Embedded Files
NEXT MEETING: 04/13/26, 7 PM, OZARK-DALE LIBRARY
Focus On Immigration And Border Security (Post 2024 Election):
Kristi Noem introduced to US citizen twice detained by ICE in Alabama: ‘Do you know what your agents did?’
A large immigration detention camp in Texas is closed to visitors amid measles outbreak
Comment: "The camp opened last year after the Trump administration awarded a contract worth up to $1.3 billion to Acquisition Logistics LLC, a Virginia contractor that had previously not operated an ICE facility. Detainees have described a camp where an average of about 3,000 people per day live in loud and unsanitary quarters, diseases spread easily and sleep is a luxury."
"Measles, an easily preventable disease that was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, ripped through Texas communities last year, in part because health departments were starved of the funding needed to run vaccine programs. West Texas was hit especially hard."
Takeaways from AP’s report on the ICE detention center holding children and parents
Video: ICE spending billions to turn warehouses into migrant detention facilities - February 27, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMmqmwsy8qQ
Comment: "For months, ICE has been quietly buying industrial warehouses around the country, reportedly with plans to turn them into a network of immigration detention and processing centers to hold tens of thousands of detainees. White House correspondent Liz Landers reports on how the controversy is playing out in one small Maryland community."
Video: Judges angry about Trump administration violating their orders in immigration cases, NYT reports - February 25, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEvYXubR68I
Comment: "Some federal judges are getting increasingly upset with the Trump administration for not complying with their orders in cases involving migrants. The New York Times reports that 'at least 35 times since August, federal judges have ordered the administration to explain why it should not be punished for violating their orders in immigration cases.' Former federal judge Jeremy Fogel joins CBS News to discuss."
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Attorney claims she couldn't find client in immigration custody for days, despite a federal release
https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/attorney-denied-access-to-client-in-federal-custody/
Comment: "Twin Cities attorney Danielle Robinson Briand says she's been unable to find her client in immigration custody for several days despite a federal release order amid Operation Metro Surge."
" 'This operation is illegal on so many levels that it's hard to fathom,' said Robinson Briand, owner of Justicias Law."
"She says the Honduran mother of two — who has lived in Minnesota since 2019 — was taken into custody despite having a pending asylum case, a valid work permit and recent brain surgery."
Some Public Health Service officers deployed in detention centers suffer 'moral distress'
https://www.npr.org/2026/02/05/nx-s1-5698538/public-health-service-ice-detention-centers
Comment: "In 2025, as immigrant arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement soared, so did the demand for health care providers to staff hastily constructed detention centers."
"One group tapped to meet the need is the U.S. Public Health Service, or USPHS: In the past year, nearly 400 officers have done monthlong tours helping to provide basic medical care to detainees at ICE facilities nationwide, according to a USPHS employee who reviewed a roster of staff deployments."
"The deployed officers include nurses, doctors, pharmacists, and other medical professionals. A growing number say these ICE assignments are not what they signed up for. Life-threatening delays in getting medicine and care to detainees, chaotic screenings, and overcrowded yet understaffed conditions have pushed some medical professionals to quit."
" 'We have been tasked with protecting and promoting health, and instead, we are being asked to facilitate inhumane operations,' said Rebekah Stewart, a nurse practitioner who left the service in October."
Comment: "Some officers report such severe moral distress before and during deployment to immigrant detention facilities that they've quit the service altogether — and some of those who've stayed feel deeply conflicted about continuing to serve the agency."
ICE plans to build mega warehouses for immigration detention spark growing concern
Comment: "Department of Homeland Security plans to purchase and operate mega warehouses to use as immigration detention centers are raising concerns among lawmakers, local residents and government contractors in the running to operate them."
"The proposed centers are so large that some could house as many as 8,000 detainees at once, according to a DHS spreadsheet of more than 20 potential locations that was verified by NBC News. The largest federal prison in the U.S., for example, has roughly 4,000 inmates."
"At least three facilities have already been secured."
Comment: "Two government contractors told NBC News they were worried that new warehouses — and the large numbers of immigrants who would be housed in them — would present safety problems."
"Hiring staff members for more than 2,500 people, especially in more rural areas, would be very challenging, an executive said."
"At one site, building a detention center the size DHS has requested could drain the town’s water supply, the executive said."
"Another contractor told NBC News that any detention facility with more than 1,500 detainees would be risky."
Comment: "ICE currently houses more than 70,000 immigrants in 224 facilities nationwide, according to the agency’s data from early February."
"The single ICE facility already in operation, at Fort Bliss, Texas, not far from the U.S.-Mexico border, has been plagued with problems. At least three immigrants died at the facility over 44 days; the medical examiner ruled one of the deaths a homicide."
Ohio’s GOP governor: Ending TPS for Haitians would be ‘blow to the economy’
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5725642-ohio-gov-defends-haitian-tps/
Comment: "Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) defended Haitians under temporary protected status (TPS) who reside in his state, three days after a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from revoking such status from hundreds of thousands of migrants from the Caribbean country."
" 'If they lose temporary protected status and they no longer can work and the companies can’t employ them, that’s a blow to the economy, that’s a blow to the state,' DeWine told host Dana Bash Thursday on CNN’s 'Inside Politics.' "
Georgia army veteran faces deportation after 50 years in U.S.: "Thank you for your service...should mean something"
https://www.cbsnews.com/atlanta/news/georgia-veteran-to-be-deported/
Comment: "An Army veteran from Covington, Georgia, who has lived in the U.S. for more than 50 years faces imminent deportation.
"Godfrey Wade, a Jamaican-born veteran, has been in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody for nearly five months. His attorney says an emergency stay of removal was denied, but an appeal is pending."
Comment: "Wade came to the U.S. lawfully in 1975 as a teenager. He enlisted in the Army, served overseas, and was honorably discharged. 'That was his foundation, and he took pride in it and made us believe in the U.S. Army,' said his daughter Emmanuela Wade."
Comment: "Wade's path to deportation began on Sept. 13, 2025, when he was pulled over for failing to use a turn signal in Conyers. He was arrested for driving without a license. Soon after, ICE detained him due to a 2014 removal order stemming from a 2007 bounced check and a 2006 simple assault charge. According to his attorney, the assault involved a domestic argument where 'a glass of milk was spilled and pots and pans were knocked to the floor. No physical violence was ever alleged.' Wade paid the bounced check and related fines in full."
Comment: "Wade's attorney said the removal order was issued when Wade did not show up for a 2014 hearing he was never notified of. Court records show hearing notices sent to an address used by ICE were returned as undeliverable. Wade was unaware of the removal order until his arrest."
Comment: One of the "worst of the worst?" Don't think so!
Comment: These are the types of people picked up to achieve Stephen Miller's immigrant arrest quota.
Video: ‘No excuse’ for immigration agents’ excess use of force, says former DHS head Napolitano - February 3, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpCUePL_Y70
Several of these Americans experienced aggressive encounters with Trump’s DHS. Now, they’re telling their stories
https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/03/us/testimony-dhs-ice-dc-vis
NPR: His mistaken deportation was thought to be unique. But 'the problem is getting worse'
All immigration officers in Minneapolis will start wearing body cameras, Noem says
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/immigration-officers-minneapolis-body-cameras/
Comment: What about in the rest of the United States?
DHS’s account of two Venezuelans shot by border patrol falls apart in court: ‘a smear campaign’
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/02/portland-venezuelans-shot-border-patrol-court
Comment: "But court records obtained by the Guardian reveal a Department of Justice prosecutor later directly contradicted DHS’s Tren de Aragua statements in court, telling a judge: 'We’re not suggesting … [Niño-Moncada] is a gang member.' An FBI affidavit issued following the incident also suggests that in the previous shooting cited by DHS, Zambrano-Contreras was not a suspect, but rather a reported victim of a sexual assault and robbery. Neither Niño-Moncada or Zambrano-Contreras have prior criminal convictions, their lawyers have said."
"Immigration and criminal justice experts who reviewed the case records characterized the federal government’s communications as a 'smear campaign' against the two Venezuelan immigrants, with mischaracterizations of their pasts and unsubstantiated allegations of criminality."
Comment: "Questions about the Oregon shooting come as the Trump administration faces scrutiny over its false statements, disproven by video evidence, about the killings of Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis and as cases of alleged 'assaults' on immigration agents have repeatedly fallen apart in court."
" 'The federal government cannot be trusted. Our default position should be skepticism and understanding they lie very regularly,' said Sameer Kanal, Portland city councilor. 'There’s a playbook of demonizing people … and claiming vehicles were used as ‘weapons’. We see a pattern of victim-blaming, and it’s important we push back, because it’s propaganda.' ”
Two CBP Agents Identified in Alex Pretti Shooting
Comment: "The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez."
ICE halts "all movement" at Texas detention facility due to measles infections
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ice-dilley-center-texas-measles-cases/
DHS keeps making false claims about people. It's part of a broader pattern
Former officials say DHS tactics undermine public trust after series of contradictory statements
https://abcnews.com/US/former-officials-dhs-tactics-undermine-public-trust-after/story?id=129717921
Comment: "It's 'incredibly irresponsible to rush to conclusions,' an ex-ICE official says."
ICE claim that a man shattered his skull running into wall triggers tension at a Minnesota hospital
Comment: "Intensive care nurses immediately doubted the word of federal immigration officers when they arrived at a Minneapolis hospital with a Mexican immigrant who had broken bones in his face and skull."
"Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents initially claimed Alberto Castañeda Mondragón had tried to flee while handcuffed and 'purposefully ran headfirst into a brick wall,' according to court documents filed by a lawyer seeking his release."
"But staff members at Hennepin County Medical Center determined that could not possibly account for the fractures and bleeding throughout the 31-year-old’s brain, said three nurses familiar with the case."
"“It was laughable, if there was something to laugh about,” said one of the nurses, who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss patient care. 'There was no way this person ran headfirst into a wall.' ”
"The explanation from ICE is an example of recent run-ins between immigration officers and health care workers that have contributed to mounting friction at Minneapolis hospitals. Workers at the Hennepin County facility say ICE officers have restrained patients in defiance of hospital rules and stayed at their sides for days. The agents have also lingered around the campus and pressed people for proof of citizenship."
"Since the start of Operation Metro Surge, President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota, ICE officers have become such a fixture at the hospital that administrators issued new protocols for how employees should engage with them. Some employees complain that they have been intimidated to the point that they avoid crossing paths with agents while at work and use encrypted communications to guard against any electronic eavesdropping."
"Similar operations have been carried out by federal agents in Los Ageles, Chicago and other cities, where opponents have criticized what they say are overly aggressive tactics. It’s not clear how many people have required hospital care while in detention."
I’m a former FBI agent who studies policing, and here’s how federal agents in Minneapolis are undermining basic law enforcement principles
Video: BREAKING: Ohio to be ICE's next target, MS NOW confirms - January 30, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzRLlowH-00
DHS ramps up surveillance in immigration raids, sweeping in citizens
ICE has expanded its mass surveillance efforts. Online activists are fighting back.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/29/ice-tracking-tools-protesters-00755703
Comment: "President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill gave ICE a major funding injection, which the agency has used to boost its surveillance toolkit. Its vast expansion of domestic spying equipment includes contracts with Israeli spyware company Paragon and contracts with Palantir, as well as deals with a forensic phone-cracking tool used for analyzing data on cellphones; a data broker, which collects and sells sensitive digital information on Americans, including geolocation history and addresses; and facial recognition technology used to conduct ICE operations in U.S. cities."
"The Trump administration has also given ICE permission to access troves of sensitive data housed in other federal agencies — including data from the IRS, Medicaid and Social Security Administration."
Comment: To see article comments on how Americans are fighting back, reference our "Resistance to Trump Agenda" news page.
Minneapolis ICE watchers face violence, teargas and arrests. They keep showing up
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/29/minneapolis-ice-observers
Comment: "Bystanders say they are determined to keep recording federal agents’ actions: ‘There will be absolutely no accountability unless people are documenting’"
Comment: Read the accounts of ICE violence and brutality for citizens taking legal actions of observation.
Sen. Susan Collins announces end to ICE large-scale operations in Maine after talks with Noem
https://apnews.com/article/ice-maine-immigration-arrests-collins-ff774636a6e9825fb957e70a10c9ab01
Comment: "Federal immigration officials have ceased their 'enhanced operations' in Maine, the site of an enforcement surge and hundreds of arrests since last week, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said Thursday."
"Collins, a Republican, announced the development after saying she had spoken directly with Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem."
" “There are currently no ongoing or planned large-scale ICE operations here,” Collins said in a statement, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 'I have been urging Secretary Noem and others in the administration to get ICE to reconsider its approach to immigration enforcement in the state.' ”
"The announcement came after President Donald Trump seemed to signal a willingness to ease tensions in Minneapolis after a second deadly shooting there by federal immigration agents."
Comment: Is it possible that the Trump administration is finally starting to come to its senses?
AP News: Trump's border czar suggests a possible drawdown in Minnesota, but only after ‘cooperation’
In a battle over how to carry out Trump's immigration agenda, one faction has triumphed — for now
Comment: "President Donald Trump’s decision to shake up the leadership of his immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota is the latest twist in a monthslong power struggle inside his administration over one of his top policy priorities, according to two law enforcement officials, one administration official and a person familiar with the situation."
"It marks a triumph for one camp of immigration enforcement officials — namely border czar Tom Homan and Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott — who have publicly advocated for a targeted approach focused on arresting criminals who are in the country illegally."
"And it is a comedown for the other faction, led by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, her top adviser Corey Lewandowski and Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino, who pushed for large sweeps of immigrants and aggressive tactics such as using chemical agents and rapelling into apartment buildings from Black Hawk helicopters."
Video: Federal officers push AP reporters back to their car as they document operation - January 28, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHzI6MbDNUw
Video: Prosecutor says immigration agents can be charged despite immunity claims - January 28, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh4RcS-qibQ
Comment: "After two U.S. citizens — Renee Good and Alex Pretti — were shot and killed in Minnesota earlier this month while protesting the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, the incidents are raising questions about whether any federal agents involved could face charges."
"Vice President JD Vance has suggested that federal immigration officers have 'absolute immunity' from prosecution — remarks he later walked back. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty told Scripps News that she has the authority to charge anyone who commits a crime in her jurisdiction."
Video: DHS sends initial report to Congress on Alex Pretti killing - January 28, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjulKBVsotE
Deportations, ICE street arrests are way up — and so are arrests of immigrants with no criminal convictions
Comment: "The jump in arrests and transfers to ICE custody resulted in a sevenfold increase in arrests of people with no convictions, the analysis found."
How ICE is using facial recognition in Minnesota
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/27/ice-facial-recognition-minnesota
Comment: "Immigration enforcement agents across the US are increasingly relying on a new smartphone app with facial recognition technology."
"The app is named Mobile Fortify. Simply pointing a phone’s camera at their intended target and scanning the person’s face allows Mobile Fortify to pull data on an individual from multiple federal and state databases, some of which federal courts have deemed too inaccurate for arrest warrants."
"The US Department of Homeland Security has used Mobile Fortify to scan faces and fingerprints in the field more than 100,000 times, according to a lawsuit brought by Illinois and Chicago against the federal agency, earlier this month. That’s a drastic shift from immigration enforcement’s earlier use of facial recognition technology, which was otherwise limited largely to investigations and ports of entry and exit, legal experts say."
"The app’s existence was first uncovered last summer by 404 Media, through leaked emails. 404 Media also reported, in October, about internal DHS documents that say people cannot refuse to be scanned by Mobile Fortify."
" 'Here we have ICE using this technology in exactly the confluence of conditions that lead to the highest false match rates,' says Nathan Freed Wessler, deputy director of the ACLU’s speech, privacy and technology project. 'A false result from this technology can turn somebody’s life totally upside down.' The larger implications for democracy are chilling, too, he notes: 'ICE is effectively trying to create a biometric checkpoint society.' "
Comment: "Underpinning resistance to ICE’s use of facial recognition are doubts about the technology’s efficacy. Research has uncovered higher error rates in identifying women and people of color than for scans of white faces. ICE’s use of the technology is often occurring in intense and fast-moving situations, which makes misidentification more likely. Those being scanned may be people of color. They could be turning away from officers because they don’t want to be identified. The lighting could be poor."
"The Illinois lawsuit against the DHS takes particular issue with the federal agency’s use of Mobile Fortify and argued that the app goes far beyond what Congress allows with regards to the collection of biometric data. The complaint cited several examples in which federal agents appeared to take photos or scans of US citizens across Illinois without their consent."
"Democratic lawmakers in Congress introduced a bill on 15 January that would outright ban the homeland security department from using Mobile Fortify or similar apps, except for identification at points of entry. This follows a September letter, sent by senators to ICE, asking for more information about the app and declaring that 'even when accurate, this type of on-demand surveillance threatens the privacy and free speech rights of everyone in the United States'."
CNN: A federal judge has blocked the possible deportation of a 5-year-old and his father for now
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/27/us/judge-blocks-deportation-minneapolis-5-year-old
DHS report says 2 agents fired weapons in Alex Pretti shooting
https://abcnews.com/Politics/dhs-report-2-agents-fired-weapons-alex-pretti/story?id=129614976
Comment: Article link includes video.
The rise and fall of Gregory Bovino, US border patrol’s menacing provoker-in-chief
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/27/gregory-bovino-analysis-minneapolis-alex-pretti
Video: 'Glad to see him go': MN AG reacts to Border Patrol chief Bovino's exit - January 26, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eez5WYe9y4s
Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino returning to position in El Centro: Sources
Comment: "It comes as Bovino and some Border Patrol agents are leaving Minneapolis."
Comment: Linked article also incudes a video.
Walz says Trump pledged to ‘do things differently’ on ICE surge
Comment: "[Minnesota] Gov. Tim Walz said that President Donald Trump pledged to “do things differently” on the federal immigration surge during a 10-minute Monday morning call."
" 'Whether it was morality or bad optics and poll numbers, whatever has happened here there’s a definite change of tone. There’s definitely a more collaborative tone. I’m going to take them for their word right now,' since Saturday’s killing of Alex Pretti by a federal agent in Minneapolis, Walz told MPR News host Clay Masters Monday afternoon."
"He said Trump agreed to consider reducing the number of immigration enforcement agents in the Twin Cities and ensure the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension could conduct independent investigations into the killings of Pretti and Renee Macklin Good."
"Walz said he planned to talk to Tom Homan, the federal 'border czar' that Trump has ordered to oversee operations. Homan’s expected to arrive in the Twin Cities Monday night. Walz said he’s been told that Greg Bovino, commander at large for the Border Patrol, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem will not be returning to the Twin Cities during the surge."
"Bovino and Noem had called Pretti a domestic terrorist. Video and eyewitness testimony contradicts what federal officials are saying about Pretti’s killing."
Video: Border Patrol 'untrained and unskilled' for policing in urban areas, ex-CBP head says - January 26, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4N_LgBy-Nc
Trump moved to cut funding for ICE body cameras and reduced oversight
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/26/ice-body-cameras-immigration-trump
Comment: "Donald Trump’s administration opposed efforts to expand the use of body cameras by immigration officers and sharply cut oversight staffing as it surged officers into US cities, including Minneapolis, where agents have fatally shot two American citizen protesters in January."
"Footage from bystanders of the two fatal shootings, including one by the border patrol that killed the ICU nurse Alex Pretti on Saturday, has underscored the power of video in checking official statements that have portrayed people who have been shot as provoking violent encounters with immigration officers."
"Cameras worn by officers have long been central to police reform efforts for this reason. The Trump administration, however, moved last year to slow-walk a pilot program to give Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers body cameras, urging Congress in June to cut the funding by 75% and bucking a nationwide trend of cameras for law enforcement. Officials in 2025 also placed on paid leave nearly all staffers working for three internal watchdogs conducting oversight of immigration agencies, undermining their capacity to investigate abuses."
Comment: This is why concerned citizens try to video ICE actions and provide witness testimony, so as to provide some degree of accountability.
Comment: Why do you think the Trump administration fights the provision of body cameras and also cuts oversight? Given the massive funding increase for ICE and DHS, it is difficult for the administration to argue that there is insufficient money.
Minneapolis becomes ground zero in Trump's immigration crackdown: Arrests, protests and 2 fatal shootings by agents
Video: Video analysis of Pretti shooting contradicts government's account - January 26, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jiUf8zg-QU
Comment: "Footage shows Minnesota man was not holding gun when killed. NBC News analyzed multiple angles of the shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis."
Support for Abolishing ICE Is Surging Among Republicans
Comment: "A new YouGov poll taken on Saturday, the day of Pretti’s fatal shooting, showed 19 percent of Republicans and 48 percent of American adults across the political spectrum voicing support for abolishing ICE."
"That marks a notable shift from when YouGov pollsters asked the same question last June, as Trump was ramping up his immigration crackdown. At that time only 9 percent of Republicans and 27 percent of Americans overall backed abolishing ICE. Support for shuttering the agency has also surged among independents, with 47 percent backing its elimination in the Saturday poll compared to 25 percent in June."
Comment: Most Democrats believe that, although immigration must be controlled and be done in a legal manner, the current ICE organization under Kristi Noem must be significantly overhauled. Some believe this reorganization might require ICE to be dismantled and its required functions, minus the chaos/confusion/cruelty, reallocated to one or more new organizations. Others believe that the current ICE organization can be salvaged with new leadership, emphasis, restraints and oversight.
Judges, inundated with immigration cases, don’t mince words on ICE tactics
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/26/minnesota-immigration-cases-ice-00746275
Comment: "A Myanmar refugee nursing a five-month-old, arrested and shipped to Texas. A Mexican man who sustained severe skull injuries during an arrest by ICE and was shackled in the hospital against doctors’ wishes. A Kenyan woman detained after picking up seizure medication. A Ukrainian refugee arrested for no apparent reason."
"In other words, an ordinary weekend for federal judges in Minnesota during Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration’s mass deportation push in the Twin Cities."
"The district’s seven full-time judges and 10 partially retired judges have been inundated by hundreds of emergency lawsuits from immigrants targeted by ICE during the operation. They’re working weekends to manage the backlog and juggling a crush of individual cases under intense national attention."
"And in all but a handful of cases, those judges have ruled that the Trump administration violated the law, sometimes flagrantly."
"The judges, representing appointees of nearly every president since Ronald Reagan, have grown increasingly alarmed by what they see as a pattern of defiance by the administration, shocking behavior by ICE and rampant targeting of people with no criminal history, despite Trump’s claim to be targeting 'the worst of the worst'."
A minute-by-minute timeline of the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti involving federal agents
Comment: "ABC News compiled a timeline based on six verified videos of the incident."
Video: Videos show different angles of fatal shooting of Alex Pretti - January 24, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkLd-6i8u70
ICE launches investigation into ace of spade cards in Eagle County - Axios Denver
https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2026/01/23/ice-launches-investigation-ace-of-spade-cards
Comment: "ICE condemned the placing of ace of spade cards on vehicles in Eagle County, adding it's investigating the incident, the agency said Friday."
Comment: "The cards were found inside two abandoned cars belonging to people who ICE detained in the Western Slope county on Wednesday, Alex Sanchez, president and CEO of Voces Unidas, tells us."
"According to Sanchez, family members of the people detained found the cards, which were printed with the address of an ICE field office and detention facility in Aurora."
Comment: "U.S. soldiers used the ace of spades as an intimidation tactic during the Vietnam War, something Voces Unidas in a blog post Wednesday alleged immigration authorities were attempting to replicate."
Comment: According to Wikipedia, "During the Vietnam War, the ace of spades was used as a tool of psychological warfare as it was common practice by US soldiers to leave the ace card on the bodies of killed Vietnamese."
'We're being terrorized.' What Mainers are seeing as ICE launches operation in the state
DHS Excuse For Dragging U.S. Citizen Out of His Home Spectacularly Falls Apart
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/dhs-excuse-dragging-u-citizen-174653672.html
Comment: "The Department of Homeland Security’s excuse for dragging a U.S. citizen out of his home in his underwear fell apart when was it discovered the actual suspect had been in prison for over a year."
"This past Sunday, immigration agents stormed the home of ChongLy 'Scott' Thao in St. Paul, Minnesota. Thao was detained so abruptly that the agents whisked him away in his underwear despite the frigid winter weather, sparking outrage from social media users who watched viral footage of the incident."
"Thao said the agents drove him 'to the middle of nowhere' before making him exit the vehicle to take additional photos. Not long after, they discovered he was a U.S. citizen with no criminal record. He was returned after approximately an hour."
Immigration officers assert sweeping power to enter homes without a judge’s warrant, memo says
https://apnews.com/article/ice-arrests-warrants-minneapolis-trump-00d0ab0338e82341fd91b160758aeb2d
Comment: "Federal immigration officers are asserting sweeping power to forcibly enter people’s homes without a judge's warrant, according to an internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo obtained by The Associated Press, marking a sharp reversal of longstanding guidance meant to respect constitutional limits on government searches."
"The memo authorizes ICE officers to use force to enter a residence based solely on a more narrow administrative warrant to arrest someone with a final order of removal, a move that advocates say collides with Fourth Amendment protections and upends years of advice given to immigrant communities."
Comment: "For years, immigrant advocates, legal aid groups and local governments have urged people not to open their doors to immigration agents unless they are shown a warrant signed by a judge. That guidance is rooted in Supreme Court rulings that generally prohibit law enforcement from entering a home without judicial approval. The ICE directive directly undercuts that advice at a time when arrests are accelerating under the administration’s immigration crackdown."
"The memo itself has not been widely shared within the agency, according to a whistleblower complaint, but its contents have been used to train new ICE officers who are being deployed into cities and towns to implement the president’s immigration crackdown. New ICE hires and those still in training are being told to follow the memo’s guidance instead of written training materials that actually contradict the memo, according to the whistleblower disclosure."
"It is unclear how broadly the directive has been applied in immigration enforcement operations. The Associated Press witnessed ICE officers ramming through the front door of the home of a Liberian man, Garrison Gibson, with a deportation order from 2023 in Minneapolis on Jan. 11, wearing heavy tactical gear and with their rifles drawn."
"Documents reviewed by The AP revealed that the agents only had an administrative warrant — meaning there was no judge who authorized the raid on private property."
"The change is almost certain to meet legal challenges and stiff criticism from advocacy groups and immigrant-friendly state and local governments that have spent years successfully urging people not to open their doors unless ICE shows them a warrant signed by a judge."
Comment: "The memo, signed by the acting director of ICE, Todd Lyons, and dated May 12, 2025, says: 'Although the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not historically relied on administrative warrants alone to arrest aliens subject to final orders of removal in their place of residence, the DHS Office of the General Counsel has recently determined that the U.S. Constitution, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the immigration regulations do not prohibit relying on administrative warrants for this purpose.' ”
"The memo does not detail how that determination was made nor what its legal repercussions might be."
Comment: Given that the memo was not widely shared and that written training materials contradicted the information found in the memo, it suggests that ICE suspected (and perhaps knew) that the memo guidance was unconstitutional.
Renee Good was shot in the head, autopsy commissioned by her family finds
Comment: "Renee Good was shot three times and grazed a fourth time during the Jan. 7 encounter with an ICE officer, according to findings released by her family's attorneys."
ICE operation comes to Maine over local officials' objections
ICE launches latest immigration arrest operation, sending deportation agents to Maine
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ice-operation-maine-deportation-agents/
Comment: "A DHS official, who requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, told CBS News that Somali immigrants are among those being targeted by ICE as part of the operation."
" 'There's an established community of immigrants from Somalia in parts of Maine, including Lewiston, the state's second largest city. Refugees and immigrants from other African countries, including the Republic of the Congo, have also settled in Maine in recent years, though its population remains overwhelmingly White.' "
"Immigrants from Somalia have been a frequent target of President Trump, who often describes them in harsh and derogatory ways. To partially justify its massive immigration crackdown in the Minneapolis area, the Trump administration has cited a fraud scandal in Minnesota implicating members of the state's Somali community."
" 'We're cracking down on more than $19 billion in fraud that was stolen by Somalian bandits. Can you believe that Somalians turned out to be higher IQ than we thought?' Mr. Trump said during a speech in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday. 'We said, these are low IQ people. How do they go into Minnesota and steal all that money?' "
Comment: Trump profiling by race and country of origin, despite Maine being halfway across the country from Minnesota.
ICE targets Somali communities in Maine in new Trump administration crackdown
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/21/trump-maine-ice-somali-immigration-crackdown
DHS launches 'Operation Catch of the Day' enforcement action in Maine
https://abcnews.com/US/dhs-launches-operation-catch-day-enforcement-action-maine/story?id=129428764
Comment: "The operation is part of the administration's national immigration crackdown."
Video: Who is Greg Bovino, the official in charge of Trump's border patrol operations - January 20, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvZW-_4vcks
Trump's "roving patrols" are closing in on Americans
https://www.axios.com/2026/01/20/trump-ice-border-patrol-us-citizens-detained
Comment: "Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is going all-in to defend immigration officers who've detained U.S. citizens, even as the number of incidents continues to rise."
Comment: "The government has blamed media 'fear-mongering' for the negative attention. But it's locked in court battles over whether its sweeping immigration checks — called 'roving patrols' — violate the U.S. Constitution."
"U.S. citizens aren't required to carry around documentation proving their nationality, and agents must have probable cause specific to that individual to ask a person to see their papers."
"At least 170 U.S. citizens were detained by ICE through October of 2025, according to a ProPublica investigation that was denied by Noem."
Recruiter pitches joining the military to Minneapolis high school students to protect their families from ICE | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/19/politics/recruiter-military-ice-deportation
Third immigrant detainee at facility in El Paso has died, ICE says
Comment: "A third undocumented immigrant detained at a sprawling tent camp in the Texas desert has died, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Sunday, in the third such death in 44 days.
Comment: " 'He died of a presumed suicide; however, the official cause of his death remains under investigation,' ICE said in the release. ICE did not immediately respond to an email asking why it presumes Diaz died by suicide."
Man arrested by ICE in Minneapolis dies while under federal agency's custody in Texas
https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/man-dies-ice-custody-texas-minneapolis-minnesota/
Men detained in El Salvador's notorious prison detail harrowing experiences: "You're in hell"
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-deported-venezuelans-endured-at-cecot-60-minutes/
Comment: This article also contains a "60 Minutes" VIDEO (17 minutes) which should be watched in its entirety. The article text often follows the dialogue from the video. The allegations, often substantiated with supporting evidence, are truly outrageous.
‘My hands were really shaky’: high-school journalist documents ICE raids
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/18/minneapolis-ice-raids-high-school
Comment: "Lila Dominguez was working on an article as agents came on to school grounds – their presence has jolted Minneapolis’s young people"
Comment: "Dominguez is one of the city’s tens of thousands of students living in the middle of ICE’s surge into their communities. Soon after agents came on to school grounds at Roosevelt, Minneapolis Public Schools announced it would cancel school for two days and give students the option to attend virtually through mid-February."
"Dominguez started Roosevelt high school’s digital newspaper a few months back. Her instinct after ICE came to campus on the same day as the shooting: write about it, tell her classmates what was happening. Agents had used chemical irritants outside the school and detained a staffer. The school had locked the doors to protect those inside during the chaos, but staff and students saw agents in action."
" 'ICE Needs To Get Out Of Minneapolis' read the headline of a column Dominguez wrote that day, which pinged around the internet, far beyond her school community and her expectations. She called for ICE agents to leave town, a frequent refrain in the Twin Cities where thousands of federal agents now roam."
" 'It’s hard to process these things, especially when they are happening at our front doors,' she wrote on 7 January. 'The second I got home from Roosevelt today at 5[pm] the first thing I did was hug my dad tight. It is so important to be with the people you love during this time.' "
"As ICE agents have moved further into the suburban communities surrounding Minneapolis, their presence has affected more young people. A parent was detained at a bus stop in the suburb of Crystal, Minnesota while waiting to get their child on the bus. The Robbinsdale school district confirmed the detention and said all students, including the student involved, were able to safely get on the school bus and get to school."
Comment: "Schools districts throughout the metro area have reported lower attendance. Some are allowing remote learning. They’re working on protocols for what to do when ICE comes on campus. One public charter school in another suburb, Richfield, said it would temporarily move to remote learning after its attendance had dropped below 40%."
Comment: The linked article describes the experiences and emotions, including fear and anxiety, of Minneapolis students during the ICE enforcement surge.
Kristi Noem clashes with CBS’ Margaret Brennan in tense interview
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/18/noem-interview-cbs-margaret-brennan-00735775
Comment: "The DHS secretary disagreed with Brennan on a series of topics related to the White House’s ongoing immigration crackdown."
Amid ICE clashes, New Hampshire bishop urges clergy to prepare their wills
Trump is threatening to cut funding from sanctuary cities. Here's what to know
https://www.npr.org/2026/01/17/nx-s1-5679562/trump-sanctuary-cities-ice-immigration
Comment: "With tensions already high in Minnesota after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer killed Renee Macklin Good, the Trump administration is ramping up the pressure on cities and states to cooperate with its immigration crackdown."
"The administration had already surged federal agents — sometimes accompanied by military troops — to Los Angeles, Portland, Chicago, Charlotte, Memphis, Washington D.C. and New Orleans."
"Now the White House is threatening to cut funding for sanctuary cities. Here's a brief explanation of how local governments interact with federal immigration enforcement, and what the White House can and can't require from them."
Comment: "President Trump threatened this week to cut 'significant' federal funding to sanctuary cities. He hasn't said exactly what money his administration wants to cut, though he gave a deadline of Feb. 1."
"Nor has Trump said exactly which cities or states will be targeted, though the Department of Justice did publish a list of more than 30 cities, states and counties in August. (That list includes the state of Minnesota, though not Minneapolis or St. Paul or their respective counties).
"In remarks on Tuesday at the Detroit Economic Club, Trump seemed to be focused on places that limit their cooperation with ICE."
Comment: ""This is not the first time President Trump has made a threat like this. During his first term, the president tried to withhold some federal funding from sanctuary cities. More recently, Trump signed an executive order nearly a year ago directing the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security to make a list of sanctuary cities and withhold money from them."
"But courts have sided against the administration in nearly every case, saying that the federal government cannot use funding to coerce state and local governments into changing their policies on immigration."
Comment: "There's no exact legal definition of 'sanctuary city'. But broadly speaking, the term refers to any city, state or county that limits its cooperation with federal immigration authorities."
"The legal questions here are nuanced. Local law enforcement cannot block federal agents from doing their work but courts have said that state and city officers can withhold some cooperation."
"The legal arguments are rooted in the U.S. Constitution and the division of powers between the federal government, which is in charge of immigration enforcement, and state and local governments, which run their own police and sheriffs' departments."
"Courts have backed states that don't want to share data on residents in their records, including information about driver's licenses. And in many places, state and local law enforcement will not honor what's known as a 'detainer request' from ICE, which essentially asks police to hold someone in detention until immigration authorities can take custody."
Comment: "Virtually all the cities and states the administration has focused on so far are led by Democrats, who don't seem to be backing down after Trump's threat to cut federal money."
" 'This is just a threat to intimidate states like New York into bowing into submission. And that is something we'll never do,' New York Governor Kathy Hochul said earlier this week. 'You touch any more money from the state of New York, we'll see you in court.' "
Comment: "In the past, ICE has found that it's faster and safer to arrest people who are already being held in local jails. And that's one reason ICE was able to make so many arrests during the administration of President Obama, for example, before sanctuary policies were as widespread as they are now."
Comment: If ICE were to limit their arrests to those held in local jails, they would be more likely to deport the "worst of the worst." However, instead they are employing a quota system devised by Stephen Miller that goes after most immigrants, including those who have committed no serious crimes, have overstayed their Visas, or have lost their temporary protected status.
Comment: "But Democrats say the administration is deliberately creating confrontations in cities and states that are led by political opponents, provoking chaotic scenes on purpose for reasons that go beyond simply enforcing immigration law."
'We protect our kids': Parents and neighbors guard streets around Minneapolis schools amid ICE fears
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/17/us/ice-shooting-minneapolis-protests-renee-good-hnk
Comment: "Makeshift groups of parents are using walkie-talkies, Signal group chats and whistles to alert the community to ICE’s presence near schools in the city."
Video: Know your rights: What to do if you encounter ICE - January 17, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulgzQQF2Iqw
Comment: "Rosanna Berardi, managing partner of Berardi Immigration Law, answers your most searched question about interactions with federal ICE agents."
ICE says Cuban immigrant died while attempting suicide. A witness says guards pinned and choked him
https://apnews.com/article/ice-immigration-detention-death-texas-2bfb614b2b222803d309f338357d04eb
Alabama uses Japanese American Internment era law to charge immigrants who don’t self-register
Comment: "Alabama is finding new ways to criminally charge undocumented immigrants. Federal courts in the state are using a law last applied during the U.S. internment of people of Japanese descent during World War II to charge immigrants who don’t register themselves."
" 'The Trump administration is attempting to effectively criminalize unlawful presence in the United States,' said immigration attorney Danny Upton, 'to facilitate (immigrants) own eventual removal.' ”
"The Trump Administration reinterpreted the law in 2025 and a handful of states have started pursuing charges."
Comment: Does this mean that an undocumented immigrant (often just a civil violation of immigration law) can be criminally charged because they didn't comply with a "law last applied during the U.S. internment of people of Japanese descent during World War II?" Alabama seems to be pulling out all the stops, no matter how ridiculous. As far as we know, nobody here illegally has tried to attack Pearl Harbor or any other military installation.
Minneapolis couple says ICE released tear gas under their family vehicle with 6 children inside
https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/ice-tear-gassed-family-vehicle-with-6-children-inside/
1 day after judge orders release of Minneapolis resident Garrison Gibson, agents re-arrest him at immigration check-in
Comment: "A Liberian Minnesotan is back in custody Friday, his lawyer said, a day after a judge ordered him released because federal agents broke down his door in Minneapolis to arrest him without a judicial warrant."
"The dramatic arrest of Garrison Gibson last weekend by armed immigration agents using a battering ram was captured on video. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan ruled the arrest unlawful on Thursday, but Gibson was detained again when he appeared at an immigration office, attorney Marc Prokosch said."
ICE's detainee population reaches new record high of 73,000, as crackdown widens
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ices-detainee-population-record-high-of-73000/
Noem announces new ICE deputy director
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5692150-ice-deputy-director-charles-wall/
Trump's mass deportations are in big trouble
https://www.axios.com/2026/01/15/trump-deportations-ice-polls-immigration
Aggressive tactics used on Minneapolis protesters raise concerns about federal officer training
Comment: "Federal immigration agents deployed to Minneapolis have used aggressive crowd-control tactics that have become a dominant concern in the aftermath of the deadly shooting of a woman in her car last week."
"They have pointed rifles at demonstrators and deployed chemical irritants early in confrontations. They have broken vehicle windows and pulled occupants from cars. They have scuffled with protesters and shoved them to the ground."
"The government says the actions are necessary to protect officers from violent attacks. The encounters in turn have riled up protesters even more, especially as videos of the incidents are shared widely on social media."
"What is unfolding in Minneapolis reflects a broader shift in how the federal government is asserting its authority during protests, relying on immigration agents and investigators to perform crowd-management roles traditionally handled by local police who often have more training in public order tactics and de-escalating large crowds."
Comment: "On Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota asked a federal judge to intervene, filing a lawsuit on behalf of six residents seeking an emergency injunction to limit how federal agents operate during protests, including restrictions on the use of chemical agents, the pointing of firearms at non-threatening individuals and interference with lawful video recording."
Comment: "Maguire said what he’s seeing in Minneapolis feels like a perfect storm for bad consequences."
" 'You can’t even say this doesn’t meet best practices. That’s too high a bar. These don’t seem to meet generally accepted practices,' he said."
" 'We’re seeing routinely substandard law enforcement practices that would just never be accepted at the local level,' he added. 'Then there seems to be just an absence of standard accountability practices.' ”
ICE error meant some recruits were sent into field offices without proper training, sources say
Comment: "As Immigration and Customs Enforcement was racing to add 10,000 new officers to its force, an artificial intelligence error in how their applications were processed sent many new recruits into field offices without proper training, according to two law enforcement officials familiar with the error."
"The AI tool used by ICE was tasked with looking for potential applicants with law enforcement experience to be placed into the agency’s “LEO program” — short for law enforcement officer — for new recruits who are already law enforcement officers. It requires four weeks of online training."
"Applicants without law enforcement backgrounds are required to take an eight-week in-person course at ICE’s academy at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Georgia, which includes courses in immigration law and handling a gun, as well as physical fitness tests."
" 'They were using AI to scan résumés and found out a bunch of the people who were LEOs weren’t LEOs,' one of the officials said."
"The AI tool was initially the mechanism used to categorize résumés, the officials said and flagged anyone with the word 'officer' on their résumés — for example, a 'compliance officer' or people who said they aspired to be ICE officers."
"The majority of the new applicants were flagged as law enforcement officers, the officials said, but many had no experience in any local police or federal law enforcement force."
Comment: Just how incompetent can ICE administration be? Can we blame AI for Kristi Noem?
Anti-Trump US reporter says she was offered job at ICE after ‘minimal vetting’
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/14/slate-reporter-ice-job-offer
Comment: "Slate journalist Laura Jedeed documented hiring process and said she got offer despite not completing paperwork"
Half of Americans think ICE is making American cities less safe, CNN poll finds | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/14/politics/ice-minnesota-cnn-poll
US apologizes for mistake in deporting Massachusetts college student, but defends her removal
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/us-apologizes-deporting-college-student-175642004.html
"The Trump administration apologized in court for a 'mistake' in the deportation of a Massachusetts college student who was detained trying to fly home to surprise her family for Thanksgiving, but still argued the error should not affect her case."
"Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, a 19-year-old Babson College freshman, was detained at Boston’s airport on Nov. 20 and flown to Honduras two days later. Her removal came despite an emergency court order on Nov. 21 directing the government to keep her in Massachusetts or elsewhere in the United States for at least 72 hours."
Comment: "Her case is the latest involving a deportation carried out despite a court order."
Comment: " 'On behalf of the government, we want to sincerely apologize,' Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Sauter told the judge, saying the employee understands 'he made a mistake.' The violation, Sauter added, was 'an inadvertent mistake by one individual, not a willful act of violating a court order.' ”
US will suspend immigrant visa processing from 75 countries over public assistance concerns
https://apnews.com/article/trump-immigration-visas-79909bd01e9e1e3dedde144f865a1b9d
Comment: "The State Department said Wednesday it will suspend the processing of immigrant visas for citizens of 75 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Russia and Somalia, whose nationals the Trump administration has deemed likely to require public assistance while living in the United States."
Comment: This sounds like an exercise in subjective determination based upon a number of prejudicial factors.
Trump administration to shutter an immigration court, adding to judges' backlog
https://www.npr.org/2026/01/13/g-s1-105679/san-francisco-immigration-court-closure
Comment: "The Trump administration is ratcheting up the pressure on immigration courts and judges as it moves toward further constricting the due process available for immigrants."
"Court employees and judges at the San Francisco Immigration Court received a short email last week letting them know that their court at 100 Montgomery St. will be shutting its doors by the end of the year. All personnel will be transferred to the Concord Immigration Court, about 30 miles away, according to the email sent by Teresa Riley, the chief immigration judge, and obtained by NPR. "
Comment: "The situation in California isn't unique. In total, the Trump administration fired nearly 100 judges in 2025, including both newer judges and those with more experience, according to NPR's count cross-referenced with the judges' union and those in several of the individual courts. That number includes assistant chief immigration judges, or courthouse supervisors who also have their own dockets."
"The year-end string of layoffs included at least 19 experienced judges who had been with the agency for years, NPR has identified."
"The result is that courts across the country are starting 2026 with fewer than half the judges from a year ago as judges were fired, resigned or were reassigned. At least two courts — in Aurora, Colo., and in Oakdale, La. — have no judges left, just the court supervisor."
"Those courts haven't closed yet, but observers expect similar moves to shrink the number of immigration courts and adjudication centers in the country, which currently number 76."
"With fewer judges and courts to hear them, immigrants are seeing their cases pushed back as far as 2030. Many of these immigrants have already waited years for their chance to make their case before a judge. Lawyers say the delays make their clients more vulnerable to arrests and deportations, as part of the administration's push to broaden the scope of arrests."
Department of Homeland Security changes story of Maryland ICE shooting after local police release contradicting details | CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/13/us/ice-shooting-maryland-immigration-hnk
Video: Border czar Tom Homan claims sanctuary cities are restricting federal access to jails - January 13, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9Og57mScoA
Comment: "Trump border czar Tom Homan is calling for federal immigration agents to be let into local jails to pursue detained targets suspected of being in the country unlawfully."
Comment: The video also addresses other immigration issues.
Legal analyst breaks down questions surrounding ICE killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis
https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/legal-questions-ice-shooting-renee-good-minneapolis/
Comment: "The fatal shooting of Renee Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent has outraged many but is also strongly defended by President Trump and the Trump administration."
"The shooting raises many legal questions. Constitutional law professor David Schultz, who has taught a class on police, criminal and civil procedure, has some answers."
Comment: Please read the linked article for professor David Schultz's interpretation of the law.
Demands grow for ICE accountability, but Trump administration cutbacks leave fewer options
Comment: "Minnesota leaders and demonstrators are calling for accountability after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a 37-year-old woman during an operation. But the Trump administration has restructured key federal agencies in ways that leave fewer avenues for investigations that could determine whether the officer’s response was overly aggressive, legal experts said."
"The Department of Homeland Security has substantially cut back staff and sought to shutter three agencies, the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman and the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman, watchdogs that are tasked in part with investigating instances where there was a misuse of or excessive force by officers and agents. DHS officials have said the divisions were 'roadblocks' to immigration enforcement operations."
"A whistleblower report sent to Congress last year alleged that as a result, hundreds of complaints were left and that staffing had been cut so much that the agencies could not properly do their mandated work. Homeland Security officials have said the agencies are now just better streamlined."
"The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, which is typically involved in prosecutions of law enforcement officers accused of using excessive force, has lost hundreds of lawyers over the course of President Donald Trump’s second term in office. It dismissed lawsuits against a number of local police departments and ended investigations into patterns and practices of unconstitutional behavior, including in Minneapolis. Department officials have said the division is focusing on important administration priorities."
Comment: "Focusing on important administration priorities" like undermining the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights?
We Found More Than 40 Cases of Immigration Agents Using Banned Chokeholds and Other Moves That Can Cut Off Breathing
https://www.propublica.org/article/videos-ice-dhs-immigration-agents-using-chokeholds-citizens
Comment: "Chokeholds: We found over 40 cases of agents using chokeholds and other moves that can block breathing. 'I felt like I was going to pass out and die', said a 16-year-old citizen."
"Former Police Are Appalled: We showed former police and immigration officials videos of incidents. They said agents are out of control. One said it’s 'the kind of action which should get you fired.' ”
"Banned Tactics, No Punishment: There is a federal ban on chokeholds and similar tactics. But there is no sign of punishment for officers who’ve used them."
Trump admin ends protected status for Somalis amid Minneapolis crackdown
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/13/trump-administration-tps-somalis-minnesota-00724391
Comment: "The Trump administration will revoke temporary protected status for thousands of Somali nationals in the United States in the face of White House claims that the diaspora community in Minnesota participated in widespread fraud, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Tuesday."
"Noem told Fox News that Somalis with temporary protected status would be required to leave the country by March 17. She argued that conditions in Somalia have improved and added that 'allowing Somali nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to our national interest. We are putting Americans first.' ”
"In a separate social media post, the Department of Homeland Security wrote: 'Our message is clear. Go back to your own country, or we’ll send you back ourselves.' "
"The move would affect thousands of Somalis in the United States, though not the majority of the U.S. Somali community, many of which are already permanent residents or U.S. citizens. Yet the announcement comes as the federal government ramps up its immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota, the state with the largest Somali population in the United States."
Comment: How many of you believe that Kristi Noem has any clue about the "conditions in Somalia" and about the allegations of widespread fraud perpetrated by the Somalia community in Minnesota? How many of you believe that, instead, she is just enforcing the racist and prejudicial policies of Donald Trump?
Judge to temporarily block effort to end protections for relatives of citizens, green card holders
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/judge-temporarily-block-effort-end-202921525.html
Comment: "A federal judge said Friday that she expects to temporarily block efforts by the Trump administration to end a program that offered temporary legal protections for more than 10,000 family members of citizens and green card holders."
"U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani said at a hearing that she planned to issue a temporary restraining order but did not say when it would be issued. This case is part of a broader effort by the administration to end temporary legal protection for numerous groups and comes just over a week since another judge ruled that hundreds of people from South Sudan may live and work in the United States legally."
" 'The government, having invited people to apply, is now laying traps between those people and getting the green card,' Justin Cox, an attorney who works with Justice Action Center and who argued the case for the plaintiffs, said. 'That is incredibly inequitable.' "
ICE officer kills a Minneapolis driver in a deadly start to Trump’s latest immigration operation
Comment: "An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a Minneapolis driver on Wednesday during the Trump administration’s latest immigration crackdown on a major American city — a shooting that federal officials said was an act of self-defense but that the mayor described as reckless and unnecessary."
Comment: This is one of the early news reports regarding the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis.
NPR: DHS pauses immigration applications for an additional 20 countries
https://www.npr.org/2026/01/02/g-s1-104284/dhs-pause-immigration-applications-20-countries
Video: ICE ramps up marketing efforts for new hires | NewsNation Live - December 31, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X9aGlHtBpg
Comment: "Immigration and Customs Enforcement has a $100 million budget to recruit new federal officers as the Trump administration's illegal immigration crackdown continues. NewsNation's Nancy Loo reports for 'NewsNation Live' on the efforts that include images of Uncle Sam and the Statue of Liberty."
Judge rules basic Medicaid data can be shared with ICE
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/judge-rules-basic-medicaid-data-can-shared-ice-rcna251443
Comment: "A federal judge in California ruled Monday that the federal government is allowed to share basic information about Medicaid participants with Immigration and Customs Enforcement amid a government push to locate people it believes are in the country unlawfully."
"The plan to share information from the federally backed program had been blocked by a preliminary injunction that applied to 20 states that sued, including California."
"U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria partly denied the states' request for a preliminary injunction Monday, writing that 'basic biographical, location, and contact information' is legal under the law."
"But he also granted the injunction as it pertains to any information beyond that."
Video: Trump’s 2025 ICE crackdown and the RESISTANCE against it - December 27, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCdxOyr32dI
ICE’s interest in high-tech gear raises new questions: ‘What is it for?’
Comment: "The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is buying millions of dollars’ worth of new surveillance tools at the same time President Donald Trump has scaled back protections for use of civilian data — a combination that could lead to a vast expansion of domestic surveillance that goes far beyond immigrants."
"Federal records show that ICE has increased its spending on surveillance technology, looking to spend more than $300 million under Trump for social-media monitoring tools, facial recognition software, license plate readers and services to find where people live and work."
"These upgrades are expected to be used in ICE’s push to help fulfill the president’s campaign promise of 'the largest deportation program of criminals in the history of America'."
"The high-tech capabilities are also coinciding with policy changes from the White House that lower the guardrails around the government’s use of data on millions of American residents and expand its potential surveillance targets. A set of executive orders is giving ICE workarounds for the decades-old federal standard that protects American residents’ privacy, and the agency itself is signaling a shift in its enforcement policy, looking beyond immigrants and toward American critics of its officers’ behavior."
"ICE’s new capabilities and legal flexibility are raising concerns among privacy and civil liberty advocates that it is expanding its remit with little supervision of its powers."
Comment: "Privacy advocates argue that this new technological capability — and the mission of tracking threats against agents — widens ICE’s surveillance scope beyond immigration enforcement in dangerous ways."
Comment: Please read the linked article. Some of the privacy threats are chilling, even for citizens.
ICE is deporting some immigrants so quickly, their attorneys are left scrambling
Video: ICE plans to hold 80,000 immigrants in detention warehouses, report says - December 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FQzbQNj10M
Trump administration wants to set quota for denaturalizing American citizens
Comment: "The Trump administration says it wants to establish a quota for next year to denaturalize up to 200 American citizens per month."
Comment: "In a document circulated recently to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Department, the administration says it wants to denaturalize 100 to 200 people per month in 2026. It also says USCIS should work with the Department of Justice to meet that quota. NPR hasn't seen the document, which was first obtained by The New York Times. USCIS spokesman Matthew J. Tragesser told NPR that the goal is to prioritize the denaturalization of people who have been found lying or misrepresenting themselves in the naturalization process. Now, the Trump administration wanting to denaturalize people is not new. Establishing a quota is. Elizabeth Taufa is with the San Francisco-based Immigrant Legal Resource Center. She says denaturalization has historically been used in rare cases."
Comment: Naturalized citizens subject to denaturalization should be provided due process on an individual basis in accordance with the rights of any other U.S. citizen. That due process is inconsistent with any quota system that the Trump Administration can come up with. If the Trump Administration can establish evidence sufficient to support an indictment, they are free to prosecute any citizen that illegally lied or misrepresented "themselves in the naturalization process." However, any denaturalization process should be based on an individual legal basis (with standard due process procedures accorded to any other U.S. citizen) rather than some administrative procedure incorporating quotas that the Trump administration comes up with.
ICE officer accused of excessive force, then sent back to work despite active probe
https://www.npr.org/2025/12/24/nx-s1-5650773/ice-immigration-agent-leave-oversight
Comment: "In the span of less than 72 hours, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Victor Mojica went from being widely vilified and placed on administrative leave — to being returned right back to his old job."
"On a Friday in September, Mojica was caught on several cameras roughly pushing a woman into the hallway and then to the ground, as the woman screamed."
"The incident at an immigration court in New York rapidly circulated online and prompted the Homeland Security Department to place Mojica on administrative leave – a rare instance of such leave being publicly announced."
"By the following Monday, Mojica was back on the job, without any further explanation from the agency."
"NPR has now learned that he returned to work before the Homeland Security Department's internal watchdog had concluded a review into his behavior. The DHS Office of Inspector General ultimately decided — nearly two months later — that the incident did not merit a criminal probe."
"The disclosure of the probe raises questions about the adequacy of DHS oversight mechanisms to investigate employee misconduct. It comes as the department has gutted some internal oversight agencies and faces consistent pressure from Trump officials to ramp up deportations."
"Critics of the administration, and former ICE personnel, also worry the lack of transparency about DHS's disciplinary practices can further erode trust in federal law enforcement."
Video: Afghan migrants ordered to report to ICE on Christmas, New Year's Day - December 23, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ6_s0S7Dbw
Video: Can local officials stop ICE operations? - December 23, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SgeJr5KG8g
DHS increases offer for undocumented migrants to $3,000 if they voluntarily leave by end of 2025
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dhs-undocumented-migrants-self-deportation-offer-increased/
Comment: Just how much of your tax dollars will Trump and Stephen Miller spend in an attempt to Make America White Again?
NPR analysis shows skyrocketing number of 'no-shows' in immigration court
https://www.npr.org/2025/12/22/nx-s1-5583971/trump-ice-immigration-arrests-deportation-no-shows
Comment: If one shows up for court, he/she can be arrested immediately by ICE. If one doesn't show up, the judge can issue an order allowing the immigrant to be deported. Some choice! Given this choice, many immigrants are opting to not show up in court.
Number of people in ICE detention hits record high, data shows
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/22/ice-detentions-record-immigration
Comment: "The number of people in immigration detention in the US has hit an all-time high according to data published by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The data, which comes out every two weeks, shows that as of 14 December 2025, ICE held more than 68,400 people."
"This many people in immigration detention is a new record, breaking the previous high set at the beginning of December."
Comment: "In one of the biggest changes in immigration enforcement policies, immigrants with no criminal record continue to make up the largest group in US immigration detention, despite the administration’s rhetoric about focusing its anti-immigration efforts on 'the worst of the worst' criminals. Being undocumented in the US is a civil not a criminal infraction. The Trump administration has also moved to invalidate protections for many immigrants staying in the US legally."
Trump's new crackdown: Collective punishment for legal immigrants
https://www.axios.com/2025/12/19/trump-immigration-diversity-visas-travel-ban
Comment: "President Trump's overnight crackdown on diversity visas is the latest use of his 2025 strategy to scale down legal immigration."
Comment: "The Trump administration is leveraging collective punishment by halting or trying to scuttle entire legal immigration programs after high-profile incidents."
" '[T]hey are using them fully as a pretext for ... undoing so many aspects of the immigration system,' said Doris Meissner, who formerly led the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and is now at the non-partisan Migration Policy Institute."
Comment: "The alleged shooter at Brown University and MIT entered the U.S. from Portugal through the diversity lottery immigrant visa program, which allows roughly 50,000 people entry a year."
"DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced that program is now paused. Trump had called to end this visa program several times in his first term."
Comment: "In November, DHS paused all asylum decisions after an Afghan national, who entered the U.S. legally and was granted asylum, attacked members of the National Guard in D.C."
"The agency also suspended all immigration decisions for Afghan passport holders and nationals on the travel ban list, which has grown to 39 countries."
"The pause has stopped citizenship ceremonies, green card interviews and will prevent people from renewing their work or student visas."
Trump pauses green card lottery program after Brown University, MIT shootings
https://www.axios.com/2025/12/19/trump-green-card-lottery-visa-brown-university-mit-shootings
Military lawyer swiftly fired from immigration bench after defying Trump deportation push
Comment: Trump's thumb on the scale of justice?
Trump administration pauses immigration cases for people from another 20 countries
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-administration-pauses-immigration-cases-another-20-countries/
Comment: "The U.S. government has expanded a sweeping pause on legal immigration applications to include those filed by people from an additional 20 countries that President Trump added to his 'travel ban' proclamation this week, a U.S. official with direct knowledge told CBS News on Thursday."
"The move, which mainly affects immigrants who hail from certain African and Asian countries, further escalates a wide-ranging crackdown on legal immigration expanded by the Trump administration this month. Many of those affected by the pause are likely to be legal immigrants who are currently in the U.S. and are seeking to change their status or become citizens."
ICE meets snow as midwesterners fight back against Trump immigration raids
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/18/snow-midwest-ice-raids-trump
ICE is reopening shuttered prisons as detention centers. Many have a troubled past
https://www.npr.org/2025/12/15/nx-s1-5591459/former-prison-ice-detention-centers-conditions
Many immigrants' final legal step — citizenship — has become harder under the Trump administration
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-citizenship-harder-immigrants-green-cards-rcna248917
Comment: "Lawful permanent residents are seeing their naturalization ceremonies abruptly canceled this month as the Trump administration puts an indefinite 'hold' on immigration applications from certain countries."
"The holds apply to green card and U.S. citizenship requests by people from 19 countries deemed 'high risk' by the Trump administration. The list includes Cuba, Iran, Haiti and Somalia, among others."
"Lawful permanent residents, or green card holders, are already among the most thoroughly vetted individuals in the nation’s immigration system. When they decide to naturalize, they undergo an even more comprehensive government review that includes background checks, interviews with immigration officers and a citizenship test."
"The citizenship ceremony is the last step in a long process that starts with having a green card for several years, submitting the application, paying hundreds of dollars in fees, completing an interview with an immigration officer, passing a background check as well as an English and civics test, all before finally taking the oath."
" 'If you’re scheduled for an oath ceremony, you have gone through all of the checks that are required,' said Deborah Chen, supervising attorney at the New York Legal Assistance Group's immigrant protection unit."
US ends temporary legal status for Ethiopians amid Trump crackdown
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/12/trump-ends-temporary-legal-status-ethiopia
Comment: "The US is ending temporary legal status for citizens of Ethiopia in the United States, according to a government notice on Friday, as the Trump administration continues its crackdown on legal and illegal immigration."
Comment: "Temporary protected status is available to people whose home country has experienced a natural disaster, armed conflict or other extraordinary event. It provides eligible migrants with work authorization and temporary protection from deportation."
Comment: "In recent months, the Trump administration has removed the protective status for people from numerous countries, including Haiti, Myanmar, South Sudan, Syria, and Venezuela. In November, the president announced the termination of protection for Somalis in Minnesota."
Comment: It appears that previously protected individuals from these countries have 60 days to leave the U.S. after the relevant DHS announcement published in the Federal Register. However, as a disclaimer, this statement is not from an official source and should be verified for accuracy by any affected parties.
Trump's speech on combating inflation turns to grievances about immigrants
https://www.npr.org/2025/12/10/g-s1-101506/trumps-speech-grievances-about-immigrants
Comment: "The president told the crowd gathered at a casino and resort in Mount Pocono that inflation was no longer a problem and that Democrats had used the term 'affordability' as a 'hoax' to hurt his reputation. But his remarks weaved wildly to include grievances he first raised behind closed doors in his first term in 2018 — and later denied saying — asking why the U.S. doesn't have more immigrants from Scandinavia."
" 'Why is it we only take people from s—-hole countries, right?' Trump said onstage. 'Why can't we have some people from Norway, Sweden, just a few?' "
"Trump said he objected to taking immigrants from 'hellholes like Afghanistan, Haiti, Somalia and many other countries.' He added for emphasis that those places 'are a disaster, right? Filthy, dirty, disgusting, ridden with crime'."
Comment: "Following dismal results for Republicans in last month's off-cycle elections, the White House has sought to convince voters that the economy will emerge stronger next year and that any anxieties over inflation have nothing to do with Trump."
"He displayed a chart comparing price increases under his predecessor, Joe Biden, to prices under his own watch to argue his case. But the overall inflation rate has climbed since he announced broad tariffs in April and left many Americans worried about their grocery, utility and housing bills."
Comment: When he doesn't have a viable plan for improving the economy, Trump's solution is to blame the immigrants and divert the public's attention from his disastrous tariffs.
Authorities monitor online criticism of New Orleans immigration crackdown
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/08/new-orleans-immigration-online-criticism-tracking
Comment: "State and federal authorities are closely tracking online criticism and protests against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in New Orleans, monitoring message boards around the clock for threats to agents while compiling regular updates on public 'sentiment' surrounding the arrests, according to law enforcement records reviewed by the Associated Press."
Comment: " 'Online opinions still remain mixed, with some supporting the operations while others are against them,' said a briefing circulated early on Sunday to law enforcement officials. Earlier bulletins noted 'a combination of groups urging the public to record ICE and Border Patrol' as well as 'additional locations where agents can find immigrants'."
"Immigration authorities have insisted the sweeps are targeted at 'criminal illegal aliens'. But the law enforcement records detail criminal histories for less than a third of the 38 people arrested in the first two days of the operation."
"Local leaders told the AP those numbers – which law enforcement officials were admonished not to distribute to the media – undermined the stated aim of the roundup. They also expressed concern that the online surveillance could chill free speech as authorities threaten to charge anyone interfering with immigration enforcement."
" 'It confirms what we already knew – this was not about public safety, it’s about stoking chaos and fear and terrorizing communities,' said the Louisiana state senator Royce Duplessis, a Democrat who represents New Orleans. 'It’s furthering a sick narrative of stereotypes that immigrants are violent.' ”
Comment: By stressing the review of "public sentiment," the Trump administration is illustrating that it is weighing the political impact (either positive or negative to them) of the New Orleans immigration crackdown, rather than focusing on any real effort to target "criminal illegal aliens." Political messaging is the agenda not crime prevention.
‘We’ll need to see a warrant’: the group teaching businesses a vital tool to fight ICE raids
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/08/ice-fourth-amendment-rights-north-carolina
Mayor-elect Mamdani releases 'Know Your Rights When Dealing with ICE' video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzFOmAoadE8
Legal disclaimer: The guidance provided in the video deals with immigrant rights in New York While many of these rights probably apply across the United States, there may be additional legal requirements in Alabama that immigrants must comply with. For detailed legal guidance, please consult an immigration attorney.
NBC News: ICE has arrested nearly 75,000 people with no criminal records, data shows
Comment: "The figures don't include arrests made by Border Patrol, which has launched aggressive immigration operations in several cities in recent months. "
Comment: What happened to the plan to go after the "worst of the worst?"
GOP ramps up scrutiny of green card holders and U.S. citizens
https://www.axios.com/2025/12/05/republicans-green-cards-citizenship-immigration
Comment: "In Congress, the GOP's immigration crackdown increasingly includes more scrutiny of people who have already navigated the lengthy legal process."
"After two National Guard personnel were shot last week in D.C., the Trump administration has paused asylum, vowed to expand its travel bans to more than 30 countries and called for a review of green card holders from 19 countries."
Comment: Please read the linked article for other GOP plans to attack the rights of naturalized U.S. citizens and valid green card holders.
Border Patrol enters an uneasy New Orleans
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/04/border-patrol-new-orleans-immigration-00677121
Comment: "It marks the fourth destination for DHS after similar efforts in Los Angeles, Chicago and Charlotte — but the action in Louisiana marks an escalation of the federal government’s immigration crackdown with its goal of arresting roughly 5,000 people. It also represents the first Border Patrol deployment within a Democrat-led city with the full-throated cooperation of a Republican governor, raising the potential for local and state leaders to be pitted against each other."
"GOP Gov. Jeff Landry teased the operation on Fox News earlier this week, calling New Orleans a 'crime ridden city' that needs 'more boots on the ground in order to get crime under control.' New Orleans used to have the highest homicide rate in the country, but crime has reportedly dropped in recent years, like it has for many major U.S. cities."
"As the Crescent City’s first Hispanic mayor, Moreno has expressed concerns about resident’s due process rights being violated and has criticized federal officials for not providing her with any information about the operation. Ahead of the deployment, Moreno launched a website listing resources for people affected by the law enforcement action. An aide for Moreno declined to comment."
Comment: "When word first spread in September that the White House was considering sending the National Guard into New Orleans, Moreno vowed to 'fight any federal takeover' and deemed the threat to be about 'scare tactics and politicizing public safety.' "
"Trump’s crusade against Democratic-led cities has put city leaders across the U.S. on defense, with many making preparations in anticipation they will be the next on the administration’s list. New Orleans leaders and groups have been in contact with cities dealing with the presence of federal immigration agents to build a roadmap for their own response."
Video: Border Patrol’s expanding role in Trump’s immigration crackdown - December 03, 2025
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/border-patrols-expanding-role-in-trumps-immigration-crackdown
Comment: Lengthy video and transcript available at link.
Trump launches immigration crackdown in New Orleans
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-immigration-crackdown-begins-new-orleans-2025-12-03/
Video: Trump calls Somalis 'garbage' as ICE plans new targeted operation - December 03, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nXoi3yr1Tg
Comment: Most of this video discusses New Orleans immigration operation and a response from DHS spokesperson, but it also mentions Trump's contemptuous remarks.
US pauses all immigration applications from 19 non-European countries
Comment: "The Trump administration on Tuesday said it paused all immigration applications, including green card and U.S. citizenship processing, filed by immigrants from 19 non-European countries, citing concerns over national security and public safety."
"The pause applies to people from 19 countries that were already subjected to a partial travel ban in June, placing further restrictions on immigration - a core feature of U.S. President Donald Trump's political platform."
Administration cancels some naturalization ceremonies for those on travel ban list
U.S. halts all immigration cases, including citizenship ceremonies, for nationals of 19 countries, internal guidance says
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-administration-halts-immigration-citizenship-for-19-countries/
Comment: "The Trump administration has halted all immigration applications filed by people from 19 countries, its latest move to restrict legal immigration pathways following the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., last week, according to internal government guidance and a source familiar with the move."
"The internal U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services guidance obtained by CBS News shows the agency directed employees on Monday to 'stop final adjudication on all cases' involving individuals from 19 nations that are facing restrictions under a proclamation President Trump issued in June. Colloquially, that proclamation is known as the travel ban."
"That pause includes the completion of citizenship ceremonies for legal U.S. permanent residents from the list of 19 countries who were on the cusp of becoming naturalized American citizens, the USCIS document said. It suggested the suspension is an interim step while the administration develops further guidance on the vetting of the affected immigrants."
" 'This hold includes all form types and making any final decisions (approvals, denials) as well as completing any oath ceremonies,' the guidance to USCIS offices said."
"Mr. Trump's June proclamation imposed a near-total restriction on the entry of people from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. It also partially suspended the entry of travelers and immigrants from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela."
"The new guidance indicates that the immigration crackdown directed by Mr. Trump following last week's shooting of the National Guard members is much broader in scope than previously reported. The man accused of shooting the two Guard members, one of whom has died, is an Afghan evacuee who entered the U.S. in September 2021, under the Biden administration, and who was granted asylum in April 2025, after Mr. Trump returned to the White House."
Video: Minneapolis PD Chief: Police 'Have A Duty To Intervene' If ICE Uses Excessive Force In New Crackdown - December 02, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlvkDFslmpw
Trump calls Somali immigrants ‘garbage’ as US reportedly targets Minnesota community
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/02/trump-somali-immigrants-minnesota
Comment: "Donald Trump on Tuesday called Somali immigrants 'garbage' and said they should be sent back home in a rant that came as the administration is reportedly increasing immigration enforcement against undocumented Somalis in Minnesota."
"In a xenophobic rant during a cabinet meeting, Trump went off on Somalis and Ilhan Omar, the congressional representative who is from Somalia and is a US citizen. He said Somalia 'stinks' and is 'no good for a reason'."
" 'They contribute nothing. I don’t want them in our country, I’ll be honest with you,' he said. He called Omar 'garbage' and said 'we’re going to go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country'. "
" 'These are people who do nothing but complain,' he said. 'They complain, and from where they came from, they got nothing … When they come from hell and they complain and do nothing but bitch, we don’t want them in our country. Let them go back to where they came from and fix it.' ”
"The New York Times reported on Tuesday that the Minneapolis-St Paul metro area, where most Somalis reside, would see stepped-up deportation efforts this week, focusing primarily on Somalis who have final deportation orders. It would use 'strike teams' of ICE agents and other federal officers, bringing in about 100 agents from across the country, the Times reported. Other media outlets, including the Associated Press, have confirmed the reporting."
Comment: Did you ever expect a President of the United States to use language like this, and display the ignorance and prejudice shown here?
Trump wants to revoke the citizenship of some naturalized Americans: What to know
https://www.axios.com/2025/12/01/trump-naturalized-citizenship-national-guard
Gutting of key US watchdog could pave way for grave immigration abuses, experts warn | Trump administration | The Guardian
Comment: "The federal watchdog system at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that oversees complaints about civil rights violations, including in immigration detention, has been gutted so thoroughly that it could be laying the groundwork for the Trump administration to 'abuse people with impunity', experts warn."
"Former federal oversight officials have sounded the alarm at the rapid dismantling of guardrails against human rights failures – at the same time as the government pushes aggressive immigration enforcement operations."
"A group of fired watchdogs has filed a whistleblower complaint to Congress through the Government Accountability Project (GAP), and a coalition of human rights organizations sued the administration, demanding the employees be reinstated. There is deepening concern that a system of oversight that was already weak is now hanging by a thread, even as criticism surges over treatment of detainees in the ballooning immigration jail network."
Comment: Please read entire linked article for a better explanation.
Mapped: What Share of Each State’s Population is Foreign Born?
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/share-of-state-populations-foreign-born/
An emboldened Trump escalates his anti-immigration crackdown after National Guard shooting
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/28/politics/trump-immigration-crackdown-national-guard-shooting
College student deported when flying home for Thanksgiving, despite court order
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/28/college-student-deported-boston-flight-thanksgiving
Comment: "A college freshman trying to fly from Boston to Texas to surprise her family for Thanksgiving was instead deported to Honduras in violation of a court order, according to her attorney."
"Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, 19, had already passed through security at Boston Logan international airport on 20 November when she was told there was an issue with her boarding pass, said attorney Todd Pomerleau. The Babson College student was then detained by immigration officials and within two days sent to Texas and then Honduras, the country she left at age seven."
"The day after Lopez Belloza was arrested, a federal judge issued an emergency order prohibiting the government from moving her out of Massachusetts or the US for at least 72 hours. ICE did not respond to an email on Friday from the Associated Press seeking comment about violating that order."
CNN: US will reexamine all green cards issued to people from 19 countries as Trump administration ramps up immigration crackdown
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/27/politics/us-reexamining-green-card-holders-19-countries
The Guardian: Mother of Karoline Leavitt’s nephew detained by US immigration agents
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/26/karoline-leavitt-nephew-mother-detained-ice
Comment: "Bruna Ferreira, who has a child with the White House press secretary’s brother, is now in custody at an ICE facility"
Comment: "At a minimum, Ferreira’s detention and likely deportation has brought home the close or casual connections many Americans have to the administration’s immigration crackdown."
Comment: Do you think this situation will make anyone in the White House more empathetic to the plight of DACA immigrants? Hopeful, but doubtful.
The number of non-criminal detainees arrested by ICE has surged by 2,000% under Trump. These charts show who's in detention.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ice-detainee-data-fastest-growing-without-criminal-records-trump/
Comment: What happened to the idea of arresting "the worst of the worst?"
Legal status of 350,000 Haitian migrants to expire in early February, U.S. officials announce
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/legal-status-haitian-migrants-expire-early-february/
Trump administration to review status of all refugees admitted under Biden
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna245917
Comment: "The Trump administration is ordering the review of all refugees admitted to the U.S. during the Biden administration, according to a memo reviewed by NBC News. It is the latest in a series of actions taken by the administration to dismantle the U.S. immigration system."
"The decision would potentially affect more than 200,000 refugees who began the process of legally immigrating to the U.S. over the last four years. In order to receive refugee status, applicants first must go through an extensive vetting process that often takes years to complete and begins one to two years before they arrive in the U.S."
"The memo calls for a 'comprehensive review and a re-interview of all refugees admitted from January 20, 2021, to February 20, 2025,' including green-card holders. It cites a finding by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that the Biden administration 'potentially prioritized expediency, quantity, and admissions over quality interviews and detailed screening and vetting.' "
Applicants who are not found to meet the definition of a refugee under the re-review will have no right to appeal the decision, according to the Nov. 21 memo. Spouses, children and other family members would also lose their immigration status if the original applicant is retroactively denied."
Comment: Given the large number of refugees, to do this review objectively and correctly, a large expenditure of efforts, time, and funds will be necessary. On the other hand, if this "review" is simply going to be an excuse to cancel prior commitments to legitimate refugees, this can be done more quickly and inexpensively. What do you think the Trump administration approach will be?
Comment: Please note that this announcement was made before the tragic shooting of the National Guard troops in Washington D.C.
'Nobody wants to come': What if the U.S. can no longer attract immigrant physicians?
Comment: "Immigrants make up about a quarter of all the country's doctors, and the U.S. health care system depends heavily on them. There are roughly 325,000 physicians — not including nurses or other critical health care workers — living and working in the U.S., who were born and trained elsewhere."
"In rural communities, and in some subspecialties of medicine, the reliance on immigrant physicians runs much higher. In primary care and specialties like oncology, for example, foreign-born doctors account for about half of the workforce."
"Meanwhile, health care is already burdened by retirements and burnout. Many experts say recent immigration and health policies are only making it harder — and less appealing — for foreign-born talent to augment the short-staffed American health system."
" 'This is a real pivotal moment right now where decades of progress could be at risk,' says Dr. Julie Gralow, chief medical officer at the American Society of Clinical Oncology."
"She says policies defunding everything from scientific research to public health have damaged the U.S.'s reputation to the point where she hears from hospitals and universities that top international talent are no longer interested in coming to America. 'Up until this year, it was a dream — a wish! — that you could get a job and you could come to the U.S. And now nobody wants to come.' "
Lawmakers question legality of Border Patrol license plate reader program
Comment: "A number of Democratic lawmakers are questioning the legality of a U.S. Border Patrol predictive intelligence program that singles out and detains drivers for suspicious travel inside the country."
"Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts sent a letter Monday to Border Patrol’s parent agency calling the license plate reader program an 'invasive surveillance network' that 'poses a serious threat to individuals’ privacy and civil liberties' and raised the possibility that the program may run afoul of the U.S. Constitution."
" 'Such pervasive surveillance — similar to surveillance conducted by authoritarian regimes such as China — not only chills lawful expression and assembly but also raises serious constitutional concerns. Without transparency, accountability, and clear limitations, these practices erode fundamental individual rights and set a dangerous precedent for unchecked government power,' Markey wrote in a letter asking the agency for details about the plate readers and their use."
"An Associated Press investigation published last week revealed that the U.S. Border Patrol, a component of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, is running a predictive intelligence program monitoring millions of American drivers nationwide to identify and detain people whose travel patterns it deems suspicious. In some instances, Border Patrol concealed its license plate readers in ordinary traffic equipment. The agency also had access to plate data collected by other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies as well as from private companies."
"The program, which has existed under administrations of both parties, has resulted in people being stopped, searched and in some cases arrested. A network of cameras scans and records vehicle license plate information, and an algorithm flags vehicles deemed suspicious based on where they came from, where they were going and which route they took. Federal agents in turn sometimes refer drivers they deem suspicious to local law enforcement who make a traffic stop citing a reason like speeding or lane change violations."
"Courts have generally upheld license plate reader collection on public roads but have curtailed warrantless government access to other kinds of persistent tracking data that might reveal sensitive details about the movement of individuals, such as GPS devices or cellphone location data. A growing critique by scholars and civil libertarians argues that large-scale collection systems like license plate readers might be unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment, which protects people from unreasonable searches."
One-third of those arrested by Border Patrol in Charlotte were classified as criminals, internal document says
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/charlotte-border-patrol-immigration-criminals-arrests/
Comment: "Fewer than one-third of the individuals arrested by Border Patrol during the Trump administration's recent immigration enforcement crackdown in Charlotte were classified as criminals, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security document obtained by CBS News."
"The government document undermines claims by Trump administration officials who said the crackdown, dubbed Operation Charlotte's Web, was primarily focused on apprehending immigrants living in the U.S. illegally who also had criminal histories and posed a threat to public safety."
"Roughly 200 green-uniformed Border Patrol agents recorded more than 270 immigration arrests during the Charlotte campaign, which began on the weekend of Nov. 15, the document shows. Fewer than 90 of those arrested by Border Patrol were categorized as 'criminal aliens' in the document."
"Those statistics do not include arrests made by officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, though Border Patrol played the principal role in Operation Charlotte's Web. The document also does not specify the severity of the crimes of the detainees listed as criminals, nor whether their records included convictions or solely criminal charges."
"While DHS has publicly maintained that the crackdown in Charlotte is ongoing, separate internal documents say Border Patrol's operation there concluded, with agents demobilizing from the area last week. ICE has a permanent presence in North Carolina, and is expected to continue operations there."
CNN: Trump administration moves to reinterview refugees admitted to US under Biden
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/24/politics/trump-refugee-program-interviews-biden
Trump administration cancels temporary asylum for Myanmar nationals living in US
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/24/trump-cancels-asylum-myanmar
Comment: "The Trump administration announced it will cancel temporary asylum for about 10,000 Myanmar nationals living in the US, despite the country being ruled by a military dictatorship that has a record of executing dissidents."
"On Monday the Department of Homeland Security said it was terminating the designation of Burma (Myanmar) for Temporary Protected Status relief. It claimed that after reviewing conditions in Myanmar and consulting with appropriate US government agencies, 'the secretary [Kristi Noem] determined that Burma no longer continues to meet the conditions' for TPS designation."
Comment: "The Trump administration has already withdrawn protected status for a number of other nationalities, including Afghanistan, Cameroon, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, South Sudan and Venezuela, as part of sweeping changes to immigration policy."
Nearly 200,000 Ukrainians in US thrown into legal limbo by Trump immigration crackdown
Federal judge rebukes administration's use of force during 'Operation Midway Blitz'
CNN: Charlotte officials say Border Patrol operation has ended, but DHS insists immigration enforcement will continue
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/20/us/border-patrol-charlotte-gregory-bovino
Judge dismisses charges against 2 people accused of ramming vehicle of federal agents conducting Chicago immigration sweeps
https://abcnews.go.com/US/doj-drops-charges-2-people-accused-ramming-vehicles/story?id=127714651
Comment: "A federal judge on Thursday dismissed the indictment against two people accused last month of 'ambushing' federal agents conducting an immigration sweep in Chicago, including a woman who was shot five times in the incident."
Comment: "Martinez’s attorney, Christopher Parente, told ABC News on Thursday that he and his client are relieved by the government's decision."
" 'We appreciate the U.S. attorney being thoughtful in agreeing to dismiss this,' Parente said."
Comment: "The decision by the DOJ to dismiss the charges against Martinez and Ruiz came a day after a federal judge in Chicago ordered the government to turn over to the defense additional text messages by the CBP agents involved in the incident."
"During a Nov. 5 court hearing, CBP Agent Charles Exum, identified as the agent who shot Martinez, was questioned by Parente about text messages he sent to friends and family after the incident in which he appeared to boast about his shooting skills."
" 'I fired 5 rounds and she had 7 holes. Put that in your book, boys,' one of those messages said."
Comment: "Federal prosecutors initially claimed that Exum fired rounds at Martinez in self-defense, saying that Martinez drove toward him when he exited his vehicle after the collision."
"During an Oct. 6 hearing, Parente claimed in court that he viewed a body-camera video from one of the agents involved in the incident that he said appeared to show the federal vehicle swerve into Martinez's car."
" 'When I watched the video after this agent says, 'Do something, b----,' I see the driver of this vehicle turn the wheel to the left. Which would be consistent with him running into Ms. Martinez’s vehicle, okay,' Parente said. 'And then seconds later, he jumps out and just starts shooting.' "
"Parente also said Martinez is licensed to carry a concealed weapon and that the gun federal officials claimed she had during the confrontation with CBP agents was never removed from her purse."
Migrants thought they were in court for a routine hearing. Instead, it was a deportation trap
Axios: Pope Leo denounces "extremely disrespectful" treatment of immigrants in U.S.
https://www.axios.com/2025/11/19/pope-leo-trump-immigration-crackdown-us-bishops-message
Comment: "Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday backed the U.S. Roman Catholic bishops' rare statement criticizing the Trump administration's immigration and mass deportation policies and called on immigrants to be treated with 'dignity'."
Comment: "The Chicago-born pontiff told reporters the immigration message that the bishops delivered last week was 'a very important statement' and 'people of goodwill' should listen carefully to what they said."
Comment: " 'We have to look for ways of treating people humanely, treating people with the dignity that they have. If people are in the United States illegally, there are ways to treat that. There are courts. There's a system of justice,' Leo said."
Fear spreads as federal immigration crackdown in North Carolina expands to Raleigh
Comment: "Federal agents expanded their North Carolina immigration crackdown to the area around the state capital of Raleigh on Tuesday, with fear spreading in at least one immigrant-heavy suburb where restaurants closed and many people stayed home."
"The North Carolina operation began over the weekend in the state's largest city, Charlotte, where officials said more than 130 people have been arrested."
"Speaking at a Raleigh City Council meeting, Mayor Janet Cowell said there had been 'confirmed sightings' of Border Patrol officers operating in Wake County, which includes Raleigh, and nearby Durham County, which includes the city of Durham. She said earlier that she did not know how large the operation would be or how long agents would be present."
"She encouraged residents to call the police department if they felt unsafe and urged protesters to remain peaceful."
Video: Supreme Court to hear case over U.S. stopping migrants in Mexico - November 17, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucJ7TGsNt-E
Trump revives policy penalizing immigrants for using safety net programs
Comment: "The Trump administration on Monday proposed giving immigration officers authority to deny permanent residency to lawfully present immigrants who use Medicaid or other food and housing assistance programs, arguing that 'government benefits should not incentivize immigration' and that immigrants should be 'self-reliant'."
"It’s a twist on the so-called public charge rule from Trump’s first term, which the Biden administration stopped enforcing in 2021 and rescinded in 2022."
"The proposal Monday from the Homeland Security Department’s Citizenship and Immigration Services division would repeal the Biden administration’s 2022 rule. But instead of reviving the public charge rule from the first Trump term, the agency pledged to release guidance at an unspecified future date. That effectively would give more power to individual Citizenship and Immigration Services officers to make determinations about who they think is or could become a 'public charge'."
"The proposal Monday from the Homeland Security Department’s Citizenship and Immigration Services division would repeal the Biden administration’s 2022 rule. But instead of reviving the public charge rule from the first Trump term, the agency pledged to release guidance at an unspecified future date. That effectively would give more power to individual Citizenship and Immigration Services officers to make determinations about who they think is or could become a 'public charge'."
Comment: "Some health policy experts and immigrant rights advocates are warning that the change, if it takes effect, will cause both individual suffering and negative population-wide effects."
"They say the policy could burden already overwhelmed hospitals if immigrants skip preventive care because they lack health insurance and end up in the emergency room. They also predict it will make it harder to control both outbreaks of infectious diseases and chronic health conditions."
Comment: Please note that working immigrants pay taxes. Until recently, that also included undocumented immigrants. However, because the Trump administration starting allowing the IRS to turn over tax filing information over to ICE (it was generally prohibited from doing this in the past), many undocumented immigrants are now no longer filing tax returns.
Comment: Do we really want individual Immigration Services officers, without guidance, to subjectively "make determinations about who they think is or could become a 'public charge'?"
Immigration arrests in Charlotte have sparked fears, leading businesses to close
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/immigration-arrests-charlotte-fear-businesses-closed-rcna244357
Comment: "After immigration officials arrested more than 130 people, some churches report being half empty, an after-school program canceled activities and one U.S. citizen said he started carrying his passport."
Federal agents make 130 arrests in 48 hours as immigration crackdown puts Charlotte on edge
https://abcnews.go.com/US/federal-agents-make-130-arrests-48-hours-immigration/story?id=127591461
Border Patrol operation rocks Charlotte with dozens arrested
https://www.axios.com/2025/11/16/charlotte-immigration-arrests-border-patrol
Comment: "Federal Border Patrol agents arrested 81 people on day one of their Charlotte, North Carolina, crackdown that's prompted protests and left businesses shuttered."
Comment: "Charlotte, in what federal officials are calling 'Operation Charlotte's Web,' is the latest city to be rocked by federal forces and a surge in immigrant arrests as advocates decry the administration's aggressive tactics.'
Comment: "The enhanced operation has caused 'unnecessary fear and uncertainty,' local officials said in a statement, pointing to operations in other cities that resulted in people without criminal records being detained and clashes between protesters and agents."
"City leaders implored dissenters to speak out peacefully, saying, 'We can stand up for what we believe in without resorting to violence.' "
"Masked agents have been spotted throughout the city and its suburbs, per local reports, and have detained people along roads, in parking lots, outside restaurants and beyond."
Analysis on use of force: As ICE escalates its tactics, are federal agents truly ‘untouchable’ in the eyes of the law? | CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/15/us/ice-federal-agents-immigration-force
Federal agents deployed to Charlotte for immigration enforcement, despite rejections from local leaders
CBS News: Border Patrol plans to expand Trump's immigration crackdown to Charlotte and New Orleans, with armored vehicles and special agents
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/charlotte-new-orleans-border-patrol-immigration-trump/
ICE has not yet purchased translation technology promised for new agents
Comment: "Immigration and Customs and Enforcement has yet to purchase new translation technology that it promised would replace a Spanish-language course requirement for officers as part of an effort to speed up the agency’s hiring process, according to two Department of Homeland Security officials."
"In August, ICE officials told reporters that the agency had purchased new, 'robust translation services' for officers to use in the field while pursuing immigration arrests as part of President Donald Trump’s deportation policy. Caleb Vitello, who was the head of training for new ICE recruits at the time, described the new technology as 'so much more efficient' than the five-week Spanish course."
Comment: "The lack of Spanish classes or the body-worn translation devices for new ICE officers as they carry out arrests has sparked concern about potential communication misunderstandings that could endanger the agents and people in the communities they are targeting, the officials said."
Naturalized US citizens thought they were safe. Trump's immigration policies are shaking that belief
Comment: "As President Donald Trump reshapes immigration and the nation’s relationship with immigrants, some naturalized citizens are wondering if the country they made a commitment to when they took the oath of citizenship is still making one to them"
Comment: "Adding to the worries, the Justice Department issued a memo this summer saying it would ramp up efforts to denaturalize immigrants who’ve committed crimes or are deemed to present a national security risk. At one point during the summer, Trump threatened the ciizenship of Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist mayor-elect of New York City, who naturalized as a young adult."
"The atmosphere makes some worried to speak about it publicly, for fear of drawing negative attention to themselves."
'We need to get out of here': Trump's immigration crackdown is quietly reshaping where immigrants live in America
U.S. Catholic bishops call for end to "dehumanizing rhetoric" on immigrants
https://www.axios.com/2025/11/13/trump-immigration-catholic-bishops-special-message
CNN: WLS: Judge orders release of hundreds arrested in Illinois immigration crackdown
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/12/us/chicago-ice-arrests-hearing
Judge says he’ll order release of hundreds of people arrested under feds’ deportation blitz
Comment: "The 615 detainees are from a list of roughly 1,800 arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Chicago area between June 11 and Oct. 7, and there could be more to come."
Video: Some ICE tactics against protesters violate federal policy, CBS News investigation finds - November 11, 2025
We asked a former federal agent to review videos showing use of force against protesters. Here's what he found.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/former-federal-agent-ice-use-of-force-against-protesters/
Comment: "You've seen the videos in newscasts and social feeds: Federal agents employing chokeholds, firing pepper spray at close range, and even using vehicle maneuvers to control immigration protests."
"These videos have spurred debate over whether agents have violated federal policies on use of force, which is authorized 'only when no reasonably effective, safe, and feasible alternative appears to exist,' according to Department of Homeland Security policies."
"A review of hundreds of videos, most recorded on cellphones by protesters and posted online, shows repeated instances that don't appear to meet that standard."
Comment: "Protesters and media organizations in Chicago have filed a complaint in federal court about the tactics employed under Bovino's command, as well as those captured on video recordings in Portland, Oregon; Los Angeles and other cities. Last week, U.S. District Court Judge Sara L. Ellis issued an order blocking federal agents from deploying chemical spray, tear gas or any other less-lethal weapon 'unless such force is necessary to stop the immediate threat of physical harm to another.' The Trump administration has filed an appeal."
Comment: "Videos taken outside the ICE facilities show federal agents standing several stories above protesters and shooting less-than-lethal munitions towards their heads and torsos."
Comment: "In one October cellphone video from Portland, a federal agent can be seen spraying a form of tear gas called 'oleoresin capsicum' spray directly at an individual protester at close range and in high volume."
"The protester can be seen verbally confronting two agents in the street. Another agent then walks up to the protester and sprays her directly in the face with a large can of pepper spray."
Comment; "DHS policy allows the deployment of chemical irritants only in cases when subjects offer 'active resistance.' The footage shows protesters yelling but not physically threatening the agents, which Balliet said was not a sufficient provocation for this level of response."
Comment: "In one video from Chicago, an agent in an unmarked federal vehicle slowly drives into a protester. The agent can be heard yelling, 'I'm gonna slam you on the f****** ground,' as the vehicle makes contact with the demonstrator."
Comment: Please read the linked article for more examples and details.
Video: ICE arrest in Washington raises privacy concerns over federal data access - November 11, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJQbKGk98Jk
Gregory Bovino and Border Patrol agents plan to leave Chicago area, sources say
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gregory-bovino-border-patrol-plan-to-leave-chicago-area-sources-say/
Immigrants with health conditions may be denied visas under new Trump administration guidance
Comment: "Foreigners seeking visas to live in the U.S. might be rejected if they have certain medical conditions, including diabetes or obesity, under a Thursday directive from the Trump administration."
"The guidance, issued in a cable the State Department sent to embassy and consular officials and examined by KFF Health News, directs visa officers to deem applicants ineligible to enter the U.S. for several new reasons, including age or the likelihood they might rely on public benefits. The guidance says that such people could become a 'public charge;" -- a potential drain on U.S. resources -- because of their health issues or age."
"While assessing the health of potential immigrants has been part of the visa application process for years, including screening for communicable diseases like tuberculosis and obtaining vaccine history, experts said the new guidelines greatly expand the list of medical conditions to be considered and give visa officers more power to make decisions about immigration based on an applicant's health status."
"The directive is part of the Trump administration's divisive and aggressive campaign to deport immigrants living without authorization in the U.S. and dissuade others from immigrating into the country. The White House's crusade to push out immigrants has included daily mass arrests, bans on refugees from certain countries and plans to severely restrict the total number permitted into the U.S."
Comment: "The cable's language appears at odds with the Foreign Affairs Manual, the State Department's own handbook, which says that visa officers cannot reject an application based on 'what if' scenarios, Wheeler said."
"The guidance directs visa officers to develop "their own thoughts about what could lead to some sort of medical emergency or sort of medical costs in the future," he said. 'That's troubling because they're not medically trained, they have no experience in this area and they shouldn't be making projections based on their own personal knowledge or bias.' "
"Immigrants already undergo a medical exam by a physician who's been approved by a U.S. embassy."
Comment: There are a lot of other issues associated with the Trump administrative directive. Most would encourage prejudice and subjective reasoning by visa officers who are not equipped to make medical evaluations, or evaluate the future ability of applicants to pay for their health care.
'Mega detention centers': ICE considers buying large warehouses to hold immigrants
Comment: Think of the cost to convert these warehouses into suitable living space for thousands of inmates. Of course, given prior ICE reluctance to allow facility inspections, one might wonder if the concept of "living" space is actually a consideration to ICE.
Comment: Apparently, efficiency is an important consideration. Hopefully, the historical reference is not relevant, but we recall that Nazi concentration camps were quite efficient.
Video: Private prisons are posting huge earnings under Trump's immigration surge - November 7, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaHtvFGckOI
Video: TPS ending for more than 250,000 Venezuelans in the U.S. - November 7, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVMVvuwdGPM
Border Patrol agent who shot Chicago woman bragged about it in text messages
Comment: "A federal agent who shot a Chicago woman multiple times after he said she struck his vehicle with her own bragged about his shooting skills in text messages with other agents, according to records presented on Wednesday at a hearing against the woman."
"U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agent Charles Exum shot U.S. citizen Marimar Martinez, who was warning others about immigration enforcement agents in Chicago’s Brighton Park neighborhood, five times on October 4, after their cars collided."
"Martinez said the federal agent’s vehicle rammed her car."
"Federal prosecutors said the shooting was an act of self-defense. "
Comment: "Records presented at the hearing showed that in a group Signal chat with other agents, which Exum described as a support group, he wrote in part: 'I fired 5 rounds and she had 7 holes. Put that in your book boys.' "
"In a message to another recipient, Exum sent a news article about the event followed by the message: “Read it. 5 shots, 7 holes.”
Comment: Another case of CBP "professionalism?"
Comment: Apparently, there were also questions about a repair to the agent's vehicle and failure to preserve evidence that could have helped determine which vehicle initiated contact with the other.
Judge grants preliminary injunction against Bovino, federal agents over use of force: "Shocks the conscience"
Chicago Tribune: Chicago judge to issue injunction limiting use of force by ICE
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/06/operation-midway-blitz-injunction/
ICE is sending a chill through the construction industry
https://www.npr.org/2025/11/06/nx-s1-5575539/ice-immigration-construction-latino-workers
Comment: "For years, the construction industry — in which on average one in three workers is foreign-born — has struggled with a yawning labor shortage that President Trump's immigration crackdown is making worse, industry officials warn. In D.C., for example, that has meant Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) checkpoints that have swept up Latino workers on their way to and from work."
Comment: "As ICE agents fan out to detain and deport undocumented immigrants, their enforcement actions are creating unease among both undocumented and documented workers on building sites across the U.S., deepening the already severe labor shortage, slowing the pace of construction and driving up costs, industry officials and contractors say."
Federal judge says Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino admitted he lied, in ruling limiting federal agents’ use of force in Chicago | CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/us/gregory-bovino-deposition-chicago-immigration
ICE's detainee population reaches 66,000, a new record high, statistics show
Comment: "Never before has ICE held so many detainees facing deportation at any given time, according to officials, historical data and immigration policy experts."
"ICE's detainee population has ballooned by nearly 70% since Mr. Trump took office for a second time in January, when ICE was holding around 39,000 individuals in its detention system. The previous high before Mr. Trump's second administration was recorded during his first term, in 2019, when ICE held about 56,000 detainees at one point, according to government figures compiled by researchers at Syracuse University."
Comment: "The internal Department of Homeland Security figures show just over half — or around 33,000 — of the individuals in ICE detention as of Thursday morning did not have criminal charges or convictions and were being held solely because of civil immigration violations. ICE calls them 'immigration violators.' The other half, nearly 33,000 detainees, had criminal charges or convictions, according to the data."
"Since the summer, the fastest growing group of detainees initially arrested by ICE — as opposed to those transferred to the agency's custody by Border Patrol agents — has been comprised of unauthorized immigrants who lack criminal records, government figures show."
"It's unclear how many of those in ICE custody with criminal records have been convicted of or charged with violent or serious crimes, as opposed to misdemeanors or immigration-related crimes."
Comment: So, as ICE detains ever more undocumented immigrants, including many who were holding jobs and paying taxes, the cost to house and feed them increases. Ignoring the moral, ethical, political, and legal considerations of these actions for a moment, how do fiscally conservative Republicans feel about the cost of arresting and detaining these folks, especially the half without criminal charges or convictions?
Feds drive off with 1-year-old girl after arresting her father in Los Angeles
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/federal-agents-drive-off-1-year-girl-after-127238297
Comment: "Federal immigration agents arrested a U.S. citizen and took his car with a child in the back seat and drove off from the scene of a raid in Los Angeles, advocates and family said Wednesday."
"On a video provided by immigrant advocates, masked and armed agents are seen arresting a man by his car in a parking lot while his 1-year-old daughter is strapped into a car seat in the back. After the man is led away, agents are seen getting into the front of the car and driving off with the girl still inside."
"The man is a U.S. citizen who was at the scene of a federal immigration raid at a Home Depot store in Los Angeles, said Lindsay Toczylowski, co-founder of Immigrant Defenders Law Center. The firm, which handles immigration cases, was contacted by community members for help reuniting the family, but isn't representing the man because he is American, she said."
"“It was a dangerous act to have armed men get in a car with that child and remove her from the situation,” Toczylowski said, adding relatives picked up the child later that day from federal offices in Los Angeles. 'They should have followed protocols that had the best interest of that child in mind.' "
"U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials did not immediately respond to questions about why agents drove the man's car or took the child."
Chicago court hearing to focus on allegations that immigration agents used excessive force
Border Patrol commander Bovino defends tactics in Chicago immigration crackdown as Trump cheers
Video: Witnesses testify to conditions inside Broadview ICE facility - November 4, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q5VSEuCBCg
Judge calls alleged conditions at Chicago-area immigration site ‘disgusting’
Comment: "Allegations of heartless conditions at a key Chicago-area immigration building are 'disgusting,' a judge said Tuesday before hearing evidence that could lead to changes at a site that is a stop for people rounded up by the Trump administration.
"The government is accused of denying detainees proper access to food, water and medical care and coercing them to sign documents they don’t understand. Without that knowledge, and without private communication with lawyers, they have unknowingly relinquished their rights and faced deportation, the lawsuit alleges."
Comment: "U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman presided at the hearing just days after Van Brunt’s group and the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois filed the lawsuit and sought a temporary restraining order. The judge said the allegations are 'disgusting'."
" 'To have to sleep on a floor next to an overflowing toilet — that’s obviously unconstitutional,' Gettleman said."
"Attorney Jana Brady of the Justice Department acknowledged there are no beds at the Broadview building, just outside Chicago, because it was not intended to be a long-term detention site."
Comment: "Testifying with the help of a translator, Moreno Gonzalez, 56, said he was arrested last week while waiting to start work. He said he was placed in a cell with 150 other people, with no beds, blankets, toothbrush or toothpaste."
"For months advocates have raised concerns about conditions at the facility, which has drawn scrutiny from members of Congress, political candidates and activist groups. Lawyers and relatives of people held there have called it a de facto detention center, saying up to 200 people have been held at a time without access to legal counsel."
Two courts urge ICE to halt deportation of man wrongfully imprisoned for more than 40 years
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/03/subu-vedam-ice-deportation-overturned-conviction
Comment: "Two different courts have called on immigration officials to halt deportation of a Pennsylvania man who spent more than 40 years in prison for a murder conviction that was recently overturned. "
"Subramanyam Vedam, 64, was brought to the United States by his parents when he was nine months old. Vedam is a legal permanent resident, and according to his lawyer, had his citizenship application accepted prior to his arrest in 1982. He is known by his relatives as 'Subu, per the Associated Press."
"He is currently being held in a short-term center in Alexandria, Louisiana, which is equipped with an airstrip for deportations."
Comment: "Vedam was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison in 1983 and received an additional sentence of two-and-a-half to five years for a drug offense a year later, as part of a plea deal that was to be served simultaneously with his life sentence."
"He has maintained his innocence in the murder case throughout his time in prison and his conviction was overturned this year. He was released from state prison on 3 October only to be taken straight into immigration custody."
"Immigration and Customs Enforcement is seeking to deport Vedam over his no contest plea to charges of LSD delivery, filed when he was about 20. His lawyers argue that the four decades he wrongly spent in prison, where he earned degrees and tutored fellow prisoners, should outweigh the drug case. "
"A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said on Monday that the reversal in the murder case does not cancel the drug conviction."
Comment: 40 years in prison before case is reversed, released from prison, then ICE wants to deport you! ICE is cold.
US Citizen Shot From Behind by ICE, Lawyers Say
https://www.newsweek.com/ice-shooting-california-10980288
Comment: "A U.S. citizen and father of three was shot from behind by a federal immigration officer in Ontario, California, last week, according to attorneys for the man, who spoke with The Los Angeles Times."
"Attorneys say Carlos Jimenez, 25, was attempting to alert agents to nearby children when the incident occurred, while federal officials maintain that the officer discharged their weapon in self-defense after the driver reversed his vehicle toward them."
" 'An ICE officer, fearing for his life, fired defensive shots at the vehicle. The subject fled the scene and abandoned his vehicle,' Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek."
Comment: Most people would flee the scene if shot.
Comment: "No footage of the incident has been publicly released."
"DHS has made several accusations against multiple U.S. citizens, accusing them of impeding law enforcement operations and barreling at agents behind the wheel."
"The shooting is the second incident involving ICE officers in Southern California in just over a week. In a separate case last week in South Los Angeles, agents fired at a man after his vehicle was boxed in. Carlitos Ricardo Parias was struck in the elbow, and a deputy marshal was hit by a ricocheted bullet. Authorities said Parias had attempted to drive his car toward the agents’ vehicles."
Report: ICE Shot a US Citizen Trying to Help Kids
Comment: "According to his lawyer, immigration officers shot Carlos Jimenez after he warned them that children would soon gather for the bus where they had pulled over a vehicle."
Video: Masked agents, tear gas, and raids: the tactics used in Trump's deportation drive - November 2, 2025
https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/c6299nrj76yo
Trump says ICE raids "haven't gone far enough"
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-says-ice-raids-havent-gone-far-enough-60-minutes/
Comment: "President Trump, who campaigned on immigration and closing the border, says Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids 'haven't gone far enough'."
"As part of his crackdown on immigration, ICE agents have raided neighborhoods throughout the U.S. One video shows a mother being tackled by an agent. Tear gas was used in a Chicago residential neighborhood. Car windows have been smashed to grab drivers."
" 'I think they haven't gone far enough because we've been held back by the judges, by the liberal judges that were put in by Biden and by Obama,' Mr. Trump said."
"He said he's OK with the tactics being used by ICE 'because you have to get the people out.' "
Comment: Many of the linked articles on this website page describe other actions/tactics taken by ICE and CBP that Trump is OK with.
Chicago Tribune: Border Patrol’s strong-arm tactics are the new norm in Chicago as Trump moves to sideline ICE leadership
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/02/border-patrol-chicago-trump-ice/
For News Articles links from before November 1st, 2025, please go to one of the following, depending on the article date:
https://sites.google.com/view/dem3oldnews/home/old3-immigration-border-security
https://sites.google.com/view/dem2oldnews/home/old2-immigration-border-security
OR
https://sites.google.com/view/demoldnews/home/old-border-security
There you will find a continuation of the news links & comments from the period prior to November 1, 2025. The article history can be viewed as follows:
www.dalecodemocrats.com (latest)
sites.google.com/view/dem3oldnews/home/ (May 1, 2025 - October 31, 2025)
sites.google.com/view/dem2oldnews/home/ (Nov 2024 election - April 30, 2025)
sites.google.com/view/demoldnews/home/ (Prior to 2024 election)
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