Expanded Guard forces for domestic deployment and mounting investigations ended the week.
Trump’s 41st week ended with updates on immigration, the National Guard, ongoing investigations, and the continuing government shutdown. With anti-immigrant sentiment ongoing, a federal appeals court blocked a previous executive order requiring proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections. This comes as roughly 3,000 people have been reported missing after being arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Meanwhile, following a previous report from The Introspective detailing an executive order directing the Pentagon to create a “reaction force” aimed at stopping civil unrest, more than 23,000 National Guard troops have been prepared for deployment by April 1.
As the government shutdown continues, two federal judges ruled that the Trump administration must continue paying Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—the formal name for food stamps—benefits, a decision with major implications for the 42 million Americans who rely on the program. At the same time, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation Inc.—which is separate from the national movement—over allegations of fraud.
Immigration and National Guard
Following a previous report from The Introspective detailing an executive order requiring proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly blocked the order, stating that “the president lacks the authority to direct such changes.”
“The Constitution’s allocation of authority over federal elections between Congress and the states may not be intuitive. But it is no accident. Instead, this design was the product of carefully considered compromises among our Constitution’s framers,” she said.
Birthright Citizenship Ruling (Week 41)
In a statement, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) celebrated the decision.
“The court’s ruling confirms what we have long argued: the president may not rewrite election law to impose a burdensome show-your-papers rule that would shut out countless Americans from the ballot box,” the statement read.
“This executive order was an attempted overreach of power, bypassing the Constitution’s clear allocation of authority to Congress and the states to set election rules,” the statement continued.
“Our democracy is strongest when every eligible voter can register and vote free from expensive and unnecessary requirements.”
At the same time, as “Operation Midway Blitz” continues in Chicago, a report from NBC Chicago found that more than 3,000 people who had been arrested have been reported missing.
“It is quite dire,” said Mark Fleming, an attorney with the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC), stating that the people arrested are not “the worst of the worst.”
“These are folks that have been here for decades, have longstanding ties to the community, family members, employment, [and] businesses that are all being torn apart,” he continued.
“The government is using this strategy of arresting people, sending them to unlawful mandatory detention, and then pressuring them into accepting what they refer to as voluntary departure.”
A previous report from The Introspective found that two-thirds of the men detained at Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” were considered missing, as the state does not have a system to search those detained at the facility.
Meanwhile, the National Guard is preparing two “quick reaction” forces totaling 23,500 troops, with the first set of troops ready to be deployed by Jan. 1, while the second set will deploy by April 1.
“We have cities that are troubled; we can’t have cities that are troubled,” Trump said last Tuesday.
“And we’re sending in our National Guard, and if we need more than the National Guard, we’ll send more than the National Guard, because we’re going to have safe cities.”
This comes despite research from the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) finding that crime across major U.S. cities has been declining since 2022.
SNAP Funding and BLM
As the government shutdown continues, two federal judges ruled that the Trump administration must continue paying SNAP benefits. This follows a previous Introspective report detailing how more than 25 states announced that people would not receive SNAP benefits for November.
“At core, defendants’ conclusion that USDA is statutorily prohibited from funding SNAP because Congress has not enacted new appropriations for the current fiscal year is erroneous,” wrote Judge Indira Talwani.
“To the contrary, defendants are statutorily mandated to use the previously appropriated SNAP contingency reserve when necessary and also have discretion to use other previously appropriated funds.”
Indira Talwani Ruling
Trump responded to the ruling in a Truth Social post, saying that he did not want Americans to “go hungry.”
“Therefore, I have instructed our lawyers to ask the court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible,” he wrote.
“If we are given the appropriate legal direction by the court, it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding, just like I did with Military and Law Enforcement Pay.”
In a separate decision, Judge John J. McConnell Jr. further directed the government to distribute SNAP benefits while acknowledging Trump’s Truth Social post.
“The court greatly appreciates the president’s quick and definitive response to this court’s order and his desire to provide the necessary SNAP funding,” McConnell wrote.
“There is no question that the congressionally approved contingency funds must be used now because of the shutdown; in fact, the president during his first term issued guidance indicating that these contingency funds are available if SNAP funds lapse due to a government shutdown.”
John J. McConnell Jr. Ruling
At the same time, the Department of Justice is investigating whether the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation Inc. misused donations from the 2020 protests, with the group’s prior purchase of a $6 million house in Los Angeles being the center of controversy.
“This property serves as an opportunity for us as Black people to own our land interest-free and unencumbered by any white corporate establishment. It is amazing that anyone would question us for wanting to own property, as the real estate market nationwide has increased in value significantly over the past 18 months,” the group said on its website in 2022, defending the purchase.
“This property has served as a safe haven to protect the leaders of our Black nationalist movement. Our leaders and their families, including their children, have been targeted by white supremacists. They have been threatened with physical harm. We have a responsibility to protect them, and this property has supported those efforts,” the group continued, adding that the property was “always intended” to support arts and culture for Black Americans.
In a statement obtained by The Introspective, the group said that “it is not a target of any federal criminal investigation,” despite leaders of the foundation receiving subpoenas.
“We remain committed to full transparency, accountability, and the responsible stewardship of resources dedicated to building a better future for Black communities,” the statement read.
The Introspective 
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