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For Immediate Release
August, 21 2013, 03:47pm EDT
Contact:
Erik Olvera, National Center for Lesbian Rights, 415-365-1324, eolvera@nclrights.org
Micah McCoy, ACLU of New Mexico, 505-266-5915, ext. 1003, mmccoy@aclu-nm.org
Robyn Shepherd, ACLU national, 212-519-7829 or 549-2666, media@aclu.orgq
New Mexico Woman With Life-Threatening Cancer Asks Court to Let Her Marry Her Partner
SANTA FE, N.M.
The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of New Mexico, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed an emergency request to allow a Pojoaque same-sex couple, Jen Roper and Angelique Neuman, to legally marry immediately because Jen suffers from a a life-threatening form of brain cancer that may prove fatal in the near future. Roper's health has deteriorated severely in the past few months. Today's request seeks an emergency order from the court that would allow the couple to marry so that Neuman and their three children will be legally protected should Roper pass away.
"I want to know that my family will be protected if I pass away," said Jen Roper. "Angelique and I have been married in our hearts for 21 years and raised three wonderful children together. Because of my illness, we do not have the luxury of waiting years for the courts to decide whether loving, committed same-sex couples can marry in New Mexico. For us, the time is now."
Roper and Neuman met in Socorro, N.M., during their first semester at New Mexico Tech, and fell in love almost immediately. Although New Mexico does not recognize their relationship, the couple considers themselves married for the 21 years they have been together. The couple settled in Northern New Mexico after the Los Alamos Labs hired Neuman to work as an engineer. Later, they adopted three siblings from the New Mexico foster care system. Their oldest child is enlisted in the U.S. Army and is currently in basic training.
Due to Roper's sudden and severe illness, the couple cannot travel out of state to marry in a place that does not discriminate against same-sex couples. The only way they can hope to protect their family in this time of crisis and realize their dream of being legally married is for the New Mexico courts to grant emergency relief that would allow the Santa Fe County to issue them a marriage license now, while the case proceeds.
"Even when I was a little kid, I always dreamed of growing up and getting married," said Neuman. "I knew Jen was the one almost as soon as we met, and I don't want to lose the opportunity to marry her. It is very important to us that our relationship is recognized as what it is: a marriage."
The motion can be viewed here: www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/assets/motion_for_tro._0.pdf
More information on this case can be viewed here:
www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights/griego-v-oliver
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
Ex-EPA Staff Warn Trump Job Cuts 'Leave Communities Unprotected'
"This does not save taxpayers money; it simply shifts costs to hospitals, families and communities left to bear the health and economic consequences of increased pollution and weakened oversight."
Jul 18, 2025
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Friday that it will reduce its workforce by more than 3,700 and abolish its stand-alone science branch, moves that one group of former EPA officials warned will "gut" research and enforcement and "leave communities unprotected."
The EPA said the personnel cuts—which will be achieved via layoffs, voluntary early retirements, and other measures—will deliver $748.8 millions in savings.
"Under President [Donald] Trump's leadership, EPA has taken a close look at our operations to ensure the agency is better equipped than ever to deliver on our core mission of protecting human health and the environment while Powering the Great American Comeback," EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a statement. "This reduction in force will ensure we can better fulfill that mission while being responsible stewards of your hard-earned tax dollars."
However, the Environmental Protection Network—an advocacy group of over 650 former EPA career staff and political appointees—said the move "signals a systematic dismantling of the agency's ability to protect public health and the environment."
Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta, former EPA principal deputy assistant administrator for science, said that "today's cuts dismantle one of the world's most respected environmental health research organizations."
She continued:
EPA's science office has long been recognized internationally for advancing public health protections through rigorous science. Reducing its workforce under the guise of cost savings is both misleading and dangerous. This does not save taxpayers money; it simply shifts costs to hospitals, families, and communities left to bear the health and economic consequences of increased pollution and weakened oversight.
"The people of this country are not well served by these actions," Orme-Zavaleta added. "They are left more vulnerable."
Environmental Protection Network senior policy adviser Jeremy Symons said, "These layoffs are targeted to do maximum long-term damage to the Environmental Protection Agency because polluter lobbyists are calling the shots."
"This administration claims to champion transparency, but there is nothing transparent about how these cuts are being executed," Symons added. "This is not honest government. It's a deliberate strategy to shrink the agency's capacity while shielding that reality from public view because 9 out of 10 Americans oppose cuts to EPA."
Friday's EPA announcement follows other cuts at the agency amid the Trump administration's evisceration of the federal government, spearheaded by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. Zeldin has boasted of canceling billions of dollars worth of green grants and ordering the closure of every environmental justice office nationwide. Amid a worsening planetary emergency, Zeldin also bragged about "driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion."
An appropriations bill currently before Congress proposes slashing EPA funding by 23%.
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50+ Dems Slam Rubio Plan to Burn 500 Metric Tons of Emergency Food Aid
"This action is not only morally indefensible, but also wasteful, strategically shortsighted, and completely counter to the entirety of your work while in the Senate."
Jul 18, 2025
More than 50 congressional Democrats on Friday condemned U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's decision to withhold and destroy nearly 500 metric tons of emergency food aid for Afghanistan and Pakistan—a move that came a month after the Trump administration's State Department abolished all overseas positions at the United States Agency for International Development.
The USAID emergency food aid—which has been stored in a warehouse in Dubai for months and will expire before the end of July—is enough to feed around 1.5 million children for a week. The aid consists of high energy biscuits that are used primarily to satisfy the immediate nutritional needs of children enduring food crises. It is now set to be incinerated.
"This action is not only morally indefensible, but also wasteful, strategically shortsighted, and completely counter to the entirety of your work while in the Senate," the Democratic lawmakers wrote in a letter to Rubio.
"Given the alarming rates of food insecurity and famine in regions like Gaza and Sudan, the decision to burn lifesaving aid produced by American farmers and paid for by American tax dollars amounts to a tragic abdication of our global humanitarian responsibilities and hurts our own global interests," the letter asserts.
Secretary Rubio is planning to withhold 500 metric tons of vital food aid that could feed 1.5 million starving children… and then incinerate the food once it expires. UNACCEPTABLE!
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— Rep. Mark Pocan (@pocan.house.gov) July 18, 2025 at 12:55 PM
"We are also alarmed by reports indicating that internal USAID memos requesting urgent approval to move the biscuits went unanswered for months," the lawmakers said. "If accurate, this speaks to a systemic breakdown in communication and leadership that has paralyzed America's food aid delivery systems."
"The United States has long led the world in humanitarian assistance, not only as a matter of compassion but also as a cornerstone of global stability and diplomacy," the letter concludes. "Destroying aid that could save lives undermines that legacy and damages our standing in the international community. We urge you to immediately prioritize the distribution of all remaining and viable food assistance stockpiles. American leadership demands nothing less."
Rubio's decision comes a month after the secretary of state ordered the abolition of all overseas USAID positions amid the Trump administration's downsizing and elimination of the agency, one of many targeted by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, formerly led by multibillionaire Elon Musk.
As Common Dreams reported in May, 66,000 tons of food—including grains, high-energy biscuits, and vegetable oil—were already mouldering in USAID warehouses.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce attempted to justify Rubio's decision during a Thursday press conference.
"If something is expired, we will destroy it. It's a matter of whether or not it's safe to distribute," she said, adding that 500 metric tons amounts to "less than 1%" of all annual U.S. food aid.
"We, as an example, distribute roughly 1 million metric tons of food aid every year, which is reflective of the American people's generosity," Bruce said.
While many observers expressed surprise over the impending destruction of so much food aid, some contended that it tracks with the Trump administration's wider attitudes toward poor people.
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Facing Growing Outrage and Legal Action, Trump Admin Frees Chunk of Withheld Education Funds
"He's still illegally withholding $5.5 billion more from schools," said Sen. Bernie Sanders. "Congress passed it. The president signed it. Trump must release it."
Jul 18, 2025
Following widespread backlash and threats of legal action, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump announced Friday that it will free up part of the $6.8 billion worth of education funding the president has withheld from states.
Earlier this week, 24 states sued the administration after it announced it would refuse to send the money—which had already been appropriated by Congress—to states just weeks before the start of the school year, citing "ongoing programmatic review" to ensure that none of it is used to fund diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
According to The New York Times:
The withheld money includes about 14% of all federal funding for elementary and secondary education across the country. It helps pay for free or low-cost after-school programs that give students a place to go while their parents work. It also covers training to improve the effectiveness of teachers and help for children learning English.
These programs provide a critical source of childcare that allow low-income families to work. Without them, organizations like the YMCA and the Boys and Girls Club of America have said they'd need to scale back their offerings.
A report issued last week by New America noted the disproportionate impact the cuts would have on low-income students:
Students from low-income backgrounds are especially at risk of losing education resources. Districts serving high-poverty student populations (those where over 25% of children live in poverty) will lose over five times as much funding per pupil as low-poverty school districts (those where fewer than 10% of children live in poverty). The 100 school districts facing the biggest cuts on a per-pupil basis have an average child poverty rate of 24.4%, much higher than the national average of 15.3%.
The administration held up the funding for weeks, causing a building panic among educators and families. A group of 10 Republican senators even sent a letter on Wednesday urging a top Trump official to let the money flow to their states.
Then, on Friday, the administration announced that it would allow $1.4 billion worth of funding to be released to states beginning Monday, though they would still reserve the right to choke it off once again should any of it be used to violate the president's executive orders.
The administration said it will continue to withhold the remaining $5.5 billion and provided no timeline for when it might be released.
According to Education Week, schools around the country had been "banking" on that money for teacher training, English-learner services, migrant and adult education programs, and academic enrichment being delivered on its expected due date of July 1.
David Schuler, executive director of AASA, an association of school superintendents, said that while he was happy to see some of the money released, withholding the rest was still putting severe strain on schools.
"Districts should not be in this impossible position where the administration is denying funds that had already been appropriated to our public schools, by Congress," Schuler said in a statement. "The remaining funds must be released immediately—America's children are counting on it."
Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) announced Friday that she would block the fast-tracking of a Trump appointee for the Department of Education until Trump releases all the funds.
"Just weeks out from the new school year, families, teachers, and school districts are suffering the consequences of President Trump's needless and illegal blockade of this funding," Murray said. "This administration won't so much as explain why the money is held up or when we can expect it to go out."
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who joined Murray's efforts, welcomed the news that some of the funding had been unfrozen.
"Today we forced Trump to release $1.3 billion for more than 10,000 summer and after-school programs helping 1.4 million students," he said.
But, Sanders added, "it's not enough. He's still illegally withholding $5.5 billion more from schools. Congress passed it. The president signed it. Trump must release it."
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