INTERNACIONAL
‘Activist judge’ rules Congress cannot bar noncitizens from voting in federal elections
A Biden-appointed judge is being labeled an «activist judge» by conservative critics after ruling the federal government’s application of a law barring noncitizens from voting in elections violates the Constitution in a federal criminal case.
In a 31-page ruling, U.S. District Judge David Leibowitz of the Southern District of Florida dismissed federal charges against Chelsea Cox, a woman originally from Jamaica who voted in the 2020 presidential election despite not being a U.S. citizen.
The ruling comes as the Trump administration has intensified efforts to prevent noncitizens from voting, including through federal prosecutions and attempts to verify citizenship on state voter rolls, sparking legal battles with Democratic-led states and voting-rights groups.
WATCH: MIKE LEE EXPLODES ON VOTING ERROR THAT ‘KEEPS HAPPENING’ AS HUGE NUMBER OF NONCITIZENS FOUND ON ROLLS
President Donald Trump’s election integrity efforts have been driven in large part by his and his allies’ belief that the 2020 election was «stolen,» an unproven claim he continues to maintain.
Leibowitz ruled that the Constitution gives states — not Congress — the authority to determine who qualifies to vote in elections, effectively ruling that a provision of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) criminalizing noncitizen voting in federal elections is unconstitutional as applied to Cox.
«The Constitution commits to the States, and the States alone, the general power to set voter qualifications in federal elections,» Leibowitz wrote in his ruling. «This is clear from both the text of the document and the debates at the Constitutional Convention in 1787.»
The ruling garnered sharp blowback from Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who is co-author of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which is being stalled in the Senate and unlikely to be passed before the midterm elections.
«This insane ruling will certainly be overturned,» Lee wrote on X. «But it gives the game away: Democrats pretend we don’t need the SAVE Act because non-citizen voting is already illegal… while activist judges try to destroy laws banning non-citizens from voting!»
Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow with Advancing American Freedom, agreed that Leibowitz’s ruling will most likely be «squashed» by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
«Judge David Leibowitz’s opinion that the federal law barring aliens from voting is unconstitutional is patently wrong,» Spakovsky told Digital.
«It is true that states have the constitutional authority to set the qualifications of citizens who are eligible as voters in federal elections. But he ignores the fact that in Article I, Section 8, Congress is given 100% authority over naturalization.»
Spakovsky said the Constitution gives Congress authority to decide how noncitizens enter the country and what activities they may engage in once here.
«That gives the federal government the authority to ban aliens from voting or otherwise in any way participating in the democratic process,» Spakovsky said.
STATE DEPARTMENT CONSIDERS SHARING PASSPORT RECORDS FOR VOTER CITIZENSHIP CHECKS
Spakovsky pointed to Bluman v. FEC, a 2011 decision written by Judge Brett Kavanaugh and later summarily affirmed by the Supreme Court, which upheld restrictions on foreign nationals’ campaign spending. The opinion said the government may exclude noncitizens from activities tied to democratic self-government.
«The Supreme Court has long held that the government (federal, state, local) may exclude foreign citizens from activities that are part of the democratic self-regulation in the United States,» Kavanaugh wrote.
«For example, the Supreme Court has ruled that the government may bar aliens from voting, serving as jurors, working as police or probation officers, or teaching at public schools.»
However, Bluman v. FEC involved campaign contributions and expenditures, not a federal criminal prosecution for voting.
Abhishek Kambil, a partner at Holtzman Vogel Law Firm, said he’d be «surprised» if the federal government did not prevail in its appeal.
Kambil pointed to Oregon v. Mitchell, in which the Supreme Court ruled the government had the authority to set a voting age in federal elections, which would be a voter qualifier.
«So the Supreme Court has held, in an instance, that there is federal government authority to regulate in certain instances some types of qualifications of voters, but the way that this judge read it kind of made everything a mess,» Kambil told Digital.
Leibowitz rejected the federal government’s argument that the Constitution grants Congress total authority over regulating immigration and noncitizens.
DHS APPROVES PLAN TO VERIFY VOTER CITIZENSHIP, MONITOR MAIL BALLOTS AS TRUMP PUSH INTENSIFIES
While he acknowledged that Congress has «broad, undoubted power» over immigration and noncitizens, he said those powers are not «a series of blank checks» and cannot override the Constitution’s «foundational constitutional constraints» assigning voter-qualification authority to the states.
The judge also rejected the federal government’s reliance on the elections clause, which allows Congress to regulate how states conduct federal elections, including by passing laws to combat voter fraud. Leibowitz said the statute at issue was not designed to regulate election procedures or prevent fraud but instead created a federal voter qualification by determining who could vote.
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While Leibowitz ruled that the federal government cannot continue prosecuting Chelsea Cox, Florida would still have the authority to bring state charges.
President Joe Biden nominated Leibowitz to the federal bench in 2024. The Senate confirmed him, 64-33, in a bipartisan vote, with then-Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., voting in favor. Thursday’s ruling is his most politically consequential decision from the bench to date.
federal courts, politics, elections, judiciary, elections disputes, voting
INTERNACIONAL
Protestas en Europa: por qué la Generación Z sale a las calles y cuáles son los reclamos que amenazan la estabilidad de la región
El mapa de las protestas se expande por Europa. Con distintos niveles de violencia pero con un mismo denominador común, la oleada de movilizaciones es motorizada principalmente por adolescentes y jóvenes de la llamada Generación Z en Francia, Italia, Albania, Bélgica, Grecia, Portugal, España, Austria y Serbia.
La violencia tomó por sorpresa a las autoridades francesas e italianas, que se vieron desbordadas por saqueos y enfrentamientos callejeros. Las imágenes del caos en París, Marsella, Lyon, Niza y Milán dieron la vuelta al mundo.
Pero, ¿cuál es la causa de tanta violencia?
Los reclamos tuvieron distinto origen. En España y Portugal, los manifestantes salieron a las calles en forma pacífica por la crisis de vivienda. En Francia, los estudiantes fueron los primeros en reclamar mejoras educativas.
La mecha se encendió y ahora se expande en un reguero de pólvora bajo un enorme signo de interrogación sobre el futuro del viejo continente. Este sábado están previstas nuevas movilizaciones en Francia. Nadie sabe hoy cuándo va a terminar esta emergencia.
“La crisis fiscal y la insatisfacción social van a empeorar mientras las sociedades envejezcan y el petróleo aumente”, resumió a TN el analista Andrés Malamud.
No es la primera vez que la Generación Z sale a las calles en el mundo. A fines de 2025, hubo protestas masivas de jóvenes que abandonaron sus refugios digitales en Perú, Paraguay, Madagascar, Marruecos, Indonesia y Nepal, donde derrocaron al gobierno.
Ahora es el turno de Europa. Varios países están siendo hoy sacudidos por olas de protestas. El mapa es cada vez más grande y abarca ya a nueve países.
Francia: una protesta que empezaron los estudiantes se convirtió en una movilización nacional contra el alza del costo de vida
París y otras ciudades francesas se convirtieron en el principal foco del caos. Entre escenas de guerrilla urbana, hubo más de 3000 comercios afectados, unas 2500 personas arrestadas y 600 policías heridos. El 86% de los detenidos son menores de edad, según el Ministerio de Justicia. Solo los toques de queda nocturnos, extendidos hasta el lunes próximo, mantuvieron la calma.
La crisis comenzó cuando los estudiantes salieron a reclamar mejoras en la educación.
Pero lo que comenzó como una protesta de alumnos de escuelas secundarias se transformó en una movilización nacional contra el alza del costo de vida, en un país que afrontará unas cruciales elecciones presidenciales en seis meses bajo el avance irrefrenable de la ultraderecha.
Europa
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Two Israeli Defense Forces soldiers were killed, and three other people were wounded by two suspected gunmen, who were also killed, in a shooting Friday in the southern West Bank, officials said.
Staff Sergeant Ron Yonatan Roytman, aged 23, from Ashkelon, a squad commander in the Ari Battalion (775), Search and Rescue Brigade and Sergeant Yuval Shai Svilem, aged 20, from Hod Hasharon, a combat soldier in the Ari Battalion, Search and Rescue Brigade, both died as a result of the attack, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
The IDF reported that it responded to a shooting in the Judea Junction area Friday and killed two people it identified as «terrorists.»
Hours after the attack, Israel ordered the army to prepare for a full closure of the West Bank, according to The Associated Press.
Staff Sergeant Ron Yonatan Roytman, 23, and Sergeant Yuval Shai Svilem, 20, were killed during an attack in the West Bank on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (Israeli Defense Forces)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an emergency meeting of his Security Cabinet, claiming Hamas was «planning a major attack aimed at murdering innocent civilians.»
Netanyahu also said a large scale operation in the West Bank is to begin soon.
INSIDE ISRAEL’S MISSION TO TRAIN CIVILIANS TO STOP THE NEXT OCT 7-LIKE TERROR ATTACK
Israeli forces stand guard near a shooting scene in Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (REUTERS/Ammar Awad)
«Our brave soldiers thwarted this attack with courage and determination,» Netanyahu said.
ISRAELI COMBAT MEDICINE SLASHES IDF DEATHS AFTER OCT 7, DRAWS US MILITARY INTEREST
Israeli authorities responded to a shooting in the southern West Bank on Friday that left five people wounded and two suspected attackers dead. (REUTERS/Ammar Awad)
The identities of the suspected gunmen were not immediately released, but the Israeli army did identify them as Palestinians from Hebron armed with an M16 rifle and a handgun.
Israeli security forces investigated the scene of a shooting near Judea Junction in the West Bank that left five Israelis injured. (REUTERS/Ammar Awad)
Israeli intelligence groups and security forces conducted dozens of raids throughout the West Bank on Friday, apprehending dozens of people, including those who Israeli officials claimed were members of Hamas and affiliated with Islamic Jihad.
The Israeli army’s chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, said a «large quantity of ammunition was found» in a vehicle used by the perpetrators.
«This ammunition was intended to be used in a larger-scale attack,» he said.
Fox News’ Yonat Frilling and Thomas Ferraro contributed to this report.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
world, israel, terrorism, middle east
INTERNACIONAL
A New England city was transformed by refugees – now it faces a youth gun violence crisis: ‘Fear for my life’
LEWISTON, Maine – A New England city transformed by an influx of refugees and immigrants is now grappling with a youth gun-violence crisis, as police report 35 gun-related incidents this year, 22 involving juveniles.
«I don’t feel safe. I fear for my life,» Mohamed Muhumed, a Lewiston teenager, told Digital. «I saw someone get punched in the middle of the sidewalk over there. It’s crazy.»
The city, Maine’s second most populous city and home to a large population of refugees from Somali and other African nations, is experiencing a serious youth gun violence problem. Lewiston Police Chief Carly Conley called the gun violence «one of the most serious public safety challenges» facing the city.
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Jon Fetherston, a reporter for the conservative-leaning The Maine Wire who has reported extensively on the issue, told Digital that «the gun violence in Lewiston is very concerning. The majority… has been committed by teenagers… Multiple times teenagers have been arrested and immediately released by the courts back out on the streets.»
«The court systems are being tapped. The DA is frustrated that the courts aren’t putting these kids away in jail… Residents are scared. Residents are very, very frustrated, and you’ve got kids shooting kids, and it’s almost become commonplace here in Lewiston,» Fetherston said.
City officials have responded by approving $200,000 in additional police overtime funding to expand patrols and enforcement. They have also urged changes to Maine’s juvenile justice system, including more options for handling repeat violent offenders and greater scrutiny before high-risk juveniles are released.
Mayor Carl Sheline said in a statement last month that the increased resources are «sending a strong message to those perpetrating gun violence: we will find you.»
But he added, «Parental involvement and accountability are key to reducing youth gun violence in our city.»
MAINE NONPROFIT WITH SOMALI TIES LOSING STATE FUNDING
Republican Rick LaChapelle, a former city council president who is now running for mayor, told Digital, «Our biggest problem is the system itself. The police department is doing an excellent job catching these people. We have one young man that’s been arrested 5 times, I believe, for the same thing. He gets arrested, gets brought down to the youth center… gets released.»
«It’s been a one-party rule forever that has instilled the rules that there’s no accountability,» LaChapelle argued. «We need to change the rules of the system.»
Digital reached out to Sheline to discuss his efforts on combating the gun violence, but the mayor didn’t respond by the time this story was published.
No official city or police data indicates that Somali residents as a group are behind the violence, or establishes a connection to the increase. But LaChapelle said, «That seems to be who’s being arrested right now.»
Mohamed Adbei, a teenager who spoke with Digital on the streets of Lewiston, pushed back on any ethnic connection: «I wouldn’t just say it’s the Somali kids. It’s youth in general.»
Ifraax Saciid, a Somali native who lived in Atlanta before moving to Lewiston, agreed.
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«No, that’s not the root cause. I think the root cause is poverty here in Lewiston. Lewiston is very poor and is economically not in a good state,» she said when asked if there was a direct connection to the Somali community. «I think what’s happening here is happening everywhere. It’s happening in Atlanta. I have lived in Miami and Ohio and Kentucky and Minnesota and have seen what is happening in those states also happening here in Lewiston. It’s nothing new.»
Lewiston has also been an epicenter in recent years for fraud scandals involving Maine’s joint federal and state Medicaid program.
Saciid emphasized that «fraud is happening everywhere in the United States and with every skin color, with every class. It’s not tied particularly to one people.»
The Somali influx to Lewiston began a quarter century ago, when refugees and secondary migrants started relocating to the former mill city along the Androscoggin River in search of safe neighborhoods and affordable housing.
DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE ELECTION HUB
Then-Mayor Larry Raymond drew national attention in 2002 after asking Somali leaders to discourage additional migration to Lewiston, arguing the rapid influx was straining city resources.
Fast-forward to present day and Lewiston has one of the highest per capita Muslim populations in the country, most of it Somali along with refugees from other African nations.
Fetherston argued that «history has proven him [Raymond] to be correct that… that it was too much too fast because a lot has changed in Lewiston. And things are not working out in Lewiston.»
LaChapelle noted, «I’m a French Canadian, so my ancestors came here…. We need legal immigration in America. We need to grow.»
But he added, «We just have to do it logically and legally and in. When my ancestors got here, there wasn’t a free… gravy train all the way down. Now we’re supporting everybody. We have for 30 years, we still have some people that are still on the welfare system 30 years later. That has to change.»
politics, crime world, blue city crime, maine, state and local, local
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