- Last Thursday, those seeking humanitarian protections in the US scored another win in the courts when a district court in California ruled that TPS holders from Nicaragua, Honduras, and Nepal must be allowed to keep their status while the case proceeds. The administration had claimed that conditions in these countries were not severe enough to justify continuing TPS, but the court found that the administration had not conducted an impartial analysis and that the administration’s decision was instead driven by racial animus. In particular, the court found that the administration was motivated by replacement theory, pointing out that “Secretary Noem’s statements perpetuate the discriminatory belief that certain immigrant populations will replace the white population.”
- On Friday, a federal court in Washington, DC blocked one of the administration’s most common tactics in its drive for mass deportations. In its drive to arrest and deport as many people as possible as quickly as possible, the administration has been terminating immigration court proceedings against those previously admitted into the country on parole. DHS has then been using expedited removal, side-stepping the courts and removing the individuals from the country without legal recourse.This ruling will protect anyone in the country who entered on parole, even if that parole has expired or has been stripped away by the administration.
- After an attempt in May by the Department of Justice to list “sanctuary jurisdictions” was met with ridicule, the administration made another attempt this week. The new list is a work in progress and will be used to intimidate these jurisdictions into changing their policies or face potential cuts to federal funding. There are already a number of lawsuits by states against the administration head off these funding cuts, and we would expect more to be filed as the administration expands its efforts. The administration has already been taking more direct action, filing its own lawsuits against cities like Chicago and New York for refusing to cooperate with federal, civil immigration enforcement. Late last month, a federal judge in Illinois dismissed the administration’s suit against Chicago.
- In an ironic twist, the Trump Administration is going after immigration lawyers whom they accuse of “frivolous, unreasonable, and vexatious litigation.” The administration had announced this new policy back in March, but only filed its first known complaint against a pro bono immigration attorney earlier this month.
- As the administration continues its laser focus on immigration over all other matters, it has reassigned staff from FEMA to ICE in order to support the hiring of 10,000 new ICE agents, paid for by the recently passed reconciliation package. Any FEMA staff who refuse the reassignment could be fired. Atlantic hurricane season peaks next month.