The five shortlisted teams will spend the next six months developing their designs in consultation with the Grenfell communityRIBA has named the five multi-disciplinary teams shortlisted in an international competition to design a memorial to the 72 victims of the Grenfell Tower fire.Curl La Tourelle and Head Architecture, Freehaus, George King Architects and Grow to Know, New South and Office Sian have all made it to the second stage of the competition following a selection process launched in July last year.Over the next six months, the five teams will embark on a second round of evaluation, including meetings with bereaved families, survivors and the immediate community that live close to Grenfell Tower.A winning team will be announced this summer, with a planning application expected to be submitted in late 2026 if a final design is considered sufficiently developed.The five finalists were chosen from 28 applications from multi-disciplinary teams including architects, landscape architects, community engagement specialists and other disciplines.RIBA said a robust evaluation process was undertaken to ensure the second stage shortlist had the right skills, capability and awareness of the Grenfell tragedy.This included due diligence checks on entrants to make sure that any team, organisation or individual potentially working on the memorial does not bear any responsibility for the June 2017 tragedy.Memorials to the victims of the fire placed close to the towerThe announcement of the shortlist comes five months after the publication of the Grenfell Tower Inquirys final report into the causes of the disaster, which was caused by a flawed refurbishment on the 24-storey building completed a year before the blaze.It also follows a 2023 report published by the Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission which detailed the Grenfell communitys wishes for a permanent memorial.Thelma Stober and Lord Paul Boateng, co-chairs of the Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission, said: We have given our word, from the outset, that the voices of the entire Grenfell community must take priority in the memorial decision-making process, both now and in the future.The five shortlisted teams in alphabetical order:Curl La Tourelle + Head ArchitectureFreehausGeorge King Architects x Grow to KnowNew SouthOffice SianWe hope that bereaved families, survivors and those living close to Grenfell Tower, will feel able to participate in the selection of a design team and, later on, contribute to the co-design of the memorial, in whichever way feels appropriate and meaningful for them.This will ensure that the final design embodies a profound tribute to the 72 lives lost and provides a lasting place for loved ones to pay their respects, mourn, and feel connected to their memories.> Also read:RIBA calls for schools and train stations to be classed as higher risk buildings under building safety regulations> Also read:Clients show total lack of engagement with Building Safety Act, says engineering services bodyRIBA past president and competitions advisor Jane Duncan said the quality of the initial entries and compassion, thoughtfulness and clarity of the entrants desire to undertake this important community-led commission have quite blown away the Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission and the other evaluators.The remains of the tower has been clad in a protective wrapping since 2017A decision on whether to demolish the remains of the tower, which has been covered in a protective wrapping since 2017, will be taken by the government next month.Communities secretary Angela Rayner said last week that she will announce her decision in February, although she added that there will be no immediate changes to the site if she decides the tower should be taken down.A report published in 2022 by the Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission included several suggestions from members of the Grenfell community on what the memorial could look like.These included retaining the tower as a vertical garden with a high level platform and hanging plants on its walls.The government has set aside a site of just under 3,000sq m for the memorial, which includes the ground on which the tower block stands in North Kensington and adjacent land on either side.

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President Donald Trump has issued an executive order telling the Department of Justice to not enforce a rule that demands TikTok spin off from its Chinese parent company ByteDance or face a ban.The order, issued on Trumps first day of office, is meant to effectively extend the deadline for a sale by undercutting penalties on American companies like Apple and Google working with TikTok. It directs the Attorney General not to take any action to enforce the Act for a period of 75 days from today to allow my Administration an opportunity to determine the appropriate course forward in an orderly way. The AG is supposed to issue a letter to each provider stating that there has been no violation of the statute and that there is no liability for any conduct that occurred.The order furthermore instructs the Department of Justice to take no action to enforce the Act or impose any penalties against any entity for any noncompliance with the Act and says they should be barred from doing so for any conduct that occurred during the above-specified period or any period prior to the issuance of this order, including the period of time from January 19, 2025, to the signing of this order.Trump, who issued an executive order banning TikTok during his first term in 2020, is now trying to circumvent a bipartisan law that took effect January 19th. He posted on Truth Social before taking office that he was asking companies to keep working with TikTok, a move that could mean risking hundreds of billions of dollars in fines if Trumps assurances dont stand up in court. TikTok briefly went down on Sunday but quickly came back online though it was removed from Apple and Googles app stores and has not come back.Its unclear whether Trump can legally pause the TikTok ban. The law allowed for a 90-day extension if ByteDance announced a sale to a non-foreign adversary-based company before the deadline, but not only has no such sale been announced, its legally ambiguous whether the extension can be used after the 19th. Trump, in any case, isnt so far using the deadline hes just attempting to override the law.Despite that reassurance, it still may not be enough to convince service providers covered by the law to reinstate TikTok. As many legal experts have pointed out, those companies could face up to about $850 billion in potential penalties for violating the law which was passed by a bipartisan Congress, signed by former President Joe Biden, and upheld by the entire Supreme Court. The government could act on any potential violation even five years after it happens and an executive order doesnt change that, though it might help give the companies a slightly better due process defense to fight it. Companies still might not risk litigation over such a large potential fine, though they may also be wary of raising Trumps ire by refusing to work with TikTok.On top of all this, the rule the order says its not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, which makes it even less reliable as a defense for companies.Trump also declared on Sunday that the US government will own 50 percent of TikTok through an unexplained joint venture with a private company. It remains unclear how this would work.

Image: NintendoMario Kart has been a huge talking point over the past week following what's seemingly the reveal of the new game alongside the Switch 2 announcement.Now, to continue the trend, Nintendo has today added the SNES soundtrack Super Mario Kart to its music app for Switch Online members. This album comes with a total of 37 tracks and has a runtime of 33 minutes. Here's the full tracklist:Super Mario Kart (SNES)Super Mario Kart Title ScreenSelection ScreensStarting GridMario CircuitMario Circuit (Final Lap)Donut PlainsDonut Plains (Final Lap)Ghost ValleyGhost Valley (Final Lap)Bowser CastleBowser Castle (Final Lap)Choco IslandChoco Island (Final Lap)Koopa BeachKoopa Beach (Final Lap)Vanilla LakeVanilla Lake (Final Lap)Rainbow RoadRainbow Road (Final Lap)Battle ModeSuper StarFinal Lap!Finish! (1st - 4th Place)Finish! (5th - 8th Place)Finish! (Time Trials)Game OverRace Results (Mario)Race Results (Luigi)Race Results (Princess)Race Results (Yoshi)Race Results (Bowser)Race Results (Donkey Kong Jr.)Race Results (Koopa Troopa)Race Results (Toad)Awards Ceremony (1st - 3rd Place)Awards Ceremony (4th - 8th Place)Staff CreditsThis latest track release follows the arrival of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker soundtrack last week. It's also the second Mario Kart soundtrack to join the service following on from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.Once again, if you want to listen to the Nintendo Music app, you'll need to have an active Switch Online membership. You can also access this classic SNES Mario Kart via the Switch Online retro library. A mobile music app exclusive to Switch Online membersEvery character in Switch 2 Mario KartStart your enginesWill you be listening to this classic Mario Kart soundtrack? Let us know in the comments.Related GamesSee AlsoShare:02 Liam is a news writer and reviewer for Nintendo Life and Pure Xbox. He's been writing about games for more than 15 years and is a lifelong fan of Mario and Master Chief. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...Related ArticlesPoll: What Do You Think Of Donkey Kong's Redesign In Mario Kart 9?Got whiplash?New Mario Kart 9 Teased For Switch 2It's looking good!Mario Kart 9: Full Character Roster List - Every Racer Confirmed So FarEvery character in Switch 2 Mario Kart'Nintendo Music' Adds Another Legendary Zelda Soundtrack, Here's Every Song IncludedWind Waker sails onto the NSO music app

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an advisory commission spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk recommending deep cuts to federal agencies, could soon become more official, should an executive order signed by President Donald Trump pass legal muster. On Monday evening, Trump signed an order that renames the U.S. Digital Service, which was created in 2014 by former President Barack Obama to change our governments approach to technology, as the U.S. DOGE Service (USDS). The executive order instructs U.S. agency heads to consult with USDS to form DOGE Teams of at least four employees within their agency within 30 days. Teams will typically include a DOGE Team lead, engineer, HR specialist, and attorney, per the executive order, and work with the USDS and agency in which theyre housed to implement Trumps DOGE plan. Among other things, the executive order establishes a software modernization plan to improve government network infrastructure and IT systems, and gives the USDS access to unclassified agency records, software systems, and IT systems consistent with law.The executive order also creates a temporary organization, the U.S. Doge Service Temporary Organization, dedicated to advancing [President Trumps] 18-month DOGE agenda. The organization is set to terminate on July 4, 2026. It remains to be seen whether the executive order survives coming courtroom battles. No fewer than three lawsuits have been filed in federal court alleging that the Musk-led DOGE violates the transparency requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), a 1972 law that requires federal advisory committees to hold meetings publicly and represent balanced perspectives.

Felipe Caparrs - stock.adobe.cNewsGovernment calls for expert views on computer evidence to learn lesson from Post Office scandalThe government is calling for evidence from experts in computing and law to help it ensure no repeat of the miscarriages of justice in the Post Office scandalByKarl Flinders,Chief reporter and senior editor EMEAPublished: 21 Jan 2025 0:01 The Department of Justice has issued a call for evidence as it examines the role of computer evidence in the criminal justice system to prevent another Post Office scandal.Computer evidence was used to wrongly convict hundreds of former subpostmasters and their staff, based on evidence from the error-prone Horizon computer system from Fujitsu used in branches.It has become widely known as one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in UK history and led to calls to scrap the legal presumption that computer evidence is accurate.In 1999, thepresumption was introduced into law on how courts should consider electronic evidence. The rule followed a Law Commission recommendation that courts should presume a computer system has operated correctly unless there is explicit evidence to the contrary. This replaced Section 69 of the PACE Act 1984, which stated that computer evidence should be subject to proof that it was operating properly.The 12-week call for evidence will invite views on the presumption from across the justice system and beyond, including from computer experts.Justice minister Sarah Sackman KC said: We must learn the lessons of the Post Office scandal. A blanket no questions asked acceptance of the accuracy of digital evidence can have a devastating impact on peoples lives. We must learn the lessons of the Post Office scandal. A blanket no questions asked acceptance of the accuracy of digital evidence can have a devastating impact on peoples lives Sarah Sackman, Ministry of JusticeWe need to carefully consider how we can both use and interrogate digital evidence in court. Ensuring people are protected from miscarriages of justice is vital, and one part of the governments Plan for Change, added Sackman.Stephen Mason, who has campaigned for the presumption to be scrapped and co-edited Electronic evidence and electronic signatures, the open source practitioner text for judges and lawyers, said: This call is overdue but most welcome. I and my colleagues look forward to engaging in the discussion.Peer James Arbuthnot, who along with colleagues in Parliament has been pushing for changes to the rules on computer evidence, welcomed the call for evidence. Theyve got to do more than ask for evidence, he said. Theyve got to treat it properly and come up with some solutions because weve been making all the running on this and its time that the government actually did something.Arbuthnot campaigned for justice for subpostmasters for nearly two decades after his constituent, Jo Hamilton, was convicted of false accounting by the Post Office. Hamilton, who along with others helped expose the Post Office scandal as one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in history, had her wrongful conviction overturned in 2012.Hamilton told Computer Weekly: It should not be up to the accused to prove that the computer wasnt working at that moment in time. The prosecution should have to prove it was. The law needs to be changed.Read more about the rules on computer evidenceAccording to the Ministry of Justice announcement, the call for evidence is seeking expert input on how computer evidence should be defined, and what could fall into scope of any change to the law.It gave an example that distinctions might need to be drawn between general digital evidence like text messages or social media posts, and evidence which has been specifically generated by a computer system or software.Court of Appealjudge Peter Fraser, who took charge of the 2018 High Court battle between the Post Office and 555 former subpostmasters that focused on the reliability of the Post Office Horizon system, spoke at a recent Inner Temple talk, titled The use of electronic evidence in the law.He said the Law Commission presumption, which found its way into statute nearly 30 years ago, needs to be replaced, but its replacement is not a simple choice. Its very difficult to know now how courts in the future the next 10, 20, 30 years are going to deal with computer-generated evidence, or evidence from computers, or evidence about the operation of computers. What is important is being aware of what can be changed, he told the audience.There needs to be some flexibility in how we approach it because the current complexity is just going to get more and more marked, he added.The Post Office scandal wasfirst exposed by Computer Weekly in 2009, revealing the stories of seven subpostmasters and the problems they suffered due to the accounting software(see timeline of Computer Weekly articles about the scandal below). Read expert analysis of computer evidence rulesIn The Current Issue:Interview: Wendy Redshaw, chief digital information officer, NatWest Retail BankPreparing for AI regulation: The EU AI ActDownload Current Issue

Large groups of well dressed people walking on the street during the Paris Exposition Universelle of ... [+] 1900 by the Palis de l' Algerie and Palais du Trocadero designed by Gabriel Davioud for the 1878 World?s Fair. The Palais du Trocadero was demolished in 1937 and replaced by 'Le Palais de Chaillot', Paris, France circa 1900. (Photo by The Montifraulo Collection/Getty Images)Getty ImagesIt often seems like theres a general consensus that human content is real content, with AI generated content being a sort of derivative copying what humans do.Notwithstanding the rapid transformation of simple GAN network models to vibrant generative AI, we still want to see humans as being the better creators. But that may not be the case for long, and that consensus may, in some ways, be crumbling.I took a look at this recent X post by Aidan McLaughlin of Mediaite fame, who indicated that hed prefer to have the computers designing buildings.The proliferation of fun, maybe impossible, surprisingly tasteful, and deeply calming AI architecture is so cool to me, McLaughlin writes. AI should commoditize beauty. I think theres a happy chance stuff like this raises my generations standards, and my children grow up with less human slop.Human slop?This contrasts with so many comments talking about how the products of LLMs are only based on the human content they mirror, and how there needs to be human content at the core of training systems. Many analysts have suggested that without the original human content, AI becomes a scavenger of its own products, a recursive rehasher that ultimately provides a watered-down gruel of bloodless stuff.In terms of architecture, the examples in McLaughlins post look good a warm set of living spaces, with hot colors offering a respite from a snowy landscape and everything looks very well put together, but are the AI results better?MORE FOR YOUArchitecture, of course, is one of those realms where quality is pretty subjective, and taste (along with utility) is the primary guide, but theres also McLaughlins characterization of AI designs as maybe impossible, meaning that they havent been vetted completely according to the laws of physics, and that an AI architect is prone to some hallucinations as it designs. As for deeply calming, many people find generative AI products to be alluring, seductive, tranquil, or otherwise attractive, but just as many are sort of nervous when perusing these kinds of images, at least partly because they have concerns about how genAI fits into our world.But then theres McLaughlins suggestion that AI designs are just nicer than those penned by human hands. To be sure, many of us talk about AI visuals as being too flawless, or nice, as a kind of drawback, but what if that ends up being what we prefer?Whats in a Game?For a good example of AI leading the way in design, lets look at the digital spaces that people play in.GenAI has become so good at creating its own game content that weve developed a term for it: procedural content creation where game environments are created with algorithms, instead of manually by humans.The result is endless worlds - in Minecraft, Roblox games or some other kind of digital construct. The Metaverse, it seems, will be largely designed by artificial intelligence creators. Will they have names?The groundwork has already been set: the rise of no-code in platforms like Roblox dates back a couple of years.Earlier this year, Roblox said it was testing a tool that could accelerate the process of building and altering in-game objects by getting AI to write the code, reported Marcus Law in AI Magazine in 2023. The tool lets anyone playing Roblox create items such as buildings, terrain, and avatars; change the appearance and behavior of those things; and give them new interactive properties by typing what they want to achieve in natural language, rather than complex code.These ideas are being implemented in bold new ways.PCG provides technical artists, designers, and programmers with the ability to build fast, iterative tools and content of any complexity, ranging from Asset utilities, such as buildings or biome generation, up to entire worlds, writes a spokesperson at Unreal Engine, describing those assistive processes.How long will it be until AI erases the human in the loop?Tools, Architecture and ArchitectsIn a google search on architect job displacement, a spate of articles promises that AI will not replace architects though many of these writers admit that lower-level tasks will be automated, diminishing workforce demand. Then there are the actual architects, reporting from the trenches, for instance, that they are asked to use something like Midjourney for renderings. Check out the tool itself and what it can do to make words into visuals.Its not hard to find testimony from architects talking about how they use AI, either. A Reddit thread gives particular insights into how the tools are working as assistive support for human developers.All of this illustrates how the technology is quickly revolutionizing this one part of the business world.The Hardware RevolutionAs companies gear up to take advantage of these new capabilities, the hardware industry is turning at a volatile paceIve been writing about the rise of Nvidia and other chip makers, and about TSMCs supply chain realities, and how countries like the U.S. and China are jousting for geopolitical positioning in 2025.Simply put, the capabilities themselves are going to create enormous demand. Whether AI actually designs better than humans is a separate question but the world is going to be observing a change thats unprecedented in all of human history for the first time, there are entities, albeit digital ones, that are in many ways smarter than us. As humans, we were smart enough to take ourselves almost completely out of the food chain. AI entities are even further removed from those biological processes that involve mortality. If they can live forever, how smart can they get?Ill leave you with that question, as all of us continue to react to these kinds of trail-blazing advancements in the new year.

A24One of the contenders at the 2025 Oscars now faces a major controversy. The Brutalist, one of the most championed movies of 2024, is facing backlash for its use of AI.Over the weekend, Red Shark News published an interview with editor Dvid Jancs, who revealed The Brutalist used AI tools from the Ukrainian special Respeecher to make small tweaks to the Hungarian dialogue spoken by Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones. Jancs also mentioned how AI was used to make the architectural designs and buildings in The Brutalists closing sequence.Recommended VideosThe AI news has sparked outrage within the film community, with some suggestingThe Brutalistshould be disqualified from awards contention. Director Brady Corbet released a statement to clarify the AI use, stating the actors portrayals are completely their own and that the AI preserved the authenticity of said performances.Please enable Javascript to view this contentAdrien and Felicitys performances are completely their own, Corbet said in a statement via Deadline. They worked for months with dialect coach Tanera Marshall to perfect their accents. Innovative Respeecher technology was used in Hungarian language dialogue editing only, specifically to refine certain vowels and letters for accuracy. No English language was changed. This was a manual process, done by our sound team and Respeecher in post-production. The aim was to preserve the authenticity of Adrien and Felicitys performances in another language, not to replace or alter them and done with the utmost respect for the craft.In the issue over the films final sequence involving architectural blueprints, Corbet said, Judy Becker and her team did not use AI to create or render any of the buildings. All images were hand-drawn by artists. To clarify, in the memorial video featured in the background of a shot, our editorial team created pictures intentionally designed to look like poor digital renderings circa 1980.Corbet finished with this statement: The Brutalist is a film about human complexity, and every aspect of its creation was driven by human effort, creativity, and collaboration. We are incredibly proud of our team and what theyve accomplished here.The Brutalistis now in theaters.Editors Recommendations

President Donald Trump signed an executive order pausing the TikTok ban on Sunday."TikTok is worthless, worthless, if I don't approve it," Trump said.The president added that TikTok could be worth $1 trillion and floated a possible joint venture.Newly inaugurated President Donald Trump said on Sunday that if he's able to halt the ban on TikTok, the US should own half of it."I may not do the deal, or I may do the deal. TikTok is worthless, worthless, if I don't approve it," Trump said while signing an executive order that would pause the ban on TikTok.Trump told reporters at the White House that TikTok could be worth $1 trillion and that the US should be entitled to half of the company."So I think, like a joint venture, I think we would have a joint venture with the people from TikTok. We'll see what happens," Trump added, though he did not specify who TikTok could partner with.According to the divest-or-ban law that the Senate passed in April, TikTok had to stop operating in the US on January 19 unless it divested itself from its Chinese-based owner, ByteDance.The platform briefly went dark for US users on Saturday night but resumed its services on Sunday after Trump said he would pause the ban with an executive order. "We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive," TikTok said in a statement to Business Insider.However, it is unclear if Trump's executive order will keep TikTok going and prevent the ban altogether.Under the divest-or-ban law, an extension can only be granted if the president certifies to Congress that "a path to executing a qualified divestiture has been identified" and "evidence of significant progress toward executing such qualified divestiture."Representatives for Trump and TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

One of the first bills that could be sent to President Donald Trump would vastly expand immigration detention and make it easier for states to influence immigration policy. It passed the Senate Monday with the support of 12 Democrats and will now head to the House for final approval.That bill, the Laken Riley Act, is named after a young woman who was killed last February by an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela. Her murderer was sentenced to life in prison. Riley has become a cause clbre for Republicans, who argue that her death is the result of former President Joe Bidens immigration policies that allowed him to walk free despite a shoplifting charge. The House and Senate GOP lawmakers broadly back the bill, but it has received a mixed reception from Democrats. Some Democrats, reeling from major losses in 2024, Americans frustration with the immigration status quo, and record-high border crossings under Biden, backed the bill, however.The bill passed the House earlier this month with the support of 48 of the House of Representatives 215 Democrats. After considering major amendments to the bill brought by Democrats, the Senate passed the bill with hardly any alternations. Two Democratic senators, Ruben Gallego of Arizona and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, co-sponsored the Senate version.The bill has two major parts:It would mandate that the federal government detain all immigrants accused of theft and other related crimes.It would give states a broad right to bring lawsuits against federal immigration policy.The bills proponents argue it will be a major step forward for public safety. But once signed by Trump, the bill could also strain existing immigration enforcement resources, infringe on immigrants due process rights, and create a chaotic (and potentially unconstitutional) situation in which states are allowed to dictate federal immigration policy.The Laken Riley Act would vastly expand immigration detentionRight now, federal law mandates that immigrants who have committed certain serious crimes, including murder, rape, domestic violence, and some drug offenses, be detained. But beyond those categories, federal immigration officials have discretion.In 2021, the Biden administration issued policy guidance prioritizing people who were a national security threat, public safety threat, or border security threat (those who had recently entered the US without authorization). Otherwise, the Department of Homeland Security urged individual immigration officers to use their prosecutorial discretion essentially, to leave everyone else alone.The rationale was that immigration agencies have limited resources for enforcement, and Biden was aiming those resources as what he viewed as key threats among the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the US.The federal government will never have enough money or manpower to deport every undocumented noncitizen, said Stephen Yale-Loehr, an immigration law professor at Cornell Law School. Courts are not equipped to delve into the details of who to prioritize for deportation.Trump already rescinded Bidens enforcement priorities in one of his first executive orders on Monday. The Laken Riley Act further upends enforcement, requiring that a much larger population of undocumented immigrants be detained. The bill would require federal immigration authorities to detain undocumented immigrants accused of theft and other related crimes like shoplifting or burglary. Accusations triggering mandatory detention could be made in the US or another country. For example, if someone was charged with burglary in Venezuela and that came to the attention of US immigration officials, the accused burglar would have to be detained on that basis.This would be a major expansion of immigration detention and deportation. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement estimates that the bill would cost $83 billion over the next three years, enough to fund 118,500 additional detention beds, 40,000 more personnel, and a 25 percent increase in deportation flights. That updated estimate, reportedly circulated among Democratic leadership last week, is many times higher than ICEs previous $3.2 billion estimate. These immigrants would be detained even if they werent convicted and without the opportunity for a bond hearing. Currently, its rare for anyone in the US accused of a crime to be detained without a bond hearing, even when the crime is as serious as murder. In immigrants cases, mandatory immigration detention can actually impede their prosecution by making it logistically harder for them to show up for proceedings in their criminal cases. Immigrants, even those without documentation, have the same rights to due process as any other individual in the US, and immigrant advocates have argued this raises serious due process concerns: It increases the risk that an innocent person could be held on a prolonged basis with limited access to legal counsel that could help them win a case challenging their deportation.This potential provision could be unconstitutional given our Fifth Amendment right around liberty, Adriel Orozco, senior policy counsel at the American Immigration Council, a think tank focused on immigration policy said. Its ramifications are so far-reaching in the human context.The bill would expand states role in shaping federal immigration policyThe other major prong of the bill would give states the automatic right to bring lawsuits challenging federal immigration policy on detention and visas, or decisions in individual immigration cases, if they can demonstrate they have experienced financial harm exceeding $100. This is a mechanism that Republicans say is necessary to ensure the federal government is complying with its mandate to detain immigrants under the act. But in practice, it means courts would have to rule on the merits of states claims rather than being able to dismiss them outright, and could potentially be inundated with such lawsuits.You could see any number of really hostile state officials filing lawsuits to change decisions that they dont like, Sarah Mehta, ACLU senior border policy counsel, said. That could include, for example, challenging the issuance of visas to citizens of certain countries against which Republicans have taken a hardline stance, such as China, she said. That would have worrying implications not just for US immigration policy, but also lead to states dictating US foreign policy and having a major impact on the US relationship with both adversaries and allies. It could also make for open season on the decisions made by thousands of immigration line officers in the course of their day-to-day work.Its possible that Democratic states could also try to use the bill to challenge federal immigration policy, perhaps to stem the tide of arrivals to blue cities a phenomenon some state and local Democratic leaders have complained about though its not clear exactly on what basis they would do so. Mehta said that the provision allowing for lawsuits is clearly constitutional overreach and courts might recognize it as such if the bill were to become law. She noted that the US Supreme Court already ruled in a 2023 case brought by Texas challenging the Biden administrations immigration enforcement priorities that such policies are under the exclusive purview of the federal government based on the Constitution, recognizing the need for a unified US response to immigration. States shouldnt be intervening in foreign policy or any of these immigration decisions because they dont have the expertise, Mehta said. If the bill becomes law and survives legal scrutiny, the result is that courts would become the final arbiters of immigration policy, Yale-Loehr said. Now that the legislation has passed without amendments, it could sow chaos, inviting lawsuits challenging every new regulation or policy memo without addressing broader issues in the USs broken immigration system, which hasnt been meaningfully reformed since 1986. Those issues include an underresourced asylum system that isnt equipped to handle diverse populations; processing people at the border in a humane and orderly way, and expeditiously returning them to their home countries if they do not qualify for protections in the US; a lack of legal pathways to the US designed for current economic and humanitarian needs; millions of undocumented immigrants who have laid roots in the US yet have no way of achieving legal status; and factors pushing people out of their home countries that will continue to drive people to migrate.The Laken Riley Act would leave all of that unresolved.Update, January 20, 7:50 pm ET: This story, originally published January 16, has been updated in light of the bill passing the Senate.Youve read 1 article in the last monthHere at Vox, we're unwavering in our commitment to covering the issues that matter most to you threats to democracy, immigration, reproductive rights, the environment, and the rising polarization across this country.Our mission is to provide clear, accessible journalism that empowers you to stay informed and engaged in shaping our world. By becoming a Vox Member, you directly strengthen our ability to deliver in-depth, independent reporting that drives meaningful change.We rely on readers like you join us.Swati SharmaVox Editor-in-ChiefSee More: