Honors student forced to leave and more news from the states

Good evening. We start in Nebraska, where an honors student with dreams of flying is being forced to return to Mexico. In Indiana, public backlash has lawmakers considering restricting license plate cameras. And in Tennessee, a U.S. senator running for governor says she plans to pick her own congressional replacement if she wins.

In Washington, D.C., Indy cars race around the National Mall for the first time, and in Maryland, Latino student enrollment drops for the first time in years.

In national news, the Postal Service plans to restrict mail-in ballots despite a court order, and sanctuary policies appear to be effective in reducing immigration-related arrests in states that enact them.

And finally, a historic former plantation in South Carolina is on its way to becoming a state park.

Mariana Juarez earned her private pilot’s license in the U.S., a step in a journey to be a commercial pilot. But the University of Nebraska at Omaha graduate, who entered the U.S. from Mexico without authorization at age 14, has lost a battle to remain in the country, despite intervention by the local Republican congressman, Nebraska Examiner reports.

Now, she said, she’s bought an airline ticket to return to her homeland.

When she and her mother entered the U.S., they were allowed to stay while the federal government weighed their cases. But shortly afterward, Juarez said, depression gripped her mom and she returned to Mexico, leaving her daughter with relatives in Omaha.

With the help of a cousin, Juarez enrolled in high school, won a full-ride private scholarship and this year graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha with honors and an aviation degree. Along the way she worked full time, obtained a private pilot’s license and, at age 24, was in the process of achieving certification as a commercial pilot.

But her plan has been thwarted by immigration legal problems. When she was a teen, unbeknownst to her until later, an immigration judge had ordered her removed from the country. Now, despite pleas from Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska’s Omaha-heavy 2nd District, Homeland Security officials have declined to reverse course and allow her to stay legally.

“It’s an un-Christian policy we’re seeing here,” Bacon said of his unsuccessful effort to help Juarez stay. “I get it, we wanted to secure the borders. I think we’ve done that. We don’t want dangerous people here, I get it. But what’s going on here is a terrible overreach, a terrible injustice.”

More immigration coverage:

Public backlash to license plate reader networks is intensifying, but Indiana law says little about how police and commercial entities can use the technology, Indiana Capital Chronicle reports.

The cameras are widely used by law enforcement agencies to capture still images of license plates for criminal investigations.

A state law enacted last year bans homeowners associations from deploying the technology to monitor residents and visitors, unless the cameras are operated by law enforcement — the sole restriction to date.

But several lawmakers plan to revisit the subject next year as their constituents express fears of mass surveillance and misuse.

“License plate readers have proven to be a very effective tool for law enforcement,” said Republican state Rep. Jim Pressel. “It’s something that I think we need to preserve the good that it does, while at the same time putting up guardrails to protect Hoosiers from surveillance.”

More technology coverage:

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn plans to choose her replacement for the U.S. Senate if she’s elected governor of Tennessee in November, Tennessee Lookout reports.

Blackburn, a Republican, made this announcement to the Nashville Banner ahead of her primary victory in August.  

But it has raised state and federal constitutional questions because, by law, Tennessee’s governor makes the appointment, and no public official has held both a U.S. Senate seat and the gubernatorial office at the same time. 

Blackburn’s ability to legally choose her replacement may come down to the timing of her U.S. Senate resignation and potential swearing in. Tennessee’s next governor will be inaugurated on Jan. 17, 2027. If she steps down anytime before Jan. 17, the appointment power would fall to Republican Gov. Bill Lee. 

John Vile, a constitutional expert at Middle Tennessee State University, said the mechanics of how she would choose her replacement have no precedent. 

“It’s a fascinating question,” Vile said. 

More election coverage:

Virginia: Lawmakers are considering requiring, as opposed to simply permitting, school districts to hire nurses for schools. About 10% of public schools have no nurse under the current rules.

North Dakota: A pilot program designed to attract and retain workers by assisting with childcare costs will stop in September, ending financial support for hundreds of families.

Colorado: Voters will decide in November whether to put the right to hunt and fish in the state’s constitution but conservationists worry that might limit their efforts to preserve threatened species.

Washington: The head of the state’s newest juvenile detention center was ousted after an investigation into allegations he sexually harassed an employee, records show.

Ohio: The Bureau of Motor Vehicles has changed the way gender is noted on drivers licenses and ID cards, in a move transgender advocates say was made without notice.

Louisiana: Lawmakers are looking for ways to curtail illegal dumping throughout the state, especially when it involves furtive waste tire disposal.

Alaska: A gallon of gasoline in the northwestern village of Shungnak hit $26.82 on Friday, likely giving the community the dubious honor of having the most expensive gasoline in the U.S.

Minnesota: Ratepayer advocates urged state regulators to reconsider a June order allowing Xcel Energy to raise electricity customers’ rates by about $210 million over the next two years. 

Nevada: Washoe County voters this November will have the opportunity to weigh in on whether electric vehicle owners are “paying their fair share” toward road maintenance.

Kentucky: Road projects statewide have dropped dramatically this summer, as much as 50%, at what is usually the busiest times for road crews, according to an analysis of state records.

Indiana: The Republican governor is ordering an investigation of why some residents are still without power two weeks after powerful storms swept the state.

Georgia: Officials say they will try to maintain the state’s community based mental health and disability care system, despite the end of decades-old federal oversight that guaranteed such services.

An IndyCar races along Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)

IndyCar took over the streets of the nation’s capital for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, the last in a series of events coordinated and promoted by President Donald Trump to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States.

More than two dozen racers zipped through a 1.66-mile course, reaching speeds of up to 190 miles per hour as they traced a course down Pennsylvania and Independence avenues, crossing the National Mall twice, for the first-ever IndyCar series event in Washington, D.C.

Trump’s motorcade traveled on the course down Pennsylvania Avenue ahead of the race, and the president waved the green flag at 1:10 p.m Eastern to start the 147 laps.

Read more and see more images from States Newsroom’s D.C. Bureau.

Hispanic enrollment in Maryland public schools began to decline during the last school year after growing at an average rate of 4.7% a year since pandemic-era lows, according to state data finalized earlier this summer.

As classes resume this fall, parents, teachers and other community members reflected on how immigration enforcement under Trump has cast a shadow over immigrant and Latino families and their public school students. With immigration arrests taking place just outside their doors and immigrant parents being detained on their way to work, fewer Latino students are showing up in class.

“We don’t know the full impact yet, but the new enrollment numbers raise serious concerns,” said Donna Christy, president of the Prince George’s County Educators’ Association. “We have to keep the focus on ensuring immigrant students are safe and protected at schools here in our community.”

Read more from Maryland Matters.

More education coverage:

With just over two months until the November midterms, a federal district judge in Massachusetts is chastising the Trump administration for sowing confusion and “creating” an emergency after noticing a rule that the U.S. Postal Service will eventually require federally regulated mail-in ballot voting envelopes and state data, States Newsroom’s D.C. Bureau reports.

A 95-page notice saying that the final rule would appear in the Federal Register on Aug. 26 outlined justifications for federal requirements on states to redesign ballot envelopes and provide a list of recipient names and addresses to USPS. The final rule became effective Friday, according to the document.

The final rule runs contrary to U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani’s Aug. 11 preliminary injunction barring the federal government from changing states’ mail-in voting rules prior to the Nov. 3 midterm elections, the judge wrote in a brief order on the docket Sunday. 

“Defendants did not file an appeal and did not seek, let alone obtain, a stay of the preliminary injunction,” Talwani wrote. “Nonetheless, on August 21, 2026, USPS issued its Final Rule, with an anticipated publication date in the Federal Register of August 26, 2026.” 

Voters throughout much of the country will cast ballots for a U.S. senator this fall, but just nine states likely hold the power to determine control of the chamber — setting the course for which presidential nominees can secure confirmation and what bills advance during the next two years, the D.C. Bureau reports.

The 35 Senate races, as well as the campaigns for every House seat, will serve as a test of Republican policies after two years of unified control of Congress. The outcome of this year’s midterm elections will also have a substantial impact on the remainder of Trump’s term. 

Republicans hold 53 Senate seats, requiring Democratic candidates to win over voters in at least four states that previously chose a GOP lawmaker.

Alaska, Iowa, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas could be won by either candidate, according to a top elections forecaster, giving Democrats several paths to regain the Senate. That marks an improvement in the party’s chances, though it may also need to secure wins in competitive races in Georgia, Michigan and New Hampshire.

Zachary Peskowitz, political science professor at Emory University, said Republicans have a bit of an advantage this year, but that doesn’t guarantee they’ll keep their majority. 

“I think that the Senate is a tougher map for the Democrats than the House is,” he said. “But given Trump's approval ratings, obviously it is certainly possible that Democrats win, even in these tougher states.”

More from the D.C. Bureau:

As more states seek ways to limit immigration enforcement, a Stateline analysis found one tactic has had an effect: making it more difficult for local law enforcement to hand over people they are holding in city or county jails to federal immigration authorities.

The analysis found that states with strict noncooperation policies — Oregon, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Washington state — have the lowest rates of immigration arrests in jails.

The highest rates were generally in states that limit or bar so-called sanctuary policies. Those states include Wyoming, West Virginia, Mississippi and Alabama.

New Mexico, a border state, also was one of the five states with the highest local jail arrest rate, despite having some statewide policies limiting cooperation. The state ethics commission sued the state corrections department in July charging violations of a state law banning most cooperation.

However, early threats from the Trump administration to target sanctuary states for more street arrests had uneven results through March 10, the latest data released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and obtained by the California-based Deportation Data Project. The analysis includes arrests since Jan. 20, 2025, the first day of the second Trump administration.

In its past lifetimes, the Goodwill Plantation was a vast farm worked by slaves, a winter home for circus animals and a family hunting retreat.

In its next life, the estate located just south of Columbia could become a state preserve, South Carolina Daily Gazette reports.

The Conservation Fund closed a deal on the property for $13.8 million earlier this month, primarily using a state-funded grant. The nonprofit plans to donate the land back to the state Department of Natural Resources to expand the nearby Wateree River Heritage Preserve.

The 736 acres include more than a dozen historic buildings dating to 1857, which the owners restored over the years. Fish swim in a 35-acre lake, and birds nest in a large rookery. Deer and turkey roam through hardwood forests, and water drains into the nearby Wateree River.

The owners, Larry and Jerry Faulkenberry, sold close to 4,500 acres more than a decade ago to a company looking to offset the impacts of a gold mine. That land became the state-owned Wateree River Heritage Preserve.

The couple put the remaining estate on the market in 2024, including the home they built. The land already had approval for up to 22 separate lots, which Realtors advertised as perfect for a prospective subdivision.

Looking back on the land’s storied history, and with urging from community members and the local state senator, the Faulkenberrys instead decided to sell their beloved property to a nonprofit, with the hopes that one day the state would open it for anyone interested in stopping by.

“We wanted to make sure it stayed intact and people could enjoy it for generations to come,” Larry Faulkenberry said.