Daily Update | September 13, 2017
Kate Berry, Raquel Dominguez // 9/13/17 //
The Supreme Court stayed the Ninth Circuit's assured refugee ruling in the travel ban case. The White House suggested that the DOJ should consider prosecuting former FBI director James Comey. Reports indicate that White House lawyers debated whether Jared Kushner should step down following the initiation of special counsel Robert Muller’s investigation.
IMMIGRATION
The Supreme Court stayed the Ninth Circuit's assured refugee decision in the travel ban case, writes Amy Howe for SCOTUSblog.
- The text of the state’s brief opposing that outcome is here.
- Lyle Denniston analyzes the response on Law News.
The judge overseeing Joseph Arpaio’s case should appoint a special prosecutor to challenge Mr. Arpaio’s pardon, urges Andrew Crespo on Take Care.
- Douglas Berman, writing for Sentencing Law and Policy, doubts that a court would overturn the pardon.
Thirty-two percent of immigrants with criminal histories deported during President Obama’s final two years had an immigration offense as their most serious conviction, reports César Hernández on Crimmigration.
The California Values Act would safeguard immigrants at risk of deportation during certain activities (Immigration Prof Blog, The Sacramento Bee).
Pope Francis criticized President Trump’s termination of DACA (Newsweek).
- Mario H. Lopez, writing for the Hill, outlines a pro-DACA argument for Congress.
- Alfonso Aguilar, writing for the Hill, sees hope for the DACA program in President Trump’s tweets.
- Bishop Garrison, writing for Just Security, details the effects the termination of DACA could have on veterans and service members.
- Alex Nowrasteh, writing for CATO, outlines the fiscal case for the DREAM Act.
- Former secretary of DHS Janet Napolitano explains why she sued over the DACA rescission.
Plaintiffs in DACA lawsuits seeking to rely on President Trump’s anti-immigrant campaign rhetoric face greater obstacles than challengers to the travel ban, argues Michael Dorf at Dorf on Law.
The Supreme Court may reach the merits in the travel ban case if it determines that a similar case would arise in the future, explains Peter Margulies on LawFare.
- ACLU Staff summarizes the issues in Trump v. IRAP.
CIVIL RIGHTS
Two senators have proposed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would block President Trump’s ban on transgender military service members (CNN).
- Alex Wagner and Richard Eisenberg challenge factual inaccuracies in President Trumps’ order regarding transgender military service members at LawFare.
The HRC has released a report on the Trump Administration’s effect on the LGBTQ community.
DEMOCRACY
Jack Goldsmith ponders whether President Trump will inflict lasting damage on the presidency (Atlantic).
President Trump’s voting commission will consider a proposal to require background checks of all voters (LA Times, Kansas City Star).
- The commission, criticized for its secrecy, held its second meeting (NPR).
SAFETY AND JUSTICE
Attorney General Jeff Sessions and National Intelligence Director Dan Coats have urged the permanent adoption of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (Hill).
Russia quietly weakened sanctions against North Korea (WaPo, NYT, LA Times).
Facebook confirmed that Russia used ads to promote anti-immigrant rallies in the U.S. (Daily Beast).
Advisors to President Trump have recommended a more aggressive U.S. response to Iran’s forces (Reuters).
A coalition of civil liberties and public policy organizations signed open letters to Congress regarding the 1033 program, which gives military gear to local police departments (Cato).
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
The Malaysian Prime Minister and his delegation stayed in Trump International Hotel in Washington amid ethics concerns about violations of the emoluments clauses (WaPo, Politico).
- WaPo released a video outlining the emoluments concerns.
REGULATION
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau settled litigation and enforcement actions with Zero Parallel, a lead aggregator (Consumer Finance Monitor).
The Energy Department announced funding for infrastructure resilience and cybersecurity projects (The Hill).
CHECKS & BALANCES
The Interior Department’s Office of the Inspector General is investigating reassignment of Senior Executive Service members (WaPo).
Members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee has inquired about the Office of Management and Budget’s role in the reorganization of the State Department and USAID (The Hill).
REMOVAL FROM OFFICE
President Trump could be removed from office for incompetency under the 25th Amendment, writes Eric Posner in the Washington Post.
RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that the DOJ should consider prosecuting former FBI director James Comey (WaPo, Politico, The Hill).
White House lawyers debated whether Jared Kushner should step down from his position as advisor to the president following the initiation of Robert Muller’s investigation (WaPo, WSJ).
The Trump campaign has provided documents to Robert Muller’s office as part of the investigation into possible collaboration between the campaign and Russia (The Hill).