December 1, 2025 — Timeline

Dec 1

University of Alabama suspended two student magazines serving Black and female students, citing DOJ anti-DEI memo

On December 1, 2025, the University of Alabama told the editors of Alice Magazine, which covers women undergraduates, and Nineteen Fifty-Six Magazine, which covers Black undergraduates, that both publications would immediately stop, citing the university's interpretation of a July 2025 memo from Attorney General Pam Bondi offering non-binding anti-DEI compliance guidance. Former staff sued the university in March 2026, alleging the shutdown was unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination.

Censorship of protected expression

Dec 1

DOJ fired eight immigration judges at Manhattan's 26 Federal Plaza, including assistant chief judge

On December 1, 2025, the Trump administration abruptly fired eight immigration judges working at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan, including Assistant Chief Immigration Judge Amiena Khan, per two Justice Department officials cited by the New York Times. The court, a focal point of ICE courthouse arrests for months, was left severely understaffed as part of a nationwide purge that had already removed nearly 90 immigration judges over the prior year.

Attacks on judicial independence

Dec 1

Interior Department issued memo barring all bureaus from confirming deaths or injuries on public lands

In December 2025, the Department of the Interior issued an internal memo directing all bureaus and offices — including the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — not to confirm deaths, serious injuries, or "emotionally sensitive incidents" on federal public lands. The memo, obtained by The Washington Post and reported June 24, 2026, states "Interior shall not confirm a death" and routes all fatality information through the department's Office of Communications. Former NPS officials said the change reversed longstanding practice of quickly informing the public about fatal incidents to prevent further harm.

Dec 1

Texas Tech Chancellor Brandon Creighton ordered AI-screened review of course content on race, sex and gender identity

On December 1, 2025, Texas Tech University System Chancellor Brandon Creighton issued a memorandum requiring faculty across the system's five universities to disclose course materials touching on race, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity for mandatory Board of Regents review, with some professors reporting the system used an AI tool to prescreen syllabi and reading lists for flagged content before any human review took place. Creighton, who became chancellor in November 2025 after spending nearly two decades in the Texas Senate pushing similar restrictions, built the review process using new curriculum-oversight authority regents gained under a 2025 Texas law he authored.