The Dictatorship
How Marco Rubio is helping Trump consolidate unchecked power
When federal agents arrested Columbia graduate student Mahmoud Khalil this month, he was reportedly told that his student visa was being revoked. The supposed offense: leading protests denouncing Israel’s war in Gaza on the school’s New York City campus last year. When Khalil said he was a permanent resident with a green card, he was told that status was being revoked by the State Department.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday that the Trump administration will continue to revoke the legal immigration status of folks he terms “Hamas supporters” in order to deport them. Rubio’s bold assertion may succeed in court thanks to a rarely used power the secretary of state possesses that can circumvent other statutes that could have protected Khalil from arrest and deportation.
President Donald Trump’s advisers and administrators have been laser-focused on finding potential edge cases in the law, that is, areas where loopholes and emergency powers can be exploited.
A 1990 update to the Immigration and Nationality Act says the rules that let the State Department deny a noncitizen admission into the U.S. can also be used to make a legal alien eligible for deportation. Immigrants can’t be barred from entry for holding beliefs that would be legal in the United States and, for now at least, there’s no question that believing Israel’s war in Gaza should end is, in fact, still legal for American citizens, as is protesting universities’ support in that war. But the law makes an exception if “the Secretary of State personally determines that the alien’s admission would compromise a compelling United States foreign policy interest.”
President Donald Trump’s advisers and administrators have been laser-focused on finding potential edge cases in the lawthat is, areas where loopholes and emergency powers can be exploited. In the flurry of executive orders issued from the White House, agencies have consistently been told to comply with their instructions “to the maximum extent of the law.” But that boilerplate language obscures how this administration is pushing the limits and trying to establish a new normal where there are no checks on whatever the president wants to do.
Admittedly, the federal code is filled with laws that leave plenty room for bad-faith interpretation. Congress has developed a habit of writing bills that allow the executive branch to bypass lawmakers in case of emergency or otherwise divest authority on the details of how the law will be executed. The Trump administration seeks to trigger those authorities in ways that Congress may not have intended, and the courts may not agree with, to give the veneer of legality as they proceed with their plans.
In Khalil’s case, leapfrogging the normal immigration channels means the Trump administration doesn’t need to accuse Khalil of a crime. Under this reading, as Trump lawyer Alina Habba told Fox Newseven handing out of pamphlets the administration doesn’t like could be grounds for deportation.
Trump is trying to use every legal provision, regardless of how flimsy, to justify the mass deportations that are central to his immigration policy. On the first day of this term, he declared an “emergency” along the southern border, invoking the powers granted in the National Emergencies Act to mobilize resources and the armed forces. Trump also issued a proclamation declaring that an “invasion” is ongoing, and that he would use the “inherent powers to control the borders” he possesses, regardless of the limitations of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Those orders became the foundation on which his administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act to rapidly deport Venezuelans it accused of gang activity this weekend. The 1798 statute was part of the infamous Alien and Sedition Actswhich were passed in a time of quasi-war against France and Britain. In the proclamation announcing the policyTrump claimed that the law grants him the authority to expel Tren de Aragua, a gang designated as a terrorist organization under another questionable executive order. A federal judge paused the administration’s use of the law in an order issued Saturday, but an unknown number of immigrants have now been deported to El Salvador, even though many of them reportedly have no proven connection to the gang in question.
Meanwhile, Trump officials continue to hunt for the slightest pretense to invoke other emergency powers. The administration is reportedly looking for a reason to use Title 42a public health provision triggered early in the pandemic, to fully close the southern border again. Trump is waiting on a report from the Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security on whether he should call upon the Insurrection Act’s powers to deploy the military deeper into the United States. Civil liberties groups fear the 1807 law could be used to stifle civil protests, as Trump advocated during his first termwrongly transforming the armed forces and National Guard into a domestic police force.
The administration has also been busy in other areas finding weak points in the law to consolidate power. Office of Management and Budget Director Russel Vought has been especially adept at playing this game. Even before being sworn-in, he had helped draft orders that twisted the rules for hiring special government employees to quickly staff up the Department of Government Efficiency. He has since then been finding ways to skirt federal employment laws to downsize the governmenteffectively shuttering whole agencies and encouraging department heads to illegally fire staffers by deliberately misusing the authorities granted to fire “probationary” workers for their performance.
There’s a term in medicine for when a previously benign bit of biological code gets twisted and begins attacking the rest of the body: a cancer.
And where there is no foothold in the U.S. Code to exploit, the Trump administration has argued even greater authority: Article II of the Constitution. Justice Department lawyers have already claimed a constitutional power to ignore judges’ rulings on foreign affairs in the Alien Enemies Act case and defended his ability to impound whatever money he doesn’t want to spend. In a proclamation on defending the states from “invasion,” Trump claimed that under his Article II role as commander-in-chief of the military, he has a duty under Article IV, Section 4, to repel whatever immigrants he says shouldn’t enter the country.
Trump’s infamous 2019 claim that Article II means “I have to the right to do whatever I want as president” has thereby gone from the simplistic notion of a political neophyte to the core tenet of his second administration. And the GOP-controlled Congress has been quick to quietly bolster existing gray areas of the law to grant him even more leeway. For example, in passing the recent six-month spending bill, the House explicitly stripped away Congress’ power to challenge Trump’s use of the National Economic Emergencies Act in deploying his tariffs.
There’s still a chance the courts override Rubio’s determination on Khalil’s deportability. The government will likely have to establish how it reached its conclusion about the supposed foreign policy threat the Columbia grad student poses. (Rubio was also supposed to notify Congress of his decision, but no such notification has been reported as of Tuesday.) But if Rubio is willing to make that call in this case, how hard would it be for him to keep the ball rolling? What other “foreign policy interests” could be used to hastily deport legal permanent residents? It is a twisting of the intent of the law to bypass due process and establish a norm that could stifle dissent among American citizens as well. Trump has long been keen on the idea of being able to strip protestors of their citizenship; it would be foolish to put it past this administration to try it given the groundwork now being laid.
These attacks on the system from within are ongoing. In Khalil’s case and others, we are seeing the arcane nature of the U.S. federal bureaucracy being used as a weapon against itself. There’s a term in medicine for when a previously benign bit of biological code gets twisted and begins attacking the rest of the body: a cancer.
Congress and the courts need to excise this tumor before it metastasizes. It needs to happen soon though, as the prognosis for the rule of law is otherwise grim.
Hayes Brown is a writer and editor for BLN Daily, where he helps frame the news of the day for readers. He was previously at BuzzFeed News and holds a degree in international relations from Michigan State University.
President Donald Trump celebrating his 80th birthday with UFC fights on the White House lawn was classless enough. Then Josh Hokit was given a microphone. After the UFC fighter won his cage match at Trump’s flamboyant celebration Sunday night, Hokit, who spoke mostly in disturbingly trite rhymes after his win, managed to further degrade the event. At the conclusion of his post-fight interview with announcer, podcaster and manosphere extraordinaire Joe Rogan, the athlete declared,“Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?”
Many in the crowd of thousands of UFC fans ate it up, and expecting anything less would require an exceptional level of delusion. Misogynoir and transphobia have been lobbed against Obama at least since 2008, when America elected her husband, Barack Obama, president.
Misogynoir and transphobia have been lobbed against Obama at least since 2008, when America elected her husband, Barack Obama, president.
Misogynoir was coined by academic Moya Bailey in 2008 to describe the intertwining of racism and misogyny that targets Black women. As pervasive as it is, it took 15 yearsfor Merriam-Webster to add the word to its dictionary. Even in writing this piece, each time I’ve typed the term, spell-check suggests I have made a typo.
While it’s tempting to categorize Hokit’s remark as random, it was fully on brand for the athlete. ESPN reported, “In his post-fight interview at UFC 324 in January, Hokit called WNBA star Brittney Griner ‘a man.’”
He’s the poster child for misogynoir.
But his statement was also characteristic of the machismo that drove the event itself. Trump’s entire political persona is crafted in the mold of a strongmanan archetype that couldn’t exist without toxic masculinity. And when he was elected to the presidency a second time, Trump brought back to the forefront an erroneous vision of manhood. Hokit, and a lamentable number of other public figures, have since been empowered to espouse misogyny and preach the shallow gospel of toxic masculinity.
But showmanshiprepressed emotionality and a desperate adherence to benighted notions of manhood alone don’t suffice. Toxic masculinity also requires an allegiance to the desirability politics that are often informed by white supremacy. And Hokit gave it a shoutout Sunday night.
If toxic masculinity is a declaration of what we are expected to perceive as a quintessential depiction of manhood, then completing that picture requires a similar declaration about what we are expected to perceive as a quintessential depiction of womanhood. As has historically been the case, the beauty of Black women, as a whole, doesn’t align with mainstream ideals of attractiveness. So a Trump supporter’s recycling of a racist trope about the first Black first lady being a man was a natural offshoot of Sunday’s glorification of problematic masculinity.
Obama addressed misogynoir-laden and transphobic insults, among others, that she has faced over the years in her 2018 book “Becoming.” She writes, “I’ve smiled for photos with people who call my husband horrible names on national television, but still want a framed keepsake for their mantel. I’ve heard about the swampy parts of the internet that question everything about me, right down to whether I’m a woman or a man. A sitting U.S. congressman has made fun of my butt. I’ve been hurt. I’ve been furious. But mostly, I’ve tried to laugh this stuff off.”
I’ve been furious. But mostly, I’ve tried to laugh this stuff off.
michelle obama in her book “becoming”
Hokit thumping his chest after a violent brawl per the request of a strongman-in-chief, then deriding a high-profile Black female figure as masculine and thus, unappealing, was a true full-circle moment for the manosphere. Notice that Hokit didn’t do a full stop after he insulted Obama. He asked, “Am I right, America?”
At least that part made actual sense — Hokit’s instinct to seek validation is yet another manifestation of toxic masculinity. His question offered a boisterous representation of the need for male approval that exists in the manosphere and the willingness of problematic men to give one another an outsized influence on their behavior. It wasn’t enough for Hokit to disparage a prominent Black woman. He wanted someone to say, “Well done.”
As for his question, the answer is “no.” Hokit was the farthest from “right” as one gets. But the derision of Obama surely scored him brownie points in the manosphere. What better way to secure a nod of respect from the community than to denigrate, arguably, the most high-profile Black woman in the United States while at an event teeming with hypermasculinity?
But neither Obama nor any other woman, Black or otherwise, should have to bear the burden of men insulting them in a desperate quest to secure approbation from other men.
Hokit appears to be developing a habit of ascribing masculinity to Black women. He would be better served by questioning why his idea of manhood includes belittling women for applause.
Zahara Hill is a coordinating producer for MS NOW. She previously worked as a front page editor for HuffPost and the deputy editor for Blavity News.
President Donald Trump, with the support of Republicans in Congress, signed legislation last week funding federal immigration agencies through the end of his term. Americans should know how millions of their taxpayer dollars are being spent on the active destruction of their fellow human beings.
As part of my constitutional oversight responsibilities in Congress, I have visited Delaney Halla privately run detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, four times. From the first time I stepped into Delaney Hall, my worst fears were confirmed.
The smell of sewage permeated the building. The air felt stagnant, and I questioned whether there was adequate ventilation for detainees or staff.
What I witnessed with my own eyes was alarming enough. The smell of sewage permeated the building. The air felt stagnant, and I questioned whether there was adequate ventilation for detainees or staff. In the cafeteria, I saw a space that appeared far too small to accommodate the number of people being held. When I asked how hundreds of detainees were fed, I was told meals were served in waves beginning as early as 4 a.m.
Detainees described freezing temperatures, poor sanitation, spoiled food, isolation and being required to clean bathrooms and showers contaminated with urine and other biological waste without proper protective materials.
The most alarming thing I have witnessed, however, is the treatment — really, the lack of treatment — of people with serious and chronic medical conditions. I believe what I have witnessed at both Delaney Hall and the Elizabeth Detention Center amounts to nothing short of medical abuse.
While the Department of Homeland Security leadership may try to wave away accusations of inhumane treatment, they cannot wave away the effect of their medical negligence — nor should they be allowed to. Every time I have visited both the Delaney and Elizabeth detention centers, I encountered detainees whose health was deteriorating because of the actions overseen by DHS employees and contractors. Individuals with chronic health conditions were not monitored, critical medications are given sporadically or not at all and there is little to no continuity of care for the medically vulnerable.
Individuals with chronic health conditions were not monitored, critical medications are given sporadically or not at all, and there is little to no continuity of care for the medically vulnerable.
One woman detained with diabetes told me she was receiving only a fraction of the medication prescribed by her doctor. When I questioned medical staff, they confirmed her dosage had been reduced shortly after she entered detention without first contacting her pharmacy or physician. They also confirmed blood sugar readings consistent with poorly controlled diabetes.
I spoke with a man who suffered ongoing headaches and hearing loss after striking his head in a fall. He told me he feared seeking additional medical care because he had been warned he could be placed in isolation if sent to the hospital. When I raised the issue with facility leadership, they confirmed isolation was their policy.
Other detainees have described to me equally disturbing experiences, including a woman who said she suffered a miscarriage while in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody after being denied proper medical care when symptoms first appeared. Another pregnant woman told me she feared for the health of her unborn child because she could not obtain the specialized care her condition requires.
These were not isolated complaints. And together, they paint a picture of a detention system failing to provide adequate medical care to the people in its custody.
The Department of Homeland Security insists healthcare is available inside Delaney Hall. What I witnessed firsthand tells a different story. Detainees may have access to care, but they are not receiving the care that their conditions, diagnoses, doctors or even our own good conscience would warrant.
When I questioned Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin about whether ICE tracks detainees with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease, whether those conditions are regularly monitored and whether independent health officials are allowed to inspect the facility, I did not receive answers. That lack of accountability should concern every American.
The consequences of these failures could be deadly. Severe hypoglycemia can become life-threatening within hours. Heart conditions can rapidly worsen without medication. Untreated infections can become medical emergencies, and the disruption of medication can have life-threatening consequences in the short and long run.
What makes this even more troubling is who is being detained.
Despite the administration’s rhetoric about targeting dangerous criminals, the people I met at Delaney Hall were overwhelmingly low-risk individuals being held for civil immigration violations, not criminal offenses. Some said they had legal status until this administration stripped it away. Others described being picked up off the street, or where they work, or at laundromats, schools and even outside courthouses or routine immigration appointments.
We cannot turn a blind eye to the conditions inside these facilities. Nor can we ignore the role of corporations such as the GEO Group, the company with an estimated $1 billion contract to operate Delaney Hall. Taxpayer dollars are being used to inflict profound human suffering, all too often condoned because those detained are viewed as “other.” To make matters worse, the $70 billion that Congress recently approved for ICE and Customs and Border Protection is in addition to $191 billion previously allocated to DHS with a party-line vote.
The least my Republican colleagues can do now is demand answers about what is happening inside facilities like Delaney Hall and hear firsthand from detainees about what they are experiencing. If they truly listen, they will be moved to action. I know I was.
Because the people I met at Delaney Hall are mothers, fathers, workers and neighbors. They are human beings. They deserve dignity, medical care and due process.
No matter where someone was born or what their immigration status may be, their humanity does not disappear when they enter a detention facility.
The measure of any nation is how it treats the people in its custody. By that standard, what is happening at Delaney Hall is a moral failure that extends far beyond its walls.
And when we allow due process, equal protection under the law and basic human rights to be denied to some, we weaken those protections for everyone. The Constitution is only as strong as our willingness to defend it. We must seek to protect it, starting by closing Delaney Hall.
Analilia Mejia, a Democrat, represents New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District in the U.S. House.
Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Russia’s latest deadly attack in Ukraine: “A large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine killed five rescuers in Kharkiv and wounded at least 20 people in the capital Kyiv on Monday as strikes set apartment buildings ablaze and sparked a fire at one of the country’s most significant religious landmarks. The rescuers were killed in Kharkiv by a second Russian strike as they fought a blaze caused by an earlier attack, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. At least five other emergency workers were wounded.”
* From late last week: “A joint strike by the United States and Venezuela killed a leader of the Tren de Aragua transnational gang, President Trump and officials in both countries said on Friday, dealing a blow to a syndicate the Trump administration has blamed for an influx of violent crime and illicit drugs.”
* The right way to do it: “Hungarian lawmakers on Monday passed a constitutional amendment that would ban Viktor Orbán from returning to power. The amendment, approved by 135 votes in favor and 50 against, would limit prime ministers to just eight years in office if it becomes law. The amendment is written to apply retroactively, meaning that Viktor Orbán could not return as Hungary’s prime minister. Orbán served as prime minister for a total of 20 years.”
* A case we have been keeping an eye on: “A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Friday to reinstall exhibits and signs on topics like slavery and climate change that it had removed from parks and monuments nationwide because they ‘do not align with its preferred narrative.’”
* Trump’s Department of Justice does what Trump wants: “The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division has signed off on Paramount Skydance’s $111 billion bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. The approval, first reported by Blue Light News, clears a major regulatory hurdle for a deal that has become one of the most closely watched media merger reviews of the Trump era.”
* Failing to make America healthy again: “A relentless measles outbreak in Utah has been spreading for nearly a year, putting the U.S. on a path to losing the measles-elimination status it earned more than two decades ago. Fueling the nearly 12-month outbreak: more parents opting not to vaccinate their children for school; infections hitting communities statewide; and lenient public-health policies on quarantining exposed students.”
* McConnell’s health issues persist: “Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, was hospitalized on Sunday, according to his spokesperson, who provided no details on the former Senate majority leader’s condition.”
See you tomorrow.
Steve Benen is a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He’s also the bestselling author of “Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past.”
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