A federal judge on Friday blocked President Donald Trump’s attempt to overhaul elections in the U.S., siding with a group of Democratic state attorneys general who challenged the effort as unconstitutional.

The Republican president’s March 25 executive order sought to compel officials to require documentary proof of citizenship for everyone registering to vote for federal elections, accept only mailed ballots received by Election Day and condition federal election grant funding on states adhering to the new ballot deadline.

The attorneys general had argued the directive “usurps the States’ constitutional power and seeks to amend election law by fiat.” The White House had defended the order as “standing up for free, fair and honest elections” and called proof of citizenship a “commonsense” requirement.

Judge Denise J. Casper of the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts said in Friday’s order that the states had a likelihood of success as to their legal challenges.

“The Constitution does not grant the President any specific powers over elections,” Casper wrote.

Columbia protester to remain detained

The Trump administration said Friday that it will continue to detain Columbia University protester Mahmoud Khalil, after a federal judge ruled that he could not be held based on the U.S. secretary of state’s determination that he could harm American foreign policy.

The government said in a filing that it is instead holding Khalil, a legal U.S. resident, at an immigration lockup on allegations that he lied on his green card application.

In a letter to U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz in New Jersey, Khalil’s lawyers said the government hasn’t shown any other grounds to keep detaining Khalil other than reasons Farbiarz has already rejected.

They also said Khalil satisfied all of the court’s requirements to go free and that the government’s lawyers missed a Friday morning deadline to challenge the judge’s Wednesday ruling ordering Khalil be set free.

“The deadline has come and gone and Mahmoud Khalil must be released immediately,” his lawyers said in a statement provided by the American Civil Liberties Union, which is among the groups representing him. “Anything further is an attempt to prolong his unconstitutional, arbitrary, and cruel detention.”

The judge said in his Wednesday ruling that he found it “overwhelmingly likely” that Khalil would not be held solely on the allegation of errors on his green card application,

But in its filing Friday, the government argued that the judge never said it would be “unlawful” to hold Khalil for that reason and that it plans to keep him in detention on the grounds that he gave inaccurate information on his green card form.

Medicaid data released to DHS

President Donald Trump’s administration this week provided deportation officials with personal data -- including the immigration status -- on millions of Medicaid enrollees, a move that could make it easier to locate people as part of his sweeping immigration crackdown.

An internal memo and emails obtained by The Associated Press show that Medicaid officials unsuccessfully sought to block the data transfer, citing legal and ethical concerns.

Nevertheless, two top advisers to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ordered the dataset handed over to the Department of Homeland Security, the emails show. Officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services were given just 54 minutes on Tuesday to comply with the directive.

The dataset includes the information of people living in California, Illinois, Washington state and Washington, D.C., all of which allow non-U.S. citizens to enroll in Medicaid programs that pay for their expenses using only state taxpayer dollars. CMS transferred the information just as the Trump administration was ramping up its enforcement efforts in Southern California.

Judge blocks firing of consumer panel members

A federal judge has blocked the terminations of three Democratic members of the Consumer Product Safety Commission after they were fired by President Donald Trump in his effort to assert more power over independent federal agencies.

The commission helps protect consumers from dangerous products by issuing recalls, suing errant companies and more. Trump announced last month his decision to fire the three Democrats on the five-member commission. They were serving seven-year terms after being nominated by President Joe Biden.

After suing the Trump administration last month, the fired commissioners received a ruling in their favor Friday; it will likely be appealed.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued the case was clearcut. Federal statute states that the president can fire commissioners “for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office but for no other cause” — allegations that have not been made against the commissioners in question.

But attorneys for the Trump administration assert that the statute is unconstitutional because the president’s authority extends to dismissing federal employees who “exercise significant executive power,” according to court filings.

U.S. District Judge Matthew Maddox agreed with the plaintiffs, declaring their dismissals unlawful.

Judge puts State Dept. layoff plans on hold

A federal judge in California ordered the State Department to temporarily hold off on firing nearly 1,900 employees on Saturday as planned.

The judge, Susan Illston of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, had previously ordered about 20 agencies across the government to pause planned layoffs while a case challenging them proceeds.

But the State Department had argued that the order did not apply to its planned reductions and was moving forward as early as this weekend with layoff notifications.

Those employees would have likely been placed on paid leave for several weeks until they were officially terminated.

Before Illston issued her order in early May, the State Department had notified about 50 employees in its Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference office that they would be laid off. Since then, the employees have been on paid leave and were expecting to be formally terminated in the coming days. Illston told the government that if the State Department moved forward with those plans, it would be a violation of her order.

Alexander Resar, an assistant U.S. attorney, told the judge Friday afternoon that the notifications will not be sent on Saturday.

Unions and organizations behind the lawsuit requested an emergency status hearing this month after learning that the State Department planned to move forward with its layoffs and that the Department of Housing and Urban Development had laid off nearly 80 employees after Illston issued the pause.

On Friday, Illston said she needed more information about the department’s plans before she could decide whether it had violated her order.

The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to block Illston’s order, but the court has not issued a ruling.

Judge blocks placing ICE agents in NYC jail

A judge blocked New York City’s mayor from letting federal immigration authorities reopen an office at the city’s main jail, in part because of concerns the mayor invited them back in as part of a deal with the Trump administration to end his corruption case.

New York Judge Mary Rosado’s decision Friday is a setback for Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, who issued an executive order permitting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies to maintain office space at the Rikers Island jail complex. City lawmakers filed a lawsuit in April accusing Adams of entering into a “corrupt quid pro quo bargain” with the Trump administration in exchange for the U.S. Justice Department dropping criminal charges against him.

Rosado temporarily blocked the executive order in April. In granting a preliminary injunction, she said city council members have “shown a likelihood of success in demonstrating, at minimum, the appearance of a quid pro quo whereby Mayor Adams publicly agreed to bring Immigration and Customs Enforcement (”ICE”) back to Rikers Island in exchange for dismissal of his criminal charges.”

— From news services