Rising This Week: Mahmoud Khalil supporters
The Columbia University student has an immigration hearing on Thursday. Also, the D.C. Circuit considers whether Trump can freeze $20 billion for green energy.
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Before the first hearing in his case, Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil had supporters filling up New York City’s Foley Square, the park surrounded by the complex of courthouses in lower Manhattan.
Since that time, Khalil’s habeas corpus case moved to New Jersey, and he’s had ongoing immigration hearings in Louisiana.
On Thursday, Khalil returns to immigration court, but his supporters plan to rally in full force in two states.
Khalil’s upcoming hearing follows a string of rulings releasing other pro-Palestinian students on the grounds that Donald Trump and Marco Rubio likely violated their First Amendment rights by retaliating against them for their speech. One judge compared Trump’s clampdown to the Red Scare.
In other news, the D.C. Circuit on Monday considers the fate of an injunction blocking the Trump administration from freezing $20 billion for funding resulting from one of Joe Biden’s major accomplishments: the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, a part of the Inflation Reduction Act that Congress authorized to combat the climate crisis.
As Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I) mentioned in our recent interview, the Trump administration has been trying to stop that funding and criminalize the grant recipients.
In our constitutional order, Congress controls the purse, not the executive branch, and so Trump’s effort has floundered so far. We’ll see if it stays that way. Meanwhile, I want to reflect on where we are as All Rise News is one day shy of its one-month anniversary.
One month ago, All Rise News didn’t exist, and now nearly 9,000 of you receive this newsletter every day. Hundreds of you have chosen to financially support us.
We have been cited in major media like the New York Times, MSNBC, The Daily Beast, The Columbia Journalism Review, and more. I have done Substack Lives with some of the most accomplished and influential commentators on this platform, including a U.S. senator. I have appeared on TV and radio internationally — including a Fox affiliate, the BBC, and the LBC — as the editor in chief of an organization that recently was only an idea.
Our influence and impact are only going to rise.
Most importantly, All Rise News created the type of journalism that doesn’t exist anywhere else: a one-stop shop for the reporting, analysis and actionable information about the law and civic engagement, giving our readers the tools to oppose an unprecedented attack on rule of law in the United States. We routinely break stories, including ones that no other outlet bothers to investigate.
To our regular readers, ask yourselves whether you have seen any other media outlet, on Substack or elsewhere, cover the news quite like we do.
If you haven’t, and you value that, please keep us strong through our six-month anniversary, one-year anniversary and beyond. This Wednesday, I am going to launch our first chat for paid subscribers, who will start receiving their exclusive benefits like that Q&A soon.
In the Courts
The trial of Sean “P. Diddy” Combs will continue to draw national headlines into its second week, along with crowds of spectators both inside and outside federal court in Manhattan.
On the Trump docket, two Thursday hearings confront the administration’s targeting of student activists: an immigration hearing for Khalil — and a federal court hearing by academic freedom advocates trying to block the clampdown entirely on free speech grounds.
U.S. v. Combs (ongoing): The second week of Diddy’s racketeering trial begins.
How to attend: 500 Pearl Street, New York, N.Y. (Courtroom 26A)
Climate United Fund v. Citibank, N.A. (Mon., May 19): The D.C. Circuit considers whether to uphold an order forcing the Trump admin to unfreeze billions in congressionally appropriated dollars to combat the climate crisis.
How to listen: D.C. Circuit - Courtroom 31; Live-stream will be available via YouTube.
When: 9:30 a.m. ET
Khalil v. Trump (Thurs., May 22): Khalil’s immigration court hearing has been scheduled one day after Columbia University’s commencement ceremony, which he was not able to attend.
How to attend: In-person (830 Pine Hill Road, Jena, Louisiana); Possible virtual access to be announced.
When: TBD
AAUP v. Rubio (Thurs., May 22): With a July trial looming, a federal judge holds a status conference in a case seeking to block the Trump admin from targeting student protesters.
How to listen: The court will allow remote virtual access here.
When: 2 p.m. ET
Finding the most important court hearings and protests requires knowledge, sources and labor. If you don’t already, support us to keep it going.
In the Streets
When Khalil goes to immigration court, his supporters go to the streets in two states. To look for other demonstrations in your area, check out The Big List of Protests.
All Out for Mahmoud (Thurs., May 22): Khalil’s supporters converge upon Foley Square in New York City and New Orleans. Here are the details.
NYC: Foley Square at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
New Orleans: Organizers have a sign-up form here for buses departing The Big Easy at 6 a.m., bound for the ICE jail.
On the Phones
As part of our ongoing coverage of civic engagement, All Rise News exclusively looks at the 5 Calls app’s internal data, which they shared with us for the seven days leading up to May 16.
Last week’s biggest driver — by far?
The budget: The most popular topic the app’s users chose to call reps about was opposing giant GOP budget cuts, generally, spurring 30,127 calls.
The rest of the Top 5 topics were opposing specific parts of the Republican-led budget reconciliation bill. In order, they are opposing Medicaid cuts (22,349 calls); public school cuts (10,706 calls); and proposals in the bill calling for a state AI regulation ban (10,236) and the sale of public lands (9,073).
This map by 5 Calls data and visualization expert Katie Dektar demonstrates just how much the budget bill eclipsed every other driver of people’s calls.
Save the Date: On Monday, journalist
hosts a Substack Live with me at 10 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss alleged racketeering and sex trafficking, which is now in the news with the Sean Combs trial.Vicky helped expose the Jeffrey Epstein scandal and went deep into the late predator’s finances for Vanity Fair and CNN. Our conversation will look beyond the sensationalism of the daily headlines and discuss trends in prosecution to combat impunity for those with wealth and power.
For our paid subscribers: Stay tuned for details about our Wednesday Q&A, where you can help shape the future of this newsletter.
I have noticed your appearances on other platforms. Good Luck with All Rise News and it appears to be a success. I really appreciate that you list the various court schedules . I am going to try to phone in and listen.