Attention to the Unseen

  The New York Times reports: Mohsen Mahdawi, an organizer of the pro-Palestinian movement at Columbia University, was freed from federal custody on Wednesday, more than two weeks after immigration officials detained him and sought to rescind his green card as part of a widening crackdown against student protesters. In releasing Mr. Mahdawi on bail, Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford of Federal District Court in Vermont drew parallels between the current political climate and McCarthyism. “This is not the first time…

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The Guardian reports: Elon Musk and his companies face at least $2.37bn in legal exposure from federal investigations, litigation and regulatory oversight, according to a new report from Senate Democrats. The report attempts to put a number to Musk’s many conflicts of interest through his work with his so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge), warning that he may seek to use his influence to avoid legal liability. The report, which was published on Monday by Democratic members of the Senate…

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Adam Serwer writes: The arrest of Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan over allegedly obstructing the apprehension of an undocumented immigrant is an attempt to intimidate the judiciary. You can just ask Attorney General Pam Bondi. “What has happened to our judiciary is beyond me,” Bondi told Fox News, commenting on Dugan’s arrest. “They’re deranged. I think some of these judges think they are beyond and above the law, and they are not. We are sending a very strong message today: If…

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CNBC reports: Federal authorities have arrested a former New Mexico judge and a Wisconsin judge in two separate cases, accusing them of interfering with Trump administration immigration enforcement efforts. Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested Friday morning and charged with obstruction for allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant evade arrest after he appeared in her courtroom last week. Dugan’s arrest came one day after federal authorities arrested a former New Mexico judge and his wife on charges related to…

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Nick Miroff writes: Late last month, three days after Abrego Garcia’s family filed its lawsuit over his deportation, government attorneys began discussing how to undo the mistake and bring him back. In their conversations, officials went so far as to float the idea of having the U.S. ambassador to El Salvador make a personal appeal to the country’s president for Abrego Garcia’s return. But first, the State Department’s legal team wanted more information from DHS about his alleged role in…

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Ryan Goodman writes: Earlier today, I discussed one of the “sleeper” immigration cases that had largely flown below the radar: D.V.D. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. On Wednesday night, the Justice Department submitted a filing in district court in which it appears to openly describe steps the government took to essentially evade the court’s temporary restraining order. Keep your eye on the ball: Which department had custody of the individuals following the court’s order. On March 28, the court ordered the defendants in the case –…

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The Washington Post reports: The acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia sent a letter to the nonprofit that runs Wikipedia, accusing the tax-exempt organization of “allowing foreign actors to manipulate information and spread propaganda to the American public.” In the letter dated April 24, Ed Martin, said he sought to determine whether the Wikimedia Foundation’s behavior is in violation of its Section 501(c)(3) status. Martin, who was appointed to the post by President Donald Trump in January, asked…

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CBS News reports: The Trump administration conceded on Thursday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents did not have a warrant when they detained Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil in March, acknowledging it was “a warrantless arrest.” Khalil’s attorneys are asking an immigration judge in Louisiana, where their client has been detained by ICE for weeks, to terminate his deportation case based on the fact that he was arrested without a warrant. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, admitted…

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Politico reports: The Trump administration must seek to return a second man who was improperly deported from the U.S. to El Salvador in violation of a previous court order, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher, a Maryland-based Trump appointee, ruled that the administration deported a 20-year-old Venezuelan man last month in violation of a legally binding, court-approved settlement agreement reached in a lawsuit last year. Under that settlement, the U.S. agreed not to deport migrants who…

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NPR reports: A federal judge agreed to give the Trump administration another week to answer detailed questions about the illegal deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. A day earlier, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis issued a scathing rebuke of the administration’s response to her order for more details about its efforts to return him to the U.S. But the Trump administration asked for more time to respond in the case of the Maryland man who was deported to El Salvador last…

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Axios reports: Trump administration officials are suggesting their immigration crackdown could expand to include deporting convicted U.S. citizens and charging anyone — not just immigrants — who criticizes Trump’s policies. Why it matters: Such moves — described by officials in recent days — would show how U.S. citizens could be impacted by the growing number of tactics President Trump is using to, in his view, improve national security. They’d also be certain to ignite new legal battles over how far Trump’s team…

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