Apr 7, 2025
Supreme Court Clears Way for Venezuelan Deportations to Resume, for Now
The Supreme Court said a district court judge was wrong to bar the deportations of Venezuelans under the 1798 “Alien Enemies Act.” But the court also said that, in the future, the government must give people a chance to challenge their deportation in court before they are shipped abroad. Three justices angrily dissented.
The law allows the president to detain and deport “alien enemies” when the United States is at war or is being invaded by a foreign nation. To meet the second criterion, President Trump declared that a Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua is invading the United States and that the gang is so tied in with the Venezuelan government that it is a “hybrid state.”
In her dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor asserted that the court majority agrees that people the government wants to deport as gang members can challenge Trump’s use of the law is constitutional. That was not completely clear in the majority’s ruling. Crucially, Justice Amy Coney Barrett concurred with that part of Sotomayor’s ruling. Her vote will be key when and if the Court ever rules on the substance of the case.
So far, the Court has not directly ruled on the constitutionality of any of the Trump administration’s efforts to seize more power.
“The implication of the Government's position is that not only noncitizens but also United States citizens could be taken off the streets, forced onto planes, and confined to foreign prisons with no opportunity for redress if judicial review is denied unlawfully before removal.”
–Justice Sonia Sotomayor
Apr 4, 2025
The US must return a Maryland man mistakenly deported to an El Salvador prison, judge says Associated Press
A Maryland dad was sent to El Salvador prison by mistake. Can his community get him back? USA Today
The Trump administration sent a Salvadoran refugee from gang violence back to a notorious Salvadoran prison because of an “administrative error” and now claims they can’t get him back. The US District Court judge in Maryland didn’t buy that and ordered the government to return him to the United States by midnight Monday.
Judge moves legal case of detained Tufts student to Vermont Associated Press
A US District Court judge in Boston moved the case of a Tufts University graduate student abducted by masked ICE agents to a Vermont federal court. ICE was holding her temporarily in Vermont when her lawyers filed suit to have her released. ICE is now confining her in Louisiana and wanted the case transferred there, probably because the Louisiana federal court is more inclined to favor deportations. The only known basis for arresting Rumeysa Ozturk, who is from Turkey, is an op-ed she co-authored in the Tufts student newspaper in favor of the university divesting from Israel.
A March 26 article about this case is summarized below.
Trump gave states 10 days to sign an anti-DEI policy. NY Education Department is refusing. Chalkbeat/New York
The federal Department of Education told all state education departments they must certify that they have eliminated all diversity, equity and inclusion programs or they will lose federal funding. The Trump administration says these programs violate anti-discrimination laws. But the New York State Education Department refused, saying the state complies with all anti-discrimination laws and does not have to recognize the Trump administration’s interpretation of those laws. The major federal education funding laws passed include formulas that determine how much money each state receives.
The department’s letter notes that during Trump’s first administration, his Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, told her staff that “[d]iversity and inclusion are the cornerstones of high organizational performance.”
Chicago Mayor Johnson has also said he will go to court if the Trump administration tries to withhold the money.
Supreme Court, in a win for Trump, lets admin cancel $65M in teaching grants Politico
With a 5 to 4 vote, the Supreme Court let the Trump administration refuse to distribute education grants that Congress voted for. The court blocked a lower court’s temporary injunction ordering the administration to continue releasing the funds until the case is decided. The Supreme Court has not yet made a final decision about the case itself. The question of who determines federal funding priorities is central to Trump’s attempt to amass more power for himself.
At issue are $65 million in grants to recruit and train teachers to work in “underserved” communities and to seek out educators from “underrepresented populations” and “who reflect the communities in which they will teach.” Congress created one of the two programs when George W. Bush was president and the other when Barack Obama was president. Trump wants to stop all “diversity, equity, and inclusion” efforts.
Chief Justice John Roberts voted with the three liberal justices, but the other five conservatives sided with Trump.
Trump administration issues demands on Harvard as conditions for billions in federal money Associated Press
The Trump administration is moving to consolidate its grip on the nation’s universities and colleges by threatening to cancel nearly $9 billion in contracts and grants for Harvard University unless the university eliminates diversity, equity, and inclusion policies and takes a number of other steps. Harvard is the fifth Ivy League university targeted by the new administration.
Harvard had already ousted the two leaders of its Center for Middle Eastern Studies for being too pro-Palestinian, and adopted a definition of anti-Semitism according to which it is antisemitic to, for example, draw comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.
Harvard President Alan Garber responded to the new Trump threat with a campus message saying the school had “devoted considerable effort to addressing antisemitism” and would provide a full accounting to the government.
More Than 500 Law Firms Back Perkins Coie in Fight With Trump New York Times
Law firms are coming to the defence of Perkins Coie, the first law firm targeted by President Trump with an executive order that takes away the security clearances of lawyers working for Perkins Coie, bans government contracts with the firm, and prohibits employees from the firm from accessing government buildings.
None of the 20 firms with the highest revenue in the USA signed on.
Apr 1, 2025
ICE Using 'Points System' to Identify Migrant Gang MembersNewsweek
Federal agents are using a point system to decide whether someone belongs to a Venezuelan gang and should be deported, according to a Homeland Security document filed in federal court by defense lawyers.
The agents first determine whether a person is over 14, is a Venezuelan citizen, and is not a US citizen or permanent resident.
If so, they assign points based on many types of evidence. A total of 8 points are enough for deportation, but if some of those points are based on gang symbols, a supervisor must be consulted.
Newsweek posted a detailed table. A few examples:
Emails with “known” members of the gang: 6 points.
Tattoos that authorities claim are associated with the gang: 4 points (Gang experts say this gang does not use tattoos to indicate membership.)
Insignia or clothes that authorities associate with the gang: 4 points
One person was sent to the Salvadoran prison due Homeland Security’s “administrative error,” but they refuse to try to get him back because they still think he’s a member of a different gang. His lawyer says the government has never produced any evidence to support that claim.
“The unreliability of the factors on the checklist reinforces why it is essential that these individuals are given due process to contest their inclusion in this unlawful process.”
– ACLU lawyer Lee Gelernt, quoted by NBC News
Mar 30, 2025
Our Law Firm Won’t Cave to Trump. Who Will Join Us? New York Times opinion piece
President Trump is attacking law firms that have represented his opponents, even when the lawyers who did so have left the firm. By executive order, he has removed the security clearance of lawyers with major firms that need those clearances to represent defense companies, barred firms that offend him from federal office buildings, and forbidden federal agencies from contracting with them. His orders could kill a law firm.
He also told his attorney general to “seek sanctions against attorneys and law firms who engage in frivolous, unreasonable, and vexatious litigation against the United States or in matters before executive departments and agencies of the United States….”
Two major firms have paid ransom to escape his wrath, promising to provide tens of millions of dollars of free legal services for causes Trump chooses.
But a few firms are resisting in the way they know best, going to court to challenge his orders as unconstitutional.
In a New York Times opinion column, the senior partners of a San Francisco law firm call on others to join the resistance. “If lawyers and law firms won’t stand up for the rule of law, who will?” the partners wrote.
Mar 26, 2025
Appeals court won’t lift order that barred Trump administration from deportations under wartime law Associated Press
A split Appeals Court panel denied the Trump administration’s appeal to be allowed to keep deporting people without a hearing under the 1798 Alien Enemies law. Presumably, the administration will appeal to the Supreme Court.
The law allows the president to detain or remove citizens of a country that is invading or is at war with the United States. It was last used to intern Japanese citizens during World War II. To meet the criterion of the law, Trump declared that a Venezuelan criminal gang with members in the United States is so connected to the Venezuelan government that it can be considered a “hybrid state.” The administration used it to deport hundreds of Venezuelans to prison in El Salvador. Relatives insist many of them have no connection to the gang, Tran de Aragua.
US District Court Judge James Boasberg issued a temporary stay, saying there was a good chance the administration’s use of the law would be found unconstitutional. He ordered any planes carrying the deportees to be turned around and brought back to the United States.
According to Associated Press and Washington Post reports based on public information sources, the planes were still in the air when the order was issued, but they were not turned around.
Boasberg has demanded confirmation of the flight times from the government, which has refused, claiming the flight times are a state secret.
Trump called for Boasberg to be impeached, prompting Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to issue a public statement saying people who disagree with a court decision should appeal it, not call for the impeachment of the judge.
Meanwhile, Boasberg has just been assigned a new case about whether top federal officials violated government record-keeping laws when they used the Signal communications app to discuss plans for attacks on Houthi rebels in Yemen. The app was set to erase messages after four weeks. Cases are assigned randomly to the 20 judges in the District of Columbia federal district court.
Tufts international graduate student taken into ICE custody WGBH News
After the arrest of Columbia student leader Mahmoud Khalil, the Trump administration has moved on to pick up students who are not leaders but simply expressed opinions in public that the administration doesn’t like. The most dramatic case – because it was captured on video – is Tufts University graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk, abducted by masked ICE agents apparently for co-authoring an op-ed in the student newspaper in support of boycotting and divesting from Israel.
A lawyer for Ozturk quickly obtained a federal court order to keep ICE from sending her out of state, but she was taken to Louisiana like Khalil. Her lawyer says she was moved after the court order came down.
Thousands turned out for a protest meeting near the university. Cambridge Day, a local news outlet, reported that, according to Turkish media, Ozturk was talking on her phone with her mother when the agents accosted her.
“When I saw the video of the Ph.D. student being picked up by ICE, I saw the Gestapo picking up Jews during the Holocaust.”
– a Jewish Voice for Peace member named Kork, who did not want to give their last name, quoted in Cambridge Day.
Mar 25, 2025
Law firms refuse to represent Trump opponents in the wake of his attacks Washington Post
President Trump is attacking the law firms that represent his adversaries. He is issuing executive orders that bar them from federal buildings and forbid companies with federal contracts from hiring them. As a result, individuals and groups trying to challenge administration actions are finding it hard to get legal representation.
According to the Washington Post, “Legal scholars say no previous U.S. administration has taken such concerted action against the legal establishment, with Trump’s predecessors in both parties typically respecting the constitutionally enshrined tenet that everyone deserves effective representation in court and that lawyers cannot be targeted simply for the cases and clients they take on.”
“The law firms have to behave themselves. They behave very badly, very wrongly.”
– President Trump at a cabinet meeting, quoted in the Washington Post
Mar 22, 2025
Trump’s migrant roundups have a crucial ally: Public opinionWashington Post
Many of Trump’s early actions are unpopular, Post-Ipsos poll findsWashington Post
A coup is not an election, but the support or opposition of the people still matters. These two Washington Post articles, based on polls, shed light on what Trump can do without encountering much public backlash, and what he can’t.
A majority of those polled support his moves against immigrants, especially when they are called "criminals." So, if he violates the rights of people whom he accuses of being criminal immigrants, many people won’t object. And, once the nation is used to Trump officials asserting the right to punish and even disappear people without evidence or due process, they may be able to get away with it for a broader group of people.
On the other hand, an overwhelming majority believes the president must follow court orders. That may explain why Trump and his administration keep insisting that they’re not violating court orders — even as they attack the judges who issued them.
Ultimately, polls suggest, the success of this attempted coup may depend on what happens to the economy.
Mar 21, 2025
Federal judge pushes back on acting Social Security head over threat to close agency Washington Post
Acting Social Security commissioner Leland Dudek canceled his threat to stop work at the agency. He had said Thursday that because a federal judge had barred Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) from seeing the personal records of Social Security recipients, nobody at Social Security could access their computers. Almost all Social Security staff could be considered affiliated with DOGE, he said.
U.S. District Court Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander called that interpretation of her ruling “inaccurate,” and added, “[A]ny suggestion that the Order may require the delay or suspension of benefit payments is incorrect.”
A day after he made the threat, Dudek changed course. “[The White House] called me and let me know it’s important to reaffirm to the public that we’re open for business,” he said. “The White House did remind me that I was out of line and so did the judge. And I appreciate that.”
Columbia University agrees to policy changes after Trump administration funding threats NPR
The Columbia University administraton, with $400 million in federal funding already suspended or canceled and the prospect of no federal dollars in the future, capitulated to the Trump administration, agreeing to most of its demands.
The Trump administration's demands included revamping discipline measures against student protesters and putting the Department of Middle Eastern Studies in academic receivership for at least five years. The university statement did not use the term “receivership” but said a top administrator would conduct a thorough review of the portfolio of its regional studies programs, “starting immediately with the Middle East.”
The Columbia administration also agreed to adopt a definition of anti-Semitism that includes “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.”
The Trump administration demanded the changes as a precondition for starting talks about whether Columbia will receive federal funds.
The university also said it will add more faculty to its Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies and expand its Tel Aviv research center.
(A March 20 Associated Press story about this confrontation is summarized below.)
Decades Ago, Columbia Refused to Pay Trump $400 Million. Note That Number. New York Times
In the late 1990s, Donald Trump owned property in Manhattan. He wanted to sell it to Columbia University, which was looking to expand. He asked $400 million, but the university administration turned down his offer. Trump was furious and stormed out of a meeting. Now he has canceled $400 million in federal funds from Columbia.
Mar 20, 2025
Trump demands unprecedented control at Columbia, alarming scholars and speech groups Associated Press
The Trump administration is demanding that Columbia University agree to nine demands by the close of business March 20 before the administration will agree to start talks about whether Columbia can receive federal grants. The administration has already suspended or canceled $400 million in grants to Columbia.
The demands include the university putting the Department of Middle East Studies into “receivership” – management by an outside person rather than the department faculty – for at least five years.
Other demands include banning masks on campus if they serve to conceal a person’s name, changing the university’s student discipline procedures to put them under the direct control of the university president, and giving campus security officers authority to arrest people.
“It’s an escalation of a kind that is unheard of,” said Joan Scott, a historian and member of the academic freedom committee of the American Association of University Professors. “Even during the McCarthy period in the United States, this was not done.”
Judge extends deadline for deportation flight details as DOJ continues to resist NPR
US District Court Judge James Boasberg has given the Trump administration an additional day to answer questions about exactly when two planes took off carrying Venezuelan prisoners to El Salvador last week. His deadline had been noon on March 20.
The judge is trying to determine whether the government disobeyed his ruling that barred them from deporting the Venezuelans under a 1798 law. The law allows the president to detain or remove “enemy aliens” when a foreign country invades the United States. Trump declared a Venezuelan gang a “hybrid state” in invoking the law.
The judge’s ruling blocked the administration from using the law for 14 days while he decided whether it applies. He said any planes carrying prisoners must be turned around and returned. But the Venezuelans were flown to El Salvador and imprisoned there anyway.
News media relying on publicly available flight records say the two planes carrying the prisoners were in international airspace when the judge issued his order, so they could have been turned back.
The Trump administration insists they did not violate the ruling, but they also say the flight times are a state secret and revealing them could affect national security.
Trump has called for impeaching Boasberg.
(An Associated Press article on these deportations is summarized below under March 15.)
UPDATE: Judge calls 'woefully insufficient' the Trump administration response to his order NPR
Judge Boasberg reported that the government provided essentially the same information about the flights as it had previously and did not answer his questions, saying they were still deciding whether to invoke a “state secrets” privilege on when the two planes in question took off. He gave them until Tuesday, March 25th, to make that decision.
Mar 18, 2025
Chief justice pushes back against calls to impeach judges who rule against TrumpNBC News
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts reacted after President Trump called for the impeachment of a federal district court judge who is blocking his administration’s use of a 1798 law to deport non-citizens without having to present any evidence of wrongdoing.
"This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!"
– Trump on Truth Social
“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose,"
– Justice Roberts in a public statement
The law allows the president to remove “enemy aliens” when a foreign nation is at war with or invades the United States. Trump declared that a Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, has infiltrated the Venezuelan government and a “hybrid criminal state” is invading the United States.
District Court Judge James Boasberg blocked the use of the law for deportations for 14 days while he decides whether to allow it in this case. He ordered that two planes carrying Venezuelans to El Salvador turn around and bring them back. The planes were not turned back, and the men are now in prison in El Salvador. (See March 15 article below.)
Government lawyers deny that they violated Boasberg’s order but have refused to provide a timeline for the flights that would show whether the order was violated. Members of the administration also claim the judge’s order had no effect once the planes entered international air space, and that written orders are legally binding while oral orders are not.
The Associated Press has published a timeline of events in this confrontation, the sharpest yet between the Trump administration and the judicial branch of government.
Mar 15, 2025
Trump administration deports hundreds of immigrants even as a judge orders their removals be stoppedAssociated Press
The Trump administration deported hundreds of Venezuelans to El Salvador in apparent defiance of a federal court order.
The Venezuelans were flown out of the country after Trump invoked a 1798 law that he claims authorizes deportations with no hearing or presentation of evidence.
The law, the Alien Enemies Act allows the president to remove or detain anyone who is not a US citizen and comes from a foreign country that is invading the United States. It was used by President Franklin Roosevelt to confine Japanese residents in internment camps during World War II.
Trump says the deportees are members of a major Venezuelan gang but has presented no evidence.
To justify using a law that applies to invading nations, Trump issued an executive order declaring that Venezuelan authorities “have ceded ever-greater control over their territories to transnational criminal organizations” including a gang called Tren De Aragua. “The result is a hybrid criminal state that is perpetrating an invasion of and predatory incursion.”
The American Civil Liberties Union tried to stop the deportations and Washington District Court Judge James Boasberg blocked the government’s use of the law for 14 days while he considers whether it applies. When he learned that two planes carrying deportees had already taken off, he ordered the government to turn the planes around. “Any plane containing these folks that is going to take off, or is in the air, needs to be returned to the United States,” the judge said.
That did not happen and the Salvadoran government soon posted photos of men they said were being transferred to prison, with guards pushing their heads down.
Meanwhile, there are scattered reports of other summary actions to deport or detain non-citizens. A Lebanese doctor returning from a family visit to her job in Providence, Rhode Island, was abruptly flown back despite a federal court ruling issued before the plane took off.
The New York Times reports two German tourists in separate incidents were chained, detained for weeks, and finally sent back to Germany with no clear explanation.
"Flights are actively departing and plan to depart. I do not believe that I am able to wait any longer… I think there's clearly irreparable harm here given that these folks will be deported and many – or the vast majority – to prison or back to Venezuela where they face persecution or worse."
– U.S. District Judge James Boasberg according to ABC News
“Oopsie…Too late.”
– Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, who agreed to house about 300 immigrants for a year at a cost of $6 million in his country’s prisons.
“Basically any Venezuelan citizen in the US may be removed on pretext of belonging to Tren de Aragua, with no chance at defense.”
– Adam Isacson of the Washington Office for Latin America, a human rights group.
Mar 13, 2025
Judge orders some federal agencies to reinstate thousands of probationary workers NBC News
A federal judge said thousands of probationary workers were fired on what he called the “lie” that their performance was not up to par. He ordered them reinstated.
The federal Office of Personnel Management gave departments a form letter to send workers that said, “The Agency finds, based on your performance, that you have not demonstrated that your further employment at the Agency would be in the public interest."
But in fact, said US District Court Judge William Alsup, the firings had nothing to do with performance. They were simply a move to reduce the number of employees. There are procedures for doing that, but the government didn’t follow them.
Even if his ruling stands, and the administration reinstates the workers, they may soon lose their jobs anyway, if the administration starts using the proper procedures.
““This case isn’t about whether or not the government can terminate people,” the judge said. “It’s about, if they decide to terminate people, how they must do it.”
Mar 12, 2025
Judge blocks 'unlawful' Trump order targeting law firm that represented Clinton campaignABC News
A federal judge has temporarily blocked a Trump executive order that lifted the security clearances of lawyers from a law firm that ran opposition research for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2016.
A lawyer representing the firm said Trump’s executive order would drive them out of business because many of their clients require lawyers with security clearances.
Attorney General Pam Bondi's chief of staff, Chad Mizelle, defended the order, saying the president has the power to decide that certain companies can’t be trusted with the nation’s secrets.
US District Court Judge District Judge Beryl Howell said his arguments sent “chills down my spine.” She said the president is free to “hold tight to his own dislikes” but not to bring “the force of the federal government down on the lawyers representing his political opponents.”
Effort to deport Columbia student rests solely on Rubio decisionWashington Post
The Trump administration has so far produced no written evidence to support its case that Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia graduate student whom they want to deport, has supported terrorism or done anything else that would make it legal to revoke the green card that makes him a permanent resident of the United States, according to The Washington Post.
The case rests solely on Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s assertion that his presence in the United States could have “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences.”
“This is not about free speech,” Rubio told reporters. “No one has a right to a student visa. No one has a right to a green card, by the way.”
There are nearly 13 million green card holders in the United States.
The First Amendment does not refer to citizens or permanent residents. It simply forbids the Congress from passing laws that limit free speech.
The Post obtained and posted online a copy of the government notice for Khalil to appear in a federal immigration court.
The case has quickly become a test of the administration’s drive to deport anti-Israel international students.
At Columbia, Tension Over Gaza Protests Hits Breaking Point Under Trump New York Times
Administrators at the Columbia University School of Journalism called a school meeting to warn noncitizens not to speak in public about the Middle East.
The meeting followed the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a United States green card holder who was a negotiator and spokesperson for pro-Palestinian students. The federal government has also canceled $400 million in grants to the university over its allegedly insufficient clampdown on anti-Semitism.
“Nobody can protect you. These are dangerous times.”
–Jelani Cobb, dean of the School of Journalism, to a Palestinian student
Yale Suspends Scholar After A.I.-Powered News Site Accuses Her of Terrorist LinkNew York Times
The scholar, Helyeh Doutaghi, denies she is part of any terrorist group. The university says their action is an appropriate step while they check into the accusation that she was engaged in unlawful activity and that their action is not about protected speech. The website that accused her says humans are involved in final edits of the output of its AI program, but they won’t reveal their names for fear of “professional repercussions, doxxing, etc.”
“This is the type of thing that happens under fascist dictatorships, which Donald Trump is trying to establish.”
–Helyeh Doutaghi
Mar 10, 2025
U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights Sends Letters to 60 Universities Under Investigation for Antisemitic Discrimination and HarassmentU.S. Department of Education
After cancelling $400 million in funding for Columbia University, arresting and trying to deport a recent Columbia graduate, and trying to arrest a second international Columbia student, the Trump administration has now sent 60 colleges and universities letters warning of “potential enforcement actions” if they don’t “protect Jewish students.”
At least two elite universities, Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have instituted hiring freezes for fear of the budget impact of recent Trump decisions.
Trump warns that arrest of Palestinian activist at Columbia will be ‘first of many’Associated Press
President Trump said the administration move to revoke the green card of Mahmoud Khalil, pro-Palestinian leader at Columbia, is “the first of many.”
Khalil was quickly flown to a detention center in Louisiana but a federal judge in New York ruled he can’t be deported while his case is heard.
Federal agents tried to arrest a second international student at Columbia Friday night but were not able to get into the student’s apartment.
Politico reports some dissension among Trump supporters over the move to deport Khalil.
“This is the first arrest of many to come. … We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country — never to return again.”
–President Trump on Truth Social
“almost no one I don’t want to deport, but, unless they’ve committed a crime, isn’t this a violation of the first amendment?”
–Right wing commentator Ann Coulter, reported in Politico
Mar 9, 2025
Immigration agents arrest Palestinian activist and Green Card holder who helped lead Columbia University protests Associated Press
Federal immigration agents arrested a Palestinian permanent resident of the United States who has been a leader in protests against Israel’s war in Gaza at Columbia University.
The agents arrested Mahmoud Khalil, who became prominent as a negotiator and spokesperson for student protesters in last year’s anti-Israel demonstrations at Columbia. He is a green card holder.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security said he was arrested “in support of President Trump’s executive orders prohibiting antisemitism.” She added that he “led activities aligned to Hamas.”
Federal officials have refused to tell his wife, an American citizen who is eight months pregnant, where they are holding him.
Nearly four percent of United States residents are immigrants with green cards.
Mar 7, 2025
Several top career officials ousted at Justice Department Washington Post
Three top career officials of the Justice Department were abruptly dismissed Friday. These latest firings are part of a pattern of replacing non-partisan career lawyers with political appointees loyal to President Trump.
Judge temporarily halts Trump administration from ousting head of United States African Development Foundation Politico
In a battle reminiscent of David and Goliath, a tiny federal agency is fighting to block Elon Musk’s efforts to stop its work promoting development in Africa. David’s prospects do not look good.
The African Development Foundation is an independent federal agency established by Congress. According to the New York Times, the foundation distributes federal grants of up to $250,000 directly to grass-roots enterprises and social entrepreneurs in Africa. Its budget is about $45 million – less than one sixth the amount that Musk spent to help Trump get elected.
On Wednesday, March 5, Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency told the foundation that a DOGE staffer would be coming into their office. Foundation CEO and President Ward Brehm replied that he was out of the office and would not let his employees meet with DOGE in his absence. When DOGE staffers arrived anyway, they were not allowed in. They came back the next day with federal marshals dispatched by the Justice Department and entered the office. Brehm immediately went to court and won a temporary order barring Trump from replacing him as head of the foundation. A hearing is scheduled for next week.
This case is one of many in which Trump says he has the power to hire and fire all agency heads, regardless of laws saying otherwise.
In 1935, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt could not dismiss the head of the independent Federal Trade Commission. But in 2020, the court ruled 5 to 4 that President Trump did have the power to dismiss the head of the independent Federal Consumer Protection Bureau. (See The Supreme Court won’t allow Trump to immediately fire head of whistleblower office, Associated Press, February 21.)
Trump administration cancels $400M in grants and contracts with Columbia University Associated Press
The Trump administration’s action blows a significant hole in Columbia’s budget and is a warning to universities across the country to clamp down on demonstrations that oppose administration policies. Trump claims the action is a move to protect Jewish students, but many of the students in the pro-Palestine demonstrations are Jewish.
Even during the turmoil of Vietnam War protests, when universities – especially Columbia – saw many buildings occupied by students – the federal government did not withdraw funds.
Trump administration declares TSA screener union contract void Politico
The Department of Homeland Security has announced it will cancel its contract with the union representing 45,000 Transportation Security Administration workers including airport baggage screeners.
DHS said getting rid of the contract will “strengthen workforce agility, enhance productivity and resiliency, while also jumpstarting innovation.” The statement said workers have been abusing the contract sick leave provision. The union said it is considering court action.
The move is another indication that the administration does not feel bound to fulfill contracts. In the only case decided by the Supreme Court so far, the court ruled five to four that the government does have to pay foreign aid contractors for work they completed before President Trump took office. (See Supreme Court denies Trump administration request to cancel $2 billion in foreign aid, March 5, summarized below.)
Mar 6, 2025
United States African Development Foundation tries to block DOGE access to shut it down Politico
A (relatively) small federal agency with a big mission is resisting Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency’s efforts to shut it down.
The U.S. African Development Foundation, with a budget of $45 million, learned that DOGE staff would be coming to its offices but the foundation’s CEO said he’s out of the office and won’t allow them to meet with staff when he’s not there.
Like several other Trump targets, the African Development Foundation was set up by Congress as an independent agency. Its mission is to promote economic development in Africa. One of President Trump’s executive orders calls for eliminating the agency and laying off all staff not specifically required by law.
Although DOGE has not yet entered the building, the agency’s work is blocked because the Trump administration has stopped payments.
Judge Blocks Trump’s Funding Freeze, Saying White House Put Itself ‘Above Congress’ NY Times
Rhode Island US District Court Judge John J. McConnell Jr., who ordered the Trump administration not to block all federal grants three weeks ago, issued a new ruling today in an effort to enforce his earlier edict.
This case gets at the heart of one of the main Trump moves to take full control of government power. The case was brought by 22 Democratic state attorneys general.
Trump wants the Supreme Court to legalize “impoundment,” a president’s refusal to spend money that Congress has voted to spend. Trump decreed that all federal grant payments must stop until his administration checks to see whether each grant furthers Trump's priorities – not Congress’ priorities. Federal law forbids impoundment, but Trump’s lawyers argue that the law is an unconstitutional limit on the president’s authority.
Ultimately, the Supreme Court will decide.
Mar 5, 2025
Email trove reveals CFPB turmoil after Vought’s work stoppage Politico
Internal emails among federal workers of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) show confusion about what to do after Acting Director Russ Vought ordered them to stop all “work tasks” on February 10.
Their problem was that some of those “work tasks” were mandated by federal law.
Finally, on March 2, Vought’s top legal aide told federal workers that “Employees should be performing work that is required by law.”
The emails were filed in court to support a lawsuit by workers trying to stop Trump officials from dismantling the agency, which was set up after the financial crash of 2008 to protect consumers from deceptive and illegal practices by banks and other financial institutions.
(See also Trump administration and Musk's DOGE plan to fire nearly all CFPB staff and wind down agency, employees say, February 28, summarized below.)
Supreme Court denies Trump administration request to cancel $2 billion in foreign aid The Hill
The Supreme Court rejected, 5 to 4, a Trump administration appeal to lift a lower court order to pay foreign aid contractors for work already done.
US District Court Judge Amir Ali had ordered the payments, but the government failed to comply. Ali then gave the government until midnight Wednesday to make the payments. The administration appealed to the Supreme Court and Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily blocked Ali’s order, pending review by the full court. (See Chief Justice Allows U.S. to Continue Freeze on Foreign Aid Payments below, February 26.)
Today, the court lifted that block but told Ali he must take into account how quickly the government can process the payments.
The Trump administration’s effort to dismantle USAID programs raises the question of whether a president can “impound” — refuse to spend — money that Congress has decided will be spent. Federal law says the president can’t impound funds, but the Supreme Court could decide that law is an unconstitutional infringement on the power of the executive branch.
But the issue in Ali’s court is different. It’s whether the government can refuse to pay for work it committed to paying for, like refusing to pay a plumber who has already installed your sink after you agreed on a price. In this case, USAID made the commitments under former President Biden and the Trump administration wants to cancel the payments even though the work has been done.
Mar 2, 2025
Firing of whistleblower protection office head unlawful, judge rulesThe Hill
The President does not have the power to fire the head of an independent federal agency for any reason he chooses when a federal law specifically says he can’t. That’s what U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled on Saturday in a case involving Hampton Dellinger, director of the Office of Special Counsel. Congress established the Office of Special Counsel mostly to protect federal whistleblowers. The law says that the President can only fire the director for “inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in office.” Trump lawyers argue that the President has full authority over all executive agencies and does not need to give a reason when he removes a director.
Judge Jackson had earlier issued a temporary stay on President Trump’s move to fire Dellinger. The Justice Department has already appealed to the Supreme Court, but the court decided to wait for the lower court ruling.
In 2020, the court ruled by a five to four vote that the President could fire the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau without giving a reason, even though that position is protected by the same legal language as the director of the Office of Special Counsel. The 2020 Supreme Court said that clause in the law was an unconstitutional limit on presidential authority.
That makes it likely that the court will rule for Trump and against Congress in this new case.
Some government employees are instructed — again — to not respond to 5 things email as Musk doubles down Politico
The Battle of Email continues in Washington as at least one federal agency – the State Department – tells its employees not to respond to a second wave of Elon Musk-inspired demands that all federal employees send the Office of Personnel Management a list of five things they did last week.
“The President has made it clear that this is mandatory for the executive branch. Anyone working on classified or other sensitive matters is still required to respond if they receive the email, but can simply reply that their work is sensitive.”
–Elon Musk on X
“You may have received another email from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) asking for five points about your work. As a reminder, Department leadership will continue to respond on the behalf of our workforce and employees until otherwise rescinded.”
–State Department official Tibor Nagy in an email to employees
Mar 1, 2025
Trump’s moves test the limits of presidential power and the resilience of US democracy Associated Press
The AP summarizes some of President Trump's actions that threaten democracy, starting with pardoning those who stormed the Capitol four years ago in an attempt to overturn the presidential election. Since then, Trump has installed loyalists to head up the military, the FBI, and the Justice Department, and declared control over independent agencies.
One area left out of this article is the refusal to spend money that Congress has appropriated if he doesn’t like what it’s being used for.
Trump administration accused of sidestepping court rulings amid spree of legal losses NBC News
NBC News posted a rundown of the many lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s moves to abolish government programs, fire federal workers, and attack undocumented immigrants.
Federal judges have blocked many of these Trump efforts. But the administration is not complying with many court orders. The Supreme Court has yet to make a final decision on any of the cases.
“There is no dispute whatsoever that Defendants’ actions have led to death, impoverishment, sickness, and waste" around the world”
– Plaintiffs in the lawsuit to unblock foreign aid payments that the government has already committed to making
Federal workers start to get a new email demanding their accomplishmentsAssociated Press
Federal workers have started receiving emails titled “What did you do last week? Part II” asking for a list of about five things they did last week. The emails gave workers a deadline of 11:59 pm Monday and said this would now be a weekly chore.
In some departments, the emails came from the federal Office of Personnel Management (OPM). In others, they came from the employees’ own federal department. OPM cannot hire or fire workers, but departments can.
Education Dept. softens controversial guidance on race and schools Washington Post
The federal Education Department has backed down from some parts of a Trump directive that threatened to pull federal funding from any college or K-12 school district that considers race in hiring, programming, scholarships and virtually any other aspect of student and campus life. A new question-and-answer document on the department’s website notes that federal law forbids the department from exercising control over school curriculum. It also says the department will not infringe on teachers’ free speech rights.