Democrat Politics

President Donald Trump is pushing ahead with his twisted fantasy of exiling immigrants to foreign nations, with two U.S. officials confirming the administration may soon begin deporting migrants to Libya using U.S. military planes.

If it moves forward, this would mark a sharp escalation of a deportation agenda already facing widespread legal challenges and political backlash. Reuters and other outlets say flights could begin as early as Wednesday, though the timeline remains fluid.

Related | Are voters really anti-immigration? Plus, the most polarizing country

The nationalities of those being targeted weren’t immediately clear. The White House didn’t immediately respond to Daily Kos’ request for comment.

“We do not discuss the details of our diplomatic communications with other governments,” a State Department official told Reuters.

This latest scheme to purge the country of anyone who isn’t white comes just days after the administration floated deporting people to Rwanda—a country that, just decades ago, was the site of a brutal genocide that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.

Indeed, the Trump administration has been aggressively pursuing deportation deals with countries willing to accept migrants who aren’t their own citizens. It’s already pressured several Latin American countries—including Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Panama—into accepting deportees. Now, Trump appears determined to expand that model to other continents, including Africa.

x
Datawrapper Content

But Libya is a particularly alarming destination. The country has been mired in violence and political instability since its 2011 civil war. The State Department warns Americans not to travel there due to “crime, terrorism, unexploded landmines, civil unrest, kidnapping, and armed conflict.” And in its latest human rights report, the agency described Libya’s migrant detention centers—often filled with people trying to reach Europe—as “harsh and life-threatening,” with no access to courts or due process, even for children.

None of that seems to faze Trump. After all, this is the same president whose Cabinet wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia to a notorious mega-prison in El Salvador. Now, the White House is even weighing whether to reopen Alcatraz to hold what Trump calls “America’s most ruthless and violent offenders.”

In recent days, the administration has intensified its efforts to terrorize immigrants, sending a message that they can either face deportation to war zones or accept $1,000 to “self-deport.”

As of Monday, the Trump administration had deported roughly 152,000 people, according to figures from the Department of Homeland Security. 

But Trump, who made immigration central to his campaign, is now pushing some of the most extreme enforcement actions of his presidency: sending increased troops to the Southern border, targeting millions for removal, and outsourcing deportation to some of the most dangerous places on Earth.

Voters, meanwhile, are rejecting this agenda. According to Data for Progress, 71% of likely voters oppose imprisoning immigrants with lawful status and no criminal record in foreign countries. And 72% say the government should have to present evidence before deporting someone it claims poses a national security threat. Fewer than a quarter believe the government should have a blank check to exile people without proof.

This isn’t policy—it’s punishment. And it’s being carried out in the name of a president who sees human lives as bargaining chips, and suffering as a political strategy.

Trump doesn’t care if it’s dangerous. He just wants it to be cruel.

Campaign Action

Responding to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s planned visit to Illinois, Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker’s office mocked her and took the Trump administration to task for its immigration posturing.

“We would urge all pet owners in the region to make sure all of your beloved animals are under watchful protection while the secretary is in the region,” Pritzker’s office said in a statement.

In her 2024 memoir, Noem bragged that she murdered her dog Cricket, a 14-month-old wirehair pointer. Noem wrote that the dog was “untrainable” and that she “hated that dog.” After she was unable to train the dog to hunt, she took it to a gravel pit and killed it.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem pretends to be a firefighter.

Noem was reportedly in the running to be Donald Trump’s 2024 running mate before the grisly disclosure, but he instead picked then-Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, who has demonstrated his own problems with empathy and human connection.

Pritzker’s office also noted, “Secretary Noem has often been spotted on television cosplaying law enforcement officers, so media are invited to capture her latest costume upon arrival.” 

Since being appointed by Trump, Noem has played dress-up on multiple occasions, wearing clothing emulating the trained professionals under her command in the Department of Homeland Security. The flights of fancy have wasted tax money.

On a more serious note, Pritzker’s office also took Noem and the Trump administration to task for the policy issue at the heart of the visit. Homeland Security said Noem’s visit was to spotlight so-called “sanctuary cities” and to crack down on immigrants.

“Despite the Trump Administration being in office for more than 100 days and falsely accusing Illinois of not following federal and state law, Secretary Noem and her team does not communicate with the State of Illinois and has not asked for support or coordination to enforce immigration laws,” the statement from the governor’s office said.

The Illinois Democrat has been one of the most prominent and outspoken voices against Trump’s actions over the past few months.

In remarks to the Human Rights Campaign in March, Pritzker called out Trump as a “bully” for policies attacking the rights of transgender people. He also criticized Republican plots to rescind same-sex marriage rights.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem pretends to be in the Coast Guard.

“Bending to the whims of a bully will not end his cruelty. It will only embolden him,” Pritzker said.

In response to the Supreme Court’s conservative majority upholding Trump’s ban on transgender military service, Pritzker wrote on social media on Tuesday, “Being transgender has no bearing on their dedication to our nation or their commitment to their unit. Decisions like today’s aren’t just deeply concerning, they set our armed forces back.”

He recently sent out a release inviting Canadians to visit Illinois after Trump has spent months lobbing insults and tariffs at the American ally.

Pritzker plans to sign an executive order protecting the state’s autism data after Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the head of the Department of Health and Human Services, said he would create a federal database of people with autism.

The governor also criticized Trump’s tariff policy, noting in an April 2 statement that Trump’s haphazard actions are a “tax on working families.”

Pritzker will testify before Congress in June to defend his provision of constitutional rights for migrants and other residents of the state.

Democratic leadership in Congress has had a hard time adjusting to Trump’s return to office. Some, like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have faced intense criticism for bending to Trump, approving his financial requests and voting for some of his nominees.

But along with others like New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Pritzker has been pushing back and asserting that Trump and his acolytes cannot operate unchecked.

Campaign Action

Vice President JD Vance’s brother is trying to make politics into the family business with a bid for mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio.

But in Tuesday’s primary, Vance’s half brother—Cory Bowman—got absolutely clobbered.

In the Cincinnati mayoral election, the two highest vote recipients—regardless of party ID—advance to the general election. In that sense, Bowman succeeded as he advanced alongside incumbent Democratic Mayor Aftab Pureval.

However, Pureval took a whopping 82.5% of the vote, while Bowman got just under 13%—a pitiful result that shows Bowman is set to get smoked in the general election this fall.

Bowman is an evangelical pastor.

Bowman did poorly even with an endorsement from his brother Vance, who on Tuesday tweeted a half-hearted endorsement of his younger bro.

“Hey Cincinnati! My brother Cory Bowman is running for mayor and is on the ballot today for the primary. He’s a good guy with a heart for serving his community. Get out there and vote for him!” Vance wrote.

That endorsement didn’t help much, as Bowman got just 2,894 votes.

Of course, winning in deeply blue Cincinnati would be a heavy lift for any Republican. The last time a GOP candidate held the mayorship in the city was in 1971.

However, it appears Bowman wasn’t even trying to win the race, with Politico reporting that Bowman—an evangelical pastor and coffee shop owner—barely campaigned in the city and instead spent his time on right-wing cable TV trying to raise his national profile and telling people that he’s JD Vance’s brother.

x

x
YouTube Video

“I think Cory Bowman came to the conclusion he wanted to run for something, and he picked literally the first thing that he saw,” University of Cincinnati political scientist David Niven told Politico. “As a Republican in Ohio, if he’d run for almost anything else, he’d be a potent candidate, but not as a mayor of Cincinnati. I do think this could be another win by losing scenario.”

According to Politico, Bowman barely knocked on doors seeking out voter support. And he skipped a debate hosted by the local NAACP chapter. The day before the debate, Bowman had posted a photo of himself meeting with a right-wing podcaster in Fort Lauderdale, Florida—1,100 miles away from the city he is apparently trying to be mayor of. 

Bowman has also never even voted in a mayoral election in the city, according to a report from the Cincinnati Enquirer, literally claiming ignorance.

“I think, like many people, you’re kind of ignorant to the fact that these local elections actually happen in the years that they do,” Bowman told the paper to defend the fact that he hadn’t voted in the city he’s trying to run. “That’s not me discrediting how important these elections are, but just getting over this mega election of the presidents and senators and representatives, and you’re thinking it’s only every four years or every two years, but then you start realizing, no, these city elections happen the year right after.”

Ultimately, after a dismal showing on Tuesday, Bowman seems undeterred—likely because his goal was never to win but to get in on the right-wing media grift. 

“My family and I are overwhelmed by the encouragement and support we’ve received over recent weeks, and we’re excited for all that will be accomplished in the months ahead,” Bowman wrote in an Instagram post. “Cincinnati, we love you!”

The feeling from Cincinnatians, it seems, is not mutual. 

Campaign Action

As Americans scramble to get their REAL IDs, passports, and other federally recognized identification before the May 7 deadline, Homeland Security officials are now saying not to worry—at least not yet.

In a congressional hearing Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told lawmakers that travelers without a REAL ID—or another compliant form of identification like a passport—“will be allowed to fly” as long as they submit to additional screening.

An example of a REAL ID from Kansas.

“What will happen tomorrow is folks will come through the line and … show [their ID],” Noem said. “If it’s not compliant, they may be diverted to a different line, have an extra step, but people will be allowed to fly.”

Agency officials said that roughly 81% of U.S. travelers already carry a compliant ID. If a driver’s license qualifies, it’ll typically have a black or gold star in the top right corner. Other acceptable forms include a Department of Defense ID, a Global Entry card, a green card, or a passport.

If travelers show up at airport checkpoints without one of these, they may face delays but not a full travel ban. 

“We will make sure it’s as seamless as possible,” Noem said.

REAL ID was originally set to be required at airports, military bases, and secure federal buildings, like courthouses, beginning Wednesday. The policy, recommended by the 9/11 Commission and signed into law in 2005, has been postponed repeatedly, most recently by former President Joe Biden, who extended the deadline for enforcement to May 7, 2025. And now it’s already showing signs of unraveling. 

So it’s fair to ask: What’s the point? 

You don’t need a REAL ID to drive, open a bank account, or vote. And despite years of planning, the rollout has been a mess.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has far more urgent aviation problems. Just last week, air traffic controllers briefly lost radar and radio contact with planes headed to Newark Liberty International Airport, triggering days of flight delays and cancellations. 

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem discusses the REAL ID rollout during a congressional hearing on May 6.

Beyond that, the Trump administration has no clear plan for fixing mounting air traffic control failures other than finger-pointing at Biden.

The REAL ID program has also drawn criticism from civil rights groups who warn that it will create a de facto national ID system by forcing states to share personal data with the federal government.

On Tuesday, Noem notably gave no timeline for when non-compliant IDs will be fully rejected.

And applying for a REAL ID isn’t exactly easy. At a minimum, applicants must provide a document showing their full legal name and date of birth, proof of address—via utility bill or bank statement—and documents verifying their identity and legal status, like a birth certificate or passport. All for a document that may or may not be required at the airport starting today.

Officials admit the rollout has caused confusion and could slow airport security lines, and TSA is now recommending that anyone traveling with only a standard driver’s license allow an extra hour to get through screening.

Just more bureaucratic red tape, less clarity, and still no sign that this actually makes flying safer.

Campaign Action

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy went on Fox News to blame President Joe Biden and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for aviation safety issues that have worsened under Donald Trump’s bumbling administration.

“The infrastructure bill under Joe Biden, $1.2 trillion,” Duffy told Fox News host Martha MacCallum. “They sent only $5 billion to fix air traffic control. And of the $5 billion, Pete Buttigieg spent less than $1 billion to fix this problem. Instead, he was focused on racist roads and changing the name of ‘cockpit’ to ‘flight deck’ or ‘air man’ to ‘aeronaut.’ Stupid stuff,” he babbled.

x

x
YouTube Video

That’s some choice spin from a guy who joined 179 other Republican House members in voting to defund the Federal Aviation Administration in 2019. Yes, the FAA is the agency tasked with keeping airplanes from crashing.

As recently as May 2, Duffy was trying to bribe retiring air traffic controllers to stay on the job, part of a desperate bid to stop the bleeding caused by the Trump administration’s chaotic purges of the federal government. But no one had high expectations for the former reality TV personality who is scarily unqualified for the job of transportation secretary—even if he did star in MTV’s “Road Rules.”

The FAA’s air traffic controller shortage has plagued the last half dozen presidential administrations. But the Biden administration launched a serious effort to fix it, funded by an infrastructure bill that more than 200 Republicans voted against. The money that Duffy claims went to “racist roads” has in fact been used to improve airport infrastructure across the country.

Related | Unqualified ex-Fox hosts lead response to deadly plane crash

The troubled transportation secretary’s latest Fox News appearance comes amid reports of serious technical problems and staff shortages at Newark Liberty International Airport, leading to safety concerns and massive delays for travelers. Duffy’s insistence that diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives are to blame for our country’s air traffic safety challenges parrots Trump’s offensive remarks blaming a January crash between a commercial airplane and an Army Black Hawk helicopter on DEI efforts including “dwarfism.” 

Since Trump returned to the White House in January, the shortage of air traffic controllers has only grown. That’s due in no small part to wholesale firings as well as the coerced resignation and retirement of federal workers—including important FAA safety specialists—initiated by Trump, his co-President Elon Musk, and their so-called Department of Government Efficiency. As with other essential government positions, the administration has been scrambling to rehire the very people it drove out.

It turns out that trying to run the United States the same way you ran a successful social media company right into the ground yields similarly poor results.

Campaign Action