Trump Action Archive

Supporting reports

• ICE Deportations Separate Families, Including U.S. Citizen Children — Recent ICE deportations have separated families, including U.S. citizen children, from their immigrant mothers. The deportations occurred swiftly, with little opportunity for legal recourse, and have raised concerns about the treatment of immigrant families and the impact on children, some of whom have serious health issues.
• ICE Deports US Citizen Child and Mother — ICE officials deported a 4-year-old US citizen with cancer and his mother without the child's medication, along with two Honduran-born mothers and their US-born children, and a Cuban-born mother separated from her 1-year-old. These deportations raise significant human rights and legal concerns.
• ICE Deports U.S. Citizen Children to Honduras — Early on April 26, 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported three U.S. citizen children, aged 2, 4, and 7, to Honduras after their mothers were arrested during a routine immigration check. One of the children, who has Stage 4 cancer, was sent without medication or medical consultation. The mothers were not allowed to communicate with family or lawyers before the deportation. This incident follows a similar case in March where four U.S. citizen children were sent to Mexico with their undocumented parents.
• Deportation of Mothers and US Citizen Children to Honduras — Two women and their US citizen children were deported to Honduras without being given the opportunity to transfer custody of their children to another parent or caregiver. The deportations occurred after the women were detained at regular check-in appointments with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in New Orleans. The families were held in isolation and denied communication with attorneys or family members. An emergency motion was filed to prevent the deportation of a two-year-old US citizen, leading to a federal judge expressing concerns about the lack of due process.

Supporting reports

• Trump administration targets universities over pro-Palestinian protests — In March 2025, the Trump administration listed Swarthmore College among 60 schools at risk of losing federal funding for allowing what it deemed antisemitic harassment on campus. This move is part of a broader crackdown on pro-Palestinian protests at universities, with institutions like Columbia and Harvard facing severe financial penalties despite taking disciplinary actions against student protesters. The administration's actions have led to increased surveillance and disciplinary measures against students, particularly targeting Palestinian, Arab Muslim, and students of color, raising concerns about free speech and academic freedom.
• Universities penalize students for pro-Palestinian protests — Universities across the United States, including Swarthmore College, Columbia, and Harvard, have been penalizing students for participating in pro-Palestinian protests. Disciplinary actions include suspensions, expulsions, and revocation of diplomas, often accompanied by increased surveillance. These measures disproportionately affect Palestinian, Arab Muslim, and students of color, leading to financial and academic hardships. Despite these actions, the federal government has still imposed financial penalties on these institutions, exacerbating tensions and raising concerns about the suppression of free speech on campuses.

Supporting reports

• Trump Administration Cancels LGBTQ Pride Events at Kennedy Center — The Trump administration's board at the Kennedy Center has canceled the "Tapestry of Pride" events planned for June, which were intended to celebrate LGBTQ rights during the World Pride Festival in Washington, D.C. The cancellation has forced organizers to seek alternative venues for the celebration.

Supporting reports

• Widespread medical neglect reported across ICE detention facilities amid overcrowding — Multiple ICE detention facilities, including Stewart in Georgia and Krome in Miami, Florida, are experiencing severe medical neglect of detainees with serious health conditions. At Krome, at least three detainees have died in recent months and others with HIV have gone weeks without medication. Experts attribute the crisis to extreme overcrowding (nearly 48,000 detainees nationwide), chronic workforce shortages, and the elimination of federal oversight offices. Staff reportedly prioritize deportation over medical care, with one guard telling detainees: "Unless you're dying or bleeding out … they're not going to come."

Supporting reports

• FBI arrests Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan on obstruction charges related to immigration enforcement — The FBI arrested Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan on Friday morning at her courthouse on charges of obstruction and concealing an individual to prevent arrest. Federal authorities alleged that Dugan intentionally misdirected immigration agents seeking to apprehend Eduardo Flores Ruiz, an undocumented immigrant scheduled to appear in her courtroom. Dugan ordered the agents to leave, citing lack of a judicial warrant, and escorted Flores Ruiz to a non-public area. She was released after a brief court appearance; her next hearing is scheduled for May 15. The arrest marks the first publicly known instance of the Trump administration criminally charging a local official for allegedly obstructing immigration enforcement.
• Judge Hannah Dugan arrested by FBI for allowing defendant to exit courtroom — Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested by FBI agents on April 25, 2025, in her Milwaukee courtroom and charged with obstruction. She had allegedly allowed a man to leave through back doors of her courtroom in response to immigration officers waiting to arrest him outside. FBI Director Kash Patel posted comments and a photograph of her arrest on X, and digitally altered photographs of Dugan in tears proliferated on social media. Trump reposted an image from Libs of TikTok.
• FBI arrested Judge Hannah Dugan — FBI agents arrested Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan at the courthouse on charges of obstruction and concealing an individual to prevent arrest. The arrest followed an April 18 incident in which Judge Dugan, during a pre-trial conference for an undocumented immigrant charged with misdemeanor battery, questioned ICE agents' administrative warrant and allowed the defendant to exit via an alternate route, enabling him to flee before agents apprehended him. FBI Director Kash Patel initially posted about the arrest on social media before deleting the post.
• Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan arrested by FBI for obstruction of justice — Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested by the FBI on charges of obstruction of justice for allegedly helping a migrant evade arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. According to FBI Director Kash Patel, Judge Dugan misdirected federal agents away from Eduardo Flores Ruiz during an ICE operation in her courthouse, allowing Ruiz to exit through a jury room back door. Ruiz was apprehended after a short foot chase outside the building.

Supporting reports

• ICE deported breastfeeding mother, separating her from U.S. citizen infant — Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported Heidy Sánchez, a Cuban-born mother of a one-year-old still breastfeeding, leaving the child in the United States with the father, a U.S. citizen. Sánchez was detained when she appeared for a scheduled check-in with ICE.
• ICE deported three U.S. citizen children to Honduras with their arrested mothers — Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained two mothers during routine immigration check-ins and deported them to Honduras, taking with them three U.S. citizen children aged 2, 4, and 7. One child had Stage 4 cancer and was sent without medication or medical consultation despite agents being informed of the medical need. The mothers were not permitted to speak with family or lawyers before deportation. ICE claimed the mothers chose to take their children, but the refusal to allow legal counsel contact means only agents' accounts exist of how the decision was made.

Supporting reports

• Democratic lawmakers call for release of Tufts student detained by ICE — U.S. Senator Ed Markey and Representatives Jim McGovern and Ayanna Pressley, all from Massachusetts, published an essay in the New York Times calling for the immediate release of Tufts University graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk from ICE detention in Louisiana. The lawmakers documented poor detention conditions—inadequate food, extreme cold, denied religious accommodations, and withheld asthma medication—and characterized her detention as political repression targeting her for critical speech about Israel-Palestine, not immigration violations. They also highlighted similar treatment of Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil, arrested without a warrant, and warned of broader unconstitutional enforcement patterns under the Trump administration.

Supporting reports

• Attorney General Bondi publicly attacked Judge Dugan on Fox News — Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared on Fox News Channel to comment on Judge Dugan's arrest, calling judges "deranged" and stating they are "not beyond and above the law." Bondi warned that the administration would prosecute anyone "harboring a fugitive," framing judicial discretion in immigration cases as criminal conduct.

Supporting reports

• Over 150 university presidents sign joint statement opposing Trump administration's higher education policies — More than 150 presidents of U.S. colleges and universities, including leaders from Harvard, Princeton, and Brown, signed a statement published by the American Association of Colleges and Universities denouncing the Trump administration's "unprecedented government overreach and political interference" in higher education. The statement opposes what signatories describe as "undue government intrusion" while claiming openness to legitimate oversight. The action follows weeks of administration measures including funding freezes, threats to tax-exempt status, and demands for institutional autonomy relinquishment.

Supporting reports

• Congressional delegation visits ICE detention facilities; lawmakers denounce detention of student activists — A bipartisan congressional delegation led by Rep. Troy Carter visited two ICE processing centers in Louisiana on April 22, 2025, to inspect conditions and meet with Mahmoud Khalil and Rümeysa Öztürk, graduate students detained for pro-Palestinian activism. The lawmakers denounced their detention as unconstitutional, describing it as political imprisonment and a "national disgrace." Neither detainee has been accused of criminal conduct. The delegation included Reps. Bennie Thompson, Ayanna Pressley, Jim McGovern, Senator Ed Markey, and ACLU officials.

Supporting reports

• Detention of Irish green card holder Cliona Ward at San Francisco airport — Cliona Ward, 54, a green card holder who has lived legally in the US for four decades, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at San Francisco airport on 21 April after returning from Ireland. Ward holds convictions for drug possession from 2007 and 2008 that she believed were expunged. She was transported to an ICE facility in Tacoma, Washington, where she remains held pending an immigration hearing scheduled for 7 May. The detention is part of a broader Trump administration crackdown on documented migrants, including green card holders.
• Irish green card holder Cliona Ward released after 17-day ICE detention — Cliona Ward, a 54-year-old Irish national and long-term US green card holder, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at San Francisco airport on 21 April after returning from Ireland. She was held for 17 days in a Tacoma, Washington facility over a criminal record from 2007–2008 (drug possession and misdemeanours) that had been expunged at state but not federal level. A California judge agreed to formally overturn the convictions at federal level, enabling her release on 8 May. Ward, who has lived legally in the US for decades, works for a non-profit, pays taxes, and cares for a US-citizen son.

Supporting reports

• EEOC sends text survey to Barnard College employees asking religious/national origin identity — The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sent unsolicited text messages to Barnard College employees on their personal phones, linking to a voluntary survey asking whether recipients are Jewish, Israeli, practice Judaism, or have Jewish/Israeli ancestry. The survey was part of a Trump administration investigation into alleged antisemitism at the college. Barnard's general counsel confirmed the college had received no advance notice and that the EEOC was legally entitled to obtain employee contact information. Faculty expressed alarm that the survey effectively creates a list of Jewish employees and represents unprecedented surveillance intruding into personal devices.

Supporting reports

• ICE denies Mahmoud Khalil temporary release to attend birth of his son — Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist detained in Louisiana by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, requested temporary release to attend the birth of his first child in New York. ICE denied the request despite his lawyers proposing reasonable alternatives including a two-week furlough with ankle monitoring. Khalil's wife, Noor Abdalla, gave birth on April 21, and Khalil was only able to participate via telephone call from over 1,000 miles away. Abdalla characterized the denial as a "purposeful decision by ICE to make me, Mahmoud, and our son suffer."

Supporting reports

• Palestinian green-card holder detained during naturalization interview — Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian green-card holder and Columbia student, was detained by immigration authorities while attending a naturalization interview on April 21, 2025. Senator Peter Welch of Vermont met with Mahdawi following his detention, indicating congressional concern over the arrest.

Supporting reports

• Harvard University president refuses Trump administration demands for government control over university operations — Harvard University President Alan Garber issued an open letter refusing a series of demands from the Trump administration, including the appointment of a White House-approved external body to audit the university for "viewpoint diversity" and the immediate shutdown of all diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Garber characterized the demands as "direct governmental regulation" that violated the school's independence and constitutional rights, stating that no government should dictate what private universities teach, whom they admit and hire, or which areas of study they pursue.

Supporting reports

• Deportation of Venezuelan Musician to El Salvador — Arturo Suárez Trejo, a Venezuelan musician, was deported from the United States to El Salvador under the Trump administration's immigration policies. Suárez, who had been living in North Carolina, was detained and accused without evidence of being a criminal. He was subsequently sent to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, where his family has lost contact with him. This action is part of a broader policy affecting over 200 Venezuelan men, raising concerns about human rights and due process.

Supporting reports

• Mass protests across US cities against Trump administration policies — On Saturday, April 19, 2025, protesters filled streets in over 400 cities and towns nationwide, organized primarily by the group 50501 (50 protests in 50 states, one movement) and Indivisible. Demonstrations occurred in major cities including Washington DC, New York, Chicago, and dozens of others, with organizers calling for 11 million participants. Protesters carried signs opposing authoritarianism, government overreach, and threats to democracy, with some rallies commemorating historical American resistance. The event represented the fourth major protest wave since Trump's January 20 inauguration.
• Nationwide protests against Trump administration on 250th anniversary of Lexington and Concord — On April 19, 2025, the decentralized 50501 movement organized more than 700 protests across all 50 states against President Trump, billionaire Elon Musk, and the administration's policies. The movement, described as "pro-democracy, pro-Constitution, anti-executive-overreach," drew participants from small towns and Republican-dominated areas. Protesters highlighted concerns about due process rights, particularly in response to the administration's rendition of men to CECOT prison in El Salvador without legal process.

Supporting reports

• Social Security Administration executive placed on leave for objecting to adding living immigrants to death database — A senior Social Security Administration executive was escorted out of his office by security and placed on leave after objecting to the Trump administration's effort to add thousands of living immigrants to the agency's deaths database. The policy would prevent living immigrants from legally earning wages, with officials hoping it would spur them to leave the country. The executive's removal represents retaliation for internal dissent.

Supporting reports

• Mass shooting at Florida State University kills at least two — A mass shooting occurred on the Florida State University campus, resulting in at least two deaths and several others wounded in serious condition. The 20-year-old suspect, Phoenix Ikner, was taken into custody. Ikner is the son of a local sheriff's deputy and reportedly used her firearm in the attack.

Supporting reports

• Immigration judge denies bail to Turkish PhD student detained for op-ed on Gaza — Rümeysa Öztürk, a Turkish PhD student at Tufts University and former Fulbright scholar, was detained by ICE agents on 25 March after co-authoring a campus newspaper op-ed about Gaza. An immigration judge denied her bond on 16 April, ruling her both a "flight risk" and "danger to the community," despite DHS only arguing flight risk. Her visa was revoked based solely on a one-paragraph State Department memorandum citing the op-ed's association with an organization temporarily banned from campus. She faces deportation without being charged with any crime.

Supporting reports

• Police use stun gun on protesters at Marjorie Taylor Greene town hall in Georgia — Police used a stun gun on at least two people and arrested three attendees at a town hall hosted by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene in Acworth, Georgia on Tuesday. Protesters repeatedly interrupted Greene during the event. One protester, Andrew Russell Nelms, was dragged out by police who deployed a stun gun on him. Access to the town hall was tightly controlled, requiring attendees to provide addresses and ID. Reporters were barred from interviewing attendees and Greene did not take live questions.

Supporting reports

• ICE detention of Mohsen Mahdawi, Palestinian green-card holder and Columbia student — Mohsen Mahdawi, a lawful permanent resident and Columbia University student, was arrested by ICE agents on Monday morning in Colchester, Vermont, while attending a naturalization interview. His attorneys argue the detention violates his First Amendment rights and constitutes retaliation for his pro-Palestinian activism and speech. Mahdawi's lawyers filed a habeas petition and sought a temporary restraining order to prevent his removal from the jurisdiction or country. DHS has not confirmed his whereabouts or responded to requests for comment.
• Judge orders bail hearing for detained Palestinian student Mohsen Mahdawi — Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian green-card holder and Columbia University student, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on April 14 while attending a naturalization interview in Vermont. The Trump administration is seeking to deport him, claiming his pro-Palestinian activism could "potentially undermine" Middle East peace efforts. On April 23, a federal judge extended a temporary restraining order keeping Mahdawi in Vermont and scheduled a bail hearing for the following week, rejecting ICE's apparent plan to transfer him to a detention center in Louisiana.
• Mohsen Mahdawi released from ICE detention and graduates from Columbia University — Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawi, arrested by ICE in Vermont on 14 April while attending a naturalization interview, was detained and ordered deported by the Trump administration without being charged with a crime. A federal judge released him two weeks later, likening the government's actions to McCarthyist repression. Mahdawi graduated from Columbia University on Monday to a standing ovation. He remains in legal limbo as the administration attempts to deport him using a statute allowing the secretary of state to revoke legal status based on perceived threats to foreign policy.
• Palestinian student Mohsen Mahdawi arrested by ICE at citizenship interview — Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian student and green card holder who led demonstrations at Columbia University, was arrested by ICE agents when he went to a citizenship interview. Later that day, a federal judge temporarily blocked Mahdawi from being deported or removed from Vermont while his lawyers challenge the legality of his deportation.

Supporting reports

• Federal judge temporarily blocked Mahdawi's deportation — A federal judge temporarily blocked Mohsen Mahdawi from being deported or removed from Vermont while his lawyers challenge the legality of his deportation. The order provides temporary protection while the case proceeds.

Supporting reports

• Cardinal Prevost reposted criticism of Trump and Bukele's deportation of U.S. resident — On April 14, 2025, Cardinal Robert Prevost reposted a statement by Bishop Evelio Menjivar criticizing President Trump and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele for laughing at the federal deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a U.S. resident and formerly undocumented Salvadoran. Menjivar's statement asked: "Do you not see the suffering? Is your conscience not disturbed? How can you stay quiet?" Prevost's repost amplified institutional Catholic criticism of the administration's deportation practices and their treatment as a matter of mockery.

Supporting reports

• Trump dismissed firebombing attack on Governor Shapiro as unimportant — When asked about the firebombing attack on Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro's mansion approximately 20 hours after it occurred, Trump initially stated "I haven't heard about it. I'll look into it." When asked again later during his meeting with Salvadorian President Bukele, Trump characterized the attacker as "not a fan of Trump" and "probably just a whack job," framing the attack in relation to himself rather than addressing the threat to the governor.