This Court Just Put The Trump Regime In Its Place | News You Missed

Written By Leeja Miller

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A standoff between the Trump regime and the courts is looming and the 4th circuit’s ruling yesterday reinforced the historical weight of this moment. In small towns across the country, Republicans on recess are being met with angry hordes of constituents. Trump has set his sights on a new group to target with his executive actions. And the Supreme Court just agreed to entertain the bonkers birthright citizenship order that shouldn’t even be given the time of day. A LOT has happened this week, and the neverending onslaught of information can be nearly impossible to keep up with. Well, I’ve been trying to do some of that heavy lifting for you, and today I’m going to highlight some of the most important stories from this week from the executive branch to congress to the courts and everything in between. Honestly YOU’RE WELCOME!!! Let’s get into it.

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We’ll turn first to immigration because it truly is the place where Trump is attempting to orchestrate his greatest infringement on human rights.

Yesterday it was reported that Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen visited El Salvador and was able to meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a photo was shared of the two sitting down at a table to talk. See my episode from Wednesday for a deeper dive into that case. Van Hollen was initially denied a meeting with Abrego Garcia when he was stopped at a military checkpoint about a mile from the prison. I think it’s notable that this meeting was used as a photo op, and specifically that Abrego Garcia was given civilian clothes to wear to the meeting and it was held in a hotel away from the prison. In US courts, defendants are given the right to wear civilian clothes to their trials in order to give them the dignity to appear human to the jury instead of wearing an orange jumpsuit which could bias the jury against them. In this case, the optics of seeing Abrego Garcia in civilian clothes, and denying entry to the prison complex, is an attempt to give the world a false sense that the Salvadorian prison where he’s being held, Cecot, isn’t as bad as they’re all saying it is. I think President Bukele, probably in cahoots with the Trump administration, is trying to thread the needle here–here’s a photo op of immigrants being forcibly strip searched, bent over, heads shaved, isn’t this place so scary, you should definitely toe the line unless you want to end up here, but on the other hand see Abrego Garcia is alive and well, everything’s fine, nothing to see here. According to the New York Times, quote: “Mr. Bukele, in a social media post, even crowed that “Kilmar Abrego Garcia, miraculously risen from the ‘death camps’ & ‘torture,’” was “now sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador!” But according to a person familiar with the situation, a Bukele aide placed the two glasses with cherries and salted rims on the table in front of Mr. Van Hollen and Mr. Abrego Garcia in the middle of their meeting in an attempt to stage the photo.”

Staging this photo op is like textbook authoritarian propaganda. Not to be outdone, our authoritarian head propagandist, 28 year old Republican woman’s makeup enthusiast Karoline Leavitt, staged a press conference Wednesday in which she said “It’s appalling and sad that Senator Van Hollen and the Democrats applauding his trip to El Salvador today are incapable of having any shred of common sense or empathy for their own constituents.” Then, like a show pony, she brought out Patty Morin, the mother of a Maryland woman, Rachel Morin, who was murdered in 2023 by an immigrant from El Salvador. Reminder that studies show immigrants are less likely than US born citizens to commit crimes. And that Abrego Garcia did not murder this woman. But the playbook is: dehumanize immigrants, form them into one giant terrifying faceless mass, so that you can point to one person’s heinous actions and say see they’re all like this. Republicans are capitalizing on the tragedy of one woman’s death to demonize an entire group of people and justify the deportation of a man THEY THEMSELVES ADMITTED should never have been deported. Despite admitting that they made an error, they have doubled down, through Karoline Leavitt as their mouth piece, on the idea that Abrego Garcia is a member of MS 13, despite no legitimate evidence to prove that he is. They point to an allegation against him that didn’t hold up in court the first time, clinging to this shred of a lie to justify vast human rights abuses. It’s truly cruel, despicable behavior. Growing up learning about the Holocaust it’s always felt so completely inconceivable to understand how people could do such horrific things to other humans, how could a society arrive at a place where that becomes acceptable. But in the last few weeks I have started to understand, we are seeing something similar play out before our eyes, we are watching people being kidnapped and deported to a violent, deadly prison and we are watching the regime double down and say they are doing it to protect us, they are justified, these people are nothing more than terrorists and criminals. And even though there is ample evidence that most of the people being deported have never done anything wrong, throngs of people still believe them, are still cheering them on. And even if any of the people being deported have done crimes, there is nothing, NOTHING, to justify this treatment. Human beings do not deserve treatment like this, this is a violation of even the most basic of human rights and constitutional rights, rights that are extended yes even to accused and even to convicted criminals, including the one sitting in the White House right now.

More democrats are planning to head to El Salvador to shine a light on the prison and on Abrego Garcia’s case, using it as a tool to gain Democratic support while vilifying the Trump administration. Most notably this includes Cory Booker, clearly gunning for a presidential run in 2028, who has announced plans to go down for a visit.

And in a major development to Abrego Garcia’s case, the 4th Circuit heard an appeal from the Trump administration to delay the district court’s inquiry into Abrego Garcia’s deportation. The 4th Circuit, in a unanimous ruling, did not mince words in its 7 page opinion, saying “It is difficult in some cases to get to the very heart of the matter. But in this case, it is not hard at all. The government is asserting a right to stash away residents of this country in foreign prisons without the semblance of due process that is the foundation of our constitutional order. Further, it claims in essence that because it has rid itself of custody that there is nothing that can be done. This should be shocking not only to judges, but to the intuitive sense of liberty that Americans far removed from courthouses still hold dear. “

And then whatever court clerk wrote this decision really went off on a soap box tangent, which I am entirely here for but which reads like an old timey court ruling, saying “Now the branches come too close to grinding irrevocably against one another in a conflict that promises to diminish both. This is a losing proposition all around. The Judiciary will lose much from the constant intimations of its illegitimacy, to which by dent of custom and detachment we can only sparingly reply. The Executive will lose much from a public perception of its lawlessness and all of its attendant contagions. The Executive may succeed for a time in weakening the courts, but over time history will script the tragic gap between what was and all that might have been, and law in time will sign its epitaph. It is, as we have noted, all too possible to see in this case an incipient crisis, but it may present an opportunity as well. We yet cling to the hope that it is not naïve to believe our good brethren in the Executive Branch perceive the rule of law as vital to the American ethos. This case presents their unique chance to vindicate that value and to summon the best that is within us while there is still time.” Dramatic, but I think it meets the current moment with the judicial gravitas it deserves, frankly. Basically, this means that the Executive Branch needs to respect the Judicial branch if it expects that respect to be returned. And if it doesn’t then we’re fucked.

Separately, Senator Shaheen, head of the foreign affairs committee, has requested a copy of the agreement between the US and El Salvador for the use of Cecot to house deportees for the US. We’ve heard about the agreement but the actual details have never been made public. Under a law passed in 2022, the executive branch is required to have a certain level of transparency in its international agreements, and they are required to disclose and publish the agreements, especially when requested by the Senate. This could be important in Abrego Garcia’s case, and others, because it will allow us all to see exactly what we’ve agreed to and what El Salvador has agreed to, and would make it clear that the US is party to this agreement and could act, if it wanted to, to bring Abrego Garcia home and fix their “administrative error.” I can’t imagine the government won’t put up a fight in releasing the agreement publicly.

Moving into other executive branch activities, specifically DOGE, a whistleblower from the NLRB has come forward and confirmed what many of us feared and suspected–that Elon Musk is abusing DOGE to gain inside knowledge that could give him a leg up on his business’ competition. Specifically, the whistleblower says DOGE has accessed NLRB databases, thats the National Labor Relations Board, the one tasked with protecting workers and mediating unionization and labor disputes, investigating labor abuses, etc., and now that DOGE has gotten in there, they’ve been doing some shady shit, including, as NPR reported, “members of the DOGE team asked that their activities not be logged on the system and then appeared to try to cover their tracks behind them, turning off monitoring tools and manually deleting records of their access — evasive behavior that several cybersecurity experts interviewed by NPR compared to what criminal or state-sponsored hackers might do.” And specifically alarming, according to NPR, NLRB IT employees started detecting suspicious log-in attempts from an IP address in Russia, and the person attempting to log in had the correct passwords.

According to reporting from NPR, who spoke to labor law experts, “if the data gets out, it could be abused, including by private companies with cases before the agency that might get insights into damaging testimony, union leadership, legal strategies and internal data on competitors — Musk's SpaceX among them. It could also intimidate whistleblowers who might speak up about unfair labor practices, and it could sow distrust in the NLRB's independence.” This level of security breach could be happening across the government, indeed DOGE has been accused of numerous acts that breach security protocol from USAID to the Social Security Administration and beyond. So, just so we’re clear, an immigrant to the United States is directing a legion of goons, some of which are directly connected to underground hacking networks, to access sensitive information about citizens across the government and that sensitive information may or may not be getting leaked to hackers in Russia, all under the guise of “government efficiency” and yet has done nothing to actually increase efficiency, if anything he’s just sown chaos that has reduced efficiency, and, under that cover, has managed to get his hands on sensitive information that he could use to further enrich himself, which has absolutely nothing to do with the purported mission of DOGE and is actively illegal. Got it. Because Musk is a very special little government employee, the law limits his role to 130 days, meaning he’d need to step down as DOGE department head by May 30th. He’s told Fox News he thinks DOGE will have accomplished its goal by then, though considering it doesn’t appear DOGE has saved the government any money, I’m not sure that’s true, though he may have accomplished HIS goal by then of extracting enough information and doing enough damage to his competitors that he can skip off into the sunset and continue to enrich himself with insider information and live happily ever after. Something tells me the Trump administration will find some way to argue around the 130 day limit, especially considering they’ve been cagey about ever really defining Musk’s role to begin with. If it’s not an official role it doesn’t have to follow official laws, right? I’ll be keeping my eye on that May 30th deadline to see how the regime argues its way out of that one.

Elsewhere in the executive branch, Trump made comments yesterday that indicate the direction his executive orders and attacks on his enemies will likely go–he’s been preoccupied with attacking his named enemies, attacking law firms that have done him wrong, and going after universities, with Harvard notably standing up to him this week despite the risk to its federal contracts and grants. Next, it appears Trump will be going after the non-profits and civil society groups that have stood up to him. Yesterday he told reporters his administration is “looking at” Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, also known as CREW, which is a watchdog group that has filed lawsuits against his executive actions and is actively investigating his conflicts of interest. CREW’s mission on its website states “At CREW, we use aggressive legal actions, in-depth investigations, and innovative policy and reform work to achieve the vision of an ethical, accountable, and open government.” So obviously Trump hates that. Specifically, he discussed going after their tax exempt status–charities and non-profits benefit from tax exempt status, and its also a handy way for the federal government to start meddling. Threatening the tax exempt status of all sorts of organizations isn’t new, in fact it was used quite effectively in the 70s to force schools to integrate or face removal of their tax exempt status. Experts posit that it is this attack on the tax exempt status especially of religious schools in the wake of Brown v. Board of Education that really radicalized the right into the party that it is today. So if anyone understands the damaging potential of going after tax exemption, its the Republican party.

The regime has also asked the IRS to revoke Harvard’s tax exempt status as well, so it’s clearly a tool they will be using to go after any organization that finds itself in Trump’s crosshairs. Which makes sense considering the fact that it is tax exempt organizations like CREW, like the ACLU, and so many more, that are doing most of the litigation work to try to hold the Trump regime accountable for its actions and to protect the rights of some of the country’s most vulnerable populations. And removing tax exempt status from already strapped organizations will have devastating consequences. Combine that with his crackdown on large law firms who have capitulated to him and promised to do only pro bono legal work that he approves of, and the regime will have effectively strangled any and all legal resistance to their actions. And so while our eyes are glued to the ongoing court battles and whether the Trump administration will or won’t comply, it is also important to note that part of this regime’s plan is to snuff out any legal challenges from the beginning, so it won’t matter whether or not its following court orders, there will be no one seeking those orders to begin with. And it is the work of watchdog groups like CREW that alerts us to the injustices being perpetrated by the government. Without them, we can more easily be lulled into a false sense of normalcy and complacency. This is just another example of the all encompassing nature of Project 2025 and how thoroughly they are working to impose authoritarian order on all aspects of our society. I will be keeping my eyes peeled in the coming days for executive actions targeting non-profits and watchdog groups that have been thorns in the side of the regime preventing it from being able to fully carry out its mission. According to reporting from AP, some nonprofits expect Trump may start taking action to specifically target environmental groups on Earth Day, which is Tuesday, and would be incredibly on brand for this administration. I’m envisioning an executive order titled something like “Restoring America’s Natural Resource Dominance" and saying that it is the policy of this administration that we honor the earth this earth day by extracting as much from the land as we possibly can.

Moving from the executive branch to Congress, this week members were out on recess and while typically they use these recesses as an opportunity to return home and talk to their constituents, many Republicans were unwilling to face the music. Those that did were met yet again with an onslaught of angry voters. My favorite clip was from a town hall held by Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley who, by the way, is fucking ancient this man is 91, and I think my heart grew three sizes watching a bunch of old people yell at each other. And you KNOW when a midwestern boomer yells I’M PISSED that he means business!!

Marjorie Taylor Greene also held a town hall, before which attendees had to prove their residence in order to be let in. Even despite those measures and a heavy police presence, it erupted into chaos almost immediately as two hecklers were forcibly removed after police used stun guns on them. But most Republican representatives and Senators have declined to hold town hall meetings at all, a move that is also garnering criticism but at least saves them from the embarrassing videos and sound bites. But constituents are taking notice of their absence and many Democrats are using this opening to go to Republican districts and listen to the concerns of voters in an attempt to win over people who are watching their rights and protections crumble while their elected representatives run and hide. So I guess good on Chuck Grassley for even showing up to begin with, though I imagine it is easier to take verbal abuse when you can no longer hear because you are 91 years old.

And in the judicial branch, the Supreme Court announced yesterday that it will be hearing arguments in a few weeks on President Trump’s birthright citizenship order. Oral arguments are set for May 15th at 10am. The order, which would end birthright citizenship, meaning anyone born in the US to non-US parents in the future would not be automatically granted citizenship, that order is currently paused pending the outcome of numerous lawsuits filed to challenge it. These oral arguments are related to three separate lawsuits which have been collectively granted one oral argument since they’re all addressing the same question. But the question is not, in fact, whether or not ending birthright citizenship is constitutional, that’s not what the Supreme Court will decide, at least not at this juncture in the case. Instead, they will rule on the Trump administration’s assertion that these district courts do not have the authority to impose nationwide bans on executive orders. The Trump administration is, of course, arguing that the nationwide bans encroach on the executive power of the president. The lawyers for the states of Washington, Arizona, Illinois, and Oregon, the states who brought these challenges to the birthright citizenship order, argue that the nationwide injunctions are perfectly legal, have decades of precedent, that every single district court that was asked to determine the constitutionality of that order issued an injunction to stop it from moving forward, that the federal government is being hyperbolic and untruthful when it says that this injunction is an emergency that the court must weigh in on–the government is not going to suffer irreparable harm if the executive order is paused pending the outcome of these cases and, in any event, there is no reasonable probability that the Supreme Court would even side with the government on this one, if they agree to hear the cases at all, given the longstanding and entirely settled nature of birthright citizenship, which has been affirmed by the Supreme Court in the past and which is clear given just the plain language of the 14th Amendment which says “all persons born in the United States are citizens of the United States.” Periodt. Now would THIS specific Supreme Court entertain actually looking into overturning this long held precedent? Yeah maybe. But the states’ lawyers are arguing that generally speaking it is highly improbable that the Supreme Court, given the history and precedent of birthright citizenship, would or SHOULD actually entertain the government’s asinine arguments. The fact that the Supreme Court granted cert to hear this appeal to begin with, however, doesn’t bode well. If they felt it was clear and there was no need to genuinely consider the case at all, they would have denied cert which would have left the temporary injunctions on the order in place. Four justices are needed to approve cert and agree to hear the case, which means that four justices believed there was enough of an argument here that it deserved being heard. The fact that they’re entertaining this appeal indicates they may also entertain an appeal on the actual merits of the case, which is spooky. But it also means that their determination could undermine the nationwide injunctions currently holding back some of the onslaught of Trump’s executive orders, so the outcome of the Court’s decision could be not only to allow the order ending birthright citizenship to take effect even as the case plays out in court but also to rule that all the temporary injunctions are invalid at least as they pertain to nationwide bans. Which would then lead to chaos because perhaps the injunction would hold in Arizona where the judge issued it, for example, but not in the states where there have not been injunctions, creating a patchwork of executive order enforcement. So a baby born to immigrant parents in Arizona is a citizen but one born to immigrant parents in Minnesota is not?? Like the fact that the Supreme Court is even entertaining this appeal is disconcerting. They may surprise us–they might decide nationwide injunctions are cool, and Amy Coney Barrett has been occasionally siding with the liberal justices especially in the more batshit decisions, much to the chagrin of conservatives, but you truly never know with this court. Established law and precedent don’t hold a lot of sway with them. And Clarence Thomas has, of course, indicated that he would be interested in doing away with lower courts’ ability to issue nationwide injunctions. We’ll see what they decide after the May 15th arguments.

And now I’d like to take a minute to step back and give you some action items if you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just 2 that I think will make a big impact on your life and mental wellbeing in These Trying Times. First: call your representatives I KNOW I KNOW wait don’t click away. It’s so annoying and feels so pointless but I promise you that it does have an impact. Get comfortable with calling them and just make it a habit to call with them to chat a few times a week. Use 5calls dot org–you can set your location and it will populate your representatives and then you can click on issues you care about, it will give you a script, and you just click the button to call. It’s really so much less scary than it sounds, it takes 5 minutes, and it’s important that it is a phone call as opposed to an email or letter. It’s the phone calls they are annoyed about. And 5 calls dot org makes it incredibly easy. Okay so that’s one.

Two: meet your neighbors. You become so much more resilient the second you know your neighbors, especially if you exchange contact information. You can literally knock on their doors and just tell them you’re interested in connecting with your neighbors. Bring them a baked good or something if you feel weird showing up empty handed. Just make contact and you’ll feel so much more connected and less vulnerable. If you want to take it a step further, create a neighborhood pod–it can literally just be a chat on Whatsapp or wherever for the people in your immediate vicinity, it doesn’t have to be particularly active, but it’s a line of communication that connects you to other people, which not only increases the safety of your immediate environment because you’re not just surrounded by strangers you don’t know, but it also will help you get out of your own head and feel connected and grounded. And it is fear and disconnection that this regime is betting on to wear us all down and make us complacent. Don’t underestimate the power of the small act of connecting with your neighbors. I know it doesn’t feel big enough to meet the current level of crisis, but it’s the small acts of defiance, every day, that over time do make a difference. I’m holding on to that hope and I hope you will too.

If you’d like to support my work and connect with others online, I recommend joining me over on Patreon where I launched the Why, America? Co-Learning Lab at the beginning of this year, a learning community having discussions and making connections, along with a monthly syllabus curated by me. All year we’ll be covering topics under the umbrella theme of “Eat the Rich: Building Solidarity in the New Gilded Age.” April’s topic is all about uncovering how fascism festered in America. This is all hosted over on Patreon, which is linked down below. If you’re interested, please join us. Patreon dot com slash leeja miller.

Thank you to my multi-platinum patrons Marc, Thomas Orf, Sarah Shelby, Art, David, R_H, L’etranger (Lukus), Joshua Cole, Thomas Johnson, and Tay. Your generosity makes this channel what it is, so thank you!

And if you liked this episode, you’ll like the one from last week Wednesday about the showdown between Trump and the Courts over the Abrego Garcia case.


Leeja Miller
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