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Democrats’ Defense of Ketanji Brown Jackson Leaves Some Wanting More

Published

3 years ago

March 30, 2022

As Choose Ketanji Brown Jackson solidifies assist for her bid to grow to be the primary Black lady to hitch the Supreme Court docket, Democrats are nonetheless debating an enormously complicated and weighty subject: discuss race in America.

It’s a topic many Democrats would slightly keep away from, in line with strategists and activists who expressed a variety of views — and feelings — over days of conversations about Jackson’s tough therapy in the course of the affirmation hearings final week.

“When problems with race come up, Democrats get scared,” mentioned Rashad Robinson, the president of the nonprofit group Shade of Change. He lamented that President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris had no more forcefully condemned Republicans for what he mentioned had been racist assaults on Jackson’s report and id.

“The White Home has to have interaction on these fights,” Robinson advised us. “Republicans will weaponize race and racism to realize their objectives, however Democrats don’t elevate racial justice.”

The criticism, coming largely however not completely from activists on the left, exposes a longstanding divide inside the Democratic Celebration over deal with one of many deepest and sometimes ugliest fissures in American politics. And it comes as Republicans attempt to rattle Democratic candidates by linking them to vital race principle, an idea that Democrats say is being dragged out of educational obscurity to be used as a racist canine whistle.

Allies of the White Home — which declined to touch upon the report — say they’re pleased with the way in which Jackson dealt with herself within the hearings, and aware of the broader political stakes. However they are saying it’s as much as activists, not political leaders, to steer the wrestle for racial progress.

“Race is at all times on the poll,” mentioned Donna Brazile, a former performing head of the Democratic Nationwide Committee who’s informally advising the White Home on Jackson’s affirmation.

“However look, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris can’t douse the flames which have been burning for greater than 200 years,” Brazile added. Racism, she mentioned, “is a flame that doesn’t exit.”

‘There’s actually nothing you’ll be able to say or do’

One of the crucial polarizing moments of the hearings final week was when Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, badgered Jackson over the curriculum at Georgetown Day Faculty, a progressive non-public faculty in Washington the place the decide is a board member. (Our colleague Erica Inexperienced wrote an amazing article in regards to the faculty’s response.)

As aides displayed blown-up web page spreads behind Cruz from “Antiracist Child,” a e-book by Ibram X. Kendi, the senator requested, “Do you agree with this e-book that’s being taught with youngsters, that infants are racist?”

For a lot of Democratic ladies, particularly Black ladies, exchanges like that had been enraging. It’s a signal, a number of mentioned, of how ladies are sometimes handled with disrespect in male-dominated establishments.

“So many people have been in that area the place there’s actually nothing you’ll be able to say or do,” mentioned Karen Finney, a Democratic strategist who’s biracial. “It was bullying, and it made individuals offended.”

Brazile mentioned, “She consistently gave them the respect that they’d not give her.” However, she added, “while you undergo that cup, you end up with wounds.”

A preferred nominee on the left

These near the White Home level to months of painstaking work by Democrats to construct a coalition of civil society teams to defend Biden’s nominee, absolutely anticipating whichever Black lady he picked to face an onslaught of Republican assaults.

In the course of the hearings, the Democratic Nationwide Committee and the White Home churned out dozens of messages highlighting favorable protection of Jackson and accusing Republicans of being disrespectful.

Jaime Harrison, the D.N.C. chair, live-tweeted the proceedings, cheering alongside at moments like Senator Cory Booker’s soliloquy celebrating Jackson’s nomination, which grew to become a viral sensation on the left.

White Home allies additionally level to polls exhibiting broad public assist for Jackson’s affirmation as an indication that the administration’s technique is working.

On Wednesday, the most recent Marquette Legislation Faculty survey discovered that 66 % of American adults mentioned they supported Jackson’s nomination. The ballot additionally discovered that the share of People who mentioned Jackson was certified for the job had improved in the course of the hearings.

Different polls, corresponding to a survey performed by Pew Analysis Middle in early March, have discovered that Black People are particularly prone to view having a Black lady on the Supreme Court docket as vital. Seventy-two % mentioned it will be extraordinarily or crucial, together with half who mentioned it will be extraordinarily vital.

Go on offense, retreat or attempt to do each?

Ask Democrats how they need to reply to Republicans’ assaults on racial issues they usually splinter right into a kaleidoscope of views.

Some need the Democratic Celebration to completely embrace variety as its “superpower,” as Robinson put it. Others urge Democrats to make use of Nineties-style triangulation — making a present of denouncing activist slogans like “defund the police,” as Biden did throughout his State of the Union deal with.

Some, primarily social gathering insiders who wouldn’t converse on the report, would slightly change the topic to so-called kitchen desk points like infrastructure, jobs and well being care, the place they really feel Democrats are on a stronger footing.

Others say Democrats can do each.

Finney, who has suggested high social gathering officers on talk about race, mentioned that Democrats couldn’t ignore Republican assaults — and that they wanted to discover ways to flip the tables on the G.O.P. by talking of “shared values” of equity and equal alternative.

“The message needs to be: Each particular person deserves respect and an opportunity to succeed, and a part of what makes America nice is we’re consistently working to enhance our democracy and study from our errors,” Finney mentioned.

William Galston, a Brookings Establishment scholar who in 1989 wrote an influential treatise with Elaine Kamarck on the Democratic Celebration’s drawback with swing voters, “The Politics of Evasion,” mentioned that it made sense for the social gathering to “retreat to extra defensible traces” on sure matters — vital race principle amongst them.

In a current essay reprising a few of their themes from 1989, Galston and Kamarck wrote: “Most People favor instructing each the constructive and unfavourable sides of our historical past, together with slavery and racial discrimination, however they won’t tolerate pedagogy they see as dividing college students alongside racial and ethnic traces.”

Retreating from cultural fights versus charging into them represents an antiquated viewpoint, a youthful era of activists argue. Inspiring voters of shade and inspiring them to vote at greater charges, they are saying, is extra vital to the way forward for the Democratic Celebration than making an attempt to hold on to a vanishing white majority.

“I believe they’re unhealthy at math, frankly,” mentioned Steve Phillips, a distinguished progressive Democratic donor, referring to social gathering insiders. “They low cost voters of shade and put a better premium on supposedly persuadable swing white voters.”

He added, “They’re constrained by their worry of criticism by individuals who aren’t going to vote for them anyway.”

G.O.P. lawmakers in Georgia again down (for now) on an election invoice.

This week, a bipartisan group of native election officers in Georgia spoke out in opposition to an expansive election invoice that Republicans had been fast-tracking within the state’s Basic Meeting, culminating in a two-hour listening to on Monday in Atlanta.

Now, Republicans within the State Senate seem to have heeded their considerations, stripping the invoice all the way down to only one provision: a measure that will enable voters to take two hours off work to vote early in-person. (Proper now, they will accomplish that solely on Election Day.)

The pared-down model, only one and a half pages lengthy, is a definite departure from the unique invoice that handed the Home this month. That 40-page piece of laws would have expanded the attain of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation over potential election crimes; restricted non-public funding of elections; empowered partisan ballot watchers; and established new necessities for monitoring absentee ballots as they’re verified and counted.

By subbing out virtually all the invoice at this later stage, Republicans within the State Senate appeared to arrange a showdown with their counterparts within the State Home who had made clear their want for a a lot greater invoice. However State Consultant James Burchett, the sponsor of the laws, appeared on Tuesday earlier than the Senate committee at present debating the invoice and appeared to be on board with the modifications.

If Republicans within the State Home do attempt to restore a few of the election provisions to the invoice and vote on it once more, they face a good calendar: The Georgia legislature wraps up for the yr in lower than every week.

So for now, at the very least, it seems that the bipartisan criticism from native election officers was sufficient to sway legislators on an election invoice — and will have even prompted them to modestly develop entry to voting in a vital battleground state.

However, after all, it’s not performed but, and the Georgia legislature has proven up to now that it may pivot rapidly. Keep tuned.

Thanks for studying. We’ll see you tomorrow.

— Blake & Leah

Is there something you assume we’re lacking? Something you need to see extra of? We’d love to listen to from you. E mail us at onpolitics@nytimes.com.

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Who Are the Millions of Immigrants Trump Wants to Deport?

Published

6 hours ago

January 18, 2025

Press Room

Who Are the Millions of Immigrants Trump Wants to Deport?

President-elect Trump has promised to deport millions of people who are living in the United States without permission. This population is commonly referred to as “undocumented,” “unauthorized” or “illegal.” But these terms are not entirely accurate. A significant number are in the country with temporary permissions — though many are set to expire during Mr. Trump’s term.

For the last decade, the best estimates put this population at around 11 million. But the number of people crossing U.S. borders reached a record level in 2022 before falling last year. More recent estimates put the number of people without legal status or with temporary protection from deportation at almost 14 million in 2024.

Many of them have permission to be here, at least for now.

“It’s true that immigration is high, but it’s hard to sort out who is an undocumented immigrant,” said Robert Warren, a demographer and the former statistics director at what was then the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. “Most of the public looks at everyone as undocumented — asylum-seekers, T.P.S., DACA — but it’s important to really figure out who is included.”

The New York Times compared estimates from several research organizations and the federal government, as well as more recent administrative data, to better understand who these immigrants are, how they got here, and which of them may be most vulnerable to deportation under Mr. Trump.

Those with permission fall under the protection of many different programs.

What is perhaps most surprising — or misleading — about terms like “undocumented” and “unauthorized” is that as many as 40 percent of the people in this group do have some current authorization to live or work legally in the United States, according to one estimate by FWD.us, an immigration advocacy group that hired a demographer to study the population.

In an effort to deter illegal crossings, the Biden administration created a way for migrants to make an appointment to cross the southern border through a smartphone app called CBP One. The administration also created special pathways for people fleeing humanitarian crises in Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Ukraine and Venezuela and extended temporary protection from deportation for people from certain countries through a program known as Temporary Protected Status.

Immigrants who enter the country through these programs are following the current rules, but Mr. Trump and other Republicans have attacked them and said the programs are illegal.

Millions more people have applied for asylum and are allowed to remain in the country while their cases wend through immigration court — though very few asylum claims are ultimately granted. An Obama-era program known as DACA protects from deportation about 540,000 undocumented people brought to the country as children.

The Biden administration also deferred deportation for other groups of people, like those who have applied for protection because they were victims of or witnesses to a crime.

Trump has limited power to immediately remove these groups.

Many of the permissions offering humanitarian relief are set to expire during the Trump administration, including some that Mr. Biden recently extended. If the incoming administration were to try to end these protections sooner, it would likely face lawsuits.

Mr. Trump could immediately stop accepting new applications for humanitarian parole. It may be harder to cancel the status of those who are already here.

Nor can Mr. Trump easily deport the 2.6 million people who are awaiting a hearing or a decision on an asylum claim. He could try to hire more immigration judges to decide these cases, but even with a significant infusion of new funds, it would take years to work through the backlog.

DACA is no longer accepting new applications, and the future of the program is uncertain because of a lawsuit filed by several Republican state attorneys general.

People can have more than one status, and many of these groups overlap.

Many people in the country with temporary permission fall under overlapping programs.

For example, the bulk of the people who arrived through one of the Biden-era humanitarian pathways were granted parole for two years. Many of them now also have Temporary Protected Status. Along with those who used the CBP One app to cross the southern border, they can also apply for asylum within the first year they are in the United States.

These immigrants come from all over the world.

Note: Not all countries are shown. Data as of 2022. The growth shown for select countries is based on administrative data.

Source: Pew Research Center.

More than half of those who are in the United States without authorization have been here for 10 years or more.

Mexicans remain by far the largest group of people living in the country without authorization, but their share has declined significantly since the 1990s, according to data from the Pew Research Center.

An influx of people fleeing humanitarian and economic crises came from Central America during Mr. Trump’s first term, and many of them are still in the country.

Mexican officials and other leaders in the region say they have not been able to meet with the incoming administration about its deportation plans.

Few immigrants can be swiftly removed. Even fewer are in custody.

Out of all those who are unauthorized, Mr. Trump has said the top priority for deportation will be criminals. There are around 655,000 noncitizens living in the U.S. with criminal convictions or pending charges, according to data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, though many of these charges are for minor offenses such as traffic violations.

There were about 39,000 immigrants in ICE custody at the end of December, near capacity for holding facilities.

The Trump administration may also focus its enforcement efforts on the nearly 1.4 million people whom an immigration judge has already ordered to be removed from the country.

Many of the rest have been living in the country for years and have developed ties to their communities, including having children born in the United States. It would require a significant amount of time and resources to locate and remove them.

Methodology and sources

There is no direct measure of the population living in the United States without authorization, as no major government survey collects information on immigration status.

In order to estimate the size of the unauthorized population, most researchers rely on a method that starts with survey data from the Census Bureau and then adjusts it using administrative records and other data to subtract the number of immigrants who are legally in the country from the total number of foreign-born residents.

Recent estimates of the unauthorized population

The number of people waiting for an asylum claim comes from the Pew Research Center as of 2023. The number of people with Temporary Protected Status comes from the Congressional Research Service as of September 2024. The number of DACA recipients comes from U.S.C.I.S. as of September 2024. Figures for the number of people who have entered through humanitarian parole from specific countries and through a CBP One appointment at the southern border are from C.B.P as of December 2024. Many people may be counted in more than one of these groups.

Figures for the number of ICE cases pending and paused are for the national docket and come from the agency’s annual report as of September 2024. The number of noncitizens with a criminal charge or conviction comes from ICE, as of Jan. 8.

All numbers are rounded.

News

TikTok says it will ‘go dark’ without US government action

Published

7 hours ago

January 17, 2025

Press Room

TikTok says it will ‘go dark’ without US government action

TikTok on Friday warned of an imminent blackout for its 170mn US users after the Supreme Court upheld a divest-or-ban law targeting the video app.

The law compels TikTok’s Chinese parent ByteDance to sell the platform by January 19 — the day before Donald Trump returns as US president — or face a nationwide ban.

“There is no doubt that, for more than 170mn Americans, TikTok offers a distinctive and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community,” the Supreme Court wrote in a unanimous opinion published on Friday.

“But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary,” it added.

Following the ruling, Joe Biden’s administration said the outgoing president would not enforce the ban during his remaining days in office.

“Given the sheer fact of timing, this administration recognises that actions to implement the law simply must fall to the next administration, which takes office on Monday,” the White House said.

But TikTok late on Friday said statements from the White House as well as from the Department of Justice had “failed to provide the necessary clarity and assurance to the service providers that are integral to maintaining TikTok’s availability” in the US.

It added: “Unless the Biden administration immediately provides a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring non-enforcement, unfortunately TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19.”

Under the terms of the law, without a sale, it will be unlawful for companies to provide services to distribute or host the video app, or they will face fines of $5,000 per user.

It remains unclear whether tech groups such as Apple, Google and Oracle, which offer such services to TikTok in the US, would take the risk of continuing to partner with the company over the weekend. It is also unclear whether the app could also take itself offline deliberately, to protect its partners.

Apple, Google and Oracle did not respond to requests for comment.

Trump said in a post on Truth Social after the ruling that his “decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I must have time to review the situation”, adding that the court’s decision was “expected, and everyone must respect it”.

In a video posted on TikTok following the court’s decision, the group’s chief executive Shou Zi Chew gave no reassurances on whether the app would continue to function in the US on Sunday, but lavished Trump with praise.

“I want to thank president Trump for his commitment to work with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok available in the United States. This is a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship,” he said, adding the president-elect “truly understands” the platform.

US attorney-general Merrick Garland said the court’s decision “enables the justice department to prevent the Chinese government from weaponising TikTok to undermine America’s national security”.

Deputy US attorney-general Lisa Monaco said the “next phase of this effort — implementing and ensuring compliance with the law after it goes into effect on January 19 — will be a process that plays out over time”.

TikTok has said any spin-off would be technologically unfeasible, while Beijing has indicated it would oppose any sale.

The court’s ruling was handed down shortly after Trump on Friday said he had discussed TikTok on a call with China’s President Xi Jinping. It was the first call between the leaders in four years.

The Supreme Court’s ruling upholds one of the boldest legislative moves of Biden’s term just days before the Democratic president leaves the White House.

On Thursday, Trump’s incoming national security adviser Mike Waltz said the legislation “allows for an extension as long as a viable deal is on the table. Essentially that buys president Trump time to keep TikTok going”.

Chinese officials have held preliminary discussions about whether billionaire Elon Musk — now a close ally of Trump — could broker a deal for the app’s sale, the Financial Times reported this week.

Some potential buyers and partners have been circling and lobbying Trump. These include Frank McCourt, an American media and sports businessman, who has established a consortium of investors that would bid for TikTok through his non-profit entity, Project Liberty.

TikTok chief Chew has mounted a charm offensive to cement Trump’s backing, including plans to attend a “victory rally” for the president-elect in Washington on Sunday and his inauguration on Monday, said two people familiar with the matter.

Concerns Beijing could use the app for espionage or to spread propaganda spurred the law, which was passed with strong bipartisan support last year.

Even though China “has not yet leveraged its relationship with ByteDance Ltd to access US TikTok users’ data”, the top court said, there was “no basis for concluding that the government’s determination that China might do so is not at least a ‘reasonable inferenc[e] based on substantial evidence’.”

TikTok asked the Supreme Court to hear its case after a US appeals court rejected its challenge to the law, as well as its subsequent request to halt the measure pending further court proceedings.

The company sought to throw out the law by arguing it was unconstitutional and it violated First Amendment protections for free speech.

Additional reporting by Aime Williams in Washington and Stephen Morris and Michael Acton in San Francisco

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FAQ: As Trump inauguration moves inside, what to know on the last-minute changes

Published

7 hours ago

January 17, 2025

Press Room

FAQ: As Trump inauguration moves inside, what to know on the last-minute changes

President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony is moving indoors to the Capitol rotunda due to a freezing blast of artic temps expected in D.C., he announced Friday.

In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump said he ordered Monday’s inauguration to be moved inside. The Joint Congressional Committee on Inauguration Ceremonies said in a statement that they’ll honor his request.

Of course, this last-minute change is having a major impact on everything from security to the thousands of spectators who booked hotel rooms and bought tickets to inaugural events.

Why is Trump’s second inauguration being held inside?

The D.C. area will be plunged into extreme cold as a piece of the polar vortex — an area of cold air that swirls around the Earth’s poles — brushes by the region.

Following some fresh snow during the day on Sunday, this extra-frigid air will move in Sunday night into Monday morning. Inauguration Day is often cold, but Monday looks to be especially brisk. The high is expected to be roughly 20°, with a low of 6°.

“There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way. It is dangerous conditions for the tens of thousands of Law Enforcement, First Responders, Police K9s and even horses, and hundreds of thousands of supporters that will be outside for many hours on the 20th (In any event, if you decide to come, dress warmly!).”

What parts of the 2025 inauguration will be inside?

Trump’s swearing-in ceremony will be conducted in the rotunda, where he will also deliver his inaugural address.

“The various Dignitaries and Guests will be brought into the Capitol. This will be a very beautiful experience for all, and especially for the large TV audience!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Capital One Arena in downtown D.C. will open for people to watch the ceremony and inaugural address on live video.

Then, instead of the traditional parade down Pennsylvania Avenue, the president will join supporters at Capital One Arena after his speech.

“We will open Capital One Arena on Monday for LIVE viewing of this Historic event, and to host the Presidential Parade,” Trump posted on social media. “I will join the crowd at Capital One, after my Swearing In.”

Outdoor areas on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol, which were intended for tickets guests, will now be closed to those guests Monday, Capitol police said in a statement.

What’s staying the same?

Trump said in his post that other events would stay the same, including the victory rally at Capital One Arena scheduled for Sunday at 3 p.m.

He is still expected to attend three official inaugural balls Monday night.

If people had tickets to the inauguration, will they be able to use them at Capital One Arena?

Some 240,000 people hold tickets to attend inauguration on Monday. However, Capital One arena only can hold 20,000 people.

News4 is still waiting for information as to what’s going to happen with those ticket holders. As of late Friday afternoon, several congressional social media accounts said they didn’t yet know and that ticket holders should keep checking back.

Will the inauguration security perimeter change?

That’s not yet clear. The U.S. Secret Service tells News4 they have contingency plans for matters like this. They said they may hold a news conference later Friday night or Saturday to go over the changes.

Trump is holding a rally at Capital One Arena on Sunday afternoon, the day before inauguration. As of late Friday afternoon, there was limited fencing set up around the arena. It’s unclear if that will now change.

There may also be a contingency plan being worked on, in case protesters go to the arena after Trump is sworn into office.

Are the planned Metro station closures still happening?

As of late Friday afternoon, Metro officials couldn’t say yet if there were any plans to change the number of Metro stations to be closed or to cancel those closures now that there won’t be a parade.

The Gallery Place station next to Capital One Arena has entrances on H and F streets NW. Up until now, there were no plans to close those entrances outside the arena.

What other changes will have to happen?

It’s not just Metro and the Trump team that have to change everything. City leaders in D.C. have a lot of things that they have to now figure out.

There are 4,000 police officers coming in from around the country to line the parade route. Those officers will still be used because they still have to help watch the District to ensure everything is safe and to secure the areas around the inaugural balls.

When was the last time the inauguration was held inside?

President Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration in 1985 was held indoors due to a wind chill of -20°. It remains the coldest inauguration on record, with a high temperature of just 7°. The parade was also canceled that year, according to NBC News.