Politics and views in the United States

The Supreme Court will let Trump deport Haitians and Syrians. The House Freedom Caucus halts business to force through the SAVE America Act. and Ron DeSantis closes Alligator Alcatraz, citing costs.

Transcript

Welcome to 2026 Talks, where we're following our democracy in historic times.

The Supreme Court's decision means that many, many people are going to die violent, needless deaths.

That's the bottom line.

Attorney Jeff Pippoly is apologizing to Springfield, Ohio's Haitian community for the Supreme Court's Mullen v. Doe decision.

The 6-3 ruling removes Haitian and Syrian immigrants from the Temporary Protected Status Program, which lets refugees stay in the U.S. until it's deemed safe for them to return home.

The decision says the law creating the TPS program bars courts from reviewing executive branch decisions about that.

According to human rights groups, armed gangs control Port-au-Prince.

The UN says there have been more than 2,000 gang killings and about 100 kidnappings in Haiti this year.

The high court also ruled in favor of Roundup maker Monsanto, saying lawsuits brought under state laws that hold the company liable for not warning consumers about cancer risks are barred due to federal pesticide regulations.

While the EPA says this chemical is safe, the World Health Organization classifies glyphosate as probably carcinogenic to humans.

The White House has supported Monsanto, and Shaughnessy Naughton with 314 Action says that violates the Make America Healthy Again philosophy.

Robert Kennedy Jr. built his reputation suing Monsanto on behalf of patients who think they had cancer from their products and promised to ban glyphosate, and he didn't do that.

A Massachusetts federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump's executive order restricting mail-in voting.

District Judge Indira Talwani is stopping federal agencies from implementing the order, saying parts of it were, quote, legally void for exceeding presidential power and encroaching on states' rights.

A related fight is underway in the House, where hardline Republicans are vowing to block any legislation until the Senate passes the Save America Act.

South Carolina Congressman Ralph Norman calls the strict voter ID bill common sense.

You have to have documentary proof.

It requires reasonable accommodations for those who are disabled.

Bottom line, we want Americans picking who represents us at every level.

The bill would require a passport or birth certificate to vote or register.

It would create a national database of who can vote and strictly limit mail-in ballots.

Supporters say it cracks down on non-citizen voting, which all but never happens.

Critics call it a White House power grab that amounts to voter suppression.

Florida Democratic Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz says a better option would be giving local officials more resources.

Despite pleas for help from election officials, Republicans in Congress are starving them of the resources they need, slashing last year's already insufficient allocation by two-thirds, down to a measly $15 million.

After a year in operation, Florida's alligator Alcatraz is closing for good.

Soon after opening, it set off alarms for horrendous conditions similar to those found in other immigration prisons.

Noting its high costs, Governor Ron DeSantis says the prison was always supposed to be temporary.

It has helped remove many, many dangerous people from the street and get them out of not only the state of Florida, but the United States of America.

The detainees that were here are still in federal custody.

I'm Edwin J. Viera for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

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