Institute for Constitutional Advocacy & Protection

Motion: www.law.georgetown.edu/icap/wp-cont...

Legal advocates seek to halt CBP policy pressuring unaccompanied children to self-deport Legal advocates are asking a judge to stop U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents from urging unaccompanied immigrant children to voluntarily deport themselves.

CBP agents are threatening and coercing unaccompanied immigrant children to "voluntarily" return to their home countries, potentially facilitating a return to the danger and violence they initially sought refuge from. ICAP has filed a motion seeking to halt this unlawful practice. More here:

"...the American people are on the hook for these claims if liability is assessed against the government." –– ICAP's Rupa Bhattacharyya on the president's request for the federal government to pay him billions of dollars. Read the full article at the link below!

The argument will begin shortly: www.youtube.com/live/gU6Nxcx...

More on the case here! www.law.georgetown.edu/icap/our-wor...

Last year we challenged DHS's rescission of the policy that restricts immigration enforcement in sensitive locations, including places of worship. Today ICAP's Kelsi Corkran will argue in the DC Circuit in our continued defense of the religious rights and freedoms of millions of Americans.

Short Circuit 409 | Obviously Unconstitutional - Institute for Justice IJ’s Anya Bidwell interviews two civil rights lawyers for a wide-ranging conversation about what it’s like to litigate on behalf of people behind bars. She […]

In a recent episode of the podcast @shortcircuitij.bsky.social, ICAP's Elizabeth Cruikshank shares insights from her years of work litigating on behalf of people behind bars. Listen now!

Federal judge hears Minnesota's arguments for ending ICE surge A federal judge in Minnesota heard arguments on whether to expel ICE agents from the state and put an end to the Trump administration's sweeping immigration enforcement. The hearing comes as state and...

On Monday, a federal judge heard arguments on whether to expel ICE agents from Minnesota in an attempt to end the Trump administration's sweeping immigration enforcement. ICAP's Mary McCord joined @pbsnews.org to discuss the implications of this case and more. Listen now.

Federal judge hears Minnesota's arguments for ending ICE surge A federal judge in Minnesota heard arguments on whether to expel ICE agents from the state and put an end to the Trump administration's sweeping immigration enforcement. The hearing comes as state and...

Professor Mary McCord of @icapgeorgetown.bsky.social joined Geoff Bennett on @pbsnews.org to discuss Minnesota's legal challenge to ICE enforcement actions and Tenth Amendment questions around federal-state authority: https://to.pbs.org/4qMLXy6

What a Proper Investigation of Alex Pretti's Killing Would Look Like Former prosecutor in Criminal Section of DOJ Civil Rights analyzes evidence and need for proper investigation of Alex Pretti's killing.

Yesterday U.S. Border Patrol shot and killed Alex Pretti in the streets of Minneapolis. ICAP’s Julia Gegenheimer pulls from years of experience prosecuting law enforcement misconduct to detail what a proper investigation should look like. Read now:

Opening an Investigation of ICE Agent Who Killed Renee Good Analysis by a veteran of the Criminal Section of DOJ’s Civil Rights Division of the basis for investigation of ICE agent Jonathan Ross.

DOJ has more than enough evidence to investigate the ICE agent who shot and killed Renee Good. ICAP's Julia Gegenheimer breaks down what it would take to build that criminal case.

Read the full article here:

How SCOTUS Might Handle Trump’s Insurrection Act Gambit If Trump invokes it on this flimsy premise, he’s setting the stage for even worse abuses.

ICAP's Julia Gegenheimer recently joined Amicus host, @mjsdc.bsky.social, to discuss the remaining paths to justice after the killing of Renee Good and provide expert legal analysis on what happens when the DOJ abandons its duty.

Listen to the full episode here:

dot Gov '26: The Department of Justice The DOJ has been at the center of a swirl of major headlines in recent weeks.

ICYMI! ICAP's Mary McCord spoke with @npr.org 1A's Jenn White about what's happening in the Department of Justice. Listen now: the1a.org/segments/dot...

We’re breaking down the latest on Trump’s brazen Venezuela takeover—and what it means for the world—with Former Acting Assistant Attorney General Mary McCord.

Coffee with the Contrarians returns at 9:15am ET on Substack. Watch LIVE by subscribing for free: https://contrarian.substack.com/subscribe

The outstanding cases against the Trump administration The president's racked up 350 lawsuits so far.

Listen to ICAP's Mary McCord join Jenn White on @npr.org’s 1A today to talk about the year of litigation against the Trump Administration: the1a.org/segments/the...

Opinion | How the lessons of Jan. 6 are relevant this election year Mary McCord: We cannot ignore the false narratives that this administration seeks to rely on to suppress voting rights and public protest.

In case you missed Mary McCord's testimony at today's House Democrats' hearing, she summarized it in this op-ed:

Political violence didn't stop with Jan. 6
www.ms.now/opinion/jan-...

After January 6th: Setting the Record Straight on the Capitol Insurrection YouTube video by Rep. Jeffries

Today at 10 am ET! ICAP's Mary McCord will testify about political violence on the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection before Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Congressmember Bennie Thompson, and the House Democrats. The hearing will be live streamed here:

Listen now!

ICYMI: ICAP’s Mary McCord joined @democracydocket.com's @marcelias.bsky.social to talk about what’s happened to the DOJ she served in for more than 20 years:

We're pleased to have defeated the TN AG's petition for SCOTUS review in Fitzhugh v. Patton, a case involving the ability of pretrial detainees to challenge unlawful conditions of confinement. Read ICAP's opposition to review here:

ICAP Legal Director Rupa Bhattacharyya offered expert analysis on the potential misuse of the Justice Department's Judgment Fund in a recent The Hill article. Read the full article here:

Image of the New York Times Quote of the Day that reads: Nov. 18, 2025 “There is no pretense of evenhanded justice. That core principle is gone.” Mary McCord, who once oversaw the Justice Department’s national security division and is now a professor at Georgetown Law, on the president’s near-total success in subordinating the Justice Department to his will.

"There is no pretense of evenhanded justice. That core principle is gone." – ICAP's Mary McCord on the President's weaponization of the Department of Justice.

Read more here: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/p...

Today! RSVP for the event at the link below.

Upcoming! Monday at 5:30 pm ET, ICAP’s Mary McCord will be moderating a McCourt School of Public Policy discussion featuring Aaron C. Davis and Carol Leonnig, authors of the new book ‘Injustice’ at Georgetown University. RSVP for the in-person event: tinyurl.com/2u5u3wvt

Read our brief on behalf of the plaintiff couple:

ICAP is proud to have defeated Kim Davis's efforts to overrule Obergefell. SCOTUS's denial of review confirms that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry, and that Davis's denial of marriage licenses plainly violated that right. Love wins!

Opinion | How the Supreme Court Paved the Way for Revenge Prosecutions

The Supreme Court's immunity decision has enabled political prosecutions, ICAP's Mary McCord and her Main Justice cohost @weissmann.substack.com write for the NY Times:

What the Justice Department Should Do With Trump’s $230 Million Demand: Nothing Settling President Trump's legal claims outside a court of law should be a nonstarter for the Justice Department.

What should the Justice Department do with Trump's $230 Million demand? ICAP Legal Director Rupa Bhattacharyya draws from decades of experience in the DOJ to answer this question in @justiceconnection.bsky.social's Substack. Read the full article here:

What the Justice Department Should Do With Trump’s $230 Million Demand: Nothing Settling President Trump's legal claims outside a court of law should be a nonstarter for the Justice Department.

President Trump is demanding DOJ pay him $230M in taxpayer-funded restitution.

Rupa Bhattacharyya, who spent years as the head of a major torts office at DOJ, explains in our Substack why doing nothing is the department's best and only option:

Trump adviser turned critic John Bolton indicted over handling of classified documents A federal grand jury in Maryland indicted former national security adviser John Bolton on 18 charges of retaining and transmitting classified information to two of his relatives. Bolton served as U.N....

With the third indictment of a political enemy of the President, ICAP's Mary McCord provides her perspective on the charges against former national security adviser John Bolton on PBS Newshour in a brief discussion with Amna Nawaz. Watch the full clip here: www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...

YouTube video by MSNBC A dangerous precedent: U.S. troops deployed against American citizens

Wondering why the U.S. military is repeatedly being used against major American cities? Mary McCord dissects this troubling pattern at length with @chrislhayes.bsky.social on today's episode of "Why Is This Happening?"

The full episode is available now! www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_nV...