Attention to the Unseen

Sidney Blumenthal writes: Neither of the supreme court majority opinions in Trump v Barbara, the 5-4 decision upholding the constitutionality of birthright citizenship, mention the true architect of the case. Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14160, which would deny citizenship to children born on American soil if their parents are undocumented immigrants or on temporary visas, is extensively noted, but not the man responsible for it. The omission of Stephen Miller is like Dracula without Dracula. The vampire identified is chief…

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Bloomberg reports: The US government is moving ahead with plans to create its own fleet of government-owned aircraft to bolster deportations. The Department of Homeland Security is beginning a search for a company to operate planes that would help carry out deportation flights, respond to emergencies and transport senior officials. The department asked aviation companies this week to describe how they would operate and maintain the fleet, which would include two C-37B or equivalent Gulfstream 650ERs and seven Boeing 737-700s…

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The New York Times reports: The Homeland Security Department told employers on Friday that they must let go in coming weeks the hundreds of thousands of foreign workers who have been allowed to live in the United States through a humanitarian program the Trump administration has sought to dismantle. The work permits of Haitians with Temporary Protected Status will expire on July 24. Such permits will also lapse on July 17 for those from Ethiopia, Myanmar, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria…

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The Washington Post reports: The three men who were arrested during an immigration operation that resulted in the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo said a federal officer fired at them almost immediately after exiting his vehicle and that at no point did the driver veer in his direction. The migrants are disputing key elements of the Department of Homeland Security’s account of what transpired during a chaotic traffic stop in a predominantly Mexican American neighborhood in Houston on Tuesday….

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Axios reports: Mexico plans to file criminal complaints in the United States over the deaths of Mexican nationals in ICE custody, Mexico’s Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco Álvarez said Thursday. Why it matters: Mexico had already made diplomatic complaints about the deaths, but taking the United States to court would raise the stakes for the Trump administration as foreign governments and rights advocates continue to scrutinize ICE deaths. What they’re saying: “We’re going to do everything we can in our power,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum told reporters at…

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Greg Sargent writes: After a federal agent killed an undocumented Mexican man in his van during a traffic stop in Houston on Tuesday, the government rushed to follow a familiar template. Just as it has after other shootings, the Department of Homeland Security released a statement insisting that the man, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, had “weaponized his vehicle” against the officer, who then justifiably opened fire. DHS offered no evidence of this. But it appears three other people were in the…

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Reuters reports: A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot a motorist in Houston on Tuesday while officers were trying to stop the ‌man’s vehicle, the agency said in a statement, in the midst of an escalating federal crackdown on migrants. The man shot to death was identified as Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, described by ICE as a Mexican national and “illegal alien” who attempted to evade arrest during a “targeted enforcement operation” by federal immigration officers. Ronaldo Salgado, who…

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Zach Despart This story was originally published by ProPublica Two weeks before this year’s primary elections, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the creation of a tip line for the public to report people or groups suspected of voter fraud. “Free and fair elections are a cornerstone of a thriving republic, and with the authority granted to my office by the Legislature, we will stop at nothing to uncover and stop any illegal voting activity,” Paxton said in a February…

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The Associated Press reports: The U.S. Department of Justice cannot have the names and personal contact information for every person who worked during the 2020 election in Georgia’s Fulton County, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. The Justice Department in April served a grand jury subpoena seeking the names and personal contact information of county employees and volunteer poll workers. President Donald Trump has long claimed without evidence that widespread voter fraud in Georgia’s most populous county, a Democratic stronghold, cost…

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The New York Times reports: The Justice Department sent letters to all 50 states and the District of Columbia on Tuesday threatening criminal prosecution of top election officials if ballots cast by noncitizens were counted in upcoming elections. The letters arrived in the midst of an ongoing campaign by President Trump and his allies to tighten election rules to prevent a problem that doesn’t exist: widespread noncitizen voting in American elections. The effort has, however, continued to sow doubt and…

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Larry Woods writes: For 40 years in the constitutional law classes I teach at Tennessee State University, I have asked all my students to raise their hand if they are a citizen of the United States. Usually, after some hesitation, everyone or almost everyone raises their hand and I promptly challenge them,”prove it to me”. Since we do not have membership cards for U.S. citizenship, after thought and discussion, students usually say “I have a birth certificate.” Of course they…

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