This Week in Democracy – Week 62: ICE at the Airport, a Big Admission in Court, and a Top Dem Targeted...Again
Zeteo's weekly round-up, documenting the growth of authoritarianism in Trump's second term.
The US is at war, and possibly about to launch what will undoubtedly be a deadly ground invasion in Iran, and the president is busy, talking about… how “glad” he is that one of his perceived enemies is dead. Priorities!
Tomorrow, Americans in thousands of cities nationwide will take to the streets to protest Mad King Trump and his ongoing decimation of democracy. They will protest against the very things we highlight each week – the ways in which Trump and his cronies undermine the Constitution, harm Americans, and hurt societies worldwide.
This week, of course, was no exception. From Trump sending ICE to airports to his administration admitting there was no evidence against Jerome Powell, here’s ‘This Week in Democracy – Week 62’:
Saturday, March 21 – ‘I’m Glad He’s Dead’
On Truth Social, Trump gloated about the death of former FBI Director and Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who investigated the president during his first term in relation to Russia’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.
“Robert Mueller just died. Good, I’m glad he’s dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people!” Trump wrote.
Sunday, March 22 – ‘Test Run’ for ICE at the Polls
Trump confirmed that his administration would send ICE agents to major airports across the country on Monday to “help” TSA agents who have been working without pay for over a month due to the ongoing Department of Homeland Security shutdown. At least one person has been violently arrested by ICE in an airport since Trump’s announcement.
Later, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon said on his podcast that the move can be used “as a test run…to really perfect ICE’s involvement in the 2026 midterms,” calling it “perfect training.”
Monday, March 23 – Judge Rules Against Trump
A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a new policy authorizing the arrest and detention of refugees if they didn’t obtain a green card within one year of being in the US – a policy that could have put more than 100,000 refugees at risk of being arrested.
Meanwhile, ProPublica reported that Trump immigration authorities detained the parents of at least 11,000 US citizen children in the first seven months of his second term, leaving an average of 50 kids per day with a parent in detention.
Tuesday, March 24 – A Big Admission Contradicts Trump in Powell Case
The Washington Post reported that a top deputy to US Attorney Jeanine Pirro admitted during a closed-door hearing that Trump’s Justice Department didn’t have any evidence of misconduct in its investigation of the Federal Reserve and its chair, Jerome Powell.
The admission contradicted Trump’s claims that there was “criminality” in the $2.5 billion renovation of the Fed’s headquarters.
Wednesday, March 25 – Trump Admin Goes After Letitia James Again
Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte issued two new criminal referrals to the Justice Department against New York Attorney General Letitia James over “suspected homeowners insurance fraud,” in a renewed effort to target one of Trump’s perceived political enemies.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department reached a settlement with a pardoned former Trump official, handing over what AP reported as $1.2 million in taxpayer funds to former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversations with Russia’s ambassador to the US. He was later pardoned by Trump.
Thursday, March 26 – Trump Admin Nears Deal on Voter Rolls
CBS News reported that Trump’s Justice Department is close to securing a deal to turn over voter roll data it has collected from states to the Department of Homeland Security, which could then be used for immigration and criminal investigations.
The data-sharing arrangement could result in a system that would allow officials to match voter registration data with DHS databases to determine whether non-citizens are registered to vote or have voted in the past, which is already illegal and extremely rare.
Friday, March 27 – Hegseth Nixes Two Black Officers and Two Women from Promotion List
The New York Times reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has blocked four Army officers – two of whom are Black and the other two are women – from receiving promotions to one-star generals, a move that the outlet called “highly unusual” and has led senior military officials questioning if the decision was rooted in racial and gender bias.
Did you miss previous weeks of ‘This Week in Democracy’? Catch up here. And check out more of Zeteo’s reporting from this week below:
That slimy toady Hegseth definitely is holding up promotions of military personnel because he and the Trump administration are racist and sexist. These officers should have recourse to challenge these decisions.