On November 27, 2025, USCIS Director Joseph Edlow announced that the agency would halt all asylum decisions for Afghan nationals indefinitely, declaring the pause would continue “until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.” The announcement …
Joseph EdlowMarco RubioDonald Trumpuscisimmigrationcollective punishmentafghan refugeesdue process+1 more
On November 20, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit granted an emergency administrative stay blocking the release of up to 615 immigrants detained in the Chicago area, just one day before they were scheduled to be freed under a federal district court order. The appellate …
7th Circuit Court of AppealsJudge Jeffrey CummingsTrump AdministrationDepartment of Homeland SecurityImmigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)+2 morejudicial-oversightappeals-courtimmigration-enforcementconsent-decreeoperation-midway-blitz+4 more
On October 25, 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported Chanthila “Shawn” Souvannarath, 44, to Laos in direct violation of a federal court order issued just one day earlier. Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana had issued a …
Chanthila "Shawn" SouvannarathChief Judge Shelly D. DickImmigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)ACLU of LouisianaTrump Administration+1 moreicecourt-defiancerule-of-law-erosiondeportationtorture+5 more
The Department of Justice loosened qualification requirements to allow ‘any lawyer’—including approximately 600 military Judge Advocate General (JAG) officers—to serve as immigration judges, bypassing the traditional judicial independence standards and specialized training required for …
Department of JusticeTrumpMilitaryinstitutional-capturejudicial-independenceimmigration-policymilitarizationdue-process
In a 6-3 decision in DHS v. D.V.D., the Supreme Court allowed DHS to deport immigrants to “third countries”—nations they’re not from—without meaningful opportunity to contest deportation. The ruling stayed a Massachusetts district court order that had required 15 days notice and …
Supreme CourtDepartment of Homeland SecuritySonia Sotomayorsupreme-courtdeportationdue-processimmigrationcivil-rights
ICE officials state in an October 2017 contracting document that McKinsey’s work has shown ‘quantifiable benefits,’ specifically citing ‘increased total removals and reductions in time to remove a detainee.’ This official acknowledgment reveals how McKinsey’s …
McKinsey & CompanyImmigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)Migrant detaineesmckinseyimmigration-enforcementconsulting-scandaldeportation-accelerationdue-process+2 more
A CIA drone strike in Yemen kills Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen and Islamic cleric, without charges, trial, or judicial process. Al-Awlaki becomes the first American citizen to be deliberately assassinated by his own government since the Civil War era. President Obama personally approved placing …
Anwar al-AwlakiBarack ObamaCIAJSOCJohn Brennandronesobamaassassinationtargeted-killingdue-process+2 more
A Department of Justice Inspector General audit revealed that the FBI’s terrorist watchlist contained approximately 35% errors, with large portions of the list governed by no formal processes for updating or removing records. The report exposed systematic failures in a watchlist system that …
FBIDepartment of Justice Inspector GeneralTerrorist Screening Centerfbi-abusewatchlistsno-fly-listcivil-libertiesdue-process
President Bill Clinton signs the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), dramatically expanding deportation authority and creating new categories of removable offenses. The law increases annual deportations from approximately 50,000 to over 200,000 by the early 2000s, …
Bill ClintonU.S. CongressImmigration and Naturalization Serviceimmigration-policymass-deportationretroactive-punishmentdue-processexpedited-removal
President Bill Clinton signs the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) in response to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, despite the attack having no connection to immigration. While primarily focused on death penalty procedures and terrorism prosecution, the law contains sweeping …
Bill ClintonU.S. CongressDepartment of JusticeImmigration and Naturalization Serviceimmigrationdeportationjudicial-reviewretroactive-punishmentterrorism+1 more
President Ronald Reagan signs the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, introducing the “aggravated felony” concept into immigration law for the first time. Initially defined narrowly to include murder, federal drug trafficking, and illicit trafficking in certain firearms or destructive devices, …
Ronald ReaganU.S. CongressDepartment of JusticeImmigration and Naturalization Serviceimmigrationdeportationwar-on-drugsmandatory-minimumdue-process+1 more
The Supreme Court again explicitly affirmed corporate personhood, holding that “It is again decided that private corporations are persons within the meaning of [the Fourteenth] Amendment.” The case involved South Carolina’s requirement that railroads pay the salaries and expenses …
U.S. Supreme CourtCharlotte, Columbia and Augusta Railroad CompanySouth Carolina LegislatureState Railroad Commissioncorporate-personhoodsupreme-courtfourteenth-amendmentrailroad-regulationdue-process
The Supreme Court formally declared corporate personhood as settled constitutional law, with Justice Stephen Field writing that “Corporations are persons within the meaning of the clauses in the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution concerning the deprivation of property, and concerning the …
U.S. Supreme CourtJustice Stephen FieldMinneapolis & St. Louis Railway Companycorporate-personhoodsupreme-courtfourteenth-amendmentdue-processequal-protection+1 more
In an 8-0 decision authored by Justice Stephen Field, the U.S. Supreme Court explicitly affirmed corporate personhood under the Fourteenth Amendment, holding that “Under the designation of ‘person’ there is no doubt that a private corporation is included. Such corporations are …
U.S. Supreme CourtJustice Stephen FieldPembina Consolidated Silver Mining and Milling CompanyCommonwealth of Pennsylvaniacorporate-personhoodsupreme-courtfourteenth-amendmentdue-processcorporate-rights