Tom Jawetz
@tomjawetz.bsky.social
Now: CAP Senior Fellow and immigration law & policy consultant
Then: DHS Deputy General Counsel (2021-22); CAP Immigration (2015-21); House Judiciary (2009-15); ACLU National Prison Project (2005-09)
All views my own. He/Him
Then: DHS Deputy General Counsel (2021-22); CAP Immigration (2015-21); House Judiciary (2009-15); ACLU National Prison Project (2005-09)
All views my own. He/Him
Pinned
Tom Jawetz
@tomjawetz.bsky.social
· Nov 13
Tom Jawetz
www.americanprogress.org
Long time tweeter, first time skeeter.
I try to post smart things immigration law and policy. Also dumb things.
My written pieces for @americanprogress.bsky.social can be found here 👇
www.americanprogress.org/people/jawet...
I try to post smart things immigration law and policy. Also dumb things.
My written pieces for @americanprogress.bsky.social can be found here 👇
www.americanprogress.org/people/jawet...
What’s to stop Trump from replacing the seated sculpture of Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial with a statue of himself and then installing a golf tee at the top of the steps so he can drive balls into the Reflecting Pool?
October 23, 2025 at 4:50 PM
What’s to stop Trump from replacing the seated sculpture of Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial with a statue of himself and then installing a golf tee at the top of the steps so he can drive balls into the Reflecting Pool?
How can we defend our culture against the white supremacists that have infiltrated our government?
October 1, 2025 at 10:03 PM
How can we defend our culture against the white supremacists that have infiltrated our government?
Reposted by Tom Jawetz
Late last night I mapped crime rates for cities in OH, SC and WV to show how often they exceeded the rate in DC — where those states’ governors are sending National Guard troops to “combat crime.” www.pbump.net/o/more-peopl...
More people in Ohio need protection from violent crime than there are people in D.C.
Governors of three states — Ohio, South Carolina and West Virginia — are sending members of their state National Guards to D.C. to … well, theoretically to combat crime but, if the past week is any in...
www.pbump.net
August 17, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Late last night I mapped crime rates for cities in OH, SC and WV to show how often they exceeded the rate in DC — where those states’ governors are sending National Guard troops to “combat crime.” www.pbump.net/o/more-peopl...
Outstanding line of questioning by Rep. Neguse about a terrible provision in the Republicans’ budget reconciliation bill.
Here’s Erwin Chemerinsky’s analysis of the language: www.justsecurity.org/113529/terri...
Here’s Erwin Chemerinsky’s analysis of the language: www.justsecurity.org/113529/terri...
May 22, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Outstanding line of questioning by Rep. Neguse about a terrible provision in the Republicans’ budget reconciliation bill.
Here’s Erwin Chemerinsky’s analysis of the language: www.justsecurity.org/113529/terri...
Here’s Erwin Chemerinsky’s analysis of the language: www.justsecurity.org/113529/terri...
Reposted by Tom Jawetz
This provision of the budget bill made it through the House.
It undercuts federal courts' ability to enforce contempt orders.
Read Dean Erwin Chemerinsky’s sharp analysis.
www.justsecurity.org/113529/terri...
It undercuts federal courts' ability to enforce contempt orders.
Read Dean Erwin Chemerinsky’s sharp analysis.
www.justsecurity.org/113529/terri...
A Terrible Idea
Dean Chemerinsky discusses the reconciliation bill’s provision that would restrict federal courts’ authority to hold government officials in contempt for violating court orders
www.justsecurity.org
May 22, 2025 at 1:01 PM
This provision of the budget bill made it through the House.
It undercuts federal courts' ability to enforce contempt orders.
Read Dean Erwin Chemerinsky’s sharp analysis.
www.justsecurity.org/113529/terri...
It undercuts federal courts' ability to enforce contempt orders.
Read Dean Erwin Chemerinsky’s sharp analysis.
www.justsecurity.org/113529/terri...
🧵
I'm going to thread a couple of framing questions on this thread for anyone interested in covering the terrible decision in Noem v NTPSA.....
BREAKING: SCOTUS allows DHS to reinstate Sec. Kristi Noem's order ending Temporary Protected Status for many Venezuelans, but notes the decision does not address challenges to actions "purport[ing] to invalidate" related legal status, work authorization documents, etc., previously granted under TPS.
May 19, 2025 at 7:42 PM
🧵
Great explainer by Erwin Chemerinsky about a dangerous provision that House Republicans are trying to sneak into their budget reconciliation bill.
A direct attack on judicial independence and the rule of law.
A direct attack on judicial independence and the rule of law.
A Terrible Idea
By Dean Erwin Chemerinsky
On the reconciliation bill’s provision that would restrict federal courts’ authority to hold government officials in contempt for violating court orders
#RuleOfLaw #ContemptOfCourt #Congress
By Dean Erwin Chemerinsky
On the reconciliation bill’s provision that would restrict federal courts’ authority to hold government officials in contempt for violating court orders
#RuleOfLaw #ContemptOfCourt #Congress
A Terrible Idea
Dean Chemerinsky discusses the reconciliation bill’s provision that would restrict federal courts’ authority to hold government officials in contempt for violating court orders
www.justsecurity.org
May 19, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Great explainer by Erwin Chemerinsky about a dangerous provision that House Republicans are trying to sneak into their budget reconciliation bill.
A direct attack on judicial independence and the rule of law.
A direct attack on judicial independence and the rule of law.
Excellent breakdown of two emergency stay requests pending at SCOTUS with huge implications.
Everyone’s focus at #SCOTUS is (understandably) on the birthright citizenship cases.
But in two other pending applications, the Trump admin. is asking the justices to let it immediately subject more than one *million* additional immigrants to arrest, detention, and removal.
More, via “One First”:
But in two other pending applications, the Trump admin. is asking the justices to let it immediately subject more than one *million* additional immigrants to arrest, detention, and removal.
More, via “One First”:
Bonus 150: A Tale of Two (Other) Immigration Cases
A deeper dive into two of the pending emergency applications from the Trump administration in immigration cases that have received far less attention, but are no less important.
www.stevevladeck.com
May 16, 2025 at 3:52 AM
Excellent breakdown of two emergency stay requests pending at SCOTUS with huge implications.
Reposted by Tom Jawetz
House Republican plan would harm 4.5 million U.S. citizen children by stripping away their access to the Child Tax Credit if either of their parents file taxes w/o an SSN: cmsny.org/publications...
New Estimates of the Number of United States Citizen and Legal Permanent Resident Children Who May Lose Eligibility for the Child Tax Credit - The Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS)
This fact sheet provides new estimates of the number of American citizen and legal permanent resident children who could lose eligibility for the federal Child Tax Credit if proposals currently consid...
cmsny.org
May 10, 2025 at 2:14 AM
House Republican plan would harm 4.5 million U.S. citizen children by stripping away their access to the Child Tax Credit if either of their parents file taxes w/o an SSN: cmsny.org/publications...
Reposted by Tom Jawetz
Judge dismisses ICE case against New Bedford man whose car window was smashed by agents in viral video last month turnto10.com/news/local/j...
Judge dismisses ICE case against New Bedford man
A federal immigration judge has dismissed the case against a New Bedford man whose dramatic detainment by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents was c
turnto10.com
May 9, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Judge dismisses ICE case against New Bedford man whose car window was smashed by agents in viral video last month turnto10.com/news/local/j...
Reposted by Tom Jawetz
under the gop proposal, married parents can’t claim the child tax credit if one of them isn’t a citizen. literally punishing children while creating a monetary incentive to get divorced. ghoulish shit.
the gop proposal for the child tax credit is evil.
before tcja, parents w/ kids could get it. in tcja, they required the kid be a citizen.
now they’d require both parents be citizens. unless they’re unmarried - then if one’s a citizen they can get it.
punishing kids - and a divorce incentive
before tcja, parents w/ kids could get it. in tcja, they required the kid be a citizen.
now they’d require both parents be citizens. unless they’re unmarried - then if one’s a citizen they can get it.
punishing kids - and a divorce incentive
May 10, 2025 at 3:39 AM
under the gop proposal, married parents can’t claim the child tax credit if one of them isn’t a citizen. literally punishing children while creating a monetary incentive to get divorced. ghoulish shit.
And yet the Department's spokesperson calls it "a successful operation." You can't make this stuff up... www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
May 1, 2025 at 6:00 PM
And yet the Department's spokesperson calls it "a successful operation." You can't make this stuff up... www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...
Reposted by Tom Jawetz
NEW: In a SCATHING decision, Judge Briones of the Western District of Texas absolutely SAVAGED the government over this case, tearing to shreds ICE’s hearsay “evidence” that this husband and wife were in Tren de Aragua as “completely and wholly unsubstantiated” — and ordered their immediate release!
April 26, 2025 at 1:15 AM
NEW: In a SCATHING decision, Judge Briones of the Western District of Texas absolutely SAVAGED the government over this case, tearing to shreds ICE’s hearsay “evidence” that this husband and wife were in Tren de Aragua as “completely and wholly unsubstantiated” — and ordered their immediate release!
Reposted by Tom Jawetz
Oh, there are now apparently *multiple deportations of U.S. citizen children in current cancer treatment*, one in Texas and one in Louisiana. www.aclu.org/press-releas...
ICE Deports 3 U.S. Citizen Children Held Incommunicado Prior to the Deportation | American Civil Liberties Union
Families disappeared and isolated without legal access; one child with cancer deported without medication and pregnant mother deported as well
www.aclu.org
April 26, 2025 at 1:31 AM
Oh, there are now apparently *multiple deportations of U.S. citizen children in current cancer treatment*, one in Texas and one in Louisiana. www.aclu.org/press-releas...
Very compelling new piece by @ahilantoolong.bsky.social arguing that while courts have long said deportation isn't a "punishment," condemnation to CECOT clearly is.
That matters for constitutional purposes. @justsecurity.org www.justsecurity.org/110679/depor...
That matters for constitutional purposes. @justsecurity.org www.justsecurity.org/110679/depor...
Deportation to CECOT: Punishment Without Charge or Trial
Sending migrants to El Salvador’s CECOT prison raises grave constitutional concerns under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments.
www.justsecurity.org
April 23, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Very compelling new piece by @ahilantoolong.bsky.social arguing that while courts have long said deportation isn't a "punishment," condemnation to CECOT clearly is.
That matters for constitutional purposes. @justsecurity.org www.justsecurity.org/110679/depor...
That matters for constitutional purposes. @justsecurity.org www.justsecurity.org/110679/depor...
Great read.
Just before 1 a.m., #SCOTUS stepped back into the Alien Enemy Act litigation with a (remarkable) ruling that suggests, among other things, that a majority of the justices is tiring of the Trump administration’s Calvinball.
For more, see the latest “One First”:
www.stevevladeck.com/p/144-the-su...
For more, see the latest “One First”:
www.stevevladeck.com/p/144-the-su...
144. The Supreme Court's Late-Night Alien Enemy Act Intervention
Just before 1:00 a.m., the justices (aggressively) stepped back into the Alien Enemy Act litigation—in a decision suggesting that a majority understands that these are no longer normal circumstances.
www.stevevladeck.com
April 19, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Great read.
Reposted by Tom Jawetz
Some notes on this morning’s remarkable emergency stay order granted by SCOTUS, stopping Trump Adm from summarily removing Venezuelans under his Alien Enemies Act proclamation. SCOTUS acted while the NDTexas & 5th Circuit courts dragged their feet. Thread:
1/10
bsky.app/profile/anna...
1/10
bsky.app/profile/anna...
BREAKING: Supreme Court temporarily blocks removal of Venezuelan migrants under the Alien Enemies Act
April 19, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Some notes on this morning’s remarkable emergency stay order granted by SCOTUS, stopping Trump Adm from summarily removing Venezuelans under his Alien Enemies Act proclamation. SCOTUS acted while the NDTexas & 5th Circuit courts dragged their feet. Thread:
1/10
bsky.app/profile/anna...
1/10
bsky.app/profile/anna...
Reposted by Tom Jawetz
So now we find out how directly and undeniably complicit in enforced disappearance and torture some Supreme Court justices want to be. Good times.
April 18, 2025 at 11:47 PM
So now we find out how directly and undeniably complicit in enforced disappearance and torture some Supreme Court justices want to be. Good times.
Must read 🧵
Thread of documents and sources re possibly imminent renditions from Bluebonnet detention facility to El Salvador
April 18, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Must read 🧵
This is the same lawyer who may face criminal contempt in the Alien Enemies Act case and who led the Abrego Garcia and Gitmo cases.
I’m guessing he likes his celebrity more than his law license.
He also appears to be arguing ALL of these cases because no career DOJ attorney would dare.
I’m guessing he likes his celebrity more than his law license.
He also appears to be arguing ALL of these cases because no career DOJ attorney would dare.
In the decision, Judge Murphy accuses Trump admin lawyer Drew Ensign of making a "preposterous" argument that was "either an effort to prevaricate or is deeply disingenuous."
Ensign argued people had to ask an immigration judge to reopen a case — even on a weekend when the court was closed.
Ensign argued people had to ask an immigration judge to reopen a case — even on a weekend when the court was closed.
![Defendants claim that an alien can raise fear-based concerns through reopening IJ proceedings or petitioning the court of appeals for review. E.g., April 10, 2025 Rough Tr. at 9:24–10:5 (“MR. ENSIGN: Your Honor, they would have needed to raise it earlier or -- and if we were in the second part of the [March] guidance, they also could manifest fear at that point and then it would go to screening. So there’s that potentially available as well. But, you know, to the extent they have awareness of that now, they should go back before the IJ and BIA.”); id. at 10:19–22 (“MR. ENSIGN: Your Honor, they would have needed to go to the BIA before [they are notified of third-country removal plans]. There’s nothing under the [March] guidance that would require additional notice or an opportunity to challenge it at that moment.”); id. at 27:10–13 (“[MR. ENSIGN:] There is -- the typical way it . . . would be raised is a motion to reopen if you haven’t raised it already, and then you can raise it to the Court of Appeals.”); id. at 44:2–11 (“THE COURT: So it happens Saturday morning, the person raises a fear that department disagrees -- they make it through the first screening, the department disagrees. That person is then going to be deported on Sunday morning. As a practical matter, there’s no judicial review of that decision, right? MR. ENSIGN: There would be administrative review potentially in the IJ. THE COURT: How would they do that? It’s Saturday. MR. ENSIGN: Your Honor, I don’t know the specifics of the IJ proceedings.”). This claim is either an effort to prevaricate or is deeply disingenuous. The suggestion that an alien must—or even can—reopen an immigration proceeding at 6:00 a.m. on a Saturday prior to being removed that same weekend is preposterous on its face. See, e.g., Exec. Office for Immigr. Rev., Boston Immigration Court, U.S. Dep’t of Just., https://www.justice.gov/eoir/boston-immigration-court (last updated Apr. 9, 2025) (“The immigration court is open Monday to…](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2vtbmhmrwzbqcfv4we4uxzzt/bafkreib2yx3a3mwqncp6ogzstgakezafalbi2x5coldqvwiy4bhs7xiega@jpeg)
April 18, 2025 at 4:34 PM
This is the same lawyer who may face criminal contempt in the Alien Enemies Act case and who led the Abrego Garcia and Gitmo cases.
I’m guessing he likes his celebrity more than his law license.
He also appears to be arguing ALL of these cases because no career DOJ attorney would dare.
I’m guessing he likes his celebrity more than his law license.
He also appears to be arguing ALL of these cases because no career DOJ attorney would dare.
Not the first time a county has illegally imprisoned a U.S. citizen on an ICE detainer request.
As in those cases, the county is likely to pay out a chunk of $$$ for violating this guy’s constitutional rights.
As in those cases, the county is likely to pay out a chunk of $$$ for violating this guy’s constitutional rights.
A Florida county is detaining and refusing to release a U.S. citizen born in the U.S., after ICE asked the county to detain him: floridaphoenix.com/2025/04/17/u...
U.S.-born man held for ICE under Florida's new anti-immigration law • Florida Phoenix
Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez, a 20-year-old U.S. citizen, was being held in the Leon County Jail Thursday, charged with illegally entering Florida as an “unauthorized alien” — even as a supporter waved his...
floridaphoenix.com
April 17, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Not the first time a county has illegally imprisoned a U.S. citizen on an ICE detainer request.
As in those cases, the county is likely to pay out a chunk of $$$ for violating this guy’s constitutional rights.
As in those cases, the county is likely to pay out a chunk of $$$ for violating this guy’s constitutional rights.
Good pieces by Ezra Klein and Philip Bump on Trump’s illegal disappearance of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
But details matter. Withholding of removal wasn’t granted because fear of persecution was “credible”or “well founded.”
The judge concluded it was *more likely than not* to happen.
But details matter. Withholding of removal wasn’t granted because fear of persecution was “credible”or “well founded.”
The judge concluded it was *more likely than not* to happen.
April 17, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Good pieces by Ezra Klein and Philip Bump on Trump’s illegal disappearance of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
But details matter. Withholding of removal wasn’t granted because fear of persecution was “credible”or “well founded.”
The judge concluded it was *more likely than not* to happen.
But details matter. Withholding of removal wasn’t granted because fear of persecution was “credible”or “well founded.”
The judge concluded it was *more likely than not* to happen.
The press and the courts are talking—intelligently and powerfully—about every aspect of the Trump administration’s rendition of people to El Salvador **except** the illegal use of taxpayer money to fund the imprisonment. On what authority?!?
This letter is great. migrantinsider.com/p/lawmakers-...
This letter is great. migrantinsider.com/p/lawmakers-...
Lawmakers Slam Rubio Over El Salvador Prison Transfers (EXCLUSIVE)
Rep. Velázquez co-leads letter demanding answers for human rights abuses.
migrantinsider.com
April 17, 2025 at 7:30 PM
The press and the courts are talking—intelligently and powerfully—about every aspect of the Trump administration’s rendition of people to El Salvador **except** the illegal use of taxpayer money to fund the imprisonment. On what authority?!?
This letter is great. migrantinsider.com/p/lawmakers-...
This letter is great. migrantinsider.com/p/lawmakers-...
Reposted by Tom Jawetz
I am autistic. I pay taxes, I have a job. I dated. I get the desire to push this narrative autistic people DO accomplish these to rebut Kennedy. But there was a time when I DID NOT have a job. And non-speaking autistic people or thise with intellectual disabilities don't. They have worth as well.
April 17, 2025 at 3:14 AM
I am autistic. I pay taxes, I have a job. I dated. I get the desire to push this narrative autistic people DO accomplish these to rebut Kennedy. But there was a time when I DID NOT have a job. And non-speaking autistic people or thise with intellectual disabilities don't. They have worth as well.