Blocking mass layoffs of federal workers.
A district court blocked the Trump-Vance administration from conducting an unlawful government-wide reorganization and mass layoffs of federal workers during the government shutdown. The court granted a temporary restraining order after multiple federal agencies issued “reduction in force” notices to over 4,100 civil servants. The court also found evidence that the firings appear to be politically motivated. Democracy Forward Foundation, Altshuler Berzon LLP, and the Democracy Defenders Fund represent the plaintiffs, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), AFGE Local 1236, AFGE Local 3172, and American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees.

Ensuring services reach vulnerable populations. A federal court issued a preliminary injunction, blocking the Trump-Vance administration from threatening inclusive service providers with funding cuts. Following Executive Orders 14151, 14173, and 14168, which claim to redefine the federal government’s policy position on civil rights, including diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and gender, the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Housing and Urban Development attempted to impose conditions on grantees that provide services that do not align with these new policies. Democracy Forward Foundation, Jacobson Lawyers Group, National Women’s Law Center, Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island, and the ACLU Foundation of Rhode Island represent the plaintiffs, who are a coalition of domestic violence, sexual assault, housing, youth, and homelessness organizations.

Restoring legal counsel for unaccompanied migrant children. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Trump-Vance administration’s motion to revisit a district court order, which had stopped the administration from cutting funding for a program that provides legal representation for unaccompanied minors during immigration proceedings. The order keeps a district court’s preliminary injunction from April in place. Immigrant Defenders Law Center, Justice Action Center, and Amica Center for Immigrant Rights represent a coalition of immigration nonprofits, including Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto, Social Justice Collaborative, and National Immigrant Justice Center, among others, in the case.

Blocking federalized National Guard deployment in Illinois. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals permitted the Trump-Vance administration’s effort to federal National Guard troops in Illinois, but affirmed the district court’s temporary restraining order that prevents deployment of the troops into Chicago or elsewhere in the state. Per the order, the National Guard troops may remain stationed at the U.S. Army Reserve Center in Elwood, Illinois. The Seventh Circuit then further affirmed the decision by extending that order and denying the administration’s request for a temporary pause while the appeal is pending.

Edited 10-17-2025 10:42 AM