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The Trump administration has asked the First Circuit to lift an order restricting deportations to countries where migrants have no prior ties and may face safety risks, describing the Massachusetts federal judge's ruling as an "unlawful" overreach.

A Massachusetts federal judge on Wednesday declined to consider a request by a group of academic organizations to immediately bar the government from deporting students and faculty over pro-Palestinian activity, and hinted that he may dismiss the complaint for lack of standing.

A Vermont federal judge asked for more input on Wednesday from the government and a Palestinian green card holder fighting his detention and removal on foreign policy grounds, while scheduling a bond hearing for the Columbia University student for next week.

The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday gave an Ethiopian man another chance to reopen his removal case following his marriage to an American woman, ruling that the Board of Immigration Appeals applied the wrong standard when it required that he provide "clear and convincing evidence" of his marriage's "bona fides."

Florida's Attorney General on Wednesday informed law enforcement agencies of a federal judge's extension of a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of a law criminalizing the entry of unauthorized migrants but told them he could not stop them from enforcing the law because "no lawful, legitimate order" prevents them from doing so.

A California federal judge said Wednesday that he's inclined to block a Trump administration plan to withhold federal funding to "sanctuary jurisdictions," saying the cities and counties who sued have demonstrated a "well-founded fear" that the president's executive order and an attorney general directive will deprive them of critical funding.

Attorneys representing groups that provide legal representation to unaccompanied immigrant children and a government attorney sparred Wednesday over whether the government is legally obligated to fund such legal counsel during a hearing on the groups' motion for preliminary injunction in California federal court.

A California federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration's order singling out cash-moving businesses along the southwest border for heightened anti-money laundering reporting, saying that, among other things, the plaintiffs have sufficiently pled that the order is arbitrary and capricious.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is proposing a rule to increase career employee accountability. Agency supervisors report great difficulty removing employees for poor performance or misconduct. The proposed rule lets policy-influencing positions be moved into Schedule Policy/Career. These positions will remain career jobs filled on a nonpartisan basis. Yet they will be at-will positions excepted from adverse action procedures or appeals. This will allow agencies to quickly remove employees from critical positions who engage in misconduct, perform poorly, or undermine the democratic process by intentionally subverting Presidential directives.