Stateside

As the nation's attention has focused on ICE and its role in the Trump administration's zero-tolerance immigration policy, another immigration agency has quietly been making drastic changes to its mission and policies. 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is a federal agency traditionally charged with managing benefits and services for immigrants to the U.S. 

In February, USCIS published a new mission statement, considerably shifting the direction of their organization. 

Michigan is now just three weeks away from the primaries. In preparation, Stateside has invited the gubernatorial candidates back for one last chance to speak to you.

The first candidate in this last round of interviews is Abdul El-Sayed.

El-Sayed is 33 years old, and the former director of the Detroit Health Department.

President Trump began his day on Twitter Wednesday defending his meeting and press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

One tweet said: "So many people at the higher ends of intelligence loved my press conference performance in Helsinki..."

This comes less than a day after the president read a statement walking back statements he made in Helsinki, saying he intended to say that he does accept the intelligence community's assessment that Russia meddled in our elections.

There's nothing better during a Michigan summer than spending time at the Great Lakes.

Stateside asked you what questions you had about the state's freshwater seas, and we'll be bringing you answers all summer long. 

We'll start today with a question from listener Ted Bonarski in Grand Rapids. 

"Are there areas of the Lower Peninsula where the aquifer is filled with Lake Superior water, so that someone pumping up from a well was getting water that was chemically traceable to Lake Superior?" 

With ground breaking this week on the Gordie Howe International Bridge between Windsor and Detroit, it seems like the perfect time to mark the 80th anniversary of the last passenger ferry to cross the Detroit River. 

Michigan is the only state failing to meet enough special education requirements to need intervention, according to a recent evaluation by federal education officials.

The Department of Education breaks its annual evaluation on special education down into three categories: meets, needs assistance, needs intervention, and lastly “needs substantial intervention.” The state of Michigan spent the past four school years in the “needs assistance” category.

President Trump pushed back Tuesday against critics of his Helsinki summit with Russia's President Vladimir Putin. He said that the U.S.-Russia relationship “has gotten substantially better” and that he “accepts” U.S. intelligence agencies conclusions on Russian meddling.

We've been capturing quirky summer festivals around Michigan.

One festival that fits the bill is the 28th National Baby Food Festival in Fremont, Michigan, where Gerber has been making baby food in since 1928.

Sydney Baird, the co-coordinator of the National Baby Food Festival, joined Stateside to talk about the upcoming festival.

Detroit's music scene will welcome the sixth annual Mo Pop Festival at the end of the month.

Our guide to Detroit music, as always, is Paul Young, the founder and publisher of Detroit Music Magazine. He joined Stateside to highlight three local acts that will take the stage at Mo Pop.

If you’ve ever been to the Detroit Institute of Arts, you’ve probably seen the Diego Rivera murals that fill the museum’s courtyard.

They capture a city that was once an industrial hub with behemoth steel machines and men on assembly lines. 

Today, however, Detroit is trying to become a different kind of hub: a tech hub. 

Ninety-nine-year-old Clarise Kramer Cadarette Grzenkowicz has been bartending at the Maplewood Tavern near Alpena, Michigan for the past 78 years. 

The Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan is expected to make a final decision Thursday on whether it will let residents vote on the latest proposal to expand public transit in Southeast Michigan.

Barring a last minute change of heart from Oakland County leader L. Brooks Patterson and Macomb County's Mark Hackel, voters will likely not get the opportunity to weigh in.  

Meanwhile, Southeast Michigan continues to rank as one of the worst metro areas for public transit in the nation, which would come as no surprise for anyone who's had to use buses to get to Novi.

Sorry to Bother You is billed as a sci-fi comedy, and is playing in theaters nationwide after debuting at Sundance Film Festival.

It's about the story of a young black telemarketer from Oakland, California named Cassius Green, played by Lakeith Stanfield. An older co-worker, played by Danny Glover, offers advice that helps Cassius climb the ladder to telemarketing success by using his "white voice."

One of the very best ways to enjoy summer in Michigan is to park yourself under a tree or on a beach and get lost in a good book.

Poet Keith Taylor joined Stateside to talk about some of his suggestions for your summer reading list.

Recently retired as a creative writing teacher at the University of Michigan, Taylor just published another book called Ecstatic Destinations about his Ann Arbor neighborhood.

If you’re out in wooded or brushy areas this summer and want to avoid Lyme disease, here’s the advice of the day: Wear long sleeves and pants, and check yourself frequently for ticks, which spread the disease.

But for a time in the late 1990s and early 2000s, people had the option to take an even more preventative measure: They could get a Lyme disease vaccine.

There's something about the a crackling campfire and the looming mystery of a nighttime forest that creates the perfect atmosphere for telling a special kind of story.

Some campfire stories aim to send a shiver down your spine. Others seek to remember a past moment in history or teach a good life lesson.

With that tradition in mind, Stateside will be bringing you a series of stories this summer perfect for your next bonfire. 

Last week, two more business organizations formally launched challenges to proposals headed for the ballot this November. 

The American Civil Liberties Union is challenging the state of Michigan over its handling of the state's sex offender registry. 

In 2016, the 6th Circuit Court ruled that aspects of Michigan’s Sex Offender Registry Act, SORA, were unconstitutional.

The court’s opinion specifically noted portions of the act which allowed the state to retroactively impose punishments on individuals without due process. 

The state of Michigan appealed the circuit court's ruling, sending Does vs Snyder to the U.S. Supreme Court. In October 2017, the Supreme Court decided not to take up the case, upholding the 6th Circuit Court's unanimous decision. 

It has now been nearly two years since the original ruling and the Legislature has failed to make any reforms to the law.

At the end of June, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against Michigan to force the state to finally make changes to its sex offender registry. 

The Voters Not Politicians proposal is on the ballot this fall. It would establish an independent commission to draw the legislative and congressional district boundaries instead of allowing the party in power to draw them. If it passes, it would put an end to gerrymandering.

The party in power, the Republicans, want it off the ballot. 

This summer begins a year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Ann Arbor Blues Festival. The festivities kick off with a photo exhibit at the Ann Arbor Art Fair next week. The photos feature behind-the-scenes images from the 1969-1970 festivals.

The opioid crisis is taking a tragic toll on families nationwide. According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 64,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2016, double the amount from a decade prior.

Among Native Americans, the rate of opioid overdoses is disproportionately higher. In Michigan, opioid-related deaths are nearly twice as high among tribal members compared to other demographics.

From the Jetsons’ Rosie to Data on Star Trek, robot companions have long held a special place in pop culture.

But now, artificial intelligence has moved off the screen and into our everyday lives.

From an autonomous helper for astronauts to Siri playing your favorite song when you ask, robots are increasingly intertwined into our workplaces and homes.

And as that happens, artificial intelligence is starting to look and sound more like real humans.

There are calls today for a state investigation into why the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality apparently failed to act on a warning of PFAS contamination written in 2012.

Studies suggest that PFAS exposure is linked to some cancers, thyroid problems, higher cholesterol and other diseases.

The Four Tops, the Temptations, and the Stylistics will be performing this Saturday at the Legends of Motown Show in Sterling Heights.

Abdul "Duke" Fakir, a founding member of the Four Tops, joined Stateside to talk about the show and the band's history.

Governor Snyder has signed a new tax law that offers assistance to a proposed World War Two memorial in Oakland County.

The law adds the Michigan WWII Legacy Memorial to the list of organizations you'll be able to donate to through your state income tax return.

Deb Hollis is the president of the Michigan World War II Legacy Memorial Board. She joined Stateside’s Cynthia Canty to discuss the current status of the Memorial and effect of this new law. 

After nearly 30 years, big changes are in the wind for the North American International Auto Show.

Daniel Howes, Detroit News business columnist, says that it’s crucial for the organizers of the show, the Detroit Auto Dealers Association, to "make an appropriately aggressive decision for fast-changing times."

Detroit expanded a program this year that gives some people a last-minute chance to avoid tax foreclosure, but its reach could be limited by time and money.

This weekend, baseball fans will roll the clock way back, more than 150 years.

There's a four-game tournament of early baseball happening at Cambridge Junction Historic State Park in Brooklyn, Michigan.

That's where the Walker Tavern Wheels will be hosting an invitational with the Saginaw Old Golds, the Detroit Early Risers, and the Canton Cornshuckers.

You just never know when life has a great big surprise waiting just around the corner for you.

Just when you think it’s time to put your music dream on the shelf and go to dental school, you get a call from producers of NBC's The Voice, asking you to audition for the TV singing competition.

That’s how Gaylord’s Lauren Duski wound up with Blake Shelton as her mentor, ultimately landing in second place on the 2017 season of The Voice and getting her big break. 

Michigan residents will vote on the legalization of recreational marijuana November 9. 

The state has strict laws against driving while drunk, and cops can test how intoxicated someone is with a quick breathalyzer test. 

But if weed is legalized, how will law enforcement identify someone who is driving while high?