For #Trump, the nation is less a #MeltingPot where #different #cultures combine harmoniously than a #crucible where foreign notions are burned off & a #homogeneous mix emerges.

“America has always welcomed those who embrace our values, assimilate into our society, & pledge allegiance to our country,” he writes. “By taking this oath, you have forged a sacred bond with our Nation, her traditions, her history, her culture, & her values.”

The #Trump admin contended that the #troops were needed in #California for federal agents to do their jobs because protesters were impeding their efforts. CA officials quickly challenged the deployment, & Judge Breyer…temporarily blocked it in June.

A 3-judge panel from the US Court of Appeals for the #9thCircuit, which included 2 appointees of Trump & 1 of President Biden, ruled that Breyer had erred.

…A 19th-century #law, the #PosseComitatusAct, generally prohibits the use of the US #military for domestic civilian law enforcement, absent an #insurrection. But #Trump did not invoke the #InsurrectionAct. Rather, he argued that an overarching federal law, #Title10 of the US Code, which lays out the role of the #ArmedForces, allowed him to commandeer #NationalGuard units to execute federal law.

#Trump also declared #crime in #WashingtonDC *emergency* in order to send federal #troops there in August, although crime rates in the nation’s capital have actually been falling & local officials said the deployment was not needed. Since then, Trump has publicly mused about sending the #NationalGuard into other #Democratic-led #cities.

…the #DOJ, which defended the #Trump admin in the lawsuit, is expected to #appeal the decision & could receive more favorable consideration from the US Court of Appeals for the #9thCircuit.

Trump…has privately discussed whether to intercede in [the #NYC] …race for mayor to try to stop #ZohranMamdani, the #Democratic nominee, according to 8 people briefed on the discussions.

In recent weeks, Trump has quizzed a Republican congressman & #NY businessmen about who in the crowded field of candidates, which includes Mayor #EricAdams & former Gov #AndrewCuomo, has the best chance of beating #Mamdani, the leftist front-runner.

That is the expansive plan #Trump’s top #immigration ofcls intend to enact after months of struggling to overcome staffing shortages & logistical hurdles that have stymied his pledge to record the most #deportations in US history.

After weeks of pressuring members of #Congress into supporting his domestic policy #legislation, #Trump has secured an extraordinary injection of funding for his immigration agenda—$170 billion, the vast majority of which will go to #DHS over 4yrs.

The #DOJ since January has been purging employees who worked on matters involving #Trump or his supporters.

Fourteen attorneys who worked on #JackSmith's team were fired on January 27 because of work on cases against Trump, becoming some of the department's earliest casualties in the #purge.

“An #FBI employee’s loyalty is to the #Constitution, not to the director or deputy director,” said James Davidson, a former agent who spent 23 years in the bureau. “It says everything about Patel’s weak constitution that this is even on his radar.”

Typically, the #FBI has turned to #polygraph tests to sniff out employees who might have betrayed their country or shown they cannot be trusted with #StateSecrets.

Since #KashPatel took office as the director of the FBI, the bureau has significantly stepped up the use of the lie-detector test, at times subjecting personnel to a question as specific as whether they have cast aspersions on Patel himself.

After a different federal judge sharply limited #deportations to “third countries” — places where the immigrants have no prior ties — the #DOJ pressed #DHS ofcls to clarify their view of the judge’s decision to ensure that their legal arguments were consistent.

“My take on these emails is that DOJ leadership & DOJ litigators don’t agree on the strategy. Please keep DHS out of it,” shot back James Percival, a snr DHS adviser.

Judge #Boasberg …has rejected that interpretation of his orders & found probable cause to initiate #contempt proceedings over potential defiance of his rulings. That process has been halted for now by an appeals court.

The messages also revealed tension between #DOJ attorneys & their counterparts at #DHS as they sought to mount a defense of the #Trump admin’s #deportation policies in court.

…The disclosures to the #Senate #Judiciary Cmte, requested by the panel’s #Democrats & shared w/POLITICO, come as the committee prepares to vote on & likely advance #EmilBove’s nomination to a seat on the Philadelphia-based 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. Bove’s brief but rocky tenure at the #DOJ appears unlikely to derail his nomination, particularly after Sen #ThomTillis (R-NC), a key vote on the panel, suggested Wednesday he was likely to back #Trump’s pick.