The administration intensifies pressure on opponents, expands surveillance, and deepens clashes over immigration and civil rights.
Trump’s 37th week ended with updates on immigration, the National Guard, the military, court rulings, and funding. As anti-immigrant sentiment continues, Trump plans to federalize the Illinois National Guard after previously threatening to deploy troops to Chicago, raising concerns following a recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid that drew backlash. At the same time, Spanish-speaking journalist Mario Guevara was deported to El Salvador in what associates allege was “in retaliation for his reporting.”
Apple later removed an app from the App Store that tracked sightings of ICE officers, sparking backlash as ICE allegedly prepares to build a 24/7 social media surveillance team. Meanwhile, as tensions escalate with drug cartels, Trump declared that the United States is now in “formal armed conflict.”
Following a previous report from The Introspective detailing the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, an FBI agent was fired after refusing to help with his arrest. This comes after another agent was dismissed for displaying a Pride flag. The bureau later severed ties with the civil rights group Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), raising further implications as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Navy Chief of Staff Jon Harrison.
As tensions over birthright citizenship continue, a federal appeals court upheld that the administration’s attempt to repeal the constitutional right is illegal. Meanwhile, as the government shutdown drags on, the Trump administration paused $2.1 billion in funding for Chicago infrastructure projects. The administration also reversed a $187 million funding cut that would have reduced the New York City Police Department’s (NYPD) counterterrorism budget from $90 million to $10 million.
Immigration and Cartels
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Saturday that the Trump administration will federalize the state’s National Guard to support ICE raids in Chicago and throughout the state.
“This morning, the Trump administration’s Department of War gave me an ultimatum: call up your troops, or we will,” he wrote on X.
“It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will,” he added.
“In the coming hours, the Trump administration intends to federalize 300 members of the Illinois National Guard.”
In a statement obtained by The Introspective, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson confirmed the directive.
“Amid ongoing violent riots and lawlessness that local leaders like Pritzker have refused to step in to quell, President Trump has authorized 300 National Guardsmen to protect federal officers and assets,” she said.
The escalation follows an ICE raid in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood on Tuesday, during which many residents—including children—were pulled out of their apartments naked as officers went door to door searching for alleged members of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua. More than 37 people were arrested in the raid.
President Trump later announced that he would deploy the California National Guard to Portland.
At the same time, Spanish-speaking journalist Mario Guevara was deported to El Salvador after being arrested in June while livestreaming an Atlanta protest against President Trump. Associates have alleged that his deportation was “in retaliation for his reporting.”
“Mario Guevara’s deportation is a troubling sign of the deteriorating freedom of the press under the Trump administration,” said Katherine Jacobsen, U.S., Canada, and Caribbean program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), in a press release.
“Make no mistake, this is not a simple immigration case as authorities would have the public believe. Guevara was first detained in retaliation for his reporting, and throughout his prolonged detention, the government argued that he was being held because his livestreaming activity posed a danger to law enforcement activity,” she continued.
“It is shameful that the U.S. government is deporting Guevara—the first time that CPJ has documented this type of retaliation related to reporting activity.”
Apple later removed ICEBlock—an app used to alert people of ICE sightings—from the App Store after the Department of Justice (DOJ) requested its removal.
In an email obtained by The Introspective, Apple wrote that “upon re-evaluation,” the app did not comply with App Store policies on “objectionable” and “defamatory, discriminatory, or mean-spirited content.”
“Information provided to Apple by law enforcement shows that your app violates the App Store guidelines because its purpose is to provide location information about law enforcement officers that can be used to harm such officers individually or as a group,” the email read.
This comes as a report from Wired alleges that ICE is planning to build a 24/7 social media surveillance team on X, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Reddit to track “negative sentiment” toward the agency and target people for deportation.
Meanwhile, President Trump declared that the United States is now engaged in “armed conflict” with drug cartels following U.S. strikes on boats in the Caribbean.
FBI and Military
Following a previous Introspective report detailing former FBI Director James Comey’s indictment, the FBI fired an agent after they refused to participate in Comey’s arrest.
“In this @FBI, follow the chain of command or get relieved,” wrote FBI Director Kash Patel on X, criticizing organizations such as MSNBC.
This comes after the FBI fired another agent for displaying a Pride flag, as backlash to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives continues.
In a letter obtained by The Introspective, Patel told the agent that they were “summarily dismissed” and “removed from the federal service.”
“After reviewing the facts and circumstances and considering your probationary status, I have determined you exercised poor judgment with an inappropriate display of political signage in your work area during your previous assignment at the Los Angeles Field Office,” the letter read.
“Pursuant to Article II of the United States Constitution and the laws of the United States, your employment with the Federal Bureau of Investigation is hereby terminated.”
The FBI later ended its partnership with the civil rights group the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which monitors white supremacists and advocates for voting rights and criminal justice reform.
“The Southern Poverty Law Center long ago abandoned civil rights work and turned into a partisan smear machine. Their so-called ‘hate map’ has been used to defame mainstream Americans and even inspired violence. That disgraceful record makes them unfit for any FBI partnership,” wrote Patel on X.
“I made it clear that the FBI will never rely on politicized or agenda-driven intelligence from outside groups—and certainly not from the SPLC.”
This comes after the agency also ended ties with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a group that raises awareness about antisemitism and monitors white supremacy.
Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Navy Chief of Staff Jon Harrison, with the Pentagon confirming his removal in a statement to The Introspective.
“He will no longer serve as Chief of Staff to the Secretary of the Navy,” the statement read.
“We are grateful for his service to the department.”
Birthright Citizenship and Funding
As tensions over birthright citizenship continue, a federal appeals court ruled that the Trump administration’s efforts to end the constitutional right are illegal.
“Our nation’s history of efforts to restrict birthright citizenship—from Dred Scott in the decade before the Civil War to the attempted justification for the enforcement of the Chinese Exclusion Act in Wong Kim Ark—has not been a proud one,” wrote the court’s chief justice.
“Indeed, those efforts each have been rejected—once by the people through constitutional amendment in 1868 and once by the court relying on the same amendment three decades later, and at a time when tensions over immigration were also high,” the justice continued.
“The lessons of history thus give us every reason to be wary of now blessing this most recent effort to break with our established tradition of recognizing birthright citizenship and to make citizenship depend on the actions of one’s parents rather than—in all but the rarest of circumstances—the simple fact of being born in the United States.”
Birthright Citizenship Ruling
In a press release, Cody Wofsy, deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s (ACLU) Immigrants’ Rights Project, celebrated the ruling.
“This ruling is the latest rebuke of President Trump’s blatantly unconstitutional efforts to end birthright citizenship,” said Wofsy, who argued the case.
“In fact, not one judge has bought the administration’s flawed arguments. The government is now petitioning the Supreme Court in hopes of getting a different answer. But the Constitution is clear, and we will keep fighting this lawless order until it is struck down once and for all.”
Meanwhile, as the government shutdown continues, the Trump administration withheld $2.1 billion in funding for Chicago’s infrastructure projects after previously restoring $187 million in funding for New York City’s counterterrorism operations.
The Introspective 
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