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August 21, 2026

4 entries on this date.

DOJ attached immigration-enforcement conditions to FY2026 law-enforcement and juvenile-justice grants, lawsuit alleges

A coalition of 22 states and the District of Columbia sued the U.S. Department of Justice in Rhode Island federal court on August 21, 2026, alleging that DOJ had attached four new civil-immigration-enforcement conditions to fiscal year 2026 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance (Byrne JAG), juvenile-justice, and crisis-intervention grants, most of which were awarded in July 2026. The conditions require states to notify federal immigration agents of a detainee's release date on request and bar restricting the sharing of a person's immigration status with federal agents, among other terms. The states said DOJ used the same tactic on Victims of Crime Act grants in 2025 before an earlier multistate lawsuit forced it to remove those conditions.

Polk County deputies and ICE detained injured Ecuadorian mother and daughter at Florida hospital, refusing to show a warrant

On August 21, 2026, Polk County Sheriff's deputies and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents handcuffed and removed Grace Stephanie Calero Cabanilla, 39, and her daughter Giulianna Mía Carriel Calero, 19, from HCA Florida Poinciana Hospital in Kissimmee, one day after a car crash left both women hospitalized. A deputy questioned Calero Cabanilla about her immigration status while she was still being treated, then contacted ICE, which lodged detainers describing both women as having overstayed their visas; family members say Calero Cabanilla held a pending asylum case and work permit and that her daughter's visa was valid until 2030, claims neither ICE nor the sheriff's office has addressed.

Trump administration redirected $500 million clean-steel grant to fund coal-fired furnace at Ohio steel mill

On August 21, 2026, the U.S. Department of Energy announced it had redirected a $500 million grant, originally awarded to Cleveland-Cliffs in March 2024 to decarbonize its Middletown, Ohio, steel mill, to instead fund continued operation of the plant's coal-fired blast furnace. The grant was restructured after Cleveland-Cliffs said the "green premium" business case for the original hydrogen-ready project no longer held; DOE Secretary Chris Wright and Vice President JD Vance, a Middletown native, appeared at the plant to promote the change. A former DOE official said the revised scope conflicts with the Inflation Reduction Act's statutory definition of eligible "advanced industrial technology," which requires funded projects to accelerate progress toward net-zero emissions.

Pentagon fired Stars and Stripes publisher, editor-in-chief, reporter for insubordination Slavin says was CBS News interview on Pentagon interference

The Pentagon on August 21, 2026, issued separation notices to Stars and Stripes publisher Max D. Lederer Jr., editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, and Middle East correspondent Lara Korte, citing insubordination. The stated cause traced to a CBS News interview in which Slavin and Korte discussed Pentagon pressure on the outlet's editorial independence and said they would not accept censorship of coverage for service members. All three were given five days to appeal the terminations.