The Introspective

The week ended with a proposal on mailing handguns, signs of slowing job growth, and judges suing over removals.

Dante Belcher

May 11, 2026

Trump’s 68th week ended with potential policy changes, slower job growth and lawsuits. This comes as the United States Postal Service (USPS) proposed allowing guns to be mailed, raising implications as mailing handguns has been prohibited since 1927. At the same time, as the trade war and economic uncertainty continue, the economy added 115,000 jobs in April, down from 178,000 jobs added in March, raising implications as the war in Iran continues.

Meanwhile, as anti-immigrant sentiment continues, two former immigration judges filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration alleging discrimination.

USPS and Economy

The USPS proposed allowing guns to be mailed, potentially challenging a 1927 law that prohibits guns from being mailed.

“Unloaded firearms are not inherently dangerous in the same sense as explosives or poisons, which is why the Postal Service already accepts rifles and shotguns for mailing, together with handguns from certain qualified shippers,” read the proposal from January.

“Consequently, so long as Congress chooses to run a parcel service, the Second Amendment precludes it from refusing to ship constitutionally protected firearms to and from law-abiding citizens, even if they are not licensed manufacturers or dealers.”

In a statement obtained by The Introspective, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford criticized the proposal.

“Our state has suffered enough,” he said.

“And to suggest we make it easier for criminals and abusers to access firearms is a slap in the face to gun violence survivors and law enforcement.”

John Commerford, the executive director of the lobbying arm of the National Rifle Association (NRA), celebrated the proposal, calling it a “key victory” for gun owners.

“Thanks to President Trump and his administration, USPS will finally allow these firearms to be shipped under the same commonsense safety conditions as rifles and shotguns,” he said.

This comes as Nevada was the site of the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

At the same time, a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) found that the U.S. added 115,000 jobs in April, down from 178,000 jobs added in March, raising implications as the war in Iran continues.

Immigration

Two former immigration judges filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration alleging discrimination, including Carla Espinoza, a former Chicago judge who alleges that the federal government “chose to fire from EOIR a disproportionate number of women, people of color, ethnic minorities, and persons associated therewith,” read the court filing, referring to the DOJ’s Executive Office for Immigration Review.

“What they all have in common are characteristics, either from their prior employment or perceived political affiliation, which do not align with this administration’s view of what an immigration judge should be,” said her attorney, Kevin Owen.

Kyra Lilien, a former immigration judge in California, filed a lawsuit after her temporary position ended in 2025 without the traditional conversion to a permanent position.

“The memorandum stated that the Agency had reviewed the hiring materials of all Immigration Judges hired under the prior administration and alleged that persons of ‘certain backgrounds’ were given favorable treatment over others,” read the court filing.

“The memorandum concluded that EOIR was ‘committed to rectifying those harms.”