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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Sam Levin in San Francisco (now), Ben Jacobs and Erin Durkin (earlier)

Judge blocks Trump policy of sending asylum seekers to Mexico – as it happened

Trump has reportedly waved good-bye to another member of his administration.
Trump has reportedly waved good-bye to another member of his administration. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Summary

We’re ending our live coverage for the day - thanks for tuning in! Here are some key events and links from this busy Monday:

The FBI is refusing to release records on whistleblower Chelsea Manning despite the fact that she waived her rights under the Privacy Act and requested that the thousands of pages of files on her be released, Gizmodo is reporting:

The FBI “stated the records were considered exempt from disclosure because their release could reasonably be expected to interfere with ongoing law enforcement proceedings”, the tech news site reported.

The former US Army intelligence analyst returned to jail a month ago after she refused to testify to a grand jury:

Here is another tidbit about Trump mocking his opponents with body-shaming comments, this time about Congressman Jerry Nadler, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee. The Washington Post reports that he recently referred to him as “Fat Jerry” while talking to a group of House Republicans:

A number of reports today have suggested that the departure of Kirstjen Nielsen as homeland security secretary will give even more power to Stephen Miller, the far-right senior adviser in the White House known for aggressively pushing some of Trump’s most extreme anti-immigrant initiatives.

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar called Miller a white nationalist in a tweet on Monday, adding, “The fact that he still has influence on policy and political appointments is an outrage.”

Eric Swalwell officially running for president

California Congressman Eric Swalwell is officially announcing his run for president tonight, entering the very packed field of Democratic contenders:

In a clip shared by CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Swalwell made his campaign official and talked about gun violence:

I talk to kids who sit in their classroom afraid that they’ll be the next victim of gun violence and they see Washington doing nothing about it ... and they see lawmakers who love their guns more than they love our kids.

There are already 17 Democrats running for president. More on Swalwell here:

There are “mounting indications that Michael Cohen’s usefulness to federal prosecutors is drying up”, according to a new AP report on President Trump’s former lawyer, who has been sentenced to prison.

Cohen has said in recent days that he was cooperating in federal investigations he could not discuss, raising questions about how he might continue to influence ongoing probes. But, according to the AP:

Several members of the team that prosecuted Trump’s former lawyer and fixer in New York have announced they are moving on to other jobs, something that usually happens when a big case is winding down.

Prosecutors have also been returning electronic devices and documents seized from Cohen, an indication those materials might not be needed for future prosecutions.

And special counsel Robert Mueller’s closing of his probe into Russian attempts to influence the 2016 presidential election effectively shuts the door on Cohen emerging as a key witness in that investigation.

“They’re not going to be making any new cases with his testimony,” predicted David S Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor.

Cohen is due to report to prison next month.

Catch up on the Guardian’s recent reporting on Cohen and his testimony about the Trump-Russia investigations here:

Amy Kloubchar, a Democratic senator and presidential candidate, has co-authored a letter with Marsha Blackburn, a GOP senator, calling on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to “take action” against tech companies like Google and Facebook:

The bipartisan letter urges the FTC to “take action in response to concerns regarding potential privacy, data security, and antitrust violations involving online platforms”, and specifically mentions Google and Facebook.

The letter came the same day that New Zealand’s privacy commissioner lashed out at Facebook in the wake of the Christchurch attacks, calling the company “morally bankrupt pathological liars”. Facebook hosted a live-stream of the attacks that killed 50 people.

Trump would veto net neutrality bill

The president would veto a bill to restore net neutrality protections if reinstated by Congress, the White House said in a letter to lawmakers, according to Reuters:

The White House statement was sent the day before the Democratic-controlled House is set to vote on a bill to reinstate the 2015 open internet rules. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) under Trump in December 2017 reversed rules barring internet service providers from blocking or throttling traffic or offering paid fast lanes, also known as paid prioritization.

The opposition from the White House was expected. The Save the Internet Act would bring back the net neutrality regulations adopted under Obama.

Republican senator Susan Collins has out-raised a liberal crowdfunding effort to unseat her, with significant help from out-of-state donors, according to campaign finance records, the AP reports.

Collins faced intense national backlash after she cast a critical vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, leading progressives to raise over $3.5m for a campaign to unseat the Maine Republican. But the AP found she has raised $4m for her 2020 re-election campaign, raising more than her three races combined.

Collins apparently raised less than 1% of her funds this year from donors from Maine, with many donations coming from New York, Virginia, Florida, Texas, Washington DC and California.

News of her fundraising came just as law enforcement authorities announced that a woman was facing charges for allegedly sending a threatening letter to her home last year:

Immigrant rights groups are celebrating a US judge’s decision this afternoon to halt the Trump policy of sending some asylum seekers back across the border to wait their cases in Mexico.

Archi Pyati, chief of policy for Tahirih Justice Center, a plaintiff in the lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” policy, said the practice “leaves individuals and families fleeing persecution stranded on the other side of the border, when what they need and deserve under our laws is protection in America”. Pyati continued:

Tahirih represents asylum seekers who have experienced domestic and sexual violence, and we know that they need legal and social services to effectively make their claims before an immigration judge. This policy goes against basic tenets of fairness, and makes it all but impossible for us to do our jobs. We are glad to see justice served.”

Charanya Krishnaswami, of Amnesty International USA, said it was a “cruel and irresponsible” policy in a statement, adding:

Asylum-seekers passing through Mexico have already endured dangerous journeys to flee desperate situations. Returning them to Mexico and forcing them to wait there would put them at real risk of serious human rights violations. As it currently stands, the policy gravely violates both domestic and international law.

People seeking protection deserve care, not contempt. It is time for the Trump administration to abandon this dangerous plan. This policy has no place in a country that claims to value human rights.”

The policy has already affected more than 1,000 people:

The Trump administration has aggressively targeted the asylum process, despite existing law establishing that people have a right to seek asylum.

The decision came the same day as reports emerged that the president wanted to separate immigrant families who arrived at ports of entry as asylum seekers:

Secret Service director says he wasn't fired

Randolph Alles, the outgoing head of Secret Service, has denied that he was fired in a letter sent to staff.

Alles said his departure would go into effect in May, according to CNN’s report on the letter, which said:

No doubt you have seen media reports regarding my ‘firing’. I assure you that this is not the case, and in fact was told weeks ago by the Administration that transitions in leadership should be expected across the Department of Homeland Security. The President has directed an orderly transition in leadership for this agency and I intend to abide by that direction. It is my sincere regret that I was not able to address the workforce prior to this announcement.

Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, has called on the ousted Secret Service director to testify before Congress about “potential security vulnerabilities at Mar-a-Lago and other counterintelligence and national security threats”:

The senator’s statement continued:

The public and Congress need to know the extent to which adversarial governments - like China - and their agents are attempting to gain access to, or conduct electronic surveillance on, conversations or other information regarding national security at President Trump’s properties.

Judge blocks Trump policy of sending asylum seekers to Mexico

A federal judge has issued an injunction halting the Trump administration’s policy of sending some asylum seekers back across the border to wait their cases in Mexico, the AP is reporting:

The ruling is slated to take effect on Friday, according to the order by US district judge Richard Seeborg in San Francisco. The injunction will apply nationwide.

The ruling removes at least temporarily a controversial Trump administration strategy aimed at slowing a flood of immigrants, mostly from Central America, that swelled last month to the highest level in a decade.

Because of limits on how long children are legally allowed to be held in detention, many of the families are released to await US immigration court hearings, a process that can take years because of ballooning backlogs. In response, the Trump administration in January started sending some migrants to wait out US court dates in Mexican border cities.

The Department of Homeland Security said recently it planned to expand the program. The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to the AP’s request for comment about the ruling.

The president’s anti-immigrant agenda has repeatedly faced roadblocks in court:

Sam Levin in San Francisco here, taking over our live coverage for the rest of the day.

Trump reportedly soured on Randolph Alles, the ousted Secret Service director, a while ago – and had privately mocked his appearance and called him Dumbo, according to the New York Times:

The president has a long history of mocking people’s looks, particularly women.

Summary

  • Trump ousted Randolph Alles, the head of the Secret Service
  • Trump designated Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist group
  • Jerry Nadler, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, announced that Robert Mueller will testify before that body at “an appropriate time.”

Joe Biden will go to South Carolina next week to give an eulogy for former Senator Ernest “Fritz” Hollings.

Hollings served in the Senate from 1966 to 2005 and was the last Democrat elected to the Senate from South Carolina.

Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota announced today that she raised $5.2 million in the past quarter for her presidential bid.

CNN reports Trump tried to order the border closed at El Paso late in March.

Trump eventually talked off of the decision, which would shut down a major port of entry into the United States.

CNN reports:

Two Thursdays ago, in a meeting at the Oval Office with top officials -- including Nielsen, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, top aides Jared Kushner, Mercedes Schlapp and Dan Scavino, White House counsel Pat Cipollone and more -- the President, according to one attendee, was “ranting and raving, saying border security was his issue.”

Senior administration officials say that Trump then ordered Nielsen and Pompeo to shut down the port of El Paso the next day, Friday, March 22, at noon. The plan was that in subsequent days the Trump administration would shut down other ports.

Nielsen told Trump that would be a bad and even dangerous idea, and that the governor of Texas, Republican Greg Abbott, has been very supportive of the President.

She proposed an alternative plan that would slow down entries at legal ports. She argued that if you close all the ports of entry all you would be doing is ending legal trade and travel, but migrants will just go between ports.

According to two people in the room, the President said: “I don’t care.”Trump overseeing ‘near-systematic purge’ at Department of Homeland Security

Ultimately, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney seemed to have been able to talk the President out of closing the port of El Paso

Updated

Jerry Nadler, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, has agreed to have special counsel Robert Mueller appear before the committee.

Doug Collins, the top Republican on the committee asked for Mueller to testify earlier today.

Nadler says the former FBI director will appear “at the appropriate time.”

Republican Senator Ron Johnson has expressed his concern about the leadership void at DHS after Kristjen Nielson’s resignation

An Iowa student met Beto O’Rourke in the men’s room.

The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports:

“I was in the bathroom, minding my own business and I was washing my hands,” said Matthew Rowland, a University of Iowa student. “And this guy asked me how it was going, and I said good, ‘How’s it going,’ going for some small talk.

Rowland asked, “Are you here to see Beto?”

He said Beto O’Rourke looked up at him with a grin and said, “That’s me.”

The Trump Administration has canceled a deal that made it easier for Cuban baseball players to play in the Major Leagues.

The Trump administration canceled a four-month-old deal between Major League Baseball and the Cuban Baseball Federation Monday, saying that the federation was part of the Cuban government and trade with it was illegal under current law.

The announcement came less than two weeks after the start of the 2019 baseball season, and just days after the federation released the names of 34 Cuban players it said were eligible to sign with Major League Baseball. Some of those players were expected to be signed and playing this year.

First negotiated by the Obama administration, the agreement was intended to prevent Cuban players from undertaking risky escapes from Cuba, and from having to give up their citizenship to play in the United States.

Under the agreement, players were allowed to receive 100 percent of a signing bonus, while the MLB clubs would pay an additional 25 percent of that to the federation as a release fee. The players would also have to pay Cuban income tax on foreign earnings.

A top aide to New York Mayor Bill de Blasio is leaving City Hall to work full time for de Blasio’s political action committee.

Mike Casca, a former top communications aide on Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaign, will work full-time for de Blasio’s political operation as the New York mayor mulls a 2020 presidential bid.

The AP reports that three American service members and a contractor have been killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.

Attorney General William Barr does not appear ready to discuss the Mueller report when he testifies before Congress tomorrow

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders has confirmed the ouster of Secret Service director Randolph “Tex” Alles in a statement.

“United States Secret Service director Randolph “Tex” Alles has done a great job at the agency over the last two years, and the President is thankful for his over 40 years of service to the country. Mr. Alles will be leaving shortly and President Trump has selected James M. Murray, a career member of the USSS, to take over as director beginning in May.”

Kai Kahele, who is mounting a primary challenge against Rep Tulsi Gabbard in Hawaii announced a healthy fundraising quarter. Gabbard, who is also running for president, has faced criticism for supportive statements about Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria.

The Maryland General Assembly is holding its last day of session after the death of longtime Speaker Mike Busch. Busch, who wielded the gavel in the House of Delegates for sixteen years, died on Sunday of pneumonia.

Prosecutors said Monday that the Chinese woman who was arrested attempting to enter Mar-a-Lago had multiple electronic devices in her hotel room - including a signal detector that can detect hidden cameras, CNN reports.

Yujing Zhang, who appeared in court Monday, also had thousands of dollars in cash.

Prosecutors said she had no ties to the United States and arrived from China two days before she was caught at Donald Trump’s Florida estate. “She lies to everyone she encounters,” prosecutor Rolando Garcia said, according to CNN. “Her ties are all in China.”

The entire Baltimore City Council is urging Mayor Catherine Pugh to resign, the Baltimore Sun reports.

Pugh took a leave of absence in the midst of a scandal over her “Healthy Holly,” but said she plans to return to work after recovering from pneumonia.

“The entire membership of the Baltimore City Council believes that it is not in the best interest of the City of Baltimore for you to continue to serve as Mayor,” the council members wrote to Pugh in a two-sentence letter, according to the Sun. “We urge you to tender your resignation, effective immediately.”

Trump ousts Secret Service director

Donald Trump is removing United States Secret Service director Randolph “Tex” Alles from his position, CNN reports.

Trump told his chief of staff to fire Alles. “There is a near-systematic purge happening at the nation’s second-largest national security agency,” an official told CNN. The move comes a day after Department of Homeland Security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who oversaw the Secret Service, was forced out.

With the departure of Kirstjen Nielsen, PBS News notes, there will only be three women remaining in Donald Trump’s cabinet.

As Democrats demand special counsel Robert Mueller’s report and Donald Trump’s taxes, Trump says they “will never be satisfied” no matter how much they get.

Here are departing Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen’s full remarks to reporters outside her home today, via ABC News.

Outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen told reporters she spent the morning conferring with administration officials and members of Congress to ensure a smooth transition, CBS News reports. She thanked Donald Trump for the “tremendous opportunity to serve the country.”

“I share the president’s goal of securing the border,” she said outside her home, according to Bloomberg News. She did not answer when asked if Donald Trump asked her to resign, which it has been widely reported that he did.

She said Homeland Security has a “vast array of missions,” and “I want to make that sure we continue to execute them all with excellence,” Bloomberg reported.

Donald Trump has signed a bill giving Bob Dole the honorary rank of colonel in the Army.

Dole served in World War II and left the military with the rank of captain.

Dole, 95, was the 1996 Republican presidential nominee and a longtime senator.

Politico takes a look today at how Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who rocketed to national stardom when she defeated a longtime incumbent to win her congressional seat, is navigating local politics in New York.

The new congresswoman looms large with her massive following despite what some see as her lack of presence on the ground in New York. “Everyone is on guard. They don’t want to come in her crosshairs,” one state lawmaker told Politico.

Kevin McAleenan, Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, has not ruled out reinstating the separation of immigrant children and parents, according to NBC News.

NBC earlier reported that Trump has been pushing for months to go back to separating families, leading to a rift with Kirstjen Nielsen who said the move would not be legal.

McAleenan wants to consider a policy called “binary choice,” which would give immigrant parents a choice between being detained together with their children, and having their children separated from them and placed in shelters or foster homes, according to NBC.

Senator Bernie Sanders will be campaigning in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania next weekend, according to the Washington Post - all states won by Donald Trump in 2016.

Hillary Clinton said the Trump administration’s “dehumanization and cruelty toward migrants will not stop after Kirstjen Nielsen leaves office.”

“It is their principal policy,” the former secretary of state and presidential candidate said on Twitter.

Alec Baldwin is polling his Twitter follower on whether they would vote for him for president.

Trump designates Iran's Revolutionary Guard a foreign terrorist organization

The White House has designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization.

It’s the first time the US has officially designated an arm of a foreign state as a terrorist group.

“This unprecedented step, led by the Department of State, recognizes the reality that Iran is not only a State Sponsor of Terrorism, but that the IRGC actively participates in, finances, and promotes terrorism as a tool of statecraft,” Donald Trump said in a statement announcing the designation. “It underscores the fact that Iran’s actions are fundamentally different from those of other governments. This action will significantly expand the scope and scale of our maximum pressure on the Iranian regime.”

Updated

The top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee is asking for special counsel Robert Mueller to testify before the committee.

Rep. Doug Collins wrote to Democratic chairman Jerry Nadler saying he should invite Mueller to testify, while criticizing his attempts to obtain the full Mueller report, through a subpoena if necessary.

“If you seek both transparency and for the American public to learn the full contours of the Special Counsel’s investigation, public testimony from Special Counsel Mueller himself is undoubtedly the best way to accomplish this goal,” Collins wrote.

He went on: “Your decision to make groundless claims and repeatedly threaten to go to court not only distracts from other Committee business but, based on firm legal precedent, will also end — after months, if not years, of litigation — without the Committee receiving the material you say it requires to complete its work.”

Senator Chris Coons said departing Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen will be remembered for the “cruel” policy of separating immigrant kids and parents.

The Delaware Democrat said on Monday CNN’s New Day that her reputation will not recover from her time in Donald Trump’s cabinet - which should give pause to other potential appointees.

“Kirstjen Nielsen will be known for implementing a cruel policy of forcibly separating parents and children rather than strengthening our border or strengthening our security as a country. She had a background in cyber security, but I think that’s not what she’s going to be known for,” Coons said. “And it frankly has to raise the question for anyone who’s offered a cabinet opportunity with President Trump, whether their reputation will survive.”

Coons said it was “striking” how many top administration positions are filled by people working on an acting basis rather than permanent appointees, a situation caused by the high turnover among Trump aides.

“He’s asking for the department to do things that violate the law. He’s more and more pressing for actions at the border that don’t respect our treaty obligations, our democratic statutes on how we treat people seeking asylum. She was very frustrated by that,” Coons said. “She went in saying, ‘Mr. President, here’s the law, here’s the limits on what I can do.’ He didn’t accept those limitations and she was fired as a result. If she wasn’t extreme enough, it gives me real pause to think about who the president will be looking for to succeed her as secretary of homeland security.”

Donald Trump pushing to reinstate child separation policy

Donald Trump has been pressing for the Department of Homeland Security to reinstate the controversial child separation policy, CNN reports.

The policy was reversed after intense controversy. But Trump has been insisting bringing it back was necessary to deal with growing numbers of migrants arriving at the border, according to CNN. Kirstjen Nielsen had been resisting, one of the splits with Trump that led him to push her out.

NBC News also reports that Trump has for months been urging his administration to reinstate child separation. Nielsen resisted, saying the move would violate federal court orders, sources told NBC, which put her at odds with Trump.

Updated

New York lawmakers seek Trump's taxes

Lawmakers in New York are introducing legislation today that would allow state officials to release Donald Trump’s taxes.

Senator Brad Hoylman is sponsoring the bill, which would let the commissioner of the Department of Taxation and Finance turn over state income tax returns requested by a congressional committee for a legitimate legislative purpose.

“I am introducing new legislation to allow New York State officials to release state tax returns in cooperation with Congressional investigations. If Washington fails to give the American people the transparency they deserve, New York will take the lead,” Hoylman said in a tweet.

“It is time for New York to help ensure Congress can’t be blocked in their attempts to hold even the highest elected officials in the land accountable to the American people.”

The chairman of the Democratic-controlled House Ways and Means Committee has requested Trump’s tax returns from the IRS, as federal law empowers him to do for any citizen. But the Treasury Department is expected to fight the request. If the New York legislation passes, the committee could instead get Trump’s state tax returns. While those are different documents from a federal tax return, they contain much of the same financial information.

Updated

Embattled Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh plans to return to work when she recovers from pneumonia, WMAR reports.

Pugh took a leave of absence citing her health, but it was widely perceived to be a reaction to the burgeoning scandal over her “Healthy Holly” books, which were bought by organizations doing business and seeking contracts from the city.

Donald Trump pushed Uganda to find the kidnappers of an American tourist and her guide. They have been rescued but the kidnappers fled.

“Uganda must find the kidnappers of the American Tourist and guide before people will feel safe in going there. Bring them to justice openly and quickly!” Trump said in a tweet.

Donald Trump has been watching Fox News this morning and tweeting along.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s communications director is leaving City Hall to work full time on the mayor’s PAC, Politico reports - another sign he may be aiming to jump into the race for president.

Mike Casca, a veteran of Bernie Sanders’ campaign, had been working the city job while moonlight for de Blasio’s Fairness PAC in his off time.

De Blasio traveled to Nevada this weekend as he explores a presidential bid. Meanwhile, after a poll last week found that an overwhelming majority of New York voters don’t think the mayor should run for president, WNYC visited his home neighborhood of Park Slope, Brooklyn and found the same sentiment. Onilaja Waters, outside the Park Slope WNYC where de Blasio gets driven most days, told the radio station he should pay attention to problems closer to home. “Black children and people of color are still not getting a proper education,” Waters said. “I would tell the people of the United States that this is someone who talks a progressive agenda, but what we see in New York City is very mixed.”

Updated

Kevin McAleenan is Donald Trump’s pick to take over the Department of Homeland Security after forcing out Kirstjen Nielsen. The Washington Post reports this morning that McAleenan, currently the commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection, looks the part of the “tough” border cop - a factor that has often been important to Trump - with close-cropped hair and a stern bearing. But he has not employed the same hardline immigration rhetoric favored by Trump, referring to asylum seekers as “vulnerable families” and praising US aid to Central American countries. He is mostly well regarded by lawmakers in both parties, the Post reports - we’ll see how long that lasts.

Good morning. More details are emerging after Donald Trump announced the resignation on Sunday evening of the homeland security secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen. Trump pressured her to step down, CNN reports. Nielsen had a 5pm meeting with Trump at the White House to discuss the situation at the US-Mexico border. She “believed the situation was becoming untenable with the President becoming increasingly unhinged about the border crisis and making unreasonable and even impossible requests”, a senior administration official told the network. Trump tweeted news of her resignation just after 6pm.

Axios reports that she brought a resignation letter with her to the meeting, but wasn’t necessarily going to use it. She hoped announce her departure herself by releasing her letter, but Trump beat her to the punch with his tweet. “She was undercut at every turn,” a source close to the DHS told Axios. “She’s done everything she can do. The White House is eating their own.”

The New York Times reports that as Trump grew increasingly angry over immigrants crossing the US border, he would call Nielsen at home early in the morning and demand she stop it - including by prohibiting all migrants from applying for asylum, which would be illegal.

Updated

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