Christina Ford  //  7/6/17  //  Daily Update

DOJ defended its guidelines for implementing the revised travel ban. More than 40 states have refused to comply with the Pence-Kobach Commission’s request for state voter data; the request may violate federal law. The D.C. Circuit rejected the EPA’s attempt to stay an Obama-era final rule on methane and greenhouse gas emissions.  

IMMIGRATION

DOJ responded to Hawaii’s emergency motion to clarify the scope of the Supreme Court’s instructions in the travel ban litigation (Politico).

• DOJ’s opposition to Hawaii’s emergency motion can be found here.
• The State Department should consider refugee agency assurances as bona fida relationships, argues Peter Marguelies at Lawfare.

The Trump Administration has begun a new initiative to target undocumented parents of child migrants (NYT).

The Trump Administration’s increased immigration enforcement is placing a strain on court systems (LA Times).

CIVIL RIGHTS

President Trump’s nominee to head the Civil Rights Division of DOJ has come under criticism for his record on LGBT rights and defense of workplace discrimination policies (CNN).

The Pentagon has delayed implementation of a plan to allow transgender recruits to join the U.S. military (WaPo).

DEMOCRACY

More than 40 states have fully or partially refused to comply with the Pence-Kobach Commission’s request for state voter data (CNN).

• Larry Schwartztol argues the Commission has violated federal law by ignoring the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act (Take Care).
• Justin Levitt writes that the Commission’s request for data may violate federal privacy protections (Take Care).
• A request for a temporary restraining order has been filed against the Commission in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
• A formal Hatch Act complaint has also been filed against Kris Kobach for allegedly exploiting his Commission role to promote his candidacy for Governor of Kansas.

JUSTICE & SAFETY

The U.S. is weighing options to respond to North Korea’s latest missile test (NYT).

DHS should implement new strategies in its Counter Violence Extremism (CVE) Grant Programs, argues Stevan Weine on Just Security.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

President Trump continues to mix politics with business, as detailed in this master list of President Trump’s conflicts of interests, writes Kate Brannen on Just Security.

The Trump Organization has renewed domain names for potential Russian business ventures (Politico).

REGULATION

The DC Circuit rejected the EPA’s attempt to delay the Obama Administration’s rule limiting methane pollution (NYT,WaPo).

• The D.C. Circuit’s opinion can be found here.
• Dan Faber argues the EPA’s stay was an abuse of authority and sign of bad faith (Legal Planet).

The Trump Administration is moving ahead to undo a rule which would prevent long-term care facilities from forcing residents into arbitration agreements, writes Nick Bagley on Take Care.

The Labor Department is not defending the Obama Administration’s overtime pay rule (The Hill).

The Trump Administration is likely to face challenges and procedural hurdles in replacing the Clean Water Rule (Legal Planet).

RULE OF LAW

State AGs could become powerful enforcers of federal law, writes Harlan Levy at NY Daily News.

Vacancies in the Executive Branch present a legal issue under the Appointments Clause, argue Christopher Falzone and Josh Geltzer on Lawfare.

CHECKS & BALANCES

President Trump’s judicial nominees must be questioned on limits of executive power, writes Peter Shane at Slate.

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

Marc Caputo, a former Trump campaign adviser, will appear before the House Intelligence Committee in July (The Hill).

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.

If you have any feedback, please let us know here.