WASHINGTON (OSV News) — Stock markets around the world and in the U.S. dropped in the days after President Donald Trump imposed a sweeping “reciprocal tariff” policy starting with a 10 percent baseline tariff on almost every country in the world.
The same week in Washington, the Trump administration acknowledged it mistakenly deported a Maryland man with protected legal status to an El Salvador prison, but argued against his return to the U.S. Lawmakers also introduced a bill that would protest the imprisonment of prominent Hong Kong Catholic, philanthropist and media mogul Jimmy Lai.
Former Vice President Mike Pence will receive the 2025 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum announced.
Stocks tumble after Trump imposes tariffs on nearly every country
In an April 2 event the White House billed as “Liberation Day,” Trump said, “it’s our declaration of economic independence,” arguing goods produced in other countries have “taken so much of our wealth away from us.”
Tariffs, or a tax imposed by a government on imported goods, will raise consumer prices on many products, economists project.
Global markets dipped in response to the announcement, as investors worried about the impact of higher taxes on imports.
The White House said Trump is “the first President in modern history to stand strong for hardworking Americans by asking other countries to follow the golden rule on trade: Treat us like we treat you.”
However, the Golden Rule, based on Matthew 7:12, is “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” a fundamental foundation of Christian ethics and a directive to treat others with the love of Christ.
Man’s inclusion in deportation to El Salvador prison was ‘administrative error,’ court docs say
Although a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official acknowledged in court filings there was an “administrative error” in sending a Maryland man to a prison in El Salvador, the Trump administration is not seeking his return to the U.S., the man’s lawyer said in court documents.
In March, Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act for the first time since World War II, granting himself broad authority under a wartime law to deport people allegedly associated with a Venezuelan gang, and the administration later deported a group of noncitizens it alleged were members of Tren de Aragua to a notorious El Salvador prison.
However, lawyers for Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, who is married to a U.S. citizen and has a 5-year-old child, and who was among that number of deportees, said there is no evidence he is in that gang and has legal status to be in the U.S. Abrego Garcia was never charged with, or convicted of, being in a gang.
“This is an outrageous set of facts,” Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, the attorney representing Abrego Garcia said in a court filing. “If Defendants’ actions in this case are allowed to remain without redress, then the withholding of removal statute and orders of immigration courts are meaningless, because the government can deport whomever they want, wherever they want, whenever they want, and no court can do anything about it once it’s done.”
But although the government acknowledged the error in sending him, they argued that because Abrego Garcia is no longer in U.S. custody, the court has no jurisdiction to order his return to the U.S.
Pence to receive John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award
Pence will be presented with the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in May “for putting his life and career on the line to ensure the constitutional transfer of presidential power on January 6, 2021,” the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum announced April 3.
The award is presented annually to public servants “for making a courageous decision of conscience,” the late president’s memorial foundation said, “without regard for the personal or professional consequences.” Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of the late president, and her son, Jack Schlossberg, will present the award.
“Political courage is not outdated in the United States,” Kennedy and Schlossberg said in a joint statement, adding, “Despite our political differences, it is hard to imagine an act of greater consequence than Vice President Pence’s decision to certify the 2020 presidential election during an attack on the U.S. Capitol. Upholding his oath to the Constitution and following his conscience, the Vice President put his life, career, and political future on the line. His decision is an example of President Kennedy’s belief that an act of political courage can change the course of history.”
Pence said in a statement he is “deeply humbled and honored” to be the recipient of the award.
“I have been inspired by the life and words of President John F. Kennedy since my youth and am honored to join the company of so many distinguished Americans who have received this recognition in the past,” he said.
‘Jimmy Lai Way’ would protest Hong Kong Catholic’s imprisonment
A bipartisan group of House lawmakers have reintroduced the “Jimmy Lai Way Act” (H.R. 2522), which would rename the street in front of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Washington as “Jimmy Lai Way” in honor of the jailed democracy advocate. The trade office represents the Hong Kong government in the nation’s capital.
Lai, who founded the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, protested in favor of democratic freedoms including freedom of the press and expression in Hong Kong, which was designated a Special Administrative Region of China in 1997, when British rule of that region ended after more than 150 years. Following pro-democracy protests in 2019, China implemented a purported national security law the next year, which critics have said has been used to silence the Chinese Communist Party’s critics.
Under that law, Lai was arrested in August 2020 and has been imprisoned since December 2020. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and faces life in prison. U.S. lawmakers have called those charges bogus and argued they are evidence that the Chinese Communist Party is seeking to silence dissent.
Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., the bill’s sponsor, said in an April 1 statement, “By renaming the street in honor of Jimmy Lai, we show solidarity and offer our continued support for this champion of democracy and human rights and all those in Hong Kong arbitrarily detained simply for exercising rights the Chinese Communist Party guaranteed them in an international treaty.”
“Yesterday’s sanctions underscore that freedom for the people of Hong Kong is a priority for the Trump Administration. President Trump boldly promised to gain Jimmy Lai’s release raising the stakes for the Hong Kong and Beijing governments,” he added.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., ranking member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, said in a statement, “More than four years ago, Jimmy Lai, a champion of press freedom and democracy, was unjustly imprisoned by the Hong Kong authorities at the behest of their autocratic overseers, the Chinese Communist Party.”
“Renaming this intersection in the District of Columbia in Mr. Lai’s honor is a powerful symbol of our commitment to free speech and the rule of law and reminds the CCP that the world will hold them accountable for their continuing assault on human rights and individual liberty in Hong Kong and beyond,” Krishnamoorthi said.
CLINIC calls cuts to citizenship program ‘a devastating, foolish decision’
After the Trump administration cut a grant program helping immigrants prepare for citizenship, Catholic immigration advocates expressed concern.
The Department of Homeland Security canceled the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program, which has made awards to affiliates of Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc., or CLINIC.
“Stripping funding for these incredibly useful, necessary programs is a devastating, foolish decision,” Anna Gallagher, CLINIC’s executive director, said in an April 4 statement. “English and U.S. civics classes, along with application assistance, help hardworking immigrants navigate the costly, complex path to U.S. citizenship — allowing them to contribute even more to our society. Without these programs, the bar becomes too high for too many. Naturalized citizens enrich our country as community members, business owners, and neighbors. Why make it harder for them to succeed?”
A senior DHS official said in a statement to The Washington Post that the cut was in response to a directive from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to “restrict grant funding to sanctuary cities,”
“Taxpayer funded programs that … support, or have the potential to support, illegal immigration through funding illegal activities or support for illegal aliens are out of step with the President and Secretary Noem’s priorities as well as common sense,” the official said. “The gravy train is over.”
But CLINIC said its affiliate organizations have been among the awardees of this grant program since 2009, which has helped more than 300,000 permanent residents prepare for citizenship over the past 15 years. In 2024, 14 CLINIC affiliates were selected for funding.
“Without community-based programs to turn to for help, many low-income immigrants will simply not be able to apply for citizenship,” Luis Guerra, director of field engagement at CLINIC, said. “These programs broke down financial and logistical barriers to citizenship. Many people can’t afford the application fee itself – how will they find or afford English classes or legal assistance on top of that? Without funding for these programs, citizenship becomes more and more a benefit only for the rich. CLINIC stands against that reality, and we will do everything we can to help our Affiliates serving those applying for citizenship.”
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