Raquel Dominguez ,  //  5/3/17  //  Daily Update

Reports emerge that the President will issue an executive order on Thursday that could cut back on protections for LGBT people. The President continues his inaccurate statements about Republicans' proposed healthcare legislation. And commentators react to President Trump's willingness to praise autocratic leaders.

IMMIGRATION

According to Amir Ali and Joshua Matz on Take Care, President Trump’s incendiary rhetoric towards Muslims post-election and post-inauguration contextualize the supposedly neutral ban.

The Department of Justice released data on incarcerated undocumented immigrants, pursuant to requirements in an Executive Order (The Hill).

New reports argue that President Trump’s immigration actions and rhetoric hurt two vulnerable communities: mothers and children fleeing gender-based violence, and American Muslims.

• A report by the National Domestic Workers Alliance and the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum focusing on how the President’s immigration executive orders affect women and families can be found here.
• A report by the Brennan Center for Justice on how the President’s rhetoric and policies affect American Muslims can be found here.

David Post asserts that the immigration ban, which the government defended on the grounds that it is enforcing the law not changing it, amounts to not-so-sneaky bullying (WaPo).

A cheaper and faster way to end illegal immigration involves a streamlined guest worker program, not border apprehension, demonstrates Alex Nowrasteh for the CATO Institute.

CIVIL RIGHTS

On Thursday, President Trump may sign an executive order on religious liberty, which critics fear will allow discrimination against LGBT people and others (Politico, WaPo, Human Rights Campaign).

In a new legal filing, the Trump Administration has indicated that it may scale back certain Affordable Care Act regulations that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, skin color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in the administration of health services. Christine Grimaldi for Rewire warns about the potentially harmful effects for LGBTQ individuals.

• The DOJ’s motion for a remand and stay in light of their reconsideration can be found here.

Jay Shooter makes the case that although President Trump touts the border wall as a method to deter human trafficking, his immigration policies actually exacerbate the problem (Just Security).

In several new lawsuits, an advoacy organization has requested information about federal workers that it believes President Trump has unlawfully intimated (NPR).

President Trump’s continued willingness to deal with autocratic leaders has alarmed human rights activists (WaPo).

• Gell Greenwald posits that President Trump’s cooperation with despotic leaders has parrallels in American history (The Intercept).
• But the Editorial Board of the New York Times disagrees, saying that for the most part American presidents have tried to serve as a moral compass and that President Trump has abandoned this commitment.

DEMOCRACY

Chief of Staff Reince Priebus’s troubling statements on “opening up” libel laws run contrary to American values, and his proposal is probably unconstitutional, explains Matthew Menendez (Brennan Center for Justice).

SAFETY AND JUSTICE

Trump's one-dimensional approach to law and order pits communities against law enforcement and the federal government, argues Chiraag Bains (Take Care).

Danial Byman believes that If President Trump responds with strong, off-the-cuff rhetoric in response to a terrorist attack, it could bolster terrorist operations (Lawfare).

Christopher Durocher explains how House and Senate proposals for concealed carry reciprocity could undermine current state gun regulation (ACS).

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Jared Kushner did not disclose his part-ownership of a real-estate finance startup, along with other financial interests (WSJ).

Ivanka Trump has a broad policy portfolio with few parameters, reports the New York Times.

The Global Anticorruption Blog will begin comprehensively tracking President Trump’s conflicts of interest.

REGULATION

President Trump misrepresents the American Health Care Act (AHCA), particularly its provisions for pre-existing conditions and age discrimination, explains Rachel Sachs at Take Care.

• Many House Republicans oppose the third iteration of the AHCA, including Fred Upton, former House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman (WSJ, NYT).
• Americans with pre-existing conditions are worried about the recent iteration of the AHCA that allows states to opt-out of consumer protections (NYT).
• Matthew Nussbaum, at Politico, covers the White House’s mixed messaging over health care reform.
• Josh Blackman argues that Americans’ support of coverage for pre-existing conditions resembles President Obama’s lie that people can keep the plans they like.

Daniel Deacon argues at Take Care that the FCC's attempt to reverse the prior administration's interpretation of a key provision of the Communications Act has some potential legal vulnerabilities.

Republicans may use the “Byrd Rule” to pass the President’s proposed tax bill, says Jonathan Chait at New York Magazine.

Congressional Republicans are pursuing a tax plan far different than the principles provided by President Trump last week, reports Russell Berman at The Atlantic.

CHECKS & BALANCES

President Trump was reportedly infuriated that the coverage of the proposed spending bill presented the Democrats as the winners (Politico).

Despite the proposed spending bill explicitly prohibiting the allocation of money for the border wall, President Trump argued that the bill includes a “down payment on the border wall” (Politico).

Republican Senators reacted to the President's Twitter comments about shutting down the goverment and ending the filibuster (The Hill).

• Senator Lindsey Graham said he might be willing to shut down the government because the proposed spending bill inadequately funded the military and did not fully restore the Export-Import Bank (Politico).
• Senator Mitch McConnell stated that the Senate will not end the filibuster for legislation (The Hill).

FEDERALISM

Twenty-One State Attorneys General wrote a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos urging her to reconsider the rollback of student loan reforms (ACS Blog).

RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

Former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates will reportedly testify that she warned the White House about Michael Flynn’s lies weeks prior to his resignation (CNN).

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.