Latest news with #Draconian
The Hill
21-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
ICE chief will continue to permit mask use by agents
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) acting Director Todd Lyons said agents can continue to use masks in the field, even as the agency has increasingly come under fire for moves that limit identification of its personnel. In an interview on CBS's 'Face the Nation' on Sunday, Lyons defended the practice despite some misgivings, citing rising threats against ICE agents. 'I've said it publicly before, I'm not a proponent of the masks. However, if that's a tool that the men and women of ICE to keep themselves and their family safe, then I will allow it,' he said. Lyons said some ICE agents have been 'severely doxxed,' while there has also been a sharp uptick in assaults on officers. ICE has faced significant criticism for wearing masks, as well as carrying out more operations with plainclothes officers. In Los Angeles, where ICE raids sparked widespread protests, Mayor Karen Bass (D) has condemned the practice, saying 'for the average citizen, it looks like it's a violent kidnapping.' Masked, plainclothes officers have also been conducting arrests at immigration courthouses. ICE attorneys will move to dismiss a case, a practice that most migrants interpret as the agency dropping efforts to deport them but opens the agency to then arrest them and place them in expedited removal proceedings that largely receive no court review. Lyons disputed that agents are not identifiable, saying they should be wearing clothing with some kind of ICE insignia. But he also said he wants more backing from critical lawmakers as ICE agents have faced doxxing. 'I would push back on the notion that we aren't identifying themselves. Now, what I would advocate for, and I've said this many times, is I know a lot of elected officials have put forward legislation or proposed legislation about banning of the masks, things like that. I would also want, you know, elected officials to help us hold those people accountable that do doxx or threaten an ICE officer or agent or their family,' Lyons said. 'If we had that kind of support and had those laws or regulations in place, that we can hold those folks accountable to give ICE agents and officers and other law enforcement officers the peace of mind that someone that does threaten their life or their families or doxxes them will be held accountable. I think that'd go a long way.' Reps. Dan Goldman and Adriano Espaillat, both New York Democrats, have introduced legislation that would ban ICE agents from using masks. 'If you uphold the peace of a democratic society, you should not be anonymous. DHS and ICE agents wearing masks and hiding identification echoes the tactics of secret police authoritarian regimes – and deviates from the practices of local law enforcement, which contributes to confusion in communities,' Espaillat said in a statement at the time. 'Many immigrants come to America seeking opportunities, hope, and freedom to escape Draconian practices, and under no circumstance should they, or anyone, fear being disappeared by masked and armed individuals in unmarked vehicles. If you are upholding the law, you should not be anonymous, and our bill aims to safeguard from tyranny while upholding the values of our nation.' Lyons also confirmed that ICE has been given access to Medicaid databases, a set that includes information like addresses of the limited number of non-U.S. citizens eligible for the program in some states. 'Under the last administration, we have so many known got-aways, or individuals that came into the United States and just totally disappeared off the grid. What ICE is doing is working with all of our other federal partners to try to gain intelligence, to locate these individuals that have been ordered deported by a judge or have been released from a sanctuary jurisdiction like we talked about,' he said. 'That is what ICE is using that data for, whether it be data from the Department of Labor, data from health and service- Health and Human Services, Medicaid, we are using that data to try to locate, again, the worst of the worst, those people that have been lawfully deported. So I think that's what you're going to see that data used for.'
India Today
10-07-2025
- Politics
- India Today
India of today not India of 1975: Shashi Tharoor criticises Emergency in op-ed
In a hard-hitting op-ed criticising the Emergency, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said it showed how the erosion of freedom takes place and highlighted how the world remained unaware of a "horrifying litany of human-rights abuses".In the piece published by Project Syndicate, Tharoor said former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's authoritarian approach pushed public life into a state of fear and suppression. In the same breath, he emphasised that the India of today is "not the India of 1975".advertisementThe article comes at a time when the Thiruvananthapuram MP's rift with the Congress leadership has become pronounced following Tharoor's string of public endorsements of the government's policies. "Indira Gandhi insisted that the Draconian measures were necessary: only a state of emergency could combat internal disorder and external threats, and bring discipline and efficiency to a chaotic country," Tharoor Emergency, lasting for nearly two years - from June 1975 to March 1977, saw civil liberties suspended, and a brutal crackdown on Opposition senior Congress leader also pointed out how essential democratic pillars were silenced and torture in detention and extrajudicial killings were rampant, giving a picture of the "dark realities" for those who dared to defy the said even the judiciary buckled under immense pressure, with the Supreme Court upholding the suspension of habeas corpus and citizens' right to liberty."Journalists, activists, and opposition leaders found themselves behind bars. The broad constitutional transgressions enabled a horrifying litany of human-rights abuses," he REMARK ON SANJAY GANDHIReferring to Sanjay Gandhi, Tharoor was equally scathing, terming his actions during the Emergency as "acts of unspeakable cruelty"."The quest for discipline and order often translated into unspeakable cruelty, exemplified by the forced vasectomy campaigns led by Gandhi's son, Sanjay, and concentrated in poorer and rural areas, where coercion and violence were used to meet arbitrary targets," the Congress MP underscored that "unchecked power" had become tyrannical, even though these acts were later downplayed as "unfortunate excesses"."The silencing of dissent, the curtailment of fundamental rights to assemble, write, and speak freely, and the blatant contempt for constitutional norms left an indelible scar on India's polity," he further FROM EMERGENCYTharoor also listed lessons learnt from the Emergency, while taking a subtle dig at the ruling Narendra Modi-led government."First, freedom of information and an independent press are of paramount importance... Second, democracies depend on an independent judiciary able and willing to serve as a bulwark against executive overreach," he said."The third lesson - perhaps the most pertinent in our current political climate - is that an overweening executive, backed by a legislative majority, can pose a grave danger to democracy, especially when that executive is convinced of its own infallibility and impatient with the checks and balances that are essential to democratic systems," Tharoor wrote.- EndsMust Watch
Boston Globe
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Trump doesn't let up in his attacks on universities
By contrast, in a recent New York Times guest essay, former Harvard president Lawrence Summers, while similarly criticizing the Trump administration's heavy-handed tactics and hypocrisy, concedes that universities including Harvard Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up Instead of 'resisting' and 'reforming,' universities should have preempted White House interference by confronting anti-Jewish bigotry proactively, before the president could exploit it politically. Advertisement Stephen A. Silver San Francisco President is striking at the core of universities' very existence In the name of countering antisemitism on university campuses, Donald Trump goes beyond his predecessors by withholding federal funds and demanding concessions that seek to commandeer the schools' curriculums, restrain their policies of free speech (including unpopular speech), and direct their disciplinary rules. This strikes at the core of universities' mission and their very existence. Advertisement To preserve the autonomy — the freedom — of universities, particularly private institutions, government must resort to the least severe means to correct an injustice, not the harshest. Admittedly, by providing grants to private universities, government has some regulatory authority to correct injustices with regard to their functioning. However, to demand more than that would eviscerate universities' immense contribution to a democratic society. Private institutions would become part of the authoritarian state . Finally, one must question Trump's intent: Is he seeking to correct the failure of universities to curb student protesters from intimidating and harassing Jews on campus, or is he seeking to impose his ideology on these universities? Americo A. Salini Jr. Andover Trump does Jews a disservice by using them for his Project 2025 push This week the Trump administration's assault on universities that it claims have failed to sufficiently address antisemitism on campus has escalated to scrutinizing the social media accounts of international students and others seeking lawful permanent status in the United States ( The president's claim that he's cracking down on antisemitism to protect Jews — by cutting off universities' federal funding, including for vital scientific and medical research — and deporting students whose only crime is that they engaged in First Amendment-protected speech is flat-out disingenuous, especially in light of Donald Trump's tolerance or encouragement of antisemitism in other contexts (recall Charlottesville's 'very fine people on both sides'). Further, it doesn't protect Jews for them to be viewed as the cause of the administration's Draconian tactics, whose actual purpose, as Project 2025 suggests, is to pry universities away from their indispensable role as promoters of free speech, critical thinking, and liberal ideals. Advertisement When sanctionable antisemitic activity is broadly construed to include protesting Israel's behavior or promoting Palestinian rights — as the administration's crackdown thus far suggests — it's a flashing red light that political speech for all of us is under siege. Michael Felsen Jamaica Plain Middle East studies department, meet the Jewish studies department Re Felicia Nimue Ackerman Providence The writer is a professor of philosophy at Brown University; however, the views expressed here are her own, independent from the university or her affiliation there. Threats to Harvard go way beyond the university to its affiliated hospitals How misleading of the Trump administration to threaten Harvard University's rules of governance via 'review' of the $8.7 billion in multiyear grants awarded, much of it to clinical and basic science researchers based at Harvard-affiliated hospitals ( Advertisement The hospitals must fight for their The threats to this NIH funding imperil not only crucial medical and public health research but also the economic well-being of Boston and surrounding communities whose residents depend on these federal funds for employment. Elected officials and the public need to be aware how the Trump administration's attacks go well beyond Harvard University and threaten research and institutions vital for people's health in the United States and globally. Nancy Krieger Boston The writer is a professor of social epidemiology and the American Cancer Society Clinical Research Professor in the department of social and behavioral sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Jillian Michaels says 'of course' Americans want to 'drain the swamp' after cases of government waste
Fitness legend Jillian Michaels weighed in on the Department of Government Efficiency's waste-cutting efforts, saying she's "horrified" by the list of apparent waste. DOGE under Elon Musk has claimed it's uncovering billions of dollars in government "waste, fraud and abuse," and is seeking to continue federal audits and firings. "If I were to play devil's advocate, the argument would be, 'Hey, slow down. You know, make sure you don't break something. Be very precise with this,'" Michaels said Wednesday on "Jesse Watters Primetime," explaining how she has tried to listen to the counterargument and "maintain neutrality" for Musk's strategy. Federal Watchdog Releases First Doge-era Report Detailing Areas Of Government Prone To Fraud, Waste And Abuse The fitness star reiterated that despite her efforts, she has been "horrified" by the excessive government waste DOGE has been discovering. "I can only imagine that the average American who lives paycheck to paycheck — that when they see their tax dollars funding stuff like this, of course they're outraged," Michaels said, adding that it is no wonder Americans "want to drain the swamp." Read On The Fox News App Michaels said she believes a lot is going on in the government that the average person, including herself, cannot understand. "What I can tell you is that it's clear some of this funding is like a CIA slush fund," she said. The fitness legend likened the removal of government bloat to a "brain tumor," and how removing it would require precision and a "methodical" process. $1,300 Coffee Cups, 8,000% Overpay For Soap Dispensers Show Waste As Doge Locks In On Pentagon "Be methodical, be careful — but at the end of the day, this is just insane," Michaels said. The Office of Personnel Management recently emailed federal employees asking them to write five accomplishments they met at work the prior week. While the emails stirred up controversy, Musk described them not as a performance review, but a "pulse check." "I think that email was perhaps interpreted as a performance review, but actually it was a pulse check review. Do you have a pulse?" Musk said during a Cabinet meeting. Michaels said the criticism Musk's emails drew was "absurd" and that no business would be able to run effectively without accountability. "The fact that we can't ask people to take 30 seconds to answer an email without appearing Draconian is absurd," she said. Musk Tells Cabinet That Doge Email Was 'Pulse Check' For Workers, Warns Us Will 'Go Bankrupt' Without Action Since taking office, President Trump, Elon Musk and the DOGE agenda have faced mounting scrutiny from several Democrats and media outlets. The latest wave of criticism facing the Tesla founder concerned his South African heritage. Michaels noted how she initially felt bad for employees who were cut, saying they're "innocent people." "You know, they probably have kids and they have bills to pay. You can't just rip the rug out from under that," she said before doing some digging on the severance packages government workers were receiving. "I thought, well, wait a minute, that sounds like kind of a good deal," she said. "You've got eight months with benefits to find another gig, and we know that there are, like, 7 million job openings in the country right now."Original article source: Jillian Michaels says 'of course' Americans want to 'drain the swamp' after cases of government waste
Fox News
01-03-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Jillian Michaels says 'of course' Americans want to 'drain the swamp' after cases of government waste
Fitness legend Jillian Michaels weighed in on the Department of Government Efficiency's waste-cutting efforts, saying she's "horrified" by the list of apparent waste. DOGE under Elon Musk has claimed it's uncovering billions of dollars in government "waste, fraud and abuse," and is seeking to continue federal audits and firings. "If I were to play devil's advocate, the argument would be, 'Hey, slow down. You know, make sure you don't break something. Be very precise with this,'" Michaels said Wednesday on "Jesse Watters Primetime," explaining how she has tried to listen to the counterargument and "maintain neutrality" for Musk's strategy. The fitness star reiterated that despite her efforts, she has been "horrified" by the excessive government waste DOGE has been discovering. "I can only imagine that the average American who lives paycheck to paycheck — that when they see their tax dollars funding stuff like this, of course they're outraged," Michaels said, adding that it is no wonder Americans "want to drain the swamp." Michaels said she believes a lot is going on in the government that the average person, including herself, cannot understand. "What I can tell you is that it's clear some of this funding is like a CIA slush fund," she said. The fitness legend likened the removal of government bloat to a "brain tumor," and how removing it would require precision and a "methodical" process. "Be methodical, be careful — but at the end of the day, this is just insane," Michaels said. The Office of Personnel Management recently emailed federal employees asking them to write five accomplishments they met at work the prior week. While the emails stirred up controversy, Musk described them not as a performance review, but a "pulse check." "I think that email was perhaps interpreted as a performance review, but actually it was a pulse check review. Do you have a pulse?" Musk said during a Cabinet meeting. Michaels said the criticism Musk's emails drew was "absurd" and that no business would be able to run effectively without accountability. "The fact that we can't ask people to take 30 seconds to answer an email without appearing Draconian is absurd," she said. Since taking office, President Trump, Elon Musk and the DOGE agenda have faced mounting scrutiny from several Democrats and media outlets. The latest wave of criticism facing the Tesla founder concerned his South African heritage. Michaels noted how she initially felt bad for employees who were cut, saying they're "innocent people." "You know, they probably have kids and they have bills to pay. You can't just rip the rug out from under that," she said before doing some digging on the severance packages government workers were receiving. "I thought, well, wait a minute, that sounds like kind of a good deal," she said. "You've got eight months with benefits to find another gig, and we know that there are, like, 7 million job openings in the country right now."
