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Democracy Needs Openness, Not Secrecy
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As the Trump administration continues to use its power to punish its perceived enemies — strengthening ([link removed]) its hold on the nation's capitol ([link removed]) and federal agencies ([link removed]) , exploiting ([link removed]) individuals’ personal information ([link removed]) to advance its anti-trans and anti-immigrant agenda ([link removed]) , and slashing ([link removed]) government budgets
([link removed]) for causes ([link removed]) and research ([link removed]) it doesn’t support, to name just a few examples — it is also actively working to limit the public’s ability to access information about its actions.

This week, we issued a demand letter to the Department of Justice and published resources ([link removed]) to fight back against the Executive Office of Immigration Review’s “proof-of-identity” requirement for all FOIA requests. EOIR’s online public records portal requires all requesters to submit proof identification, but FOIA only requires identification in limited circumstances involving Privacy Act-protected records. This illegal and burdensome hurdle to public records that risks exposing requesters’ personal identifying information for no valid reason.
* Our letter to EOIR leadership ([link removed]) explained that the identification requirement violates both FOIA and the Paperwork Reduction Act. It also creates a chilling effect that could discourage journalists, researchers, nonprofits, and other organizations from seeking records about the agency’s operations, which they are legally entitled to.
* “The law is clear: demanding personal details in exchange for government records violates both the letter and spirit of FOIA,” said our Executive Director Chioma Chukwu. “By forcing requesters to hand over sensitive information, EOIR is not only erecting an illegal hurdle that chills public access to records — it is eroding the very transparency FOIA was designed to protect. We will not let this unlawful barrier stand.”

We urged EOIR to remove or correct the unlawful language by September 4. We also published resources on our website so organizations that share our concerns can also challenge the proof-of-identity requirement. If you want to support our collective advocacy, these resources can be uploaded in EOIR’s portal as the “Proof of Identity” required attachment:
* A customizable template short-form letter ([link removed]) ; and
* A customizable template long-form letter ([link removed]) .

Opposing the Government’s Attempt to Delay DOGE Accountability

As EOIR makes it harder to submit public records requests, the Department of Government Efficiency is refusing to turn over documents in response to such requests. In our ongoing lawsuit for DOGE records ([link removed]) , the government has asked the court to pause our case as other litigation ([link removed]) over DOGE’s legal obligation to federal transparency and records laws progresses.

This week, we opposed the government’s request ([link removed]) and warned ([link removed]) that such an indefinite delay would block transparency and risk the continued destruction of federal records.
* DOGE has operated in secrecy ([link removed]) since its January creation, while carrying out sweeping changes across the federal government, dismantling entire agencies, directing the termination of tens of thousands of federal employees, and shaping policy through private messaging apps with auto-delete features.
* We’ve filed more than 40 FOIA requests ([link removed]) to shed light on DOGE’s actions since January, five of which are at issue in this case. Instead of producing the requested records, as required by law, the government petitioned the court to pause the proceedings.
* “Every day that DOGE operates in the shadows is another day the public, media, Congress, and the courts lose access to records of historic importance that are essential for oversight and accountability,” Chukwu said. “The government’s request to stall this case is nothing more than an attempt to give DOGE a free pass to keep destroying records and evading oversight — and the American people deserve far better.”
* Read our new explainer ([link removed]) to learn more about how DOGE was seemingly designed to avoid transparency.


** On the Records
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Texts Show Even More Immigrant Detention Space Coordination Between Texas and Trump Administration Officials

In the days before Texas officials met ([link removed]) with top Trump administration immigration authorities to prop up additional detention space in the state this February, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott texted Trump’s “Border Czar” Tom Homan about the efforts.
* “FYI, we have about 4000 prison beds that could be made available for detention facilities in Texas,” Abbott texted Homan on February 5. “I am sending the information to Sec. Noem with the details.”
* “Ok. Thank you. Do you know the pricing?” Homan texted back.
* Abbott replied, “I don’t. I’ll have my team call you later today. I’m about to meet with Trump. We will discuss it and see where it goes.” 


* “Great. Looking forward to great things with you soon,” Homan answered. “Colony Ridge, beds, border infrastructure and going after the NGOs that used Texas as a trafficking mode.”

We previously obtained emails ([link removed]) about a February 13 immigrant detention space coordination meeting between Abbott’s staff, the director of the state’s prison system, and high-ranking officials at DHS, ICE, and the NSC.
* “We sincerely appreciate your support for the administration’s agenda of expanding our detention portfolio nationwide,” an NSC official emailed ([link removed]) Abbott’s chief of staff after the meeting.
* The private coordination between Texas officials and Trump allies over detention expansion, conducted without federal oversight, raises serious concerns about transparency, accountability, and the use of state resources in politically-driven federal immigration enforcement efforts.
* Those emails, and the additional texts outlined above, illustrate certain Texas officials’ unflinching support for President Trump’s extreme goals of mass arresting, detaining, and deporting immigrants, without regard for such policies’ immense human tolls or the wills of their constituents.
* We’ve been investigating the Trump administration’s weaponization of anti-immigrant rhetoric to advance its political goals, including mass detention and deportation. Read more here ([link removed]) about how Trump’s and his supporters’ repeated invocation of racist anti-immigrant rhetoric works to fuel their election denial claims.

Newly-Appointed FBI Deputy Director Andrew Bailey’s Anti-Abortion Contacts as Missouri AG

Trump made the surprise announcement ([link removed]) this week that he had appointed Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey as co-deputy director of the FBI. Bailey stepped down as attorney general (effective September 9) following the appointment, putting an end to a brief tenure that was marked by ([link removed]) federal lawsuits ([link removed]) , claims ([link removed]) of corruption ([link removed]) , and repeated
([link removed]) attempts ([link removed]) by Bailey to block access ([link removed]) to both ([link removed]) abortion ([link removed]) and gender-affirming care ([link removed]) in the state.

Records we previously obtained ([link removed]) shed light on Bailey’s interactions as attorney general with far-right anti-abortion rights groups like Missouri Right to Life, Project Veritas, and the Heritage Foundation.
* One document ([link removed]) outlined ways Bailey could strategically target medication abortion in Missouri by citing consumer protection laws — a strategy that Bailey later employed ([link removed]) in letters ([link removed].) to state abortion providers.
* Bailey’s actions indicate the lengths he is willing to go to reject voters’ support for abortion rights, including by exploiting misinformation about safe methods of pregnancy termination.
* Read more here about our ongoing investigation ([link removed]) into efforts by public officials and conservative interest groups to undermine democracy by sabotaging abortion access ballot measures.


** Other Stories We’re Following
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**
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Trump Administration Accountability
* Appeals court throws out Trump's $454 million civil fraud judgment (ABC News ([link removed]) )
* Hundreds of CDC employees receive permanent layoff notices (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* DOGE targeted him on social media. Then the Taliban took his family. (ProPublica ([link removed]) )
* Hegseth’s expansive security requirements tax Army protective unit (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* ‘Don’t give these freaks an inch’: Accounts linked to a DHS speechwriter include anti-trans and anti-immigrant rhetoric (NOTUS ([link removed]) )
* Trump’s attacks on institutions threaten a xxxxxx of economic strength (New York Times ([link removed]) )

Voting Rights
* Trump attempts to prevent voting by mail and the use of voting machines (NPR ([link removed]) )
* Georgia’s mass voter registration cancellation puts some at risk (Atlanta Journal-Constitution ([link removed]) )
* North Carolina updates more than 20,000 voter records, seeks more ID numbers (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Oregon Secretary of State Read rejects Trump Justice Department demands for voter data (Oregon Capital Chronicle ([link removed]) )

State and National News
* The race to rescue PBS and NPR stations (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Defamation case against Fox News highlights role of its hosts in promoting 2020 election falsehoods (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Supreme Court lets Trump administration cut NIH grants for disfavored research (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* ACLU files lawsuit over WV National Guard deployment to DC (West Virginia Watch ([link removed]) )
* Fulton commissioners defy court order, reject GOP election board nominees (Atlanta Journal-Constitution ([link removed]) )
* Big Tech's big thirst — AI’s demand for Texas water (Texas Public Radio ([link removed]) )
* Federal data website outage raises concerns among advocates (Associated Press ([link removed]) )

LGBTQ+ Rights
* Trump administration quietly blocks gender-affirming care for adults on federal health plans (HuffPost ([link removed]) )
* DOJ subpoenas patients’ information in transgender care investigation (The Hill ([link removed]) )
* Government’s demand for trans care info sought addresses, doctors’ notes, texts (Washington Post ([link removed]) )

Abortion and Reproductive Rights
* The states where it’s riskier to have a baby (Atlantic ([link removed]) )
* Abortion pill fight reaches pharmacy board rooms (Axios ([link removed]) )
* Woman charged with murder after using abortion pill details claims against DA, sheriff (CBS News ([link removed]) )
* Texas threatens to sue organizations and doctor for increasing abortion pill access (Guardian ([link removed]) )
* Dozens of OB-GYNs fled Idaho after its abortion ban. Medicaid cuts could make access to care even worse. (ABC News ([link removed]) )
* Iowa is facing a shortage of OB-GYNs. The state's abortion law may be driving some out (Iowa Public Radio ([link removed]) )
* Anti-abortion facilities get Ohio grants as funding for other women’s health facilities slashed (Ohio Capital Journal ([link removed]) )

Threats to Education
* Education Department quietly removes rules for teaching English learners (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Some Texas private schools hire relatives and enrich insiders. Soon they can do it with taxpayer money. (Texas Tribune ([link removed]) )
* Feds move to restrict funding for Virginia schools, punishing support for transgender students (Associated Press ([link removed]) )

Immigration
* Trump administration reviewing all 55 million people with US visas for potential deportable violations (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* State Department can’t deny visas based on Trump travel ban, judge rules (Politico ([link removed]) )
* Kristi Noem is pushing for ICE to buy and operate a fleet of deportation planes, sources say (NBC News ([link removed]) )
* Uganda will accept third-country deportees from US (Politico ([link removed]) )
* ‘Psychological warfare’: Internal data shows true nature of Alligator Alcatraz (Miami Herald ([link removed]) )
* Judge orders that ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ detention center be shut down for now (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* ‘Cornhusker Clink’: DHS to open new ICE migrant detention facility in Nebraska (The Hill ([link removed]) )
* Pentagon asks its civilian employees if they want to work for ICE (404 Media ([link removed]) )
* ICE is joining D.C. police patrols. Moped drivers are an early target. (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Tuberculosis spawning in crowded, dirty ICE detention centers (American Prospect ([link removed]) )
* Senate probe uncovers allegations of widespread abuse in ICE custody (Wired ([link removed]) )

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