3 weeks ago
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PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: Federal judges have blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to deport foreign students accused of supporting Hamas.
👥 Who’s Involved: Four foreign students, including Mahmoud Khalil, Rümeysa Öztürk, Badar Khan Suri, and Mohsen Mahdawi; Trump administration officials; federal judges; ACLU representatives.
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📍 Where & When: Detentions occurred across the U.S. in 2023; recent court rulings have halted deportations and detentions.
💬 Key Quote: “These rulings delay justice and seek to kneecap the President’s constitutionally vested powers,” said Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
⚠️ Impact: Courts have ruled against the administration’s use of a 1952 law to justify deportations, citing constitutional concerns and an alleged lack of evidence.
IN FULL:
Efforts by the Trump administration to deport foreign students accused of supporting Hamas or engaging in anti-Semitic behavior have been halted by federal judges, citing constitutional issues and supposedly insufficient evidence. Four students—Mahmoud Khalil, Rümeysa Öztürk, Badar Khan Suri, and Mohsen Mahdawi—were arrested by federal agents under claims that their actions posed foreign policy risks.
The students, who deny any links to Hamas or anti-Semitism despite taking part in anti-Semitic protests, were detained under a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. This law allows deportation of noncitizens whose presence could adversely affect U.S. foreign policy. However, federal judges have rejected the administration’s arguments, freeing Öztürk, Mahdawi, and Suri, while Khalil’s case remains pending.
In one notable ruling, Judge Michael Farbiarz stated that deporting Khalil based on his beliefs and speech would be “unprecedented” and unconstitutional.
Assistant Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Tricia McLaughlin defended the administration’s actions, claiming the rulings “delay justice” and undermine presidential authority. Meanwhile, Esha Bhandari of the ACLU described the courts’ decisions as a necessary check on executive overreach.
The legal battles have highlighted tensions between executive power, immigration law, and free speech. Judges like federal Judge Fernando Rodriguez have previously rejected the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport illegal immigrant gang members. This comes despite gangs like Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua being designated a foreign terrorist organization by the administration.
PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: Zia Yusuf resigned as chairman of Nigel Farage’s Reform Party, after callings its newest Member of Parliament (MP) “dumb” for advocating a burka ban.
👥 Who’s Involved: Zia Yusuf, Reform Party, Nigel Farage, and Sarah Pochin.
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📍 Where & When: Announced via X (formerly Twitter) on June 5, 2025.
💬 Key Quote: “I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time,” Yusuf said.
⚠️ Impact: Yusuf’s exit paves the way for significant changes to Farage’s top team.
IN FULL:
Zia Yusuf has announced his resignation as chairman of Nigel Farage’s Reform Party, hours after publicly criticizing the party’s newest Member of Parliament (MP) for pushing for a burka ban.
“[Eleven] months ago I became Chairman of Reform. I’ve worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30 percent, quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results,” Yusuf said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office,” he added.
Yusuf, a Muslim businessman, had criticized Sarah Pochin MP, after she had grilled Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on introducing a ban on the Islamic burka in the House of Commons.
Yusuf said on Wednesday that banning the burka was not party policy and Pochin was stupid for asking Starmer the question, writing that it was “dumb for a party to ask the PM if they would do something the party itself wouldn’t do.”
The National Pulse Editor-in-Chief Raheem Kassam, a former advisor to Nigel Farage, suggested in March that the Reform leader should consider replacing Yusuf, who was previously at the center of a spat with now-former Reform MP Rupert Lowe.
“Farage isn’t a dictator. He’s one of the most reasonable people in politics. He’s moved aside when it made sense, and he’s returned when asked,” Kassam said of Farage’s leadership style in comments to the British press.
“He’s also a meritocrat. If someone comes along who can run the party better than its current chairman, or if a deputy could help augment the work, he’d be all over it,” he continued, adding: “The problem is everyone has his number and any time anyone has a problem in the party they immediately call Nigel, and drag him into their fights. If he doesn’t side with them, or tries to stay neutral, they lash out. I’ve seen it a thousand times.”
“If anything, he needs a militant chief of staff to police his time and keep him above the fray. This is the next Prime Minister we’re talking about now… They need to get his team right and support him wholeheartedly. No one has put more into this movement than him,” Kassam concluded.
Farage has offered a magnanimous response to Yusuf’s departure, writing that he is “genuinely sorry that Zia Yusuf has decided to stand down as Reform UK Chairman” as he was “a huge factor” in the party’s recent triumph in England’s local elections.
“Politics can be a highly pressured and difficult game and Zia has clearly had enough. He is a loss to us and public life,” he added.
This story is developing…
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President Donald J. Trump has said he is “very disappointed” in Elon Musk, the former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) frontman, who has been attacking the Trump-backed “one big beautiful bill.”
“I’m very disappointed in Elon; I’ve helped Elon a lot,” President Trump told the press on Thursday. The America First leader noted Musk has not “said [anything] bad about me, personally,” but said he was “sure that’ll be next.”
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So far, Musk has attacked the “one big beautiful bill” only as a “Congressional” spending bill. Still, it is inextricably linked to the President, fulfilling many of his key campaign pledges, including the extension of his 2017 tax cuts, new cuts to taxes on tips, overtime, and social security, and increased spending on defense and border security.
Musk believes it increases spending unacceptably, but the administration argues it actually achieves substantial spending cuts. Moreover, because it is a reconciliation bill, there is a great deal of spending it cannot touch, and further, separate legislation to cut spending is pending.
During his remarks to the press, Trump suggested Musk “is upset because we took the EV mandate which was a lot of money for electric vehicles,” such as those produced by Musk’s Tesla firm.
“Whatever,” Musk irately responded on his X (formerly Twitter) platform, complaining: “Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!), but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill.”
WATCH:
NOW – Trump says he is “very disappointed” with Elon Musk. pic.twitter.com/aBe85scHPf
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) June 5, 2025
This story is developing…
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President Donald J. Trump has said he is "very disappointed" in Elon Musk, the former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) frontman, who has been attacking the Trump-backed "one big beautiful bill." show more
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