The president is already trying to misuse his powers.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  
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Brennan Center for Justice
 
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Only hours after swearing to uphold the Constitution, President Trump tried to flout it by issuing an executive order that claimed to end birthright citizenship. The order already faces significant legal challenges and has little chance of surviving, even in front of a Supreme Court stacked with Trump loyalists. Indeed, on Thursday a federal judge temporarily blocked the order, calling it “blatantly unconstitutional.” The plain language of the 14th Amendment and more than a century of case law are clear: Anyone born in the United States is automatically a citizen, no matter who their parents are.
As he had promised to do for months, Trump has declared unlawful immigration a national emergency — a gross misuse of emergency powers. Unlawful immigration at the southern border is neither sudden nor unexpected, and it’s up to Congress, not the president, to address it through comprehensive reform.
Trump took swift action to roll back a slew of Biden-era policies, including lifting the ban on Justice Department use of privately run prisons, benefiting the biggest names in the industry.
He also rescinded an executive order aimed at reforming policing. Ironically, Trump himself had pushed for some of these reforms during his first term — such as a registry for police misconduct — highlighting a sharp about-face.
House Republicans have revived the SAVE Act, a bill that would require all Americans to provide proof of citizenship, like passports and birth certificates, when they register or re-register to vote. Premised on debunked conspiracy theories, the bill threatens to disenfranchise millions of eligible Americans, particularly older people, people of color, and married women who change their last names. Our new resource explains the problems with this legislation and how it could harm both voting rights and election administration.
Fifteen years after Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission opened the floodgates for unlimited campaign spending, its effects are undeniable. In the last election, billionaires like Elon Musk used super PACs to not only fund ads but also run key campaign operations. With the Supreme Court unlikely to reverse its stance, reform now falls to state and local governments to curb big-money influence and bring transparency to our elections.

 
BRENNAN CENTER ON SOCIAL MEDIA
A long-term solution for countering the damage from Citizens United is to change where campaign money comes from. That means creating public financing programs. Watch the video on Instagram >>

 
Virtual Events
 
Do the Police Care About White Supremacist Violence?
Tuesday, January 28, 3–4 p.m. ET
Why do agencies like the FBI seem more focused on monitoring racial justice protesters than on violent groups such as the Proud Boys and other far-right organizations? And after more than two dozen current or former law enforcement officials participated in the January 6 insurrection, what has been done to address extremist sympathizers within these ranks? Mike German, author of Policing White Supremacy, draws on research and his experiences as an undercover FBI agent focused on domestic extremism to argue for a better way to combat far-right violence.
 
Join the Brennan Center for a virtual conversation with German and Natalie Tennant, a Kanawha County, West Virginia, commissioner. Together, they will discuss the current threats and what it will take for law enforcement to tackle the danger of far-right extremism. RSVP today
 

 
 
Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
120 Broadway, Suite 1750 New York, NY 10271
646-292-8310
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