While Donald Trump was busy giving his disgusting imperialist speech at the UN and rolling out the red carpet for one of his favorite living autocrats, the U.S. president and his cronies were, as usual, busy harming democracy, undermining the Constitution, and hurting societies worldwide.
From Trump’s continued crackdown on a free press, to a bombshell report about Republican Senator Susan Collins, to more ICE violence, here’s ‘This Week in Democracy – Week 88’:
Saturday, Sept. 19 – Removal Orders for Undocumented Children Doubled Under Trump
The Guardian reported that the number of children who have received removal orders by an immigration judge has doubled since Trump returned to office in January 2025.
More than 200,000 children have been ordered removed – 70% of them younger than 13 years old – as part of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller’s unprecedented push to ramp up the deportations of undocumented immigrant children from the U.S.
Sunday, Sept. 20 – ICE Agent Shoots Food Delivery Driver in Austin
An ICE agent shot and seriously injured 28-year-old Wilber Rafael Garcés Perez while he was delivering food for DoorDash in Austin, Texas. Garcés Perez, who is from Venezuela, subsequently “lost movement on the entire left side of his body,” and is facing paralysis, according to his lawyer.
On Wednesday, Garcés Perez’s lawyer tweeted that he remains in ICE detention “with the bullet still lodged in his body.”
Monday, Sept. 21 – Trump’s Boat Strikes Could ‘Constitute Crimes Against Humanity’
In a new report, a UN legal expert concluded that the Trump administration’s boat strikes in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific are “contrary to international law, violate the human right to life, and plausibly constitute crimes against humanity.”
The latest strike, which took place on Saturday and killed four people in the Caribbean, brought the death toll of the Trump administration’s strikes to at least 231.
Tuesday, Sept. 22 – FBI Probe Involving Susan Collins Shut Down
ProPublica published a bombshell report that revealed Republican Senator Susan Collins was being investigated by the FBI as part of a pay-to-play probe back in 2024, in connection with one of her top super PAC donors, an ex-defense contractor. But after Trump returned to office, the investigation was shut down.
Collins’s office denied any allegations of bribery and pay-for-play by her donor.
Wednesday, Sept. 23 – Chaos From White House Press Ban Continues
A Trump-appointed federal judge temporarily blocked the president’s ban against CNN, MS NOW, and Politico and ordered the White House to “immediately return, reinstate, and restore” press credentials for the outlets.
The Trump administration cited “national security” concerns to justify the ban, but as Status reported, the source behind one of the Politico articles it pointed to was... Vice President JD Vance, who spoke to reporters in a briefing arranged by the White House.
Reporters from the three outlets had their press credentials restored on Thursday, albeit after being turned away from the White House that morning. CNN and MS NOW were later denied access to a state dinner with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the White House.
Thursday, Sept. 24 – Trump Files Another Emergency Supreme Court Appeal
In its latest emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, the Trump administration requested approval to allow quick deportations to third-party countries to continue, after an appeals court put a halt to such deportations late Wednesday.
The appeals court ruling, which affirmed that individuals facing deportations to third-party countries where they have no ties are entitled to “meaningful notice” and an opportunity to object to their removal, resulted in the cancellation of a deportation flight set to remove 70 people to Burundi, Rwanda, and the Central African Republic.
Friday, Sept. 25 – Supreme Court OKs Trump’s ‘SAVE’ Voter Database
The Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to restore its use of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, also known as the SAVE database, an expansive and controversial digital tool to verify the citizenship status of registered voters.
Critics have warned the tool could lead to significant voter purges from states that use it.
The order likely won’t pave the way for mass purges ahead of the midterms, as federal law prohibits most states from clearing voter rolls within 90 days of a federal election, but the SAVE database could still affect future elections.
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:
Cheeto’s Foreign Policy: Glad Handing
One thing has become apparent with Cheeto’s foreign policy approach is he believes that if he kisses ass for those that he wants to curry favor with, then he can get what he wants. And if he ostracizes and puts down others that his bullying attacks will work.
So it is that when Russian and Chinese leaders show up Cheeto shows mass deference and gets nothing for it. Good will, love letters. What kind of diplomacy is this?
China is the primary global hegemon....Americans and Cheeto should not delude themselves. This may sound unpartriotic but in so many areas China is leading the way simply because of failed leadership, irresponsible government spending due to Republican administrations, poor foreign policies around being the democratic policeman of the world, and misalignment of federal government private sector projects.
Cheeto is just carrying on the American tradition of failed leadership putting some lipstick on the pig.