The Introspective

The week included a proposed national voting database, a push to remove transgender service members, and a House bill targeting university boycotts of Israel. 

Dante Belcher

Sept. 7, 2026

Trump’s 85th week brought updates to immigration, the Supreme Court and Israel. This comes as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is planning to create a national voting database amid ongoing anti-immigrant sentiment, raising implications as the midterm elections approach. At the same time, following a previous report from The Introspective detailing transgender people being banned from serving in the military, Trump asked the Supreme Court to allow the immediate firing of 29 trans service members. Meanwhile, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would block federal student aid and funding to colleges and universities that boycott Israel. 

ICE, Supreme Court, Israel 

As anti-immigrant sentiment continues, ICE is planning to create a $5 million national voting database to address alleged voter fraud. 

“The purpose of this acquisition is for the handling and secure delivery of publicly available voter registration files and voter history files to support Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) fraud detection and data segmentation activities,” read a document detailing the contract. 

This comes as a CNN report detailed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launching an investigation in several states over voter fraud, with the agency calling it a “coordinated criminal voter fraud surge initiative to pursue investigative leads, conduct field interviews, and support timely prosecutorial review.” 

A DHS spokesperson later said that the agency is “actively rooting out and investigating election fraud wherever it can be found.” 

“Under President Trump, HSI is committed to restoring integrity to our election systems and ensuring that American citizens and only American citizens are electing American leaders,” read the statement. 

A previous report from The Introspective detailed an executive order requiring proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections. 

At the same time, following another report detailing transgender people being banned from serving in the military, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to allow the immediate firing of 29 trans service members. 

“The authority of the U.S. military to determine who may serve in the Nation’s armed forces is a matter of exceptional importance,” wrote Solicitor General John Sauer in a court filing. 

“Whether the Constitution prohibits the military from exercising that authority by adopting a policy like the one here is a recurring issue, which has arisen before and will likely arise again absent this Court’s review. The Court should thus take this opportunity to address the constitutionality of the [Department of Defense Secretary] Hegseth policy and reverse the decision below, whose reasoning cannot be squared with this Court’s precedents or deference to the military.” 

As the justices will decide on whether to hear the case, the 29 service members will remain in the military. 

“As the Trump administration’s own attorneys admitted, these are qualified individuals who are meeting all military standards,” said Jennifer Levi, an attorney with LGBTQ advocacy group GLAD Law in a press release. 

“There is no reason to waste millions of taxpayer dollars to kick out thousands of highly trained, skilled and decorated troops based on nothing but hostility and this administration’s political whims.” 

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives passed a bill—Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act of 2026—that would block federal student aid and funding to colleges and universities that boycott Israel, raising implications following a previous report from The Introspective detailing multiple human rights groups finding that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since the events of Oct. 7, 2023. 

“This legislation is about a simple principle: our colleges and universities should not discriminate against Israel, Israeli institutions or Israeli students, and federal taxpayer dollars should never support institutions that engage in such discrimination,” said Tim Walberg, Republican chair of the House education committee. 

Rep. Josh Gottheimer said the bill was necessary to address antisemitism. 

“No student, no professor should be shut out of research, study abroad opportunities, or academic partnerships or feel unwelcome in the classroom because of where they are from or what religion they practice,” he said. 

“Yet that’s exactly what the boycott-divest-sanction movement seeks to do — targeting one country and one religion: Israel and Judaism.” 

Bobby Scott, another member of the education committee, criticized the bill, alleging violations of the First Amendment. 

“No college or university has embraced the BDS movement anyway,” he said. 

“So, we should combat antisemitism wherever it occurs, but we should not do so by punishing protected speech or conflating a student’s view with university policies.” 

In a press release, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) criticized the bill and called on the Senate to block it from being passed. 

“The American people deserve a Congress that puts their constitutional rights and interests first, not the political demands of a foreign government,” said CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw. 

“Senators must now defend the Constitution and the rights of the American people by blocking this bill from receiving consideration or passage.” 

This comes as 203 Republicans voted “Yes” on the bill, with 33 Democrats joining.