Supreme Court Rulings & Defending Democracy
Rally at Foley Square to Protect Birthright Citizenship, 6.30.2026
This week, the Supreme Court issued a number of rulings that will have a profound impact on the country in the years ahead.
Some of these rulings are direct attacks on justice and good governance. The Court upheld state laws barring transgender girls and women from playing on school athletic teams. While the ruling is viewed as narrow, an analysis in The Guardian notes it will likely be “broadly weaponized for anti-LGBTQ+ efforts.”
And the Court also dramatically expanded presidential authority by granting Trump the power to fire and replace commissioners at independent government agencies. The ruling overturns 90 years of precedent and, according to one Georgetown Law professor, will ” have massive ramifications for the functioning of the government long after Trump is gone.”
But there was some good news, too, thanks to the tireless work of dedicated lawyers and activists working to defend democracy. The Court blocked an effort by President Trump to restrict mail-in voting, which some election experts have called a “major victory” for voting rights.
And the Court upheld birthright citizenship, albeit by a very close vote. The author and legal analyst Madiba K. Dennie wrote that the court affirmed “that the Fourteenth Amendment means what it says: “All persons” born in the United States and “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” are citizens of the United States.” But this was “the bare minimum,” argues Dennie. “The justices had a simple task in Trump v. Barbara: uphold their oaths. Only five were willing to do so.”
In the wake of the ruling on birthright citizenship, we joined dozens of organizations and thousands of people down at Foley Square in Manhattan, to celebrate the victory and energize ourselves for the challenges ahead. One of the groups convening the rally was our ally Make the Road New York — they were among the first groups to submit an amicus brief to the Court in defense of the 14th Amendment and birthright citizenship. It felt good to be out in the streets with Make the Road NY and the NY Immigration Coalition and so many others.
As we approach the nation’s 250th anniversary, one thing remains clear: organizing and building collective power together is how we will create a multiracial democracy for all.
If you would like to join our efforts to defend democracy and protect the rights of all, please contact Yonah at yonah@katalcenter.org.
June Monthly SCOC Meeting
State Commission of Correction June Monthly Meeting in Albany, 6.24,26.
Last Wednesday, the State Commission of Correction (SCOC), New York’s jail and prison watchdog agency, held their June monthly meeting. This was the first monthly meeting for Alexander Dockery, the newly appointed SCOC, who is the first known formerly incarcerated person to sit on this oversight agency. Once again, the SCOC failed to address the multiple crises unfolding in local jails and state prisons.
We issued this press release in response to the June meeting, which featured quotes from our members.
As New York’s jails and prisons remain embattled with preventable deaths, violence, and overuse of isolation, it’s clear that greater oversight, not less, is needed to improve conditions and save lives. It is vital that Governor Hochul fill the two vacancies with reform-oriented individuals, and that the SCOC fulfill its oversight responsibilities.
If you would like to join our organizing efforts to hold the SCOC accountable, please contact Melanie at melanie@katalcenter.org.
New York City Budget: No More Cops & Shut Rikers
Care Not Cops Rally Outside of City Hall, 6.25.26
On Thursday, June 25th, we joined the Care Not Cops rally outside of City Hall with the Justice Committee, VOCAL-NY, Housing Works, and dozens of other community groups and elected officials. The rally called on Mayor Mamdani to reverse his proposed increase in the NYPD headcount and end broken-windows policing in favor of investments in housing, healthcare, and other social services. See the press release from Thursday’s rally here.
On Thursday, the City Council Committee on Criminal Justice also held an Oversight Hearing on Improving Court Operations to Reduce the Jail Population. Right now, the crisis at Rikers is worsening, the jail population is rising, and the closure plan remains off track. Since the City Council passed the law to close Rikers Island in the fall of 2019, nearly 80 people have died in city jails. We testified at the hearing and explained how the FY 2027 Executive Budget continues the status quo of increasing the budgets used to arrest and cage people while inadequately funding the programs and services proven to reduce the jail population and allow New Yorkers to thrive. See our testimony and press release following the hearing.
On Tuesday, Mayor Mamdani and Speaker Menin reached out a handshake agreement on the FY 2027 City Budget. The budget does not include an expansion of the NYPD, which means community pressure worked to reverse the mayor’s position and align with his campaign promise not to increase the NYPD headcount. While this budget makes important strides in funding rental assistance, childcare, immigration legal protections, crisis care, and mental health services, it fails to make significant investments to reduce the city’s jail population. This is a critical step to the closure of Rikers, which is completely off track. The city clearly has no intent to meet the legal closure deadline of 2027, but in this budget the city has also not reconfigured the plan to provide a definitive date for when Rikers will be closed.
Mayor Mamdani and the City Council can no longer pass city budgets that don’t address the borough-based jails’ cost overruns and timelines, reduce the jail population, and advance the closure of Rikers. Lives are at state.
If you would like to join our Shut Rikers campaign, please contact Lakenya at lakenya@katalcenter.org.
#ShutRikers Canvassing Report
On Tuesday, we released a new report about our canvassing project here in NYC: Three Years, Five Boroughs, 200,000 Doors: A Report on Katal’s #ShutRikers Canvassing Project, September 2022–December 2025.
During our #ShutRikers Canvassing Project, we canvassed at every major public housing complex in the city, from the Far Rockaways to Highbridge, from Cypress Hills to Stapleton and Astoria, and many more. We tabled at community centers, libraries, and senior centers. We canvassed at block parties and summer street fairs in Harlem, Brownsville, and the South Bronx. We held thousands of conversations with New Yorkers about what they want to see in their communities, about safety and justice, and about Rikers Island jail complex and why Katal and other groups are working to shut it down.
The report covers why we launched the project, where and how we did it, what it looked like day-to-day, and what we learned. The report is built around a detailed essay by our organizing director Melanie Dominguez, who directed the project, and includes a selection of daily canvassing reports from some of the more than 30 team members who participated across three years. Check out our press release here with quotes from the canvassing team.
We’re still out on the streets, talking with people. If you’d like to join us on the doors, please reach out to Lakenya at lakenya@katalcenter.org.
Quotes of the Week
“You cannot change any society unless you take responsibility for it, unless you see yourself as belonging to it and responsible for changing it.” – Grace Lee Boggs
“What we say and what we do ultimately comes back to us so let us own our responsibility, place it in our hands and carry it with dignity and strength.” –Gloria E. Anzaldúa
why some people be mad at me sometimes
By Lucille Clifton
they ask me to remember
but they want me to remember
their memories
and i keep on remembering
mine.
For printing and distribution, download the Katal Weekly Update PDF version.
Katal develops intergenerational leadership and organizing capacity to build community-based power and win systemic change for equity, health, and justice.
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Email: info@katalcenter.org
Phone: 646.875.8822.