Obama Judge Who Blocked Somali Deportations Just Changed Her Mind — After This Threat From GOP Lawmaker
There has never been so much left-wing judicial activism coming from federal courts in the age of Donald Trump, but thanks to pushback from a Republican congressman, at least one of those judges felt enough heat to do the right thing.
Judge Allison Burroughs — an Obama appointee in Massachusetts — spent months blocking the Trump administration’s termination of Somalia’s Temporary Protected Status designation, which had been scheduled to take effect March 17. She stepped in just four days before it was supposed to become effective and imposed an administrative stay. Then Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) introduced articles of impeachment against her for defying the U.S. Supreme Court’s explicit ruling on TPS termination. And then, like magic, she had a change of heart.
On Friday, Burroughs denied the plaintiffs’ bid to keep Somalia’s TPS designation alive and lifted her own administrative stay. The legal reasoning she applied was the same reasoning conservatives had been making for months.
“Because TPS beneficiaries will receive future benefits if — but only if — the Secretary decides to extend the designation of their country of origin… they have nothing ‘more than a unilateral expectation’ in their future TPS eligibility,” Burroughs wrote.
Temporary means temporary. It took impeachment articles to remind her of that, but at least the lesson landed.
The race-discrimination claim died alongside the stay. “After Mullin, which included a constitutional race-discrimination claim, the Court cannot discern a path to concluding that Plaintiffs will succeed on the merits of this claim,” Burroughs wrote.
This matters enormously — and not just for the Somali TPS case. The left’s strategy for blocking immigration enforcement has been to slap race-discrimination labels on every policy it dislikes, knowing that accusation alone can slow down enforcement for months or years in sympathetic courts. The Supreme Court’s Mullin decision closed that particular door, and Burroughs finally acknowledged it.
Rep. Ogles had said it plainly when he filed the impeachment articles: “SCOTUS made it very clear that lower courts cannot suspend TPS. Yet, an Obama-appointed judge is defying the Court and the Constitution in an attempt to subvert the will of the President.”
He was right. The timing of Burroughs’ reversal — coming shortly after the impeachment articles were formally introduced — suggests that the prospect of congressional accountability sharpened her legal analysis considerably. Whether that accountability mechanism is the right way to discipline wayward district court judges is a legitimate debate. What isn’t a debate is the result: the deportations can proceed.
Ilhan Omar spent months railing against this outcome. She called the enforcement racist. She wrote letters demanding answers. Now the Obama judge has confirmed that TPS holders have no protected legal interest in the continuation of their status — and that ending TPS doesn’t violate anyone’s due-process rights because terminating TPS simply makes former beneficiaries potentially subject to future immigration enforcement.
The law is the law. It applies to everyone. Even in Massachusetts. Even when Ilhan Omar doesn’t like it.
BREAKING: Dolly Parton’s Cause Of Death Revealed: ‘Brief Battle’
Dolly Parton’s death came after a brief battle with cancer, her representatives revealed Tuesday.
The country music legend died Aug. 25 at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville. She was 80.
Parton had been admitted to the cancer center Friday, four days before her death. Her representatives confirmed the cancer diagnosis in a statement to PEOPLE but did not disclose what type she had.
“Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched. Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand,” the statement read.
“Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact. After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones,” the statement concluded.
The “Jolene” singer had also been dealing with kidney and autoimmune issues before her death, PEOPLE previously reported.
Just days earlier, Dolly Parton opened up about her declining health and acknowledged that she had put off addressing some medical issues while caring for her husband, Carl.
“As I’ve shared in video messages throughout the past year, I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over [my husband] Carl. You know, this isn’t the first time I’ve had to manage something like this. Back in the early ’80s, I was down for several months with female issues, and I was struggling with my weight at the time too, so it’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health,” Parton told PEOPLE.
Her nephew, Bryan Seaver, announced her death in an Instagram video Tuesday on behalf of the Parton and Owens family.
“My name is Bryan Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I’m representing the Parton and Owens family today announcing the passing of my aunt, Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean, Sister, Sis and Granny to one generation and Gigi to the next,” he says in the video.
Seaver, who served as Parton’s head of security for more than two decades, said she had asked him years earlier to deliver the announcement.
“This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality,” he continued. “As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven’t truly felt it until now.”
Seaver said the moment brought immense pride and heartbreak, but he took comfort in his faith that Parton had been reunited with Carl and other loved ones.
Seaver added: “It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless othe
Shocking 'truth' behind Prince Harry's decision to quit major role
Prince Harry should have "resigned in disgrace" from the board of a controversial African wildlife charity, a commentator says. James Walker makes the bombshell remark in Wednesday's episode of this publication's podcast, Daily Expresso.
He and the show's host, JJ Anisiobi, delve into the Duke of Sussex's dramatic decision to step down from African Parks. James, commenting on the controversy, said: "When you hear about this stuff and how long it's been going on for, you should be resigning in disgrace. [Harry] should be saying: 'I'm not touching that with a barge pole. That is a failed entity. We're going nowhere near it'.
"But no. He's still saying he's going to 'support their mission'. And again this Caroline Pearce, executive director of Survival International, goes on to say: 'His departure doesn't undo that record'.
"She alleged that African Parks was aware of the abuses for years, but it was only after Survival complained to Harry that the charity finally commissioned an investigation."
James added: "Well, she's got a point."
It emerged on Monday (August 24) that Harry was no longer a board member of the wildlife charity.
The conservation organisation has admitted that human rights abuses were committed by its rangers against members of the semi-nomadic Baka group in Congo-Brazzaville.
African Parks has said since that it has improved its safeguarding processes both in the Odzala-Kokoua National Park and institutionally.
Its admission followed an independent human rights investigation into allegations guards managed and paid by the charity had beaten, raped and tortured indigenous people in Odzala-Kokoua National Park.
Harry was president of the charity for six years before he became a member of its board of directors in 2023.
A spokesman for the Duke said he remains an active and avid supporter of African Parks. He added: "The Duke is proud of his 10 years with African Parks and fully supports the ongoing strengthening of its board.
"His commitment to conservation in Africa continues and he remains a supporter of African Parks’ mission."
Human rights organisation, Survival International, said it had been calling on Harry to step down from African Parks for years.
The group's director, Caroline Pearce, said in a statement: "It’s outrageous that for 10 years Prince Harry has served African Parks while the organisation has been responsible for abuse and violence against Indigenous people.
"His departure doesn't undo that record — African Parks itself must now be held accountable, and must abandon this model of fortress conservation for good."
Survival International said indigenous peoples know how best to manage their land and the idea outsiders know better is racist and colonial.
