Day 347
January 1, 2026
6 documented events
- Serious Rights Violation Civil Rights
Expanded travel ban takes effect
The full expanded travel ban takes effect. The New York Immigration Coalition estimates 420,000 New Yorkers are at risk, and civil rights organizations file additional legal challenges.
From: Expanded Travel Ban Targeting Up to 39 Countries, Predominantly Muslim and African Nations
- Serious Rights Violation Civil Rights
Implementation timeline begins
Early provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act begin implementation, including Medicaid work reporting requirements for expansion adults ages 19-64, with a compliance deadline of December 2026.
From: One Big Beautiful Bill: $1 Trillion in Medicaid Cuts and $295 Billion in SNAP Cuts
- Serious Rights Violation Civil Rights
Compliant states begin implementation
Despite court orders blocking key provisions, at least 15 states begin voluntarily implementing parts of the executive order. North Dakota ends grace periods for mail-in ballots; multiple states seek federal databases to check voter rolls for noncitizens.
From: Executive Order on Elections: Voter Suppression and Presidential Seizure of Election Administration
- Serious Rights Violation Federal Dismantlement
Federal workforce reduced by approximately 300,000 positions
Cumulative reporting establishes that approximately 300,000 federal positions have been eliminated or vacated through the combined effects of the Fork in the Road program, probationary firings, reductions in force, and attrition — a roughly 9% reduction of the federal civilian workforce.
From: DOGE-Directed Mass Firings and Forced Resignations of Federal Workers
- Serious Rights Violation Federal Dismantlement
DHS begins slashing FEMA disaster response staff
CNN reports that DHS begins cutting FEMA disaster response staff as 2026 begins. The workforce has already dropped from 29,000 to approximately 23,000.
From: FEMA Dismantlement — Budget Cuts, Mass Layoffs, and Destruction of Disaster Response Capacity
- Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern Deportation to Torture
WOLA reports on escalating detention deaths and DHS appropriations
The Washington Office on Latin America publishes its border update documenting the detention death toll and raising alarms about DHS funding and ICE warrant practices.
From: Record ICE Detention Deaths and Medical Care Payment Halt