Day 102
May 1, 2025
9 incidents
- Serious Rights Violation Civil Rights
Modified SAVE begins voter checks
DHS's overhauled SAVE system, now incorporating Social Security data, begins verifying the citizenship of registered voters for states (NPR dates the start to May 2025).
- Major Abuse of Power Press Freedom
Visa restrictions target content moderation workers
Secretary Rubio announces visa restriction policies targeting foreign workers in content moderation, trust and safety, and compliance — weaponizing immigration authority to influence platform speech policies.
From: FCC Broadcast License Threats and Government Coercion of Media
- Major Abuse of Power Military Overreach
Mike Waltz removed as National Security Advisor
President Trump announces that Mike Waltz is leaving the post of National Security Advisor and will be nominated as UN Ambassador, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio serving as acting National Security Advisor. The transition is widely attributed at least in part to the Signalgate incident.
From: Signalgate: Top Officials Share Classified Strike Plans in Unsecured Group Chat
- Major Abuse of Power Foreign Policy & War
Trump pushes through major arms sales to UAE; congressional resolutions of disapproval introduced
The administration pushes forward with major arms packages to the UAE. Legislators in both chambers introduce joint resolutions of disapproval to block the sales, citing the UAE's documented role in arming the RSF in Sudan's genocide. The resolutions are defeated along party lines.
- Significant Democratic Concern Corruption & Self-Dealing
Musk exits DOGE
Elon Musk leaves his role as senior adviser to President Trump and head of DOGE.
From: Musk's Private Bodyguards Deputized as Federal Agents Without Required Training
- Major Abuse of Power Military Overreach
Air Force designates 250-mile 'national defense area'
The Air Force annexed a 250-mile stretch of the Texas border as a 'national defense area,' a designation typically reserved for military installations.
From: Military Deployments at the US-Mexico Border and the Posse Comitatus Act
- Serious Rights Violation Deportation & Immigration
ICE increases daily arrest quota to 3,000
ICE raises its daily arrest target from 1,000 to 3,000, leading to a surge in 'collateral arrests' — people not initially targeted who are swept up during enforcement operations near previously protected locations.
From: Rescission of ICE Sensitive Locations Policy — Churches, Schools, and Hospitals Open to Raids
- Serious Rights Violation Extrajudicial Killing
AFRICOM stops publishing casualty estimates
AFRICOM ceases providing death toll assessments in response to media queries, stating it is 'temporarily refraining from publishing casualty estimates while the new administration finalizes its policy.'
From: Massive Escalation of US Airstrikes in Somalia with Zero Civilian Accountability
- Major Abuse of Power Federal Dismantlement
Senate report reveals fear among oversight staff
A Senate report documents that oversight employees are 'terrified' to report wrongdoing, speak up, or disagree with administration priorities, demonstrating a systemic chilling effect.
From: Dismantlement of Whistleblower Protections and Government Oversight Infrastructure