Child Welfare Hub

Stephanie Villarreal is a U.S. citizen and mother of three—her youngest is nine weeks old. Her husband was on the way to visit their newborn daughter in the NICU when ICE arrested him. He has been locked away in Laredo, Texas, at a for-profit detention center—unable to hold his baby and raise his children. He is a DACA recipient who did everything the right way. Today, I met with Stephanie and her husband Juan to check on them and work toward his release. The Trump Administration must stop targeting Dreamers who make our country great.

Ohio just set the bar by making it a felony to harm any cat or dog. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled 7 to 0 that the state's felony animal cruelty law, known as Goddard's Law, applies to all cats and dogs regardless of whether they have an owner. The law is named after Dick Goddard, a beloved Cleveland weatherman and animal rights advocate. Before the ruling, an appeals court found that only pets receiving care qualified for felony protection, meaning harming a stray was only a misdemeanor. The case began when Alonzo Kyles poured bleach on a stray kitten in a Cleveland apartment basement in 2021. He was convicted and sentenced to nine months but the conviction was overturned on appeal. The Humane Society, Alley Cat Allies, the Cleveland Animal Protective League, and the Animal Legal Defense Fund all filed briefs urging the Supreme Court to reverse. The ruling makes Ohio one of the strongest states in America for animal protection law.