Daily Update | November 7, 2018
Karen Kadish // 11/7/18 //
The Department of Homeland Security announced that there have not yet been any attempts by foreign powers to breach American voting systems in the midterm elections. The Justice Department has switched its focus for voting-law enforcement from areas with many African-American voters to areas with many Latinx voters. This shift reflects racialized worries about voter fraud that have been expressed by President Trump. However, it could also allow for better protection of voting rights in these areas. The United States imposed a second round of sanctions against Iran on Monday amid turbulence in American relations with Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
TRUMP: INVESTIGATIONS AND LITIGATION
Two more associates of President Trump’s long-term adviser, Roger Stone, testified before a grand jury regarding Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, write Manuel Roig-Franzia and Rosalind S. Helderman at The Washington Post.
IMMIGRATION
The troops deployed to guard the southern United States border have begun work, installing razor wire on a bridge connecting the United States and Mexico (WSJ).
- Mark Nevitt at Just Security gives context to what the deployment of military troops to the border means and how it impacts the operations there.
The Justice Department has asked the Supreme Court for the second time to intervene in a 9th Circuit case it is bringing to oppose DACA (SCOTUSBlog).
DEMOCRACY
The Department of Homeland Security announced that there have not yet been any attempts by foreign powers to breach American voting systems in the midterm elections, reports Jacqueline Thomsen at The Hill.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection canceled a crowd-control exercise planned for Tuesday near a Hispanic neighborhood in El Paso, Texas, amid concerns of voter suppression, reports Robert Moore at The Washington Post.
The Justice Department has switched its focus for voting-law enforcement from areas with many African-American voters to areas with many Latinx voters. This shift reflects racialized worries about voter fraud that have been expressed by President Trump. However, it could also allow for better protection of voting rights in these areas (WaPo).
- Both President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have expressed concerns of voter fraud (Election Law Blog).
JUSTICE & SAFETY
The United States imposed a second round of sanctions against Iran on Monday amid turbulence in American relations with Saudi Arabia and Yemen (Lawfare).