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Stephen Miller Spirals After Judge Shuts Down Trump's Asylum Ban

Stephen Miller Spirals After Judge Shuts Down Trump's Asylum Ban

Yahoo03-07-2025
Trump adviser Stephen Miller is up in arms after a federal district court judge dealt a significant blow to Trump's immigration agenda Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss ruled unlawful Trump's day-one proclamation shutting down the right to claim asylum at the southern border on the dubious grounds that an 'invasion' is occurring there.
In response, Miller claimed that Moss, an Obama appointee, is a 'marxist judge' attempting to 'circumvent the Supreme Court.' Quote-tweeting that post, Miller added, 'The West will not survive if our sovereignty is not restored.'
In his 128-page ruling, Moss said that Trump's proclamation asserted 'sweeping authority' that far exceeds the powers he legally possesses under the Constitution and the Immigration and Nationality Act. And the Trump administration's 'appeal to necessity cannot fill that void.'
Contrary to Trump's arguments, Moss wrote, the president does not have 'the unilateral authority to limit the rights of aliens present in the United States to apply for asylum,' nor does he have the 'authority to adopt an alternative immigration system, which supplants the statutes that Congress has enacted and the regulations that the responsible agencies have promulgated.'
The ruling, which applies to all people 'who are now or will be present in the United States,' effectively stops the proclamation in its tracks—at least after a two-week stay, during which the president is expected to appeal. In the interim, Moss said the administration 'shall take steps to ensure that they … are fully prepared to implement the Court's order without further delay.'
Deborah Pearlstein of Princeton University noted that Moss's ruling exemplifies how courts may still rein in Trump's unlawful actions, even after the Supreme Court recently impeded their ability to do so in a ruling restricting lower courts' ability to issue nationwide freezes on Trump's anti-constitutional executive orders.
Moss mentioned that Supreme Court case in his ruling, but cited the Administrative Procedure Act, a federal law that directs courts to 'set aside' federal actions found to be 'not in accordance with law.'
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Elon Musk fires back at Trump's claim that his companies will still enjoy subsidies
Elon Musk fires back at Trump's claim that his companies will still enjoy subsidies

Business Insider

time15 minutes ago

  • Business Insider

Elon Musk fires back at Trump's claim that his companies will still enjoy subsidies

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RNC Chair Whatley to run for North Carolina Senate seat with Trump's support
RNC Chair Whatley to run for North Carolina Senate seat with Trump's support

Yahoo

time19 minutes ago

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RNC Chair Whatley to run for North Carolina Senate seat with Trump's support

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A Columbia genocide scholar says she may leave over university's new definition of antisemitism
A Columbia genocide scholar says she may leave over university's new definition of antisemitism

Hamilton Spectator

time41 minutes ago

  • Hamilton Spectator

A Columbia genocide scholar says she may leave over university's new definition of antisemitism

NEW YORK (AP) — For years, Marianne Hirsch, a prominent genocide scholar at Columbia University, has used Hannah Arendt's book about the trial of a Nazi war criminal, 'Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil,' to spark discussion among her students about the Holocaust and its lingering traumas. But after Columbia's recent adoption of a new definition of antisemitism , which casts certain criticism of Israel as hate speech, Hirsch fears she may face official sanction for even mentioning the landmark text by Arendt, a philosopher who criticized Israel's founding. For the first time since she started teaching five decades ago, Hirsch, the daughter of two Holocaust survivors, is now thinking of leaving the classroom altogether. 'A university that treats criticism of Israel as antisemitic and threatens sanctions for those who disobey is no longer a place of open inquiry,' she told The Associated Press. 'I just don't see how I can teach about genocide in that environment.' Hirsch is not alone. At universities across the country, academics have raised alarm about growing efforts to define antisemitism on terms pushed by the Trump administration, often under the threat of federal funding cuts. Promoted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, the definition lists 11 examples of antisemitic conduct, such as applying 'double standards' to Israel, comparing the country's policies to Nazism or describing its existence as 'a racist endeavor.' Ahead of a $220 million settlement with the Trump administration announced Wednesday, Columbia agreed to incorporate the IHRA definition and its examples into its disciplinary process. It has been endorsed in some form by Harvard, Yale and dozens of other universities. While supporters say the semantic shift is necessary to combat evolving forms of Jewish hate, civil liberties groups warn it will further suppress pro-Palestinian speech already under attack by President Donald Trump. For Hirsch, the restrictions on drawing comparisons to the Holocaust and questioning Israel's founding amount to 'clear censorship,' which she fears will chill discussions in the classroom and open her and other faculty up to spurious lawsuits. 'We learn by making analogies,' Hirsch said. 'Now the university is saying that's off-limits. How can you have a university course where ideas are not up for discussion or interpretation?' A spokesperson for Columbia didn't respond to an emailed request for comment. The 'weaponization' of an educational framework When he first drafted the IHRA definition of antisemitism two decades ago, Kenneth Stern said he 'never imagined it would one day serve as a hate speech code.' At the time, Stern was working as the lead antisemitism expert at the American Jewish Committee. The definition and its examples were meant to serve as a broad framework to help European countries track bias against Jews, he said. In recent years, Stern has spoken forcefully against what he sees as its 'weaponization' against pro-Palestinian activists, including anti-Zionist Jews. 'People who believe they're combating hate are seduced by simple solutions to complicated issues,' he said. 'But when used in this context, it's really actually harming our ability to think about antisemitism.' Stern said he delivered that warning to Columbia's leaders last fall after being invited to address them by Claire Shipman, then a co-chair of the board of trustees and the university's current interim president. The conversation seemed productive, Stern said. But in March, shortly after the Trump administration said it would withhold $400 million in federal funding to Columbia over concerns about antisemitism, the university announced it would adopt the IHRA definition for 'training and educational' purposes. Then last week, days before announcing a deal with the Trump administration to restore that funding, Shipman said the university would extend the IHRA definition for disciplinary purposes, deploying its examples when assessing 'discriminatory intent.' 'The formal incorporation of this definition will strengthen our response to and our community's understanding of modern antisemitism,' Shipman wrote. Stern, who now serves as director of the Bard Center for the Study of Hate, called the move 'appalling,' predicting it would spur a new wave of litigation against the university while further curtailing pro-Palestinian speech. Already, the university's disciplinary body has faced backlash for investigating students who criticized Israel in op-eds and other venues, often at the behest of pro-Israel groups. 'With this new edict on IHRA, you're going to have more outside groups looking at what professors are teaching, what's in the syllabus, filing complaints and applying public pressure to get people fired,' he said. 'That will undoubtedly harm the university.' Calls to 'self-terminate' Beyond adopting the IHRA definition, Columbia has also agreed to place its Middle East studies department under new supervision, overhaul its rules for protests and coordinate antisemitism trainings with groups like the Anti-Defamation League. Earlier this week, the university suspended or expelled nearly 80 students who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Kenneth Marcus, chair of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, said Columbia's actions were an overdue step to protect Jewish students from harassment. He dismissed faculty concerns about the IHRA definition, which he said would 'provide clarity, transparency and standardization' to the university's effort to root out antisemitism. 'There are undoubtedly some Columbia professors who will feel they cannot continue teaching under the new regime,' Marcus said. 'To the extent that they self-terminate, it may be sad for them personally, but it may not be so bad for the students at Columbia University.' But Hirsch, the Columbia professor, said she was committed to continuing her long-standing study of genocides and their aftermath. Part of that work, she said, will involve talking to students about Israel's 'ongoing ethnic cleansing and genocide' in Gaza, where more than 58,000 Palestinians have died, over half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. 'With this capitulation to Trump, it may now be impossible to do that inside Columbia,' Hirsch said. 'If that's the case, I'll continue my work outside the university's gates.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .

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