1/ Trump pressured Kirstjen Nielsen into busing detained immigrants to “sanctuary cities� located in the congressional districts of Democratic members of Congress. The plan was first raised in a Nov. 16, 2018, email asking whether members of a migrant caravan could be arrested when they reached the border and then transported “to small- and mid-sized sanctuary cities� where local officials have refused to cooperate with ICE. The White House claimed that the proposal would free up ICE detention space, as well as send a message to Democrats. One top official responded to the plan by pointing out budgetary and liability concerns, as well as the “PR risks.� The White House called the proposal a “nonstory� and said “this was just a suggestion that was floated and rejected, which ended any further discussion.� (Washington Post / CNN / New York Times)

2/ Trump – contradicting his own administration – confirmed that he is “giving strong consideration� to releasing detained undocumented immigrants in Democratic “sanctuary cities,� suggesting that it should make liberals “very happy� because of their immigration policies. Trump’s tweets come after both the White House and Department of Homeland Security said they rejected the plan when it was floated in November and again in February, because it’d be “so illegal.� The new push comes as Trump has empowered senior adviser Stephen Miller to lead the administration’s immigration policy. Miller reportedly wants to create tent cities at the border to house migrants and detain migrant children beyond the current 20-day limit imposed by a federal judge. The goal is to force migrant parents to choose between splitting from their children or remaining together indefinitely in detention while awaiting court proceedings. (New York Times / CNN / Washington Post / NBC News / Politico / Wall Street Journal / ABC News)

3/ Trump promised to pardon the Customs and Border Protection Commissioner if he were sent to jail for blocking asylum seekers from entering the U.S. in defiance of U.S. law. Two days later, Trump promoted Kevin McAleenan to acting secretary of homeland security after pressuring Nielsen to submit her resignation. Nielsen previously refused to close the border, telling Trump it was illegal. A few days prior to the encounter with McAleenan, Trump backtracked from his thread to close the border, s...