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.
asserted
president → give → societies
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.
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Trump → double → January
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.
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he → order → Austin
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.
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who → lose → lawyer
On Wednesday, Garcés Perez’s lawyer tweeted that he remains in ICE detention “with the bullet still lodged in his body.”
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bullet → tweet → body
Monday, Sept. 21 – Trump’s Boat Strikes Could ‘Constitute Crimes Against Humanity’
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Strikes → constitute → 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.”
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strikes → conclude → 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.
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which → take → 231
Tuesday, Sept. 22 – FBI Probe Involving Susan Collins Shut Down
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Probe → involve → Collins
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.
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Collins → publish → donors
But after Trump returned to office, the investigation was shut down.
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investigation → return → office
Collins’s office denied any allegations of bribery and pay-for-play by her donor.
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office → deny → donor
Wednesday, Sept. 23 – Chaos From White House Press Ban Continues
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Chaos → continue → Ban
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.
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judge → appoint → 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.
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who → cite → House
Reporters from the three outlets had their press credentials restored on Thursday, albeit after being turned away from the White House that morning.
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credentials → have → House
CNN and MS NOW were later denied access to a state dinner with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the White House.
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CNN → deny → House
Thursday, Sept. 24 – Trump Files Another Emergency Supreme Court Appeal
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Trump → file → 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.
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court → request → deportations
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.
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administration → affirm → voters
Critics have warned the tool could lead to significant voter purges from states that use it.
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that → warn → 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.
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database → pave → elections
Did you miss previous weeks of ‘This Week in Democracy’?
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you → miss → Democracy
The Aporia
