Daily Update | February 23, 2018
Rachel Chung // 2/23/18 //
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services released a new mission statement in which it dropped the words “America’s promise as a nation of immigrants” and “promoting an awareness and understanding of citizenship.” Defense Secretary James Mattis is expected to propose to President Trump that transgender members of the U.S. military continue to serve. Other red states may follow Idaho’s decision to allow insurers to sell healthcare plans out of compliance with the ACA, and the courts are unlikely to intervene. Special Counsel Robert Mueller filed a new indictment against Paul Manafort.
IMMIGRATION
The American Immigration Council in Washington filed a class action lawsuit arguing that temporary protected status holders should be eligible for green cards (WashPo).
- Read the complaint here.
President Trump offered no justification for his six month delay to end DACA and the delay may undercut his argument that the program is unconstitutional, writes Neil H. Buchanan at Verdict.
Article II gives President Trump the power to issue the Travel Ban 3.0 proclamation, writes Josh Blackman for Lawfare.
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services released a new mission statement in which it dropped the words “America’s promise as a nation of immigrants” and “promoting an awareness and understanding of citizenship” (NPR, Vox).
CIVIL RIGHTS
Defense Secretary James Mattis is expected to propose to President Trump that transgender members of the U.S. military continue to serve (Hill, WashPo).
JUSTICE & SAFETY
The Trump Administration has concluded that U.S. troops can stay in Syria and Iraq indefinitely, without new legal authorization from Congress (NYTimes).
- Read letters from the Pentagon and State Department here.
President Trump proposed using federal funds to pay teachers bonuses for carrying guns in schools (NYTimes, Slate, LATimes).
- President Trump also said he supports comprehensive background checks and increasing the minimum age for purchasing bump stocks to 21 (Hill).
President Trump’s actions have been bad for civil-military relations, writes Philip Carter for Lawfare.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
A Florida businessman set to be the next Ambassador to Barbados pledged thousands of dollars to fund a gala at Mar-a-Lago just two weeks before President Trump nominated him (WaPo).
White House Counsel Don McGahn has consistently played fast and loose with the law, making him a terrible White House Counsel, argues Cristian Farias at New York Magazine.
REGULATION
Other red states may follow Idaho’s decision to allow insurers to sell healthcare plans out of compliance with the ACA, and the courts are unlikely to intervene, writes Nick Bagley at Take Care.
- The full piece is on Vox.
The Trump Administration took its first major step toward tightening the work requirements for food stamp eligibility (WaPo).
The FCC claims to preempt states from regulating net neutrality, but it may have undermined that argument in the repeal of its own net neutrality rules (ArsTechnica).
FEDERALISM
President Trump touted the possibility of pulling Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents out of California in response to the state’s handling of gang violence (LA Times)
RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE
Special Counsel Robert Mueller filed a new indictment against Paul Manafort for allegedly using income from their work for a Ukrainian political party to boost their personal finances ahead of joining the Trump campaign (WaPo).
- The indictment also launches similar charges against campaign deputy Rick Gates (NYT).
Mueller hasn’t alleged that Russian nationals or companies swayed the election outcome, and he probably never will, argues Charlie Dunlap at Lawfare.
A Putin ally said to control the Russian mercenaries that attacked U.S. troops in Syria this month had close communication with Kremlin and Syrian officials leading up to the attack, says U.S. intelligence (WaPo).
And that's our update today! Thanks for reading. We cover a lot of ground, so our updates are inevitably a partial selection of relevant legal commentary.
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Tags:
Immigration Conflicts Federalism Regulation Civil Rights Justice & Safety Russian Interference