National Populist Newsletter
January 12th-19th
United States
Immigration
The Trump Administration is planning its first ICE raid immediately after his swearing-in. According to The New York Times, “Operation Safeguard” will take place from Tuesday the 21st until Monday the 27th, involving possibly hundreds of ICE agents.
The Laken Riley Act cleared the filibuster with a full vote on Monday. Schumer gave his members the freedom to vote their conscience. It passed with a 61-35 vote, with several cosponsors like PA Sen. Fetterman not even in attendance. It will be the first bill Trump signs into law. The Democrats supporting the Laken Riley Act come from red/purple states, including Georgia, Arizona, New Hampshire, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Nevada. This is an important bill because it’s the first time in decades that an immigration bill has come to the floor that was strict enforcement and didn’t include giveaways to open borders or immigrant rights groups. (Axios)
A federal appeals court ruled that President Biden’s DACA policy, which would have codified the program, was unconstitutional. The ruling, however, will not immediately change the status quo. By suspending its order, the panel of judges kept DACA alive for current recipients and closed to new applicants, as the program has been operating for the past few years. As of the end of September 2024, there were roughly 538,000 immigrants enrolled in DACA. (CBS News)
More than 60 Democrats joined every present House Republican to pass Rep. Nancy Mace’s bill that mandates deportation and block entry into the United States for immigrants with uncertain status who are convicted of or admit to sex crimes or domestic violence. The bill is called the Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act. (The New York Times)
Technology
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the federal government had the power to ban TikTok out of national security concerns. (Associated Press)
Perplexity AI to merge its company with TikTok US for “a price well above $50 billion,” President Trump said he will likely give the company 90 days to find a buyer before enforcing the law. It’s not that simple, though; companies like Apple and Google would need to support the app without fearing that future administrations will not target them for keeping it open after Jan. 19th. Perplexity AI believes they have the best shot at TikTok US because it’s not a purchase but more of a merger. If you take a step back and look at the geopolitical implications, TikTok is CCP spyware, and the American government is blinking at the prospect of protecting its citizens. China is not. This makes the U.S. look incredibly weak in the eyes of the Chinese government. (CNBC)