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Tag: courts ✕

Federal Judge Strikes Down Trump's $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee as Unlawful Tax

U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston struck down Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee on June 8, 2026, ruling it an unlawful tax that only Congress has the power to impose. The fee — announced in September 2025 and raising costs from roughly $2,000–$5,000 to $100,000 per application — was challenged by 20 Democratic state attorneys general. The ruling drew bipartisan praise from lawmakers citing impacts on healthcare and education staffing; the White House vowed to appeal.

immigration
h1b
visas
5 statements

Federal Judge Allows Trump's Mail-In Voting Executive Order to Stand

On May 28, 2026, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols — a Trump appointee in Washington, D.C. — declined to temporarily block President Trump's March 31 executive order directing the Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration to build citizenship lists for mail ballot eligibility. Nichols ruled it was premature to block the order because it has not yet been implemented. The executive order directs DHS to compile lists of confirmed adult U.S. citizens in each state, with the U.S. Postal Service then delivering mail ballots only to verified citizens. Democrats and voting rights groups sued immediately, arguing the order risks disenfranchising millions of lawfully registered voters because the underlying data can be outdated or contain errors. A parallel legal challenge filed by a coalition of Democratic-led states is pending before U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston, who was scheduled to hear arguments June 2. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer led Democratic condemnation of both the order and the ruling.

voting rights
mail-in voting
executive order
2 statements