This Week in Democracy – Week 77: ICE Kills Again, White Supremacists Descend on DC, and Trump Wants Birthright Citizenship Case Reheard
Zeteo’s weekly round-up, documenting the growth of authoritarianism in Trump’s second term.
Every week, we struggle to choose which of Donald Trump’s attacks on democracy to highlight for each day. This week was no exception.
The U.S. president started the week off in Turkey, embarrassing himself (if you missed his litany of gaffes, check them out at the bottom of this piece) and making threats against everyone from Tehran to his NATO allies – while at the NATO summit (not to mention ordering more strikes on Iran). He ended the week firing the rest of the Democratic election commission members (thanks to his right-wing Supreme Court) and his administration gutting protections for endangered species.
A lot happened in between, as you can see below. Here’s just a taste of what Trump and his cronies did this week that harmed democracy, undermined the Constitution, and hurt societies worldwide:
Friday, July 3 – Trump Pardons 11, Including a Major GOP Donor
Trump pardoned 11 people, including Adam Kidan, a former business partner of Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff who pleaded guilty in 2005 to fraud and conspiracy charges. Kidan, who has donated nearly $4 million to Republican Party campaigns and committees since 2017, was reportedly among the hosts of a March fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago.
Those who received pardons also included Jack Harvard, a ranch owner and former mayor of Plano, Texas, who was convicted of bank fraud, and nine people who faced charges related to violations of the Clean Air Act, including for helping people bypass vehicle emissions control systems.
Saturday, July 4 – White Supremacists Mark July 4 in DC
The white supremacist Patriot Front group descended on Washington, DC, wearing masks and carrying baseball bats and flags, on the morning of the country’s 250th birthday as they chanted “reclaim America.” DC police said they were tracking Patriot Front’s “First Amendment” activities.
Sunday, July 5 – Trump Asked FIFA to Review U.S. World Cup Red Card
After Trump called FIFA’s president and asked him to review the suspension of the U.S. soccer team’s top goal scorer in the World Cup, Folarin Balogun, FIFA reversed the suspension – the first time it has allowed a player to participate in a game they would have been suspended from in the World Cup since 1962.
Balogun, who was eligible to play for the U.S. because of birthright citizenship, was suspended after being given a red card. But the Trump administration worked with lawyers to help the U.S. Soccer Federation try to appeal, even though there is no way for teams to appeal.
Monday, July 6 – ICE’s Watchdog Investigates U.S. Citizens
Wired reported that ICE’s internal watchdog, which is tasked with conducting internal probes, is now investigating U.S. citizens who have spoken out against the agency.
Between January 2025 and March 2026, the Office of Public Responsibility launched 131 investigations into “incidents of doxing and threats directed towards ICE employees nationwide,” according to an April court declaration by an ICE official.
Meanwhile, AP reported that the Trump administration is planning to open a new immigrant holding facility with a capacity for more than 500 beds on a former U.S. Air Force base in Alexandria, Louisiana. The facility, which would be next to an airport hub, is expected to help ICE speed up deportations.
Tuesday, July 7 – ICE Kills Father of Three in Houston
A federal agent shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican man who had been in the U.S. for 35 years, while he was traveling to work in Houston. Officials later said Salgado Araujo, a father of three, wasn’t the intended target, but that he “resembled” the target of an operation (we all know what that means).
The three men in the van Salgado Araujo was driving disputed the Department of Homeland Security’s claim that Salgado Araujo was attempting to ram ICE officers, saying there were no agents in front of the van.
Wednesday, July 8 – Trump Says He Wants Rehearing in Birthright Citizenship Case
A week after the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionally-protected right of birthright citizenship, Trump said he would “IMMEDIATELY” ask the Supreme Court to rehear the case, calling the ruling “wrong” and an “absolutely insane decision.”
The last time the Supreme Court reheard a case was more than half a century ago, and requires a majority of the court to approve a rehearing.
Thursday, July 9 – Election Commission Has No Members Left
Trump fired the two remaining Democratic members of the bipartisan U.S. Election Assistance Commission, which provides federal grants to states, maintains the national voter registration forms, and oversees voting systems testing, while the sole remaining Republican resigned from her post after the firings.
In a statement, the White House argued that Trump has the right to fire the commissioners, citing last week’s Supreme Court ruling that expanded the president’s power to remove individuals from independent commissions and agencies.
Friday, July 10 – Trump Shreds Protections for Endangered Species
The Trump administration drastically cut protections for endangered species by announcing a final rule that would open vulnerable animals’ habitats to farming, drilling, mining, and real estate development.
Environmentalists say the move marks the biggest erosion of wildlife protections in half a century.
Did you miss Trump’s flubs at the NATO summit? Watch the lowlights Zeteo put together below:
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:
It’s obvious that ICE is a terrorist organization, really more threatening to all of us than ISIS was.
Yet we do NOTHING.
Full disclosure, I am 79 and at my request am undergoing cognitive testing and may not be capable of understanding our failure to respond.
In what world is “Trump fired the two remaining Democratic members of the bipartisan U.S. Election Assistance Commission” even legal? Don’t citizens of the United States have a right to free and fair elections? What comes next? Even if they are ever reinstated much will be lost.