Is the Trump admin defying court orders?

 

Monday, March 17 Did the Trump administration defy court orders this weekend? A federal judge Saturday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th century wartime law, to deport hundreds of Venezuelans to El Salvador without due process. Despite the order, at least 137 people were flown to a Salvadoran “Terrorism Confinement Center.” The Alien Enemies Act gives the president the immense power to arrest, relocate or deport any male over the age of 14 who was born in a foreign “enemy” country. It has been invoked only three times: the War of 1812, World War I and World War II. Did the Trump administration defy court orders, potentially igniting a constitutional crisis? Democracy Docket breaks it down and shares insight from experts here. ​​Trump’s plan to control elections is coming into focus President Donald Trump has many times outlined his extreme vision for U.S. elections. Now in recent weeks, the administration has pulled back on efforts to fight racial discrimination in voting, weakened protections against foreign interference in our voting systems, and potentially laid the groundwork to increase Trump’s personal control over independent agencies, among other steps. Taken together, the moves threaten to undermine our most important democratic safeguard — fair elections — by giving Trump unprecedented power to put a thumb on the scale.   The fight for fair maps in Mississippi continues The Mississippi NAACP filed objections to parts of the state's new legislative maps, claiming they still dilute Black voting power. A federal court ordered the state to redraw districts, but the NAACP said the new maps are still racially discriminatory. Alabama naturalized citizen voter purge challenge dropped The Department of Justice and pro-voting groups dropped their lawsuits against Alabama’s voter purge program, which targeted newly naturalized citizens, after the state ended the initiative. The lawyers surrendering to Trump George Conway joined Marc to discuss how Trump is targeting law firms, why major parts of the legal community aren't fighting back and whether the courts can hold Trump accountable. Oral argument coming up tomorrow A federal appeals court in DC will hear cases from members of the National Labor Relations Review Board and the Merit Systems Protections Board. Lower courts ruled that the chairs were illegally fired by Trump; the Trump administration wants to pause those decisions.