politics
Courts Reject Trump Immigration Policy, Stay Pentagon Press Ruling; Bipartisan Push to Repeal FCC News Distortion Rule
Federal appeals courts issued decisions on the Trump administration's mandatory detention policy for immigrants and the Pentagon's journalist escort requirement. Former FCC officials petitioned for a vote to repeal the News Distortion Policy amid allegations of misuse.
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A federal appeals court rejected the Trump administration's mandatory detention policy for immigrants awaiting deportation. The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 3-0 against the policy on Tuesday, stating it would strain overcrowded detention infrastructure, incarcerate millions, separate families, and disrupt communities.
This decision created a circuit split, as the 5th Circuit and 8th Circuit Courts of Appeals have sided with the administration.
2 million estimated self-deportations, according to Department of Homeland Security data. In a separate ruling, a federal appeals court stayed an earlier decision that found the Pentagon’s latest press policy too restrictive. The stay allows the Pentagon to require journalists to be escorted inside its halls for now.
This action occurred in an ongoing case brought by the New York Times. Several former Federal Communications Commissioners and staffers from both parties urged a federal appeals court to force a vote on the FCC's News Distortion Policy. U.S.
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to require the FCC to vote on a petition to repeal the policy. The petition was filed by the bipartisan group in November 2025. FCC Chair Brendan Carr invoked the policy to pressure ABC into temporarily suspending comedian Jimmy Kimmel.
Only the agency chair can bring a petition to the full commission for a vote, and Carr has failed to do so while opposing repeal. The petitioners requested a writ of mandamus to compel FCC action. The petitioners include the Radio Television Digital News Association, former Republican FCC chairs Dennis Patrick and Alfred Sikes, Republican commissioners Andrew Barrett and Rachelle Chong, former Democratic commissioner Ervin Duggan, and four additional former senior leaders at the agency.
The News Distortion Policy dates back to 1949 and empowers the FCC to take enforcement actions against broadcasters that deliberately distort fact-based reports about major news events. The FCC regulates broadcast TV and radio, but the policy does not apply to cable networks, online news outlets, or other media forms.
