President Trump has quickly brought on a closing of civic space in the United States since taking office, signing over 150 executive orders in less than 120 days in office. To close civic space is to make the work of non-governmental organizations and other members of civil society difficult, limiting their ability to participate fully in public life.
The Trump administration has made the work of many in civil society more challenging, going as far as criminalizing their work in many cases. By ignoring and defying court orders, showing hostility to fundamental rights such as free speech and due process, targeting those who are oppositional to Trump and his policies, and pursuing targeted policies of criminalization and use of intimidation tactics towards universities, public officials, graduate students, nonprofits, and entire communities of people, the Trump administration has created an atmosphere in which some question whether the U.S. will remain a liberal democracy by the end of 2025.
Will U.S. Lose Liberal Democracy Status?
According to a recently released global report, autocracies outnumbered democracies in 2024 for the first time in 20 years. The 9th Annual Democracy Report, developed by the V-Dem Institute based at the University of Gothenburg, went further to caution that if the United States continues on its current trajectory, the United States may not be identified as a liberal democracy in the 2025 report.
Below is an account of some but far from all of the indications of closing civic space in the United States.
Trump’s Border Emergency
During a White House briefing on April 28, White House Border Czar Tom Holman stated that the border emergency declaration would remain in place “until we shut it down.” He continued: “It’s an emergency until the cartels are wiped off the face of this Earth.”
”This is the biggest national security failure this country’s ever seen. This is the border emergency until we end it, end all of it. We’re making good strides. But, right now, it’s still an emergency until we shut it down,” stated Homan.
Having an emergency declaration gives the administration broad powers to target anyone for deportation and removal who is seen as a threat to the United States. However the courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have issued opinions to limit the administration’s powers and uphold due process.
U.S. Supreme Court Permits Use of Alien Enemies Act, with Some Due Process, Then Blocks Deportations
On April 8, the Supreme Court ruled that individuals detained under the Alien Enemies Act are entitled to a degree of due process under the law, including the right to be notified of their impending deportation and the right to contest it. The Court avoided ruling on the Trump administration’s claim that the Alien Enemies Act applies to Tren de Aragua, a criminal organization, even though it is not a sovereign government at war with the U.S. The Court also did not determine what would happen to those who have already been deported. The Trump administration has deported hundreds of supposed Tren de Aragua members to El Salvador without due process, where they are imprisoned in a notorious torture center. Evidence has not been presented linking any of the men to gangs. Only a handful had any criminal record in the U.S.
In an April update, the ACLU shared: “We’ve won preliminary relief from six federal district courts — in Washington, D.C., Texas, New York, Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Nevada — blocking deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, and have scored two victories on the Supreme Court’s emergency docket. First, on April 7, the Supreme Court ordered that individuals subjected to deportation under the Alien Enemies Act must be given notice and an opportunity to contest their designation in court. Then, at 12:45 a.m. on April 19, the court granted our emergency motion to temporarily block all deportations under the Alien Enemies Act from the Northern District of Texas pending further order of the court. We also won a preliminary injunction blocking Trump’s termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans, affecting 600,000 people currently residing lawfully in the United States.”
On Friday May 16, in an unsigned opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked Trump’s plan for mass deportations without hearings under the Alien Enemies Act.
Trump responded to the Court’s decision on social media on May 17: “The result of this decision will let more CRIMINALS pour into our Country, doing great harm to our cherished American public,” Trump said in his post. “The Supreme Court of the United States is not allowing me to do what I was elected to do.”
The ACLU responded: “We welcome the Supreme Court’s decision because it underscores that immigrants are accorded due process and that it must be meaningful. The federal government’s flimsy excuse for process fails to recognize the importance of the rights at stake. This is not only a win for immigrant communities, it is a win for all Texans,” said Adriana Piñon, legal director of the ACLU of Texas.
Family deportation targeting the U.S. citizen children of undocumented parents has begun
Trump officials have begun to target undocumented parents and their legal U.S. citizen children for deportation. Officials claim that parents are voluntarily taking their children with them when deported. However multiple statements from attorneys and family members of those deported or targeted dispute these claims.
The ACLU has dropped one of the cases against the Trump Administration involving the deportation of a 2-year old U.S. citizen with their noncitizen parent to Honduras. In a court filing, lawyers for the father said ICE indicated that it was holding the girl in a bid to induce the father to turn himself in.
According to the Associated Press, the lawyers for the 2-year old’s father did not disclose his immigration status, but shared that he has “legally delegated the custody of his daughters to his sister-in-law, a U.S. citizen who also lives in Baton Rouge.”
“Given the traumatizing experiences the families have been through, they are taking a step back to have full discussions about all their options, the safety and well-being of their children, and the best ways to proceed so the harms they have suffered can be fully addressed,” said Gracie Willis, one of the family’s lawyers.
Judge Blocks Trump Plan to Leave Migrant Children without Defense
The Trump administration is trying to largely terminate a federally funded program that provides attorneys for more than 26,000 unaccompanied children – some of them infants or toddlers – reportedly citing “the government’s convenience” to justify its decision. Affected organizations have won a temporary injunction, blocking the administration’s stop work order and restoring the status quo for the program after suing the administration. On April 30, the judge extended the injunction. However, funding had still not been restored as the Trump administration appealed the decision.
On May 14, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a federal district court’s order compelling the government to resume funding for legal services for unaccompanied immigrant children.
Deputizing local police and “others”
In a presidential proclamation on May 9th establishing “Project Homecoming” which announced “exit bonuses” for undocumented people who self-deport, a section is included at the end which announces the deputizing of state and local law enforcement, former federal officers, and contracting with “other individuals … to increase the enforcement and removal operations force of the Department of Homeland Security” over the next 60 days “by no less than 20,000 officers in order to conduct an intensive campaign to remove illegal aliens who have failed to depart voluntarily.”
Local governments have long been able to allow local officers to take on immigration enforcement activities through the federal 287g program, which gets its name from Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and became law as part of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRAIRA). The program has proven costly for local governments historically but new policies from a motivated federal administration could increase involvement from local law enforcement around the country, bringing added tension and distrust between local communities and the police.
Similarly, but even more concerning, is President Trump’s commitment to contracting with “others” in his order and the hiring of what seems like a private goon squad who will be given official powers “to remove illegal aliens.”
Arrests being carried out by masked ICE and other DHS officials have already raised alarm. The administration’s plan to quickly increase the capacity of federal immigration enforcement and potentially contract with “others” raises even further concerns regarding the training and qualifications of these individuals but also security when considering how the community will be able to differentiate between an actual law enforcement activity versus masked vigilantes posing as immigration officials.
Immigration Agents Screen Non-Citizens’ Social Media
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on April 9 that they would immediately begin screening the social media accounts of noncitizens for antisemitic content to use in immigration determinations such as visa and green card applications.
Noncitizens Must Register with the U.S. Government, Judge Rules
Trump’s January 20th Executive Order 14159 “Protecting the American People Against Invasion” ordered the Department of Homeland Security to make it an enforcement priority that noncitizens comply with their duty to register with the government under section 262 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
On April 10, a federal judge denied a request to temporarily block the Trump administration’s requirement that noncitizens must register with and provide sensitive information to the federal government. The registration requirement, first announced in February, requires individuals who are 14 years old and older to submit fingerprints and set up an online account with the U.S. Customs and Immigration Services. Parents of children under fourteen must register their children. Individuals must carry proof of registration with them; those who do not comply risk criminal prosecution. The requirement for noncitizens to register or face criminal prosecution infringes on their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Trump Administration Sends Late-Night Email Telling Immigrants to Self-Deport
In a late-night email that immigration lawyers thought could be a scam, given its tone and manner, the Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security exhorted immigrants in the U.S. under humanitarian parole to self-deport within a week. The email alleged that their parole had been revoked. At least three immigration attorneys received such emails, despite the fact that they are U.S. citizens, and a number of their clients received the email.
Elon Musk’s DOGE had posted a week earlier on social media the claim that more than 6,000 people with humanitarian parole had been found to be terrorists or criminals and that their parole had been revoked. A DHS spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions from the news outlet WIRED about whether the email was intended for these 6,300 individuals, nor did she answer WIRED’s questions about how many people received the email.
Immigrants Added to SSA “Death Master File,” Cutting Them Off from Services
The Trump administration has moved to cancel the social security numbers of thousands of immigrants by adding the names of certain noncitizens to the “death master file” that the Social Security Administration uses to cut off services to people who have died. The move targets migrants who are in the U.S. lawfully under Biden’s humanitarian parole program and supposedly — according to the administration — have committed crimes or are suspected of terrorism. More than 6,000 such immigrants have been added to the “death master file,” effectively blacklisting them from the U.S. financial system, as the New York Times reports.
The Trump administration is adding immigrants to the list in hopes that doing so will make them more likely to self-deport. The Social Security numbers were legally obtained under the humanitarian parole program, which gave some migrants temporary legal status in the U.S. that allowed them to work.
“The goal is to cut those people off from using crucial financial services like bank accounts and credit cards, along with their access to government benefits,” the Times reports.
The Trump administration says the immigrants who have been added are convicted criminals and “suspected terrorists,” according to the Times, although the list includes eight minors.
Current and former Social Security Administration employees told the Times they are concerned that erroneous data could mean others are improperly placed on the list, including U.S. American citizens. Being added to the Master Death List has immediate consequences: a person’s medical insurance benefits or Medicare coverage can be halted, credit cards can be cancelled, and pensions can be lost. A person on the list can lose access to their bank accounts and even their homes, as well as government benefits from agencies like the Department of Veterans., etc.
A senior executive of the Social Security Administration who refused to go along with the plan to list immigrants as dead and who led an IT team was physically dragged from his office.
Earlier in April, DHS revoked the legal status of hundreds of thousands of immigrants who used the CBP One app. They had generally been allowed to remain in the US for two years with work authorization under presidential parole authority during the Biden era.
Additionally, DHS and the Treasury Department have signed a deal that would allow the IRS to share immigrants’ tax data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the purpose of identifying and deporting people illegally in the U.S. The agreement will allow ICE to submit names and addresses of immigrants inside the U.S. illegally to the Internal Revenue Service for cross-verification against tax records. The acting IRS commissioner, Melanie Krause, who had served in that capacity since February, stepped down over that deal.
Legal Residents Continue to be targeted for Deportation, then ordered released
On May 14, a judge ordered the release of Badar Khan Suri, a citizen of India and Georgetown University graduate student who was arrested at his home two months ago by masked agents who identified themselves as the Department of Homeland Security.
On April 14, a Palestinian Columbia student was arrested while having his citizenship appointment in Vermont. Mohsen Mahdawi was arrested by U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents without warning. His arrest was filmed by his friend.
Vermont lawmakers have stated, “Mohsen Mahdawi of White River Junction, Vermont, walked into an immigration office for what was supposed to be the final step in his citizenship process. Instead, he was arrested and removed in handcuffs by plainclothes, armed individuals with their faces covered. These individuals refused to provide any information as to where he was being taken or what would happen to him. Mr. Mahdawi, a legal resident of the United States, must be afforded due process under the law and immediately released from detention,” they added. A federal judge issued a temporary injunction preventing his removal. On April 30, Madhawi was released.
Madhawi has lived in the U.S. since 2014 and has permanent residency and a green card. Outside the Vermont courthouse following his release, he stated: “I am saying it clear and loud to President Trump and his Cabinet: I am not afraid of you.”
Madhawi’s detention came days after an immigration judge in Louisiana ruled that Columbia student and green card holder Mahmoud Khalil can be deported, even though a federal judge in New Jersey has barred his deportation while he challenges his detention in that state.
Khalil’s wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, attended the People’s Graduation for Columbia University on Sunday, May 18th where she accepted a diploma on her husband’s behalf as well as for herself and her baby, who she welcomed into the world last month while Khalil remained in detention.
U.S. citizens targeted for deportation
Trump’s crackdown has caused confusion for U.S. citizens who have received letters from DHS, ordering them to self-deport within the next 7 days. U.S. citizens have also been detained and had their homes raided as ICE continues to carry out their activities without regard to Constitutional protections.
Planned and Potential Use of the Military
The threat of the use of the military to carry out domestic security tasks looms large. The Posse Comitatus Act has long prevented the use of the U.S. military in domestic law enforcement. An April 13 memo issued by President Trump stipulates that the military can now take control of federal and public land along the U.S. border. Migrants who cross will be considered to have trespassed onto a military property, which will allow the military to detain immigrants until DHS can arrive and deport them.
The memo explains that the four agency heads the memo was sent to (Department of the Interior, Department of Agriculture, Department of Defense, and Department of Homeland Security) will “initially implement this memorandum on a limited sector of federal lands” designated by Defense Secretary Hegseth. However, at any time, Hegseth can “extend activities” under the memo to additional federal lands along the border. The memo further states that “members of the Armed Forces will follow rules for the use of force prescribed by the Secretary of Defense.”
At least 82 people have been federally charged for “unauthorized entry” into the newly created National Defense Area in New Mexico as a result.
According to Mark Nevitt, a professor at Emory University School of Law, typically a president would need congressional approval to designate a military zone. However, Trump avoided this requirement by declaring a national emergency at the southern border on his first day in office.
Trump talking to Cabinet secretaries about invoking the Insurrection Act, which could be a fast-track to martial law.
On April 30, when asked about the 90-day deadline he had set to receive a report and recommendations on invoking the Insurrection Act, President Trump stated that he was actively talking to Cabinet secretaries about the law’s use and that the country is “under attack.”
Changes Trump has made to the top command of the military – including firing the nation’s top uniformed officer and removing other perceived guardrails, such as the top uniformed officers at the Army, Navy, and Air Force – suggest that Trump is preparing by putting compliant persons in leadership positions.
Speculation has been made that Trump might be planning to implement, at some point, martial law, or that the Insurrection Act is the same as martial law. There is a difference.
Under the Insurrection Act of 1807, the President of the United States may permit the deployment of the military and the U.S. National Guard to ensure that the law is enforced in certain conditions and situations. It authorizes the military to completely suppress any rebellion, uprising, or any act of violence or resistance, including that by citizens. The Insurrection Act gives the U.S. President – the commander-and-chief of the U.S. armed forces – complete powers to decide if, when, and where to deploy US troops within the United States of America.
Martial law, by contrast, gives complete control of administration and running of the state’s affairs to a military general – usually the chief of defense or army chief. The Insurrection Act keeps the powers of the state and administration with the U.S. President, who selectively uses military powers to enforce law and order. In other words, while a martial law allows the military to take over the role of civilian government in an emergency, the Insurrection Act allows the military to only assist the civilian authorities, not take their place.
Trump Would Like to Use Foreign Prisons to Detain US Citizens
Trump has repeatedly suggested that he would like to export “homegrown criminals” to El Salvador to be imprisoned. He mentioned this idea to Salvadoran President Bukele before a press conference on April 14 at the White House.
Is Trump Administration Ultimately Looking to Suspend Habeas Corpus?
To achieve its goal of carrying out mass deportations, the Trump administration has alluded to considering suspending Habeas Corpus, a Constitutional right that allows individuals to challenge an unlawful detention.
MEDIA
Trump Calls for Revocation of CBS’ Broadcast License
President Trump railed against CBS in April, saying the network should lose its broadcast license after “60 Minutes” aired segments on Ukraine and Greenland that the president said cast him in a negative light. Trump announced on Twitter that he is honored to be suing the TV network CBS. The $20 billion lawsuit however was undertaken earlier this year over the news program’s pre-election interview with Kamala Harris. Now outraged by the portrayal of him on its recent 60 Minutes broadcast, Trump is calling for the network to be punished, and says the network should lose its broadcast license.
Trump Administration Denies Court Order to Grant AP Access to White House Events
The Trump administration ignored a federal court order requiring the White House to grant access to the Associated Press. AP’s access was revoked after it refused to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. A week after the court ruling, AP reporters attempted to enter a White House briefing and were denied access.
The White House then adopted a new media policy that would restrict the access of “wire services,” which in addition to the AP would include Reuters and Bloomberg as well. The AP brought a legal complaint against the new policy and the administration’s lack of compliance with the court’s order, however, the court declared that it would not take additional steps to enforce its order granting the AP access. “I don’t intend to micromanage the White House,” stated Judge McFadden.
CIVIL SOCIETY AT LARGE
Designating Groups as Terrorists
In mid-May, Congress considered a dangerous provision as part of the new tax bill that provides President Trump the ability to target nonprofits that he doesn’t like and label civil society groups “terrorist-supporting organizations” and strip them of their tax-exempt status, making it virtually impossible for them to function.
On Monday, May 19th the NGO provision was removed from the tax bill. However, the reason it was removed remains unclear. Experts warn it may yet reappear in the bill before the final vote in the House, expected later in the week.
Democracy & Election Transparency
Trump has weakened the protections that were in place to guarantee fair elections. Huge cuts to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) will affect the agency’s ability to monitor elections for foreign interference and ensure the security of voting systems.
The Department of Homeland Security designated election infrastructure as critical infrastructure in 2017 following Russian cyberattacks, a designation that provides states and localities with access to many of the cybersecurity protections that DHS offers other private and public entities, such as ongoing threat monitoring, risk and vulnerability assessments, and security best practices.
CISA was created as a division within DHS in 2018 to protect critical infrastructure from physical and cyber threats. Trump has called on the Justice Department to investigate the former head of CISA, who had confirmed that the 2020 election was transparent and that Trump lost.
The House of Representative passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would require proof of US citizenship in order to vote in elections. The bill would also require states to develop a program for removing undocumented immigrants from voter rolls and would allow citizens to sue election officials who don’t require proof of citizenship.
The push to require citizenship is based on the false notion that a large number of noncitizens are fraudulenty voting in U.S. elections. In fact, this number is statistically insignificant, and the law already prohibits noncitizens from voting.
The SAVE Act will create obstacles to voting for citizens who cannot easily obtain proof of citizenship. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, around one in 10 voting-age U.S. American citizens (around 21.3 million people) either don’t have a proof-of-citizenship document like a birth certificate, passport, or naturalization certificate, or don’t have easy access to one. People of color are more likely not to have a document proving citizenship. Obtaining these documents takes time and money.
Only about 43 percent of U.S. Americans have passports, according to an analysis by the Voting Rights Lab. The SAVE Act also poses difficulties for women who have married and changed their last name. To register to vote, one will be required to present proof of citizenship, such as a passport and a birth certificate. If a person attempts to vote and the name on their current identification doesn’t match the name on their birth certificate, they will be required to produce additional documents, such as a marriage license.
UNIVERSITIES & CRIMINALIZATION OF DISSENT: Trump Administration Investigates 60 Universities and Pauses Funds
In an April 11 letter, the Trump administration proposed a deal with Harvard University: if it fulfilled all of the conditions outlined in the letter, it could continue receiving the $9 billion in federal funds allocated by the US government to Harvard. The requirements included an external audit of its hiring and teaching practices to determine whether DEI was being implemented and whether “anti-Semitic” principles were being taught. Harvard refused to negotiate.
In response, the Trump administration froze more than $2 billion in funding to Harvard and suggested that its non-profit status should be revoked, a move that would affect the ability of others to donate to the university on a tax-exempt basis.
The White House is freezing more than one billion dollars in federal funding for Cornell University and almost 800 million dollars for Northwestern University. The cuts are aimed at coercing colleges and universities to comply with the Trump administration’s political agenda.
The funding pause stems from an investigation the Department of Education launched into 60 universities it alleged were failing to protect Jewish students on campus. The Trump administration has also made demands that diversity, equity, and inclusion programs be eliminated.
A number of colleges have complied with this request. However, the presidents and chancellors of nearly 600 colleges and universities signed a public statement, released by the American Association of Colleges and Universities in April, warning about ‘unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education.”
In response to the cancellation of student visas, students, universities, as well as academic and civil rights organizations filed more than 100 lawsuits and won restraining orders to block the administration from changing their immigration status, arguing that these visa terminations violated due process and targeted international students without sufficient cause.
On April 25, the administration restored the legal status of the targeted students but subsequently expanded the ability of officials to terminate the residency status of students and on April 30 Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated: “There is now a one-strike policy: Catch-And-Revoke. Whenever the government catches non-U.S. citizens breaking our laws, we will take action to revoke their status. The time of contemptuously taking advantage of our nation’s generosity ends. This extends to the thousands of foreign students studying in the United States who abuse our hospitality.”
LEGAL PROFESSIONALS
The Trump administration has targeted 14 law firms with sanctions of various kinds. Seven of these have capitulated and have agreed to provide nearly $1 billion in pro-bono work for the Trump administration. None of the firms has been credibly accused of wrongdoing. In fact, the president has conceded that the firms have “done nothing wrong.”
Four of the firms have resisted the pressure, including taking legal action against the Trump administration. One of the firms is Susman Godfrey, which was targeted in an executive order after the firm represented Dominion Voting Systems in a defamation lawsuit against Fox News in 2021 and argued that Fox News published conspiracy theories about the role of Dominion’s voting machines in a supposedly rigged 2020 election.
A CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS: Man Sent in Error to Salvadoran Prison Must Remain There
Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen who had been residing in Maryland and obeying the law regarding his immigration status for nearly 15 years and who had received a green card was summarily deported to CECOT, El Salvador’s high-security prison for supposed terrorism.
Indefinite detention is the norm at the prison; no one is known to have been released.
The U.S. Supreme Court in a unanimous ruling confirmed a lower judge’s order that the administration must facilitate his return, but the Trump administration is refusing to take action.
The Trump administration initially conceded in court filings that Garcia was deported due to an administrative error and acknowledged that an immigration judge in 2019 had granted Abrego Garcia a stay of deportation to El Salvador, a rarely used alternative to political asylum.
In 2019, an immigration judge had found that, if returned to El Salvador, Garcia could be killed. Abrego Garcia was checking in periodically, as required, with Homeland Security. Therefore, his deportation to El Salvador violated the immigration judge’s ruling.
Despite having stated that Abrego Garcia’s deportation was an “administrative error,” within a week the Trump administration began to insist that Abrego Garcia was a gang member affiliated with MS-13 and that his deportation was appropriate.
Bukele, meeting with Trump and reporters in the White House, flatly refused to return Garcia, alleging that he was a gang member. No evidence of such affiliation has been presented. In press conferences and statements, the Trump administration later added the claim that Abrego Garcia was involved in human trafficking, again without evidence. Later still, Trump’s spokesman added the allegation that he was a “foreign terrorist.”
All persons present on U.S. soil, regardless of immigration status, have Constitutional rights, including the right to due process. The Trump administration violated these rights, as well as violated the immigration judge’s 2019 order.
The Trump administration has gone on to violate the orders of a district judge and of the Supreme Court. Following his detention, Abrego Garcia and his family sued various Trump administration officials to secure his return to the U.S.
District Judge Paula Xinis, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, said his removal to El Salvador was “an illegal act” and ordered the government to facilitate his return to the U.S. by 11:59 p.m. on March 31. The Trump administration appealed the order to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court put Xinis’ deadline on hold but later backed her order, although without setting a new deadline for when Abrego Garcia should be returned.
The Supreme Court did state that the district court judge’s order needed clarification but that her order “properly requires the Government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.”
In short, the Supreme Court agreed, in a 9-0 ruling, that Abrego Garcia must be returned to the United States.
At the same time, the Supreme Court noted that the district court judge’s order, when clarified, should be made with “due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs.”
Xinis issued a new order for the administration to “take all available steps to facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s return. She directed the administration to provide her with a sworn statement from an individual with personal knowledge of the steps the government has taken or is planning to take to secure his return. She also required daily updates. The administration has failed to fully comply.
In their April 14 press conference with President Bukele, Attorney General Pam Bondi insisted, falsely, that two immigration judges had ruled Abrego Garcia was a member of MS-13. At the same press conference, Trump’s chief of staff, Stephen Miller, falsely told Trump that the Supreme Court had ruled 9-0 that the administration did not have to follow the district judge’s order to return Garcia; the Supreme Court, he said, had ruled that the district could not interfere in foreign affairs.
“The federal courts have no authority to direct the Executive Branch to conduct foreign relations in a particular way or engage with a foreign sovereign in a given manner,” Department of Justice attorneys wrote in a seven-page filing as a part of their court-mandated update to Judge Xinis. Also in the update, a senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement official said in a sworn statement that Abrego Garcia “is no longer eligible for withholding of removal” because of the administration’s claim that he’s a member of the MS-13 gang.
When pushed for further details regarding their claims against Garcia, the administration claims state secrets privilege, prompting another hearing before Judge Xinis.
At the hearing before Judge Xinis on May 9, Justice Department attorney Jonathan Guynn argued “He’ll never walk free in the United States,” adding that Garcia would remain in U.S. custody and undergo removal proceedings “if he was ever returned to the United States.”
Guynn also stated: “We’ve already talked about the administrative error, where it was missed that there was a notice of withholding approval from El Salvador, but that is why he was sent to El Salvador, and that’s why he’s being held now by El Salvador, under a Salvadoran law — it’s because they believe he’s a member of the MS-13 gang.”
Political analysts, in response to the administration’s refusal to return Garcia, have said the US is now in a constitutional crisis.