Please click here to opt in to receive the Executive Functions Roundup via email and to subscribe to Executive Functions.
A unanimous panel of the Fourth Circuit on Tuesday upheld a lower court’s preliminary injunction blocking the Department of Homeland Security from enforcing a new policy granting officers greater discretion to enforce federal immigration laws at or near places of worship. The injunction’s scope is limited to the plaintiffs’ religious sites. (Opinion.) (CBS News.) For background, see a previous Roundup.
Judge Brian E. Murphy (D. Mass.) on Tuesday lifted an administrative stay blocking the Trump administration from terminating Ethiopia’s Temporary Protected Status designation. Judge Murphy dismissed plaintiffs’ Administrative Procedure Act, procedural due process, and ultra vires claims but allowed their claim challenging the termination under the Fifth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause to proceed. (Order.) (CNN.)
The government of Liberia announced on Tuesday that it would accept 1,200 third-country deportees from the United States over the next year, with “the first batch of 20 individuals” expected to arrive on Thursday. (Statement.) (NYT.)
The New York Times reported on Tuesday that President Trump has installed allies in the offices of inspector general who have focused their investigations on allegations of fraud at the state level instead of scrutinizing federal agencies within the Trump administration. (NYT.)
The New York Times also reported on Wednesday that President Trump is expected to nominate White House domestic policy official Dr. Heidi Overton to serve as the next commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. (NYT.)
Following reports that the Justice Department has empaneled a special grand jury in Washington, D.C., Anna Bower offered a legal primer on special grand juries, though she noted that this special grand jury’s task “remains a mystery.” (Lawfare.)
Elie Honig argued that an attempt by President Trump to fabricate a national emergency to seize the November midterm elections would “wreak chaos and maybe worse” but legally “won’t work.” (Stay Tuned.)
Emile Ayoub and Hannah James argued that the Department of Homeland Security’s use of administrative subpoenas to acquire personal information of critics of the Trump administration’s immigration policies highlights the obsolete nature of Fourth Amendment doctrine. (Just Security.)
Pending Interim Order Applications Involving the U.S. Government in the Supreme Court
Trump v. California: The government filed an application on July 27 requesting the Supreme Court to stay a district court injunction that blocked federal agencies from implementing certain portions of the president’s March 31 executive order entitled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections.” The 23 states and the District of Columbia challenging the order filed a consolidated opposition on August 3, arguing that a stay “would allow the federal government to rush out an unprecedented, legally indefensible voter-verification and ballot-interception program.” The government filed a reply on August 4, arguing that the states rest their challenge on “speculation about what impact the Executive Order would have if it were ultimately implemented in violation of federal law.” The government filed a supplemental brief on August 12 to “inform the Court of a recent order in a parallel case” and the states responded the same day.
Alabama v. California: Twelve states filed an application on July 29 requesting the Supreme Court to stay a district court injunction that blocked federal agencies from implementing certain portions of the president’s March 31 executive order entitled “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections.” The 23 states and the District of Columbia challenging the order filed a consolidated opposition on August 3. The twelve states filed a reply on August 4, arguing that the executive order “imposes zero obligations on the States or public.”
National Park Service v. National Trust for Historic Preservation: The government filed an application on August 13 requesting the Supreme Court to stay a district court injunction blocking further construction of the White House ballroom. The National Trust for Historic Preservation filed its response on August 18.