In one of his final acts, Elijah Cummings signed subpoenas for immigration agencies
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
The late House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) was working right until the end, signing two subpoenas for documents related to an immigration policy change hours before he died.
The subpoenas are for documents connected to the Trump administration's decision to end the medical deferred action program, which protects immigrants with severe illnesses from deportation while they receive treatment. In September, a House Oversight subcommittee held a hearing on the matter, with recipients sharing their stories; one 16-year-old boy from Honduras said he would die if he had to go back, as the country does not offer medical treatment for his cystic fibrosis.
After public outrage, the decision to end the program was reversed, but lawmakers are still scrutinizing the administration's initial decision. A Democratic committee aide told CNN that staffers drove the subpoenas to Baltimore so Cummings could sign them, adding, "Chairman Cummings felt so strongly about the children, that he was going to fight until the end." The subpoenas were sent to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Wednesday afternoon. Cummings' death was announced early Thursday morning.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
How the FCC’s ‘equal time’ rule worksIn the Spotlight The law is at the heart of the Colbert-CBS conflict
-
What is the endgame in the DHS shutdown?Today’s Big Question Democrats want to rein in ICE’s immigration crackdown
-
‘Poor time management isn’t just an inconvenience’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Witkoff and Kushner tackle Ukraine, Iran in GenevaSpeed Read Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held negotiations aimed at securing a nuclear deal with Iran and an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine
-
Pentagon spokesperson forced out as DHS’s resignsSpeed Read Senior military adviser Col. David Butler was fired by Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin is resigning
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
