Chris Bhang (he/him)
chrisbhang.bsky.social
Chris Bhang (he/him)
@chrisbhang.bsky.social
Civil Rights Attorney -- Japanese Korean American -- Speculative Fiction Enthusiast
Reposted by Chris Bhang (he/him)
The House narrowly approved legislation Thursday to eliminate the next two years of federal funding for public media outlets.

The measure passed 214 to 212, with two Republican lawmakers switching their votes from "no" to "yes" to push it over the finish line.
House votes to kill funding for public media
The U.S. House voted Thursday on a rescission bill to claw back money for foreign aid programs, along with the next two years of funding for the public media system. The measure now goes to the Senate.
n.pr
June 14, 2025 at 5:20 AM
Reposted by Chris Bhang (he/him)
A total outrage. A judge needs to dismiss this at the first opportunity. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
Federal Grand Jury Indicts Rep. McIver Over ICE Confrontation
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com
June 11, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Reposted by Chris Bhang (he/him)
If approved, the move would be the first time Guard troops at the national level have been asked to assist in the removal of migrants in the U.S. without legal status.
DHS asks for 20,000 National Guard troops to assist in deportations
If approved, the move would be the first time Guard troops at the national level have been asked to assist in the removal of migrants in the U.S. without legal status.
www.npr.org
May 15, 2025 at 9:03 PM
I can't. Fuck Kristi Noem.
Kristi Noem has been working with the producer of “Duck Dynasty” to pitch a reality TV show—titled “The American”—where immigrants will compete in a string of challenges across the country “for the honor of fast-tracking their way to U.S. citizenship,” according to a new report.
Noem Plots Reality Show Where Migrants Fight for Citizenship
A Homeland Security official told the Daily Beast that the show is in the early stages of vetting, though approval has not been given—or denied.
www.thedailybeast.com
May 16, 2025 at 1:01 AM
Reposted by Chris Bhang (he/him)
“My concern is that there is going to be a large outbreak of not just measles, but other vaccine-preventable diseases as well, that’s going to end up causing a lot of harm, and possibly deaths in children,” said Dr. Anna Durbin of @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social.

(Published April)
“Not Just Measles”: Whooping Cough Cases Are Soaring as Vaccine Rates Decline
While much of the country is focused on the spiraling measles outbreak, experts warn that whooping cough and other preventable diseases could get much worse with falling vaccination rates and Trump’s…
www.propublica.org
May 14, 2025 at 3:30 AM
Reposted by Chris Bhang (he/him)
We should understand this for what it is: an effort to build public consent for the president to ignore the Supreme Court. abcnews.go.com/Politics/jus...
Justice Department investigating 2022 Abrego Garcia traffic stop: Sources
DOJ has been investigating a 2022 Tennessee traffic stop involving Kilmar Abrego Garcia, ABC News has learned.
abcnews.go.com
May 6, 2025 at 12:28 PM
In the face of the unconscionable, King County has chosen to take the initiative and sue the Trump administration to protect critical transportation services for the residents of King County. Mobility is a non-negotiable human right. And we know that busing has always been central to civil rights.
King County sues Trump administration over homelessness, transit funding rules
King County has much at stake, including $66 million in federal homelessness grants.
www.seattletimes.com
May 5, 2025 at 6:49 AM
Reposted by Chris Bhang (he/him)
A few days ago, President Trump issued an executive order seeking to block all federal funding to NPR, the latest in a series of threats to media organizations across the country.
May 3, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Reposted by Chris Bhang (he/him)
NEW: A federal judge raised alarm Friday that the Trump administration appeared to have deported a 2-year-old U.S. citizen to Honduras with "no meaningful process" — even as her father was fighting to keep her in the country.

Details w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social

www.politico.com/news/2025/04...
April 26, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Rage. All I feel is rage.
Mahmoud Khalil's attorneys to ICE: "Mr. Khalil's wife has just gone into labor this morning in New York City, eight days earlier than expected. A two week furlough in this civil detention matter would be both reasonable and humane ..."

ICE's reply: DENIED storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
April 22, 2025 at 5:03 AM
Reposted by Chris Bhang (he/him)
Kids in Need of Defense, or KIND, currently serves more than 400 unaccompanied children and youth across the Pacific Northwest.
Legal aid nonprofit for migrant children closing its Seattle office
Kids in Need of Defense, or KIND, currently serves more than 400 unaccompanied children and youth across the Pacific Northwest.
www.knkx.org
April 15, 2025 at 5:27 AM
Reposted by Chris Bhang (he/him)
An extraordinary separate dissent from Justice Jackson accuses the majority of trying to pass off its dirty work under the cover of the shadow docket and explicitly invokes Korematsu, the Japanese internment case. Wow. www.documentcloud.org/documents/25...
April 7, 2025 at 11:06 PM
Reposted by Chris Bhang (he/him)
#BREAKING: 5-4 Court, with Barrett joining the three Dem. appointees in dissent *vacates* Chief Judge Boasberg’s temporary restraining orders in the Alien Enemy Act cases. Judicial review must be available, Court holds, but has to come through habeas petitions:

www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...
www.supremecourt.gov
April 7, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Reposted by Chris Bhang (he/him)
NEW: Maryland federal judge Paula Xinis orders the Trump administration to "facilitate and effectuate the return" of Kilmar Abrego Garcia—the man the govt admits it erroneously deported to El Salvador—by no later than Monday.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
April 4, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Reposted by Chris Bhang (he/him)
Equity Arc, which trains young musicians of color, was set to play with the US Marine Band — until Trump's anti-DEI order canceled the show.

But Chicago stepped up, and now the students will perform at @chicagosymphony.bsky.social on 4/6. Grab a free ticket and join me in cheering them on. cso.org
April 3, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Reposted by Chris Bhang (he/him)
As Bluesky has grown, I've seen a lot of backsliding on alt text. Please try to be considerate to others and include alt text with all of your images. It helps everyone. Indeed, in the "accessibility" setting in Bluesky you can set it to make sure you add alt text, which is a useful thing to do.
March 30, 2025 at 12:16 AM
Reposted by Chris Bhang (he/him)
An international graduate student at Tufts University was taken into federal custody on Tuesday outside an off-campus apartment building, the university’s president said. The university was told that the student’s visa had been terminated. nyti.ms/4hRzPq1
March 26, 2025 at 11:36 PM
Reposted by Chris Bhang (he/him)
In 25 years of covering national security, I’ve never seen a story like this: Senior Trump officials discussed planning for the U.S. attack on Yemen in a Signal group--and inadvertently added the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic. www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
U.S. national-security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didn’t think it could be real. Then the bombs started falling.
www.theatlantic.com
March 24, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Reposted by Chris Bhang (he/him)
Breaking News: The EPA plans to eliminate its scientific research arm, firing as many as 1,155 chemists, biologists, toxicologists and other scientists.
Trump Administration Aims to Eliminate E.P.A.’s Scientific Research Arm
More than 1,000 chemists, biologists and other scientists could be laid off under a plan to dismantle the Office of Research and Development.
www.nytimes.com
March 18, 2025 at 2:53 AM
Reposted by Chris Bhang (he/him)
Today Donald Trump attacked me by name in a speech at the Department of Justice. Of course I am worried, but courage comes from acting in spite of being worried. I have made my choice: I will continue to speak out, I will continue to litigate, I will continue to stand tall.

I will never bow down.
March 14, 2025 at 11:49 PM
"If lawyers and judges are not willing or able to defend liberty and freedom for all people under the law and Constitution, who will?"

www.wsba.org/docs/default...
www.wsba.org
March 13, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Reposted by Chris Bhang (he/him)
Good piece on many university presidents' cowardly refusal to speak out against the Trump administration's ghastly, unlawful abduction and detention of Mahmoud Khalil in retaliation against his constitutionally protected speech. No surprise, but a shame nonetheless. slate.com/life/2025/03...
Why Isn’t the Entire Country Terrified by the Arrest of Mahmoud Khalil?
Universities are running scared. But this is no time to be timid.
slate.com
March 11, 2025 at 7:41 PM