DL Open Thread: Saturday, April 19, 2025
BREAKING: Supreme Court Sez: No More Disappeareds. For now. You just KNOW which two justices dissented:
The Supreme Court temporarily blocked the Trump administration early Saturday from deporting another group of Venezuelan migrants accused of being gang members under the expansive powers of a rarely invoked wartime law.
“The government is directed not to remove any member of the putative class of detainees from the United States until further order of this court,” the court said in a brief, unsigned order that gave no reasoning, as is typical in emergency cases.
Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. dissented. The White House did not issue any immediate response.
Lest you’ve delayed your contribution to the ACLU:
More than 50 Venezuelans were scheduled to be flown out of the country — presumably to El Salvador — from an immigration detention center in Anson, Texas, according to two people with knowledge of the situation. The A.C.L.U. in recent days had already secured court orders barring similar deportations under the law, the Alien Enemies Act, in other places including New York, Denver and Brownsville, Texas.
The situation in Anson was urgent enough that A.C.L.U. lawyers mounted challenges in three different courts within five hours on Friday.
Culminating in:
The lawyers then filed an emergency petition to the Supreme Court, asking the justices to step in and issue an immediate pause on any deportations because many of the Venezuelan men had “already been loaded on to buses, presumably headed to the airport.”
Could there be a coalition forming on the Supreme Court to reject Trump’s lawlessness? Let’s hope so.
Oops, We Didn’t Really Mean It. I can’t even…:
Harvard University received an emailed letter from the Trump administration last Friday that included a series of demands about hiring, admissions and curriculum so onerous that school officials decided they had no choice but to take on the White House.
The university announced its intentions on Monday, setting off a tectonic battle between one of the country’s most prestigious universities and a U.S. president. Then, almost immediately, came a frantic call from a Trump official.
The April 11 letter from the White House’s task force on antisemitism, this official told Harvard, should not have been sent and was “unauthorized,” two people familiar with the matter said.
It is unclear what prompted the letter to be sent last Friday. Its content was authentic, the three people said, but there were differing accounts inside the administration of how it had been mishandled. Some people at the White House believed it had been sent prematurely, according to the three people, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about internal discussions. Others in the administration thought it had been meant to be circulated among the task force members rather than sent to Harvard.
But its timing was consequential. The letter arrived when Harvard officials believed they could still avert a confrontation with President Trump. Over the previous two weeks, Harvard and the task force had engaged in a dialogue. But the letter’s demands were so extreme that Harvard concluded that a deal would ultimately be impossible.
Can we just stop right here? The ‘Government’s task force on antisemitism’ has nothing to do with antisemitism. It’s an attack on free speech using the fig leaf of antisemitism to justify it. Which also is intended to drive a wedge between Jews. Still, if we’re to stop this onslaught of authoritarianism, continuing ineptitude from Trump will be a welcome ally.
Speaking Of Which, The Dead Fight Back:
Immigrants falsely labeled dead by the Social Security Administration are showing up at field offices with documents proving they are alive, leading staff to reinstate nearly three dozen people over the past week, according to records obtained by The Washington Post.
Cartoon By Brian McFadden
There is strength in numbers. Philanthropists, Assemble!:
Everyone—wherever we’re from or whatever our point of view—wants to live in a nation that upholds the fundamental rights and liberties we all deserve and need to thrive.
As charitable giving organizations – private and family foundations, community foundations, corporate foundations, and more – we contribute to communities in every corner of America. Together, we support new parents and elders, veterans and school children, hospitals and libraries, churches and food kitchens, artists and researchers, throughout rural, suburban, and urban communities in every state and territory. Yet in this moment, we face the threat of governmental attacks on our ability to carry out this vital mission, when the communities, organizations, and individuals we support need it most.
We don’t all share the same beliefs or priorities. Neither do our donors or the communities we serve. But as charitable giving institutions, we are united behind our First Amendment right to give as an expression of our own distinct values. Especially in this time of great need, we must have the freedom to direct our resources to a wide variety of important services, issues, and places, to improve lives today and build a stronger future for our country. The health and safety of the American people, our nation’s economic stability, and the vibrancy of our democracy depend on it.
369 co-signers so far. There is hope.
What do you want to talk about?
“Immigrants falsely labeled dead by the Social Security Administration are showing up at field offices with documents proving they are alive, leading staff to reinstate nearly three dozen people over the past week, according to records obtained by The Washington Post.”
How symbolic — just in time for Easter!
That’s why I like that ‘Asked about the resurrections’ line. BTW, you MIGHT want to click on the link to that line.
Easter eggs, anybody?
Quite a lot of people showed for the Indivisible Protest at the Newark post office today between 11:30 and 1:00 PM. Solid lines of sign-bearing people on the East side of Library Ave from the entrance to the Acme parking lot wrapping north and around the corner in front of the post office. Also across the street in front of the Newark Library stretching to near the corner of East Main. Tons of horn honking from the considerable volume of traffic at that time of day.