1 week ago There is no such thing as an ‘illegal immigrant’ | Mehdi Hasan

It is a factually inaccurate and totally, utterly wrong to say that undocumented people are ‘illegal’ and are ‘criminals’On 29 January, the second Trump administration held its first White House press briefing. “Of the 3,500 arrests Ice has made so far since President Trump came back into office, can you just tell us the numbers?” asked a reporter in the front row. “How many have a criminal record versus those who are just in the country illegally?”“All of them,” responded the new White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, making her debut in the briefing room, “because they illegally broke our nation’s laws, and, therefore, they are criminals, as far as this administration goes.” She continued: “I know the last administration didn’t see it that way, so it’s a big culture shift in our nation to view someone who breaks our immigration laws as a criminal. But that’s exactly what they are.”Mehdi Hasan is a broadcaster and author, and a former host on MSNBC. He is also a Guardian US...

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3 w. ago Trump administration briefing: Democrats denounce education department ‘shutdown’

Education secretary ordered to take ‘all necessary steps’ to dismantle department; US rejects Mexico’s request for water – key US politics stories from Thursday at a glanceDonald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that instructs the US education secretary, Linda McMahon, to start dismantling the education department, seemingly attempting to circumvent the need to obtain congressional approval to formally close a federal department.The administration may eventually pursue an effort to get Congress to shut down the agency, Trump said at a signing ceremony at the White House on Thursday, because its budget had more than doubled in size in recent years but national test scores had not improved. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Trump administration briefing: judge incredulous at deportations defense; Doge workers break into building

White House denies violating judge’s order with Venezuela flights; Elon Musk’s Doge workers break into non-government agency – key US politics stories from Monday at a glanceThe Trump administration claimed to a federal judge on Monday that it did not turn around the deportation flights of hundreds of suspected Venezuelan gang members over the weekend despite his specific instructions because that was not expressly included in the formal written order.The administration also said that even if James Boasberg, the chief US district judge in Washington, had included that instruction in his formal order, his authority to compel the planes to return disappeared the moment the planes entered international airspace. Continue reading...

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3 w. ago Trump administration briefing: US president to speak to Putin this week; Democrats train fire on Musk

Russian president ‘accepts the philosophy’ of US’s Ukraine ceasefire terms, says US envoy; Musk’s popularity falls – key US politics stories from Sunday at a glanceUS president Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday that he expected the US president to speak with Vladimir Putin this week, adding that the Russian president “accepts the philosophy” of Trump’s ceasefire and peace terms.Witkoff told CNN that discussions with Putin over several hours last week were “positive” and “solution-based”. He declined to confirm when asked whether Putin’s demands included the surrender of Ukrainian forces in Kursk; international recognition of Ukrainian territory seized by Russia as Russian; limits on Ukraine’s ability to mobilise; a halt to western military aid; and a ban on foreign peacekeepers. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago Trump administration briefing: Democrats divided as funding bill passes; president rails against justice department

Democrats dismayed after some help Republicans avert government shutdown; Trump vents about prosecutions while taking DoJ victory lap – key US politics stories from Friday at a glanceThe US Senate averted a government shutdown just hours before a Friday night deadline after 10 Senate Democrats joined nearly all Republicans to clear a key hurdle that advanced the six-month stopgap bill.The vote deeply dismayed Democratic activists and House Democrats who had urged their Senate counterparts to block the bill, which they fear would embolden Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s overhaul of the US government. Continue reading...

Politics

last month Trump administration briefing: Judge reinstates some fired workers, more tariff threats on EU

Judge says it is a ‘lie’ that employees at federal agencies had performance issues; Trump mulls EU alcohol tariff – key US politics stories from Thursday at a glanceA federal judge in California has granted a preliminary injunction to reinstate thousands of fired probationary workers at federal agencies as part of a lawsuit filed by the American Federation of Government Employees.The ruling by the judge William H Alsup applies to fired probationary employees at the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Department of the Interior and the Department of the Treasury. Continue reading...

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