that doesn't comply.
At issue, the lawmakers said, is that insurers are flooding the airwaves with ads for Medicare Advantage plans during open enrollment periods. The ads are deceiving Americans into thinking their plans are just variations of Medicare services offered by the federal government, they said.
"Let’s be clear: Medicare Advantage is not Medicare," said Schakowsky. "These private insurance plans use Medicare’s trusted name while too often denying medically necessary care, restricting providers, and overcharging taxpayers by billions. That is unacceptable. We have seen insurers exploit the system to boost profits at the expense of seniors."
Khanna noted that Medicare Advantage is "a private insurance program that too often boosts profits by limiting coverage," even as it "misleads seniors into thinking it's traditional Medicare."
"That's wrong," Khanna emphasized. "This legislation will stop private insurers from cashing in on the Medicare name. We should be working to protect and expand real Medicare instead."
Pocan declared that "only Medicare is Medicare," adding that Medicare Advantage plans "often leave patients without the benefits they need while overcharging the federal government for corporate profit."
"This bill makes clear what is—and what is not—Medicare," added Pocan, "and ensures this essential program will continue to serve seniors and other Americans for generations to come."
Pocan also posted a video on social media where he talked about his elderly mother being unable to see the physician that came to her assisted living home because she relied on Medicare Advantage and the doctor in question was out of network.
"She would have had to go all the way across town to get that care," Pocan explained. "The problem is, she wasn't very mobile and she never got the medical care."
We don't allow banks to call themselves the U.S. Treasury Investment Fund. We don't allow anyone to call themselves USPS Plus.
So why allow insurance companies to call private insurance Medicare Advantage?
I’m reintroducing the Save Medicare Act with @RepRoKhanna and… pic.twitter.com/c6dAXpEJqY
— Rep. Mark Pocan (@RepMarkPocan) March 4, 2026
"We don't allow banks to call themselves the U.S. Treasury Investment Fund," said Pocan. "We don't allow anyone to call themselves USPS Plus. So why allow insurance companies to call private insurance Medicare Advantage?"
Many progressive critics have for years pointed to Medicare Advantage as a legitimate example of wasteful spending by the federal government.
A report released in January by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), an independent congressional agency that advises lawmakers on Medicare, estimated that overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans could total $76 billion in 2026.
One major factor in the overpayments is that patients using Medicare Advantage plans tend to be healthier than patients on traditional Medicare, with the result being that private insurers charge the government more than is necessary to meet these patients' needs.
On Wednesday, Schakowsky said that the "crucial legislation" she joined Khanna and Pocan in introducing "will end deceptive marketing and ensure beneficiaries understand the difference between traditional Medicare and private insurance plans."
"Seniors deserve transparency, accountability, and the full benefits they have earned," she said.
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