Good evening. I’m British Chris, and this is Raw America.
A federal judge just struck down Trump’s fee for foreign workers as an unconstitutional tax. Border czar Tom Homan is threatening to flood New York City with ICE agents; San Antonio Spurs star De’Aaron Fox is calling out the president over attending the NBA Finals tonight at Madison Square Garden. And a federal lawsuit is trying to stop what critics are calling a “deeply corrupt” UFC cage fight on the White House lawn.
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Judge Throws Out Key Plank of Trump’s Immigration Agenda
A federal judge in Massachusetts just tossed Trump’s $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications, ruling it violated both the Administrative Procedure Act and the U.S. Constitution.
Judge Leo Sorokin, who was appointed by Barack Obama, sided with a coalition of 20 states, agreeing that the fee was effectively a tax and that Congress had never given the executive branch the authority to impose it.
The H-1B program has been around since 1990. Tech companies rely on it heavily to bring in specialized workers from overseas. Before Trump’s proclamation of the new fees last September, application fees ran between two and five thousand dollars. The administration jacked that up to $100,000 specifically to restrict the program, claiming it had been used to replace American workers.
Judge Sorokin’s reasoning was simple: You can’t just impose a massive new tax on employers without congressional approval and call it something else.
The White House says it will appeal the ruling, pointing to a separate decision from a judge in Washington that upheld a similar order. So this fight isn’t over. But for now, one of the core pillars of Trump’s immigration crackdown is on hold.
Trump’s Border Chief Issues Ominous Warning to New Yorkers
Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, issued a blunt warning to New York City on Monday, saying a massive surge of ICE agents is on its way to the Big Apple. Homan didn’t give an exact date, but did say on Fox News that New Yorkers would soon see “more ICE than you’ve ever seen,” adding, “it’s coming.”
He referred to an operational plan he reviewed, and said he warned Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul privately before she signed a bill last month restricting ICE operations in the state and banning masked agents from conducting arrests.
Homan’s argument is that it’s easier for agents to pick people up from jails than from the broader community, and that Hochul’s new law makes that harder. His message to her was that should she block ICE from arresting people in police custody, he would flood the streets with ICEagents instead.
The administration has made similar threats before without always following through in New York specifically. But regardless of whether ICE plans to swarm New York the way it descended on Minneapolis and Los Angeles, the threat itself is the point. It’s a political weapon aimed directly at local officials who push back against the federal government.
San Antonio Spurs Player Criticizes Trump’s Attendance of NBA Finals
Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox had some choice words for Donald Trump on Monday about his decision to attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden.
Fox didn’t strike a hostile tone, but was blunt about what Trump’s attendance meant even for the players on the court, saying it makes it “ inconvenient on everybody else.” He told reporters he and his teammates were being screened like they were going through TSA, and that their buses have had to arrive much earlier than normal to accommodate the Secret Service.
A reporter noted that Secret Service agents confiscated his chapstick lid. Fox laughed it off, but his point stood. The presidential visit has turned a basketball game into a nightmare for players on both teams, as well as fans. The Knicks announced a strict no-bag policy, TSA-style screenings, and urged fans to arrive two hours early. A watch party outside MSG, the first chance fans would’ve had to gather outside for a home Finals game since 1999, got canceled.
Trump’s response to fans priced out of tickets? “Watch it on television. That’s the way life goes.”
ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith was more direct, saying: “I don’t want him there,” saying the president was “disrupting and contributing to the chaos.” He even called Trump’s decision to attend the game “selfish” and “narcissistic.”
Keep in mind, Trump skipped his own son’s wedding over Memorial Day weekend to attend back-to-back Knicks home games at the invitation of team owner James Dolan. The optics of a president telling fans priced out of attending the Finals to just watch the game on TV, while the Iran war drags on and living costs keep climbing, aren’t great.
Lawsuit Aims to Stop ‘Deeply Corrupt’ White House UFC Fight
A federal lawsuit is trying to stop Trump from hosting a UFC fight on the White House lawn this Sunday.
The event is called “UFC Freedom 250.” It’s timed to coincide with America’s 250th anniversary and Trump’s 80th birthday. UFC CEO Dana White is a close friend and political ally of the president who introduced Trump at the Republican National Convention in 2024.
The lawsuit, filed by the Public Integrity Project on behalf of two Virginia residents, argues that Trump is handing White and the UFC something no private company has ever had: the White House and the Lincoln Memorial as a promotional platform for a for-profit sporting event.
The lawsuit further notes that Trump disclosed owning between $15,000 and $50,000 in stock in the UFC’s parent company while actively promoting the event.
Lawyer Brendan Ballou called the fight “a profoundly corrupt scheme to enrich the President and his friends.” He added that America’s national monuments “will become little more than branding opportunities for the rich and well-connected” if the fight is allowed to move forward.
Winning in court will be a tough lift. The National Park Service answers to the president, which means the administration can change whatever rules get in the way. A federal judge did ask both sides Monday to propose a hearing schedule, so there’s a legal process moving. But the cage is already being built.
Democrats are tying this to a broader pattern of the president treating public spaces as his personal property. There’s a legal fight over the demolition of the White House East Wing to build a 90,000 square-foot ballroom. He also wants to build a 250-foot arch right next to Arlington National Cemetery. Democratic Senator Adam Schiff laid it all out in blunt terms, saying: “Trump is building a golden ballroom, and for his birthday arranging a UFC fight on the White House grounds, while you’re fighting to pay this month’s bills.”
His point is valid: Americans are dealing with a war in the Middle East, high gas prices, and rising costs across the board. Meanwhile the president is holding a cage fight on his front lawn.
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Thanks for watching. I’m British Chris. We’ll see you tomorrow.
STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:
Trump Demands Firing of Senate Parliamentarian in Order to Pass SAVE Act. President Donald Trump on Monday called on Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to fire Elizabeth MacDonough, who is the U.S. Senate’s nonpartisan parliamentarian who decides the legality of procedures used to pass legislation. MacDonough previously ruled that the SAVE Act — which would require all Americans to show proof of U.S. citizenship in order to vote despite the statistical insignificance of non-citizen voting — didn’t meet the requirements to be included in the budget reconciliation process, which allows the Senate to bypass a filibuster. MacDonough serves at the pleasure of the Senate majority leader, though Thune has so far refused to fire her.
RFK Jr. Missing in Action as Health Secretary Despite Numerous Health Crises. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is reportedly “checked out” of his Senate-confirmed job as the nation’s top health officer despite multiple pressing health crises. The New York Times reported Monday that Kennedy has been barely present at HHS despite the ongoing Ebola outbreak, and that while he rarely attends monthly meetings of HHS department heads, the meetings he does attend he spends most of his time scrolling on his phone.
Stephen A. Smith Calls Trump ‘Narcissistic’ for Attending NBA Finals. ESPN commentator and lifelong New York Knicks fan Stephen A. Smith unleashed on President Trump during Monday’s episode of “First Take.” Smith called the president “selfish” and “narcissistic” for attending Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden, which has led to the Secret Service setting up a 14-block security perimeter and subjecting players, media and fans to hours of waiting to enter Madison Square Garden due to enhanced security measures.
Kennedy Center Quietly Removes Trump’s Name from Its Website. Washington D.C.’s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Monday scrubbed President Trump’s name from its official website, as part of the ongoing effort to undo Trump adding his name to the vaunted cultural institution late last year. The removal comes in response to a federal judge ruing that Trump illegally added his name, given that any official name change has to first be authorized by Congress. The Kennedy Center circulated a memo instructing employees to remove all references to Trump by June 12, which includes the facade of the building as well as the website, social media accounts, letterhead, voicemail, promotional brochures and other signage.
Convicted Crypto Kingpin Sam Bankman-Fried Officially Asks Trump for Pardon. Cryptocurrency baron Sam Bankman-Fried — who was sentenced in 2024 to a 25-year prison sentence along with a court-ordered forfeiture of $11 billion — is now formally asking President Trump for a pardon. Bankman-Fried’s company FTX was found to have misappropriated billions of customer dollars for the CEO’s own personal use. Trump has hinted at issuing a raft of pardons this summer to coincide with both his 80th birthday and the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
