#NNPA BlackPress
Congressional Black Caucus Members Talk Impeachment, HBCU Funding
NNPA NEWSWIRE — The members discussed the passage of the Future Act, legislation that provides needed funding to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other educational institutions. “Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally Controlled Colleges or Universities, and other Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) play a significant role in expanding access to higher education for low-income students and students of color,” said Rep. Bobby Scott, Chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor.
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia
Shortly after the House Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to impeach President Donald Trump on Friday, December 13, members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) held a conference call with publishers of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the trade association of Black Press publications from around the country.
While CBC members addressed the impeachment proceedings, the call was a reminder that Congress continues to work on other pressing issues.
The call included CBC Chair Karen Bass (D-Calif.), and Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), Val Demings (D-Fla.), Alma Adams (D-North Carolina), and Bobby Scott (D-Virginia).
The members discussed the passage of the FUTURE Act, legislation that provides needed funding to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other educational institutions.
“Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally Controlled Colleges or Universities, and other Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) play a significant role in expanding access to higher education for low-income students and students of color,” said Scott, the Chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor.
“Unfortunately, despite their outsized role in serving our nation’s most underserved students, these schools have historically been under-resourced compared to other institutions of higher education,” Scott stated.
“The FUTURE Act won’t only guarantee at least $250 million per year for HBCUs and MSIs; it will simplify the Free Application for Student Aid (FASFA) and makes it easier for students to access student aid and repay their loans,” Scott continued.
The FUTURE Act, which stands for Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education, unanimously passed the Senate.
The bill has been sent to the president for his signature.
Through the FUTURE Act, HBCUs will receive $85 million per year – about $1 million per school. American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities will receive $30 million annually, while Hispanic-serving institutions will get $100 million per year.
Also, predominately Black institutions will continue to reap an annual payment of $15 million, and Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions will receive $15 million each year. Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions and Native American-serving nontribal institutions each will continue to receive $5 million annually.
“HBCUs and MSIs provide pathways of opportunities for millions of Americans who come from low-income families. As a two-time graduate of North Carolina A&T State University, and a retired professor of 40 years at Bennett College for Women, I as well as all the pupils that I had the pleasure of teaching, are a testament to the power of these schools which mold their students into the leaders of tomorrow,” said Adams, the Chair of the House Higher Education and Labor subcommittee on Workforce Protections
“This agreement will secure $255 million a year for these institutions to serve over eight million students of color, preparing them for careers in our STEM professions,” Adams stated.
The legislation also reduces FAFSA by 22 questions and allows the Internal Revenue Service to directly share applicants’ tax information with the U.S. Department of Education.
“The simplification in the provision was to get information from the IRS to make the applications more accurate,” Scott stated. “If you can get the necessary information from the IRS, there would be more accuracy.”
Meanwhile, Jackson-Lee addressed the impeachment vote against Trump.
“Abuse of power and obstruction of Congress,” she said of the two articles of impeachment that the House Judiciary Committee voted in favor of on Friday, December 13.
“What the president was essentially caught doing was attempting to interfere in the 2020 election. So, in terms of the significance of this for our community, the idea that the president would cheat on the election and attempt to get himself re-elected, I think, would change our lives for generations,” Jackson-Lee stated.
She continued:
“If you think about the fact that [re-election] would mean there will be one if not more appointments to the Supreme Court. He has already appointed over 100 judges, and I am sure 99 percent of them would be horrible when it comes to our issues.
“When you think of the dismantling of so much as what we have fought for over these years, the idea that our people would have to endure another term of this President is almost beyond our comprehension.”
Jackson-Lee conceded that the Senate in all probability would not remove Trump, but impeachment in the House was still necessary.
Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton are the only presidents in American history to have faced impeachment. Nixon resigned before the House could vote. Johnson and Clinton were impeached in the House, but both were acquitted in the Senate.
“We felt that it was so important that we had to put the brakes on him interfering in the election, that even if impeachment was not going to remove him successfully, it was still critical that we did this,” Jackson-Lee stated.
#NNPA BlackPress
Federal Raids Target Migrant Kids, Split Families
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The Trump administration has reportedly removed at least 500 migrant children from their homes across the United States and placed them into government custody, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent
The Trump administration has reportedly removed at least 500 migrant children from their homes across the United States and placed them into government custody, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. The children, many of whom were living with family members or other vetted sponsors, were taken during so-called “welfare checks” carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agencies. According to CNN, the operations are part of a larger campaign launched shortly after President Donald Trump returned to office, with federal authorities setting up a “war room” inside the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to review data on children who entered the country alone and were later released to sponsors. Officials have used the room to coordinate efforts between agencies, including ICE and the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which oversees the custody of unaccompanied migrant children.
Trump officials claim the effort is aimed at protecting children placed in unsafe conditions or with unqualified sponsors, pointing to cases where children were released to individuals with criminal backgrounds or those involved in smuggling. Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the welfare checks have led to the arrests of some sponsors and the transfer of children into ORR custody. Federal data shows more than 2,500 children are currently in ORR custody. CNN reported that the average stay has grown significantly, from 67 days in December 2024 to 170 days by April 2025. Former Health and Human Services officials say new vetting rules—including income requirements, government-issued ID, and DNA tests—have made it far more difficult for parents and guardians, particularly those who are undocumented, to reclaim their children.
In some cases, reunifications that had already been scheduled were canceled. A recent lawsuit details how two brothers, ages 7 and 14, remain in government care because their mother cannot meet new documentation requirements under the revised policies. Mark Greenberg, a former senior HHS official, stated that the approach puts children in a difficult situation. “To the extent, the goal is to determine whether children are in danger or in need of help, this isn’t a good way to do that because it creates fear that anything they say could be used against their parent or family member,” he said. Immigration enforcement agents reportedly have visited children’s homes and asked about their journey to the U.S., school attendance, and upcoming immigration court appearances. Legal advocates say these visits, which sometimes include the FBI, are not standard child welfare procedures and can create fear and confusion among minors.
An FBI spokesperson confirmed the agency’s role, saying, “Protecting children is a critical mission for the FBI, and we will continue to work with our federal, state, and local partners to secure their safety and well-being.” Multiple outlets noted that the Trump administration has not provided clear evidence that large numbers of children are missing. Instead, it has referenced a Department of Homeland Security inspector general report from 2023 that noted more than 291,000 unaccompanied minors had not received notices to appear in immigration court. Former officials note that these figures do not necessarily indicate that the children are missing; some lacked updated addresses or were affected by administrative backlogs.
Within HHS, officials were instructed to expedite policy changes. Former ORR Ombudsman Mary Giovagnoli stated that a senior ICE official, Melissa Harper, was temporarily appointed to lead ORR. Her short tenure was followed by Angie Salazar, another former ICE official who now frequently communicates with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. Trump’s team argues the Biden administration allowed thousands of unaccompanied children to enter the country without sufficient oversight. Jen Smyers, a former ORR deputy director, stated that all sponsors underwent thorough vetting, including Department of Justice background checks and reviews of the sex offender registry. “No amount of vetting is a predictor of the future,” she said. The Miami Herald recently reported that a 17-year-old foster child in Florida was removed from his home in shackles and transferred to ICE custody. The boy and his mother had crossed the border without documentation, but he had been living in a state-supervised foster placement. The case raised concerns about the state’s cooperation with federal enforcement and the message it sends to immigrant families. Concerns about federal custody of vulnerable children are not confined to immigration.
In North Carolina, a 7-month-old baby died after being left in a hot minivan by her foster mother, who now faces charges of negligent child abuse and involuntary manslaughter. In Hawaii, dozens of children have been forced to sleep in government offices and hotels due to a shortage of foster placements. In North Dakota, a foster couple has been charged in the death of a 3-year-old after surveillance footage showed the child being repeatedly assaulted. “These cases show what happens when systems meant to protect children fail them,” said Laura Nally, director of the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights Children’s Program. “There’s a growing concern that these welfare checks are being used to carry out mass detentions of sponsors and unnecessarily return children to government custody.”
#NNPA BlackPress
Protests of a Costly and Historic Parade
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — President Trump is planning an elaborate and costly celebration for the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army that coincides with his birthday.

By April Ryan
It will rain on President Trump‘s parade on Saturday if most weather forecasts correctly predict the chance of storms. President Trump is planning an elaborate and costly celebration for the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army that coincides with his birthday. When asked if he plans to attend the massive D.C. celebration, New York Democratic Congressman Greg Meeks exclaimed,” Heck no!” He elaborated, saying, “It is clear to me that what Donald J. Trump is trying to do is to emulate Vladimir Putin.” Trump and Putin, the Russian president, are friends. Meeks feels “that’s where he initially got the idea from when he saw the tanks going down the street and how people bow down to Vladimir Putin, how…that authoritarian runs his country where no one questions what he does.”
Meanwhile, around the nation 1600 protests are scheduled to coincide with what is happening in Washington, D.C. Democratic Congressman Al Greene confirms he will attend several “No King Day” protest rallies and marches in his home state of Texas. The congressman questions the president’s comments about using “force” for anyone trying to stop the parade. Reverand William Barber plans to be in Philadelphia on Saturday. “We are having a rally bringing people together,” the civil rights leader confirmed. The leader of Repairers of the Breach added, “Those rallies are gonna be massive and multiracial of every race, color, creed, religion, geographic area, so this is not a moment. We must have a constant movement.”
Weeks ago, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser warned the parade, and all its military might, and pageantry would cost “many millions of dollars” just to repair District streets after the heavy artillery tanks rolled down the historic roads in the nation’s capital. Tall gates and other barricades around the White House are part of the parade’s security measures. The Secret Service has warned of a high-security presence in the area for the parade. You can expect to see military tanks, dozens of other military vehicles, and thousands of service members marching along a route stretching nearly four miles from the Pentagon to the White House.
#NNPA BlackPress
Critics Question 2024 Results as Musk Tactics Surface
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Now, a Wisconsin nonprofit has filed a legal complaint accusing Musk, his America PAC, and a Musk-affiliated group called United States of America Inc. of violating state election laws by bribing voters.

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent
Donald Trump’s return to the White House in 2024 has reignited questions about election integrity, particularly after his remarks thanking Elon Musk for what he called a “landslide” win in Pennsylvania. “He knows those computers better than anybody… all those vote-counting computers,” Trump said. “So, thank you to Elon.” The comment set off alarm, including Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett. “So, Trump is rambling on about he and Elon rigging the election?! Am I missing something or is he confessing to yet another damn crime?!” she posted on social media.
Now, a Wisconsin nonprofit has filed a legal complaint accusing Musk, his America PAC, and a Musk-affiliated group called United States of America Inc. of violating state election laws by bribing voters. The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and two voters allege Musk handed out $1 million checks and that his PAC paid $100 to registered voters who signed petitions and gave their contact information. Wisconsin law prohibits offering anything of value over $1 to encourage someone to vote. The complaint also cites violations of the state’s lottery ban. The plaintiffs are asking a court to declare the actions illegal, prevent future violations, and award damages if applicable.
The lawsuit follows a failed attempt by Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul to block Musk’s actions earlier this year. Kaul argued that Musk’s conduct amounted to illegal inducement, but courts declined to intervene before the April state Supreme Court election. Jeff Mandell, president and general counsel for Law Forward, which represents the plaintiffs, said this new case is being filed under more typical legal timelines. “We’re trying to create … accountability in a more regular timeline, in a way that gives the courts the opportunity to look at this more carefully,” Mandell said.
Musk, who served briefly as a Trump adviser and led a short-lived federal agency focused on cost-cutting, has denied wrongdoing. He initially promoted the giveaways as rewards for early voters but later revised eligibility criteria following legal scrutiny. The controversy has added fuel to growing concerns over anomalies in places like Rockland County, New York, where Vice President Kamala Harris reportedly received virtually no votes despite Democratic victories in other races. “We know exactly what happened and how it unfolded, and we’re asking the court to say this is not acceptable,” Mandel has said.
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