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Allegra Kirkland

@allegrak.bsky.social

8791 Followers

360 Following

Politics @ TPM // Previously @ Teen Vogue

  1. Over 750 HHS current and former employees are on the record criticizing RFK Jr in the aftermath of the CDC shooting.

    They call him “complicit in dismantling America’s public health infrastructure ... by repeatedly spreading inaccurate health information."

    www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

    A group of current and former staff members at the US Department of Health and Human Services are publicly blaming Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for spreading misinformation that led to a deadly sho...

    RFK Jr. Blamed by HHS Staff for Misinformation That Sparked CDC Attack

    A group of current and former staff members at the US Department of Health and Human Services are publicly blaming Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for spreading misinformation that led to a deadly sho...

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  2. NEW: McCarthyism returns to immigration law, as @USCIS announces that it will begin screening applicants for immigration benefits for "Anti-America ideologies or activities." The term has no prior precedent in immigration law and its definition is entirely up to the Trump admin.

    August 19, 2025 PA-2025-16
Policy Alert
SUBJECT: Clarifying Discretionary Factors in Certain Immigration Benefit Requests
Purpose
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is updating policy guidance in the USCIS
Policy Manual regarding the factors that officers may consider in certain benefit requests where an
exercise of discretion is required, including factors relating to aliens’ past requests for parole and
any involvement in anti-American or terrorist organizations.
Background
For certain immigration benefit requests, such as adjustment of status, the alien bears the burden of
proof to demonstrate that a favorable exercise of discretion is warranted.1 For these benefit requests,
the discretionary analysis is a separate component of adjudicating the benefit request which occurs
after an officer determines whether all threshold eligibility requirements have been met. The act of
exercising discretion involves weighing positive and negative factors and considering the totality of
the circumstances in each case. There are various factors officers may consider when conducting a
discretionary analysis, including facts relating to an alien’s conduct, character, family ties,
immigration history, and any humanitarian concerns.
USCIS guidance provides that an alien’s compliance with immigration laws is a relevant factor when
determining if a favorable exercise of discretion is warranted. USCIS is updating the Policy Manual
to provide additional guidance for officers on the significant negative discretionary weight USCIS
assigns in circumstances where an alien has endorsed, promoted, supported, or otherwise espoused
the views of a terrorist organization or group, including those who support or promote anti-American
ideologies or activities, antisemitic terrorism, antisemitic terrorist organizations, and antisemitic
ideologies, in any case involving an exercise of discretion.2
In cases where the alien has engaged in such activities, USCIS will enforce all relevant …
    96
  3. Sen. Hagerty on his legal rationale for not counting undocumented immigrants in the census: "There's a constitutional interpretation I think that has been misapplied that goes back to slavery days and what portion of a person is going to be counted."

    997
  4. For @talkingpointsmemo.com, I wrote about how powerful states are, how progressives have been generationally reluctant to embrace that power, and how we can and must wring our state power dry right now to fight back and fight forward.

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