Leavenworth, Kan., was forged by the corrections industry, but residents are divided over plans for a privately operated immigration detention site in town.

© David Robert Elliott for The New York Times

The Justice Department had sued the leaders of Illinois, Chicago and Cook County over policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration officials.

© Jamie Kelter Davis for The New York Times

Democrats would have lost their majority with the senator’s resignation, but a Republican’s death left the balance of power in St. Paul unchanged.

© Pool photo by Anna Paige

Nicole Mitchell, a Democrat, was charged with felonies and accused of breaking into her stepmother’s home. Her party holds a slim majority in the Minnesota Senate.

© Jerry Holt/Star Tribune, via ZUMA Press Wire