President Donald Trump issued an executive order on 1 May, which directed the ending of federal funding for National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). The funding had already been appropriated by Congress. The executive order argued that the news media organizations were biased; these have been the objects of criticism by conservative and Republican actors, who consider that they sympathize with causes that are championed by America’s political left. NPR and PBS have decried the measure as contrary to freedom of expression and imperilling their ability to operate. They have initiated legal challenges to the executive order. Cuts to media organizations follow those ordered in March to the US Agency for Global Media (under which Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia operate), with the matter currently being challenged in the courts. 

Sources:  The White House, AP, NBC News

The Trump administration has targeted the funding and academic freedom of some universities. Through a task force ostensibly established to combat antisemitism, the government has made a series of demands to Harvard University that impact its academic freedom as well as the privacy and wellbeing of students accused of engaging in antisemitic activity. These allegations have been rejected by the academic institution. In response, the government has ordered the withholding of federal funds amounting to billions of dollars, a decision currently being challenged by Harvard before the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The government’s measures against Harvard and other universities such as Columbia, The University of Pennsylvania and Cornell, are part of a larger group of policies intended to influence higher-education institutions, including executive orders that prohibit foreign funding of universities, eliminate DEI in admissions, hiring, and in accreditation processes. Officials have required higher-education institutions to shift from their racial diversity initiatives to introduce viewpoint diversity instead. 

 Sources: CNN, The Guardian, The White House, BBC, NYTimes, Just Security, PBS

On 28 April, President Trump issued an executive order (EO) instructing the publication of a list of ‘sanctuary jurisdictions’ (cities and counties that have not cooperated with the government’s policies on migration). Such jurisdictions would risk having federal grants and contracts terminated or suspended if they refuse to collaborate with immigration policy. The EO further directs the creation of guidance to prevent undocumented migrants from receiving federal benefits, and to stop the enforcement of local-level legislation and policies related to higher education and the criminal justice system that are deemed to benefit undocumented migrants. Several cities affected by previous directives to ‘sanctuary’ jurisdictions had filed suit prior to the publication of the EO, to challenge any retaliation for not abiding by the federal government’s immigration enforcement priorities and had obtained an injunction to prevent federal funds from being withheld. On 10 May, a federal judge decided that the 28 April EO could not bypass such an injunction.

 Sources: The White House, Reuters, Just Security

The Trump administration has turned to controversial legal grounds for expediting deportations, undercutting due process for hundreds of undocumented migrants. On 15 March, Trump signed a proclamation designating the Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua as a terrorist organization, invoking the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to summarily apprehend, detain and deport Venezuelans 14 years or older. That day, three planes carrying over 200 Venezuelans landed in El Salvador; the migrants have since been detained in a mega-prison, despite a judge’s order to stop and return the planes. The U.S. Supreme Court allowed Trump to invoke the Alien Enemies Act, but ruled that migrants must still be given notice and time to challenge their deportation.

Also on a 15 March flight was Kilmar Abrego García, a Salvadoran man with a court protection from removal to El Salvador. Officials concede he was deported in error. In April the Supreme Court upheld a judge’s order to ‘facilitate’ Abrego’s return , but officials claim his return is not possible as he is now outside U.S. jurisdiction.

 Sources: The White House, Politico, CNN, AP, SCOTUS  

On 25 March, President Trump issued an executive order (EO) on electoral integrity. Among its provisions is a requirement to produce proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. Further, it includes restrictions on mail-in ballots so that only those arriving by election day are counted, the exclusion of QR code or barcode technology for vote counting, and enabling DOGE and Department of Homeland Security access to voter registration information. The EO further directs the Election Assistance Commission, an independent and congressionally established entity, to take action to implement the EO’s provisions. The potential disenfranchisement of millions of people resulting from ID requirements, privacy concerns, and the threat to withhold federal funding from non-compliant states has further fuelled concerns. Legislation on some of these issues has passed in the House but is still to be considered by the Senate. The EO and the instructions for its implementation both appear to exceed the powers of the executive branch. 

 Sources: The White House, Brookings, NY Times, Washington Post, International IDEA

Several foreign activists and university students who have expressed support for Palestine are having their visas or permanent residency revoked, facing arrests by immigration officials and deportation proceedings, which the government has justified on foreign policy grounds. According to officials, the students have shown support for and alignment with Hamas and have undermined the Trump administration’s foreign policy. Officials have not charged the affected students with crimes, nor have they publicized evidence of the allegations against them. Government officials have further requested universities to turn over lists of students involved in pro-Palestinian protests. The use of the immigration system against legal residents and visa-holders for their political views is a startling violation of constitutional protections of freedom of expression. The students’ court cases before immigration and federal judges are ongoing. 

 Sources: AP, CBS News, CNN, Washington Post, PBS

The Trump administration has issued executive orders and memos directing federal agencies to terminate contracts with businesses that are clients of some law firms, and ending the security clearances of the lawyers they employ. The law firms in question, which include Perkins Coie, Covington & Burling and Wilmerhale, have represented or employed people considered by the Trump administration to be political adversaries. Others have been targeted for implementing DEI policies in their hiring procedures. A memo to the Attorney General has further called for ethics investigations into individual lawyers who represent plaintiffs in cases against the government. These measures have led to several firms refusing to represent the targeted law firms, Trump critics, or former officials under the Biden administration. Others have made deals with the government to provide pro bono counsel for causes the President supports. Experts consider the executive orders to severely undermine freedom of expression, due process and the right to legal counsel. 

Sources: The White House (1), The White House (2), The White House (3), The White House (4), The White House (5), NY Times

About one million federal workers may no longer be represented in collective bargaining after a 27 March executive order excluded civil servants whose work is related to national security. The White House has asserted the decision has the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act (that sought to improve the merit system in the civil service and federal employee-manager relations by affirming both legal protections to civil servants and managers’ authority) as its legal basis. The list of agencies and subdivisions that the executive order considers having ‘national security missions’ include those whose main work is foreign policy, health, veterans’ affairs and immigration, among others. Notably, the executive order does not exclude police officers and firefighters from collective bargaining. Union leaders have characterized the decision as retaliation for the lawsuits filed against the Trump administration’s efforts to overhaul the U.S. civil service, such as widespread cuts to the federal workforce and the dismantling of agencies and programs. Some unions have filed lawsuits against the decision.

Sources: The White House (1), The White House (2), NPR, AP

On 19 March, a North Dakota jury found Greenpeace liable for defamation and responsible for damages of over USD 660 million, which according to the environmental organization could bankrupt its U.S. presence. Energy Transfer (a pipeline company) sued Greenpeace, arguing that three Greenpeace entities (Greenpeace International, Greenpeace USA and Greenpeace Fund Inc.) had (in 2016 and 2017) organized criminal acts such as trespassing and deprivation of property access, and incited protests against the Dakota Access pipeline at Standing Rock. Greenpeace and legal experts have characterized the lawsuit as SLAPP (strategic lawsuits against public participation) litigation, aimed at silencing critics. Members of the Standing Rock Tribe have expressed their opposition to the company’s actions and share the view it had the purpose to silence their protests. Greenpeace will appeal before the North Dakota Supreme Court. It has raised concerns about jury biases on its ability to have a fair trial. Experts consider that the jury’s decision, along with the staggering amount of damages awarded, could have a chilling effect on the right to protest. 

 Sources: TIME, The Guardian, AlJazeera, Euro News

On 20 March, President Trump issued an executive order instructing the Secretary of Education to facilitate the Department’s closure, with the aim of leaving the issue of education to state and local authorities. While officials have stated that crucial services related to student loans and funding for low-income students and high-poverty schools will remain, cuts to staff and data collection have raised questions about if and how money can be allocated and distributed. Relatedly, the Department’s workforce has been significantly reduced, including staff in charge of allotting funding for rural and low-income schools, and USD 600 million in grants (most related to diversity and inclusion programs) have been ended. Republican lawmakers in Congress have put forward initiatives to close the Department, but their party’s slim majority in the House and Senate mean their approval is at this point unlikely. Since the Department of Education was established by Congress, the EO cannot by itself abolish it; it can only facilitate cuts and changes.

Sources: The White House, NBC News, NY Times, NPR

Undocumented migrants have been transported to third countries and the US military base in Guantanamo Bay for their ultimate repatriation. Rights groups and family members have sued on behalf of individual migrants and challenged the deportation schemes, given their impact on migrants’ rights, particularly due process. The US has resorted to agreements with El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama to facilitate the deportation of nationals of countries with which diplomatic relations are inexistent or tense. In Panama, a country that received people swiftly deported from the US without the ability to claim asylum, activists have denounced a lack of access to legal counsel, translation services and prolonged detention. Officials claimed those sent to Guantanamo were high-risk detainees, that is, suspected of or known to have links to criminal groups, including those designated as terrorist. However, most have not been charged or convicted of serious crimes. By early March nearly 300 migrants had been transferred to Guantanamo; most were deported but around 40 people were sent back to the US, without the government explaining the reasons.

 Sources: NY Times, OHCHR, NBC News, BBC, CBS News

Following a January executive order that called for the suspension of Congress-approved foreign aid funds and the review of foreign aid programs, the Trump administration began placing thousands of employees of the US Agency for International Development on administrative leave. Despite ongoing litigation on the matter, by the end of February, officials had placed over half of USAID’s workforce of approximately 10,000 either on leave or had dismissed them, and announced only essential personnel (numbering in the several hundreds) would continue as part of the State Department. On 10 March, the Secretary of State announced the review of USAID’s programs had finalized; between 82 and 90 per cent of the agency’s programs have been terminated (representing about USD 51.6 billion in grants). According to the Secretary of State, the surviving programs would, in consultation with Congress, continue under the State Department. Despite USAID being a congressionally created agency, Republicans who hold a majority in both chambers have not pushed back on its dismantling.

Sources: TIME, ABC News, BBC, Just Security

The Associated Press (AP) journalists have been barred from accessing Oval Office and other White House events, as well as from boarding the presidential plane as part of the press pool, due to the AP’s editorial decision to continue referring to the ‘Gulf of Mexico’ with its original name, after the Trump administration issued an executive order to rename it as the ‘Gulf of America’. The AP filed a lawsuit against the government, claiming both free speech and due process violations. Litigation is ongoing.  

Sources: Associated Press (1), Associated Press (2) Just Security, The White House, The Conversation

President Donald Trump issued an executive order (EO) on 10 February, directing the Attorney General to pause the enforcement of the 1977 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) for 180 days. The FCPA was enacted with the objective of banning US companies, subsidiaries and other enterprises and individuals with ties to the US from offering or paying bribes to foreign officials. Critics of the FCPA have argued the legislation leaves American companies in an unfavourable position in markets where payments to officials are commonly conducted to facilitate business. President Trump has voiced opposition to the law since his first term, considering US companies are unable to compete on a level playing field with foreign enterprises. Days before the EO was issued, the Attorney General had issued a memorandum, prioritizing investigations into bribery that benefited cartels and terrorist organizations. While the EO only temporarily freezes the FCPA, it may undermine anti-corruption efforts at the domestic and international levels.

Sources: The White House, Voice of America, Just Security, CBS News, Reuters