Judge says Trump administration 'unquestionably' violated court order with deportations to South Sudan

Judge says Trump administration 'unquestionably' violated court order with deportations to South Sudan

After reports that a deportation flight with eight migrants left Texas for South Sudan this week, a federal judge on Wednesday ruled that the Trump administration violated a previous order. District Court Judge Brian Murphy in Massachusetts said during the hearing that the Trump administration failed to adhere to his previous injunction preventing individuals from being sent to a country other than their own without giving them an opportunity to raise fears of persecution or torture. It was issued in March. It comes after the Department of Homeland Security confirmed during a press briefing Wednesday morning that eight individuals from Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cuba, Mexico and South Sudan were deported this week. All had violent criminal convictions. "The department's actions in this question are unquestionably violative of this court's order," Murphy told the court. Government attorneys said that the migrants are still in ICE custody, and that the plane has since landed. They declined to share the location of the plane's final destination. A State Department travel advisory warns Americans not to go to South Sudan "due to crime, kidnapping, and armed conflict" and notes that in March, because of the situation there, the department "ordered the departure of non-emergency U.S. government employees from South Sudan." Murphy, who briefed the court on the sequence of events leading to the deportation after speaking with government attorneys out of public earshot, said that the individuals were notified of their destination "sometime in the evening" on Monday, outside business hours. He added that they left the ICE facility the next morning "at the latest in the 10am hour and at the earliest before 9am." Without sufficient time to consult an attorney or family members, the judge said that it was "impossible" for those individuals to "have a meaningful opportunity to object" to their deportation to a third country. The hearing comes after immigration attorneys told Murphy that at least two of their clients, from Myanmar and Vietnam, were deported Tuesday morning to South Sudan. South Sudan could beheaded for another civil war.A 2018 power-sharing agreement between President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar, ended five years of civil war. But earlier this year, violent clashes between the factions have ramped up once again. Earlier this month, Murphy had blocked the Trump administration's attempt to deport individuals from countries including the Philippines, Vietnam and Laos to Libya. Then, Murphy had reaffirmed his injunction on third country deportations in response to an emergency motion from the migrants' lawyers.

byDaniel Coleman

in

May 21, 2025

Judge says Trump administration 'unquestionably' violated court order with deportations to South Sudan

Judge says Trump administration 'unquestionably' violated court order with deportations to South Sudan After reports that a deportat...

Read More

What is SALT and why does it threaten Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill?'

What is SALT and why does it threaten Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill?'

The future of President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" that would fund his second-term agenda could depend on SALT. The State and Local Tax deduction has been a wedge between Democrats and Republicans but now a division between GOP House members from high-tax districts and fiscal hardliners who look at it as subsidizing blue states. Adding more confusion over the debate is the president himself, who has flipped since his first term in office. The SALT deduction allows taxpayers to itemize state and local taxes in their filing, including property taxes. Residents of states likeNew York, New Jersey and California, along with cities like Salt Lake City, Miami and Houston, which have a larger share of wealthier taxpayers and homeowners, used the deduction the most, according to IRS data. The Tax Foundation, a non-profit that analyses tax data, found in 2017 that about 90% of the value of the deduction went to families making more than $100,000. Prior to 2017, taxpayers had an unlimited total SALT deduction. The average SALT deduction was around $13,000 nationwide and below $15,000 in most counties, according to the non-profit groupthe Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. MORE: What's in Trump's 'big' tax and immigration bill House Republicans are struggling to pass During his first term, Trump's massive 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made huge cuts to federal spending to pay for tax breaks for wealthier Americans. The bill capped the SALT deduction at $10,000. Democrats and Republicans in those states that had benefitted from the higher SALT cap protested against that section of the bill, arguing that it would harm their constituents. "It's a geographic redistribution of wealth," then-New York Republican congressman Lee Zeldin told CNBC in 2017. "When you are taking extra money from a state like New York or New Jersey to pay for a deeper tax cut elsewhere." Zeldin, who was Trump's pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency in his second term, was among the 13 Republican House members who voted against the bill. House Republicans, who ultimately prevailed, contended that SALT benefited the wealthiest Americans. "This is about giving hardworking taxpayers bigger paychecks, more take-home pay," then-Speaker Paul Ryan said after the bill passed the House. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has repeatedly slammed Trump and Republicans for capping the SALT deduction and called for it to be eliminated. "Congress has placed a bullseye on New York State -- you don't have to be a partisan nose to smell a rat, but I tell you, this plan stinks," he told reporters in 2017. Trump ignored the criticism then, but his messaging changed after he was voted out of office in 2020. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump pledged to end the cap. He didn't mention that he championed and signed the 2017 bill that created it. MORE: Trump urges House Republicans not to mess with Medicaid amid push to pass bill advancing his agenda: Sources "I will turn it around, get SALT back, lower your Taxes, and so much more," Trump posted on Truth Social in September, just before a campaign rally in Nassau County, New York, one of the counties with the most SALT deductions. He made the same claim atthe rally,but didn't offer any details. While New York Republicans welcomed the reversal, Democrats, including Schumer, called Trump out for his hypocrisy. "His tax bill did it, a dagger aimed at blue states that want to spend a little more to help people with housing, and health care, and education, transportation," Schumer said on the Senate floor the day after the rally. "All of a sudden, now that he is on Long Island, Donald Trump's selective amnesia kicks in and he totally reverses himself on SALT." Trump has continued to push for SALT changes, but not everyone in his party has jumped on board. SALT has become a sticking point in Republican infighting over Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill." Several GOP House members, including Rep. Mike Lawler of New York, vowed to vote no on the bill without a SALT cap increase. "So, this is, as it stands, I have been very clear. This does not have my support," he told reporters last week. Lawler said Republican hardliners were "screwing a whole host of people who are getting hammered by property taxes." GOP Rep. Nick LaLota of New York declared "there is no deal without a true SALT fix." MORE: Trump paints NYC hometown as wasteland at Long Island rally, says Dems are 'threat to democracy' Exasperated House GOP fiscal hardliners pushed back against any deal to raise the SALT cap as they seek to reduce the debt. "You need to get behind the cuts that we need to find the savings that we need to find. Stop b----ing," Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., said of his colleagues pushing to raise the SALT cap. "The reality is, we're $37 trillion in debt and we have a $2 trillion deficit. This is a math problem." In a meeting with House Republicans on Tuesday, Trump told them "Don't let SALT impede this bill," claiming they could fight for raising the cap later. An overnight tentative deal that would raise the cap to $30,000 threatened GOP leadership's hopes to get the bill to the floor for a vote. Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, chairman of the conservative House Freedom Council, said the SALT deal pushes hardliners "further away from a deal." "This bill actually got worse overnight," Harris told Newsmax on Wednesday. "There is no way it passes today." "We may need a couple of weeks to iron everything out but it's not going anywhere today," he said. Hardliners were to meet with Trump on Wednesday afternoon to see if he can break the impasse. What is SALT and why does it threaten Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill?'originally appeared onabcnews.go.com

byDaniel Coleman

in

May 21, 2025

What is SALT and why does it threaten Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill?'

What is SALT and why does it threaten Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill?' The future of President Donald Trump's "One Big Bea...

Read More

Promising reform, Noem tells US Coast Guard Academy graduates they will lead a 'brand new' service

Promising reform, Noem tells US Coast Guard Academy graduates they will lead a 'brand new' service

The U.S. Coast Guard is facing its largest readiness crisis since World War II, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Wednesday as she promised an overhaul of the service that she called the "point of the spear" in the nation's defense. Noem, the keynote speaker at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy's commencement, outlined the Trump administration's plans to increase the service's military workforce by at least 15,000 by the end of fiscal year 2028. The plan also calls for reducing the number of admirals by 25%, boosting recruiting efforts and increasing the fleet, including icebreakers that are used in the Arctic. "A new chapter for America's Coast Guard, one like we have never seen before, starts right now," she told the 256 cadets, who became newly minted officers from the prestigious service academy in New London, Connecticut. Noem spoke of the Coast Guard being 10% short of its enlisted workforce goals and relying on outdated aircraft and ships, some sailing with 75% of the needed crew members. She recalled a meeting with PresidentDonald Trump, who she said asked what the Coast Guard needed. "I said sir, they need everything," Noem said. "They've been neglected for too long." Big change is afoot The Coast Guard has more than 43,000 active duty members, 8,000 reservists, and 30,000 auxiliary members. "We are on the edge of transformational change," said Adm. Kevin E. Lunday, who Noem announced Wednesday will become the service's new commandant. Lunday has been the service's acting commandant since Jan. 21, after Trumpfired former Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan, the first female leader of the Coast Guard. The administration's modernization plan, called Force Design 2028, officially takes effect on Wednesday, Noem said. Besides increasing the workforce, it calls for the appointment of a dedicated civilian leader to oversee the 234-year-old maritime service, essentially mirroring how the other branches of the U.S. military are led at the Pentagon. Nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, the proposed Coast Guard Service Secretary within the Homeland Security Department would advocate for a service "weakened by decades of underinvestment, neglect and strategic drift," and create a new level of accountability, according to the plan released Wednesday. Such a change would require congressional approval. Currently, there is at least one bill before Congress that would create such a position. "Creating a Secretary of the Coast Guard ensures they have the leadership, resources, and support they need to continue their vital missions," said the bill's author, Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Ezell of Mississippi, chair of the House Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee, in a recent written statement. "It's time we give the Coast Guard the same level of recognition and advocacy that other military branches receive." Coast Guard is now under Homeland Security Control of the Coast Guard was officially transferred from the U.S. Department of Transportation to DHS in 2003. The Commandant of the Coast Guard, a four-star admiral and the highest ranking Coast Guard officer, is now tasked with leading the service. The Coast Guard competes for attention with more than a dozen components of the DHS, including U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Under the Trump administration's plan, the appointment of a secretary, accountable to the president and the DHS secretary and subject to congressional oversight, presents an opportunity to reform the service's organizational structure. "The Coast Guard must be able to conduct its missions and deliver results without being mired in wasteful bureaucracy," the report reads. Many of the service academy graduates cheered the promised reforms during Wednesday's commencement. Cadet Veronica Krystofik of Colchester, Conn., who was named the Distinguished Graduate of the class of 2025, said Force Design 2028 marks "the most significant shift in a century." "But I'm not worried because I know exactly who is stepping up to that challenge. Our class," she said. Six international students also graduated on Wednesday. They will return to their native countries' maritime services. ___

byDaniel Coleman

in

May 21, 2025

Promising reform, Noem tells US Coast Guard Academy graduates they will lead a 'brand new' service

Promising reform, Noem tells US Coast Guard Academy graduates they will lead a 'brand new' service The U.S. Coast Guard is facing it...

Read More

Guyana's army chief says Venezuelans participating in Essequibo vote risk arrest

Guyana's army chief says Venezuelans participating in Essequibo vote risk arrest

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — Guyana's defense chief warned on Wednesday that any residents who participate in upcoming elections organized by neighboring Venezuela overa disputed regionwill be charged with treason and other felony crimes. "If anyone participates or takes any similar action, it will amount to support for a passive coup," Brig. Gen. Omar Khan told The Associated Press. "Anything along those lines will speak to a violation of our sovereignty and territorial integrity." The May 25 election organized by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is the latest step in a push to annex theEssequibo region, which Venezuela has long claimed as its own. Venezuelans living in Guyana who become involved in Sunday's elections could also face arrest and deportation, Khan added. Nearly 100,000 people of direct or indirect Venezuelan ancestry currently live in Guyana, according to Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud. "Shouldn't this reality give all Guyanese a cause to be alert? People's vigilance is equivalent to people's power and defense," Persaud said in a recent social media post. The Essequibo region represents two-thirds of Guyana and is rich in gold, diamonds, timber and other natural resources. It also is located close tomassive offshore oil deposits, with current production averaging some 650,000 barrels daily. On Sunday, Venezuelans will head to the polls to elect governors and lawmakers, as well as officials who would supposedly administer the Essequibo region. In 2023, Maduro threatened to annex the region by force after holding a referendum asking voters if Essequibo should be turned into a Venezuelan state. The dispute over the region began more than a century ago, when an international tribunal in 1899 drew the border between the South American neighbors. In 2018, Guyana went to the International Court of Justice and asked judges to uphold the 1899 ruling. Meanwhile, Venezuela has dismissed the border drawn more than a century ago, noting Guyana was still a British colony. It has argued that a 1966 agreement to resolve the dispute effectively nullified the original arbitration. The case is still pending in court whiletensions between the two countrieskeep rising despitean emergency summitheld in late 2023 to diffuse the situation. Last week, Guyana's government reported three separate attacks from the Venezuelan side on Guyanese soldiers patrolling a border river. Earlier this year,six Guyanese soldiers were injuredin a separate attack, some of them seriously. U.S. Ambassador Nicole Theriot has dismissedMaduro's threatsas "just bluster aimed at shoring up domestic support." "Everyone should see the sham for what it is. It's saber-rattling from the Maduro regime, nothing more," she said at a public forum Tuesday, stressing that the U.S. stands with Guyana.

byDaniel Coleman

in

May 21, 2025

Guyana's army chief says Venezuelans participating in Essequibo vote risk arrest

Guyana's army chief says Venezuelans participating in Essequibo vote risk arrest GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — Guyana's defense chief wa...

Read More

Chris Cillizza Breaks Down Voter Shift That Helped Trump Vanquish Harris

Chris Cillizza Breaks Down Voter Shift That Helped Trump Vanquish Harris

NewsNation political contributor Chris Cillizza on Wednesday said he was struck by how well President Donald Trump performed with nonwhite voters, based on fresh data on the 2024 election from Democratic data firm Catalist. Catalist'sanalysisfound that former Vice President Kamala Harris lost in part due to unprecedentedly receiving under 50% backing from infrequent and new voters, who are typically more young and diverse than the general electorate,accordingto The Cook Political Report, which first reported on the analysis on Monday.Cillizzasaid on his "So What"Substackthat he was particularly impressed by Trump making inroads with young nonwhite voters.(RELATED: After Democratic Panic, Harris Lines Up Softball Interview Tour) WATCH: "I think a lot of people, particularly Democrats, like to dismiss the Trump coalition as, you know, a bunch of white men. Yes, white men did move toward Trump more in 2024 than 2020 — he won white men by 4% more in 2024 than 2020 — but not huge," Cillizza said. "And by the way, white men without college degrees, Donald Trump's supposed base, they moved three points more toward Trump. So remember, Latino men moved four times more toward Donald Trump in 2024 than white men without a college degree, which is pretty striking. So again, Latino men 12 points more Republican in 2024 than 2020. That is striking. Men overall six points." "Okay, then let's go to 18 to 29 year olds. So these are the youngest cohort of voters. This had been [former President] Barack Obama's wheelhouse. I mean, he won overwhelmingly, 60 plus percent, with this voting cohort. In 2024, 18 to 29 year olds voted 6% overall — all 18 to 29 year olds — voted 6% more Republican than they had in 2020. But if you look at young people of color, it's even more striking," he continued. "Latino 18 to 29 year olds, again, 12 points more Republican than they had been four years ago. Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders nine more points Republican than they had been four years ago. Urban 18 to 29 year olds, those living in cities, 9% more Republican than they had been four years ago. So you had men and young people, particularly men of color and young people of color, moving pretty heavily toward Donald Trump. And what you didn't have to counteract that, which could have helped Harris win, was women overall moving more toward her." However, Trump actually did 1% better with women overall in 2024 against Harris than he did against former President Joe Biden in 2020, Cillizza noted, based on Catalist's data. He also said Trump did 7% better with Hispanic women and 4% better with Asian-American and Pacific Islander women, while performing the same as he did with black women and white women. Trump also secured all seven battleground states and won the national popular vote by millions,accordingto The Cook Political Report. Pollster Frank Luntz told Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom during a May 14 episode of "This Is Gavin Newsom" that Harris had only herself to blame for losing in 2024, arguing her debate performance and the exorbitantfundsin support of her candidacy should have propelled her to victory. "Why did she lose when she had the election? She had more money than God, had an amazing debate performance that everyone saw. There was never another debate. She'd gone into the lead there. Why did she lose? She lost because of herself," Luntz said. "In the end, it's not just what's going on around you. You have to tell people what you are for. You have to tell them what you will do and you have to be able to show that you can get it done." All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter's byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contactlicensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

byDaniel Coleman

in

May 21, 2025

Chris Cillizza Breaks Down Voter Shift That Helped Trump Vanquish Harris

Chris Cillizza Breaks Down Voter Shift That Helped Trump Vanquish Harris NewsNation political contributor Chris Cillizza on Wednesday said h...

Read More