by Andrea Pitzer | Nov 9, 2026 | Civil Rights, Opinion
Following the Republican Party’s defenestration in the midterm elections, President Donald Trump initially made conciliatory noises. But on Friday, Americans learned that Stephen Miller — the architect of the administration’s brutal mass deportations — will become White House chief of staff. Summoning Miller shifts the administration into an even more antagonistic stance.
Given Miller’s demagoguery about everything from vaccinations to “invasion” by foreigners, he appears to feel very much at home in that position. The choice also suggests that the White House is growing even more detached from reality. On Friday at Mar-a-Lago, Miller said that Trump has made the Republican Party “stronger, more popular, and more resilient than ever before.”
DHS cannot be reformed. Camp bureaucracies don’t shrink or vanish on their own. Ones left to fester frequently grow more lethal over time
Driving Trump’s immigration agenda for a decade now, Miller has done staggering damage to democracy. While his new position may add only nominally to the authority he’s long exercised, it nonetheless emphasizes the administration’s willingness to double down on cruel and lawless detention. That’s why now, more than ever, Congress must dismantle the Department of Homeland Security.
Labeling Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s detention apparatus a concentration camp system might surprise those who don’t know the history involved. But as I’ve written before for MS NOW, our current system fits cleanly in the model I documented in my book on the global history of concentration camps: mass detention of civilians without due process on the basis of their identity. DHS personnel have beaten and shot citizens, noncitizens, men, women and even teens — often without accountability — on our streets.
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Republicans ‘very
by Austin Sarat | Nov 9, 2026 | Civil Rights, elections, Opinion
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement on Nov. 5 of a universal clemency for the 548 people awaiting execution in his state marks an important turning point in American politics. It signals the end of law-and-order politics as a determining factor in the calculations of likely presidential contenders.
Newsom, an ambitious politician who is almost certain to run for president in 2028, reportedly weighed the impact that commuting hundreds of death sentences — including those of some notorious killers — would have on his political prospects.
That Newsom went ahead with the mass clemency tells us a lot about the salience of tough-on-crime positions in the present political moment. Opposition to capital punishment is no longer the death knell for people aspiring to be president.
This is not to say that Newsom won’t face backlash, either in California or elsewhere in the country, for his clemency decision. As the New York Times notes, “Those against Mr. Newsom’s move are expected to file a challenge arguing that he violated the law with a blanket commutation and that each case must be considered on individual merits.”
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The Bulwark: Some 2028 Democrat hopefuls are ‘quietly courting campaign staffers’
September 1, 2026 / 07:34
The Times reports that “Marc Klaas, the father of Polly Klaas, whose kidnapping and murder prompted an era of tough-on-crime policies in California, is livid at the idea of Mr. Newsom granting mercy to his daughter’s killer, or anyone else sentenced to death.” Klaas told the Times that he was aghast at Newsom “putting his energy” into commuting the death sentences of “serial killers, spree killers, cop killers, baby killers. We’re talking about absolutely the worst people
by Clarissa-Jan Lim | Nov 7, 2026 | Civil Rights, Congress, elections, News
Four days after the last vote was cast for the Mississippi Senate election, ballots were still being counted in the nail-biter of a race as lawyers for both parties prepared for potential legal battle.
As of early Saturday afternoon, Democrat Scott Colom led Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith by 2,574 ballots, with 97% of expected votes estimated to have been counted, according to The Associated Press.
With no recount law on the books in Mississippi, every vote matters in this race’s paper-thin margin. The tight race in a ruby-red Southern state has stunned both national political parties and underscored Americans’ dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump’s policies and actions and the Republicans who have supported him in lockstep.
Still, a court can order a recount, which is why Colom and Hyde-Smith’s campaigns deployed lawyers to the state — which is primed to elect its first Black senator since Reconstruction.
Outstanding absentee and provisional ballots — known as “affidavit ballots” in Mississippi — are still being tallied and both types of ballots face a Nov. 10 deadline. Absentee ballots that are postmarked on or before Election Day can be counted as long as they are received by Tuesday; provisional ballots must also be verified by Tuesday.
Much has been made of provisional ballots, which are used by voters whose eligibility is in question. Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson, a Republican, has said his office does not know how many provisional ballots are remaining. On Friday afternoon, he said 11,202 had been processed, 78% of which had been accepted.
Colom’s campaign has estimated that there could be up to 15,000 provisional ballots this year. Voting rights advocates have
by Mary Ziegler | Nov 7, 2026 | Civil Rights, elections, Opinion
The midterm was not just a triumph for Democrats broadly; it was specifically a good night for reproductive rights. Not only did Democrats flip the House and Senate, but 3 of the 4 ballot measures on the subject passed. Congressional Democrats can block judges sympathetic to the anti-abortion movement and dare President Donald Trump to veto new protections. Nevertheless, there are warning signs for abortion-rights supporters for the remainder of Trump’s time in the White House.
Although it may seem counterintuitive, social conservatives will use these results to try to reassert their influence over the Republican Party. The argument, in short, is that Republicans would have fared better had abortion been a more important issue in the campaign. The ballot measures that protected abortion access can be chalked up to the blue wave that swept so many Republicans out of Congress. And in Idaho, voters in the middle of a blue wave comfortably rejected a proposal enshrining abortion rights.
There is no question that abortion was not as visible an issue in this midterm election, especially compared with 2022 or 2024. It is possible to attribute this trend to voters losing interest in the issue, or simply prioritizing more pressing concerns, like the cost of living or corruption.
Trump and his team had used the election as an excuse to postpone action on abortion. But that excuse is gone, and the clock is winding down on this presidency.
Already, social conservatives are arguing that a lack of focus on abortion depressed GOP turnout. “With Republicans not bringing the issue to the forefront, it has been difficult to mobilize pro-life voters,” Kelsey Pritchard, communications director
by Charles F. Coleman Jr. | Nov 7, 2026 | Civil Rights, Opinion, Politics, White House
It will be hard to fix what Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon broke as the head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. A conservative culture warrior who as a private attorney represented Donald Trump during the House committee’s Jan. 6 investigation, she quickly delivered on the administration’s goals to roll back civil rights protections and reversed many the hard-fought gains of Kristen Clarke, her predecessor at the Civil Rights Division.
Donald Trump, Stephen Miller and Heritage Foundation figures like Russell Vought, Brendan Carr and Kevin Roberts all connected MAGA culture war with efforts to roll back civil rights, making the leader of the DOJ’s civil rights unit of paramount importance. Dhillon delivered what MAGA wanted.
It will be hard to fix what Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon broke as the head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.
Though the departure of a civil rights chief who fixated on imaginary discrimination against white men might seem like a step in the right direction, we won’t know that until we know who Trump will replace her with.
But in the meantime, we can point out just how bad Dhillon was for civil rights. Take, for example, allegations of discriminatory policing. The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division has historically investigated allegations of mistreatment of Black people and other marginalized groups by law enforcement officers. When police civil rights violations required federal intervention, the division led that effort and entered into consent decrees with law enforcement agencies to grant injunctive relief, often mandating additional training and accountability measures.
There were examples of such consent decrees in cities across the country before Trump became president in 2017,
by Ebony Davis | Nov 7, 2026 | Civil Rights, immigration, News
Houston Mayor John Whitmire announced Friday that police will no longer notify federal immigration authorities about administrative immigration warrants during routine encounters unless a person is arrested for a crime punishable by jail time.
The shift, announced days after Democrats swept key statewide races in Texas, marks a significant change in how Houston police cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Whitmire, a Democrat, signed an executive order changing the Houston Police Department’s procedures for contacting ICE, saying the move would ease fears in immigrant communities while maintaining public safety.
“I have directed the chief and HPD through an executive order that we will change our policy in regarding contact with ICE,” Whitmire said at a news conference Friday. “I do this to begin a healing process, reduce fear and anxiety across our community.”
Under the order, officers will no longer notify ICE about administrative immigration warrants during routine stops that do not result in an arrest. Police will still contact ICE if someone arrested for a new crime punishable by jail time also has such a warrant.
Houston Police Chief Noe Diaz said officers have already received updated instructions.
“If our police officers pull someone over for a minor traffic infraction and they write a citation, that person receives the citation and goes about their day,” Diaz said. “HPD will no longer contact ICE if they have an administrative warrant and they are not arrested.”
The announcement follows Democratic victories in Texas, including Gina Hinojosa’s defeat of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, James Talarico’s U.S. Senate win and state Sen. Nathan Johnson’s election as attorney general. Democrats also captured the lieutenant governor’s office with Vikki Goodwin and
