This week’s federal policy update highlights major developments affecting trade, immigration, public benefits, health policy, and free speech. These updates show shifting federal authority across economic, immigration, civil liberties, and health issues.
Affordable Care Act Subsidies Update: There is still no movement in the Senate on ACA premium tax credits—leaving millions of families at risk of higher health insurance costs. That makes your voice even more critical. Contact your Senators today and remind them why protecting ACA tax credits matters. Click HERE to take action.
Supreme Court Limits Use of Emergency Powers to Enforce Broad Tariffs
Earlier today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6–3 that President Trump exceeded his authority under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act when he imposed sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs on certain goods from Canada, China, and Mexico. The decision blocks those tariffs but leaves others, including steel and aluminum tariffs enacted under different laws, in place. The ruling limits the use of emergency powers to reshape trade policy without clearer authorization from Congress.
DHS Operations Partially Paused as Funding Talks Stall
The partial shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues after Congress failed to reach a funding agreement by the February 14 deadline. The dispute centers on whether new funding should include limits on immigration enforcement. Many DHS employees are working without pay, and some administrative functions are paused. FEMA has suspended certain disaster response deployments, even though disaster relief funds remain available. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection continue operating, supported in part by prior appropriations, including approximately $170 billion for immigration enforcement provided in last year’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
The administration has previously redirected congressionally appropriated funds in other contexts, despite raising questions about the legality of such reallocations, but has not done so in this context.
Protections for Refugees Pending Adjustment Eliminated
The Department of Homeland Security issued a February 18 memo directing immigration officers to arrest and detain refugees who have not applied for lawful permanent resident status within one year, rescinding longstanding protections that previously treated delayed adjustment as an administrative matter. Disclosed in ongoing Minnesota litigation, the guidance interprets the Immigration and Nationality Act as authorizing DHS to take refugees into custody for additional interviews on fraud, public safety, and national security, including those with pending green-card applications.
Approximately 100,000 recently admitted refugees could be affected, many of whom face language, mailing, or processing barriers. Under the policy, refugees may be detained, transported out of state, and re-screened, removing safeguards for individuals admitted after fleeing violent conflict or persecution and usually undergoing years of vetting before being admitted into the country. Legal challenges are expected, as implementation would increase removal risk and raise concerns about U.S. laws protecting refugees from serious harm.
DHS to Investigate Voting by Naturalized Citizens
The Department of Homeland Security, at the direction of the White House, has launched a nationwide initiative targeting voting by immigrants prior to naturalization, extending investigations to conduct by naturalized citizens before they became citizens. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents are now required to review both open and closed cases and report instances where charges were not brought, and the effort may include individuals who were mistakenly added to voter rolls or registered in error but never voted.
Evidence demonstrates that incidents of noncitizens voting are essentially nonexistent, but the program could intimidate immigrant communities, create confusion about legal participation, and suppress turnout among naturalized citizens. The initiative is coordinated by senior administration officials, including top Justice Department and HSI appointees, and is focused on potential legal violations identified by the administration including potential denaturalization or criminal charges; in practice, such efforts would face extremely high legal standards and are unlikely to succeed against lawful voters.
Judge Blocks Effort to Force States to Share Detailed SNAP Applicant Data
A U.S. District Court ruled that the Trump administration cannot require states to hand over detailed data on SNAP applicants and recipients, including immigration status information. The dispute began after 22 states sued to block a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) policy expanding data-sharing requirements. A court previously halted enforcement, but USDA later warned it would withhold certain administrative reimbursements if states refused to comply, arguing its updated demands were not covered by the earlier order.
Federal officials defended their request by arguing that the data is needed to prevent fraud. The states suing argued the data could expose sensitive personal and immigration-related data and violate privacy protections.
The tentative ruling limits federal access to this data while litigation continues. SNAP serves about 42 million people nationwide.
FDA Reopens Review of Moderna’s mRNA Flu Vaccine After Public Dispute
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is resuming review of Moderna’s new mRNA-based flu vaccine after briefly pausing the application with a rare “refusal to file” letter. The submission relied on a 40,000-person trial showing greater effectiveness in adults age 50 and older than a standard flu shot. The FDA did not cite safety concerns and has set an August 5 decision date. Any delay could affect vaccine availability ahead of the next flu season, particularly for older adults at higher risk. As a compromise, Moderna is now only seeking full approval for adults 50–64 and accelerated approval for those 65 and older, with a required post-market study.
Vaccine applications are typically evaluated by career scientific staff using established review standards. Under the current administration, those processes are sometimes followed, but at other times decisions appear to reflect political or ideological considerations, particularly under leadership that has questioned elements of mainstream vaccine consensus. This has contributed to greater public confusion and reduced confidence in health guidance. The outcome may also have implications for ongoing and future mRNA research, including investment and regulatory strategy across the biotechnology sector.
Another Judicial Setback for Deportation Efforts Targeting Campus Activism
An immigration judge terminated the administration’s deportation case against Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian graduate student and lawful permanent resident. The judge found that the government had not met procedural requirements in pursuing removal based on his speech related to protests at Columbia University about the genocide in Palestine. The case centered on his protected expression and not on any criminal allegation.
Mahdawi, who has held a green card for about a decade, was arrested during a citizenship interview last April and later released through separate federal court proceedings challenging his detention. The administration has argued that noncitizens may be removed if their presence is deemed to “undermine U.S. foreign policy interests.” The ruling ends the current removal case, though the government may refile. The matter and similar cases continue chilling speech and raising broader concerns about the use of immigration enforcement in response to constitutionally protected speech, especially related to Palestine.