Judge says Trump admin. must allow challenges to El Salvador removals

• Yesterday a judge ordered the government to allow Venezuelan men who were removed from the U.S. earlier this year to challenge their ongoing imprisonment in El Salvador, saying the Trump administration attempted to create “a legal no man’s land.”
  
  
• Today a coalition of immigrants rights organizations and criminal defense lawyers sued the Trump administration to block the government from paying El Salvador to imprison the hundreds of removed Venezuelan migrants. 

DOJ threatens Wisconsin Elections Commission with funding cutoff 

• The DOJ accused Wisconsin of violating federal law by failing to create a complaints process, and called for federal election funds to the state to be cut off. This comes just after the DOJ sued North Carolina for alleged failure to maintain accurate voter lists.

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• The Trump Administration is detaining and threatening students with deportation in retaliation for speaking out on issues they care about.
  
  
• The government cannot punish anyone for their speech or viewpoint — citizen or not. Demand Congress take action.

Meet Russell Vought, the new face of the DOGE agenda

• Though Elon Musk is gone, DOGE is here to stay. Russell Vought, a Christian nationalist and Project 2025 architect, appears to be at the helm of the faux-agency — and the slash-and-burn effort against the federal government may be on the cusp of an even darker turn. 

Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act at risk

• A total of 19 attorneys general asked the 8th Circuit to revive private right of action under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). Two panels have already eliminated the ability for private individuals/groups to bring Section 2 claims in seven states, finding that only the Justice Department can do so.
  
  
• Can the VRA survive if individuals can’t sue under Section 2? More here.

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR

The Trump Administration's actions are the biggest threat to freedom of speech since the Red Scare. If the government can come after one of us for speech the administration disagrees with, they can - and will - come after any of us. Join the ACLU and tell Congress to defend our right to free speech.

Hearing coming up tomorrow

• A federal court will hear arguments tomorrow in a lawsuit from 19 states challenging Trump's anti-voting executive order. State officials are asking the court to block key parts of the order that require extra proof of citizenship and target states using extended mail-in ballot deadlines.