Yesterday, Maryland’s House of Delegates passed legislation that would raise the minimum age for marriage in Maryland from 15 to 17. We are grateful to Del. Vanessa E. Atterbeary for championing House Bill 83 and to Delegate Emily Shetty for ensuring the amended version remains strong after considering the Senate’s concerns. HB 83 would ban 17-year-olds from marrying someone who is older than them by four years and would require the 17-year-old to appear before a judge who will evaluate the intended marriage for signs of coercion.

Last night, the Senate reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), a vote that was six years in the making. The Tahirih Justice Center applauds Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) for their legislative leadership in the fight to get VAWA over the finish line. The new authorization provides more than $500 million to increase resources for survivors of violence.

Tahirih’s Managing Attorney, Payal Sinha, wrote an opinion piece published by otherwords.org. The commentary explains why 1.4 million immigrants are stuck waiting on work permits, which is threatening their ability to survive.

The Washington Post’s columnist Petula Dvorak interviewed Tahirih’s Public Policy Director, Casey Swegman Carter, on the importance of passing a legislation that would end child marriage in Maryland. This is the seventh year a bill has been introduced that seeks to ban child marriage in the state.

The Tahirih Justice Center celebrates yesterday’s court ruling in AsylumWorks v. Mayorkas. It’s a lawsuit that challenged two rules that prevented people seeking asylum from receiving timely work authorization.

Today, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) introduced a bill that would reshape the nation’s immigration courts by making them independent of the Department of Justice (DOJ), led by the U.S. attorney general. The bill would create a new immigration court system under Article I of the U.S. Constitution and it would ensure that judges are unbiased, that court procedures are transparent to the public, and that the executive branch does not decide on the court’s budget. The Tahirih Justice Center believes this bill is an important step to ensure a fair process for immigrants where matters of life and liberty are at stake.  

Tahirih’s Senior Public Policy Associate, Alex Goyette, wrote an opinion piece for the Baltimore Sun. The commentary elevates the importance of passing legislation to end child marriage in Maryland.