Day 418

March 13, 2026

6 incidents

  1. Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern Deportation & Immigration

    E.L.A. deported to El Salvador despite settlement protection

    DHS removes E.L.A., a class member who entered as an unaccompanied minor, to El Salvador before his asylum claim is decided.

    From: Judge Holds DHS in Contempt Twice for Deporting Protected Young Asylum Seekers, Including One Teen Deported to El Salvador Twice

  2. Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern Foreign Policy & War

    Trump first threatens to destroy civilian infrastructure

    Trump threatens to 'take out power plants that create electricity, that create the water' and states the U.S. could do things 'so bad they could literally never rebuild as a nation.'

    From: Trump Issues Ultimatum: 'A Whole Civilization Will Die Tonight' Unless Iran Capitulates

  3. International Crime (Rome Statute) Foreign Policy & War

    Defense Secretary Hegseth Declares 'No Quarter, No Mercy' for Iran

    At a Pentagon briefing on March 13, 2026, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said US forces would 'keep pushing, keep advancing; no quarter, no mercy for our enemies.' Declaring that no quarter will be given is a war crime under Rome Statute Article 8(2)(b)(xii) and prohibited by Hague Convention IV Article 23(d). Human Rights Watch and legal scholars including Oona Hathaway have concluded the statement meets that prohibition; the contested question is whether it was a declaration in the legal sense or rhetoric.

  4. Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern Foreign Policy & War

    Defense Secretary Hegseth declares 'no quarter, no mercy'

    Secretary Hegseth said US forces would give 'no quarter, no mercy for our enemies'; declaring no quarter is a war crime under Rome Statute Article 8(2)(b)(xii) (see the no-quarter entry).

    From: Trump Threats to Obliterate Iran's Civilian Power Infrastructure

  5. Serious Rights Violation Deportation & Immigration

    Federal judge blocks Somalia TPS termination

    A judge in the District of Massachusetts issued an order staying the termination of TPS for Somalia, which had been set for March 17, 2026.

    From: Mass Termination of Temporary Protected Status Across 11 Countries

  6. Major Abuse of Power Civil Rights

    DOGE staffer depositions made public

    Depositions from the scholarly associations' lawsuit over NEH grant terminations are made public. DOGE staffers Justin Fox and Nate Cavanaugh describe flagging NEH grants as DEI; Fox says he relied on ChatGPT assessments.

    From: DOGE-Directed Elimination of Federal DEI Programs and Mass Firings of DEI Workers