Mass Deport Bak

capt 1 26

MASSDEPORT126

belated? pjt 2025? TRIFECTA

see homan MASS DEPORT

SEE B3 BIG B BILL

SEE ICE DHS THREE

see RULE OF LAW courts 4 habeas

SEE PVT PRISON PIC

see baby jail

see miller 3

SEE LIE ALT FACT EARTH2 FOX

SEE MILITARIZATION POSSE COM MARTIAL LAW “LAW AND ORDER” BS

SEE PRESS SUPPRESS BARI WEISS 60 MIN CECOT

SEE STATE OF EXCEPTION EMERGENCY --> DICTATOR/FASCISM

// WAR ON TERROR

SEE INVASION // VIOLENT RHET = MYTH ELIM --> POLIT VIOLENCE MASS SHOOT

SEE GREAT REPLACEMENT THEORY GRT

SEE STUDENT SUPPRESSION RULE OF LAW

SEE GRT ILLEGAL

SEE TRUMP 18 hegseth dod

note invasion legal BS

SEE SHERIFF

see militia, proud boy?

LOST E JEAN CARROLL CASE?

AN 1 26

President Donald Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) is now deploying military lawyers to Minneapolis under the guise of aiding federal prosecutors, who are now overwhelmed by the number of cases they're struggling to navigate.

U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is not only arresting possible immigrants, but they're also taking Americans into custody, either for claims they're obstructing law enforcement (https://www.alternet.org/minneapolis-shooting-ice-2674892854/), or those they've mistaken for immigrants.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth asked the military to find "40 judge advocate general officers, from which 25 will be selected to serve as special assistant United States attorneys in Minneapolis," CNN reported Wednesday (https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/13/politics/pentagon-military-lawyers-minneapolis-immigration-crackdown).

Trump also intends to send 1,000 additional federal agents to aid the 2,000 agents already on the ground.

"Ideally, have significant experience in criminal prosecution, civil litigation, administrative law, immigration law, general litigation, or other related fields,” the request said, according to the report.

After the Justice Department was asked to target the family of Minneapolis mom Renee Nicole Good, (https://www.alternet.org/trump-smear-renee-good/) six prosecutors resigned, and three of those were top prosecutors from the Minnesota District (https://www.alternet.org/trump-minnesota-fraud-prosecutor/), the New York Times reported Tuesday. Not only is there an increase in arrests, but the local DOJ office is now experiencing a staffing shortage (https://www.alternet.org/doj-ice-minneapolis/).

Speaking to CNN about the Pentagon getting involved in matters inside the U.S., former deputy assistant attorney general at the Justice Department Elliot Williams said on a "basic level," it isn't out of the ordinary.

"At its most basic level, of course, it is common within the government for attorneys to be loaned to one place or another to surge when there just isn't a need," he began. "Look, the government, despite what everybody says about the government being too big, actually is quite understaffed in many areas, and lawyers in the immigration context are actually the government just needs more of them, regardless of where anybody is about this issue, you just don't have enough personnel."

What is not normal, he said, is that these are being sent in addition to a surge of 1,000 ICE agents while there are already 2,000 on the ground.

"What is remarkable is the backdrop to all of this (https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/world/federal-officer-who-shot-renee-good-in-hiding-report/ar-AA1UcSmd) with the deployments of personnel in Minneapolis, with sort of the boots on the ground, with this sort of surge in immigration enforcement, that's far greater than certainly I've seen at any point in my career, even having worked for ICE," said Williams, who worked for over four year at ICE as the assistant director for congressional relations.

"So simply putting lawyers someplace, not a big deal. But this world that we're in right now, absolutely remarkable," he added.

AN 1 26

The Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) administration provoked horror this week with the suggestion that the United States could be turned into a paradise if over a quarter of the people in the country were deported.

On Wednesday, the official social media account for the Department of Homeland Security posted a piece of artwork depicting a pink late-1960s Cadillac Eldorado parked on a bright, idyllic beach. Over the clear blue sky are the words “America after 100 million deportations.The post was captioned by the agency: “The peace of a nation no longer besieged by the third world.”

Social media users later discovered (https://x.com/i/birdwatch/n/2006830816836383138) that DHS had, ironically, stolen the image from the Japanese pop artist Hiroshi Nagai (https://pen-online.com/arts/hiroshi-nagais-sun-drenched-pop-paintings-pay-homage-to-california/) without giving credit.

It is hardly the first time the administration has used edgy and inflammatory social media posts to promote its agenda. But DHS has come under particular scrutiny for its style of communication, which often evokes (https://cssh.northeastern.edu/ethics/dhss-neo-nazi-memes-show-the-agency-for-what-it-is/) white nationalist rhetoric and symbolism.

Posts by the agency have cheered (https://immpolicytracking.org/policies/dhs-social-media-accounts-state-department-promote-remigration-a-term-associated-with-ethnic-cleansing/) “remigration,” a term that far-right parties in Europe have often used (https://time.com/7326233/trump-remigrate-homeland-security/) to describe the forced repatriation of nonwhite populations, including citizens. Other posts have referred to President Donald Trump’s “mass deportation” campaign as part of an effort to defend American “heritage” (https://x.com/DHSgov/status/1944875154745778525) and “culture.” (https://x.com/DHSgov/status/1952718231455592667)

The agency frequently evokes images of the American frontier and references “Manifest Destiny,” at times explicitly posting artwork glorifying the forced displacement of Native American populations.

An image by the agency, featuring a chiseled Uncle Sam calling on Americans to “REPORT ALL FOREIGN INVADERS,” was even directly sourced (https://english.elpais.com/usa/2025-06-12/supremacist-propaganda-at-the-white-house-help-your-country-report-foreign-invaders.html) from an overt neo-Nazi account.

The agency has only continued to double down in the face of criticism this week. On Friday, it posted (https://x.com/DHSgov/status/2006512615732949098) that “2026 will be the year of American Supremacy” over an image of then-Gen. George Washington crossing the Delaware River, which was emblazoned with the words “Return this Land,” a possible reference (https://www.splcenter.org/resources/hatewatch/inside-return-land-new-group-legalize-segregation/) to a recently-founded “whites-only” town in rural Arkansas known as “Return to the Land.”

But Wednesday’s post calling for “100 million deportations” specifically was perhaps the most direct nod yet to those who believe the United States must be reconstituted as a white nation. As social media users were quick to point out, only about 47 million people living in America are foreign-born, according to the US Census Bureau (https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/POP645223#POP645223).

Even if the administration kicked out every single immigrant—including legal residents and naturalized citizens—meeting such a goal would mean deporting 53 million people who were born in the US and are legally entitled to citizenship under the 14th Amendment.

If the use of the phrase “third world” did not make it obvious enough, the specific number—100 million—seems to betray the racial motivation behind the message.

Citing 2020 census data on the Wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_States#::text=Population%20growth%20is%20fastest%20among,57.8%25%20of%20the%20country's%20population.) for “Demographics of the United States,” one social media user pointed out that approximately 100 million people in the US identified as nonwhite.

The DHS post drew comparisons (https://x.com/midnucas/status/2006853149232185346) to one made earlier this year by the close Trump ally and unofficial White House operative (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/11/17/laura-loomers-endless-payback) Laura Loomer, who suggested that thanks to “Alligator Alcatraz,” the massive internment camp in Florida for those arrested by immigration agents, “the alligators are guaranteed at least 65 million meals,” which referenced (https://www.lemkininstitute.com/statements-new-page/statement-on-laura-loomer%E2%80%99s-6%2F30-remarks) the total number (https://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2024/hispanic-heritage-month.html) of Hispanic people in the United States.

While it’s almost certainly not possible for the administration to conduct a deportation campaign of such a staggering scale within Trump’s term of office, the administration’s latest post was frightening to many observers, even as they acknowledged (https://x.com/ReichlinMelnick/status/2006727483476131948) that it was a “troll post” meant to rile people up.

It is still reflective of the Trump administration’s ideology with respect to immigration. Leaders of Trump’s deportation effort have acknowledged (https://www.commondreams.org/news/ice-detaining-us-citizens) that they target people based on their appearance, and many nonwhite US citizens have been caught in the dragnet. Meanwhile, its refugee policy has welcomed only white South Africans, as Trump has enacted what he says is a “permanent pause on migration from all Third World Countries.”

During 2026, the administration has said it plans (https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-deporting-naturalized-citizens) to target hundreds of US citizens each month for “denaturalization,” and Trump has called for it to be used against his most prominent critics, including the Somali-American Rep. Ilhan Omar (https://www.commondreams.org/tag/ilhan-omar) (D-Minn.) and New York’s first Muslim mayor, Zohran Mamdani.

“This is absolutely insane Nazi propaganda, posted by the US government,” said Ben Norton (https://x.com/BenjaminNorton/status/2006915188201849299), editor of the Geopolitical Economy Report in response to DHS’s call for“100 million deportations.”

“It makes it clear that the Trump administration’s mass deportation drive is not actually about ‘illegal immigration.’ There are estimated to be 14 million undocumented immigrants in the US. But the fascist DHS wants to deport 100 million people,” Norton continued. “This is a call by the US regime for ethnic cleansing of racial minorities, to create a white-supremacist regime without anyone with ‘third world’ heritage.”

PRESS SUPPRESS

an 12 25

Once you begin surrendering to Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump), he always wants more. You can’t appease a tyrant.

David Ellison’s CBS — after gutting DEI policies there, appointing (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-news-names-ombudsman-kenneth-r-weinstein/) right-wing hack Kenneth R. Weinstein to a new “ombudsman” role, and making anti-“woke” opinion journalist Bari Weiss editor-in-chief of CBS News (despite her lack of experience in either broadcasting or newsrooms) — yesterday removed a segment from “60 Minutes” featuring stories of Venezuelan men deported by the Trump administration to what the program called a “brutal” prison in El Salvador. Bari Weiss had demanded changes to the segment.

The Ellisons — fils et père — have been seeking Trump’s support for their hostile bid to acquire Warner Bros Discovery, but Trump has been unhappy with recent episodes of “60 Minutes,” even under its new management. Hence, the segment’s removal.

Sharyn Alfonsi, a long-standing “60 Minutes” correspondent who reported the segment that was removed, accused CBS News of pulling it for “political” reasons. “Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices,” she wrote in a note to the CBS News Team. “It is factually correct. In my view, pulling it now, after every rigorous internal check has been met, is not an editorial decision, it is a political one.”

Here’s Alfonsi’s note in full:

News Team,

Thank you for the notes and texts. I apologize for not reaching out earlier.

I learned on Saturday that Bari Weiss spiked our story, INSIDE CECOT, which was supposed to air tonight. We (Ori and I) asked for a call to discuss her decision. She did not afford us that courtesy/opportunity.

Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices. It is factually correct. In my view, pulling it now-after every rigorous internal check has been met is not an editorial decision, it is a political one.

We requested responses to questions and/or interviews with DHS, the White House, and the State Department. Government silence is a statement, not a VETO. Their refusal to be interviewed is a tactical maneuver designed to kill the story.

If the administration’s refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a “kill switch” for any reporting they find inconvenient.

If the standard for airing a story becomes “the government must agree to be interviewed,” then the government effectively gains control over the 60 Minutes broadcast. We go from an investigative powerhouse to a stenographer for the state.

These men risked their lives to speak with us. We have a moral and professional obligation to the sources who entrusted us with their stories. Abandoning them now is a betrayal of the most basic tenet of journalism: giving voice to the voiceless.

CBS spiked the Jeffrey Wigand interview due to legal concerns, nearly destroying the credibility of this broadcast. It took years to recover from that “low point.” By pulling this story to shield an administration, we are repeating that history, but for political optics rather than legal ones.

We have been promoting this story on social media for days. Our viewers are expecting it. When it fails to air without a credible explanation, the public will correctly identify this as corporate censorship. We are trading 50 years of “Gold Standard” reputation for a single week of political quiet.

I care too much about this broadcast to watch it be dismantled without a fight.

Sharyn

Sharyn Alfonsi wins this week’s Joseph N. Welch Award for courage in the face of tyranny (named for the chief counsel for the U.S. Army who confronted Senator Joe McCarthy with the iconic question, "Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?" which led to McCarthy’s demise).

I’m old enough to remember when CBS News would never have surrendered to a demagogic president. But that was when CBS News — the home of Edward R. Murrow (who also revealed to America the danger of Joe McCarthy) and Walter Cronkite — was independent of the rest of CBS. And when the top management of CBS felt they had independent responsibilities to the American public.

America can survive without a “60 Minutes” it can trust, just as we can survive without trustworthy editorial pages of the Washington Post.But at some point, as Trump continues to repress criticism of him and his regime, American democracy is compromised beyond repair.

We are coming to the end of only the first year of Trump II. He and the lapdogs and sycophants around him have done more damage to this nation in less than a year than I thought possible.

They have not been them alone in their destruction. They’ve had enablers in the form of billionaires such as Larry and David Ellison, along with quisling managers such as Bari Weiss, who confuse having money and power with possessing integrity and fostering the common good.

Here, in sharp contrast to today’s cowardly suck-up CBS News under Bari Weiss and David Ellison, is the courageous and resolute CBS News’s Edward R. Murrow (https://youtu.be/z6j6iTN7Tkw), from April 13, 1954.

*Robert Reich is a professor of public policy at Berkeley and former secretary of labor. His writings can be found at https://robertreich.substack.com/.

MASSIVE DEM SHIFT LATINO NJ

Fox Noticias guest: Latino swing towards Democrats in elections “had to do with how aggressive the administration has been with deportations” (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/fox-noticias-guest-latino-swing-towards-democrats-elections-had-do-how-aggressive)

11/07/25

12/08/2025

Kyle Mantyla (https://www.peoplefor.org/post_author/kyle-mantyla)

Sean James @ Mediaite (https://www.mediaite.com/media/nick-fuentes-tells-piers-morgan-hes-tired-of-pretending-hitler-wasnt-really-fcking-cool/): Nick Fuentes Tells Piers Morgan He’s ‘Tired of Pretending’ Hitler Wasn’t ‘Really F*cking Cool’

White nationalist Nick Fuentes has no regrets calling Adolf Hitler “really f*cking cool” — and said he is “tired of pretending” the Nazi dictator wasn’t.

Tessa Stuart @ Rolling Stone (https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/nick-fuentes-conservative-media-carlson-uproar-1235479858/): The War Over Nick Fuentes Is Over. He Won

The right tore itself apart over Tucker Carlson’s interview with the white nationalist. Trump shrugged. Now he's everywhere.

Ian Ward @ Politico Magazine (https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/12/08/the-conservatives-pushing-maga-to-break-with-israel-00635363): What I Learned Discussing Israel with Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon and Marjorie Taylor Greene

Not so long ago, intra-MAGA debates over Israel were confined to subterranean meeting rooms, where conservative conference attendees hash out internecine disagreements.

Malcolm Ferguson @ The New Republic (https://newrepublic.com/post/204111/maga-implodes-closeted-gays-qatar-tucker-carlson-johnson-yiannapoulos): MAGA Straight Up Imploded This Weekend—And It’s Beyond Messy

Tucker Carlson, Milo Yiannopoulos, and Benny Johnson are just more proof that the MAGA base is fraying at the seams.

Aymann Ismail @ Slate (https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/12/scott-presler-maga-donald-trump-new-jersey.html): The Passion of Scott Presler

A rising MAGA star is desperate to leave his past behind. That might be impossible now.

Laura Strickler and Julia Ainsley @ NBC News (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/ice-arrested-nearly-75000-people-no-criminal-records-data-shows-rcna247377): ICE has arrested nearly 75,000 people with no criminal records, data shows

More than a third of the roughly 220,000 people arrested by ICE officers in the first nine months of the Trump administration had no criminal histories, according to new data.

“We need to get these people out”: Right-wing pundits cheer Trump’s calls for “remigration”

Written by Payton Armstrong (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/payton-armstrong)

Published 12/08/25 mma

Right-wing media figures are applauding President Donald Trump and his administration for their apparent support of “remigration,” a far-right immigration policy associated with forced migration, mass deportations, and ethnic cleansing. These figures said remigration and “reverse migration” are “critical,” “necessary,” and “what we need.”

The administration’s support for remigration was also celebrated by prominent white nationalist media figures, who declared that “Trump promises us the best immigration policy possible: NO NON-WHITES.”

The Trump administration is seemingly embracing “remigration,” a policy associated with ethnic cleansing and mass deportations that has been pushed by the far right

Following the November 26 shooting of two National Guard members near the White House by an Afghan national who entered the U.S. under a resettlement program, Trump said “only REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation” and vowed to “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries.”Reuters reported that “the comments mark a further escalation of migration measures Trump has ordered since the shooting on Wednesday that investigators say was carried out by an Afghan national who entered the U.S. in 2021 under a resettlement program.” The following day, the Department of Homeland Security echoed Trump’s post, writing “Remigration now.” Reuters, \11/28/25 (https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-says-us-will-permanently-pause-migration-third-world-countries-2025-11-28/); NBC News, 11/28/25 (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/trump-pause-migration-third-world-countries-national-guard-shooting-dc-rcna246299); Twitter/X, [11/28/25 (https://archive.is/L1PzK)]

“Remigration” is a far-right policy associated with forced migration and ethnic cleansing “with the goal of creating white ethnostates in Western countries.”It has become a signature issue among far-right activists and political parties in Europe and the term was popularized by far-right Austrian anti-immigration activist Martin Sellner, who, according to a profile in The Washington Post, “argues that each race would be happier in its own geographic corner.” Anti-migrant extremists spread the term alongside their attempts to mainstream the racist “great replacement” conspiracy theory, which holds that political elites are secretly plotting to bring millions of people from poor, nonwhite countries to the United States and Western Europe. Wired, \5/29/25 (https://www.wired.com/story/trump-office-remigration-state-department-europe-far-right/); The Guardian, 10/3/24 (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/03/how-remigration-became-a-buzzword-for-europes-far-right); The Washington Post, [9/28/24 (https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/09/28/martin-sellner-far-right-austria-election/)]

Mainstream media outlets have largely failed in the last year to put Trump’s planned “remigration” policies into appropriate context.When Trump called for “remigration” on the 2024 campaign trail, Media Matters found that major outlets failed to contextualize the proposal as a form of ethnic cleansing, and earlier this year, mainstream media almost entirely ignored news that the Trump administration is reportedly reorganizing the State Department to include a new “Office of Remigration.” Media Matters, \6/13/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/mainstream-media-ignore-trumps-planned-office-remigration-term-ethnic-cleansing), [10/1/24 (https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/trump-called-remigration-form-ethnic-cleansing-major-outlets-failed-cover-it)]

Prominent white nationalist media figures praised Trump’s support for “reverse migration,” celebrating that “Trump promises us the best immigration policy possible: NO NON-WHITES” and saying his Truth Social post “had everything that we'd been wanting to hear for a long time.” White nationalist streamer Nick Fuentes, who has advocated against immigrants for years, said of Trump’s post: “This is a great post. Remigration, pausing Third World migration permanently. … It had everything that we'd been wanting to hear for a long time.” Jared Taylor, publisher of the white nationalist online magazine American Renaissance, wrote: “Donald Trump promises us the best immigration policy possible: NO NON-WHITES. He says he will also boot all foreigners who are incompatible with Wesern Civilization, and that ‘REVERSE MIGRATION’ is the only cure. Bravo! I didn't think he had it in him. Now, action, please.” Media Matters, \12/4/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/nick-fuentes/trumps-calls-remigration-form-ethnic-cleansing-echo-nick-fuentes-calls-roll-back); Rumble, America First, 12/1/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4035386); The New Yorker, 11/18/25 (https://www.newyorker.com/news/fault-lines/nick-fuentes-is-not-just-another-alt-right-boogeyman); Twitter/X, 11/28/25 (https://archive.is/xvRe4); Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed [12/2/25 (https://www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/jared-taylor/)]

Right-wing media praised Trump and backed “remigration” and “reverse migration” as “necessary” and “based”

Trump ally and podcaster Benny Johnson praised the president’s “tour-de-force post” and called for “net-zero immigration, negative immigration, and then remigration, which is critical.” Johnson, who has repeatedly been on ICE ride-alongs in recent months, said that he is “calling for a 1924 Immigration Act” because the “official United States foreign population stands at 53 million people,” adding, “We need a time of zero immigration, net-zero immigration, negative immigration, and then remigration, which is critical.” As noted by Smithsonian Magazine, the 1924 Johnson-Reed Act “marked the start of a dark chapter in the nation’s immigration history” and “drastically cut the total number of immigrants allowed in each year and effectively cut off all immigration from Asia.” YouTube, The Benny Show, \12/1/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4035339); Smithsonian Magazine, 5/19/20 (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/1924-law-slammed-door-immigrants-and-politicians-who-pushed-it-back-open-180974910/); Media Matters, [11/20/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/ice-keeps-giving-exclusive-access-right-wing-and-right-leaning-influencers)]

Podcaster and Fox News contributor Brett Cooper argued that “remigration” is “necessary.”Cooper added that “through their toxic empathy, both the left and the right … have helped overrun our country with refugees and migrants that do not assimilate and, quite frankly, hate it here.” YouTube, The Brett Cooper Show, [11/29/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/youtuber-brett-cooper-argues-remigration-necessary)]

Infowars host Alex Jones read Trump’s “reverse migration” post and said, “Bravo, absolutely, that is what we need.”Jones said that “reverse migration” is “the opposite of replacement migration,” seemingly in reference to the racist “great replacement” conspiracy theory. Infowars, Alex Jones Show, [11/28/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4035338)]

Trump ally and Pentagon press corps member Laura Loomer shared DHS’ remigration post and wrote, “Just make it happen already. Let’s start with the Muslims too.” Twitter/X, \11/28/25 (https://archive.is/HVHOx); The New York Times, [12/2/25 (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/business/media/pentagon-press-corps-briefing-gaetz-loomer.html)]

Right-wing streamer Zack Hoyt, known online as Asmongold, read Trump’s “reverse migration” comments and declared that “this might be the most based post he's ever made. I am so happy about this, I really am.”After reading Trump’s demand for “reverse migration,” he added, “This is the kind of shit — like, if he actually does this, I'm going to be so happy.” The Atlantic profiled Hoyt and reported that he had “an average of more than 2.2 million people tuning in to Twitch at any given moment,” and quoted journalist Nathan Grayson’s new book Stream Big, arguing Hoyt is “comparable in reach to ‘mainstream television networks like CNN and Fox during prime-time slots and major events.’” YouTube, \11/28/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4035337); The Atlantic, [4/25/25 (https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2025/04/how-video-games-took-over-politics-asmongold/682592/)]

OnThe Charlie Kirk Show, producer Andrew Kolvet said that “we do need remigration” and “an immigration moratorium.” Kolvet continued: “We need to get these people out. We need to make sure that their 15 children are not indoctrinated in the same ideologies and filling up our classrooms with this garbage.” Rumble, The Charlie Kirk Show, [12/1/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4035351)]

Newsmax host Lidia Curanaj said that Trump is “concluding that reverse migration is now the only course of action” adding, “It’s about time.” Curanaj told the audience, “To all of you who say this is too extreme, how dare you, I say this to President Trump: Thank you. And it's about time.” Newsmax, Carl Higbie Frontline, [11/28/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4035344)]

mma

### Trump's calls for “remigration,” a form of ethnic cleansing, echo Nick Fuentes' calls to roll back immigration (https://www.mediamatters.org/nick-fuentes/trumps-calls-remigration-form-ethnic-cleansing-echo-nick-fuentes-calls-roll-back)

:{12/04/25

### Mainstream media ignore Trump’s planned Office of Remigration, a term for ethnic cleansing (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/mainstream-media-ignore-trumps-planned-office-remigration-term-ethnic-cleansing)

:{06/11/25

### YouTuber Brett Cooper argues “remigration” is “necessary” (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/youtuber-brett-cooper-argues-remigration-necessary)

12/01/25

an 11 25

A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that President Donald Trump's administration unlawfully arrested and detained hundreds of people across the country as part of its immigration crackdown, and ordered them to be released by November 21.

CNN host Boris Sanchez reported Wednesday (https://youtu.be/6gurlQWNJZY) that the decision by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings (an appointee of former President Joe Biden) was a "major blow" to Trump's mass deportation efforts, while reporter Whitney Wild described the ruling was an "enormous win" for plaintiffs' attorneys suing the administration. She observed that Judge Cummings pointed out that more than 600 people detained across the country "have no deportation orders" and "no criminal history."

"This more practically applies to all 3,000 people who are who have been arrested by ICE and Customs and Border [Protection] between June and October," Wild said. "But most practically speaking, it applies to 615 people who are currently in custody all across the country."

According to Wild, plaintiffs' attorneys believe roughly 1,100 immigrants "simply left voluntarily after they were placed in custody because they just they gave up on their immigration status fight and chose to leave the United States." However, attorney Mark Fleming told CNN affiliate WLS that the ruling proved their argument that a bulk of the administration's arrests of immigrants in Chicago, Illinois this summer and fall — under the direction of Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino (https://www.alternet.org/border-patrol-bovino-tear-gas/) — were illegal.

"For the last two months, the terrorizing of our neighborhoods, the brutalizing of people here has all been unlawful," Fleming said. "That's what it's going to show. It's going to show that all of this, all of the tactics of Mr. Bovino, all of the tactics of ICE have been unlawful in the vast, vast majority of arrests."

So far, the Department of Homeland Security has not yet said if it will appeal Judge Cummings' decision to the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, though Fleming told WLS that he understood that the Department of Justice was planning to consult with Solicitor General D. John Sauer (one of Trump's former personal attorneys) about whether to file an appeal. However, Wild reported that the ruling may potentially have nationwide implications.

"More broadly, the question is, what does this mean for cases all across the country?" Wild said. "... The attorney for the ACLU told me that she believes that there are other cases across the country that are similar. And so you will start to see more cases end up just like this, with judges simply saying that these people who are in custody, it's completely improper."

an 10 24

miller, basically a threat to any who oppose trump

Anger as 'Trump regime' lackey threatens to arrest Dem governor (https://www.alternet.org/miller-pritzker/)

Jessica Corbett (https://www.alternet.org/author/jessica-corbett) gov prtiz, set up by fox/ question?

MMA

Right-wing media said Chicago ICE raid yielded numerous gang members' arrests. New reporting shows hardly any arrests related to Tren de Aragua.

Written by Gideon Taaffe (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/gideon-taaffe) & Sage Hodil (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/sage-hodil)

Published 10/16/25

Right-wing media have cheered Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s September 30 raid on a Chicago apartment, saying they arrested a dozen or dozens of “suspected Tren de Aragua gang members” in an apartment complex “seized by TdA gang members.”

However, the Department of Homeland Security told CNN that just two of the 37 arrested are believed to be gang members. And later DHS told MSNBC it has “verified” one Tren de Aragua member from the raid.

The Trump administration claims that its arrests in Chicago have targeted criminals, but there is little evidence many of the 1,000 people detained by ICE in the city have any criminal convictions. Right-wing media have previously carried water for the Trump administration’s mass deportations that allegedly focus on the “worst of the worst” even though the majority of ICE detainees have no criminal convictions.

ICE's raid on a Chicago apartment building led to dozens of arrests and four children taken into custody. New reporting shows that few if any arrested in that raid or others in Chicago have criminal or gang ties.

CNN reported shortly after the raid that DHS said only two people arrested were believed to be a Tren de Aragua member, and MSNBC reported later that DHS said it had “verified” just one. The September 30 raid at a South Side apartment building that ICE said was “frequented by Tren de Aragua members” saw 37 people arrested but CNN reported that just two of them “are believed to be members of the Venezuelan criminal gang, according to DHS.” According to MSNBC, DHS said one person is a “verified” member of Tren de Aragua but did not say “how it had verified that gang affiliation.” CNN, \10/3/25 (https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/03/us/chicago-apartment-ice-raid); MSNBC, [10/13/25 (https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/trump-immigrants-violent-crime-chicago-illinois-ice-rcna237272)]

Of the 1,000 migrants arrested in Chicago and its suburbs, the Department of Homeland Security has released details showing a criminal background for only “about 1%” of those detainees, according to MSNBC. DHS claims ICE is arresting “the worst of the worst pedophiles, child abusers, kidnappers, gang members, and armed robbers,” but MSNBC correspondent Jacob Soboroff said the people they are targeting “are not the worst of the worst. And I cannot say that more unequivocally and clearly enough.” Soboroff also said ICE agents are “indiscriminately rounding people up, grabbing people off the street. And I'm saying this as a reporter who has seen this with my own eyes, not the worst of the worst on the street.” MSNBC, \10/13/25 (https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/trump-immigrants-violent-crime-chicago-illinois-ice-rcna237272); MSNBC, The Briefing with Jen Psaki, 10/7/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4034010); MSNBC, Katy Tur Reports, [10/8/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4034011)]

Detentions at the Chicago apartment raid included “four children who are US citizens with undocumented parents,” according to CNN.One tenant of the building described the raid, saying, “The kids was crying. People was screaming. They looked very distraught. I was out there crying when I seen the little girl come around the corner, because they was bringing the kids down, too, had them zip tied to each other.” One resident who was initially detained told CNN, “Anyone with an outstanding warrant, even if it was unrelated to immigration, would not be released.” CNN, [10/3/25 (https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/03/us/chicago-apartment-ice-raid)]

Previous attempts to arrest people associated with Tren de Aragua based on their tattoos have led to deportations of people with no criminal records.The administration sent numerous alleged gang members to El Salvador but then acknowledged that “many” of them had no criminal records, according to CBS News. Lee Gelernt, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney, told CBS, “Expert after expert tells us tattoos are not a reliable indicator of whether you're part of this particular gang.” CBS, [4/8/25 (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ice-tattoos-tren-de-aragua-venezuela-gang/)]

Right-wing media bolstered suggestions that the Chicago apartment raided by ICE was full of Tren de Aragua members

Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner claimed the building was “taken over by members of the violent Tren de Aragua gang.” Fox News, The Faulkner Focus, [10/2/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033993)]

Fox News host Jesse Watters asserted that “dozens of Tren de Aragua members are getting Kilmared,” referencing deported Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia, before cutting to reporting on the September 30 raid.Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, [9/30/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033994)]

Fox News anchor Trace Gallagher said the operation led to “the arrest of more than a dozen suspected Tren de Aragua gang members.”Fox News,Fox News @ Night, [10/1/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033998)]

Fox News host Laura Ingraham claimed “Trump is fixing the criminal mess” in Chicago, saying that “TdA gang members in Chicago got a surprise this week” when ICE conducted an “unexpected drop-in that involved a Black Hawk helicopter and hundreds of federal agents.”Fox News reporter Mike Tobin reported, “More than a dozen were detained. At least one has a tattoo commonly associated with the Tren de Aragua gang.” Fox News,The Ingraham Angle, [10/1/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033996)]

In an interview with acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, Newsmax host Emma Rechenberg claimed the apartment had been “seized by TdA gang members.”Lyons also pushed the claim, stating the building was “taken over by Tren de Aragua gang members.” Newsmax, The National Report, [10/8/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033995)]

While displaying a chyron that read “Tren de Arrested,” Fox News anchor Dana Perino said ICE agents were “targeting suspected Tren de Aragua members” in the raid and “netted 37 illegal aliens, including those associated with the bloodthirsty Venezuelan gang.”Fox News, The Five, [10/1/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033997)]

The Daily Wire’s Jennie Taer wrote that the building was “teeming with suspected Tren de Aragua gang members.” The Daily Wire, [10/1/25 (https://www.dailywire.com/news/dhs-arrests-800-illegal-immigrants-in-illinois-raids-as-trumps-deportations-continue-amid-shutdown)]

Fox & Friendsco-host Lawrence Jones complained that people are “more concerned about the children being temporarily detained, not the fact that they were around, and the same apartment complex, of Tren de Aragua, a known terrorist organization.” Jones’ comment came after Lyons claimed Tren de Aragua “took over” the building and that pictures of zip-tied children were “AI fake photos.” Fox News, Fox & Friends, [10/6/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4033991)]

Trump and right-wing media have claimed that ICE is targeting “the worst of the worst,” but data shows otherwise

Earlier this year Trump claimed ICE was targeting the “worst of the worst,” yet ICE data revealed 84% of those detained at ICE facilities “were not given a threat level.” Only 5% of detainees were given the highest threat level by ICE. According to TRAC Reports, an oversight group that provides data on government operations, as of September 21, 71.5% of ICE detainees had no criminal conviction. TRAC additionally noted, “Many of those convicted committed only minor offenses, including traffic violations.” The Associated Press, \7/12/25 (https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-trump-immigration-crime-ice-criminal-dangerous-violent-99557d9d68642004193a9f4b7668162e); TRAC Reports, accessed [10/15/25 (https://tracreports.org/immigration/quickfacts/)]

Right-wing media have heralded the Trump administration’s campaign promise to focus deportations on the “worst” criminals while denying the reality of the mass deportations.Fox personalities have claimed ICE is not targeting “abuelitas” or “housekeepers” but “the worst of the worst” and “hardened criminals and gang members.” Media Matters, [4/9/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/fox-flails-defend-trumps-mass-deportations-lack-due-process)]

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10/14/25 4:20 PM EDT

### Right-wing media say Portland is a war zone under siege. On-the-ground coverage paints a different picture. (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/right-wing-media-say-portland-war-zone-under-siege-ground-coverage-paints-different)

10/10/25 9:40 AM EDT

### As Trump sends the National Guard into US cities, right-wing media celebrate and call protests “an insurrection” (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/trump-sends-national-guard-us-cities-right-wing-media-celebrate-and-call-protests)

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AN 10 25

A Boston federal judge's "blistering" 161-page ruling on what he called the president's attacks (https://www.alternet.org/maga-judges-threats/)on the Constitution contains a stunning warning for the president's enemies, Axios reports. (https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2025/10/02/aaup-rubio-lawsuit-judge-william-young-ruling)

Judge William G. Young's ruling maintains international students (https://www.alternet.org/charlie-kirk-free-speech/)' rights to free speech despite the administration's efforts to deport them (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/30/trump-administration-immigration-palestine) after a professors union and student groups sued the Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) administration over its efforts to detain and deport immigrants who expressed pro-Palestinian (https://www.alternet.org/leo-terrell-twitter/)views.

Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk (https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2025/03/26/tufts-rumeysa-ozturk-detained) was detained for six weeks (https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2025/05/11/rumeysa-ozturk-tufts-student-released) over a pro-Palestinian op-ed she co-wrote in the university newspaper.

Young blasted the Homeland Security (https://www.alternet.org/kristi-noem-illegal/) and State departments for being used to crack down on free speech, saying if they can be manipulated to do that, so can the IRS, Social Security Administration and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.

They, he wrote, can be "unconstitutionally weaponized" against Trump's enemies, even though "political persecution (https://www.alternet.org/french-scarborough-trump-evangelicals/)is anathema to our Constitution and everything for which America stands."

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Young, who called this the biggest case the Boston federal court ever faced, called the State and Homeland Security departments' moves "unconstitutional attacks on political speech," saying Trump's support for this strategy violates his duties as president to defend the Constitution.

Trump's executive orders, Young wrote, singled out pro-Palestinian speech "for a campaign of speech-chilling retribution" under the guise of combating antisemitism (https://www.alternet.org/alternet-exclusives/gop-vioence/) and hate speech.

The judge also weighed in on federal immigration agents (https://www.alternet.org/reagan-judge-trump/) sporting face masks, likening them to "to KKK members and 'cowardly desperados,'" noting that even the military doesn't shield soldiers with masks, Axios reports.

He called the federal employees who raised concerns about insufficient evidence to deport these students "true patriots" who were "weaponized by their highest superiors to reach foregone conclusions for most ignoble ends."

Also included in the judge's ruling was a random postcard he received from an anonymous sender that said, "Trump has pardons and tanks. What do you have?"

"Alone, I have nothing but my sense of duty," the judge replied. "Together, we ... you and me — have our magnificent Constitution."

an 10 25

Senior U.S. District Judge William Young — a Ronald Reagan appointee — included a photocopy (https://x.com/ReichlinMelnick/status/1973069385372713320) of a postcard sent to him by an anonymous critic complaining of judicial power in U.S. government.

Young, a U.S. District Judge in Boston, ruled Tuesday (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/federal-judge-rules-trump-unconstitutionally-targeted-gaza-war-protesters-for-deportation) that the Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) administration’s policy of targeting foreign students and faculty for pro-Palestinian activism violated the First Amendment’s free speech protections. He included with his decision a scornful scolding of the administration’s attempt to terrify dissent on college campuses — as well as a rebuke to what looks like a pro-Trump voter boasting that: “Trump has pardons and tanks ... What do you have?”

“Dear Mr. or Ms, Anonymous,” Young replied in writing. “Alone, I have nothing but my sense of duty. Together, We the People of the United States — you and me — have our magnificent Constitution.”

“Here’s how that works in a specific case,” added Young, who then submitted a court opinion (https://x.com/ReichlinMelnick/status/1973069385372713320) concluding that “Secretaries Noem and Rubio and their several agents and subordinates acted in concert to misuse the sweeping powers of their respective offices to target non-citizen pro-Palestinians for deportation primarily on account of their First Amendment protected political speech.”

“They did so in order to strike fear into similarly situated non-citizen pro-Palestinian individuals, pro-actively (and effectively) curbing lawful Pro-Palestinian speech and intentionally denying such individuals (including the plaintiffs here) the freedom of speech that is their right,” Young said, adding that “the effect of these targeted deportation proceedings continues unconstitutionally to chill freedom of speech to this day.”

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“I gasped when I saw the front page of this decision,” posted American Immigration Council Senior Fellow Aaron Reichlin-Melnick on X (https://x.com/ReichlinMelnick/status/1973069385372713320).

Politico Senior Legal Affairs Reporter Kyle Chaney called it “the most scathing legal rebuke of the Trump era,” on X (https://x.com/kyledcheney/status/1973066201690439739).

Read a PBS article on the news at this link (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/federal-judge-rules-trump-unconstitutionally-targeted-gaza-war-protesters-for-deportation).

AN 9 25

'They are hunting us': Childcare workers go underground in DC (https://www.alternet.org/childcare-workers-dc/)

an 9 25 random rg

US President Donald Trump (https://www.commondreams.org/tag/donald-trump) is on a losing streak this week. Just look at the latest judicial decisions challenging his policies, from mass deportations to tariffs to his troop deployments to US cities.

The courts are proving to be a significant check on Trump’s thirst for absolute power.

These cases illustrate the point:

Immigration

Over Labor Day weekend, Immigration and Customs Enforcement attempted to begin deporting up to 700 unaccompanied Guatemalan children. In the dead of night, the first children were loaded onto planes in south Texas. “These are unaccompanied children who do not have a parent or a guardian with them,” Efrén Olivares, an attorney representing the minors, said on the Democracy Now!news hour. (https://www.democracynow.org/2025/9/2/efren_olivares)

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At 1:00 am on Sunday morning, Olivares and his colleagues filed an emergency complaint with the federal court in Washington, DC. Judge Sparkle Sooknanam was woken after 2:00 am, and by 4:00 am she issued a temporary restraining order blocking the deportations until the children had the immigration hearings to which they have a legal right.

Meanwhile in Texas, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, considered the nation’s most conservative, ruled that Trump’s use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport people was illegal.

Tariffs

The Appeals Court in Washington DC ruled that Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs were illegal and unconstitutional, noting that only Congress has the power to impose tariffs. The ruling was “a sweeping decision that unequivocally rebukes President Trump’s idea that he can impose tariffs on American consumers on his own,” Neal Katyal, the attorney who argued the case, said on Democracy Now! (https://www.democracynow.org/2025/9/2/trump_tariffs)

Domestic Deployment of the Military

Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) says, “We’re going in,” threatening to invade Chicago using, among other forces, the Texas National Guard.

But in California, a federal judge, invoking the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act that bars the use of military in domestic law enforcement, ruled in favor of Gov. Gavin Newsom, finding Trump’s deployment of the California National Guard to the streets of Los Angeles, along with several hundred US Marines, was illegal. Judge Charles Breyer, the brother of retired US Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, issued an injunction barring the Trump administration from “deploying, ordering, instructing, training, or using the National Guard currently deployed in California, and any military troops [from] engaging in arrests, apprehensions, searches, seizures, security patrols, traffic control, crowd control, riot control, evidence collection, interrogation, or acting as informants.”

These are just a few of the recent court cases that have rebuked Trump as he attempts to subvert the US Constitution.

We recently got a personal glimpse into what judicial wins over Trump look like. In the high mountain air of Telluride, Colorado, we had a chance to spend time with E. Jean Carroll (https://www.commondreams.org/tag/e-jean-carroll), the renowned advice columnist and journalist. She was at the Telluride Film Festival for the premier of the new documentary, Ask E. Jean.

Carroll had a long and storied career as the advice columnist forElle Magazine, and has published several books. In recent years she became known as one of the most prominent women to accuse Donald Trump of sexual abuse, saying he raped her in the dressing room of the Bergdorf Goodman department store in the mid-1990s, in Manhattan.

The courts are playing a central role in opposing the lawless Trump administration, but the core of the resistance are people.

Carroll sued Trump in civil court, and a jury found him guilty of sexually abusing her. Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote, “Trump did in fact ‘rape’ Ms. Carroll as that term commonly is used and understood.” She was awarded a $5 million settlement from Trump. After the verdict, he called her a liar. She then sued for defamation, and won an additional jury award of $83.3 million.

Carroll cut an elegant figure, walking along Telluride’s main avenue with the sweeping Continental Divide as a backdrop. Her film premiered to rave reviews, and, should there remain a film distributor in this country not cowed by threats of lawsuits from Trump, it should be available for viewing by a wide audience. The film highlights the story of one courageous woman refusing to be defined as a victim of Donald Trump, providing inspiration, no doubt, to the hundreds of survivors of Trump’s old friend, the now-dead sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein. Many of them spoke this week outside the US Capitol, demanding the full release of the Epstein files. The Trump administration, which controls the files, is resisting.

Behind each lawsuit are impacted people, whether immigrant children pulled from their beds in the middle of the night and thrown on planes, or people standing up in the streets of LA confronting illegally deployed troops, whether sexual abuse survivors banding together, or federal workers fired en masse.

The courts are playing a central role in opposing the lawless Trump administration, but the core of the resistance are people–people at every level organized in opposition, defending democracy.

NOW READ:Trump's horrific cult contains the seeds of its own destruction (https://www.alternet.org/alternet-exclusives/the-cult-of-trump-2673963858/)

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PPL AFRAID TO GO TO WORK FARM CONSTRUCTION ETC

NADER

an 9 25

The huge Labor Day banner outside the Labor Department building with Trump’s picture and the words “American Workers First” depicts one of Donald’s most disgusting lies.

With multiple factual examples, Steve Greenhouse, former labor reporter for the New York Times, provides proof that Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) is the most brazenly “anti-worker” president in U.S. history. With his Big Vicious and Ugly Bill, barely passed by his fawning GOP in Congress, and dozens of illegal Executive Orders, he is smashing the American Worker beyond the avarice of the cruelest Plutocrat.

Quoting liberally from his Labor Day article in The Guardian, I urge labor union leaders and rank-and-file union members to absorb its contents. This article could make American labor angry enough to mount an unstoppable movement to tell Trump, “You’re Fired,” and fire up enough convinced or electorally scared lawmakers in Congress to impeach and remove Trump from office.

The aggregated madness from this failed gambling czar, wholly devoid of empathy, compassion, truth, while betraying his own voters and his oath of office, follows:

Trump put corporate interests first by “often cutting [workers’] pay or making their jobs more dangerous.” This includes gutting regulations that protect miners from a debilitating, often deadly lung disease. He fired the chair of the top labor watchdog – The National Labor Relations Board, whose now stalled mission is to “protect workers from corporations’ illegal anti-union tactics.” Then “Trump stripped one million federal workers of their right to bargain collectively and tore up their union contracts.”

“Trump has hurt construction workers by shutting down major wind turbine projects and ending Biden-era subsidies that encourage construction of factories that make renewable-energy products.”

Trump is pressing to end “minimum wage and overtime protections for 3.7 million home-care and domestic workers,” and has already ended a “Biden plan to prevent employers from paying disabled workers less than the $7.25-an-hour federal minimum wage.” Trump adamantly opposes raising this frozen minimum wage for 25 million workers who would benefit from a $15 federal minimum wage. He ended a “requirement that federal contractors pay their workers at least $17.75 an hour.”

Tariffs and reckless, wholesale deportations are “pushing up prices and slowing economic growth.” His big tax cut for the super-rich is being paid for by “millions of working families by cutting food assistance and causing many to lose health coverage” (from Medicaid). As for deportation, it is “undermining their employers’ businesses,” and I might add closing down some of them and impairing farmers from harvesting their crops.

“In her annual State of the Unions address, AFL-CIO president [Liz] Schuler said: ‘We want cheaper groceries, and we get tanks on our streets. We want more affordable healthcare, and we get 16 million Americans about to be kicked off their coverage.’”

Trump is swinging an axe to end worker safety protections, cutting OSHA staff and pushing those still working at OSHA to weaken all kinds of essential safety and health protections, ranging from coal miners to workers under extreme heat, to reducing fines for violating safety rules, and much more. He “froze enforcement of a Biden-era regulation that protects miners from silicosis, a serious lung disease.” “…a major killer among coal miners.”

The Economic Policy Institute (https://www.commondreams.org/tag/economic-policy-institute) (EPI) “forecasts that Trump’s effort to deport 1 million immigrants a year will result in 5.9 million lost jobs after four years: 3.3 million fewer employed immigrants and 2.6 million fewer employed US-born workers. ‘If you don’t have immigrant roofers and framers, you’re not building houses, and that means electricians and plumbers lose their jobs.’ ‘Plus, you lose the consumer spending from those workers,’” and tens of billions of withheld tax revenues annually, one might add.

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The list of anti-worker cruelty goes on. Tyrant Trump always says, “This is only the beginning.” He acts like an imperious dictator because that is what he is, imposing burdens and pain on the American people – in red and blue states alike. The six rogue Supreme Court Injustices, who thus far know no limits, are enabling the madman in the White House. Before his sleazy conversion, JD Vance called Trump “America’s Hitler.” UNFORTUNATELY, THE WORST IS YET TO COME, MUCH WORSE!

The flip side of Trump’s feverish repression of worker rights, remedies, and existing protections is that there is no chance of reforming anti-union laws, such as the notorious Taft-Hartley Law of 1947, with Trump and his congressional cronies in power.

Readers may well ask why all these attacks on workers didn’t lead unions and their allies to launch a COMPACT FOR AMERICAN WORKERS and insist that the feeble, corporate-conflicted Democratic Party adopt it authentically and replace their stagnant leadership with new, vigorous leaders. That is what they should have done right after their disastrous loss to Trump, the serial law violator, abuser of women, corrupter, daily, delusionary falsehood teller, shredder of the Constitution, greedy, egomaniacal, and seriously dangerous personality.

There is still one Labor Day before the 2026 midterm elections. Can Unions and the Democratic Party save our Republic from the rampaging daily Trump outlawry and viciousness (he is now invading American cities while wrecking our country)? It should be easy, just based on his failed record. (See my letter of August 27, 2024, to Liz Shuler).

As the economy worsens amidst the chaos, consumer prices rise, unemployment rises, and Trump behaves more like Captain Queeg (the fictional, cruel, and crazy skipper in the film, The Caine Mutiny), voters for Trump are starting to ask, “Did We Vote for This?” Non-voters, in turn, should resolve to head for the polls and reject what Trump is doing. The people who are the sovereign in our Constitution must start acting like they have power.

am 9 25

tori Branum, who is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) running for Congress in Georgia, is attracting a significant amount of hate from Trump supporters over a recent controversial move.

The Daily Beast reported Tuesday (https://www.thedailybeast.com/candidate-tori-branum-sparks-major-backlash-after-saying-she-tipped-off-feds-in-hyundai-raid/) that Branum took responsibility for telling U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) about a Hyundai battery plant under construction in the Savannah area employing undocumented immigrants. Earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed it conducted a massive raid on the facility, arresting 450 people (https://x.com/ATFAtlanta/status/1963734241105072512) (Korean media reported that more than 500 people were detained (https://www.kedglobal.com/automobiles/newsView/ked202509050006), including 300 Korean nationals).

Branum admitted on social media that her decision to tip off the Trump administration about the hundreds of undocumented workers at the Bryan County, Georgia Hyundai plant made per an unpopular figure among the president's supporters.

READ MORE:'One of the loudest voices on the right' hammers Trump — and WH stays quiet 'out of fear' (https://www.alternet.org/nick-fuentes-groypers-trump/)

“I have gotten hate mail from all over the country with people telling me to die or that I should be in fear,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “I served this country and I’ll go down with the ship before someone silences me.”

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The Beast reported that many of the comments on Branum's post were less than complimentary, with many pointing out that her action stifled the manufacturing economy at a time when Trump is hoping to incentivize growth in the manufacturing sector by imposing steep tariffs on imported goods (Trump promised to lower tariffs on South Korea in exchange for South Korea investing hundreds of billions of dollars in the United States (https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/south-korea-invest-350b-us-under-new-trump-trade-agreement-tariff-rate-lowered-15)). One user said Branum "caused a serious geopolitical problem between us and S. Korea with your massively ignorant actions."

"Imagine backing Trump’s ‘bring jobs back’ tariffs then cheering the ICE raid that nuked Georgia’s $4.3B Hyundai plant—475 workers arrested, 40k jobs gone," another user wrote. "That’s not America First, that’s economic suicide. You’re a walking contradiction and a clown."

The Hyundai raid marked one of the largest immigration-related worksite raids of Trump's second term to date. News of the raid apparently angered South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, whose administration stated: "The economic activities of our companies investing in the United States and the interests of our citizens must not be unduly violated during the course of US law enforcement."

READ MORE:(Opinion) This could end the galling stupidity that keeps Trump in power (http://alternet.org/this-could-end-the-galling-stupidity-that-keeps-trump-in-power/)

an 9 25

Evidence: The government seeks to deport an Ohio chaplain, but its case has come under scrutiny from supporters and legal advocates.

Support: The U.S. paints the chaplain as a link in terrorist organizations, but in Ohio, families laud his work at a children’s hospital and in the community.

Test Case: If the government secures its quest for deportation, experts say the case could empower the Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) administration’s mass deportation blueprint.

*These highlights were written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.

In the weeks leading up to July 9, Ayman Soliman told friends he was terrified of losing the sanctuary he’d found after fleeing Egypt in 2014 and building a new life as a Muslim chaplain at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.

Soliman, 51, was to show up at 9 a.m. on that date for his first check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement since losing his asylum status. He’d been granted the protections in 2018 under the first Trump administration. Then, in the last month of the Biden presidency, immigration authorities moved to revoke them based on sharply disputed claims of fraud and aid to a terrorist group. Once President Donald Trump returned to office weeks later, court records show, immigration officials bumped up the terrorism claims and formalized the asylum termination June 3.

By the time of Soliman’s ICE appointment, friends said, he was distraught over the prospect of being returned to the regime that had jailed him for documenting protests as a journalist. He arrived at the agency’s field office in Blue Ash, Ohio, accompanied by fellow clergy and a couple of Democratic state lawmakers.

“I didn’t come to America seeking a better life. I was escaping death,” he said in a video (https://www.instagram.com/munira_y.a/reel/DL5TJrgRJaF/) filmed just before he entered.

Inside, Soliman’s attorneys said, he was shocked to find FBI agents waiting for him. They interrogated him for three hours about his charity work more than a decade ago in Egypt, the basis for the Department of Homeland Security accusations of illegal aid, or “material support,” to Islamist militants.

His lawyer eventually emerged from the ICE office holding a belt and a wallet. Soliman had been swept into custody, joining a record 61,000 people now in ICE detention. As he awaits an immigration court trial Sept. 25, he is being held in a county jail run by a sheriff who posted a sign outside reading, “Illegal Aliens Here.”

Legal observers are watching the chaplain’s case as a bellwether of the Trump administration’s ability to merge the vast federal powers of immigration and counterterrorism. The case is also a reminder, they say, of sweeping post-9/11 statutes that both Republican and Democratic administrations have been accused of abusing, especially in cases involving Muslims.

Material support laws ban almost any type of aid to U.S.-designated foreign terrorist groups, extending far beyond the basics of weapons, personnel and money. Prosecutors describe the laws as an invaluable tool against would-be attackers, but civil liberties groups have long complained of overreach.

Over the years, successive administrations have faced legal challenges over how they wield the power; a milestone Supreme Court decision (https://charityandsecurity.org/litigation/hlp/#::text=Common%20Sense%20Test-,Case%20Summary,%C2%A7%202339B) during the Obama administration upheld the laws as constitutional. Now, however, there are particular fears about the material support “sledgehammer,” as one legal scholar put it, in the hands of Trump, who has been openly (https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-moved-quickly-exact-retribution-revenge-analysis/story?id=118180327) hostile toward Muslims (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/05/20/i-think-islam-hates-us-a-timeline-of-trumps-comments-about-islam-and-muslims/) and determined to deport a million people (https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/04/12/one-million-deportations-goal/) who are in the United States without permission.

“These statutes are written extraordinarily broadly with the unstated premise that discretion will be exercised responsibly. And one thing this administration has shown is that it doesn’t understand what it means to exercise discretion responsibly,” said David Cole, a Georgetown Law professor who argued high-profile material support cases and served as national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union.

At issue are DHS allegations that Soliman’s involvement with an Islamic charity provided material support to the Muslim Brotherhood. But neither the charity nor the Brotherhood is a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, and an Egyptian court found no official ties (https://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2014/06/25/administrative-court-lifts-al-gameya-al-shareya/) between the groups.

The Biden-era DHS, which first flagged the issue, said it would revoke Soliman’s asylum if “a preponderance of the evidence supports termination” after a hearing, according to the December notice. At the time, court records show, the material support allegation was listed as a secondary concern after more common asylum questions about the veracity of official documents and his claims of persecution in Egypt.

Once Trump came to power weeks later, Soliman’s attorneys said, the material support claims metastasized, with U.S. authorities declaring the Muslim Brotherhood a Tier III, or undesignated, terrorist group and adding new arguments about ties to Hamas. The Brotherhood, a nearly century-old Islamist political movement, renounced violence in the 1970s, though Hamas and other spinoffs are on the U.S. blacklist. In addition to the Egypt-related concerns, DHS filings about Soliman had noted warrants for “murder and terrorism” in Iraq — a country Soliman says he’s never visited.

By elevating the national security argument, Soliman’s lawyers said, DHS was able to bypass an immigration judge and order the chaplain held without bond as “potentially dangerous.” An established terrorism nexus means less transparency for immigrants — and more power for the authorities.

“DHS is judge, jury and executioner,” said Robert Ratliff, one of Soliman’s attorneys.

The idea of Soliman as a secret militant has outraged residents who know him locally as “the interfaith imam” and the first Muslim on the pastoral care team at Cincinnati Children’s, a top-ranked pediatric hospital. Colleagues described a popular chaplain with nicknames for the tiny patients and soothing words for their bleary-eyed parents.

Judy Ragsdale, the former pastoral care director who hired Soliman in 2021 shortly before retiring, said she wrote a letter to hospital leaders imploring them to speak out against the allegations that could return him to certain persecution in Egypt. He lost authorization to work in June, when his asylum was terminated.

“This is a ‘Schindler’s List’ moment,” Ragsdale said she told hospital leaders. “And if you don’t stand up for Ayman, you’re complicit in what’s happening to him.”

Some fear DHS is parlaying the scope and secrecy of counterterrorism laws into a weapon to boost the president’s mass-deportation mission.

Immigrant rights groups say a sped-up campaign with fewer guardrails for due process is already leading to removals based on evidence that hasn’t been fully vetted. If DHS is successful in test cases like Soliman’s, they say, material support claims could be more easily applied to immigration cases with even tenuous links to militant factions, including newly designated cartels.

The White House referred questions to Homeland Security, which routed a request for comment to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; a spokesperson there said in a statement that the agency generally “does not discuss the details of individual immigration cases and adjudication decisions.”

“An alien — even with a pending application or lawful status — is not shielded from immigration enforcement action,” the statement said. The FBI declined to comment.

Jeffrey Breinholt, an architect of the material support statutes (https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R41334) who spent three decades as a federal terrorism prosecutor, defends the laws as crucial to closing loopholes that were exploited by foreign militant groups and their domestic sympathizers.

Breinholt, who retired in 2024, said he has no concerns about the widening scope as it converges with Trump’s deportation push. The designation of cartels, he said, “is a natural outgrowth of the success we have had with ‘material support’ crime.”

To Cole and other critics, however, the Soliman case could be “the canary in the coal mine.”

More Than a Chaplain

Within a few hours of Soliman’s detention, dozens showed up for an impromptu rally and news conference in the ICE center parking lot. That backup has since grown into a hundreds-strong campaign to refute the DHS allegations, which supporters call a resurgence of anti-Muslim fearmongering that has persisted across party lines since the 9/11 attacks 24 years ago this month.

“Any time you have a brown man or a Muslim man and you use the words ‘FBI’ and ‘red flag,’ you don’t have to say any more,” said Tala Ali, a friend of Soliman’s who heads the board of a Cincinnati mosque where he sometimes led prayers.

Voices calling for Soliman’s release include parents who met him in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit. The families are in disbelief that the chaplain they’d grown close to is now jailed in a high-stakes international case. They knew he’d fled Egypt but said they were learning details of his ordeal through the campaign to free him.

“It would be very easy to be resentful and be angry with the world when you have to live through that kind of trauma, and he’s not like that at all. He’s taking on other peoples’ trauma,” said Heather Barrow, whose infant daughter, Mya, died in the NICU last year.

She said Soliman stepped in to spare her grieving family the heartache of making funeral arrangements for a 5-month-old. He attended Mya’s celebration of life and, later, a butterfly release on June 7, which would’ve been her first birthday. A month later, he was in an ICE cell.

“I was like, how is this happening? He was just at our house,” Barrow said.

Another couple, Taylor and Bryan McClain, also came to rely on Soliman when their newborn, Violette, arrived at Cincinnati Children’s last year with life-threatening complications. The chaplain steadied them during their 271 days in the NICU, which Taylor said felt like “a roller coaster in a tornado and it’s on fire.” The McClains call him “family.”

“I say with full confidence: Violette is alive because of the advocacy that Ayman gave us,” Taylor said one recent afternoon as she held her daughter, now just over a year old.

Clergy members make up another bloc of support — so many that they built a spreadsheet to divide visiting hours among imams, rabbis and pastors. Immigration advocates and Ohio civil rights leaders have added their names to petitions. So have University of Cincinnati student groups including the Ornithology Club and the Harry Potter Appreciation Club.

More than a dozen people faced criminal charges stemming from a melee (https://www.wlwt.com/article/felony-charges-dismissed-roebling-bridge-ice-protest-ice/65491728) after a rally in Soliman’s support; demonstrators and police blame each other for the violence July 17.

Two of Soliman’s fellow chaplains at Cincinnati Children’s, Adam Allen and Elizabeth Diop, said they lost their jobs (https://www.cts.edu/2025/08/06/answering-gods-call-no-matter-the-cost/) for refusing to keep quiet about their jailed colleague. Meanwhile, the hospital, a cherished local institution, is taking heat for its silence. Soliman’s supporters launched a letter-writing campaign (https://www.yusraorganizing.org/free-imam-ayman) demanding a response from the hospital, which has said it does not discuss personnel issues.

Signs appeared outside the hospital. “Missing Chaplain,” they said. “Abducted By ICE.”

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital did not return messages seeking comment. In an internal memo published by The Cincinnati Enquirer, hospital CEO Dr. Steve Davis told employees that the lack of response “should not be mistaken for a lack of caring or action.” As a nonprofit, Davis stressed, the hospital has strict rules about “activities that could be characterized as political.”

Soliman’s supporters press on. One recent Sunday evening, about 200 filled a Cincinnati church where preachers from several faith backgrounds urged them to demand his freedom.

“The trial that Imam Ayman is going through is our trial,” Abdulhakim Mohamed, head of the North American Imams Fellowship, told the crowd. “His justice is ours to own. The injustice is also ours to bear.”

Escape From Egypt

Soliman’s entanglement with the Egyptian security apparatus began in 2000 when he joined fellow college students to protest repressive laws, he said in asylum papers.

He was periodically locked up and intimidated after that, he said. The persecution worsened more than a decade ago during uprisings that remade the Middle East by toppling dictators — including Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak — but in some places spiraled into civil war.

Soliman worked as a freelance journalist covering pro-democracy revolts in Egypt and neighboring Libya. Friends say he was also studying to become an imam and served on the board of a local chapter of the Islamic charity Al-Gameya al-Shareya, which is known for its network of hospitals and orphan programs throughout Egypt.

The charity, whose name has multiple English spellings, launched in 1912 and is often described as “one of the most established national Islamic organizations (https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2014/09/the-egyptian-state-and-the-religious-sphere?lang=en).” Scholars have written that early leaders came from the Muslim Brotherhood, archenemy of Egypt’s current military leadership, but that ties ended around 1990 under government pressure.

In the years since, researchers found, the group maintained smooth relations with the government as its more than 1,000 chapters nationwide encompass Egyptians of all political leanings. That delicate balance faltered briefly in 2013 when a military-led counterrevolution quashed the nascent democratic movement and deposed elected leaders who were part of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Egypt’s military rulers declared the Brotherhood a terrorist organization and shuttered any organization it suspected of ties. Al-Gameya Al-Shareya was among more than 1,000 civil society groups blacklisted in the crackdown, court filings say, and chapters suspected of helping the Brotherhood during elections were dissolved. The group resumed operations the next year, when an Egyptian court lifted the ban (https://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2014/06/25/administrative-court-lifts-al-gameya-al-shareya/), ruling that the charity “has no ties to the Muslim Brotherhood,” according to news reports.

Egypt’s return to zero tolerance for dissidents made Soliman’s activism dangerous, he said in court papers. As a journalist and Islamic scholar, he represented two fields the Egyptian government views as existential threats: a free press and religious organizing.

Soliman fled to the United States in 2014 on a visitor visa and later filed a petition for asylum, describing how security forces over the years had locked him up on false charges and tortured him with electrical shocks. In one incident, his attorney said, Egyptian forces with machine guns stormed into an apartment where Soliman was asleep with his wife and young child. (Through attorneys, Soliman asked to withhold details about his family because they remain in Egypt.)

“For me, it’s life or death,” Soliman later told a U.S. immigration officer of his need to escape.

Officials in Cairo referred questions to the Egyptian Embassy in Washington, which did not respond to requests for comment.

The asylum application asked whether Soliman had belonged to political parties or other associations in his home country. Ratliff, the attorney, said Soliman marked “yes” and attached a statement that mentioned Al-Gameya Al-Shareya and his role in fundraising for the local chapter.

Friends said Soliman rejoiced when he was granted asylum in 2018, under the first Trump administration, and sought permanent residency as the next step toward reuniting with his family. But the process stalled. “Bureaucratic hurdle after bureaucratic hurdle,” Ratliff said.

Then came a more serious snag. In 2021, Soliman learned he was on a federal watchlist when a background check for a chaplain job at an Oregon prison showed that the FBI had flagged him, court papers show.

His attorneys said they have no idea why. It could’ve been about a specific piece of intelligence. It could’ve been a misspelling or mistaken identity, simple errors that have landed ordinary Muslims on opaque “war on terror” watchlists (https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/policy-solutions/overdue-scrutiny-watch-listing-and-risk-prediction) that are nearly impossible to get off.

Soliman, friends say, insisted on trying to clear his name. With the help of the Muslim Legal Fund of America, he sued government agencies (https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/district-of-columbia/dcdce/1:2024cv00634/265777/21/) including the FBI and the Transportation Security Administration. That route led to open-ended legal battles that yielded no clear answers and no green card.

Instead, his place in the country became more vulnerable. In December, the final stretch of the Biden administration, Soliman received notice that the government intended to terminate his asylum based on “inconsistencies” in his claims of persecution and concern that his charity work made him inadmissible based on “possible membership in a terrorist organization.”

Some of his friends are convinced it was payback for the lawsuits, but attorneys say there’s no telling what triggered a review.

“What Ayman has experienced is something that, post-9/11, has been the reality of Muslims in this country,” said Ali, his friend and advocate. “All he did was try to get answers and accountability for what he’d been put through.”

Big Claims, Little Transparency

Contested asylum cases like Soliman’s were prime targets when Trump took office the next month and supercharged deportations, a top campaign pledge. Since his return to office, ICE arrests have doubled (https://www.nbcnews.com/data-graphics/us-immigration-tracker-follow-arrests-detentions-border-crossings-rcna189148).

Soliman was called to an asylum hearing in February, a month into the new administration, for a last shot at defending his eligibility. A DHS officer asked about claims in the Biden-era notice alleging “discrepancies in date and number of times he suffered harm” and raising doubts about a handwritten Egyptian police report and letters authenticating his journalistic work.

A transcript shows Soliman explaining that he sometimes got confused when describing traumatic incidents from years ago in English, his second language. He said the police report was a rough translation included by mistake and submitted statements verifying his journalism.

Then the DHS officer’s questioning took a turn: “When did you start supporting Al-Jameya Al-Shareya?”

For the rest of the meeting, the transcript shows, the officer drilled down on Soliman’s knowledge of the charity: fundraising, chapter size, support for violence and whether he had been aware of a Brotherhood link.

Another of Soliman’s attorneys interrupted when the immigration officer said the Brotherhood had been a Tier III group since 2012. That’s not how it works, the attorney countered — only top-tier terrorist organizations like al-Qaida or the Islamic State are given dates of designation. Tier III, she said, is for undesignated groups and is determined on a case-by-case basis, with the burden of proof on the government.

“Counsel, I’ll give you an opportunity at the end to make a closing,” the DHS officer said.

“I understand,” the attorney replied, “but we’re talking about something factual.”

The next time Soliman heard from DHS was the official termination of his asylum, effective June 3. This time, there was no hedging in language that declared he was ineligible based on “evidence that indicated you provided material support to a Tier III terrorist organization.” A few weeks later, he was taken into custody and notified of his pending removal.

Soliman’s legal team sued, arguing that he was stripped of asylum on illegal grounds because the designations had been made “without proper findings” and based on no new evidence.

Court filings show DHS attorneys introducing, then withdrawing or amending, materials to build a case linking Soliman to the Brotherhood through the charity.

“It looked like, ‘What can we put here to get to there?’” said Ratliff, a former immigration judge.

Among the supporting evidence filed by the government are three academic reports by scholars with deep knowledge of Islamic charities in Egypt. Soliman’s legal team filed statements from all three balking at how DHS had cherry-picked their research.

Steven Brooke at the University of Wisconsin-Madison detailed “important mistakes of fact and interpretation.” Neil Russell, an academic in Scotland, called the U.S. conclusions “a mischaracterization of my findings.” Marie Vannetzel, a French scholar who has conducted field research with Al-Gameya Al-Shareya, rebutted what she called “a dishonest manipulation of my text and my work.”

Vannetzel wrote that she rejects the idea that Soliman, “simply by virtue of his activity in the association, could be accused of providing material support to the Muslim Brotherhood.”

Observers of Cairo’s unsparing campaign to uproot Islamist opposition say the matter is clear-cut: If the charity survived the scrutiny of Egyptian intelligence, then it’s not Muslim Brotherhood. “It’s really striking that this group is not proscribed,” said Michael Hanna, an Egypt specialist and U.S. program director of the nonprofit International Crisis Group.

Soliman’s attorneys also criticized the government’s assertion in court filings that he, as a board member of one local branch, would’ve been aware of any Brotherhood affiliation of chapters nationwide. “If a Rotarian in Seattle commits murder, we don’t go charging Rotarians in Des Moines with conspiracy,” Ratliff said.

Separate from U.S. attempts to tie Soliman to the Brotherhood was a puzzling footnote about Iraq that appeared in a later filing. Without detail, DHS attorneys alluded to warrants for “murder and terrorism activities.” Ratliff said a DHS attorney later confirmed to him in a phone call that it wasn’t about Soliman, but didn’t explain why it was there.

The error remained uncorrected in filings until Sept. 3, when DHS attorney Cheryl Gutridge acknowledged in court that it was an “inadvertent” reference to another case, Ohio news outlets reported (https://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/2025/09/trial-set-in-ohio-hospital-chaplains-controversial-immigration-case.html). The original wording suggesting that Soliman faced murder charges in Iraq had been included in the government’s successful argument for keeping him in custody.

DHS did not address questions about the Iraq reference.

A close friend, Ahmed Elkady, said Soliman told him on a jail visit he was stunned to be linked to Iraq, a place he’s never been: “He said, ‘How can I become a virtual terrorist?”

A Sheriff’s ICE Fiefdom

As he awaits trial in immigration court, Soliman is in custody at the Butler County Jail, about 30 miles outside of Cincinnati, past cornfields and a German social club and the Town and Country Mobile Home Park.

For more than 20 years, this outpost has been the domain of Sheriff Richard Jones, a cowboy hat-wearing firebrand who keeps a framed photo of Trump in his office. In the run-up to the 2024 election, Jones mused that a Trump victory might put him “back in the deportation business (https://www.journal-news.com/news/butler-county-sheriff-says-he-may-bet-back-in-deportation-business-with-jail/HNCEQKNCCJHJXMPXKI74VHEQNE/).”

From 2003 to 2021, the jail had been contracted to house immigration detainees until the arrangement dissolved in the Biden era. As predicted, the county entered into a new agreement with ICE (https://www.ice.gov/doclib/287gMOA/ButlerCoSheriffsOfficeOH_JEM_MOA_02.24.25.pdf) in February, after Trump returned to power, to hold around 400 detainees: $68 a day per person, plus $36 an hour for the sheriff’s office toward transportation.

Jones celebrated the restored partnership by posting a fake image showing inflatable gators outside the jail, a nod to ICE’s “Alligator Alcatraz” detention center in Florida. A Black Lives Matter group in Dayton issued a statement (https://www.journal-news.com/news/butler-county-sheriffs-alligator-post-called-egregious-act-of-cruelty/PDCHBZTWGJE7LKC5THNJB7SBG4/) calling the sheriff’s post an “egregious act of cruelty and historical mockery.”

As it returns to deportation work, the jail still faces a federal civil rights lawsuit (https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ohsd.249405/gov.uscourts.ohsd.249405.1.0.pdf) filed in 2020 by two ICE prisoners who said they endured beatings and discrimination. One plaintiff, a Muslim, said a jailer called him a “fucking terrorist” and threatened to throw his prayer rug in the toilet. Jones has disputed the claims.

The sheriff is in the news again because of Soliman. In court filings, the Muslim chaplain says he was denied access to a space where he could lead communal prayers and then placed in “isolation” for nearly a week with only an hour of phone access between midnight and 1 a.m.

Soliman’s attorneys say in court papers that the episode was related to “targeted harassment” over his religion. The sheriff’s office told local outlets (https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/cincinnati-imam-moved-solitary-confinement-180209146.html) that it respects religious freedom and said Soliman was placed in isolation because he was “argumentative” and “threatening.”

After agreeing to an interview with ProPublica, Jones later decided he was “no longer interested,” the sheriff’s spokesperson, Deputy Kim Peters, wrote in a text message.

As he languishes in jail, Soliman’s empty apartment in Cincinnati has become a way station for an inner circle of supporters, who said they felt like “intruders” when they first gathered there. Soliman is known as an elegant dresser, but his apartment was in bachelor-pad disarray, a reflection of his long hours at the hospital and the abruptness of his detention, said his friends, also clerics. The imams laughed when one confessed that he first thought the FBI had ransacked the place.

Over water bottles and energy drinks scavenged from Soliman’s fridge, they talked about the deportation threat. In Egypt, pro-government news outlets already have trumpeted (https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMiWfoGBWzk/?igsh=MTJ2czV6dTdsZjFzdg%3D%3D) the case as proof that Soliman was leading a secret Brotherhood cell in America.

Despite Soliman’s predicament, they said, being in limbo here is preferable to the alternative.

“You think I’m afraid of being here in jail?” Soliman told fellow imam Ihab Alsaghier during a recent visit. “Every moment I’m alone, I imagine I’m on a flight back to Egypt.”

---}:

rww

08/12/2025

Kyle Mantyla (https://www.peoplefor.org/post_author/kyle-mantyla)

Michael Luciano @ Mediaite (https://www.mediaite.com/media/tv/after-trump-deploys-national-guard-in-d-c-jeanine-pirro-declares-this-is-just-the-beginning/): After Trump Deploys National Guard in D.C., Jeanine Pirro Declares, ‘This Is Just the Beginning’

Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said on Monday night that President Donald Trump is just getting warmed up when using federal agents and troops in Washington, D.C.

Janna Brancolini @ The Daily Beast (https://www.thedailybeast.com/fuming-laura-loomer-goes-nuclear-on-marjorie-taylor-greene-in-all-night-attack/): Fuming Loomer Goes Nuclear on Marjorie Taylor Greene in All-Night Attack

The far-right influencer, who has the ear of President Trump, called the Georgia lawmaker a “lying fake Christian whore.”

Michelle Goldberg @ The New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/11/opinion/lauren-southern-tradwife-maga.html): A Right-Wing Influencer Tried to Be a Tradwife. It Almost Broke Her.

Being an antifeminist, it turns out, is no shield against abusive male power.

Ben Makuch @ The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/11/trump-far-right-fbi): Trump stirs far-right rage despite FBI deprioritizing extremist threat

Donald Trump has faced an onslaught of criticism from opponents and Maga diehards alike, on issues such as Jeffrey Epstein, the war with Iran, and his steadfast alliance with Israel in the face of genocide. But among the ever dangerous far right, which has generally applauded Trump’s efforts to deport thousands of people a day, his actions of late have stirred rage among a group experts say has benefited greatly from his administration’s law-enforcement pivots.

Tess Owen @ Wired (https://www.wired.com/story/trump-administration-dhs-white-house-deportations-meme/): The Trump Administration Is Using Memes to Turn Mass Deportation Into One Big Joke

Memes shared by the White House, DHS, and ICE have used catchy TikTok tunes to normalize mass deportation and Christian nationalist narratives. Experts say that’s the point.

Jemar Tisby (https://jemartisby.substack.com/p/how-douglas-wilsons-ideology-became): Douglas Wilson’s Theology Predicted Today’s Politics

What happens in politics is downstream of what happens in the church.

Dan McClellan (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHUn6yZwpW4): Responding to Frank Turek & Charlie Kirk

an 8 25

What could possibly go wrong?' Outrage as Trump admin recruits teens to join 'the Gestapo' (https://www.alternet.org/what-could-possibly-go-wrong-trump-admin-is-now-recruiting-teenagers/)

an new rep common dr 725

omg

New reporting based on a leaked briefing memo from a recent meeting between high-level officials at the Department of Homeland Security and Defense Department sparked fresh warnings on Saturday about the Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) administration's internal plans to increase its domestic use of the U.S. military.

According to (https://newrepublic.com/article/198708/trump-military-anti-immigration-dhs-leaked-memo) Greg Sargent of The New Republic, which obtained the memo, the document "suggests that Trump's use of the military for domestic law enforcement on immigration could soon get worse."

The "terrifying" memo—which the outlet recreated and published online (https://newrepublic.com/article/198689/department-homeland-security-memo) with certain redactions that concealed operational and personnel details—"provides a glimpse into the thinking of top officials as they seek to involve the Defense Department more deeply in these domestic operations, and it has unnerved experts who believe it portends a frightening escalation."

Circulated internally among top Trump officials, TNR reports the memo was authored by Philip Hegseth, the younger brother of U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. The younger sibling, though lesser known by the public than his controversial brother, currently serves as a senior adviser (https://apnews.com/article/hegseth-brother-signal-dhs-hired-68678a8a653c79a4c6ae31a8bee64836) to Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem and acts as DHS liaison officer to the Pentagon.

The meeting between DoD and DHS officials and the memo centers on Philip Hegseth's push for closer collaboration between the two departments, especially with regard to operations on the ground, like those that happened earlier this year in Los Angeles when National Guard units and later U.S. Marines were deployed in the city to help Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and local law enforcement put down local protests sparked by raids targeting immigrants and workers.

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As Sargent noted (https://x.com/GregTSargent/status/1951608792312873137) in a social media post:

Strikingly, the memo says straightforwardly that what happened in Los Angeles is the sort of operation that may be necessary "for years to come." As one expert told me: "They see Los Angeles as a model to be replicated."

"To Make America Safe Again, DHS and DoD will need to be in lockstep with each other, and I hope today sets the scene for where our partnership is headed," states the memo, which also compares transnational criminal gangs and drug cartels to Al Qaeda.

Lindsay Cohn, an associate professor at the U.S. Naval War College, was among the experts TNR spoke with who called that comparison particularly worrying. "The conflation of a low-level threat like transnational criminal organizations with Al Qaeda, which was actually attempting to topple the United States government, is a clear attempt to use excessive force for a purpose normally handled by civil authorities," said Cohn.

Sociology professor Kim Lane Scheppele, a scholar who studies the rise of autocracy at Princeton University, was among those who raised alarm in response to the published reporting and the contents of the memo.

"Here it comes," wrote (https://x.com/KimLaneLaw/status/1951623503993561308) Kim Lane Scheppele. "The worst we've been waiting for."

According to TNR:

The memo outlines the itinerary for a July 21 meeting between senior DHS and Pentagon officials, with the goal of better coordinating the agencies' activities in "defense of the homeland." It details goals that Philip Hegseth hopes to accomplish in the meeting and outlines points he wants DHS officials to impress on Pentagon attendees.Participants listed comprise the very top levels of both agencies, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and several of his top advisers, Joint Chiefs chairman Dan Caine, and NORTHCOM Commander Gregory Guillot. Staff include Phil Hegseth and acting ICE commissioner Todd Lyons.

"Due to the sensitive nature of the meeting, minimal written policy or background information can be provided in this briefing memo," the memo says.

Joseph Nunn, counsel for the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, told TNR it was "disturbing to see DHS officials pressuring the U.S. military to turn its focus inward even further." Nunn added that the memo suggests that "military involvement in domestic civilian law enforcement" is set to become "more common" if the policy recommendations put forth by Phillip Hegseth take hold.

Following publication of his reporting, Sargent said he wanted to flag something specific for readers.

"It looks plausible that the Hegseth brothers are trying to push military leaders further on involving military in domestic law enforcement," he noted. "Two experts I spoke with read the memo that way. There may be a bigger story here to get."

RENTA TAMALE?

RWW

07/28/2025

Kyle Mantyla (https://www.peoplefor.org/post_author/kyle-mantyla)

Republican strategist/immigration attorney Esther Valdes Clayton insists that ICE is not "rounding up Latinos: "I am brown-skinned and I have not been rounded up. I have not been kidnapped. I don't know any relatives or anybody in California that's been kidnapped."

[### Esther Valdes Clayton | HONORED to speak at the South ...

Instagram · esthervaldesclayton

40+ likes · 1 month ago](https://www.instagram.com/p/DLWKlqTpg12/)

(https://www.instagram.com/p/DLWKlqTpg12/)

Esther Valdes Clayton | HONORED to speak at the South Bay Republican Women's Group! Did you know the Bible talks about Immigration? Joseph ...

Missing: GOP ‎| Show results with: GOP (https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=97ba584d5f1b9119&q=Esther+Valdes+Clayton+%22GOP%22+REPUBLICAN&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi7-6a2muCOAxUFFzQIHQ9UMBwQ5t4CegQIJhAB)

[### Esther Valdes Clayton (@Esther_Valdes) / X

X · Esther_Valdes

2.2K+ followers](https://x.com/esther_valdes?lang=en)

(https://x.com/esther_valdes?lang=en)

Immigration Attorney, Valdes & Associates. Immigration Policy Analyst. Hebrews 13:6. Watch me on @KUSI @Telemundo20 @Newsmax @FoxNews.

an 7 25

The public conversation has become so distorted by the moral squalor of Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) and his lackeys that I fear we’re confusing what’s exciting with what’s important.

“Epsteingate” isexciting. The story excites because Trump seems unable to stop it from growing — and it therefore offers a bit of hope that it will undermine his support or even topple him.

Yet I worry that it’s crowding out other stories that Americans need to know and respond to, such as:

Hunger in Gaza has reached new and astonishing levels of desperation, with a third of the population not eating for multiple days in a row, according to the World Food Program.

The number of children dying of malnutrition has risen sharply in recent days. Many are literally starving.

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According to Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency:

“People in Gaza are neither dead nor alive, they are walking corpses…. One in every five children is malnourished in Gaza City as cases increase every day. When child malnutrition surges, coping mechanisms fail, access to food & care disappears, famine silently begins to unfold. Most children our teams are seeing are emaciated, weak & at high risk of dying if they don’t get the treatment they urgently need…. Parents are too hungry to care for their children. Those who reach UNRWA clinics don’t have the energy, food, or means to follow medical advice. Families are no longer coping, they are breaking down, unable to survive. Their existence is threatened.”

America is directly implicated in this humanitarian crisis.

Netanyahu is a war criminal. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since May while trying to get food in the Gaza Strip, mostly near aid sites run by an American contractor.

The United States must stop all military assistance to Israel unless Netanyahu and the Israeli government allow relief organizations to bring immediate humanitarian assistance to Gaza.

Federal judges accuse the Trump regime of deliberately defying court orders by being slow to respond, misrepresenting facts in filings, and refusing to take action as ordered by the courts.

In an analysis of 165 court orders filed against the Trump regime, the The Washington Postfound (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/07/21/trump-court-orders-defy-noncompliance-marshals-judges/) that federal judges accused it of resisting court orders in at least 57 of those cases — approximately 34 percent.

This story needs far more attention. It’s the clearest evidence yet of the regime’s disregard for the U.S. Constitution.

It should form the basis for impeachment of Trump and his lackeys, and for criminal action against them once they’re out of office.

56,816 people are now being detained by ICE, both in the United States and in El Salvador and other countries where there’s little or no control over the conditions in which they’re being detained.

Over 70 percent have not been convicted of any crime.....

Right-wing media claimed the “worst of the worst” would be housed at Florida's new immigrant detention center. Hundreds of detainees have no criminal record. (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/right-wing-media-claimed-worst-worst-would-be-housed-floridas-new-immigrant-detention)

07/15/25 mma

an 7 25

One day after appearing in front of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to tell reporters there will be “no amnesty” for undocumented farm workers while insisting adults on Medicaid could replace them (https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2025/07/cartoon-villains-ag-secretary-under-fire-for-medicaid-to-farm-work-plan/), U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins faced sharp criticism for having no “concrete” plan to meet what she declared is the Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) administration’s goal of an entirely “legal” U.S. farm worker workforce.

“It sounds like you don’t yet have a concrete proposal to deal with farmers who rely on undocumented workers, am I right?” a Fox News Business host asked (video below).

“Well, no, we are working on it. We’re working on a concrete proposal,” Secretary Rollins insisted.

READ MORE: ‘Secretary Chaos’: Hegseth Running ‘Absolute Clown Show’ Critics Say, Amid Calls to Resign (https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2025/07/secretary-chaos-hegseth-running-absolute-clown-show-critics-say-amid-calls-to-resign/)

“You’re working on it but that’s not a concrete proposal,” the host sharply charged.

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“Well, no, the president has been very, very clear. We need to make sure that the food supply is safe,” Rollins said, before insisting that “ultimately, we have to move toward a 100% legal workforce, and that’s what this president stands for, and that’s what we’re doing.”

“The mass deportations will continue, but the president has been very clear that we have to make sure we’re not compromising our food supply at the same time,” Rollins said before declaring that “Congress has to fix it,” and U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer “is on it.”

“The border has to be secure and there will be no amnesty,” Rollins added, before the host again pointed out the administration has no plan yet.

READ MORE: Trump Claims ‘Tremendous Power’ to Run ‘Places’ Like DC and NYC (https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2025/07/trump-claims-tremendous-power-to-run-places-like-dc-and-nyc/)

“It’s not easy, but I don’t think it’s fair to say there is a concrete proposal when you’re still working out details to try to deal with the needs of farmers who need a lot of these undocumented workers and at the same time not providing an amnesty.”

Watch the video below or at this link (https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2025/07/no-amnesty-and-no-plan-trump-ag-sec-grilled-on-farm-labor-as-deportations-continue/).

an 7 25

On Tuesday, a federal judge issued a 128-page ruling (https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2025cv0306-71) striking down President Donald Trump's ban on asylum applications for immigrants crossing the Southern border of the United States that he issued earlier this year via executive order. Some of Trump's most outspoken supporters are furious over the decision.

U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss — who former President Barack Obama appointed to the District of Columbia in 2014 — ruled that Trump's asylum ban violated the Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA) and was an illegal attempt to install an "extra-statutory, extra-regulatory regime for repatriating or removing individuals from the United States." He added that "nothing in the INA or the Constitution grants the President or his delegees the sweeping authority asserted in the Proclamation and implementing guidance."

According to Politico legal correspondent Kyle Cheney (https://x.com/kyledcheney/status/1940495779267043423), Judge Moss also designated asylum seekers as a protected class. This would appear to insulate his ruling from the recent Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decision (https://www.alternet.org/alternet-exclusives/birthright-citizenship-2672499870/) that prevented lower court judges from issuing nationwide injunctions.

READ MORE:'Can anyone spell recession?' Trump slammed as jobs report stuns economists (https://www.alternet.org/can-anyone-spell-recession-twitter-reacts-to-job-implosion-surprise/#)

Moss' decision was met with widespread outrage by Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) supporters on social media. MAGA influencer Gunther Eagleman characterized Moss' ruling (https://x.com/GuntherEagleman/status/1940481076075598162) as "ordering President Trump to reopen the border," adding: "Ignore this political HACK!" Charlie Kirk, who is the founder of far-right group Turning Point USA, also blasted the decision (https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1940490414366380080) in a post to his X account.

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"There are a lot of conservatives who recklessly call for judicial rulings they don't like to be ignored. I have fought against that; it would be hugely destructive to throw out our constitutional balance of powers for the sake of a temper tantrum," Kirk tweeted. "But it is 100% not acceptable for a traitor on the federal bench to side with invaders in abolishing America. Period."

Far-right influencer Chaya Raichik's LibsofTikTok X account, which has more than four million followers, also piled on after Moss' decision was announced. She accused Moss (https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/1940488258217230750) of being an "activist judge who wants to turn the US into a Biden-era open border disaster."

Even though Moss has been a member of the D.C. District Court for more than a decade, his legal career stretches back nearly 40 years (https://ballotpedia.org/Randolph_D._Moss), when he was a clerk for U.S. District Judge Pierre Leval (an appointee of Democrat Bill Clinton) in 1986 in the Southern District of New York. He then clerked for SCOTUS Associate Justice John Paul Stevens (an appointee of Republican Gerald Ford) in the late eighties.

READ MORE:Republicans 'facing real general election problems' over Trump Medicaid cuts: ex-GOP rep (https://www.alternet.org/charlie-dent-trump-msnbc-tester/)

Click here (https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2025cv0306-71) to read Moss' full ruling.

mma}:}:

July 2, 2025, edition of Fox News' The Five

EMILY COMPAGNO (CO-HOST): I think the biggest case here is for impeding federal law enforcement. Because everything that ICE agents are in the course of doing is their official acts. I think obstructing law enforcement -- that's usually, or obstructing justice, is usually sort of more procedural. But go ahead and try. At the end of the day, I think it's important to send a message that behavior is not without accountability. And I'm not quite sure why all the proponents for this, including CNN, who defended itself by saying, "Well, we were just merely reporting it." But it was pretty clear it wasn't just reporting it. They were huge advocates for this.

GREG GUTFELD (CO-HOST): Breathless.

COMPAGNO: Yes. Why is it that for some reason they want people to have notice, and by people I mean the illegal immigrant that set the subway rider on fire, the illegal immigrant that raped the dead person on the subway, the illegal immigrant that killed Laken Riley or Jocelyn Nungaray -- her rapist and murderers. Why do you want to give those people notice when those victims have no notice. Laken Riley didn't get notice that there was an illegal immigrant lurking in the trees that was going to murder her. And the list goes on.

So I am sickened by this notion that not only is the app creator and the proponents and CNN calling for an additional vulnerability for these I.C.E. Agents that are already getting doxed and already getting attacked up 700%.

mma

Joe Rogan calls Trump's targeting of migrant workers for deportation “insane” (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/joe-rogan-calls-trumps-targeting-migrant-workers-deportation-insane)

07/02/25

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President Donald Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) toured (https://apnews.com/article/trump-everglades-immigrant-detention-facility-visit-5dc5568ec15534947c29c9149b773d1d) “Alligator Alcatraz” on Tuesday, the federal immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades that boasts alligators as part of a natural escape barrier. Now, Trump is vowing to renovate the original Alcatraz, just off the coast of California, a former federal maximum security prison that he claims is, or will be, “surrounded by sharks.”

Before jetting off to Florida, Trump joked with reporters (video below) about detainees facing deportation who would have to navigate around the alligators in the Everglades should they try to escape.

Later in the day, Trump posted to his social media website about his new inspiration.

“Because of the Violence and Criminality I have seen due to the Open Border Policy of Sleepy Joe Biden, in particular allowing millions of people into our Country who shouldn’t be here, I wanted something representative to show how we fight back, and then, it happened,” the President wrote.

READ MORE: ‘This Is Fascism’: Trump Sparks Fury After Calling to Deport U.S. Citizens (https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2025/07/this-is-fascism-trump-sparks-fury-after-calling-to-deport-u-s-citizens/)

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“I saw a picture of ALCATRAZ looking so foreboding, and I said, ‘We’re going to look into renovating and rebuilding the famous ALCATRAZ Prison sitting high on the Bay, surrounded by sharks. What a symbol it is, and will be!’ Conceptual work started six months ago, and various prison development firms are looking at doing it with us. Still a little early, but lots of promise!”

CNN’s Edward-Isaac Dovere remarked (https://x.com/IsaacDovere/status/1940121636289880268), “the president says he’s looking into spending federal money, in part, to put sharks into the San Francisco Bay.”

If Trump actually wants Alcatraz to be surrounded by truly dangerous sharks, as Dovere notes he may have to bring them there. The ones currently surrounding the tiny island reportedly may not be especially dangerous, according to the Pacific Open Water Swim Co. (https://www.pacificswim.co/sharks-in-san-francisco-bay-what-swimmers-need-to-know/)

Other critics blasted Trump’s remarks.

Investment banker Evaristus Odinikaeze remarked (https://x.com/odinikaeze/status/1940123187489939511), “So we’re rebuilding Alcatraz based on… a vibe?”

“Trump saw a moody picture of a defunct prison and decided that’s the future of immigration policy, locking up desperate families on a shark-surrounded island like a Bond villain with zoning permits,” he added. “This cruel and reckless governance is nothing but a cinematic cosplay with real human lives at stake.”

READ MORE: Trump Pushes Census Do-Over to Exclude Non-Citizens — and to Immediately Redistrict House (https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2025/07/trump-pushes-census-do-over-to-exclude-non-citizens-and-to-immediately-redistrict-house/)

Another social media user wrote (https://x.com/4HumanUnity/status/1940122103623426078): “Trump wants to bring back Alcatraz. Not to house mob bosses or war criminals, but to make a ‘symbol’ out of locking up desperate migrants. Sharks and spectacle. This isn’t immigration policy. It’s a twisted cruelty straight out of a 1930s Germany. You don’t rebuild a prison for the camera unless cruelty is the point. That’s not ‘fighting back’, that’s feeding fear and hatred to your base and calling it leadership. History already wrote this playbook, and it ends in concentration camps, not justice. We are better than this, no?”

Watch the video below or at this link (https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2025/07/surrounded-by-sharks-after-touring-alligator-alcatraz-trump-vows-to-renovate-original/).

cosplay alligator alca w desantis

an 7 25

During a press conference at a new immigrant detention center in the Florida Everglades, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem used her remarks to share a strange and graphic story about a cannibal who was being deported.

The Daily Beast reported Tuesday (https://www.thedailybeast.com/kristi-noem-says-cannibal-ate-himself-on-ice-deportation-flight/) that while visiting the facility — dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz" — alongside President Donald Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump), Noem defended the new detention facility as necessary in order to remove criminals from the United States. As a way of illustrating the character of the people the Trump administration says it's focused on deporting, the DHS secretary recounted one deportation flight (https://x.com/therecount/status/1940081630976135442) in which a man allegedly engaged in cannibalism — on himself.

"We are going after murderers and rapists and traffickers and drug dealers and getting them off the streets and getting them out of this country because [former President] Joe Biden let the worst of the worst to come in here," Noem said. "The other day, I was talking to some marshals that had been partnering with [Immigration and Customs Enforcement]. They said that they had detained a cannibal and put him on a plane to take him home and while they had him in his seat, he started to eat himself. And they had to get him off and get him medical attention."

READ MORE:GOP 'going to suffer': Senate Republicans slammed after Trump bill narrowly passes (https://www.alternet.org/msn-uk/trump-senate-megabill-reactions/#)

"These are the kind of deranged individuals that are on our streets in America that we're trying to target and get out of our country, because they are so deranged they don't belong here," she added.

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Noem's claim about the alleged cannibal on the deportation flight has yet to be verified, but some of the more recent immigration arrests cast doubt on the administration's narrative that they're exclusively targeting "the worst of the worst." One 64 year-old Iranian woman who was recently arrested while gardening at her home in New Orleans, Louisiana by plainclothes agents had been in the U.S. for 47 years (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/27/ice-detains-woman-iran-new-orleans) and had no criminal record.

Last month in Culver City, California, federal agents arrested local vendor Ambrocio Lozano (https://ktla.com/news/community-rallies-for-culver-city-ice-cream-vendor-detained-by-federal-agents/), who was known for selling ice cream out of a cart for roughly two decades to the local community. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove said Lozano was "snatched, kidnapped, by folks masked in unmarked cars with no warrants."

The "Alligator Alcatraz" facility in South Florida is expected to hold up to 5,000 people at one time (https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/01/us/what-is-alligator-alcatraz-florida), on an abandoned airfield in the middle of swampland surrounded by alligators and dangerous snakes. Trump quipped that immigrants running from alligators shouldn't "run in a straight line." (https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5379260-trump-advises-migrants-evade-alligator-alcatraz/)

READ MORE:'That's not true and you know that': CNN host shuts down MAGA guest in front of viewers (https://www.alternet.org/cnn-host-maga-guest/)

Watch the video of Noem's comments below, or byclicking this link. (http://alternet.org/noem-deportation-flight)

an 6 25

Noem-led dept 'spending like drunken sailors' as report says Trump agency is $1 billion over budget

BUSTED: Trump official who misled the public is now in charge of LA Border Patrol - Alternet.org (https://www.alternet.org/la-border-patrol/)

bovino

NOEM SAYS REASON IS SOCIALIST LIBERATION

AN 6 25

MMA

June 25, 2025, edition of Newsmax's Rob Schmitt Tonight

ROB SCHMITT (HOST): The Big Beautiful Bill, there's a word that potentially by Friday this thing could get through. It has $150 billion for the deportation agenda. I know that's money that you desperately need to get this job done. You got a lot on your shoulders here. Money to finish the wall. More ICE and border agents.

The parliamentarian, though, who's been around since Harry Reid put her in place like 13 years ago, is striking down a lot of parts of this bill that deal with immigration. Some say that she's a partisan actor. The ability to defund sanctuary cities, she's taking that out. Where are you at with that? What's your perspective on that? And are you still going to get enough to do your job as you see it now?

TOM HOMAN (GUEST): Well, she ought to pay attention to current affairs. We got — what Biden did in four years is the biggest national security vulnerability this country ever has. We got over 20 million illegal aliens in this country. We got over 2 million known gotaways that escaped, didn't want to be vetted, didn't want to be fingerprinted, didn't want to give away program, a free flight, free hotel, three meals a day and free medical care. That should scare the hell out of everybody. This should be a nonpartisan issue. We got 20 million illegal aliens. We got 2 million gotaways. We got less than 5,000 deportation officers. There are concentrating on the worst of the worst. Fund us. We need more agents. We need more beds. We need more transportation contracts. We need more targeting. This is a national security issue. Everybody should be on the same side on this.

SCHMITT: I got 10 seconds left. That bill gets through, about how long are we looking at until we have what would be considered a completed wall system for the areas that need it at the southern border? Is there an estimation?

HOMAN: I don't have an estimation. The quicker we get the money, the quicker we can get going. So the more money we get, the more we can do. But I can tell you, the border wall is a big part of this administration's efforts. That would be a priority.

BUSTED: Trump official who misled the public is now in charge of LA Border Patrol - Alternet.org (https://www.alternet.org/la-border-patrol/)

bovino

RWW

06/10/2025

Kyle Mantyla (https://www.peoplefor.org/post_author/kyle-mantyla)

Nina Golgowski @ HuffPost (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ileana-garcia-condemns-trump-immigration-policies_n_6846ea24e4b0ee4cf20cef74): Latinas For Trump Co-Founder Rips Trump Immigration Policies As ‘Unacceptable And Inhumane’

“This is not what we voted for," said Florida state Sen. Ileana Garcia (R), while accusing Trump of undermining “the sense of fairness and justice.”

Gabe Ortiz @ Combating Natavist Narratives (https://americasvoicecnn.substack.com/p/stephen-millers-brutal-obsessions): Stephen Miller’s Brutal Obsessions Are On Full Display In Workplaces, Courthouses, and Neighborhoods

The mass deportation architect-in-chief's lifelong, maniacal preoccupation with vilifying immigrants has reached new autocratic heights.

Hemant Mehta @ Friendly Atheist (https://www.friendlyatheist.com/p/an-oklahoma-city-employee-moonlights): An Oklahoma City employee moonlights as a pastor who preaches death for LGBTQ people

During the work week, Dillon Awes secures city data. But at the church he runs, he has a history of despicable sermons.

Jessica Mason Pieklo @ Rewire (https://rewirenewsgroup.com/2025/06/10/trump-wants-these-two-culture-warriors-to-be-federal-judges/): Trump Wants These Two ‘Culture Warriors’ to Be Federal Judges

If confirmed for lifetime appointments, Whitney Hermandorfer and Josh Divine could be more loyal to the president than they are to the U.S. Constitution.

Molly Olmstead @ Slate (https://slate.com/life/2025/06/trump-elon-musk-news-fight-woke-right.html): Why Conservatives Are Calling Each Other “Woke” No

Here we have a fight between those who are concerned about the radicalization of young white men, and those who see it as an asset.

Anna Merlan @ Mother Jones (https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/06/leland-lehrman-make-america-healthy-again-institute-antisemitism-september-11/): The Head of a New RFK-Backing Group Promoted 9/11 Conspiracy Theories and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion

Leland Lehrman is a key figure in the MAHA world, despite decades of pushing extremist ideas.

AN 6 25

In an article published by the Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/06/10/trump-guantanamo-deportations/) on Tuesday afternoon, June 10, journalists John Hudson and Alex Horton reported that the Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) Administration — as part of its mass deportations programs — "is preparing to begin the transfer of potentially thousands of foreigners who are in the United States illegally to the U.S. military base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba."

According to Hudson and Horton, "It is far from clear whether the facilities there can accommodate 9000 new detainees, an influx that would amount to a massive increase from the several hundred migrants moved to and from the base earlier this year. But Trump Administration officials say the plan is necessary due to a need to free up capacity at domestic detention facilities, which have become overcrowded amid President Donald Trump’s pledge to implement the biggest deportation of undocumented migrants in American history."

Hudson and Horton noted a Trump Administration memo that reads, "GTMO is not at capacity."

READ MORE: Navy veteran warns Americans that we're getting to the dangerous point of no return (https://www.alternet.org/trump-danger-2672350423/)

But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is claiming (https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/white-house-rejects-report-trump-is-ramping-up-guantanamo-deportations-fake-news/) that the Post's reporting is inaccurate and that the Trump Administration has no plans to use Guantánamo for deportees.

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In a June 11 post on X (https://x.com/PressSec/status/1932759627571060790), formerly Twitter, Leavitt wrote, "This story is Fake News. Not happening."

Leavitt's tweet is getting a lot of responses.

Radio host Thomas P. Logan tweeted (https://x.com/TokyoTom2020/status/1932761033825005837), "More like, y'all got busted and now you have to back down."

READ MORE:'Blood, detentions and incarcerations': Analyst says Trump isn't satisfying MAGA's demands (https://www.alternet.org/trump-maga-demands/)

Sara Norton (https://x.com/bayberrybets/status/1932786727925731615) posted"Be a human being for a change. They are NOT sending hardened criminals to these prisons like felon Trump promised. Read what is going on. You make me sick by the way."

X user Richard Angwin posted (https://x.com/RichardAngwin/status/1932768522423128429), "Karoline Leavitt’s reckless dismissal of a credible Washington Post report reeks of desperation to shield Trump’s authoritarian overreach, further eroding any shred of trust in this administration’s propaganda machine.

In late January, Trump himself said he would sign an executive order (https://www.mediaite.com/media/tv/trump-says-hes-ordering-massive-detention-camp-built-at-guantanamo-bay/) authorizing the construction of a huge detention camp at Guantánamo Bay that would host as many as 30,000 migrants.

READ MORE:'Unacceptable and egregious': Veterans blast Trump for goading troops to boo his opponents (https://www.alternet.org/trump-troops-military/)

AN 5 25

Vance’s campaign plane carried anti-immigrant rhetoric. Now it carries shackled deportees (https://www.alternet.org/vance-campaign-plane/)

AN 6 25

During his first presidency, Donald Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) spent a lot of time fighting with conservative appointees who resisted parts of his agenda — from John Bolton (national security adviser) to Jeff Sessions (U.S. attorney general) to Rex Tillerson (secretary of state) to Gen. John F. Kelly (White House chief of staff). Trump's third White House press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, even ended up endorsing presidential nominee Kamala Harris (https://www.rawstory.com/tag/white-house) at the 2024 Democratic National Convention.

But Trump's second presidency is much different. This time, he made a point of surrounding himself with hardcore MAGA loyalists—who, the Washington Post's Philip Bump argues in his June 2 column (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/06/02/noem-homan-immigration-trump-authoritarian/), are making a concerted effort to bully and intimidate opponents and create a climate of fear.

Trump, Bump warns, has a "range of dishonest actors" at his disposal. And they range from White House adviser Stephen Miller to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem to immigration czar Tom Homan.

READ MORE: 'Beyond the pale': Scarborough rips 'childish' Joni Ernst for 'mocking her constituents' (https://www.alternet.org/ernst-scarborough-trump-medicaid/)

"What President Donald Trump wants is to put big deportation numbers on the scoreboard," Bump explains. "Recent reporting suggests that senior administration officials, including adviser Stephen Miller, are leaning on DHS to remove more people, faster. Trump’s 2024 campaign promised to focus on removing the massive population of criminal undocumented immigrants in the U.S. But, in part because his claims about the scale of the problem have consistently been hyperbolic, the (Trump) Administration is instead resorting to deporting just about anyone it can conceivably fit into the system."

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Bump notes that the intimidation tactics of Trump and his allies range from the arrests of Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-New Jersey) and Judge Hannah Dugan to DHS agents accusing Rep. Jerry Nadler's (D-New York) staff of "harboring rioters" and even handcuffing a Nadler staffer.

"In San Diego," Bump observes, "heavily armed immigration officers conducted a raid at a restaurant. When observers attempted to halt the arrests, the federal agents allegedly used a stun grenade against the crowd. That incident was perhaps the most extreme of a number of tense, aggressive encounters between immigration officials and the public over the past four months…. It also seems clear that some agents understand they won’t be held accountable for their actions."

Bump adds, "Detaining a staffer in member of Congress' office in search of 'rioters' from a nonexistent riot doesn't comport with a liberal democracy."

READ MORE:'Mass delusion fueled by charisma': Expert explains why Trump's followers still believe in him (https://www.alternet.org/rumpism-cult-new-republic/)

Nadler told the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/31/nyregion/nadler-aide-handcuffed-federal-agents.html), "The Trump Administration is really using totalitarian or even authoritarian practices. We have to fight them. We don't want to be a fascist country."

Bump laments, "This is the reality. Immigrants are cast as dangerous when they aren't. Governmental power is abused without accountability. All of it at Trump’s whim — very much to Nadler's 'authoritarian' point."

READ MORE:'Disappointed': Musk says Trump's bill 'undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing' (https://www.alternet.org/musk-trump-bill-doge/)

*Philip Bump's full Washington Post column is available at this link (https://www.msnbc.com/live) (subscription required)

:{---

MMA

Matt Walsh urges Trump to ignore the Supreme Court's ruling on notice before deportations: “It's illegitimate. It's ridiculous. Trump should ignore it.” (https://www.mediamatters.org/matt-walsh/matt-walsh-urges-trump-ignore-supreme-courts-ruling-notice-deportations-its-illegitimate)

05/19/25

an 5 25

Educator Ross Rosenfeld tells The New Republic that Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) is exploiting so-called “emergency” powers to create a permanent dictatorship.

“The office of dictator (https://imperiumromanum.pl/en/roman-constitution/roman-republic/roman-offices/roman-dictator/) was created in the early Roman Republic, when it granted a single person — a prominent and trusted citizen — immense power in times of emergency,” writes Rosenfeld.

And of course this power was exploited by the likes of Roman general Sulla (https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/soldiers-roman-general-sulla/), who used that legislative procedure to entrench himself as dictator for life. Julius Caesar later used it to permanently bring an end of the Roman Republic and mire it in a series of dictatorships.

READ MORE: 'Doesn't have a clue': GOP congressman buries Marjorie Taylor Greene in heated exchange (https://www.alternet.org/marjorie-big-beautiful-bill/)

“A couple of millennia later, and half a world away, Donald Trump is taking steps in that direction,” he said, courtesy of complicity and courts.

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Woodrow Wilson (https://www.history.com/articles/national-state-of-emergency-us-presidents) was the first president to formally declare a national emergency and use this additional power to prepare the nation for World War I. FDR issued three national emergency proclamations, two related to World War II. Then, in 1976, Congress passed the National Emergencies Act (https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/declared-national-emergencies-under-national-emergencies-act) (NEA) giving presidents broad emergency powers. It originally included a check on that authority by reining in an emergency declaration through a vote, but the Supreme Court overturned (https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/supreme-courts-contribution-confrontation-over-emergency-powers) that check in the 1983. Presidents soon made emergency declarations a well-worn tool in the White House toolbox.

Ronald Reagan used the NEA six times during his eight years in office. Bill Clinton used it 18 times. George W. Bush declared an emergency 14 times against foreign entities related to terrorism, as did Barack Obama. But since retaking office, Trump has “declared eight (https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/declared-national-emergencies-under-national-emergencies-act) national emergencies in just a few short months.”

“He’s used the NEA to militarize the Southern border (https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/declared-national-emergencies-under-national-emergencies-act) against ‘invasion’ and to enact tariffs (https://www.axios.com/2025/04/18/trump-national-emergency-declarations) against the entire world,” writes Rosenfeld. “He declared a national energy emergency (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/09/climate/energy-emergency-lawsuit.html), even though no such emergency exists, so that he can push through more fossil fuel permits.”

Read more:'Be quiet!' Inside the 5 most explosive moments from Kristi Noem's 'laughable' testimony (https://www.alternet.org/kristi-noem-hearing/)

Trump coupled his NEA “emergencies” with the 1798 Alien Enemies Act (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy871w21d3vo) to violate the due process rights of undocumented immigrants “and sentence them to a lifetime of detention in El Salvador.” Trump has considered using the 1807 Insurrection Act (https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/04/19/trump-insurrection-act-military-hegseth-noem/) to use American troops to deal with a "rebellion" within U.S. borders. Presidential advisor Stephen Miller (https://youtu.be/evIsu20wFLI&t=605s) even considered suspending habeas corpus for undocumented immigrants, depriving them of any due process rights, in defiance of the Constitution.

Suspending habeas corpus is easier with “a Congress controlled by a feeble, impotent Republican Party,” Rosenfeld said. After all, when the Roman Senate suspended due process procedures for Gaius Gracchus they conveniently “shielded themselves from any responsibility for actions taken during the crisis.”

Rahm Emmanuel once said “Never let a crisis go to waste,” and Rosenfeld says Trump and Miller have exploited “Rahm’s rule” to craft a rule of governance that deliberately creates “a continual state of crisis and turmoil, allowing the president to assume expansive emergency powers.”

READ MORE:'None of that is true': RFK Jr. gets repeatedly fact-checked to his face in tense hearing (https://www.alternet.org/rfk-fact-checked/)

“Crises lend themselves to authoritarian rule, and often in the aftermath it’s extraordinarily difficult to return to republican government,” Rosenfeld warns.

But what commonly comes after a dictator is another dictator, and Americans made a mistake in “putting a fascist back in office after his first attempt to overthrow the government."

Read the full TNR report here (https://newrepublic.com/article/195218/trump-emergency-powers-become-permanent).

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mma

Right-wing media defend the Trump administration’s deportation of children with US citizenship (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/right-wing-media-defend-trump-administrations-deportation-children-us-citizenship)}:

05/02/25

mma

Right-wing media defend the Trump administration’s deportation of children with US citizenship

The families were reportedly not given a chance to make alternate arrangements for the children, but right-wing media are still claiming the mothers chose to take their kids and are attacking them as “anchor babies”

Written by Gideon Taaffe (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/gideon-taaffe) & Noah Dowe (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/noah-dowe)

Published 05/02/25

The Trump administration deported two women along with their U.S. citizen children to Honduras last week, including a 4-year-old who was “receiving treatment for metastatic cancer.” While the Trump administration claims the mothers took the children with them willingly, lawyers for the families noted that the mothers were not given meaningful access to lawyers or family members to make alternate arrangements.

Right-wing media have defended the administration’s actions by claiming migrants are using children as “anchor babies,” blaming the parents for their children being removed from the country, and calling it “a nonstory.”

The Trump administration deported two women alongside their U.S. citizen children, reportedly without giving them access to their lawyers

Three U.S. citizen children were deported to Honduras along with their mothers, including a 4-year-old “with Stage 4 cancer who was sent without medication.” As the BBC reported, “Three young children who are US citizens — including one with cancer — were deported to Honduras alongside their mothers last week, according to advocacy groups and the families' lawyers.” BBC, [4/28/25 (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g8yj2n33yo)]

The Trump administration has claimed that the kids weren’t technically deported, but were allowed to leave as the mothers wanted to take them.Trump “border czar” Tom Homan added, “This is parenting 101. You can decide to take that child with you, or you can decide to leave a child here with a relative or another spouse.” CBS News, [4/27/25 (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tom-homan-border-czar-deportation-us-citizen-honduras-face-the-nation/)]

The lawyers for the families have said they were given no real opportunity to make alternate arrangements for the children. According to NBC News, “One mother who was about to be deported was allowed less than two minutes on the phone with her husband to figure out what would become of her 2-year-old U.S. citizen child. Another mother wasn’t allowed to speak with attorneys or family members before she was deported, accompanied by her U.S.-born children, even though Immigration and Customs Enforcement knew one of them had Stage 4 cancer.” NBC News, [4/28/25 (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/deported-moms-citizen-children-cancer-trump-officials-rcna203398)]

A federal judge in Louisiana stated his “strong suspicion that the Government just deported a U.S. citizen with no meaningful process,” even as the father was trying to keep her in the country.According to Politico, lawyers had filed an emergency petition trying to get the child released from ICE custody. Politico, [4/25/25 (https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/25/us-citizen-deportation-donald-trump-00311631)]

The ACLU of Louisiana issued a statement condemning the “deeply troubling circumstances” of the case, which they say “raise serious due process concerns” and “stand in direct violation of ICE’s own written and informal directives.”The statement is co-signed by seven human rights and immigration figures. Ware Immigration’s Erin Hebert said that “deporting U.S. citizen children is illegal, unconstitutional, and immoral,” and Teresa Reyes-Flores of the Southeast Dignity not Detention Coalition argued, “ICE’s actions show a blatant violation of due process and basic human rights.” ACLU, [4/25/25 (https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/ice-deports-3-u-s-citizen-children-held-incommunicado-prior-to-the-deportation)]

Right-wing media have defended Trump’s actions by calling the children “anchor babies,” blaming the deported parents, and dismissing the issue as a “nonstory”

Newsmax host Rob Finnerty dismissed the deportations, saying the kids “are only U.S. citizens because their illegal alien parents came here and then had children in the United States.” Finnerty also claimed that “the media didn’t mention that ICE has no idea where their fathers are. They could stay with their fathers, potentially, but ICE isn't even sure if their fathers are still in the United States.” Newsmax, Finnerty, [4/29/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4029841)]

Newsmax host Rob Schmitt complained that “evidently, illegals using their kids as anchor babies can now no longer be deported if the child is sick.” Schmitt accused Biden of “treasonously” inviting “20 million people” into America and attacked the media for going after “every little mistake \of the Trump administration] they can and exploit it.” [Newsmax, Rob Schmitt Tonight, [4/28/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4029843)]

On Newsmax, Washington Examiner’s Tiana Lowe Doescher said that “this is the opposite of family separation policy.” She continued, “We can’t have a double standard where there is no due process to enter the country … and we need all the due process in the world to get out. Trump is very, very smart for starting with the most unsavory of characters.” Newsmax, The Right Squad, [4/28/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4029844)]

Fox host Laura Ingraham said that the children “were just anchors for more illegal immigration” and praised Trump for “keeping the families together in their home countries.” Ingraham framed the issue as being about the “children of illegals” rather than minors who are U.S. citizens. Fox News,The Ingraham Angle, [4/28/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4029845)]

Fox host Will Cain praised Tom Homan for “talking about the common sense of parenting and the consequences when you are doing something illegal as a parent.”Cain added, “Any crime, including the crime of illegal immigration, carries with it consequences.” Fox News, The Will Cain Show, [4/28/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4029850)]

While interviewing Homan, Fox’s Jason Chaffetz accused a media outlet of “pushing a fake headline, accusing the administration of deporting children with cancer.”Homan responded by saying the administration doesn’t deport U.S. citizens. Fox News, The Big Weekend Show, [4/27/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4029851)

Fox News correspondent Kevin Corke justified the deportations by saying that “90% of moms, if not higher, would be like ‘my baby is coming with me.’” Corke added, “They’re going to try to play this in the media, but I think they’re barking up the wrong tree here.” Fox News, The Big Weekend Show, [4/26/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4029849)]

OnFox & Friends, co-host Ainsley Earhardt praised Homan for arguing that it is the parents’ fault their children were sent to Honduras with their mothers. Earhardt: “How great was his press conference yesterday? He was like, ‘Don't blame me or don’t blame our country if you came here illegally and you had children here.’ He said, ‘We're going to deport you. That's not our fault. That's the parents for doing that to the children.’” Fox News,Fox & Friends, [4/29/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4029853)]

Right-wing pundit Dave Rubin attacked the mothers for trying to “skirt around the law … and do whatever you want with your kids.”Rubin continued, “One day it is very likely, especially if you live in a red state, that it is going to come smack you in the face.” YouTube, The Rubin Report, [4/28/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4029855)]

Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro suggested that it was a “lie” that Trump was deporting “innocent 2-year olds” because “that mom wanted the child to go with her.”Shapiro continued, “So, again, the media tried to report that as the Trump administration kind of stealing away, in the dead of night, two-year-olds. That's not happening.” Daily Wire, The Ben Shapiro Show, [4/28/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/ben-shapiro/ben-shapiro-defends-trump-administration-after-judge-noted-two-year-old-us-citizen-may)]

UnHerd magazine’s Emily Jashinsky argued deporting children along with their mothers is “just plainly a nonstory.” She suggested that what happened is a “common sense” outcome of “when somebody comes to the United States, overstays, is not supposed to be in the country anymore, and has a child there.” SiriusXM, The Megyn Kelly Show, [4/28/25 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4029856)]

QAnon figure David Marc Fishman said the deportations were a “fake story” because “the parents made the choice."He continued, “They could have said kids, stay here. We’re leaving you. They decided to take the children with them.” Rumble, X22 Report, 4/27/25; Bug-eyed and Shameless, [12/12/23 (https://www.bugeyedandshameless.com/p/the-x22-report)]

Right-wing influencer Alexander Muse, known online as “Amuse,” asked if “Democrats now support child separation.” Twitter/X, \4/27/25 (https://x.com/amuse/status/1916488704589271498); The Guardian, [8/26/24 (https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/aug/24/trump-taylor-swift-deepfakes-ai)]

Article III Project’s Will Chamberlain claimed that the left “wants childbearing to be a get-out-of-jail free card for illegal immigration.” Twitter/X, [4/26/25 (https://x.com/willchamberlain/status/1916158453292183792)]

Fox News attacked due process at least 77 times in just over five weeks (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/fox-news-made-least-77-claims-attacking-due-process-just-over-five-weeks)

04/17/25 2:47 PM EDT

### Fox News anchor claims Trump has “great majority support” on immigration and deportations. Fox’s own polling says otherwise. (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/fox-news-anchor-claims-trump-has-great-majority-support-immigration-and-deportations-0)

05/01/25 12:36 PM EDT

### YouTube content creators have earned more than 200 million views on videos of their visits to El Salvador’s CECOT prison (https://www.mediamatters.org/google/youtube-content-creators-have-earned-more-200-million-views-videos-their-visits-el-salvadors)

04/24/25

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mma

April 29, 2025, edition of Fox News' The Five

JESSICA TARLOV (CO-HOST): There are Americans that are being detained by ICE, and it's not just one person, it's not two people. Yesterday, the story from Oklahoma, a woman and her daughters, her minor daughters, asleep in their home. ICE busted --

JEANINE PIRRO (CO-HOST): You already talked about that.

TARLOV: No, I didn't, it was another -- that's the thing --

PIRRO: Oh, this is another mother with two kids?

TARLOV: Well, the first mother had three kids, I'm glad you're so interested. But yes, this is multiple families being devastated by ICE. But this one is American and that's why it matters. ICE came into the house. There had been people, immigrants, who had lived there and they moved out a few weeks earlier. This family had just moved in. They came in, they made them go outside, including the girls, were taken outside in their underwear. They took their money and their electronics. This is an American family. If that happened to any --

JESSE WATTERS (CO-HOST): Alright, Jessica. No one even believes your stories anymore. They always fall apart.

PIRRO: Yeah, and you know what, they rectified it.

[CROSSTALK]

TARLOV: Literally none of it has fallen apart.

WATTERS: What about the Maryland dad? Whatever happened to him?

TARLOV: That didn't fall apart. He's still some prison --

WATTERS: He's MS-13, Jessica.

TARLOV: He is not --

PIRRO: And there are two orders of deportation on him and he lied about being afraid to go back to El Salvador because he had to admit he was an MS-13 gang member --

TARLOV: Keep going back to one person that you think you have a case about --

[CROSSTALK]

PIRRO: Jessica, let me tell you something --

TARLOV: If someone dragged you out of your house in the middle of the night, you would kill somebody. Literally.

AN 4 25

Smart, progressive women pose a serious threat to MAGA supremacy. Just ask Elon Musk, who wasted millions of dollars in Wisconsin trying to win a seat on the state Supreme Court for MAGA candidate Brad Schimel, only to watch Susan Crawford clean Schimel’s clock.

From his first presidential campaign against Hillary Clinton in 2016, “Lock her up!” has been Donald Trump’s battle cry. Restoring the greatness of a white, male-dominated America apparently requires menacing displays of dominance over women in positions of authority. Who can forget Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) acting like a stalker, invading Clinton’s personal space and looming behind her during a 2016 debate?

On Friday, a few weeks after MAGA lost its bid to disempower the progressive female majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the Trump administration sent federal agents to arrest (https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2025/04/25/fbi-arrests-milwaukee-county-judge/) Hannah Dugan at the Milwaukee County Courthouse. Trump’s attorney general and the man he chose to lead the FBI gleefully posted pictures of Dugan’s “perp walk” in handcuffs, crowing about this unprecedented assault on the dignity and authority of a judge and the sovereignty of local courts.

On Tuesday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended (https://wisconsinexaminer.com/briefs/wisconsin-supreme-court-suspends-judge-hannah-dugan-after-federal-charges/) Dugan. “In order to uphold the public’s confidence in the courts of this state during the pendency of the criminal proceeding against Judge Dugan, we conclude, on our own motion, that it is in the public interest that she be temporarily relieved of her official duties,” the state’s highest court said in a two-page letter ordering Judge Dugan “temporarily prohibited from exercising the powers of a circuit court judge.”

It’s a perplexing decision. It didn’t arise from any complaint; the Court acted on its own. And Dugan had already been relieved of her duties while she focuses on her defense by the chief judge in Milwaukee, who assigned her calendar to other judges to cover.

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Worse, the suspension gives the impression that the federal charges against Dugan are indeed serious. But that impression is not supported by the only evidence the government has produced.

The justification for Dugan’s arrest, laid out in a federal criminal complaint (https://wisconsinexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Dugan-Crim-complaint.pdf), is that she impeded federal law enforcement agents when she objected to ICE disrupting her court’s proceedings and ushered the man they came to arrest out a side door. The defendant, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, who was appearing before Dugan on a misdemeanor battery charge unrelated to his immigration status, exited into the public hallway where the agents were waiting for him. Then they followed him outside and made their arrest — unimpeded.

Fox News claimed (https://www.foxnews.com/us/fbi-arrests-wisconsin-judge-alleging-she-obstructed-arrest-illegal-alien-sources-say) Dugan concealed Flores-Ruiz in a jury room. But that assertion is contradicted by the sworn testimony in the government’s own criminal complaint.

The complaint features breathlessly sexist descriptions of Dugan appearing “visibly angry” and “walking quickly,” as if that were evidence of wrongdoing. But any actual wrongdoing is hard to pinpoint.

“Whatever you think of the actual conduct the complaint alleges,” says Dean Strang, a law professor at Loyola University Chicago School of Law and a long-time Wisconsin criminal defense lawyer, “there is a real question about whether there’s even arguably any federal crime here.”

The government’s behavior, meanwhile, is “extraordinarily atypical,” for a nonviolent, nondrug charge involving someone who is not a flight risk, says Strang.

The handcuffs, the public arrest at Dugan’s workplace, the media circus — none of it was normal, or justified. Then Trump’s Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel began posting pictures of Dugan in handcuffs on social media to brag about it.

“So what is it they are trying to do?” asks Strang. His conclusion: “Humiliate and terrify, not just her but every other judge in the country.”

The bigger issue here, beyond an unprecedented, public display of dominance and intimidation by the Trump administration, is that, in turning federal law enforcement into an arm of his personal, vengeance-themed reality show, Trump is running roughshod over the constitutional principle of federalism, which respects the sovereignty of the states, the integrity of the courts and public safety. Scaring defendants, witnesses and victims away from making court appearances makes it harder to administer justice and makes all of us less safe.

But you’d never know that to listen to Republican state officials, who are championing federal agents barging into courts, schools and churches, forgetting everything they ever said about local control and states’ rights. In a letter released Tuesday, Assembly Republicans led by Speaker Robin Vos sent a letter to Gov. Tony Evers, declaring “our caucus believes it is imperative that our laws reflect the need for local law enforcement to comply with these efforts.”

Republicans accuse Evers of issuing guidance to state officials that impedes federal ICE raids.

“Unfortunately, recent events in Milwaukee have underscored the importance for our state to legislate and enforce compliance with federal immigration law,” their letter declares, citing Dugan’s arrest.

The Republicans demand that Evers rescind guidance telling state agencies that they need not answer questions, hand over files, or allow ICE to enter non-public areas without a warrant.

Capitulating to an administration that has admitted (https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2025/04/28/repub/trump-border-czar-defends-removal-of-u-s-citizen-children/) to deporting U.S. citizens and defied (https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2025/04/11/repub/doj-ordered-to-give-daily-updates-in-standoff-with-judge-over-wrongly-deported-maryland-man/) court orders to effect the return of a man it admits was mistakenly sent to a Salvadoran prison is a terrible idea. Big law firms that agreed (https://newrepublic.com/post/194376/democrats-warn-law-firms-caved-donald-trump) to drop clients and offer free legal work to appease the Trump administration have eroded trust in the law. Authoritarian undermining of our legal system is a grave danger.

The least the most timid among us can do is insist that the federal government follow the law before caving in. That’s what Dugan did, when she asked if the agents who came to her courtroom to arrest Flores-Ruiz had a judicial warrant. They did not. Nor do they have proof that Dugan herself broke any laws.

The last thing we need right now is more capitulation to MAGA bullying. Stand strong.

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES. SUBSCRIBE (https://wisconsinexaminer.com/subscribe)

Wisconsin Examiner (https://wisconsinexaminer.com/) is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Wisconsin Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Ruth Conniff for questions: info@wisconsinexaminer.com.

AN 4 25

The most important constraints on the Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) regime during its heinous first hundred days have been (1) federal courts, (2) stock and bond markets, (3) China and its response to Trump’s tariff madness, (4) some state and local governments (in ways I’ll get to in a moment), and (5) we the people (as I’ll also describe).

Trump has temporarily backed down from the tariffs that shook stock and bond markets. He has also backed away from a trade war with China.

Increasingly, though, the Trump regime has ignored federal court orders (see: Abrego Garcia), but has not yet overtly thumbed its nose at the Supreme Court.

What about state and local governments? What about we the people?

Yesterday, Trump signed an executive order targeting local jurisdictions that are not cooperating with its aggressive crackdown on immigration.

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The order (https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/protecting-american-communities-from-criminal-aliens/) directs Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to publish a list of “sanctuary cities” — places that limit or refuse to cooperate with federal efforts to arrest undocumented immigrants — and pursue “all necessary legal remedies and enforcement measures” against them.

The Trump regime has already sued the city of Rochester, N.Y., accusing its officials of illegally impeding immigration enforcement.

It could sue individuals who obstruct immigration agents. The Justice Department is already prosecuting a Milwaukee judge on charges of obstructing immigration agents.

You may find yourself in the midst of this, particularly if you do as I suggested Sunday — help ensure that undocumented residents of your community know their rights (getting them red cards (https://www.ilrc.org/red-cards-tarjetas-rojas?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADouz7_SPuk6huVfmgrOLhXUrVLXO&gclid=CjwKCAjwn6LABhBSEiwAsNJrjickIj3gLrIyHbiny6DsxYaY0g3ApXUaXSgJgL5b6Qtk8iDu0aPXdxoCt8UQAvD_BwE) in their own languages), and seek to prevent local law enforcement from cooperating with ICE — especially with regard to access to schools, hospitals, courts, and other necessary facilities.

Are you willing to be arrested for obstructing the regime’s pursuit of undocumented immigrants?

This is not just a humanitarian issue. All the residents of our communities — regardless of legal status — need to feel safe when seeking medical attention, when reporting a crime, and when getting their children to and from school and meeting with teachers and counselors.

If they do not feel safe and do not seek these services, our communities can suffer the consequences. Diseases can spread. Crimes can go unreported. Children may not get the education they need.

Besides, legally and constitutionally we live in a system in which cities, counties, and states possess their own powers and authorities. We do not live in a dictatorship in which a ruler can dictate how people live in their localities, and whether they can have access to doctors, hospitals, police, or judges — at least not yet.

Which is why some courts are protecting sanctuary cities.

Last Thursday, a federal judge in San Francisco temporarily blocked the Trump regime from enforcing part of a previous executive order (https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/protecting-the-american-people-against-invasion/#::text=do%20not%20receive%20access%20to%20Federal%20funds.) directing federal agencies to withhold funds from cities and counties that do not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.

Judge William H. Orrick of the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California found that freezing federal funds for jurisdictions that don’t cooperate with federal immigration enforcement threatens local governance — causing budget uncertainty, deprivation of constitutional rights, and undermining trust between the cities and counties and the communities they serve.

When it comes to Trump’s latest executive order, Judge Orrick and other federal judges are likely to rule similarly.

This means that in coming months three of the bulwarks against Trump’s tyranny that I mentioned at the start — the federal courts, state and local governments, and many of us as individual citizens — are likely to be attacked by the Trump regime for much the same reason: for protecting vulnerable people in our communities.

Be warned and be ready.

OMFG

On Friday, April 25, far-right FBI Director Kash Patel announced that Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan has been arrested on federal obstruction charges for allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant "evade arrest."

On X, formerly Twitter, Patel posted (https://x.com/codyrussel70504/status/1915787569171730902), "We believe Judge Dugan intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject to be arrested in her courthouse, Eduardo Flores Ruiz, allowing the subject — an illegal alien — to evade arrest…. Thankfully our agents chased down the perp on foot and he’s been in custody since, but the Judge’s obstruction created increased danger to the public."

A law enforcement official told ABC News (https://abcnews.go.com/US/judge-hannah-dugan-arrested-fbi-allegedly-helping-undocumented/story?id=121161497) that Dugan was arrested at the courthouse.

READ MORE:'Afraid' Trump 'will lose': Lawyers blast firms capitulating to Trump in scathing letter (https://www.alternet.org/lawyer-letter-trump/)

According to MSNBC, Patel's tweet on Dugan was removed from X.

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During an MSNBC appearance, attorney Temidayo Aganga-Williams told host José Díaz-Balart that the arrest of a judge was "unusual" but added, "I think it's going to be a pattern going forward…. I think it's only going to pick up."

Dugan's arrest is receiving plenty of reactions on X, formerly Twitter.

Some MAGA Republicans are applauding the arrest.

READ MORE:How to prepare for the uprising (https://www.alternet.org/the-uprising/)

John Fabbricatore (https://x.com/JohnE_Fabb/status/1915788862191972629), a former field officer for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), tweeted, "Judge Hannah Dugan arrested by FBI for allegedly helping illegal alien 'evade arrest' by ICE. 'Lawfare' by these judges has to stop. This is a good start!"

Far-right MAGA radio host Benny Johnson posted (https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/1915774934002946179), "Another rogue judge down. FAFO."

But others see Dugan's arrest as MAGA ramping up its authoritarian disdain for the rule of law.

Journalist Kristian Ramos tweeted (https://x.com/kramos1841/status/1915783677344202780), "I see we are now at 'arresting judges' on our path to autocracy.

"On Democracy" host Fred Wellman noted (https://x.com/FPWellman/status/1915782816429715951), "Marshalls appear to be confirming she was arrested and other news outlets are picking it up now."

X user Iron Goodman wrote (https://x.com/goodman_ir77146/status/1915785907065512245), "This is a chilling escalation of federal overreach and raises serious questions about the scope of executive power versus judicial independence."

Another X user, Laura Okazaki, posted (https://x.com/OkazakiLaura/status/1915788359622135879), "We must not look away while the feds take us another step into authoritarianism."

X user Hannah Martinez tweeted (https://x.com/hannah_mar26840/status/1915783598705398120), "This is a deeply unsettling development with huge implications for the rule of law and potential abuses of power. The optics are disastrous."

READ MORE: 'Obama 2028' trends after official Trump store starts selling $50 'Trump 2028' hat (https://www.alternet.org/obama-2028-trump-hats/?utm_source=push_notifications)

mma sorta random

### Study: Most Pro-Trump podcasters support Trump's tariffs but some fractures emerge (https://www.mediamatters.org/tariffs-trade/study-most-pro-trump-podcasters-support-trumps-tariffs-some-fractures-emerge)

:{04/16/25

### Right-wing media baselessly promoted claim that Tufts student was associated with Hamas — an internal State Department memo said otherwise (https://www.mediamatters.org/middle-east/right-wing-media-baselessly-promoted-claim-tufts-student-was-associated-hamas-internal)

04/16/25 11:20 AM EDT

### Newsmax host: “The Trump administration needs to purge immigration judges” (https://www.mediamatters.org/newsmax/newsmax-host-trump-administration-needs-purge-immigration-judges)

04/16/25 9:49 AM EDT

### Newsmax host says Kilmar Abrego Garcia “signed up for the thug life” (https://www.mediamatters.org/newsmax/newsmax-host-says-kilmar-abrego-garcia-signed-thug-life)

04/16/25 9:45 AM EDT

### Trump's push to bring back coal finds support with right-wing media (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/trumps-push-bring-back-coal-finds-support-right-wing-media)

04/16/25 9:37 AM EDT

### Newsmax host: “Professors should have to list if they're Republican or Democrat” (https://www.mediamatters.org/newsmax/newsmax-host-professors-should-have-list-if-theyre-republican-or-democrat)

:{04/16/25

### On MSNBC Prime, Angelo Carusone discusses how the Trump administration is systematically targeting news organizations that they consider “oppositional” (https://www.mediamatters.org/msnbc/msnbc-prime-angelo-carusone-discusses-how-trump-administration-systematically-targeting-news)

04/15/25 8:57 PM EDT

### Jesse Watters: “When you wear a Bulls hat, it means you're MS-13” (https://www.mediamatters.org/jesse-watters/jesse-watters-when-you-wear-bulls-hat-it-means-youre-ms-13)

04/15/25 8:35 PM EDT

### Fox News' Trey Gowdy on Kilmar Abrego Garcia: “What we can't have is any executive disobeying or not following a judge's decision” (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-trey-gowdy-kilmar-abrego-garcia-what-we-cant-have-any-executive-disobeying-or-not)

04/15/25 6:49 PM EDT

### Martha MacCallum complains about restrictions on deporting people “en masse” (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/martha-maccallum-complains-about-restrictions-deporting-people-en-masse)

04/15/25 4:11 PM EDT

### Article III Project founder Mike Davis on courts: “If they want to keep fighting ... the president is just gonna ignore these lawless and dangerous orders” (https://www.mediamatters.org/supreme-court/article-iii-project-founder-mike-davis-courts-if-they-want-keep-fighting-president)

04/15/25 4:00 PM EDT

### Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner asks if “Obama and others in his political camp” are antisemitic for supporting Harvard (https://www.mediamatters.org/harris-faulkner/fox-news-anchor-harris-faulkner-asks-if-obama-and-others-his-political-camp-are)

04/15/25

AN 4 25

The Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) lawyer who is now New Jersey’s acting U.S. attorney ratcheted up the buffoonery this week with her claim that she will investigate our governor and attorney general.

Alina Habba appeared on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show Thursday (https://x.com/AlinaHabba/status/1910514829674131833) to say she’s opening an investigation into Gov. Phil Murphy and Attorney General Matt Platkin over the Immigrant Trust Directive, a state order that bars state and local police officers from becoming de facto immigration agents.

“We are to take all criminal, violent criminals and criminals, out of this country and completely enforce federal law, and anybody who does get in that way, in the way of what we are doing, which is not political, it is simply against crime, will be charged in the state of New Jersey for obstruction, for concealment, and I will come after them hard. Those investigations will start immediately,” Habba told Hannity.

A normal prosecutor would probably keep this under wraps so her targets wouldn’t know from minute one that they’re being investigated. But for all we know, there is no actual investigation. Habba, clearly reveling in the attention this high-profile appointment has granted her, wanted to say something that would make headlines, so she did. I wouldn’t be surprised if her on-air threat is as far as this alleged investigation goes.

That Habba is targeting Murphy and Platkin for the Immigrant Trust Directive is not a surprise. Anti-immigration hard-liners like Habba have twisted efforts like the directive to claim that it does something it does not. It does not bar police from working with immigrant agents to arrest suspected criminals. What it does is prevent local cops from seeing a brown person on the street and asking for their papers. But the facts about the directive are not important for Habba; what’s important is she can use it to promise retribution for her — and President Trump’s — political foes.

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Multiple judges have rejected legal challenges to the Immigrant Trust Directive, including one judge appointed by President Trump himself (https://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases21/2021_0809_ITD-Third-Circuit-Opinion.pdf).

Murphy was asked about Habba’s claim on a podcast recorded Friday. His response was fairly muted considering Habba basically threatened to arrest him, but at least he defended his administration’s efforts to protect the countless immigrants living in New Jersey who have done nothing wrong.

“We go after criminals hard, period, full stop, regardless of their immigration status. What we don’t do is we don’t go after somebody for jaywalking or where there’s no probable cause of a crime. And we’re very clear about that,” Murphy said.

Platkin, speaking at an unrelated press conference in Newark, was a bit more knives-out when asked about Habba.

“I hope she starts doing her job,” Platkin said.

Seems unlikely. The U.S. attorney gig is a plum appointment, but it’s probably a bit of a slog overseeing nearly 200 attorneys and handling some complicated cases. That’s probably why we didn’t see a lot of Habba’s predecessors, Craig Carpenito and Philip Sellinger, yet Habba is out here cosplaying as a cop for the New York Post (https://nypost.com/2025/04/02/us-news/teen-bloods-gang-member-nabbed-by-feds-nj-cops-with-alina-habba-in-tow/) and targeting Democrats on Fox News. That sounds a lot more fun than doing work.

Amy Torres, executive director of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, told me Habba’s threat against Murphy and Platkin is in line with the Trump administration’s focus on TV ratings and viral social media posts rather than governing. It’s also part of a broader attempt by the administration to make sure their opponents know they could end up in jail or, if possible, deported.

“They’ll go after political opponents, whether those are individuals, whether those are student protestors, whether those are institutions like law firms and universities, or whether those are state governments,” Torres said

an 4 25

Backing up the Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) administration, the President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, says he has no intention or ability to return an unlawfully removed Maryland legal resident, Kilmar Abrego García, to the United States. Abrego García was wrongly deported to a notorious maximum security “mega-prison” for terrorists in El Salvador.

“How can I return him to the United States?” President Bukele said to reporters on Monday, during a meeting with President Donald Trump and his top officials in the Oval Office, as reported by The Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/04/14/trump-presidency-news-tariffs-deportations/). “I smuggle him into the United States? Of course I’m not going to do it.”

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court (https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24a949_lkhn.pdf) in an apparent unanimous opinion (https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-maryland-deportation-trump-9f46dd62890befdc321ed1ab56107470) ordered the Trump administration to “facilitate” the return of Abrego García to the United States.

Minutes before President Bukele’s remarks, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller, on-camera in the Oval Office, delivered what is being called an “outrageous misinterpretation” of the Supreme Court’s opinion, which was quickly condemned.

READ MORE: Trump Rages Against Critics, All But Silent on Alleged Terror Attack on Dem Governor (https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2025/04/trump-rages-against-critics-all-but-silent-on-alleged-terror-attack-on-dem-governor/)

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“I promise you, if he was your neighbor, you would move right away,” Miller, who was the architect of the first Trump administration’s child separation policy, told reporters.

“What was the ruling in the Supreme Court, Steve, was it nine to nothing?” President Trump interjected.

“Yes, it was a 9-0, in our favor,” Miller wrongly claimed. “against the district court ruling, saying that no district court has the power to compel the foreign policy function of the United States.”

“As Pam said,” Miller continued, referring to Attorney General Pam Bondi, “the ruling solely stated that if this individual—at El Salvador’s sole discretion—was sent back to our country, that we could deport him a second time.”

“No version of this legally ends up with him ever living here, because he is a citizen of El Salvador,” Miller claimed, before pointing reporters to Bukele.

“That is the president of El Salvador. Your questions about it per the court can only be directed to him,” said Miller.

Attorney Michael Kasdan responded (https://x.com/michaelkasdan/status/1911815313877819717) to Miller’s remarks: “We have reached the point where the White House openly lies on television about what a unanimous Supreme Court ruling against them says. The stuff of dystopian novels.”

“This is a blatant lie. The Supreme Court ruled 9-0 AGAINST Trump,” wrote (https://x.com/peoplefor/status/1911817977412104491) the progressive nonprofit People For the American Way.

READ MORE: ‘Apocalyptic’: Trump Plan Would Be ‘Science Demolition Derby’ Experts Warn (https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2025/04/apocalyptic-trump-plan-would-be-science-demolition-derby-experts-warn/)

“This is deeply Orwellian. The Court ruled against the Trump administration 9-0,” observed (https://x.com/MeidasTouch/status/1911816440581378118) the MeidasTouch Network.

Conservative legal activist and political commentator Ed Whelan, who clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, weighed in (https://x.com/EdWhelanEPPC/status/1911822588612846073).

“Outrageous misrepresentation of Supreme Court ruling,” Whelan declared, serving up a somewhat technical legal analysis. “The unanimous Court ruled that the district-court order ‘properly requires the Government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.’ Yes, the Court also stated that the “intended scope of the term ‘effectuate’ in the District Court’s order is, however, unclear, and may exceed the District Court’s authority,” and it told the district court to ‘clarify its directive, with due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs.’ But: (1) ‘due regard’ doesn’t mean that the district court couldn’t give any teeth to ‘effectuate’; (2) in any event, the district court dropped ‘effectuate’ from its revised order, so this is all irrelevant. Duty to ‘facilitate’ continues.”

Commenting on the video, immigration attorney Allen Orr Jr. Esq. wrote (https://x.com/allenorresq/status/1911826246616695081): “When you tell yourself the story you want to believe even when it is fiction.”

Watch the video below or at this link (https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2025/04/dystopian-miller-makes-outrageous-claim-as-el-salvador-refuses-to-return-us-resident/).

like fucking herpes

an 4 25

Former Blackwater CEO Erik Prince and defense contractors are aiming to cash in on deportations to a Central American prison/holding facility.

Prince — the brother of President Donald Trump's former education secretary, Betsy DeVos — hopes his proposal can skirt U.S. immigration laws by designating a section of a sprawling El Salvadoran prison as American territory, Politico reported. Proposed new language claiming “transferring a prisoner to such a facility would not be an Extradition nor a Deportation” raises the specter of deporting U.S. citizens to offsite facilities because "deportation" may only qualify as a "transfer." Politico's Dasha Burns and Myah Ward noted that Prince's proposal "could be a precursor to deporting U.S. citizens" even though the facility is initially only for holding undocumented immigrants.

Trump has already floated plans to deport U.S. citizens.

READ MORE: 'Could be the last one standing': Trump aims to 'illegally remove' head of bipartisan board

The facility, which has already drawn accusations of violence and overcrowding from human rights groups, could receive thousands more immigrants from facilities in the U.S. There is no word on how accessible the expanded Central American prison would be to immigrant defense attorneys and affected families, however.

It is unclear how seriously the White House is considering Prince’s plan.

A shooting incident in Nisour Square left 17 Iraqi citizens dead, allegedly at the hands of four Blackwater guards, nearly two decades ago. Intense government investigations, scrutiny, private security reform and criminal charges ensued. In 2014, an American jury found the Blackwater guards guilty of various criminal charges, from murder to weapons offenses.

Trump pardoned Blackwater contractors jailed for the massacre in 2020.

READ MORE: Outrage as video of Trump bragging about enriching his billionaire pals emerges

The facility is pitched as a holding pen for “criminal illegal aliens,” but the administration has made it clear that the only criminality necessary for arrest and deportation to an offsite prison is being on U.S. soil.

“[B]ecause they illegally broke our nation’s laws, and, therefore, they are criminals, as far as this administration goes,” said Trump Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt in January.

Most immigrants swept up within the last two months do not have criminal records in the United States.

Read the full POLITICO article at this link.

READ MORE: 'Punched the bully in the face': How some Republicans found courage to take on Trump

an 4 25

The Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) administration this week reportedly classified thousands of immigrants living in the United States as dead in a Social Security database in an effort to force them out of the country, a scheme that was met with furious uproar from advocates and lawmakers.

By entering the names and Social Security numbers of roughly 6,000 immigrants into Social Security's "death master file," the administration has revoked their ability to legally work in the U.S. and receive benefits in a bid to get them to "self-deport," several news outlets reported Thursday.

"This is an outrageous abuse of power," Nancy Altman, president of the advocacy group Social Security Works (https://www.commondreams.org/tag/social-security-works), said in a statement (https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/donald-trump-and-elon-musk-are-weaponizing-social-security). "It will not only create extreme hardship, but kill people. Imagine, in one Trump administration keystroke, losing your income, your health insurance, access to your bank account, your credit cards, your home, and more."

"If they get away with this, it would be no surprise if they then move on to marking their perceived enemies as dead—citizens and non-citizens alike," Altman added. "This is a total misuse of the dedicated revenue that workers contribute to Social Security, with every paycheck. Though Trump claimed he wouldn't cut benefits, he essentially is by diverting dedicated monies from their intended purpose of paying Social Security benefits to the immoral purpose of maliciously ruining lives."

"The Trump administration's weaponization of Social Security is shocking and unconscionable, and we expect House Republicans will remain silent."

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The Washington Postreported (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/04/10/self-deportation-immigrants-social-security-dead/) that the classification of thousands of immigrants as "dead" came at the request of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who—in tandem with other administration officials—is trampling basic rights (https://www.commondreams.org/news/irs-ice) as she moves to carry out Trump's mass deportation agenda.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, called (https://x.com/ReichlinMelnick/status/1910425163813851368) the Trump administration's scheme "utterly unprecedented" and warned that it "has the potential to cause immense problems for people."

"And it's also one with a HUGE potential for error," he wrote on social media. "If the data isn't perfect, people here legally might be effectively declared dead."

According to (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/04/10/self-deportation-immigrants-social-security-dead/) the Post, "among the people being targeted are immigrants who have bona fide Social Security numbers but have lost their legal status in the U.S., such as those who entered under one of the Biden administration's temporary work programs that have since ended."

"The immigrants' names were placed in the database following two memorandums of agreement signed Monday by Noem and Leland Dudek, the acting Social Security commissioner," the Post reported. "The memos authorize Social Security to place the immigrants in the death file for national security reasons and under the Social Security Act."

The New York Timesreported (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/10/us/politics/migrants-deport-social-security-doge.html) that the "initial names" added to Social Security's death file "are convicted criminals and 'suspected terrorists,'" according to internal administration documents, "but officials said the effort could broaden to include others in the country without authorization."

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimates (https://itep.org/undocumented-immigrants-taxes-2024/) that undocumented immigrants paid roughly $26 billion in Social Security taxes in 2022.

Dudek, who has presided over a large-scale assault (https://www.commondreams.org/news/official-installed-by-trump-moves-to-demolish-social-security-administration) on the Social Security Administration (SSA) since Trump installed him to lead the agency in February, wrote in an email to staff that the "financial lives" of the immigrants added to the death file would be "terminated," according to the Times. SSA is also reportedly sharing sensitive personal information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Dudek recently faced calls to resign (https://www.commondreams.org/news/leland-dudek-resign) after internal emails revealed that SSA terminated contracts with the state of Maine in what one Democratic lawmaker called "direct retaliation for statements made by Maine Governor Janet Mills that upset President Donald Trump." (https://www.commondreams.org/tag/donald-trump)

The acting SSA leader's plans for the agency, including mass staffing cuts and field office closures that advocates say amount to benefit cuts (https://www.commondreams.org/news/social-security-office), have drawn widespread outrage. The Timesreported (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/08/us/social-security-trump.html) earlier this week that "thousands of worried and frustrated recipients have thronged local field offices, asking why the phone lines are jammed, whether their local offices will be closed by Elon Musk's team of software engineers and technology executives, and whether they will lose their benefits."

"Waves of buyouts and early retirements have hobbled the staff at many local offices," the newspaper added, "and recipients say it has become harder to use the agency's website and phone systems, or even be seen in person."

Reps. John Larson (D-Conn.) and Richard Neal (D-Mass.) issued a joint statement (https://larson.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/larson-neal-statement-latest-trump-weaponization-social-security) Thursday condemning the Trump administration's latest weaponization of SSA as "digital murder" that "will make life exponentially harder for these victims, who could be effectively forced out of this country if their Social Security numbers are terminated."

"If they cancel the Social Security number of one person, where do they stop?" the lawmakers asked. "The Trump administration's weaponization of Social Security is shocking and unconscionable, and we expect House Republicans will remain silent. If you care about Social Security, you need to raise your voice because, despite what he says, Donald Trump and Elon Musk (https://www.commondreams.org/tag/elon-musk) are the biggest threat to people and their earned benefits."

NOW READ:Is this the moment American democracy finally broke? (https://www.alternet.org/alternet-exclusives/trump-anonymous/)

04/09/2025

Kyle Mantyla (https://www.peoplefor.org/post_author/kyle-mantyla)

Colby Hall @ Mediaite (https://www.mediaite.com/opinion/trump-caved-why-the-white-house-rollout-of-his-tariff-pause-is-evidence-of-defeat/): Trump Caved: Why The White House Rollout of His Tariff Pause Is Evidence of Defeat

President Donald Trump announced he was pausing his controversial reciprocal tariff policy for 90 days, and all the evidence clearly points to this as a massive caving under the pressure of cratering stocks and bond markets and the political peril that came with it.

Andrew Prokop @ Vox (https://www.vox.com/politics/407662/trump-trade-deficits-bilateral-tariffs): The misunderstanding breaking the global economy

Trump believes that if the US has a trade deficit with a country, they’re “beating” us. Huh?

Angry White Men (https://angrywhitemen.org/2025/04/08/stew-peters-black-people-behave-like-animals-and-criminals/): Stew Peters: Black People ‘Behave Like Animals And Criminals’

On the Apr. 7, 2025 episode of his Rumble show, Holocaust denier and Nazi sympathizer Stew Peters launched into a racist, anti-Black rant in response to the killing of a white high school football player. Among other things, Peters declared that Black people “behave like animals and criminals.”

Liz Lykins @ The Roys Report (https://julieroys.com/comedian-christian-influencer-russell-brand-charged-rape-sexual-assault/): Comedian and Christian Influencer Russell Brand Charged with Rape and Sexual Assault

{Comedian and Christian influencer Russell Brand has been charged with rape and sexual assault, the Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service and the Metropolitan Police announced Friday.}:

Hemant Mehta @ Friendly Atheist (https://www.friendlyatheist.com/p/a-church-told-members-how-to-vote): A church told members how to vote. The IRS officially says that's fine.

The Johnson Amendment may be in effect, but even the IRS doesn't want to enforce it.

Hafiz Rashid @ The New Republic (https://newrepublic.com/post/193784/ice-director-deportations-amazon-prime-humans): ICE Chief Suggests Copying Amazon Prime for Trump’s Mass Deportations

{Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons wants mass deportations to look like Amazon Prime, “but with human beings.”}:

AN 4 25

'Caught in limbo': Decorated Iraq War veteran now target of Trump deportations

AN 4 25 PROTESTS?

'Mommy no!' Watch the moment ICE agents smash window to arrest mother in front of daughter

mma

CBS News reporting on immigrants deported to foreign megaprison blows up Fox’s “worst of the worst” spin

Written by Matt Gertz (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/matt-gertz)

Published 04/07/25

Fox News’ stable of pro-Trump propagandists have assured their viewers that the president was justified in deporting hundreds of immigrants to an El Salvadoran prison notorious for abuse because the deportees were “the most dangerous illegals” and “the worst of the worst.”

They credulously adopted the administration’s talking points, even as family members of deportees came forward (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/fox-keeps-calling-migrants-sent-el-salvador-prison-criminals-and-terrorists-despite#paragraph--section-heading--3470498) to say that they were not criminals. But when CBS News actually did the legwork (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-records-show-about-migrants-sent-to-salvadoran-prison-60-minutes-transcript/), its reporters found that the overwhelming majority of deportees had no record of committing violent crimes.

CBS obtained the names of 238 Venezuelan immigrants the Trump administration had claimed were members of the violent Tren de Aragua gang and deported last month under a rarely used wartime authority for imprisonment in El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center. The network “cross referenced that [list] with domestic and international court filings, news reports and arrest records whenever we could find them” and “found that an overwhelming majority have no apparent criminal convictions or even criminal charges.”

From Sunday’s report:

At least 22% of the men on the list have criminal records here in the United States or abroad. The vast majority are for non-violent offenses like theft, shoplifting and trespassing. About a dozen are accused of murder, rape, assault and kidnapping.

For 3% of those deported, it is unclear whether a criminal record exists.

But we could not find criminal records for 75% of the Venezuelans - 179 men- now sitting in prison.

Those facts stand in sharp contrast to the claims of the administration — and those of the Fox personalities who regurgitated its talking points to their viewers -- used to push back on critics who pointed out that some had been sent in error to a brutal foreign megaprison.

Citation

Fox News screenshots

Fox host Laura Ingraham said (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/laura-ingraham-mocks-way-liberals-obsess-over-one-maryland-migrant-who-shipped-supermax) that the deportees were “the most dangerous illegals.”

On The Five, Jesse Watters called (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/how-fox-handling-reports-trump-administration-may-have-erroneously-sent-people-foreign) them “illegal alien gangbangers,” while Greg Gutfeld described them as “the criminal element” and “thugs.”

Contributor Lisa Kennedy Montgomery alleged (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/fox-keeps-calling-migrants-sent-el-salvador-prison-criminals-and-terrorists-despite#paragraph--section-heading--3470500) that they were “people who want to hurt, maim, and kill innocent Americans.”

Anchor Sandra Smith and contributor Liz Peek both called them “the worst of the worst.”

Fox & Friends’ Ainsley Earhardt said they were “alleged gang members” who “did something wrong,” while for Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo, they were “terrorist-like people.”

For some, like Fox & Friends co-hosts Lawrence Jones and Brian Kilmeade, the purportedly obvious criminality of the deportees justified (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/right-wing-media-have-decided-undocumented-migrants-dont-have-right-due-process-under) removing them from the country without due process.

All of them, apparently eager to believe whatever they were told, were willing to accept the administration’s claims without scrutiny. Their response likely emboldened Trump, who on Sunday endorsed (https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-sending-americans-el-salvador-prison-2056122) the idea that American citizens could also be sent to the El Salvadoran prison.

And don’t expect Fox figures to change their tune following the CBS report — as of Monday morning, they were still uncritically adopting (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4029097) the administration’s spin.

### Fox keeps calling migrants sent to El Salvador prison “criminals” and “terrorists” despite reporting that several deportees were likely falsely accused (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/fox-keeps-calling-migrants-sent-el-salvador-prison-criminals-and-terrorists-despite)

04/01/25 1:11 PM EDT

### How Fox is handling reports that the Trump administration may have erroneously sent people to a foreign torture prison (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/how-fox-handling-reports-trump-administration-may-have-erroneously-sent-people-foreign)

04/01/25 1:24 PM EDT

### Right-wing media have decided undocumented migrants don't have the right to due process under the law (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/right-wing-media-have-decided-undocumented-migrants-dont-have-right-due-process-under)

03/28/25

BRUTAL New 60 Minutes Report Exposes Trump Admin Crimes - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8z2tbUY1Hk)

555,825 views Apr 6, 2025 Bulwark Takes (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJNKzTkCZE9uaKfaz27yuWgFe1XnP19WL)

Tim Miller reacts to a devastating new report from 60 Minutes, revealing even more details of the shocking treatment of Venezuelan migrants detained by the Trump administration in El Salvador and highlighting the Trump officials responsible. Watch the 60 Minutes report: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/photojou... (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbFpmOXJiVG81WmswaFg1SU5mQU9qOGNwQkE4UXxBQ3Jtc0ttOWtiYUxMTkoyZkQwTjctTmxaUTdLZmp5RkM5bm56Z0ZrdEVjWDFmRVg5Yk5YZ0FxX1FrbUxrVmJaUWRGbjNlcThTRmtFMHpZdFhScDFPLTdkdGk4Q3E1d1p6djZGc05RWXB0WHJVMW03MjBaRFJQaw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbsnews.com%2Fnews%2Fphotojournalist-witnesses-venezuelan-migrants-arrival-in-el-salvador-60-minutes%2F&v=g8z2tbUY1Hk)Get in touch with your elected officials and demand they help stop this atrocity: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbXQyRDcydkFoVE5lN0ZWN1JiV3N4OHNiNFNpUXxBQ3Jtc0tsUDIwNnFrdExvdm5QcW1tamY3YUxoRTdobDZTZU9oV3lsQTktWTZrVGt5eHV5TFVzek90XzlCXzFfZVh3TFZzak9rc2Y1bE1mQ3dpQmUxTmVQYVhja2t4clhrUG9XUzR1VjVoOXRhZ0t6ZkM2eVpSTQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.usa.gov%2Felected-officials&v=g8z2tbUY1Hk)

FUCKERY TARGET

an 4 25

A federal judge ruled (https://www.courthousenews.com/trump-slammed-for-covertly-withholding-fema-funds-from-blue-states/) today that the Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) administration, including U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, violated his court order to unfreeze Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) relief to at least 19 states. The judge says the administration appears to be making a “covert” effort to punish states who oppose Trump’s oppressive immigration practices.

The New Republic reports (https://newrepublic.com/post/193650/trump-administration-just-violated-another-court-order) U.S. District Judge John McConnell issued an injunction in March on behalf of 23 states suing the White House after the administration moved to pause FEMA aid to states. The Obama era judge ruled the hold-up “fundamentally undermines the distinct constitutional roles of each branch of our government.”

The federal reluctance applies only to states with Democratic attorneys general, and McConnell found the Trump administration ignored his March court order, with at least 19 states submitting “undisputed evidence” they were not receiving FEMA funds appropriated by Congress. Hawaii reported that FEMA had yet to respond to its $6 million request and subsequent $500k reimbursement for climate-related wildfires. The state of Oregon, meanwhile, reported that FEMA had yet to respond to a request for $129.4 million in federal funds for wildfires, severe winter storms, flooding, and mudslides.

READ MORE:'Step down': Marjorie Taylor Greene blows up at GOP rep over help for new moms in Congress (https://www.alternet.org/greene-new-moms-congress/)

“The Court’s intervention is necessary,” states wrote in a filing, because they “have continued to experience significant obstacles to accessing federal funds” while the government “reviews (https://www.opb.org/article/2025/04/02/oregon-other-states-say-trump-freeze-fema-aid-violates-court-order/)” spending.

Federal foot-dragging is not a “pause or a withholding of grants,” they say, “but an internal control” that appears to be used as a brick wall, with FEMA implementing a “manual review process based, covertly, on the President’s Jan. 20, 2025, executive order “Protecting the American People Against Invasion” targeting so-called “sanctuary cities.” McConnell noticed the connection between FEMA’s manual review process and the Invasion EO and ordered FEMA to “immediately cease” the manual review process and comply with his original court March order.

States became suspicious of being targeted as immigrant sanctuaries in January, after the administration released and order describing “the use of federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and Green New Deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve.”

As of today, states have not sought to hold the Trump administration in contempt.

READ MORE:'This. Will. Not. End. Well.' George Will slams Trump's 'fanciful assumptions' on economy (https://www.alternet.org/trump-economy-george-will/)

Click here (https://newrepublic.com/post/193650/trump-administration-just-violated-another-court-order) to read the New Republic's article in full.

AN NO LNX

Wake up: In Trump’s America, you are no longer guaranteed your rights or your freedom

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem attends the National Governors Association (NGA) dinner and reception hosted by U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. First Lady Melania Trump in the East Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 22, 2025.

Thom Hartmann March 20, 2025

Imagine stepping off a plane in the United States, fully expecting to enter the country without issue, only to be surrounded by armed agents, handcuffed, and thrown into a freezing detention center. No trial. No lawyer. No contact with the outside world.

In Trump’s America, you are no longer guaranteed your rights or freedom—because now, it takes nothing more than an ICE agent’s “suspicion” to make you disappear.

This isn’t a mistake. It’s part of an expanding system of cruelty, where ICE—once an agency tasked with immigration enforcement—is now operating like an unchecked police force, targeting legal residents, visitors, and even US citizens with impunity.

They have become—since the days when Trump sent them here into Portland without ID to kidnap citizens off the streets and torment them in 2020—the Führer’s private police force. His very own “protection squads” or Schutzstaffel.

People who follow every rule, complete all the required paperwork, and obey every regulation are still finding themselves locked away, held in horrific conditions, and stripped of their rights—all based on the whims of an agent who doesn’t even need evidence to justify an arrest.

A U.S. citizen from Chicago was among 22 people recently subjected to unlawful arrests and detention by ICE. The U.S. Government Accountability Office found that during Trump’s first term, immigration authorities asked to hold approximately 600 likely citizens and actually deported about 70 likely citizens.

But now, in part because of the Laken Riley Act, it’s getting worse. Forty-two Democrats in the House and fourteen in the Senate voted to pass this execrable GOP bill last month; it was named after a young woman murdered by an undocumented alien whose story was relentlessly promoted by Fox “News” and other rightwing hate media.

That law, recently signed by Trump, says that ICE now has the authority to detain anybody — anybody — for an indefinite period of time — no time limit whatsoever — if an ICE agent simply says that he or she “suspects” the person is in the country illegally or without documentation.

Did you think, “It can’t happen here”?

Wake up: Trump has already begun putting it into effect, although our media seem curiously silent about its application.

Fabian Schmidt, a German-born engineer, has lived in the United States for nearly two decades, legally working, paying taxes, and contributing to his community. None of that mattered when he returned home from a trip abroad. As soon as he landed at Logan Airport in Boston, ICE agents pulled him aside. His green card renewal was “flagged” for some unknown reason—no explanation, no opportunity to clarify, just a red mark in a government system.

That was all it took. ICE stripped him of his clothes, subjected him to hours of aggressive questioning, and locked him in a detention center. They threw him into an ice-cold shower and left him shivering on the concrete floor, humiliated and terrified.

For days, his mother, Astrid, desperately tried to find him. She called ICE, Customs and Border Protection, and any agency that might give her an answer. They either ignored her or outright lied, claiming they had no record of her son. When she finally learned where he was, Fabian was barely holding himself together. “They treat us like animals,” he told her.

And why was he there? Because of a supposed “bureaucratic error.” ICE used a minor paperwork issue as an excuse to detain a legal resident of the United States without due process, a tactic that’s becoming frighteningly common.

For Jessica Brösche, a German tattoo artist, her visit to the United States was supposed to be brief—just a trip to see friends and enjoy the country. She had a valid passport, a return ticket, and legal permission to enter under the Visa Waiver Program. Yet, ICE decided that she might try to work while visiting, a baseless assumption that required no proof and no justification.

Just “suspicion.” That was enough to detain her indefinitely.

Once inside, the nightmare deepened. They threw her into a cell with no bed and no access to legal assistance. For eight straight days, they kept her in solitary confinement. The lights never dimmed, and the sounds of other detainees screaming in despair echoed through the walls. She started hallucinating, her grip on reality slipping. Desperate to feel something, anything real, she punched the walls until her knuckles bled.

Meanwhile, her best friend, Amelia, searched frantically for her. ICE refused to confirm her location or even acknowledge that they had detained her. No charges, no trial, no legal recourse—just silence.

Jessica’s case isn’t unique. People who follow all immigration rules are being detained under vague suspicions, often disappearing into a bureaucratic black hole. And once they’re inside the system, their rights mean nothing.

Consider Jasmine Mooney, the actor who starred in the American Pie franchise and a Canadian businesswoman who played by the rules. She secured a job offer, completed all visa paperwork, and followed every U.S. immigration law to the letter. But that didn’t stop ICE from shackling her, chaining her wrists, ankles, and waist as if she were a violent offender.

For days, she was trapped in a brutal private, for-profit detention facility, laying on the bare floor with nothing but a crinkled foil sheet for warmth. Then, in the dead of night, ICE dragged her from her cell, bound her in chains again, and forced her onto a bus with dozens of other women. They drove for hours, denying them food, water, or bathroom breaks. By the time she arrived at another facility, she had been awake for 24 hours and was too weak to stand.

To this day, ICE refuses to explain why she was detained. And why would they? They don’t have to. The agency operates with absolute power, detaining people for as long as they want, answering to no one.

Moody tells her horrifying story to The Guardian, writing:

“I was then placed in a real jail unit: two levels of cells surrounding a common area, just like in the movies. I was put in a tiny cell alone with a bunk bed and a toilet. …

“There were around 140 of us in our unit. Many women had lived and worked in the US legally for years but had overstayed their visas – often after reapplying and being denied. They had all been detained without warning.”

These aren’t isolated cases. ICE has transformed itself into an authoritarian force that detains people indefinitely on suspicion alone. No evidence? No trial? No problem.

And the for-profit prison industry that’s holding many if not most of them has no incentive to help these people; the more they detail and the longer they stay, the more money the prison companies make (which they then share as campaign donations with Republican politicians).

ICE agents don’t need proof. They only need the power to act—and Trump has given it to them.

And, while these three cases from the last few weeks have leaked into the press, it’s possible there are dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of others. And if there aren’t now, there probably will be soon.

Canadians — and people all over the world — have to be reconsidering ever visiting or even passing through the United States.

We have become one of those dangerous, lawless nations you see movies about where the biggest threat isn’t the criminal element but are the guys in uniform who can do anything they want to you, any time they want, with no fear of consequences.

Meanwhile, these agents of the Trump administration are turning their focus on American citizens who have offended them.

ProPublica documented yesterday how a 21-year-old US citizen born in Philadelphia was dragged off to detention; a 10-year-old American citizen girl was deported, interrupting her chemo for brain cancer; and an estimated 600 US citizens were detained during Trump’s first term.

They noted in their report:

“In Utah, agents pulled over and detained a 20-year-old American after he honked at them. In New Mexico, a member of the Mescalero Apache nation more than two hours from the border was questioned by agents who demanded to see their passport. Earlier this month, a Trump voter in Virginia was pulled over and handcuffed by gun-wielding immigration agents. …

“The government does not release figures on citizens who have been held by immigration authorities. Neither Border Patrol nor Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which handles interior immigration enforcement, would provide numbers to ProPublica on how many Americans have been mistakenly detained.”

“Mistakenly”? Like the people “detained” Portland in 2020?

Worse, ICE and Trump’s lawyers are actively defying court orders that might restrain them.

High-ranking ICE officials have made it clear they don’t care what judges say, what laws dictate, or even what the Constitution requires. As Tom Homan, Trump’s “Border Czar,” told Fox “News”:

“We are not stopping. I don’t care what the judges think. I don’t care what the Left thinks. We’re coming.’

When a federal court ordered them to halt a mass deportation flight last week, ICE ignored the ruling and sent over 250 immigrants—mostly asylum seekers—back into danger. According to Reuters, many are not even remotely affiliated with a Venezuelan gang:

“Anyelo had told his sister on Friday night that he would be deported to Venezuela, she said in a phone interview with Reuters from Texas.

“Solanyer said her brother had been detained on January 31 after an appointment at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office. He had crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally with Solanyer and another sister in November 2023 and had been released to pursue a claim for asylum.

“Solanyer said an ICE officer told her that her brother was detained because of a tattoo that linked him to Tren de Aragua, a violent gang with Venezuelan prison origins that has spread through the Americas. She said the tattoo depicted a rose and that he had gotten it in a tattoo parlor in Dallas.

“‘He thought it looked cool, looked nice, it didn't have any other significance,’ she said, stressing that he is not a gang member.”

As FPWellman notes on the excellent On Democracy Substack newsletter, also quoting Reuters:

“Johanny Sanchez, 22, suspects her husband Franco Caraballo, 26, who was detained in Texas, could now be in El Salvador, but does not know for sure.

“Caraballo had multiple tattoos including ones of roses, a clock with this daughter’s birth time, a lion and a shaving razor, said his wife.

“‘I’ve never seen him without hair, so I haven't recognized him in the photos,’ she said. ‘I just suspect he’s there because of the tattoos that he has and right now any Venezuelan man with tattoos is assumed to be a gang member,’ she added, citing also the fact that he has effectively gone missing.

“Sanchez said her husband has never been a member of Tren de Aragua.”

But all of these young men were forbidden the right to hear their charges, face their accusers, hire an attorney, plead before a judge or jury, or enjoy the speedy trial that our Constitution and Bill of Rights guarantee to “every person” within the United States, citizen or not. They were simply arrested and sent to a foreign hellhole to be tortured at your and my expense.

The Trump administration apparently doesn’t have any intention of following the Constitution and 240+ years of the rule of law. Instead, they’re going full dictator.

And they’re proud of it.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, ridiculing the judge’s order to stop the illegal, no-due-process deportation flights to El Salvador, retweeted “Oopsie … Too late,” with a smirking emoji.

A president who can deport anyone, even in defiance of a judge’s order, is a president who can arrest anyone. ICE is no longer just violating human rights—it is dismantling the American legal system itself with the explicit approval of nearly every Republican and forty-six weak-kneed Democrats in Congress.

This is no longer about immigration. It’s about control. About unrestrained police power. How long will it be before Trump reprises his sending ICE into cities to kidnap and terrorize US citizen protestors like he did five years ago?

A judge stopped him then; today, it appears, he’ll just laugh at any order a judge issues.

If this continues, the question isn’t who the ICE “protection squads” and other federal police agencies will target next—it’s who will be left to stop them.

'Huge bills': Trump’s mass deportations are 'stretching government resources' to the limit (https://www.alternet.org/trump-deportations-ice-daily-beast/)

Alex Henderson (https://www.alternet.org/author/alex-henderson)

AN 3 25

President Donald Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) and some of his close allies, including billionaire Tesla/SpaceX/X.com leader Elon Musk, are calling for the impeachment of federal judges who are blocking his executive orders. And one of their main targets is U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg (https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/03/21/judge-boasberg-trump-administration-alien-enemies-act/), an appointee of former President Barack Obama who temporarily blocked the Trump Administration's deportations of Venezuelan nationals for alleged associations with the violent Tren de Aragua gang.

Critics of the deportations are arguing that the nationals were being deported to El Salvador without due process, and that some of them may have been wrongly accused of associating with Tren de Aragua.

One of those critics is attorney Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward.

READ MORE:Sabotaging Social Security: Behind the leaked memo to cut agency staff and critical services (https://www.alternet.org/social-security-leaked-memo/?utm_source=push_notifications)

During a Friday morning, March 21 appearance on MSNBC (https://youtu.be/_JVHfi42D3k), Perryman laid out some civil liberties concerns that the deportations are raising. Perryman came on after former federal prosecutor Joyce White Vance, who told MSNBC's Ana Cabrera that Trump and his allies are exercising "minimal compliance with" Boasberg's order.

Perryman brought up the due process concerns, telling Cabrera (https://youtu.be/_JVHfi42D3k), "The government continues to believe that it's above the law and to operate in secrecy in this case. So we are continuing…. to obtain information. But what we haven't seen, of course, is anything — and this is, I think, what every American in this country should be concerned about — the invocation of the Alien Enemies Act is an attempt to summarily remove people from this country without any process at all. And so, we have been submitting information from concerned family members who believe that people may have been removed from this country who are not actually members of. gangs or had no basis for being removed, but have been removed from the country without any process at all."

The Democracy Forward CEO added (https://youtu.be/_JVHfi42D3k), "That is the real problem here. And then, the doubly concerning problem, and something that should concern every American, is the way in which the government has been operating in this case, suggesting at times that there is a question as to whether it has to follow a district court order from a federal judge. And so, we believe this is a highly concerning situation."

Perryman argued that the Trump Administration is not operating "in good faith."

READ MORE:'Clear and present danger': Experts alarmed at 'insanity' of Musk getting secret war plans (https://www.alternet.org/musk-secret-war-plans/)

Perryman told Cabrera (https://youtu.be/_JVHfi42D3k), "We will be holding the government accountable to the law as is required in this case…. There is a lot of highly politicized rhetoric coming out of the White House. But this is a president that has invoked an act that has only been invoked three times in the nation's history."

READ MORE:'Red flag': Alarm as judges face threats of violence after ruling against Trump (https://www.alternet.org/trump-judge-violence/?utm_source=push_notifications)

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‘A way to remove them:’ Nevada sheriff briefs legislators on Trump admin partnership

X/@Sec_Noem

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wears an ICE vest during a briefing with law enforcement agents ahead of immigration raids in New York City, U.S., January 28, 2025 in this image obtained from social media.

April Corbin Girnus, Nevada Current (https://www.alternet.org/author/aprilcorbingirnusnevadacurrent)

March 14, 2025

Douglas County Sheriff Daniel Coverley on Wednesday stood by his decision to participate in Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s controversial 287(g) program, which uses local agencies to carry out immigration enforcement.

“This is just one tool I get to use to get those people who are committing crimes in my community and who I do not want in my community,” he told lawmakers on the Senate Committee on Government Affairs, which requested a presentation about his department’s involvement with ICE. “If they’re not supposed to be there to begin with, then this is a way to remove them.”

Coverely added that “most” of the immigration holds his agency has are on people committing serious crimes.

He told lawmakers that, while immigration is primarily the responsibility of the federal government, he believes local law enforcement agencies “have a role to play.”

Douglas County Sheriff’s Office opted into what’s known as a “warrant service officer” agreement, one of three types of agreements that fall under 287(g). The agreement allows local law enforcement officers to help with investigations of migrants already arrested and booked into their local jails, and it allows them to execute civil immigration warrants within their jails.

Coverely emphasized that location restriction, noting that officers are not going out into the community and profiling people based on their ethnicity, nor are they asking victims of crime or witnesses their immigration status.

“The only time this comes into play is when you’ve been arrested and charged with a crime and are booked into our jail,” he said.

Still, the agreement represents the agency being willing to take a more participatory role than what is current practice.

Douglas County Sheriff’s Office already informs ICE whenever someone foreign born is booked in their jail, according to Coverley.

“It is up to them whether or not they put a hold on them or what they want done,” he added.

The new agreement standardizes the process, the office has said.

Douglas County, whose county seat of Minden is about 15 miles south of Carson City, has a population of nearly 50,000 (https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/douglascountynevada/PST045223), of whom about 80% are white and 13% Hispanic.

Coverley told lawmakers Douglas County Sheriff’s Office had 20 people who ICE requested holds or “detainers” on last year. Of those people, nine were picked up by ICE and five had their detainers removed by ICE, indicating the federal authorities did not want to pick them up. Four people were transferred to prison for local charges and two were transferred to other jurisdictions. The ICE detainers would go with the prisoner to those other facilities.

In 2023, the agency had 14 ICE detainers. Of those, six were picked up by ICE, five were transferred to prison as a result of their local charges, and three had their detainers removed by ICE.

Coverley told lawmakers the new 287(g) program isn’t in effect yet “because we haven’t had the training.”

That training, which will be completed online, is expected to take place within “the next month or so” and will involve five of his department’s officers working within the Douglas County Jail.

The training will tell officers “how (they) are to determine their immigration status and what to do from that point,” said Coverley.

“There’s really no way to screw this up,” he told lawmakers. “We book somebody in. We call ICE and say ‘Hey, we think this guy or person is possibly here illegally. Do you want to do anything?’ They say ‘no, we do not’ or they say ‘yes, we do.’ That’s all it is. We’re not violating anybody’s rights or anything. We’re just asking questions based on what we think may be a possibility.”

Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is one of two law enforcement agencies in Nevada listed as participating in ICE’s 287(g) warrant service officer program. The other is Mineral County Sheriff’s Office, which signed an agreement in mid-February, according to an ICE spreadsheet listing all participating agencies (https://www.ice.gov/identify-and-arrest/287g).

Mineral County Sheriff’s Office is also listed as having a pending application for participation in what’s known as the task force program, which involves local law enforcement conducting immigration investigations and enforcement in the community.

ICE lets local officials stop immigrants on the streets as task force program is back (https://nevadacurrent.com/2025/02/24/ice-lets-local-officials-stop-immigrants-on-the-streets-as-task-force-program-is-back/)

IFrame Content (https://nevadacurrent.com/2025/02/24/ice-lets-local-officials-stop-immigrants-on-the-streets-as-task-force-program-is-back/embed/#?secret=5gd4Yuo5xu#?secret=xftB6eKb0H)

Task force agreements with ICE were discontinued in 2012 during the Obama administration after a 2011 Department of Justice investigation (https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/department-justice-releases-investigative-findings-maricopa-county-sheriff-s-office) found widespread racial profiling and other discrimination against Latinos in an Arizona task force. The Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) administration, as part of its aggressive mass deportation plans, has reestablished the program. More than 140 local law enforcement agencies across the country are now listed by ICE as participating.

In February, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office was listed by ICE as a participant of the 287(g) task force program, but days after media coverage (https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/douglas-county-sheriff-partners-with-ice-allowing-stops-about-immigration-status) about the agreement issued a statement (https://sheriff.douglascountynv.gov/news/what_s_new/d_c_s_o_clarifies_287_g__agreement) saying it had not signed onto that program.

Coverley acknowledged the issue Wednesday, telling lawmakers “there was some confusion.”

“Initially an agreement was signed with ICE for the task force officer” program, he acknowledged. “That has since been rescinded and corrected. There was some confusion on my part and on the information we got from ICE.”

He did not elaborate further.

The task force component of ICE’s 287(g) program is the most controversial, but migrant rights advocates warn that any type of participatory agreement between local law enforcement and the federal agency will have a chilling effect. Studies have suggested immigrant populations are significantly less likely to report crimes if they know law enforcement works with ICE.

When asked on Wednesday if the relationship between the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and ICE may change over time, Coverley responded that is “always a possibility.”

“Everything is driven by who’s in the White House,” he said. “The immigration activity and involvement with local law enforcement has changed since the last president to the president we have now and that could change again in another four years.”

:{*:{Stateline’s Tim Henderson contributed to this article.}:

an 3 25

President Donald Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) and his MAGA Republican allies often accuse Democrats of favoring an "open borders" policy. But in fact, there were plenty of deportations of undocumented immigrants under Democratic Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

And many Democrats are saying that while they are all for border security and enforcing the United States' immigration laws, they strongly disagree with the way Trump is carrying out mass deportations.

The same arguments are being made by Never Trump conservatives, some of whom are pointing out that President Ronald Reagan was very pro-immigration and saw immigrants as vital to the future of the Republican Party.

In an op-ed/essay published by the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/10/opinion/immigrants-buses-trump-fear.html) on March 10, journalist/author Megan K. Stack details ways in which Trump's mass deportations have "made life much harder" for legal immigrants — including those who are now U.S. citizens and voted for Trump in 2024.

READ MORE:Acting Trump official spread false rumors about 'low-IQ' Marco Rubio (https://www.alternet.org/marco-rubio-darren-beattie-cnn/)

Stack cites Mexican immigrant Eldair Mata (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/10/opinion/immigrants-buses-trump-fear.html) as a prime example. Based in Chicago, Mata voted for Trump in 2024 and has been in the U.S. since 1993.

Stack writes (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/10/opinion/immigrants-buses-trump-fear.html), "Even Mr. Mata, a citizen, now avoids going out, carries a photo of his passport in case he gets questioned and frets over his siblings, both of whom are undocumented immigrants."

Stack notes that Mata (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/10/opinion/immigrants-buses-trump-fear.html), however, doesn't blame, Trump but rather, blames Democratic sanctuary city policies.

"In Chicago’s most heavily Latino wards," Stack observes (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/10/opinion/immigrants-buses-trump-fear.html), "27 percent to 41 percent of the voters chose Mr. Trump. If this seems confusing, it's worth remembering that in Chicago, and the rest of the country, a vast underclass of law-abiding, taxpaying, undocumented immigrants shore up the economy while muddling along without work authorization, Social Security and other advantages. More than half of Illinois' undocumented immigrants have been here 15 years or more."

READ MORE:‘A bullhorn to destroy people’: Accused fire back at Nancy Mace (https://www.alternet.org/nancy-mace-accused/?utm_source=push_notifications)

Stack adds (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/10/opinion/immigrants-buses-trump-fear.html), "Chicago’s business owners — a not-insignificant number of whom are immigrants themselves — admit they rely on undocumented labor…. Given how badly we need workers, it’s hard to understand why we talk about deportations rather than amnesty or pathways to citizenship."

an 3 25

Private prison companies in the United States can hardly contain their excitement (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/us/politics/private-prisons-immigrants-detention-trump.html) as the Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) administration moves to revive the practice of detaining migrant families at facilities with records (https://www.themarshallproject.org/2018/06/22/inside-family-detention-trump-s-big-solution) of horrifying abuses, a decision that advocacy groups say highlights the White House's disdain for human rights as it carries out its large-scale assault on immigrants.

"Reopening family detention facilities with devastating histories of abuses, trauma, and long-term psychological damage underscores that cruelty is the point of these Trump administration policies," Amy Fischer, director of the Refugee and Migrant Rights Program at Amnesty International (https://www.commondreams.org/tag/amnesty-international) USA, said (https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/amnesty-international-usa-reaction-to-return-of-family-detention/) in a statement Thursday after CBS Newsreported (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-revives-practice-of-detaining-migrant-families-with-children/) the administration's moves.

According to CBS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—newly empowered (https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-authorizes-ice-target-schools-churches/story?id=117954409) by President Donald Trump—"was detaining the first group of migrant parents and children" on Thursday "in a detention facility in Texas designed to hold families with minors."

"The group includes three children," the outlet added, citing an internal government report.

Separately, NBC Newsreported (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/trump-raids-will-now-target-migrants-entered-us-families-children-rcna193611) Thursday that "U.S. immigration agents are planning a new operation to arrest migrant families with children as part of a nationwide crackdown."

"During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump and border czar Tom Homan said that plans for mass deportations would initially focus on migrants who had committed crimes," NBC observed. "The new plans for national operations show that many of the families and children to be targeted do not have criminal histories."

As part of the revival of family detention—which was used by the Obama administration and the first Trump administration, and largely ended (https://www.commondreams.org/news/biden-family-detention) by the Biden administration—immigration officials are "refitting" two Texas facilities, including the notorious detention center in Dilley, Texas.

CoreCivic, a private prison company, has been newly contracted (https://www.axios.com/2025/03/06/corecivic-immigrant-family-detention-center-texas) by ICE to reopen the facility for family detention.

"I've worked at CoreCivic for 32 years, and this is truly one of the most exciting periods in my career," Damon Hininger, CoreCivic's CEO, told (https://x.com/MorePerfectUS/status/1890072363695227133) investors last month.

George Zoley, executive chairman of the GEO Group, said last week that "we've never seen anything like this before," referring to the speed with which the Trump administration is moving to procure contracts for migrant detention.

The New York Timesreported (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/us/politics/private-prisons-immigrants-detention-trump.html) Friday that "a GEO Group subsidiary gave more than $2 million to Republican PACs that accept unlimited donations, with the bulk going to groups that supported House Republicans and Mr. Trump."

"It is enraging to see the Trump administration reinstate family detention, a policy of jailing immigrant parents with their children—including babies."

The Detention Watch Network noted (https://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/pressroom/releases/2024/biden-must-shut-down-south-texas-family-detention-center-dilley-without) that while the Dilley center was "in operation for family detention, there were reports of foul water and negligent medical treatment, with hospitals confirming that children are consistently released with health issues they dubbed 'Dilley-ish (https://theintercept.com/2017/05/14/mothers-day-in-an-ice-detention-center/).'"

"In 2018, a 19-month-old girl, Mariee (https://www.texastribune.org/2018/08/09/Texas-investigating-death-child-ICE-dilley/), tragically died after leaving the facility, and in 2019, a guard was accused of physically assaulting a 5-year-old," the organization said.

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) wrote (https://x.com/SenJeffMerkley/status/1897488811501699386) earlier this week that he visited the center in December 2018 and "it was horrifying."

"The cruelty and abuse of Trump's family detention policy is a lasting stain on our nation," Merkley wrote on social media. "I'm calling on the admin to reverse this decision—in no world should this facility reopen."

Setareh Ghandehari, advocacy director of the Detention Watch Network, said (https://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/pressroom/releases/2025/family-detention-all-immigration-detention-inhumane-unjust-unnecessary) Thursday that "it is enraging to see the Trump administration reinstate family detention, a policy of jailing immigrant parents with their children—including babies."

"Detention is harmful and traumatic for everyone, but especially children," said Ghandehari. "Families should be able to navigate their immigration cases in community with support services provided and facilitated by local community-based groups—never Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an enforcement agency that is plagued by egregiously poor conditions and a culture of violence."

"Taking away a child's freedom and deliberately putting them in these conditions is unconscionable, as is denying a parent their most fundamental role of providing their child with a loving and nurturing environment," Ghandehari added. "Family detention, like all immigration detention, is inhumane, unjust, and unnecessary. Everyone, certainly children and their parents, deserves to freely and safely move for opportunity and stability."

MMA

February 21, 2025, edition of Fox News' Outnumbered

EMILY COMPAGNO (CO-HOST): Isn't that fascinating, Kaylee, how great an impact can have of just having competent people in these positions like Secretary Noem and Tom Homan, that are just committed to enforcing our laws and executing the will of the people through the executive president.

KAYLEE MCGHEE WHITE (WRITER, WASHINGTON EXAMINER): Well, and I think it's important too to note that part of the reason why Kristi Noem is having to deputize so many State Department agents is because they can't get sanctuary cities and states to use local law enforcement to assist in federal immigration efforts. So now they're having to tap into other resources. And part of the messaging element here that's so important for people to understand, I understand how it can be a bit jarring. You know, I think about my friends and family back in the Midwest who are maybe seeing some of these social media videos of the deportations.

And sure, okay, I get that it's a bit jarring. But what you have to understand is that whereas most law-abiding Americans aren't worrying about how to evade law enforcement because because they respect this country and the laws that are there to keep us all safe, what Trump and Kristi Noem understand is that a lot of the illegal immigrants that the Biden administration spent the past four years importing don't. They understand force. They understand threat, and they understand very clearly the message that if they come here illegally, and especially if they come here illegally and continue to commit crime, they are going to be found, they are going to be arrested, and they are going to be sent back in chains. So that is something that is very important that needs to be communicated to these countries.

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When it comes to talking about immigrants, the word “invasion” is both explosive and inaccurate, experts and human rights advocates say. Yet with Donald Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) back in the White House, it’s showing up on official orders and other communications — and it’s being echoed by Ohio politicians.

Just in the waning weeks of January, Trump issued two executive orders using the language — “Guaranteeing the States Protection Against Invasion (https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/guaranteeing-the-states-protection-against-invasion/)” and “Protecting the American People Against Invasion (https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/protecting-the-american-people-against-invasion/).”

On Thursday, more than 80 civil and human rights organizations sent a letter (https://www.westernstatescenter.org/invasioneo2025) to congressional leaders calling on them to reject what the groups said was a “false and bigoted conspiracy theory.”

As at times past, numbers of migrants spiked at the U.S.-Mexico border at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and severely strained resources (https://nevadacurrent.com/2024/05/10/border-businessmen-false-rhetoric-wont-fix-real-immigration-problems/). That led certain politicians on the right — including Trump, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and now-Ohio U.S. Sen.Bernie Moreno (https://x.com/berniemoreno/status/1657079307687325696?s=20) — to claim it was an invasion even though migrants weren’t driving tanks, carrying machine guns, or even functioning as an organized group. They don’t even committed crime (https://www.npr.org/2024/03/08/1237103158/immigrants-are-less-likely-to-commit-crimes-than-us-born-americans-studies-find) at rates as high as native-born Americans

“Immigration policy is an important topic that demands congressional discussion and debate,” the groups’ letter to Republican and Democratic congressional leaders said. “We implore Senate and House leadership not to support or fund efforts that are led by a fictional and dangerous conspiracy theory purporting an ‘invasion.’ Congress should not provide the justification for continued attacks on our democracy.”

In Texas, Abbott has tried to portray what has happened at the border as a military invasion as he seeks to take border-security responsibilities into his own hands. Such powers have traditionally been reserved for the federal government (http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/immigrationlaw/chapter2.html#::text=The%20Court%20eventually%20found%20the,equally%20%22absolute%20and%20unqualified.%22) because it would create chaos if each of the 50 states was in charge of its own policy and security when it came to dealing with foreign countries.

Also, the places along the border that Abbott claimed were the site of a military invasion are among the safest communities in the country (https://elpasomatters.org/2024/04/02/el-paso-crime-rate-rises-murder-car-thefts-fbi-data-safe-city/#::text=Despite%20the%20increases%20the%20past,safest%20cities%20in%20the%20nation.). So, even when immigrants showed up in large numbers, that didn’t amount to the military invasion Abbott claimed in an attempt to get around federal primacy, a judge ruled last year.

“Contemporary definitions of ‘invasion’ and ‘actually invaded’ as well as common usage of the term in the late Eighteenth Century predominantly referred to an ‘invasion’ as a hostile and organized military force, too powerful to be dealt with by ordinary judicial proceedings,” U.S. District Judge David Alan Ezra wrote last year as he blocked Abbott. “This Court could not locate a single contemporaneous use of the term to refer to surges in unauthorized foreign immigration.”

After briefly lifting it, the conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year upheld Ezra’s stay and is scheduled to hear Texas’s appeal in July.

Meanwhile, many experts have said false claims of invasion have prompted murderous rampages against vulnerable communities. For example, Patrick Crusius in 2019 drove from Dallas to El Paso, posted a manifesto (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/03/us/patrick-crusius-el-paso-shooter-manifesto.html) saying he was stopping an “invasion” at the border and went to a Walmart. There he used an AK-47 to murder 23 and injured 22 more.

Some experts say the fact that such false, incendiary rhetoric can be deadly isn’t just incidental, it’s part of the point. It scares immigrants and others from standing up to those who use it (https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2024/04/18/politicians-talk-of-a-border-invasion-is-speech-that-experts-say-has-gotten-people-killed/), and that serves the political ends of those who use such rhetoric, those experts say.

Not to fight false claims that we’re being invaded undermines democracy, a program director at one of the groups that signed the letter to congressional leaders said in a statement.

“Depicting migrants and refugees as an ‘invasion’ is not only a dangerous and bigoted attempt to fearmonger, it is now the basis of an authoritarian power grab,” said Liz Yates of the Western States Center.

In their letter, all the groups said the harm will only spread unless those in power stand against claims of an “invasion.”

“This bigoted narrative has already been leveraged to promote policies that have and will continue to have a devastating impact on immigrant communities,” the letter said. “It has also inspired a pattern of white nationalist and antisemitic deadly attacks across the nation. Use of this bigoted conspiracy theory as justification for a policy agenda poses a public safety risk not only to the immigrant communities who are targeted for policy enforcement, but also to Jewish, Black, Brown, Muslim, LGBTQ+, AANHPI, Latinx and many other communities who are implicated in this conspiratorial rhetoric. It also constitutes a direct threat to our democracy.” Congress must refuse to further legitimize this bigotry by sanctioning or funding policies in its name.”

Ohio Capital Journal (https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/) is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Ohio Capital Journal maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor David Dewitt for questions: info@ohiocapitaljournal.com.

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concerns are growing after President Donald Trump’s “border czar,” Tom Homan, announced (https://x.com/atrupar/status/1891537181237239900) he has requested that the U.S. Department of Justice investigate whether U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) violated federal law by hosting a webinar informing undocumented immigrants of their civil rights under the U.S. Constitution.

Calling Homan’s remarks “extremely disturbing,” civil rights attorney and longtime public defender Scott Hechinger wrote (https://x.com/ScottHech/status/1891571625725731135): “There is nothing more unconstitutional than threatening to punish someone for sharing information about the Constitution.”

And in a video (https://x.com/ScottHech/status/1891578610500194645), he added that what Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez is doing is “nothing more than sharing rights, knowledge of rights, knowledge of the Constitution with her immigrant constituents.”

“There is nothing more constitutional than sharing education about the Constitution,” he said. And he declared that the “bottom line is that this is a tactic of fear. This is a tactic of terror.”

READ MORE: Federal Judge ‘Skeptical’ of DOGE: Report (https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2025/02/federal-judge-skeptical-of-doge-report/)

“They’re not only coming for our immigrant neighbors, they’re coming for all of us, and they’re coming for all of us for simply sharing what the Constitution says, because knowledge they know is power, and they want to maintain full and unadulterated power over all of us.”

“What they’re doing by even suggesting that AOC’s conduct or any of our conduct related to sharing rights is illegal in some way, is illegal. It’s unconstitutional. It’s suppression of speech, it’s suppression of truth, and it’s not okay.”

Homan told Fox News (https://www.foxnews.com/politics/homan-aoc-clash-webinar-help-immigrants-evade-ice-raids-educated-her?intcmp=tw_fnc) on Monday, “I’ve asked DOJ, where where’s that line of impedment?” he said repeatedly, appearing to mean “impediment.”

“Now if someone stands in your way, prevents you from arresting somebody, put your hands on him, that’s impedment.”

“So I’ve simply Department of Justice, give us that line,” he said, claiming he finds it “disturbing” that “any member of Congress wants to educate people how they evade law enforcement.”

“What she in fact is doing is telling people, ‘don’t open your door,’ ‘hide in your home’, ‘don’t talk to ICE,'” Homan said. “We’re talking about people who are in the country illegally, committed a crime, they’re a public safety threat, they’ve been convicted of serious crime, and they’ve been ordered removed by federal judge. So it’s like AOC and others don’t want ICE to enforce the laws that they enacted.”

But ICE is not only arresting undocumented immigrants who have been convicted of serious crime, they are also, according to reports, arresting Americans.

“American citizens, including citizens of Native tribal nations, have been pulled intothe vastimmigrationoperations ordered by President Donald Trump (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/trump-spends-first-week-building-framework-mass-deportations-vow-rcna189124)in accordance with his campaign vow to conduct mass deportations (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-details-sweeping-changes-ll-carry-day-one-exclusive-interview-rcna182858) since Day 1,” NBC News (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/trump-immigration-raids-citizens-profiling-accusations-native-american-rcna189203) reported late last month. “Those who are getting caught in Immigrations and Customs Enforcement raids are being targeted because of their race or skin color, according to witnesses.”

Homan’s repeated presence on Fox News may also indicate that his public relations efforts are taking precedence, since ICE has not been able to find enough undocumented immigrants to arrest to meet their alleged quotas.

“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is struggling to arrest higher numbers of immigrants and falling far short of the administration’s goals,” The Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/02/15/ice-arrests-immigration-deportations/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNzM5NjgyMDAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzQxMDY0Mzk5LCJpYXQiOjE3Mzk2ODIwMDAsImp0aSI6IjI0MTE4NTBjLWFmN2MtNDIzMC1iZmU3LWRhY2JkNjA5OTRiMCIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9pbW1pZ3JhdGlvbi8yMDI1LzAyLzE1L2ljZS1hcnJlc3RzLWltbWlncmF0aW9uLWRlcG9ydGF0aW9ucy8ifQ.gDPnwzCb187kPVK-0u-Clw-GLpKvzeelWj9KZUzYndk) reported over the weekend. “ICE arrests have sagged so far this month, according to data provided by the Department of Homeland Security, declining from about 800 per day in late January after Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) took office to fewer than 600 during the first 13 days of February. The administration has stopped publishing daily numbers, and Trump officials said they will release the data on a monthly basis to conserve resources.”

READ MORE: ‘Stupid Beyond Belief’: Musk and Trump Blasted as DOGE Fires ‘Hundreds’ of FAA Employees (https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2025/02/stupid-beyond-belief-musk-and-trump-blasted-as-doge-fires-hundreds-of-faa-employees/)

Last week, Homan made essentially the same remarks, also on Fox News. He added (https://www.foxnews.com/media/tom-homan-fires-back-aoc-mocking-his-warning-against-impeding-ice-evading-law-enforcement), “I’m working with the Department of Justice and finding out. Where is that line that they cross? So maybe AOC is going to be in trouble now.”

Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez quickly mocked him.

IFrame Content (https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1890212614246109508&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.alternet.org%2Ftrump-border-czar-aoc%2F&partner=rebelmouse&sessionId=49c2e8f241a2e4e7a6d0f017e84451ea369aa244&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px)

In a statement to Fox News (https://www.foxnews.com/politics/homan-aoc-clash-webinar-help-immigrants-evade-ice-raids-educated-her?intcmp=tw_fnc) AOC also said, “I am glad Mr. Homan is checking with the Department of Justice to familiarize himself with the limits of his agency’s authority in entering the homes of everyday Americans without a warrant. And I am proud to offer civil education to everyday Americans to ensure ICE’s compliance with the law, given the numerous reports of agents providing incorrect paperwork in their attempts to enter and search private homes.”

“Since Mr. Homan seems to be vaguely familiar with U.S. immigration law, we also remind him that according to Congressional statute, becoming undocumented in the United States is a civil offense and not a criminal one. I look forward to continuing our work in ensuring the safety of everyday New Yorkers while keeping families together.”[twts]

HOMAN QUID PRO QUO ERIC ADAMS NYC CHARGES SUSPENDED 2 25

BOVE 7 AG QUIT

MMA IRONY IS DEAD

February 13, 2025, edition of Fox News'The Five

JESSE WATTERS (HOST): There's a new DOJ in town and they're not messing around. Attorney General Pam Bondi just threw down the legal gauntlet, suing New York and its squad of lawfare junkies. Governor Kathy Hochul and AG Letitia James for straight up ignoring immigration laws and hooking up illegals with driver's licenses.

...

AG Bondi should probably look into this. AOC's office is now giving webinars for illegals on how to avoid Trump's deportation raids.

an 2 25

Community leaders called on Baltimore County school officials Tuesday to ensure that undocumented students are protected, days after reports that an Overlea High School teacher reached out to immigration officials and offered to name names.

That incident has rippled the immigrant community, leaving students and family members more scared than ever over their safety in school, advocates said during the board meeting and at a news conference earlier in the day.

“This isn’t just about one teacher,” said Lucas Cunha, an Essex business owner who testified to the board. “He offered to hand over the names students to ICE – young people he was entrusted to protect.”

Cunha, who was once undocumented, called the alleged actions of the Baltimore County teacher a “betrayal” that “didn’t just endanger immigrants, it shattered the trust of every student.”

Advocates were referring to a series of posts last week that appeared to come from a since-deleted account on X, called @RennerTraining, that tags the account of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and offers to share the names of undocumented students.

“If you want the names to investigate families to find illegals, let me know in dm [direct message]. I’ll give names and school. All in Md,” according to screenshots of the posts.

County school officials did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. The Teachers Association of Baltimore County said in a Facebook post Tuesday that it was “aware of alleged actions by an educator at Overlea High School last week,” without further elaboration on the incident.

“It’s also important to note that all students have privacy rights based on federal FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) protections,” the Facebook statement said. “And while immigration issues may seem complicated, some things are simple: children do not decide where and how their parents choose to move.”

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES. SUBSCRIBE (https://marylandmatters.org/subscribe)

But Crisaly De Los Santos, Central Maryland and Baltimore director for CASA, said during a virtual event Tuesday afternoon that the incident has shattered the sense of security for families in the region.

“Families should feel confident that when their children are in schools, they’re safe and they’re protected and supported by teachers and administrators who they trust to care for their children,” she said. “But in light of recent events, we have seen how this basic expectation has not been met.”

She said that the county school board needs to “adopt a clear and comprehensive policy to ensure that ICE is going to be blocked from accessing school resources and personal information.”

“We need a policy that guarantees that students’ safety and their future is not going to be jeopardized by federal immigration enforcement,” she said. “The current policy is just not enough, and it does not provide the clarity some families need to feel safe in our schools.”

Several members of Baltimore County’s immigrant community said during the virtual event that the social media posts heightened anxiety many were already feeling under President Donald Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) (R). They did not provide their full names for privacy reasons.

A 12th grader named Helen shared that her goals are simple: She wants to become fluent in English and attend college. But she is now constantly worried that her “personal information will be shared with ICE,” which makes focusing on schoolwork difficult.

“Every student deserves to feel safe at school, no matter where they come from,” Helen said.

Another Baltimore County student, who used the pseudonym Rosa, said the United States is the country she “calls home,” but “hearing a county teacher threatened to call ICE made me feel that I did not belong in this country.”

Gricelda, a parent of three Baltimore County public school students, said she worries about sending her children to school each day.

Advocates urge Maryland lawmakers to protect ‘sensitive locations’ from immigration raids (https://marylandmatters.org/2025/01/30/advocates-urge-maryland-lawmakers-to-protect-sensitive-locations-from-immigration-raids/)

IFrame Content (https://marylandmatters.org/2025/01/30/advocates-urge-maryland-lawmakers-to-protect-sensitive-locations-from-immigration-raids/embed/#?secret=sKietLA69H#?secret=jlDrZ0Owhx)

“I have to think every day about the possibilities of family separation — and what this could lead to for many families … Just seeing that a Baltimore County Public School teacher has threatened to share students’ information with ICE, it really worries me,” she said through De Los Santos, who translated. “This is something that does not just affect me, but many other families, and I am constantly worried, thinking about if sending my kids to school is the safe thing to do.”

During open comments at the virtual board meeting, Cunha and others said a sense of security is important for immigrant safety so students can learn.

“Every single opportunity I got … was because of the trust that I built with my teachers over 20 years ago,” Cunha said. “That trust is the foundation of every student’s success. That very trust is what’s at stake here.”

Peter Baum, who was previously taught English as a second language in Baltimore County, said he’s been in “education for over eight years … and in my time I have never heard of such a massively egregious violation of student safety.”

While she did not speak on the case itself, Superintendent Myriam Rogers said during the virtual board meeting that “teachers, all staff, are expected to create safe learning environment for our schools, for our students.”

She also noted that federal and state “protects student privacy and prohibits the release of student information.”

“When staff members violate those expectations and break policy, there are consequences. We absolutely do follow due process. There is an investigation, and based on the results of those investigations, next steps are determined,” she said.

Maryland Matters (https://marylandmatters.org/) is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: editor@marylandmatters.org.

an 2 25

Although Vice President JD Vance is quite popular among far-right white evangelicals and Christian nationalists, he isn't an evangelical himself. The "Hillbilly Elegy" author and former U.S. senator is a convert to Catholicism, and he argues that Trumpism is quite compatible with Christianity because it puts "American citizens first."

But not all Catholics share Vance's devotion to President Donald Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) and the MAGA movement. Former President Joe Biden and ex-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California), for example, consider themselves devout Catholics and are scathing critics of Trump. And now, Trump's immigration policies are drawing condemnation (https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/11/pope-francis-donald-trump-immigration-016193) from the most prominent figure in the Catholic Church: Pope Francis.

In an open letter published on the Vatican's website (https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/letters/2025/documents/20250210-lettera-vescovi-usa.html) on Tuesday, February 11, Pope Francis wrote, "I have followed closely the major crisis that is taking place in the United States with the initiation of a program of mass deportations. The rightly formed conscience cannot fail to make a critical judgment and express its disagreement with any measure that tacitly or explicitly identifies the illegal status of some migrants with criminality. At the same time, one must recognize the right of a nation to defend itself and keep communities safe from those who have committed violent or serious crimes while in the country or prior to arrival."

READ MORE:Small Trump-loving state projected to lose $12 million a year in federal research funding (https://www.alternet.org/red-state-funding/)

Pope Francis continued (https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/letters/2025/documents/20250210-lettera-vescovi-usa.html), "That said, the act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment, damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness."

The New Republic's Greg Sargent examines the contrast between Vance and Pope Francis' views in an article published on February 12 (https://newrepublic.com/article/191427/pope-francis-jd-vance-maga-dark-soul).

Sargent argues that (https://newrepublic.com/article/191427/pope-francis-jd-vance-maga-dark-soul) the Pope's "remarkable" open letter "exposes some ugly truths about 'America First' Trumpism — and about the high-minded-sounding justifications that Vance is using to paper them over."

"First, Pope Francis correctly identified a big problem with Vance's defense of Trumpism," the New Republic journalist explains (https://newrepublic.com/article/191427/pope-francis-jd-vance-maga-dark-soul). "Vance wants us to believe that Trump's immigration policies reflect a good-faith ordering of our ethical obligations: Trump might not want to deport all undocumented immigrants, but this is required of him by his proper duty to American citizens. But there is no way to reconcile Vance's innocent rendering of 'America First' with what we're seeing right now. Trump's policies are built on a massive ratcheting back or withdrawal of our obligations to enormous numbers of people outside our borders — or outside our legal structures — who are making moral appeals on us, appeals that the United States under administrations of both parties has recognized for decades."

READ MORE:Why annexing Canada would destroy the United States (https://www.alternet.org/annex-canada/?utm_source=push_notifications)

Sargent adds (https://newrepublic.com/article/191427/pope-francis-jd-vance-maga-dark-soul) that the gutting of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) by the Trump Administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) "put nearly $500 million of food assistance at risk of spoilage."

"As former USAID official Jeremy Konyndyk tells me, it's likely this food is bound for places suffering from 'active famine' and 'major food emergencies,'" Sargent observes (https://newrepublic.com/article/191427/pope-francis-jd-vance-maga-dark-soul). "The Trump-Musk cuts evince an extraordinarily wanton lack of concern for the global poor. They practically proclaim this proudly."

READ MORE:Conservative free speech group draws MAGA ire by critiquing Trump move to bar reporter from Oval Office (https://www.alternet.org/fire-trump-ap/?utm_source=push_notifications)

*Read Greg Sargent's full article for The New Republic at this link (https://newrepublic.com/article/191427/pope-francis-jd-vance-maga-dark-soul) and Pope Francis' open letter here (https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/letters/2025/documents/20250210-lettera-vescovi-usa.html).

an 2 25

'Shatter the consecrated space': Trump administration sued over raids in churches (https://www.alternet.org/trump-immigration-raids-churches/)

:{===

an 2 25

'He's building a concentration camp': Fears grow as images emerge of offshore prison at Gitmo (https://www.alternet.org/gitmo-prison/)

'Small but important win': Court blocks Trump from sending some immigrants to Guantanamo (https://www.alternet.org/guantanamo-immigrants/)

MMA

Fox Noticias host and guest falsely claim Trump is deporting only “criminals, murderers, rapists,” and gang members (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-noticias-host-and-guest-falsely-claim-trump-deporting-only-criminals-murderers-0)

02/07/25

an 2 25

Since the election of President Donald Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) — who ran on mass deportations of undocumented immigrants — immigrant communities have feared increased crackdowns by the new administration. A quick Google search for arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) results in pages of press releases from the agency announcing arrests and raids.

But many of those articles, Guardiantech reporter Dara Kerr found (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/06/ice-us-immigration-deportations-google), were outdated. For example, an operation in Colorado (https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-arrests-85-during-4-day-colorado-operation) happened in 2010, and arrests in Wisconsin (https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-arrests-83-criminal-aliens-and-immigration-violators-4-day-wisconsin-enforcement) happened in 2018. AlterNet found a press release (https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-arrests-13-convicted-criminal-aliens-fugitives-eastern-idaho-enforcement-surge) about arrests in Idaho is from 2010 as well, but the date on the Google result (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kATWBeBmTmTwmdSnYEvQ4w8Sy3fawWUvRcHkIfeIq9w/edit?usp=sharing) says January 24, 2025.

Indeed, the outdated press releases all had a note at the bottom of the page: “Updated: 01/24/2025.”

READ MORE:'Barbaric act': Trump slammed for sending immigrants to 'black hole' facility at Guantánamo (https://www.alternet.org/msn-uk/trump-immigration-guantanamo/)

“There was a lot of noise online,” an immigration lawyer who noticed the pattern told the Guardian. “And it was creating terror in the community.” She remained anonymous out of fear of retaliation by the Trump administration.

“Every article was updated on the 24th, which was causing the Google SEO to interpret that as a recently updated article, and therefore rank it higher,” a tech expert who also chose to remain anonymous said.

“It’s ICE’s made-for-TV moment,” Kerr writes.

“[With ICE] these are old articles that are now appearing at the top of the Google and Bing search results as recent headlines, where no other government agency is doing this,” she said. “As someone in tech, I would interpret that as an intentional play to get more clicks, essentially on these misleading headlines."

READ MORE:Major GOP-led immigration measure passed by U.S. Senate, heads to House (https://www.alternet.org/major-gop-led-immigration-measure-passed-by-u-s-senate-heads-to-house/)

A Google spokesperson told the Guardian: “When people do these searches on Google, they’ll find a range of sources and information, including recent news articles.”

She further explained that Google aims to “reflect the last time a page was updated.” Its “systems,” she said, “are not designed to boost a page’s ranking simply because they update their timestamp.”

Lindsay M. Harris (https://www.rawstory.com/tag/white-house), a law professor at the University of San Francisco who specializes in immigration law, told the Guardianthe media blitz is part of a deliberate strategy.

“All of that is intended to send a message to immigrants to be afraid and that they’re coming for you,” she said. “Regardless of the actual numbers, the optics of these mass arrests throughout the country have very real ramifications.”

READ MORE: Trump’s war on migrants could make an enemy of the country he needs most (https://www.alternet.org/trump-mexico/)

Click here (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/06/ice-us-immigration-deportations-google) to read the Guardian's full report.

GUK 1 25

...

The Global Project Against Hate and Extremism has tracked (https://globalextremism.org/post/proud-boys-celebrate-pardons/) Proud Boys’ channels online since Trump’s pardons and seen the group “fantasizing about being ‘deputized as ICE under Trump’s second term’ to aid in Trump’s mass deportation plan” and encouraging members to report people who could be in the country illegally.

...

an 2 25

inspired by President Donald Trump’s call to round up immigrants who are in the country illegally, Republican governors would send their National Guard troops into Democratic-led states without those leaders’ permission.

It’s a scenario that was so concerning to Washington state Rep. Sharlett Mena that she introduced legislation (https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1321&Year=2025&Initiative=False) that would make uninvited deployments of out-of-state troops illegal. Her bill cleared a committee last week and has the backing of Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson, who pushed for the proposal in his inaugural address last month.

The legislation is about maintaining the state’s autonomy and authority, Mena, a Democrat, told her colleagues during last week’s hearing. “Without this bill, there’s nothing on the books to prevent this.”

Later, she added, “Other states may take matters into their own hands when they want to enforce federal laws.”

In December, 26 Republican governors — all but Vermont Gov. Phil Scott — vowed (https://www.rga.org/republican-governors-join-support-president-trumps-immigration-policies/) to assist Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) with deportations of immigrants “who pose a threat to our communities and national security.” Their pledge included the use of National Guard troops.

Mena has reason to be concerned, said Joseph Nunn, a counsel in the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, a left-leaning New York-based pro-democracy institute.

“The Trump administration has made it quite clear that they intend to use the military to assist with immigration enforcement,” he said. “States who are opposed to that would be wise to take what measures they can to protect themselves and their states.”

This week, Texas signed an agreement (https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/03/texas-national-guard-immigration-arrests/) with the Trump administration giving the state’s National Guard troops law enforcement powers to arrest and help detain migrants. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s four-year Operation Lone Star program has until now used the National Guard only for surveillance and logistical support for federal agents.

Other states opposed to Trump’s deportation program could be inspired by Washington’s legislation and introduce similar measures in the months ahead, Nunn said. And Mena pointed out that Idaho (https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/title46/t46ch1/sect46-110/), Kansas (https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/statute/048_000_0000_chapter/048_002_0000_article/048_002_0003_section/048_002_0003_k/), Montana (https://courts.mt.gov/External/library/docs/72constit.pdf), North Dakota (https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t37c01.pdf), Oklahoma (https://oksenate.gov/sites/default/files/2022-05/os44.pdf), Rhode Island (https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE30/30-12/30-12-4.htm), South Carolina (https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t25c001.php) and Texas (https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/GV/htm/GV.437.htm) have laws that prevent other states’ National Guard troops from entering without permission.

‘Anything we can do to help’: This Texas county is poised to play a key role in deportations (https://stateline.org/2025/01/03/anything-we-can-do-to-help-this-texas-county-is-poised-to-play-a-key-role-in-deportations/)

IFrame Content (https://stateline.org/2025/01/03/anything-we-can-do-to-help-this-texas-county-is-poised-to-play-a-key-role-in-deportations/embed/#?secret=g5n0fTIXGY#?secret=zSdhJGn6ip)

But, as she noted to her colleagues last week, if Trump were to federalize National Guard units, there’s nothing the state could do to prevent it; a presidential order preempts state authority.

Republican state Rep. Jim Walsh dismisses Mena’s concerns.

“I believe that legislation is unnecessary,” he told Stateline in an interview. “I think it’s what is generally considered a statement bill, but you have to treat it seriously. I’m not sure what they’re getting at here other than a swipe at Donald Trump.”

Washington state law prohibits state and local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement — which Walsh described as “horrible” public policy. Mena’s legislation would only add to that “dumb” approach to immigration enforcement, he said.

Federal law

While the National Guard is generally organized at and operates under state command using state funding, it can be called into federal service, operating with federal funding and placed under the president’s control. But there’s a murky middle ground in federal law that would make a measure like Washington’s relevant.

Under one federal statute, Title 32, a state’s National Guard can be commanded by the governor but operate using federal funding on a federal mission at the request of the president. While the policy was originally crafted in the 1950s as a way for Congress to pay for extensive training requirements, presidents have since expanded its use.

Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Trump, in his first term, all deployed (https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/LSB/LSB10121) National Guard troops to the southwestern border to assist with migration deterrence.

Trump’s mass deportation plan could rely on state cooperation (https://stateline.org/2024/11/01/trumps-mass-deportation-plan-could-rely-on-state-collaboration/)

IFrame Content (https://stateline.org/2024/11/01/trumps-mass-deportation-plan-could-rely-on-state-collaboration/embed/#?secret=CLS1MUMpxp#?secret=BqTnxNTtr3)

Trump also used the statute (https://x.com/KerriKupecDOJ/status/1270487263324049410) in 2020 to request that states send National Guard units to Washington, D.C., when he wanted to suppress the Black Lives Matter protests happening there. Eleven governors voluntarily sent troops, despite objections from the district’s mayor. The district does not enjoy the sovereignty of states.

“No state is more sovereign than another state, and their sovereignty is also territorially limited,” Nunn said. “Illinois’ sovereignty stops at the Indiana state line and vice versa. Indiana cannot reach into Illinois and exercise governmental power there without Illinois’ consent, even if the president asked Indiana to do this and even if Congress is footing the bill.”

Put simply: No state can invade another state.

‘An insurance policy’

Because of this, Washington state’s legislation might be redundant, said William Banks, a professor emeritus at Syracuse University College of Law who has studied and recently written (https://www.justsecurity.org/107030/invasion-executive-order-military-authorities/) about National Guard deployments and Trump’s rhetoric of a migrant “invasion.”

“It’s like an insurance policy,” he said of the bill. “It may be a very good idea to call attention to the independence of the state government and its perspective that they’d very much like to be in charge of their own internal affairs, including migration or whatever else might be going on.”

Banks said the measure, if passed as expected, could be something that state leaders point to if, for example, Idaho or Montana were considering deploying their National Guard units to Seattle to carry out Trump’s immigration enforcement.

However, he said, the whole discussion becomes irrelevant the moment Trump invokes the Insurrection Act, which would allow for federal military intervention in a nonconsenting state.

State, local officials plan for potential immigration enforcement at schools (https://stateline.org/2025/02/03/state-local-officials-plan-for-potential-immigration-enforcement-at-schools/)

IFrame Content (https://stateline.org/2025/02/03/state-local-officials-plan-for-potential-immigration-enforcement-at-schools/embed/#?secret=CMNsbDepAW#?secret=JrAqABCbV5)

The 1792 law has been used occasionally in response to unexpected crises that overwhelmed civilian authorities or when a state was obstructing federal civil rights laws or other constitutional protections. In theory, though, the president could frame one of his policy priorities, such as immigration, as a national emergency in need of a massive troop mobilization. Trump has already asked (https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/declaring-a-national-emergency-at-the-southern-border-of-the-united-states/) his deputies to study the use of the law.

“The Insurrection Act is a euphemism for when all hell breaks loose,” Banks said. “It’s an extreme measure for extreme times.”

Until that occurs, Washington lawmakers would be wise to adopt preventive measures, said Nathan Bays, deputy policy director for Washington’s governor. He told committee members during the bill’s hearing that it is “precautionary” and would not harm the readiness or training of the state’s National Guard.

“Washington will continue to be a strong partner with our other National Guard units across this nation,” he said.

But Republican state Rep. Rob Chase told Stateline that the legislation is a solution looking for a problem — wasting time when the legislature should be focused on real issues, such as public safety, homelessness, a housing shortage, fentanyl and education.

“This seems like more fear mongering by the ruling party in Olympia over what they perceive to be happening in the other Washington,” he wrote in an email.

Stateline (https://stateline.org/) is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org.

MMA MASS DEPORT PROTEST LA

February 3, 2025, edition of Fox News' The Five

DANA PERINO (CO-HOST): It does make you wonder if the climate groups are working with the immigration groups to be, like, the most hated groups in America.

GREG GUTFELD (CO-HOST): Do you know what, you just -- who's behind it?

PERINO: Exactly.

GUTFELD: Who's behind this? Is it USAID?

PERINO: Well, I don't think it's them, but I do think it is S-O-R-O-S --

GUTFELD: Soros, who is funded by --

PERINO -- types of people. Or Arabella Advisors.

GUTFELD: But they're funded by USAID. See? It's all making sense, Judge. It's all one tangled web of evil.

MMA

### Fox Business guest on deportations of legal Venezuelan migrants, “To send them back to Venezuela is the worst possible thing for them. … but I kind of want to see them shipped back to Venezuela” (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-business/fox-business-guest-deportations-legal-venezuelan-migrants-send-them-back-venezuela)

02/03/25 2:55 PM EST

### Fox's Harris Faulkner defends the deportation of pregnant women, children (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/foxs-harris-faulkner-defends-deportation-non-criminal-pregnant-women-and-children)

02/03/25

MMA

### Fox hosts have absolutely no idea how this Gitmo prison is going to work, but they love it (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-hosts-have-absolutely-no-idea-how-gitmo-prison-going-work-they-love-it)

01/30/25

Fox News' Martha MacCallum claims only "dangerous criminals" are part of Trump's initial deportations. She's wrong. | Media Matters for America (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-martha-maccallum-claims-only-dangerous-criminals-are-part-trumps-initial)

Fox News' Martha MacCallum claims only “dangerous criminals” are part of Trump's initial deportations. She's wrong.

Written by Helena Hind (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/helena-hind)

Published 01/28/25 MMA

As Trump’s mass deportation raids ramp up, Fox News falsely claimed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is initially targeting only violent undocumented immigrants for deportation, despite evidence to the contrary.

During the January 28 edition of The Story with Martha MacCallum, guest David Carlucci pointed out that a large portion of people arrested by ICE “are not dangerous criminals; they're just undocumented,” to which host Martha MacCallum interrupted, “That's not what we understood. This is the worst-first policy,” mentioning “child abusers” and “sex abusers.”

According to government data reviewed by NBC (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/ice-trump-deportations-numbers-rcna188937), nearly half of the 1,179 people ICE arrested and detained on January 26 “appear to be nonviolent offenders or people who have not committed any criminal offense other than crossing the border illegally.”

Data first obtained by NBC News shows that Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested a total of 1,179 people on Sunday, which is more than the 956 arrests that the agency posted on X on Sunday night. But just 613 of those total arrests — nearly 52% — were considered “criminal arrests.” The rest appear to be nonviolent offenders or people who have not committed any criminal offense other than crossing the border illegally.

When breaking down those arrests, eight were considered "Worst Criminals Arrested," including two gang members, according to the official.

Still, at least 566 people arrested Sunday had not committed any crimes and were only detained because they lacked legal authorization to remain in the United States.

Here's the Fox News segment:

Video

From the January 28, 2025, edition of Fox News' The Story with Martha MacCallum

MARTHA MACCALLUM (ANCHOR): David Carlucci, I remember Alejandro Mayorkas testifying with a straight face to Congress that the border was not open, so I don't know how all these criminals got in here, but they are here and now they're being removed. Why did we never see the Homeland Security secretary participating in the removal of criminals and people who worked for the cartels?

DAVID CARLUCCI (GUEST): Well, a very simple reason, and many law enforcement officers are out there publicly saying that this is reckless to identify and announce when you're doing these raids and where for a few reasons, but most importantly it gives notice and the most dangerous among them will flee. And when you look at these arrests --

MACCALLUM: So that's why Alejandro Mayorkas never participated because he didn't want to give anyone a heads -- I mean, these people, these people, they didn't get a heads up.

CARLUCCI: No, he was participating, but it's not about just large numbers. It's about an actual policy, and when you look at the people that have been picked up -- thank goodness we're getting the most dangerous criminals out of here, but over half of them are not dangerous criminals; they're just undocumented. And yes, they should --

MACCALLUM: No, that's not -- that's not what we understood. This is the worst-first policy. I mean, we have put up on the board, you know, examples of the kind of people that are being taken out. Child abusers, sex abusers --

CARLUCCI: But that's not all of them.

MACCALLUM: -- and these are people who were already indicated as much.

[CROSSTALK]

MCCALLUM: They were already indicated that way under the Biden administration and they were not removed, David.

CARLUCCI: No. We had more deportations under Biden than we did in the first term of Donald Trump. And yes, did we do a good job publicizing it? No, but that's not the idea. It's not about a headline — it's about a policy.

AN 1 25

As Gov. Bill Lee’s immigration enforcement plan moves swiftly through the Tennessee Legislature, one component of the bill — aimed at arresting local officials who support sanctuary policies for immigrants — drew scrutiny Tuesday.

Included in the governor’s wide-ranging proposal to coordinate with the Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) Administration on mass immigrant detentions and deportations is a provision that creates a Class E felony for public officials who vote to adopt or enact sanctuary policies. Sanctuary policies can shield undocumented immigrants and limit cooperation with enforcement action

The felony charge, punishable by up to six years in prison and a $3,000 fine, would apply to any public official who votes in favor of a sanctuary law, policy or on non-binding resolutions.

Sen. Todd Gardenhire, the Republican chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, blasted the provision Tuesday as a “dangerous precedent.”

“We are a Republic, and a Republic is one that we elect people to vote the way they feel like is best for the district, the city, county or the state,” he said.

“If we set the precedent of penalizing any elected official for voting their conscience, whether it’s good or bad, then we set a dangerous precedent for the future,” he said.

Under Trump, immigration arrests at school could be a step too far for some Tennessee conservatives (https://tennesseelookout.com/2025/01/27/under-trump-immigration-arrests-at-school-could-be-a-step-too-far-for-some-tennessee-conservatives/)

IFrame Content (https://tennesseelookout.com/2025/01/27/under-trump-immigration-arrests-at-school-could-be-a-step-too-far-for-some-tennessee-conservatives/embed/#?secret=IVj8ZofUza#?secret=ydoDqd9imu)

Democrats characterized the provision as a “slippery slope” that could be invoked in future legislation to criminalize votes on any controversial issue.

“It is alarming we are sitting here talking about felonizing elected officials taking votes on behalf of their constituency,” Sen. Heidi Campbell, a Nashville Democrat, said. “Boy, this is a slippery slope and be careful what you wish for if you vote for this.”

Gardenhire was in the minority among Republicans who dominate the Senate Judiciary Committee. They quickly shot down Gardenhire’s efforts to amend the bill to remove criminal penalties before voting to advance it in the legislature.

Sanctuary policies are already prohibited by a 2019 Tennessee law that sought to prevent local governments from adopting sanctuary city status —as some other Democrat-led cities across the country have done.

The 2019 Tennessee law gives citizens the right to file civil suits challenging any jurisdiction’s adoption of sanctuary policies and the state the power to withhold funding over violations.

“When the state banned sanctuary cities, its remedies were to deny cities grants and to seek a court order,” said Ken Paulson, director of the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University.

“Here the state is trying to control the actions of duly-elected officials through the police power,” he said. “That’s a dramatic escalation.”

One national government accountability expert said he knew of no other state law that threatened to prosecute public officials for how they cast a vote.

I don’t know of any other laws, state or federal, that penalize elected officials on the basis of how they vote. This seems to defeat the whole purpose of democratic-republican (representative) government.

– John Vile, Middle Tennessee State University

“It’s an unprecedented power grab and criminalization of political discourse,” said Dan Vicuña, director of redistricting and representation for Common Cause, a Washington, D.C. advocacy group.

“It puts at risk the basic right to local representative and democratic government,” he said.

And local legal experts, among them the legislature’s own attorney, said the provision may be “constitutionally suspect.”

“Generally speaking Tennessee courts have found legislative bodies have legislative immunity for acts that serve part of their legislative function and that legislative immunity extends to local legislative bodies,” Elizabeth Insogna, a Legislative attorney, told the committee.

‘Be prepared’ Nashville leaders caution immigrant communities about looming crackdowns (https://tennesseelookout.com/2025/01/24/be-prepared-nashville-leaders-caution-immigrant-communities-about-looming-crackdowns/)

IFrame Content (https://tennesseelookout.com/2025/01/24/be-prepared-nashville-leaders-caution-immigrant-communities-about-looming-crackdowns/embed/#?secret=dhNZa8tWKX#?secret=FWWzK86sIq)

“It’s possible that a criminal provision that is enforced against a member of a legislative body may be constitutionally suspect,” she said. “It would be up for a court to determine.”

John Vile, professor of political science and Dean of the University Honors College at Middle Tennessee State University said “legislators should heed Article 1” of the Tennessee Constitution, which establishes a “Declaration of Rights” for citizens and their elected representatives.

“I don’t know of any other laws, state or federal, that penalize elected officials on the basis of how they vote,” he said. “This seems to defeat the whole purpose of democratic-republican (representative) government.

Republicans however noted the criminal penalties are aimed at elected officials attempting to pass legislation already outlawed in Tennessee.

“I think everybody would agree that’s something that elected officials should be prohibited from doing, or should not do,” said Sen. Kerry Roberts, a Springfield Republican. “The fact there’s a consequence for it, I personally don’t have a problem with that, because they ought not to be doing it in the first place. It’s illegal.”

Only two current laws provide criminal penalties for lawmakers acting in their official capacities, according to Stephen Crump, executive director of the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference. One longstanding law allows criminal charges to be brought against county commissioners who fail to adequately fund local jails. Other lawmakers may be charged if their vote violates official misconduct statutes.

Tennessee Lookout (https://tennesseelookout.com/) is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.

dr phil ice rid chic

maddow mil aircraft 800k$ to honduras?

an 1 25

In the Missouri Legislature, State Sen. David Gregory, a far-right MAGA Republican, is proposing a bill that, if passed, would give a $1000 reward (https://nypost.com/2024/12/07/us-news/david-gregory-introduces-bill-to-offer-1k-bounty-to-turn-in-illegal-migrants/) to anyone who reports someone who is in the United States illegally if the report leads to an arrest. And the bill is fueling heated debates among Missouri residents.

Gregory, who served in the Missouri House of Representatives before being elected to the Missouri Senate in 2024, vigorously defended his proposal during a hearing on Monday, January 27 (https://missouriindependent.com/2025/01/28/missouri-bill-putting-a-bounty-on-undocumented-immigrants-faces-fierce-resistance/).

Gregory told members of the Missouri Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee, "This bill seeks to create an ICE program at the state level. That's essentially all it does. This is an ICE program inside the state of Missouri."

READ MORE:Apocalypse Now: Extreme interpretation of Christian nationalism now guides Pentagon policy (https://www.alternet.org/the-most-extreme-interpretation-of-christian-nationalism/?utm_source=push_notifications)

But Democratic Missouri State Sen. Barbara Washington, whose district is in Kansas City, is calling out the bill as racist and argues that it encourages Missouri residents to file reports based on a person's skin color or proficiency in English.

During the January 27 hearing, Washington warned (https://missouriindependent.com/2025/01/28/missouri-bill-putting-a-bounty-on-undocumented-immigrants-faces-fierce-resistance/), "Don't tell me it is not going to happen because it is happening now."

Missouri Independent reporter Rudi Keller, in an article published on January 28 (https://missouriindependent.com/2025/01/28/missouri-bill-putting-a-bounty-on-undocumented-immigrants-faces-fierce-resistance/), explains, "Gregory, a Republican from Chesterfield, wants to authorize bounty hunters, usually employed by bail bond businesses to catch absconders, to track down people identified in tips. And if the tip proves accurate, the person arrested would be charged with 'trespass by an illegal alien,' and subject to life in prison without parole if federal immigration authorities declined to take custody."

The New York Post's Jon Levine noted (https://nypost.com/2024/12/07/us-news/david-gregory-introduces-bill-to-offer-1k-bounty-to-turn-in-illegal-migrants/) that Gregory's bill would "develop an information system for people to report violations of this act, which shall include a toll-free telephone hotline, e-mail and online reporting portal."

Washington wasn't the only person speaking out against Gregory's bill at the January 27 hearing.

READ MORE:'Left-wing narrative': OK schools chief accuses CNN host of 'gaslighting' on pro-Trump prayer video (https://www.alternet.org/christian-nationalism-trump/)

Gabriella Cepeda of the Hispanic Law Students Association at St. Louis University told attendees (https://missouriindependent.com/2025/01/28/missouri-bill-putting-a-bounty-on-undocumented-immigrants-faces-fierce-resistance/), "This bill fosters a climate of fear, where people feel unsafe engaging in even the most basic activities beyond going to work or school. They are terrified of being profiled or targeted (for) life in prison for simply existing in the state without documentation. It is not just extreme, it's cruel and unusual punishment."

Similarly, immigrant Aura Velasquez — who has been a U.S. citizen for five years — testified (https://missouriindependent.com/2025/01/28/missouri-bill-putting-a-bounty-on-undocumented-immigrants-faces-fierce-resistance/), "It is inhumane to say people should be hunted like a sport. It would turn neighbors against neighbors and friends against each other."

AN 1 25

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and 17 other Republican attorneys general are questioning the temporary protected status for immigrants from 17 distressed countries. They’re asking officials in President Donald Trump’s explicitly anti-immigrant (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/21/trump-immigration-policies) administration to review whether protections are necessary.

In a statement (https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Media/News-Releases/January-2025/Yost-Seeks-Homeland-Security-Review-of-Nations-Wit) Tuesday, Yost said some have been allowed to stay in the United States even after it was “safe for them to return home.” However, he didn’t name a single such country — and publicly available reports make it hard to guess which places he might mean.

His office was asked if he could name a person with temporary protected status who could safely return to her or his home country. A spokeswoman responded that it wasn’t the attorney general’s job to make such determinations.

An immigrant advocate said the letter was another way to scare vulnerable immigrants into the shadows. It’s akin to last summer’s false claims by now-President Donald Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump), Vice President J.D. Vance and others that Haitians under temporary protected status in Springfield were stealing and eating their neighbors’ pets (https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2024/09/19/vance-spread-springfield-rumors-even-after-his-staff-was-told-they-were-false-news-report-says/), she said. That led to dozens of bomb threats (https://apnews.com/article/springfield-ohio-haitian-immigrants-threats-key-details-7594bae869fb05dc6f106098409418cc) and reports of violence (https://time.com/7034714/springfield-haitians-history/) against immigrants.

“It’s about intimidation,” said Lynn Tramonte, founder of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance. “It’s about destabilization. These are authoritarian tactics where you make people unsafe in their homes and communities. It’s really sad. J.D. Vance himself brought violence to Springfield.”

Longstanding problems

Yost and the other attorneys general sent a letter to Kristi Noem, Trump’s head of the Department of Homeland Security. Now confirmed, Noem has the power to grant or revoke temporary protected status, or TPS. Her farewell address last week as North Dakota governor was peppered with starkly anti-immigrant rhetoric (https://apnews.com/article/kristi-noem-dhs-immigration-crackdown-trump-south-dakota-52bf133437d20f4dd6f5284bb751e264).

The Trump administration is giving immigration officers an expanded authority to rapidly deport immigrants, including people the Biden administration temporarily allowed into the country under parole authority, according to an internal memo, States Newsroom reported this weekend (https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2025/01/26/dc/immigrants-under-temporary-protections-on-fast-track-for-deportation-under-trump-policy/).

“TPS beneficiaries represent over 1 million immigrants residing in the States who are otherwise without legal status,” the attorneys general’s letter to Noem said. “Converting TPS into a license for long-term residency frustrates congressional aims and only increases the financial and governmental strain on States.”

In addition to Yost, attorneys general from Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, West Virginia and Wyoming signed the letter to Noem.

The letter makes much of the fact that the word “temporary” is in the name of the designation, and that people from some countries have had temporary protected status for decades.

“Honduras, for instance, first received TPS after a hurricane hit in 1998 and DHS bases its current TPS designation on ‘persist[ing]’ conditions from that same event,” the letter said. “TPS extensions spanning decades have become routine.”

According to statutory language provided by Yost’s office, the Homeland Security secretary can grant TPS if she finds “that there exist extraordinary and temporary conditions in the foreign state that prevent aliens who are nationals of the state from returning to the state in safety.”

Tramonte said the attorneys general are misreading the law.

“It’s called ‘temporary protected status,'” she said. “It’s not called ‘short-term protected status.’ When a crisis happens, whether it’s a natural disaster or a political crisis, it takes years to recover. They’re fixating on the word ‘temporary’ as if that means short-term. But all that means is that Congress said we’re going to give you a break and not deport you because it’s dangerous to send you back.”

Harrowing conditions

In its 2023 report on human rights practices (https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/honduras/), the U.S. State Department had this to say about Honduras, the country the Republican AGs cite as being designated a TPS country for almost 27 years:

“Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: arbitrary or unlawful killings; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by government agents; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest or detention; serious problems with the independence of the judiciary; serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, including threats against media members by criminal elements; serious government corruption; extensive gender-based violence, including domestic violence, sexual violence, and femicide; and crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex persons.”

In fact, of the 17 countries designated for TPS, 11 have the State Department’s most severe travel warning — do not travel (https://www.northwestern.edu/global-safety-security/health-safety/travel-security/evaluating-state-department-advisories.html#::text=Level%201%20%E2%80%93%20Exercise%20Normal%20Precautions,areas%20in%20the%20Travel%20Advisory.). Three have the next-highest, reconsider travel. And three have the second-lowest, exercise increased caution.

Reports for the latter countries — Cameroon, Nepal and El Salvador — indicate how dicey it might be to return there, especially if you’re not a tourist from a developed country.

Human Rights Watch’s World Report 2024 (https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2024/country-chapters/el-salvador) says that El Salvador had been stricken by gang violence, and then “a state of emergency (that was) adopted in March 2022 that suspended basic rights remains in force. Authorities have committed widespread human rights violations, including mass arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, ill-treatment in detention, and due process violations.”

The Human Rights Watch report for Cameroon (https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2024/country-chapters/cameroon) detailed “continued clashes between armed groups and government forces throughout Cameroon’s Anglophone and Far North regions severely impacted civilians, with cases of unlawful killings, abductions, and raids on villages increasing in the second half of the year.”

And the State Department’s 2023 report for Nepal (https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/nepal) described “significant human rights issues (including) credible reports of: arbitrary or unlawful killings, including extrajudicial killings; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government; arbitrary detention; serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media, including violence or threats of violence against journalists and unjustified arrests of journalists.”

Those are the TPS countries that the State Department deems to be the safest of the 17 to travel to. The letter the attorneys general wrote to Noem criticized former President Joe Biden for extending temporary protected status designations for Sudan, Ukraine, and Venezuela, in addition to El Salvador.

Ukraine has been devastated by war (https://www.nrc.no/news/2024/february/ukraine-two-years-on-destruction-and-displacement-the-devastating-impacts-of-the-escalation-of-war-revealed-in-new-nrc-report#::text=Ukraine%20two%20years%20on:%20Destruction%20and%20displacement%2C,around%20them%2C%20or%20do%20not%20feel%20safe.) since Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded in 2022. Sudan has been torn by civil war since 2023, spurring the enlistment of child soldiers, sexual violence (https://www.rescue.org/article/crisis-sudan-what-happening-and-how-help#::text=War%20continues%20to%20rage%20in,protection%20from%20the%20weather%20conditions.) and other atrocities. And in Venezuela, the socialist government has made the economy so dysfunctional that 90% live in poverty (https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/venezuela-more-mere-numbers), and it has the highest crime rate in the world (https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/crime-rate-by-country).

Safe?

In a statement announcing that he and other Republican attorneys general called for a review of TPS designations, Yost, said some could safely return to their home countries.

“This program has been applied too loosely, allowing noncitizens to live here indefinitely, even after it’s safe for them to return home,” the statement (https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Media/News-Releases/January-2025/Yost-Seeks-Homeland-Security-Review-of-Nations-Wit) quoted Yost, who last week announced a 2026 run for governor (https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/briefs/yost-antani-make-candidacy-for-ohio-governor-secretary-of-state-official/), as saying.

Asked if the Ohio AG could name one, his spokeswoman said that wasn’t his job.

“The Ohio Attorney General isn’t the person with authority to make TPS judgments, regardless,” the spokeswoman, Bethany McCorkle, said in an email. “That’s why the letter doesn’t call for the designation to be immediately lifted from any one nation.

“What the letter does ask is that the Secretary engage in a review of the country conditions and exercise her judgment regarding the status of countries that have been designated as ‘temporar[ily]’ protected for years — sometimes decades — based on the same insular events,” she added. “If conditions are currently unsafe in a certain country based on new/current factors that would reach the high bar set by Congress for TPS, then the Secretary would have discretion to give TPS on that basis.”

The call for an administration led by a vehemently anti-immigrant president (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/01/24/trump-deportation-combat-unit-deployed-mexico-border/77928296007/) to review and possibly deny immigrants’ protected status might be out of step with public opinion. A December poll sponsored by the National Immigration Forum and the Bulfinch group said that 73% of Americans agreed that immigration policies should protect the persecuted and keep families intact (https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2024/12/11/new-polling-shows-people-of-all-stripes-want-immigrants-treated-with-dignity/).

Tramonte, of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, said the real point of the letter is to distract the public from the real cause of many Americans’ suffering.

“This gets them headlines, this gets them accolades from the people they’re trying to stir up,” she said. “They’re trying to distract from their bigger agenda, which is getting corporations bigger tax breaks and helping the wealthy while average people are having to work multiple jobs just to pay the rent.”

vet arrested?

AN 1 25

When Donald Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) promised mass deportations on the campaign trail in 2024, some of his critics feared that people who are living in the United States legally could be wrongly deported (https://immigrationimpact.com/2021/07/30/ice-deport-us-citizens/) — including U.S. citizens. Now, during the first week of Trump's second presidency, Newark, New Jersey Mayor Ras J. Baraka is alleging that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers wrongly arrested a U.S. citizen who served in the military.

The Daily Beast's Janna Brancolini reports (https://www.thedailybeast.com/mayor-rages-as-trumps-much-hyped-ice-raids-nab-us-military-vet/) that on Thursday, January 23, "about 10 or 12 ICE agents raided a seafood wholesaler and restaurant" in Newark. Baraka alleges that the agents didn't have a warrant and were in violation of the U.S. Constitution's 4th Amendment, which protects against unlawful search and seizure.

Ocean Food Depot owner Luis Janota told New York City's PIX11 News, "I asked (the agents) what documentation they were looking for, and they said it was a license or a passport. I thought, who walks around with a passport…. One of the guys was a military veteran…. He is Puerto Rican and the manager of our warehouse."

READ MORE:GOP rep proposes 'third term' constitutional amendment for Trump: report (https://www.alternet.org/gop-rep-trump-third-term/)

Janota added, "It looked to me like they were specifically going after certain kinds of people — not every kind, because they did not ask me for documentation or my American workers, Portuguese workers, or white workers."

Although Puerto Rico does not have statehood, it is a U.S. territory — and Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens.

Baraka, in an official statement, attacked the January 23 ICE raid as "egregious" and said, "One of the detainees is a U.S. military veteran who suffered the indignity of having the legitimacy of his military documentation questioned. Newark will not stand by idly while people are being unlawfully terrorized."

Brancolini notes that (https://www.thedailybeast.com/mayor-rages-as-trumps-much-hyped-ice-raids-nab-us-military-vet/) Trump declared a state of emergency after returning to the White House on January 20.

READ MORE:This 'hard-right rabble rouser' is a frequent thorn in Trump’s side (https://www.alternet.org/trump-chip-roy-politico/)

"On Thursday night," according to Brancolini (https://www.thedailybeast.com/mayor-rages-as-trumps-much-hyped-ice-raids-nab-us-military-vet/), "the acting head of the Department of Homeland Security signed a memo giving ICE officials the power to deport about 1.4 million people who were allowed to enter the country temporarily and thought they were in the U.S. legally, the New York Times reported. The move shows Trump isn’t just targeting people who snuck across the border, but who came to the U.S. via official, authorized pathways, according to the Times. "

READ MORE: 'Bring it on': Dem knocked to floor in bar fracas between Kansas councilman, legislator (https://www.alternet.org/kansas-dems/)*

msnbc alicia ice already broke? ppl deported now in biden pipeline, # not up

an 1 25 some gop asshole says am ppl will not care about pix of crying kids anymore

Less than one week after Donald Trump's inauguration, the president has already signed several executive orders in an effort to crackdown on immigration, by increasing the number of deportations, one Rhode Island judge is already feeling the impact of the changes.

On Thursday, the FBI raided 127 Dorrance St. — the office building of "Joseph Molina Flynn, an immigration lawyer (https://www.molinaflynn.com/news-mofly) in Massachusetts and Rhode Island who serves as a municipal court judge in Central Fall (https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2021/01/04/immigration-attorney-tapped-central-falls-judge/4129054001/)" — according to The Providence Journal.

"There is court authorized activity at that location," US Attorney Zachary A. Cunha's spokesperson Jim Martin told the newspaper.

READ MORE:'Operation Aurora': Denver suburb on edge as Trump takes office (https://www.alternet.org/operation-aurora/)

Per the Journal's report, Molina Flynn is the "first openly gay person and the first formerly undocumented person to serve on the bench in Central Falls, according to the city."

The announcement of Molina Flynn's resignation came from Central Falls Mayor Maria Rivera after the raid on Thursday.

According to the report, "The Journal reported at his appointment in 2021 that Molina Flynn came to the United States from Colombia when he was 9 years old, following the arrival of family members. Before eventually settling in Pawtucket, where he grew up, Molina Flynn first arrived in Central Falls. He was on a visitors' visa, which he overstayed, becoming undocumented."

READ MORE:Major GOP-led immigration measure passed by U.S. Senate, heads to House (https://www.alternet.org/major-gop-led-immigration-measure-passed-by-u-s-senate-heads-to-house/)

an raw 1 25

during an appearance on MSNBC (https://www.rawstory.com/tag/msnbc) on Friday morning, President Barack Obama's former chief of staff claimed Donald Trump (https://www.rawstory.com/trump-churches-massive-mistake/ALSO%20READ:%20Fox%20News%20has%20blood%20on%20its%20hands%20as%20Trump%20twists%20the%20knife) and his team are making a grievous mistake in their efforts to round up immigrants they believe have no place in the U.S.

Speaking with "Morning Joe" co-host Jonathan Lemire, Rahm Emanuel was asked what Democrats can do to get back in the good graces of voters after Republicans took over the White House (https://www.rawstory.com/tag/white-house) and both chambers of Congress.

According to Emanuel, who also served as President Joe Biden's ambassador to Japan, efforts being led by Trump (https://www.rawstory.com/trump-news/) advisers like Stephen Miller and "border czar" Tom Homan to wage war on immigrants with invasive raids followed by mass deportations will hand Democrats a weapon to use against the president and the GOP when it comes to public opinion.

"We can't ignore a set of issues because it makes us uncomfortable, that makes the American people uncomfortable if they get right on how they live their lives, how they want to raise their kids, how they want to see what goes on in their communities and in their cities, then we're going to be okay," he said of Democrats.

"And I'll give you a classic example," he added. "I think this idea on what President Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) is talking about, raiding schools and places of worship on immigration is as stupid as the Democrats closing schools in places of worship (https://www.rawstory.com/rs-exclusive/trump-immigration-2670904958/) during Covid."

"And they are going to make a massive mistake of going after immigrants in schools, hospitals and places of worship," he elaborated. "And that's where Democrats can stand up and say, 'Look, you got a criminal background? Out of here!'"

"Schools, hospitals, places of worship?" he continued. "That's as crazy as what we did during Covid. And we advocated, and it was very clear within six months that it was bad, it was a wrong policy as it relates to public health and achieving educational goals."

rumor chic on inaug, quashed?

an 1 25

Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) repeatedly promised mass deportations during his 2024 campaign, even vowing to end birthright citizenship despite the fact that it is in the U.S. Consitution's 14th Amendment. And on Monday night, January 20 — after returning to the White House — President Trump issued an executive order against birthright citizenship (https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/01/20/donald-trump-inauguration-day-news-updates-analysis/challenging-trump-on-citizenship-00199593), underscoring his deportations promise.

Many legal experts, however, are saying that carrying out the amount of mass deportations Trump has promised is much easier said than done.

CalMatters conducted a comprehensive survey of sheriffs in California, asking all 58 sheriffs in the state about immigration enforcement under Trump's second presidency.

READ MORE: Trump Inauguration dubbed 'a coronation of our country's descent into oligarchy' (https://www.alternet.org/trump-oligarchs/?utm_source=push_notifications)

According to reporters Tomas Apodaca and Nigel Duara (https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/01/california-sheriffs-immigration-ice-tracker/), Trump's promises "could put California's 58 elected sheriffs in the hot seat because of their responsibility to manage local jails."

Sheriffs in Los Angeles, Napa, Orange, Madera, San Bernadino and Mendocino Counties told CalMatters they will "comply with state law," while Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said he will "cooperate with ICE." And the sheriffs of Kern and Butte Counties responded, "Unclear."

"CalMatters reached out to the sheriffs by e-mail and website contact forms," Apodaca and Nigel Duara explain (https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/01/california-sheriffs-immigration-ice-tracker/). "When those weren't available, we called the contact number on their website. Two county sheriffs' offices — Monterey and San Mateo — did not return calls seeking comment."

The CalMatters reporters add (https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/01/california-sheriffs-immigration-ice-tracker/), "For months, Trump allies have signaled that they'd focus initial immigration enforcement on undocumented people who have committed crimes. This month, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would empower immigration agencies to deport people arrested on suspicion of burglary, theft and shoplifting. The bill is expected to pass the Senate."

READ MORE:'Operation Aurora': Denver suburb on edge as Trump takes office (https://www.alternet.org/operation-aurora/)

an 1 25

Republicans are increasingly worried about the political blowback if Donald Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) carries through with the policies his base demands, according to a new report.

The president-elect promised to enact historically sweeping mass deportations (https://www.rawstory.com/trump-announces-immigration-official-tom-homan-as-border-czar/) during his campaign, and Republicans are trying to figure out the logistics of such an operation and wondering whether it will hurt them politically, reported NOTUS (https://www.notus.org/trump-transition/trump-mass-deportation-politics).

“If Trump goes way too aggressively, way too fast, and you start seeing families separate, and kids torn from their mother’s arms, I think he runs the risk of losing in the court of public opinion,” said GOP consultant Mike Madrid, an expert on immigration issues. “It’s really hard to know who the winner is going to be because we don’t know what the policy is going to be, but I can tell you that the loser will be the one that overreaches first.”

Republicans acknowledge that photos and video of sobbing children in makeshift cells turned the public against Trump's hardline policies in his first presidency and would likely prove just as powerful again, but his base voters could turn (https://www.rawstory.com/trump-fans-rebel-over-immigration-proposal-green-card-college/) against the GOP if those promises aren't carried out.

Also read:'Bring it on': Defiant Raskin responds to GOP threats of retaliation for J6 investigation (https://www.rawstory.com/raw-investigates/raskin-j6-retaliation/?utm_source=superhead)

“It’s a very risky issue to separate yourself from Trump on, if you’re a Republican up on Capitol Hill. It’s probably his strongest issue, and the public really wants to see him deliver on it,” said political consultant Matt Mackowiak. “We’ll have to see what the public response is to the policy as it gets announced and as it starts getting carried out. What do the pictures look like? What are the consequences?”

Texas Republicans are in an especially tight bind on the issue, especially those whose districts are along the border, like Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), who has said deportations should focus on more serious criminals instead of undocumented workers.

“I do think that the Tony Gonzaleses of the world, in Congress, are going to find themselves in a peculiar situation,” Victor Avila, a former ICE special agent who ran against Gonzales in the primary but didn’t qualify for the runoff, said. “They will be singled out. There will be a spotlight on them if they don’t quote, unquote, vote in the way that people want them to vote.”

Gonzales' district, which stretches from San Antonio to El Paso, could prove to be a leading indicator for the political reaction to Trump's immigration policies (https://www.rawstory.com/false-cnn-acosta-border/).

“That district really represents sort of the emergent Republican base in that it has a mix of people who are border security hawks because of where it’s geographically located, but the shift that’s happening is largely economic,” Madrid said. “He’s a bellwether beyond himself. That district really is going to be a good gauge of what’s going to work and what doesn’t.”

But some conservatives say the recent flap over H-1B visas shows that Trump's base isn't willing to compromise on immigration.

“Even Trump is no longer in control of what the base wants,” said Rick Wilson, a Florida-based consultant and Lincoln Project co-founder. “Trump is siding with Elon Musk on the H-1B visa issue, and the base hates that. You end up with a scenario where … the Republican base gets angry because you’re not sufficiently aggressive enough on immigration.”

Spanish-language conservative media downplay Trump’s mass deportation plan

Conservative TikTok personality Luis Sin Filtro: “If you are informed and have not committed any crimes in this country, you won't be affected negatively"

Written by G. Capuano (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/g-capuano)

Research contributions from Janos Balazs (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/janos-balazs) & Monica Rodriguez (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/monica-rodriguez)

Published 12/18/24 mma

Conservative Spanish-language media personalities have been downplaying President-elect Donald Trump’s plans (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/trump-administration-planning-deporting-millions-and-millions-immigrants-fox-news) for mass deportations, claiming that Democrats and the media are fearmongering about Trump’s deportation scheme, which economists suggest would increase inflation (https://unidosus.org/blog/2024/12/06/the-economic-costs-of-mass-deportations-of-long-time-residents/#::text=The%20mass%20deportation%20of%20the,as%20food%20and%20housing%20costs) as well as food and housing costs. These media figures have claimed that Trump “will not deport working immigrants” and that he is considering “immigration reform for all of those in the United States that are doing it right.”

In truth, Trump has vowed (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2024/oct/31/election-trump-immigration-policies) to stage the “largest deportation operation in American History,” and Tom Homan (https://www.mediamatters.org/project-2025/trump-administration-personnel-ties-project-2025) — the Project 2025 contributor and former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) acting director who Trump selected to carry out this campaign — has claimed (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-border-czar-tom-homan-former-immigration-enforcement-head/), “No one’s off the table.”

Recently, during an interview (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-interview-meet-press-kristen-welker-election-president-rcna182857) with NBC News’ Kristen Welker, Trump doubled down on his campaign promise (https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-vows-end-birthright-citizenship-children-immigrants-us-illegally-2023-05-30/) to end birthright citizenship (https://www.politico.com/news/2024/12/10/trump-birthright-citizenship-what-to-know-00193371), falsely (https://www.aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/trumps-remarks-on-birthright-citizenship-explained) suggesting he could enact his plan through executive action and that he would “change” the 14th Amendment.

Rather than focusing on these claims, conservative personalities on social media turned attention to Trump’s claims that he was willing to “work something out” for Dreamers, immigrants who were brought to the US as minors and remain undocumented. Ignoring his previous failed (https://www.npr.org/2020/06/18/829858289/supreme-court-upholds-daca-in-blow-to-trump-administration) attempt (https://www.npr.org/2017/09/05/546423550/trump-signals-end-to-daca-calls-on-congress-to-act) to gut the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program — which has provided benefits like temporary relief from deportation and work authorization (https://www.americanprogress.org/article/daca-recipients-bolster-social-security-and-medicare/) to more than 835,000 migrants (https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/data/DACA_performancedata_fy2022_qtr4.pdf) who came to the U.S. as children — conservative personalities argued Trump has “dismantled the narrative” that he is “racist.”

Downplaying Trump's plans for mass deportations

Conservative Spanish-language personalities are claiming that the left is “sowing fear” about Trump’s plans for mass deportations and that Trump “will not deport working migrants.”

On Actualidad Radio’sCada Tarde, conservative personality Marian de la Fuente claimed, “There has been a lot of misinformation” about “family separation and kids and parents who will be deported.”She added, “This type of information, in the way the liberal networks are conveying it, should really be modified,” explaining that “they are obviously trying to sow fear.” Actualidad Radio, Cada Tarde, [11/12/24 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4026281)]

During a guest appearance onFox Noticias, Voz Media political analyst Alfonso Aguilar argued that Democrats “want to sow fear.”He said that they “say this is an effort to deport people indiscriminately, that the country will be militarized, that we will have patrols of soldiers through urban migrant communities, and that is totally false.” He also claimed, “The armed forces will be used, or the national guard, but in a supporting role.” Fox Deportes,Fox Noticias,[11/20/24 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4026251)]

On his Voz Media podcast, Aguilar claimed, “The left and many in the media are sowing fear” and that “they want to tell us the country is going to be militarized, that there will be mass indiscriminate deportations \and] that they will deport grandma.”He added, “That has become a Democratic talking point.” Aguilar made these claims in an episode where he interviewed Fox News contributor Sara Carter. [YouTube[ 11/26/24 (https://youtu.be/RebkM5MhLJs)

In a segment criticizingThe View’sAna Navarro’s claims that Trump’s plan for mass deportations “means grandmothers,”Fox Noticiashost Rachel Campos-Duffy claimed that “liberals are losing their mind over Trump’s new border czar.”During the segment, Campos-Duffy mistranslated an Axios headline that said, “Immigrant advocates mobilize against mass deportation,” to claim, “According to the media, immigration advocates are mobilizing against the plan to impose law and order at our borders.” Fox Deportes, Fox Noticias, \11/13/24 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4026250); Axios, [11/12/24 (https://www.axios.com/2024/11/12/trump-mass-deportations-immigrant-advocates)]

On TikTok, Luis Sin Filtro, a conservative influencer with over 566,000 followers, argued that “it's obviously impossible” for the Trump administration to deport American citizens.He also claimed that Homan “has clearly and specifically said that threats to public safety will be the priority,” arguing, “It's most likely that if you find yourself in one of those raids, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. If you are informed and have not committed any crimes in this country, you won't be affected negatively. On the contrary, there is a very big chance for you to build your case in an immigration court and end up with a working permit.” [TikTok,11/12/24]

PelucasGB, a conservative personality with over 56,300 followers, shared a video arguing that “Trump will not deport working immigrants” and that “Trump’s rhetoric has always been against criminals.” He also claimed that Trump could “pass immigration reform for all of those in the United States that are doing it right,” and that Trump “will be the one to make your dream of having status in the United States come true.” TikTok,[11/26/24 (https://www.tiktok.com/@pelucasgb/video/7441577938518150430?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7335851465694856734)]

Ignoring Trump's hostility to DACA

Despite Trump’s previous attempts (https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/23/politics/daca-rejected-deals-trump/index.html) to gut DACA, Spanish-language social media figures are claiming his comments on Meet the Press that he would potentially “work something out” for Dreamers “dismantled the narrative” that he is “racist” and “the most anti-immigrant man ever.”

Luiyo2.0, a conservative personality with over 152,700 followers on TikTok, argued Trump’s comments onMeet the Press“completely dismantled the narrative against Donald Trump in which they claim he is racist.” He added, “If this is true and Trump can solve the DACA problem, he will undoubtedly become one of the best presidents in the United States of America.” TikTok, [12/9/24 (https://www.tiktok.com/@luiyo1234/video/7446602690194378030?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7335851465694856734)]

LuisSinFiltro shared a video claiming, “Trump said he plans to work with Democrats to legalize Dreamers, that is to give them permanent status, not just temporary protection like DACA.” He added, “Trump just dragged all those political activists and ‘pro-immigration,’ ‘non-for-profit’ organizations that said Donald Trump is the most anti-immigrant man in history.” TikTok, [12/9/24 (https://www.tiktok.com/@luis_sinfiltro/video/7446165729910508842?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc)]

PelucasGB shared a video claiming that “while Democrats try to discredit Donald Trump by saying he wants to deport everyone,” he “said he wants Dreamers to be able to stay in the United States.” He went on to claim that Trump “could become the second Republican president in history to deliver a reform for everyone regardless of nationality.” TikTok, [12/9/24 (https://www.tiktok.com/@pelucasgb/video/7446127701070548255?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc)]

mma

### Leader of far-right sheriffs organization says he doesn't think Trump's plan for mass deportations “is even constitutional” (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/leader-far-right-sheriffs-organization-says-he-doesnt-think-trumps-plan-mass)

12/12/24 2:00 PM EST

### Fox News is playing along with Trump claiming he’ll work on a plan for Dreamers despite trying to dismantle DACA in his first term (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/fox-news-playing-along-trump-claiming-hell-work-plan-dreamers-despite-trying-dismantle)

:{12/12/24

### Fox News anchor calls birthright citizenship a “loophole” (https://www.mediamatters.org/bill-hemmer/fox-news-anchor-calls-birthright-citizenship-loophole)

12/09/24

also As Trump touts plans for immigrant roundup, militias are standing back — but standing by - Alternet.org (https://www.alternet.org/standing-back-standing-by/)

Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) has reaffirmed that once he takes office he plans to declare a national emergency and use the military (https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-confirms-plan-declare-national-emergency-military-mass/story?id=115963448) on American streets to accomplish his promises to round up and deport millions of undocumented migrants (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-mass-deportation-plan-cost-consequences-60-minutes-transcript/).

Many experts’ concerns about this program have included the facts that immigrants contribute enormous value to the U.S. economy (https://theconversation.com/proof-that-immigrants-fuel-the-us-economy-is-found-in-the-billions-they-send-back-home-227542) and mass deportation would hurt food production (https://www.dairyherd.com/news/labor/us-ag-food-industry-groups-express-significant-concerns-about-trumps-proposed-mass), housing construction (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/trump-immigration-deportations-home-building-costs-rcna172886) and other crucial industries (https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/mass-deportation). Other scholars (https://today.uic.edu/effects-of-deportation-forced-separation-extend-beyond-individuals-families/) have analyzed how deportation traumatizes families (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0124-8).

I (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=5nxIh9YAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao) have an additional concern about a renewed focus on deportation as someone who has studied U.S. domestic militias (https://www.routledge.com/Nostalgia-Nationalism-and-the-US-Militia-Movement/Cooter/p/book/9781032421971) for more than 15 years: Some militia units may see it as their duty to assist with such efforts. In fact, local police may even deputize certain militias to help them deport immigrants.

Anti-government, but supporting national defense

Militias are generally wary of the government. They’ve even been known to use violence against politicians (https://theconversation.com/conviction-of-two-michigan-kidnap-plotters-highlights-danger-of-violent-conspiracies-to-us-democracy-189291) and other government representatives, including police. I have found in my research that the militias’ disdain for the federal government is especially strong because they believe it is too big and corrupt and takes too much of their income through taxation.

But militia members’ negative beliefs about immigration and self-declared mission to protect the country could lead them to join a national mass-deportation effort.

My research finds that militia members generally believe the falsehoods (https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/undocumented-immigrant-offending-rate-lower-us-born-citizen-rate) that undocumented migrants are a threat to public safety (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trumps-bad-hombres-draws-jeers-spanish-lessons).

For some, my research finds, this perception is rooted in xenophobia and racism (https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/98077?show=full). Other militia members misunderstand what is required to obtain U.S. citizenship: They believe that anyone who enters the country illegally is, by definition, a criminal and has therefore already proven their intention to not follow the laws and generally be a good American. This is not true, because migrants may seek asylum regardless of their immigration status (https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/refugees-and-asylum/asylum/affirmative-asylum-frequently-asked-questions/questions-and-answers-affirmative-asylum-eligibility-and-applications) for up to a year after entering the country.

Members with both sets of motives believe that undocumented migrants are taking jobs away from more deserving citizens and are generally receiving unearned benefits from being in the country. Trump’s promises to crack down (https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/14/business/immigration-trump-inflation-jobs/index.html) on immigration appeal to militia members of both types.

Militias, like these people training in Georgia in 2017, often want to be prepared to help defend the nation. AP Photo/Lisa Marie Pane (https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/MilitiaUnderTrump/670ac101d052422c83408d682b438dd0/photo)

Militia members also believe that one of the few legitimate functions of the federal government (https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14996-2) as outlined by the Constitution is national defense. In that sense, those who believe migrants are an urgent threat could see the military’s involvement in a mass-deportation operation as consistent with a duty to defend the nation.

Most scholars agree that even if it were technically legal (https://www.thoughtco.com/posse-comitatus-act-and-insurrection-act-4846933), domestic deployment of the military (https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R42669) would be an alarming threat to democracy (https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/deploying-soldiers-on-american-soil--operational-risks---considerations).

Active participation

Some militia units in border states (https://www.texasobserver.org/border-vigilantes-law-enforcement-texas-arizona/) have been engaged in deportation efforts for a long time. They typically patrol the border, sometimes detain migrants (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/18/us/new-mexico-militia.html) and regularly call the U.S. Border Patrol to report their findings.

Border Patrol agents have historically expressed skepticism and concerns about militia involvement (https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691152158/waiting-for-jose) with border monitoring due to the unverifiable skills and motives of civilian support.

Some state, county and local police (https://www.policeforum.org/assets/docs/Free_Online_Documents/Immigration/police%20and%20immigration%20-%20how%20chiefs%20are%20leading%20their%20communities%20through%20the%20challenges%202010.pdf) also do immigration enforcement, and in recent years they have seemed to become more open to civilian assistance (https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2021/07/29/plain-sight-uncovering-border-patrols-relationship-far-right-militias-southern-border).

Some local police agencies, particularly sheriffs, are already asking for civilian assistance (https://www.wired.com/story/constitutional-sheriffs-election-denial/) managing perceived problems with migrants. Others have hosted anti-immigration events (https://azcir.org/news/2024/05/23/border-vigilantes-blur-lines-between-law-enforcement/) with militias who patrol the border under an effective, if not formal, deputization of their actions.

A member of a militia group searches the U.S.-Mexico border for people seeking to cross in 2019. Paul Ratje/AFP via Getty Images (https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/member-of-united-constitutional-patriots-new-mexico-border-news-photo/1132938325)

Militias may also be called on directly. In the past, Trump has directly addressed militias. The most cited example is his instruction in a Sept. 29, 2020, presidential debate, directing the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by (https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-race-and-ethnicity-donald-trump-chris-wallace-0b32339da25fbc9e8b7c7c7066a1db0f).” People had similar interpretations of his comments (https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/13/politics/january-6-rioter-trump-defense-dustin-thompson/index.html) in advance of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

But I have long believed these appeals started much earlier. In 2018 Trump pardoned the men (https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/10/politics/hammonds-trump-pardon/index.html) who inspired the Bundy family occupation and standoff (https://www.salon.com/2019/09/08/how-the-strange-tale-of-the-oregon-standoff-explains-what-happened-in-america-in-2016/) at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. I believe that was an early attempt to garner support from people in militia circles. IFrame Content (https://youtu.be/qIHhB1ZMV_o?wmode=transparent&start=0) In a 2020 presidential debate, Donald Trump tells militias to ‘stand back and stand by.’

A volatile combination

The military has already been getting involved in immigration enforcement in unprecedented ways. In early 2024, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott claimed the U.S. Border Patrol was not protecting his state from an “invasion (https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2024-01-26/abbott-escalates-border-dispute-from-political-crisis-to-constitutional-crisis)” from would-be immigrants. He deployed his state’s National Guard to an area of the border, blocking the Border Patrol (https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/standoff-eagle-pass) from working in that section. That blockade continues (https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/texas-ramps-up-border-security-efforts-to-repel-potential-mass-migration).

In a second term, Trump has little incentive to restrain his rhetoric or his actions. The Supreme Court has ruled that presidents have broad immunity (https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-supreme-court-due-rule-trumps-immunity-bid-blockbuster-case-2024-07-01/) from criminal prosecution for actions taken while in office. Even if he does not directly appeal to private citizens to control the border or detain people whom they believe to be undocumented migrants, his official presence and hard-line stance on immigration may be enough to provide legitimacy to vigilante action.

Then-candidate Donald Trump meets with Texas state officials, including Gov. Greg Abbott, on Feb. 29, 2024, at a location on the U.S.-Mexico border seized by the state National Guard. AP Photo/Eric Gay (https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Election2024Trump/ffb2190e4a014f8b8ae3144dcda8aa45/photo)

In November 2024, two militia members were convicted of a variety of federal offenses, including conspiracy to murder federal agents, for a plot to kill Border Patrol agents (https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdmo/pr/jury-convicts-militia-members-conspiracy-murder-border-patrol-officers-attempted) whom the men believed were failing to adequately protect the border from crossing migrants.

Not all militia members support mass deportation, especially if it involves unconstitutionally deploying military forces on U.S. soil. That’s clear from my research.

“The military is the military, and law enforcement is law enforcement,” one militia member replied when I asked some of my long-term contacts for their perspectives on Trump’s declaration to use the military. “They are separate for a reason.”

This man believes undocumented migrants pose dangers – but thinks shifting the military’s role would be even more harmful. Not all militia members are so circumspect.

Amy Cooter (https://theconversation.com/profiles/amy-cooter-321794), Director of Research, Academic Development, and Innovation at the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism, Middlebury (https://theconversation.com/institutions/middlebury-1247)

This article is republished from The Conversation (https://theconversation.com/) under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article (https://theconversation.com/as-trump-touts-plans-for-immigrant-roundup-militias-are-standing-back-but-standing-by-244131).

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'We’re all in': Armed vigilantes say Trump team enlisting them for border enforcement - Alternet.org (https://www.alternet.org/trump-militia-border-enforcement/)

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Trump's advisors have been hoping county sheriffs in border states will assist with the incoming administration's mass deportation campaign. But several sheriffs are already publicly promising to not lift a finger.

According to a Tuesday report in WIRED magazine (https://www.wired.com/story/far-right-sheriffs-donald-trump-mass-deportations-constitutional/), Trump's top Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) immigration advisors like Tom Homan and Stephen Miller have been having conversations with several far-right sheriffs who have expressed an interest in helping Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) remove immigrants from the United States. But that effort is unlikely to pick up traction, both for legal reasons and because other sheriffs have said they already have their hands full and don't want to take on more work.

Currently, ICE's 287(g) program (https://www.ice.gov/identify-and-arrest/287g) allows for state and local law enforcement to collaborate with ICE in its efforts "to protect the homeland through the arrest and removal of noncitizens." However, this does not include sheriffs themselves rounding up and detaining undocumented immigrants. Additionally, no federal funding has been appropriated to any sheriffs' offices that help ICE, meaning just 125 out of 3,081 sheriff's offices in the U.S. have signed up. And Yuma County, Arizona Sheriff Leon Wilmot told WIRED that the Supreme Court has already established that enforcing immigration law is outside the jurisdiction of local police departments and sheriffs' offices.

READ MORE:'Quickly get into problems': These 3 obstacles could slow down Trump's mass deportations (https://www.alternet.org/obstacles-trump-deportations/)

"[T]hat's not our realm of responsibility," Wilmot said. "If we wanted to do immigration law, we would go work for Border Patrol."

The push for sheriffs to assist the incoming administration has been led by retired sheriff Tom Mack, who is the head of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA). Mack told WIRED he's been exchanging voice and text messages with Homan about getting more sheriffs involved with deportations. Homan has previously promised (https://www.alternet.org/trump-ice-chief/#) to build "the biggest deportation force this country has ever seen." But Wilmot said "no one listens to" Mack, that he "hasn't been a sheriff in a long time" and that he "pushes his own agenda."

Santa Cruz County Sheriff David Hathaway, who is a Democrat, told WIRED that he wasn't invited to an event Homan hosted in his state last month, even though Hathaway's jurisdiction includes some of the nation's biggest ports of entry. He added that he would refuse any calls to help the Trump administration deport immigrants, as it would hurt his standing in his county.

"I'm not going to cooperate, because 95 percent of the residents of the town where I live, where my county is, are Hispanic,” Hathaway said. “I'm not going to go checking the documents of practically every single person in my county to determine their immigration status, because that would create distrust between law enforcement and all the people in my community."

READ MORE: 'Wait until 2025': Trump's former ICE chief makes chilling promise at far-right conference (https://www.alternet.org/trump-ice-chief/#)

The sheriffs bucking calls to assist with mass deportations even include some of Trump's biggest supporters in the law enforcement community. Livingston County, Michigan Sheriff Mike Murphy — who hosted a pro-Trump rally in a building owned by the sheriff's office — told the outlet that he isn't interested in using county resources to help with federal immigration law enforcement.

"I still have a county to do police work in,” Murphy said. “Just because the president says, 'Hey, go out and round them up,' that is not all of a sudden gonna move to the top of my priority list. If somebody's house is getting broken into, that's my priority. If somebody's involved in an injury crash and they're laying on the side of the road, that's my priority. I've got cases that are open.”

Other border state sheriffs who have come out against calls to help the Trump administration round up migrants include Val Verde County, Texas Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez and Brewster County, Texas Sheriff Ronny Dodson. According to Dodson, the incoming Trump administration giving sheriffs the authority to jail migrants could "break" county law enforcement.

"I’m not gonna let the government tell me what to do in my job," Dodson said.

READ MORE: 'Wait until 2025': Trump's former ICE chief makes chilling promise at far-right conference (https://www.alternet.org/trump-ice-chief/#)

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Details be damned: Nevada gov. pledges full commitment to Trump immigration plans (https://www.alternet.org/human-rights-2670438188/)

A mere 48 hours after saying it was “too soon to opine (https://nevadacurrent.com/briefs/governor-on-prospect-of-using-nv-national-guard-for-mass-deportation-devils-in-the-details/)” on the prospect of using the Nevada National Guard to aid the incoming Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) administration in mass deporting immigrants, Gov. Joe Lombardo signed onto a letter stating he stands “ready to utilize every tool at (his) disposal—whether through state law enforcement or the National Guard.”

Lombardo was one of 26 governors to sign a joint statement released Wednesday by the Republican Governors Association. Only one Republican governor, Gov. Phil Scott of Vermont, did not sign onto the letter.

“As Republican governors, we stand united in support of President Donald Trump’s unwavering commitment to make America safe again by addressing the illegal immigration crisis and deporting illegal immigrants who pose a threat to our communities and national security,” begins the letter.

The letter concludes: “Together, we will continue to defend the American people, uphold the rule of law, and ensure our nation remains safe and secure for future generations. We stand ready to utilize every tool at our disposal—whether through state law enforcement or the National Guard—to support President Trump in this vital mission.”

A full-throated expression of support appears to contradict statements Lombardo made two days earlier, on Monday, at the Western Governors’ Association, a separate bipartisan group.

When asked if he would consider authorizing the Nevada National Guard to aid the Trump administration in mass deportations, Lombardo replied that “the devil’s in the details” and that it was “too soon to opine on the nebulous or the unknown.”

Lombardo said “we have to figure out what is the better need” for the state’s National Guard and “whether the mission takes priority within the state or to the federal picture or the federal windows, that’s the best way we can answer.”

The Nevada Current reached out to Lombardo’s office Wednesday asking him to clarify his position on the usage of the Nevada National Guard for mass deportations, and what, if any, details about Trump’s plans came to light between his comments Monday and the RGA’s statement Wednesday. The office did not immediately respond.

Nevada Current (https://nevadacurrent.com/) is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nevada Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Hugh Jackson for questions: info@nevadacurrent.com.

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'Draconian and brutal': Trump to rescind ban on ICE arrests in schools, hospitals, churches (https://www.alternet.org/trump-ice-arrests/)

baby jail tap dance

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As part of an interview with the executive director of America’s Voice, Greg Sargent claimed that Donald Trump (https://www.rawstory.com/trump-news/) confidante Alina Habba (https://www.rawstory.com/alina-habba) used word games during a recent Fox News (https://www.rawstory.com/tag/fox-news) interview to disguise the president-elect's real plan (https://newrepublic.com/article/189241/transcript-trump-lawyer-alina-habba-gives-away-border-scam-fox) for dealing with the families of undocumented migrants (https://www.rawstory.com/undocumented-immigrants-in-us-terrified-as-trump-returns/).

In a transcript from his New Republic "Daily Blast" podcast, Sargent asked Vanessa Cardenas to dig into Habba's defense of the first Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) term when migrant families were torn apart as they were put in detention centers, denying it had ever happened, and then asserting it would not happen after he is sworn in next January.

Speaking with the Fox host, Habba, recently appointed by Trump as counselor to the president, complained, "Nobody is breaking up families. Nobody is targeting individuals and making sure that one over the other goes out. That doesn’t happen under President Trump. It didn’t happen before. But you do not have a right to come here to endanger us or to not come in here the right way."

She then added, "I can assure you, [Trump 'border czar'] Tom Homan, as tough as nails as he is—he’s looking out for us, and child trafficking is something he’s spoken about extensively. And that is why he wants to get families, if they will cooperate, out and in the right way."

According to Sargent, Habba's mention of "families" being forced out and given a chance to come back in was a tipoff.

Calling it "spin," he asked his guest, "Habba clearly is trying to say, 'Don’t worry, you won’t see families separated like during Trump’s first term.' But then she gives away the game at the end saying we’re going to have to 'remove entire families.' Your thoughts?"

Cardenas admitted, "It sounds like they are rewriting their whole script."

"We all remember the family separations that occur; we all remember the kids in cages; we all remember the kids that were forced to be removed from their parents’ arms. And that was not something that we imagined. It’s something that actually happened, and that’s why the American public revolted against those policies," she continued before adding, "The last piece of evidence for that is people like Stephen Miller and Tom Homan, who are obviously key figures in the Trump administration, have the intention and the desire, and they have been very clear about their plans to target as many people as possible. Tom Homan, in previous interviews, have said things like no one is off the table, meaning that they’re going to deport anyone that they deem should not be here. From what we have heard, it’s pretty much undocumented immigrants, period."

You can read more here (https://newrepublic.com/article/189241/transcript-trump-lawyer-alina-habba-gives-away-border-scam-fox).

mma

December 5, 2024, edition of Steel News with Ann Vandersteel, streamed on Rumble

RICHARD MACK (FOUNDER OF CONSTITUTIONAL SHERIFFS AND PEACE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION): And, I have made this proposal on Steve Bannon's show, I've made it on Roger Stone's show, numerous other shows all across the country, and I'll do it again right now on your show. We need the sheriffs involved in that deportation if it's going to be fair and effective.

ANN VANDERSTEEL (HOST): Right.

MACK: First, we don't want to round up people who are Americans, who are American citizens.

VANDERSTEEL: Right.

MACK: And who are here legally. We don't want to round them up. The best way to do that is with the sheriff. No one knows the county better than the sheriff does. He lives there. He's from there, usually, and he's been there for, usually, a decade or more. And he knows people that knows — that can give him the intel where these people are. Most of the sheriffs already know where the gangs are. They already know where the international terrorists are hold up, and let's be real here. Biden —

VANDERSTEEL: So, let me — sorry.

MACK: Well, go ahead.

VANDERSTEEL: No, I'll — let me just interject here. When it comes to, you know, the collaboration between what Tom Homan is planning on doing and, you know, Tom has been talking about this for some time since I know him.

MACK: Yes.

VANDERSTEEL: And he's said, "I can't wait to get back in. Trump's already told me I'm coming back," and, frankly, I've seen Tom lately. He's lost about 30 pounds. He looks fit as a fiddle, and he's in fighting shape right now to go and get this job done. And he has been very clear to me in private conversations that it is going to take a network of law enforcement. So, what I'm hearing you say dovetails right into what Tom has said.

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One Republican senator sparred with a witness during a hearing Tuesday over a tweet published two years ago.

"Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) malfunctions during a hearing on mass deportations," Heartland Signal wrote via X (https://x.com/HeartlandSignal/status/1866525093473460246), sharing a video of the Louisiana lawmaker attempting to grill witness Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, who is a lawyer and senior fellow at American Immigration Council.

"On November 1, 2022, you tweeted, 'Both Texas and Louisiana have their knives out for Black immigrants.'" Kennedy said, asking Reichlin-Melnick, "Do you remember that tweet?"

READ MORE:'Completely un-American': Progressives slam Trump plan to end birthright citizenship (https://www.alternet.org/trump-birthright-citizenship-2670411258/)

He replied, "I don't, but it's quite possible."

Kennedy said, "It's not only possible, but it happened. You're not denying it, are you? Who in Texas had their knives out for Black immigrants? Give me a name. Give me a name."

Reichlin-Melnick replied, "My suspicion is Attorney General Ken Paxton."

"Give me a name," the GOP senator said again. "Give me a name."

READ MORE:'Quickly get into problems': These 3 obstacles could slow down Trump’s mass deportations (https://www.alternet.org/obstacles-trump-deportations/)

"I just did," Reichlin-Melnick emphasized.

"You don’t have a name, do you?" Kennedy asked.

"I just said Ken Paxton," the witness replied.

Watch the video below or at this link (https://www.alternet.org/gop-hearing-immigration-kennedy/).

12/09/2024

Kyle Mantyla (https://www.peoplefor.org/post_author/kyle-mantyla)

Rick Joyner claims (https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=977842027525113) that it is unconstitutional for the federal government to respond to natural disasters.

Todd Starnes says (https://www.facebook.com/ToddStarnesFNC/posts/pfbid0B6jNyd6msDx5UocBDEbrJ5utsYkAoqZGtn9WTn2Mb82kgzMQ1h9rSazcbEYj19ZBl) that "President-elect Trump is one of the most compassionate leaders in modern American history": "He strongly opposes breaking up the families of illegal aliens. So, in a spirit of unity, he's going to send all of them back to their home countries. It's a bold, commonsense solution."

Randall Terry is running for Congress (https://www.christiannewswire.com/candidates-for-florida-special-elections-randall-terry-and-pastor-stephen-broden/) in Florida.

David Barton laments (https://www.youtube.com/live/-bD4Z5fHJ4c?si=uQYJ8DMBakHGLlNA&t=2155) that "the younger you are, the more pro-abortion you are," which contradicts the predication (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeCj41CzZe4) he made a decade ago that abortion soon would not even be an issue because young people were ardently anti-choice.

Finally, after being charged with battery (https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/12/06/far-right-streamer-nick-fuentes-charged-with-battery-in-alleged-attack-of-berwyn-woman/), Nick Fuentes vows (https://bsky.app/profile/rightwingwatch.bsky.social/post/3lcv5fhlb6s23) to "beat the case": "If I go to jail, I'm just gonna write a book. It's gonna be called 'Mein Kampf.'"

Long-standing American principle of birthright citizenship under attack from Trump allies (https://www.alternet.org/birthright-citizenship/)

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This week in scary

Fox’s Laura Ingraham called (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/laura-ingraham-calls-consequences-those-who-prosecuted-trump) for “consequences” for those who prosecuted Trump.

War Room host Steve Bannon (https://www.mediamatters.org/steve-bannon/steve-bannon-were-100-deportations-and-everybodys-got-go): “We’re for 100% deportations … everybody’s got to go.”

Fox’s Brian Kilmeade said (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/brian-kilmeade-says-young-unaccompanied-undocumented-children-should-be-put-plane-and-sent) young unaccompanied undocumented children should be put on a plane and sent “right back to El Salvador.”

11/22/2024

Kyle Mantyla (https://www.peoplefor.org/post_author/kyle-mantyla)

Eric Metaxas says (https://rumble.com/v5rr2nq-flashpoint-live-starting-at-7pm-ct.html?start=2413) that Donald Trump is ready to "go scorched Earth on the satanic bureaucracy that is the Deep State."

Mario Murillo advises (https://www.youtube.com/live/3nUNzys6ado?si=O4708lJfM-SkjNZc&t=570) anyone attending a church where the pastor did not celebrate Trump's election to find another church.

Rudy Giuliani was once a highly-influential political figure. Now, he's been reduced to interviewing (https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1vAGROEbmyyJl) Trump campaign troll (https://www.peoplefor.org/rightwingwatch/post/meet-brenden-dilley-the-violence-hungry-maga-cultist-behind-trumps-troll-army) Brenden Dilley.

The Catholic League says (http://christiannewswire.com/news/8357588480.html) "the Biden-Harris administration is the most anti-Catholic in American history."

Finally, Michigan state Rep. Josh Schriver (https://www.peoplefor.org/rightwingwatch/post/is-michigan-state-rep-josh-schriver-signaling-his-support-for-white-nationalist-nick-fuentes) declares (https://x.com/JoshuaSchriver/status/1859653152896639282) that "every illegal immigrant is a 'violent criminal': "They have assaulted the sovereignty of our Great Nation by illegally invading our land. They ALL must go. RIGHT. NOW."

MMA

Bounties, self-deportation, and extremist sheriffs: How Project 2025 partners are planning for Trump’s mass deportations

Written by John Knefel (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/john-knefel)

Published 11/21/24

Organizations on the advisory board of Project 2025, a sprawling plan to provide the incoming Republican presidential administration with policy and staffing recommendations, have responded to President-elect Donald Trump’s victory by promoting extreme approaches to carrying out his promise to deport upward of 10 million undocumented immigrants.

Right-wing think tanks the Center for Immigration Studies, The Claremont Institute, and the Center for Renewing America have all advanced anti-immigrant policies since Trump’s win. Some of their proposals include offering bounties for information on suspected undocumented people, conscripting far-right so-called “constitutional sheriffs” to serve as immigration enforcers, and attempting to make life so miserable for out-of-status immigrants that they flee the country — referred to euphemistically as “self-deportation.”

Trump has already named the two top officials who will be tasked with carrying out his mass deportation plan, and they both have direct connections to Project 2025 (https://www.mediamatters.org/project-2025/definitive-guide-project-2025). Tom Homan, Trump’s pick for “border czar (https://apnews.com/article/trump-homan-ice-border-czar-7dea915b5ea43896390b8020d254f887),” is a visiting fellow (https://www.heritage.org/staff/tom-homan) at The Heritage Foundation, Project 2025’s lead organizer. He is also credited as a contributor in Project 2025’s policy book, Mandate for Leadership (https://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/static/D8File/2024/03/26/2025_mandateforleadership_full.pdf), which proposes drastic cuts to legal immigration in addition to harsh crackdowns on undocumented people. Homan has promised (https://www.mediamatters.org/tom-homan/fox-contributor-tom-homan-im-going-run-biggest-deportation-operation-country-has-ever) to “to run the biggest deportation operation this country has ever seen.”

Alongside Homan will be Stephen Miller — a top architect of Trump’s Muslim ban (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/mar/15/stephen-miller-new-trump-travel-ban) and family separation (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/trump-cabinet-officials-voted-2018-white-house-meeting-separate-migrant-n1237416) policies — who will serve (https://www.npr.org/2024/11/11/g-s1-33741/trump-stephen-miller-deputy-chief-of-staff-immigration-policy-deportations) as deputy chief of staff and homeland security adviser in the new Trump administration. Miller and his conservative advocacy organization, America First Legal, attempted to distance themselves (https://www.mediamatters.org/project-2025/stephen-miller-attempts-distance-himself-project-2025-after-appearing-recruitment) from Project 2025 amid growing backlash (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/poll-project-2025-broadly-known-severely-unpopular-voters-rcna172660) to the effort, but their fingerprints are all over it. Miller appeared in a Project 2025 promotional video, a top AFL executive authored a chapter in Mandate, and AFL was on the advisory board until it removed itself following public outcry.

But the likely influence that Project 2025 partners will have on Trump’s looming immigration policy extends far beyond Homan and Miller. Below are some of the coalition’s more extreme proposals.

Center for Immigration Studies pushes bounties, self-deportation

The Center for Immigration Studies is one of the three main branches of the Tanton network, named after John Tanton (https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/john-tanton), whom the Southern Poverty Law Center describes as “the racist architect of the modern anti-immigrant movement.” The SPLC has designated (https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/center-immigration-studies) CIS as an anti-immigrant hate group.

On November 13, CIS published a blog (https://cis.org/Chip/Trump-Deportation-Plan-Easier-Done-Said) under the headline “The Trump Deportation Plan: Easier Done than Said.” The article argues for a stricter version of E-Verify — which uses Social Security data to determine employment eligibility — called G-Verify, which would require employers to electronically submit the eligibility form to the Department of Homeland Security.

The blog acknowledges that these programs “would not capture unauthorized migrants who work ‘off the books’” — a common critique of E-Verify, which critics argue (https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/22310908/romney-cotton-everify-minimum-wage) actually pushes immigrant workers into unregulated markets.

That’s where the bounties come in. CIS continues, “However, lawful employees, business competitors, customers, or even family members who are aware of this unlawful practice might be willing to report the employer’s criminal practice to DHS in return for a small (say $2,000) reward and a promise of confidentiality.”

In another blog (https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/message-to-illegals-winter-is-coming-so-get-ahead-of-it/) — this time for the National Review — CIS Executive Director Mark Krikorian revived the idea of “self-deportation,” which is to say coercing undocumented people into leaving the country by making life miserable for them.

“Persuading illegal aliens to go home on their own saves the government time and money,” Krikorian wrote.

“And it’s also preferable for the illegal aliens themselves, allowing them to return on their own terms,” he continued, “They can settle their affairs, pack up their belongings, and go home for Christmas — and not come back.” After arguing that immigrants leave the country all the time, he suggested that one reason might be that “little Mario came home one day from P.S. 666 insisting on being called Maria.”

Krikorian has been joined in resurrecting this once-radical proposition by Heritage Foundation President — and Project 2025 evangelist — Kevin Roberts, who recently pushed (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4025949) it on The Vince Coglianese Show. While praising his colleague Tom Homan as a fantastic hire, Roberts argued that “such a big part of this is trying to inspire self-deportation.”

As a sign of how far contemporary politics have shifted toward the nativist right, it’s worth remembering that Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) was roundly excoriated for proposing “self-deportation” as a central plank of his immigration plan during the 2012 presidential race. He was denounced at the time by liberal (https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/01/romneys-self-deportation-just-another-term-alabama-style-immigration-enforcement/) magazines (https://newrepublic.com/article/102898/arizona-immigration-sb1070-supreme-court), mainstream outlets like the Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-self-deportation-fantasy/2012/01/25/gIQAmDbWYQ_story.html) editorial board, and conservatives including former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gingrich-mocks-romneys-self-deportation-plan-for-illegal-immigrants/2012/01/25/gIQAlxzaQQ_story.html) and a little magazine called the National Review (https://www.nationalreview.com/2013/03/rncs-immigration-advice-michael-barone/).

In another blog (https://cis.org/Fishman/It-Time-Deploy-Alien-Enemies-Act-Against-Iranians-US) published following Trump’s win, CIS argued that “the time may have come for President Biden or President-elect Trump to deploy the \Alien Enemies Act] against Iranian nationals residing in the U.S.” Per the author’s own description, invoking the act would allow “the president to summarily detain and remove nationals of enemy nations” — i.e., Iran. As the Brennan Center for Justice [notes (https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/alien-enemies-act-explained), the Alien Enemies Act “is best known for its role in Japanese internment, a shameful part of U.S. history for which Congress, presidents, and the courts have apologized.”

The Claremont Institute: Conscript right-wing sheriffs for deportations

The Claremont Institute is a MAGA-aligned think tank (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/03/magazine/claremont-institute-conservative.html) that publishes the right-wing blog The American Mind. While the conservative authors featured on The American Mind may not necessarily speak for the institution, they offer a clear window into the Trump movement.

On November 8, The American Mind posted a blog (https://americanmind.org/salvo/mr-president-deputize-your-local-sheriffs/) headlined “Mr. President, Deputize Your Local Sheriffs.” The piece was written by Kyle Shideler of the Center for Security Policy, an SPLC-designated (https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/center-security-policy) hate group.

“President Trump should look to sheriffs to fill U.S. Marshal roles,” Shideler argued, for the purpose of facilitating “the cross-deputization of local sheriffs’ deputies and police officers along the Southern border, which is needed to address prohibitions against state and local officials enforcing federal immigration law.”

“That manpower will be required if Trump is to meet his campaign promise of securing the border and expelling millions of illegal aliens,” he continued.

Shideler further suggested that “conservative organizations” could “identify local law enforcement leaders who support the Trump agenda” — adding that “those who have participated in the Claremont Institute’s Sheriffs Fellowship (https://www.claremont.org/fellowships/sheriffs-fellowship/) would be an excellent place to start.”

Jessica Pishko — author of a recent book about sheriffs and right-wing movements — reported (https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/09/claremont-institute-secret-sheriff-fellowship-curriculum-revealed.html) on Claremont’s inaugural sheriff fellows program in 2022. She revealed that it “presented for the sheriffs two sets of people in America: those communities sheriffs should police as freely and brutally as they see fit, and those ‘real’ Americans who should be considered virtually above the law.”

As Pishko (https://x.com/JessPish/status/1824936754870137250) and others (https://www.thedailybeast.com/maga-claremont-institute-honors-sheriffs-who-defy-laws-they-dont-like/) have noted (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/nov/06/trump-republicans-law-enforcement-jeff-sessions), many of Claremont’s honorees adhere to the far-right ideology of the constitutional sheriffs (https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/constitutional-sheriffs) movement, which holds that sheriffs “should be the ultimate law enforcement authority in the U.S.”

Center for Renewing America defends “Operation Wetback”

The Center for Renewing America (https://www.mediamatters.org/january-6-insurrection/center-renewing-america-preparing-next-republican-administration-govern) is a MAGA-aligned think tank founded by Russ Vought, a Christian nationalist (https://www.mediamatters.org/diversity-discrimination/mainstream-media-outlets-are-ignoring-christian-nationalism-behind-push) and top architect of Project 2025.

On November 8, CRA published a white paper (https://americarenewing.com/issues/primer-u-s-deportations-a-longstanding-normal-process/) titled “Primer: U.S. Deportations — A Longstanding & Normal Process” which attempts to normalize and sanitize an earlier mass deportation undertaking officially known as “Operation Wetback” (though CRA’s authors don’t use that racist slur).

The authors argue that “mass deportations are a normal part of the president’s toolbox.”

“For example, in 1954, the U.S. government conducted a campaign that resulted in the mass deportation of Mexican nationals—1,100,000 persons,” they continue.

Left unmentioned is the humanitarian catastrophe unleashed by the mass deportations. As Dara Lind wrote (https://www.vox.com/2015/11/11/9714842/operation-wetback) for Vox when Trump praised the Eisenhower-era mass deportations in 2015, immigrants were “deported en masse: by train, by truck, by plane, and by cargo ship.” She adds that a “congressional investigation described conditions on one cargo ship as a ‘penal hell ship’ and compared it to a slave ship on the Middle Passage.”

In one mass raid, 88 people died of “sun stroke as a result of a round-up that had taken place in 112-degree heat,” according to a definitive account (https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/11/11/455613993/it-came-up-in-the-debate-here-are-3-things-to-know-about-operation-wetback) by Mae Ngai.

And as Professors Louis Hyman and Natasha Iskander argue (https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2016/11/donald-trump-mass-deportation-and-the-tragic-history-of-operation-wetback.html?pay=1732031329808&support_journalism=please), Operation Wetback was largely a propaganda campaign that “enforced the idea that American citizens are white.”

Nevertheless, the 1954 operation has become a touchstone for the Trumpist right. As but one example, Stephen Miller recently cited (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/right-wing-media-are-setting-stage-next-republican-president-commit-mass-atrocities) the “Eisenhower model” as justification for the potential deployment of the U.S. military “in a large-scale deportation operation.” CRA’s anodyne description of the 1950s deportations shows how embedded this history has become in the MAGA movement.

Project 2025 embeds itself in Trump 2.0

Trump’s new administration and its partners in the conservative policy ecosystem are laying the groundwork for the most nativist, xenophobic government in decades. From Homan and Miller to the think tanks providing them scaffolding, every sign suggests that the Trump administration will terrorize, surveil, and deport immigrants and their communities in record numbers. And Project 2025 and its partners will almost certainly continue to provide a roadmap for the draconian crackdown.

rww random but //

11/18/2024

Kyle Mantyla (https://www.peoplefor.org/post_author/kyle-mantyla)

Ryan Bort @ Rolling Stone (https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/ryan-walters-demands-oklahoma-school-pray-trump-1235170916/): Oklahoma Superintendent Demands Students Watch Him Pray for Trump

Ryan Walters has already been under fire for using state money to purchase Trump Bibles for classrooms.

Courtney Kube, Carol E. Lee, Vaughn Hillyard and Mosheh Gains @ NBC News (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/trump-transition-team-compiling-list-current-former-us-military-office-rcna180489): Trump transition team compiling list of current and former U.S. military officers for possible courts-martial

All of the officers were involved in the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, which independent reviews have blamed on both the Trump and Biden administrations.

Jennifer Bowers Bahney @ Mediaite (https://www.mediaite.com/trump/true-trump-confirms-plans-to-declare-a-national-emergency-to-use-the-us-military-for-mass-deportations/): ‘TRUE!!’ Trump Confirms Plans to Declare a National Emergency to Use the US Military For Mass Deportations

Donald Trump has confirmed that he will declare a national emergency and use the US military to carry out mass deportations of undocumented migrants.

Edith Olmstead @ The New Republic (https://newrepublic.com/post/188529/donald-trump-war-press-fcc-project-2025): Trump’s War With the Press Takes a Terrifying Turn

Donald Trump has nominated a Project 2025 author to lead the Federal Communications Commission.

Michael Kranish, Josh Dawsey and Jonathan O'Connell @ The Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/11/16/pete-hegseth-sexual-assault-accuser-paid/): Defense pick Hegseth paid accuser but denies sexual assault, attorney says

Documents obtained by The Post provide extensive detail about allegation and the response by Trump’s defense secretary pick.

Will Steakin and Peter Charalambous @ ABC News (https://abcnews.go.com/US/lawyer-tells-abc-news-2-clients-told-house/story?id=115863675): Lawyer tells ABC News his 2 clients told House Ethics Committee that Gaetz paid them for sex

An attorney representing two women who testified before the House Ethics Committee told ABC News in an interview that former Rep. Matt Gaetz paid both his adult clients for sex.

Phil Williams @ NewsChannel 5 (https://www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/confronting-hate/aiming-to-radicalize-main-street-christian-nationalists-set-sights-on-tiny-jackson-county-tennessee): Aiming to 'radicalize Main Street,' Christian nationalists set sights on tiny Jackson County, Tennessee

An exclusive NewsChannel 5 investigation has discovered that those Christian nationalists have set their sights on a remote Middle Tennessee county, hoping to attract hundreds, even thousands, of like-minded people from across the country as part of efforts, in the words of one activist, to “radicalize Main Street.”

mma

the Trump administration is planning on deporting millions and millions of immigrants. Fox News is pretending the focus will be much narrower.

“Border Czar” Tom Homan: “If you’re in the country illegally, you better be looking over your shoulder. The bottom line is: Every illegal alien is a criminal.”

Written by Charis Hoard (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/charis-hoard), Torri Lonergan (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/torri-lonergan), Pete Tsipis (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/pete-tsipis) & Chloe Simon (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/chloe-simon)

Published 11/18/24

Fox News is downplaying President-elect Donald Trump’s planned “mass deportations” by saying the effort will prioritize migrants with “criminal records.” But two of his top picks to oversee immigration policy have echoed what he and the vice president-elect have threatened: The deportations will include all undocumented immigrants in addition to migrants here legally and mixed-status families.

Trump has announced that his former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement director, Tom Homan, will oversee immigration policy in his second administration and his former senior adviser Stephen Miller will serve as his deputy chief of staff on policy. Both Homan and Miller have expressed support for Trump’s plan to enact mass deportations of immigrants from the United States, with Miller recently proclaiming at a Trump rally that America is for “Americans only.”

Tom Homan and Stephen Miller have experience enforcing draconian immigration policy for Trump and plan to further his agenda in the second term

Trump has pledged to deport all undocumented immigrants and legal immigrants as well.This policy could impact more than 22 million people who live in the country's 5.8 million mixed-status families, where one or more family members are undocumented. The mass deportations could also target the 530,000 people who are part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which offered protections for “young undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, temporarily shielding them from deportation and providing them work authorization with possible renewal every two years.” The Guardian 11/8/24 (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/08/trump-mass-deportation-plan); Pew Research Center, 7/22/24 (https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/07/22/what-we-know-about-unauthorized-immigrants-living-in-the-us/#::text=Unauthorized%20immigrants%20live%20in%206.3,spouse%20is%20an%20unauthorized%20immigrant.); Poynter, 11/13/24 (https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2024/journalists-immigration-is-about-to-become-a-huge-topic-heres-help-covering-trumps-second-term/); Immigration Forum, 5/21/24 (https://immigrationforum.org/article/fact-sheet-on-deferred-action-for-childhood-arrivals-daca/); Media Matters, [11/15/24 (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/right-wing-media-are-celebrating-trumps-impending-mass-deportations)]

As part of his deportation agenda, Trump is expected to end an asylum parole program for people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela which allowed “qualified nationals” to apply for temporary stay in the U.S. if they were sponsored by someone who had U.S. citizenship or legal status. Trump is also expected to begin his plans of mass deportation in his first 100 days in office, and he has backed calls for a “national emergency” plan to secure military resources to carry out the mass deportations. Global Refuge, 10/23/24 (https://www.globalrefuge.org/news/what-is-the-chnv-parole-program/); Politico, 11/18/24 (https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/18/immigration-100-days-trump-executive-action-00189286?nname=playbook&nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&nrid=ebc94e30-6f43-49e0-a159-a17d886118d2&nlid=630318); Newsweek, [11/18/24 (https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-national-emergency-mass-deportations-1987415)]

During a campaign rally, Vice President-elect JD Vance said, “Our message to illegal aliens is, ‘Pack your bags, because in four months you’re going home.’”Vance has also cast doubt on the status of legal migrants, calling thousands of Haitians who are in the United States legally “illegal aliens” and suggesting they will be deported under Trump. YouTube, 10/17/24 (https://youtu.be/sFQ0JeyDOfc); Cleveland.com, [9/19/24 (https://www.cleveland.com/nation/2024/09/jd-vance-doubles-down-attacking-haitians-legal-status-as-illegal-jd-vance-in-the-news.html)]

Trump has named Tom Homan “border czar” for his second term.Homan served as acting director of ICE in the first Trump administration and is credited as the “intellectual father” of the Trump administration’s family separation policy; he has since stated that he didn’t “give a shit” about being sued due to the policy. Homan has long pushed anti-immigrant rhetoric and misinformation on Fox News, where he became a paid contributor in 2018. NPR, 11/11/24 (https://www.npr.org/2024/11/11/nx-s1-5186522/tom-homan-border-czar-trump); Media Matters, 6/14/19 (https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/trump-announced-he-bringing-foxs-tom-homan-back-administration-border-czar-heres-what), 8/8/22 (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-contributor-tom-homan-intellectual-father-family-separation), 10/11/23 (https://www.mediamatters.org/tom-homan/fox-news-contributor-tom-homan-appears-hitler-praising-antisemites-show-and-pushes-great), 8/11/19 (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-friends/foxs-tom-homan-informing-immigrants-their-rights-means-more-women-are-going-be-raped); The Hill, [3/3/23 (https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/3882377-former-trump-ice-director-on-border-separations-they-chose-to-separate-themselves/)]

Stephen Miller will be Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy in his upcoming administration. Miller served as a senior adviser to Trump during his first administration and was the architect of the administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy that led to thousands of immigrant children being separated from their families. Miller also advocated for separating immigrant families going through civil court proceedings, which would have added 25,000 more immigrant children to the 3,000 who were already separated. NPR, 11/11/24 (https://www.npr.org/2024/11/11/g-s1-33741/trump-stephen-miller-deputy-chief-of-staff-immigration-policy-deportations); NBC News, 8/20/20 (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/trump-cabinet-officials-voted-2018-white-house-meeting-separate-migrant-n1237416); CNN, [11/11/24 (https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/11/politics/stephen-miller-trump-administration/index.html)]

Fox News figures and guests have claimed Trump’s policy will primarily or initially focus on undocumented people with criminal backgrounds

Fox correspondent Griff Jenkins claimed that “border czar Tom Homan says the priority will be those with criminal records.” However, Jenkins also noted that “Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairwoman Nanette Barragán tells Fox News, ‘The president-elect has even admitted that innocent women and children could get caught up in the operations.’” Fox News, Special Report with Bret Baier, [11/12/24 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4025901)]

Former Border Patrol chief Raul Ortiz said Trump “is going to focus on those security threats, those, you know, folks with terroristic ties, those national security threats, the folks that are bringing in narcotics, and criminal aliens first” before moving to the “migrant population that we see all over this country.”Fox News, Your World with Neil Cavuto, [11/12/24 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4025903)]

Fox anchor Dana Perino attempted to downplay mass deportations by saying that “Homan has been very clear the criminals come first,” but former Border Patrol chief Rodney Scott said that “no one will be off the table.” Perino asked, “Criminals, if that's the first target for people who broke the law who are here that are violent, why wouldn't a governor like her [Massachusetts’ Maura Healey] want them out of her state?” Scott referred to the crime of “illegally coming into the U.S.” and said that “no one will be off the table, meaning that when ICE goes in to arrest those individuals and they stumble on other illegal immigrants, other crimes at the same time, agents will be able to take care of all those crimes at the same time.” [Fox News, America’s Newsroom, 11/12/24]

Fox host Sean Hannity talked about deporting “millions of criminal illegal immigrants,” listing “gang members, cartel members, drug dealers, people that we know are murderers and rapists, and those that are known terrorists.”He did not mention the nonviolent undocumented migrants who would be deported alongside them. Fox News, Hannity, [11/12/24 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4025908)]

Former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker said terrorists and criminals “should expect to leave the country immediately,” dodging a question from Fox anchor Martha MacCallum about people who are “afraid that their families will be separated.” Fox News, The Story with Martha MacCallum, [11/12/24 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4025907)]

Homan has claimed that that “no one is off the table” and that the “biggest deportation in U.S. history” is “coming soon"

Homan has repeatedly said that the “biggest deportation in U.S. history” is “coming soon.”Homan claimed that those who “clearly” don't “qualify for asylum,” families who “arrive without authorization,” and people “sneaking in” will be deported. Twitter/X, 12/12/23 (https://x.com/RealTomHoman/status/1734592495248413015), 2/1/24 (https://x.com/RealTomHoman/status/1753046665710252268), 11/16/23 (https://x.com/RealTomHoman/status/1725165464152617179), [12/2/23 (https://x.com/RealTomHoman/status/1731069517579669979)]

When asked on60 Minuteswhether there was any way to conduct deportations without separating families, Homan stated, “Of course there is. Families can be deported together,” suggesting that legal migrants or even U.S. citizens in mixed-status families could be deported too. CBS News’ Cecilia Vega pressed Homan for specifics, asking, “So you are carrying out a targeted enforcement operation. Grandma's in the house. She's undocumented. Does she get arrested too?” Homan replied that “it depends,” saying, “Let the judge decide.” CBS News, [10/27/24 (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-mass-deportation-plan-cost-consequences-60-minutes-transcript/)]

Homan suggested that “the vast majority” of undocumented migrants will be deported. Homan: “When you have an historic illegal immigration crisis, where millions enter the country illegally and the vast majority will be ordered removed by a judge because they either don’t show up in court or they simply don't qualify for asylum, it will result in an historic deportation operation.” Twitter/X, [11/20/23 (https://x.com/RealTomHoman/status/1726771780130422792)]

Homan asserted that “nine out of 10” undocumented immigrants will “get an order of removal based on immigration court data.” Homan also claimed, “A judge orders them to be removed. We’re going to find them and we’re gonna remove them.… If there’s no consequence, we can’t fix the border. We’re going to have a consequence in the Trump administration.” Twitter/X, [11/19/23 (https://twitter.com/RealTomHoman/status/1726353860610974192)]

On The Charlie Kirk Show, Homan claimed that “90% of these people crossing the border would not qualify for asylum” and would be “removed by a federal judge.” He continued: “So what is the option? If they stay, millions more come. We have to enforce the law, no apologies.” He also once again claimed that he will “run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.” Salem Radio Network, The Charlie Kirk Show, [12/18/23 (https://www.mediamatters.org/tom-homan/fox-contributor-tom-homan-im-going-run-biggest-deportation-operation-country-has-ever)]

Homan recently encouraged migrants, including noncriminals, to self-deport because “we know who you are, and we’re going to come and find you.” After he was announced as Trump’s pick for “border czar,” Homan appeared on Fox News’ Hannity and claimed, “While we’re out prioritizing the public safety threats and national security threats, if you want to self-deport, you should self-deport because, again, we know who you are, and we’re going to come and find you. … But for those others, the noncriminals, you want to self-deport, I’m all for it. Because when they self-deport, they can put their orders — everything in order – their family business, if they have homes or whatever – they can put all that in order and leave with their family all together.” Fox News, Hannity, [11/11/24 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4025913)]

Homan claimed, “If you’re in the country illegally, it’s not OK. If you’re in the country illegally, you better be looking over your shoulder.”While appearing at the Heritage Foundation’s Policy Fest in 2024, Homan said, “No one’s off the table. If you’re in the country illegally, it’s not OK. If you’re in the country illegally, you better be looking over your shoulder. The bottom line is: every illegal alien is a criminal. They enter the country in violation of federal law. It's a crime to enter this country illegally.” Media Matters, [7/16/24 (https://www.mediamatters.org/tom-homan/heritage-policy-fest-tom-homan-pledges-mass-deportations-under-another-trump)]

Miller has promoted “mass arrests and mass deportations,” which he said would include deporting “everyone coming and everyone Biden resettled”

Miller has repeatedly called for mass deportations, often framing them as the opposite of Democrats' supposed “mass importation.” In February 2024, Miller said that the U.S. should “deport everyone coming and everyone Biden resettled.” Twitter/ X, 2/20/24, 2/29/24 (https://x.com/StephenM/status/1763397655307182225?s=20), 9/14/24 (https://x.com/StephenM/status/1835134449673031852), [10/6/24 (https://x.com/StephenM/status/1843098446196293779)]

At Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally, Miller said, “America is for America and Americans only.”Politico, [10/28/24 (https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/28/trump-madison-square-garden-rally-tony-hinchcliffe-00185793)]

During an interview, Miller suggested that the U.S. military be used to help carry out mass deportations.Miller also advocated for building mass detention facilities that “hold upwards of 50, 60, 70 thousand illegal aliens while you are waiting to send them someplace, somewhere that would be willing to accept them.” Media Matters, [9/28/24 (https://www.mediamatters.org/stephen-miller/stephen-miller-calls-military-deport-undocumented-immigrants-under-future-trump)]

Miller posted that “the only public policy solution is mass arrests and mass deportations” when retweeting a video of pro-Palestine protesters kicking a door. Miller also wrote, “One-third of NYC residents are foreign-born, so one can imagine the proportions in this mob.” Later on, Miller wrote “Mass Deportation” when retweeting a video of a pro-Palestine protest. Twitter/X, 11/11/23 (https://x.com/StephenM/status/1723377051858505958), [11/29/23 (https://x.com/StephenM/status/1730040123025248420)]

- Miller suggested that the only way to avoid an Islamic State group terror attack is to deport undocumented immigrants.Miller tweeted, “Biden let ISIS terrorists into America. Now, no one can find them. Only a matter of time until they attack — unless Trump is elected to launch mass deportations.” Twitter/X, [6/26/24 (https://x.com/StephenM/status/1805988273988243537)]

### Right-wing media are celebrating Trump’s impending mass deportations (https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/right-wing-media-are-celebrating-trumps-impending-mass-deportations)

11/15/24

### Newsmax host: “I am very excited to watch Tom Homan execute the largest deportation the world has ever seen” (https://www.mediamatters.org/newsmax/newsmax-host-i-am-very-excited-watch-tom-homan-execute-largest-deportation-world-has-ever)

11/13/24

Charlie Kirk tells Tom Homan: “I would love to meet with you privately about a communications strategy” (https://www.mediamatters.org/charlie-kirk/charlie-kirk-tells-tom-homan-i-would-love-meet-you-privately-about-communications)

11/12/24

an 11 24

Allies of Donald Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) have been told to avoid words “like ‘camps’” when discussing the president-elects promise (https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-allies-migrants-camps-miller-homan-1235168998/) to execute “the largest deportation” operation in U.S. history, Rolling Stone reports.

“I have received some guidance to avoid terms, like ‘camps,’ that can be twisted and used against the president, yes,” a Trump ally told RS. “Apparently some people think it makes us look like Nazis.”

Despite Trump’s vow to enact mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, members of the president-elect’s team are now concerned about the negative historical comparisons (https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-allies-migrants-camps-miller-homan-1235168998/) generated by the word “camps.”

READ MORE:['She needs to take a seat': Nancy Pelosi 'ticking off' House Democrats with 2024 postmortem

Per Rolling Stone: (https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-allies-migrants-camps-miller-homan-1235168998/)

*Some top Trump advisers get so annoyed when the media refers to his publicly detailed immigration-crackdown plans as including “camps” that they’ve cautioned the president-elect’s allies and surrogates to stop using the word “camps” during the current presidential transition, according to two sources familiar with the situation.

As Rolling Stone reports, the term “camps” originated in Trump’s own orbit (https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-allies-migrants-camps-miller-homan-1235168998/). Last year, Trump’s deputy chief of staff pick Stephen Miller “routinely and specifically using the word 'camps' to describe what he and his boss wanted the military to build, should they retake power in 2024.”

According to the report, the Trump campaign even encouraged the New York Times to speak with Miller about Trump’s immigration platform.

“And yet, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter, the Times article infuriated some of Team Trump’s senior staff, who privately said they believed the reporting made their candidate — the once and future leader of the free world — appear extreme and borderline fascistic, especially on ‘the concentration camps framing,’ a Trump adviser notes,” RS reports.

READ MORE:'Part of the plan': Smerconish lifts the veil on Trump’s 'progressively more controversial' Cabinet (https://www.alternet.org/media/michael-smerconish/)

Indeed, Trump himself has affirmatively stated “it’s possible” the US will have to build new detention centers for undocumented immigrants.

“ I would not rule out anything (https://time.com/6972022/donald-trump-transcript-2024-election/),” Trump said in August, according to Time magazine.

*[Read the full report at Rolling Stone.]

READ MORE: [Haitian immigrant explains why she voted for Trump after 'shock value' comments about her community]

right-wing media are celebrating Trump’s impending mass deportations

Written by Chloe Simon (https://www.mediamatters.org/author/chloe-simon)

Published 11/15/24 mma

Since President-elect Donald Trump's reelection, right-wing media have been celebrating his plans for mass deportation of undocumented immigrants — a focal point of his campaign — with some claiming that Trump has an “absolute mandate” to “deport illegals” and that the deportations “will begin immediately upon Trump’s inauguration into office.” Meanwhile, reporting has shown the devastating consequences that mass deportations would have on the U.S. economy and mixed-status families, as well as the havoc it could cause in the home countries of those being deported.

Trump and his newly named “border czar” Tom Homan have been vocal about mass deportations planned for his second presidential term

In September, Trump laid out his vision for mass deportations to “immediately end the migrant invasion of America.” In an X (formerly Twitter) post, Trump stated that he will “stop all migrant flights, end all illegal entries, terminate the Kamala phone app for smuggling illegals (CBP One app), revoke deportation immunity, suspend refugee resettlement, and return Kamala’s illegal migrants to their home countries (also known as remigration).” Twitter/X, [9/15/24 (https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1835315698169475316?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1835315698169475316%7Ctwgr%5Ee0ff5a21fa05ff1d1de6984b05f20746192f2d8d%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.latintimes.com%2Ftrump-promises-end-cbp-one-app-if-elected-calls-it-phone-app-smuggling-illegals-559483)]

Just days before Trump’s 2024 victory, his now-named “border czar” Tom Homan suggested that families with mixed-immigration statuses could be deported.CBS News’ Cecilia Vega asked Homan during a 60 Minutes interview if there is a “way to carry out mass deportation without separating families,” to which Homan responded, “Of course there is. Families can be deported together.” Vega pressed Homan for specifics, asking, “So you are carrying out a targeted enforcement operation. Grandma's in the house. She's undocumented. Does she get arrested too?” Homan vaguely replied that “it depends,” saying, “Let the judge decide.” CBS News, 10/27/24 (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-mass-deportation-plan-cost-consequences-60-minutes-transcript/); The Guardian, [11/12/24 (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/12/who-is-tom-homan-trump-border-czar)]

Reporting has outlined the potential consequences of Trump’s proposed deportation policy and the complexities in polling about mass deportation

Vox wrote that the mass deportations could have “devastating consequences for the millions of people residing in ‘mixed status’ households: those in which both undocumented immigrants and people with permanent legal status reside.” An estimated 4.7 million “mixed status” households in the U.S. include individuals with legal status who may now be vulnerable to family separation or deportation alongside their families. Vox, [10/25/24 (https://www.vox.com/2024-elections/383845/trump-mass-deportations-immigration-family-separation)]

Trump’s mass deportation plans could have profoundly devastating effects on the economy.CNBC reported that “economists and labor specialists are most worried about the economic impact of policies that would deport workers already in the U.S., both documented and undocumented,” affecting both “low-skilled” and “skilled” workforces. It would also cost an estimated “$88 billion annually, for a total cost of $967.9 billion over the course of more than a decade.” CNBC, [11/10/24 (https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/10/trumps-mass-deportation-plan-immigrant-workers-and-economy.html)]

Mexico would likely suffer some of the brunt of the deportation policy as “nearly half of the estimated 11 million people living illegally in the United States are Mexican.”Rev. Francisco Gallardo, who runs a migrant shelter in Mexico, explained to The Washington Post that “no one is prepared for deportations of this magnitude. Neither the governments nor the civil-society organizations.” Mexico’s economy could also falter; according to the Post, Mexican migrants in the U.S. “sent home more than $60 billion last year.” The Washington Post, [11/12/24 (https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/11/12/mexico-trump-mass-deportation/)]

Immigration Hub pointed out that even though polls show majority support for deportations, the reality is more nuanced.Immigration Hub argued that “when provided a choice, voters overwhelmingly reject (only 39% in favor) the trademark Trump mass deportation policy that would result in American families across the nation torn apart." Another poll conducted on behalf of Immigration Hub by Global Strategy Group and BSP Research showed that “by a 22-point margin, voters prefer a pathway to citizenship over mass deportation.” Immigration Hub, accessed 11/12/24 (https://theimmigrationhub.org/press/new-voters-prefer-a-path-to-citizenship-for-undocumented-immigrants/), [7/16/24 (http://theimmigrationhub.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/immigration-hub-memo.pdf)]

Right-wing media have claimed that Trump has a “mandate” to carry out mass deportations because they are popular with the majority of Americans — and threatened that he will do so on day one of his presidency

Fox News host Jesse Watters said that “2025 is going to be the year of the deportation.”Watters continued, “Illegals will be getting sent home, and if D.C. bureaucrats have a problem with that, they’ll be sent home too.” Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, [11/12/24 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/4025844)]

Right-wing podcaster Dave Rubin posted that Trump “has promised deportations and he has the mandate. Western Europe has a much worse fate,” in response to a post alleging that “Muslim migrants” were attacking Israelis in Amsterdam. Rubin also said, “Look at the pic below. This could easily NYC, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, etc. Trump was elected just in time.” Twitter/X, [11/8/24 (https://x.com/RubinReport/status/1854866277384290526)]

Former National Review writer Nate Hochman posted, “We have the tools—and now, we have the electoral mandate. It's time for mass deportations.” Twitter/X, [11/11/24 (https://x.com/njhochman/status/1856089516592750654)]

OutKick host Tomi Lahren claimed, “A majority of Americans support mass deportation.” In response to a clip of The View’sAna Navarro discussing the consequences of mass deportation, Lahren complained, “You open our borders for millions of people to invade our country and then when they are removed due to the fact they have no right to be here, you cry and moan like these people deserve to be here. They don’t.” Twitter/X, [11/11/24 (https://x.com/TomiLahren/status/1856014642537025569)]

Right-wing commentator Alex Berenson argued that Trump “has an ABSOLUTE mandate to enforce US immigration laws, deport illegals, toss bullshit economic asylum claims, and build a wall.”Twitter/X, [11/12/24 (https://x.com/AlexBerenson/status/1856357428721283525)]

In an article about Trump’s plans for mass deportation, Breitbart claimed that his “deportation operation has garnered massive support among Americans.” The article cited “surveys and polls from Pew Research, Ipsos, Fox News, and Marist” which supposedly show “broad support among Americans for mass deportations of illegal aliens living in the United States.” Breitbart, [11/6/24 (https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/11/06/donald-trump-mass-deportations-illegals-first-day-second-term/)]

Right-wing commentator Mike Crispi claimed that “the people voted for mass deportations..the people will get mass deportations.”Twitter/X, [11/12/24 (https://x.com/MikeCrispi/status/1856329703373656183)]

Right-wing influencer Ian Miles Cheong claimed, “Mass deportations will begin immediately upon Trump’s inauguration into office.” Cheong then instructed, “Illegal aliens: Pack your bags now or expect to be put in a camp for processing at a later date.” Twitter/X, [11/7/24 (https://x.com/stillgray/status/1854568496861978820)]

The Blaze’s Logan Hall: “mass deportations start on day one. we’re taking our country back.” Twitter/X, [11/6/24 (https://x.com/loganclarkhall/status/1854289002322379002)]

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In the wake of Republican Donald Trump’s reelection to the presidency, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is helping to lead a new initiative that aims to protect state-level democratic institutions against federal overreach.

Polis, a Democrat with two more years in his term, is co-chairing Governors Safeguarding Democracy, alongside Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, also a Democrat.

“We founded GSD because we know that simple hope alone won’t save our democracy. We need to work together, especially at the state level, to protect and strengthen it,” Polis said during a call with reporters on Tuesday.

The two governors did not offer details on who else is part of the initiative, though they emphasized it’s nonpartisan and said they have engaged in outreach to Republican governors across the country.

The action items are vague. Pritzker described the goal as one to “leverage our collective strength, experience and institutional knowledge to drive policies that protect the rule of law” among the states.

“We’ll design and implement affirmative strategies to protect the rule of law and deliver for people in the states. We’ll work to reinforce key state institutions to protect executive agencies, elections, state courts and other democratic bodies. Then we’ll develop playbooks to enable governors and their teams to anticipate and swiftly respond to emerging threats,” he said.

When fully implemented, the initiative will be a “peer opportunity for governors to learn from one another on best practices and policies,” Polis said.

GSD was born out of anxiety that a second Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) presidential term will erode democratic institutions and roll back federal protections in such areas as the environment, health care and civil rights. Some observers worry about possible threats to the integrity of the nation’s election system, independent judiciary and overall civil society. Trump himself pledged (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/06/donald-trump-sean-hannity-dictator-day-one-response-iowa-town-hall) to be a “dictator” on the first day of his term to enact campaign promises, and former top staffers in the first Trump administration, such as John Kelly, have said he fits (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/22/us/politics/john-kelly-trump-fitness-character.html) into the definition of fascist.

The new Trump administration is planning (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/11/us/politics/trump-2025-immigration-agenda.html) an unprecedented mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, an effort that would involve use of the National Guard. Pritzker said the challenge this poses to states is “exactly the kind of question this group would be considering.”

Polis agreed that such a policy would likely not be allowed under the federal code that governs the National Guard and that, as governors, they would not cooperate.

“In terms of safeguarding democracy, making sure that the U.S. military is not used for police actions domestically and is used to defend our freedoms abroad is very consistent with our Constitution, as well as the law,” Polis said.

GSD will be supported by Governors Action Alliance, a new nonpartisan organization, and funded by philanthropic donations. Neither Pritzker nor Polis disclosed donors.

an 11 24

Arizona AG says she has a plan to protect state from ‘unacceptable’ Trump policies (https://www.alternet.org/kris-mayes-trump/)

RUMOR DEPORT HEAD OF hh AND REST WILL SELF?

Jesse Watters says mass deportation is “going to be hysterical” (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/jesse-watters-says-mass-deportation-going-be-hysterical-0)

11/08/24 MMA

### Bannon praises Tom Homan and Stephen Miller's mass deportation plans: “They know what they're doing” (https://www.mediamatters.org/steve-bannon/steve-bannon-praises-tom-homan-and-stephen-millers-mass-deportation-plans-they-know)

11/12/24 12:31 PM EST

### With “Border Czar” Tom Homan, Trump restarts the revolving door between Fox and his administration (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/border-czar-tom-homan-trump-restarts-revolving-door-between-fox-and-his-administration)

11/12/24 11:03 AM EST

### Steve Bannon floats Rudy Giuliani to “assist” a special prosecutor in the Trump administration (https://www.mediamatters.org/steve-bannon/steve-bannon-floats-rudy-giuliani-assist-special-prosecutor-trump-administration)

11/12/24 10:50 AM EST

### Fox & Friends co-host: “I don't remember Republicans acting out like this, cutting their hair and all of this after Donald Trump lost in 2020” (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-friends/fox-friends-co-host-i-dont-remember-republicans-acting-out-cutting-their-hair-and-all)

11/12/24 10:07 AM EST

### Jesse Watters says mass deportation is “going to be hysterical” (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/jesse-watters-says-mass-deportation-going-be-hysterical-0)

11/08/24

AVOID FAM SEP BY SEND ALL

At Heritage Policy Fest, Tom Homan pledges mass deportations under another Trump administration: “No one’s off the table” (https://www.mediamatters.org/tom-homan/heritage-policy-fest-tom-homan-pledges-mass-deportations-under-another-trump)

07/16/24

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People hold signs that read "Mass Deportation Now" and "Make America Strong Again" on the third day of the Republican National Convention on July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Former President Donald Trump has promised that he will start mass deportations if he wins in November. The promise has become a central selling point of his 2024 campaign. At a campaign rally in Michigan this summer, Trump vowed, “As soon as I take the oath of office, we will begin the largest deportation operation in the history of our country.”

In April, during an interview with TIME, Trump laid out his plan for mass deportations, stating that he will use “local law enforcement” and “the National Guard.” Trump also said he would “not rule out” building new migrant detention facilities and that he would use the military “if necessary.” When TIME told Trump that deploying the military against civilians is prohibited under the Posse Comitatus Act, Trump responded, “Well, these aren’t civilians. These are people that aren’t legally in our country.”

Trump has promised that one of his first targets will be Springfield, Ohio, where Trump and his allies have, on numerous occasions, falsely claimed that Haitian immigrants are eating neighborhood pets. “[W]e will do large deportations from Springfield, Ohio. Large deportations. We’re gonna get these people out,” Trump said last week at a press conference in California. (The Haitian immigrants that Trump and his allies are targeting are in the country legally.) Trump also promised to prioritize deportations from Aurora, Colorado, where Trump has falsely claimed that Venezuelan immigrants are “taking over the whole town.”

A new Scripps News/Ipsos poll surveyed voters about what they thought of Trump’s plan, asking if they “support the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants.” Fifty-four percent of respondents either “strongly” or “somewhat support” the policy. This includes “86% of Republicans, 58% of independents, and 25% of Democrats.”

But the results of the poll tell us less about the actual views of American voters, and more about the overall failure of the media and others to educate citizens on what exactly Trump’s plans for mass deportation entail. The policy is not something that can be summarized in a seven-word poll question. Mass deportations of immigrants would divert law enforcement from critical tasks, cost billions of dollars, break up families, damage the economy, and compromise the nation's values.

The human capacity problem

The scale required to orchestrate Trump’s proposed policy is far beyond the capacity of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Trump’s solution is to use local law enforcement. In an interview on Fox News, Trump said that he would give local police “immunity” to do “the job they have to do,” and that “the officers understand who the migrants are.”

Using local law enforcement would result in police officers having less time to perform their other duties. A March report by the Center for Migration Studies of New York cited research that found putting local police officers in charge of immigration responsibilities would make “local communities less safe” and immigrants, fearing deportation, “less likely to report crimes or cooperate with police.”

Trump’s plan to use the National Guard, and, if necessary, the military, to conduct deportations would take them away from other responsibilities and therefore “weaken our national security.” This is why the Pentagon “usually oppos[es] efforts to use its troops for immigration purposes,” according to a Center for Migration Studies report.

The enormous price tag

ICE acknowledges that each deportation is costly and difficult. In its 2023 annual report, the agency stated, “Removal management is a complex process that requires careful planning and coordination with a wide range of domestic and foreign partners and uses significant ERO resources.” According to that report, ICE deported 142,580 non-citizens from the U.S. in 2023. Its budget for removals and transportation last year was over $420 million, meaning that it cost nearly $3,000 to remove each person from the country.

If Trump successfully deported the estimated 11 million non-citizens currently in the U.S., it would cost $33 billion just to transport people out of the U.S. — more than triple ICE’s total budget in 2023.

But the cost of actually moving a person off U.S. soil is only one part of the equation. It also costs ICE money to track people down and keep them in custody before their deportation. NBC reported that ICE currently has about 40,000 beds in detention centers which each cost $57,378 a year to maintain. If Trump enacted his mass deportation plan of 11 million people, ICE would need to expand its detention capacity drastically.

In 2015, when Trump first proposed a mass deportation policy, experts estimated that the plan would cost half a trillion dollars. Now that he wants to involve local police and military in the effort, the price tag would go up further.

The nationwide civil rights violation

Trump’s promise of mass deportations would cause major civil rights violations. The policy would effectively result in local law enforcement engaging in a mass racial profiling campaign, as there is no objective way to identify undocumented immigrants. According to a report by the Center for Migration Studies of New York, “[i]mmigration ‘sweeps’... often lead to profiling, usually on racial or ethnic grounds.” The report argues that this would lead to U.S. citizens and legal immigrants being “unjustly detained and even deported,” and give them “little opportunity to legally respond to their arrest and detention.”

In a memo released by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in response to Trump’s proposed immigration policies, the group warns that Trump’s plan could also lead to violations of “constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure, including arrests and detentions without a specific reason to detain a certain individual.”

The massive detention camps

Once the Trump administration identifies undocumented immigrants, it would need to detain them somewhere before deporting them. Trump has suggested that massive detention centers would need to be built in order to keep up with the number of deportations being processed.

Aside from the economic cost, detention centers have been the sites of numerous human rights abuses. Undocumented immigrants in detention centers have been denied urgent medical care, sexually abused, and kept in chain-link pens.

The impact on American families

Mass deportation would disrupt the lives of millions of families in the U.S. Recent data shows that 22 million people lived in mixed-status households (households in which at least one undocumented person lives with U.S. citizens, green-card holders, or other legally-authorized immigrants). Data from 2014 showed that almost all U.S.-born citizens living in mixed-status households were children under the age of 18. A 2017 study analyzing this data found that if just a third of those children remained in the U.S. after their undocumented guardians were deported, it would cost the government $118 billion to support them.

The same study found that removing undocumented members of mixed status households would decrease household income and push millions of American families into poverty.

The damage to the economy

Multiple studies show that the U.S. economy would be weaker without migrant workers. If all undocumented immigrants could be deported, American workers would find themselves with fewer job opportunities and higher costs.

A study of the economic impacts of deportations between 2008 and 2014 makes the damage clear. The study found that for every 1 million undocumented workers deported, 88,000 American workers lost jobs. Trump has said that he wants to deport millions of undocumented immigrants per year, multiplying the loss of American jobs.

The U.S. is already facing a labor shortage, and removing 11 million undocumented workers (about 5% of the total workforce) would only make the problem worse, pushing up prices on goods and services. Mass deportation would also impact the housing market, putting many of the 1.3 million mortgages of mixed-status households in danger, and cut tax revenue to the government and Social Security.