Reed MidekeWild story of Russian asylum seeker Polina Guseva, who had lawyers, followed all the rules, and was detained for a year and half before eventually being accepted. Pointless cruelty at taxpayer expense
https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/01/21/the-guards-didn-t-like-people-cooking-frogs-a-russian-woman-reflects-on-the-year-and-a-half-she-spent-in-u-s-immigration-detention
‘The guards didn’t like people cooking frogs’: A Russian woman tells Meduza about the year and a half she spent in U.S. immigration jail
From October 2024 to September 2025, Russians received a record number of asylum denials in the United States, and on January 14, 2026, the Trump administration suspended the issuance of immigrant visas to Russians altogether. Under President Donald Trump, the process of crossing the U.S.–Mexico border became significantly more difficult. People have waited for months for permission to enter U.S. territory before spending long periods in immigration detention facilities — sometimes more than a year. One of those people is 30-year-old Russian national Polina Guseva. Before receiving political asylum and reaching Los Angeles, she spent a year and a half in two U.S. detention centers. Meduza spoke with her about what life was like in jail, how she managed to win her court cases, and how she started a handwritten Russian-language newspaper for inmates called Vestnik Yebatoria (roughly “The Fuckatorium Herald) in one of the detention centers.
#KavanaughStop "Martinez explains he was in the holding cell for roughly 90 minutes at the port and had offered to show more proof of his identification - and even discussed the fact he served in the U.S. Coast Guard for seven years with agents, but that didn't seem to work initially"
Secret memo "says ICE officers can forcibly enter homes and arrest immigrants using just a signed administrative warrant known as an I-205 if they have a final order of removal issued by an immigration judge, the Board of Immigration Appeals or a district judge or magistrate judge"
https://apnews.com/article/ice-arrests-warrants-minneapolis-trump-00d0ab0338e82341fd91b160758aeb2d
Memo tells ICE officers they can enter homes without a warrant
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo obtained by The Associated Press reveals that the agency allows immigration officers to forcibly enter homes to make arrests without a judicial warrant. This change reverses previous guidance and raises concerns about constitutional protections against illegal searches. The memo, signed by ICE’s acting director, states that administrative warrants are sufficient for forced entry if there’s a final order of removal. This policy could face legal challenges and criticism from advocacy groups. Whistleblower Aid, representing two government officials, describes the directive as seemingly unconstitutional and a significant shift in arrest powers. The Associated Press obtained the memo and whistleblower complaint from an official in Congress.
'The memo is addressed to all ICE personnel. But it has been shown only to “select DHS officials” who then shared it with some employees who were told to read it and return it … Although the memo was issued in May, David Kligerman, senior vice president and special counsel at Whistleblower Aid, said it took time for its clients to find a “safe and legal path to disclose it to lawmakers"'
https://apnews.com/article/ice-arrests-warrants-minneapolis-trump-00d0ab0338e82341fd91b160758aeb2d
Memo tells ICE officers they can enter homes without a warrant
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo obtained by The Associated Press reveals that the agency allows immigration officers to forcibly enter homes to make arrests without a judicial warrant. This change reverses previous guidance and raises concerns about constitutional protections against illegal searches. The memo, signed by ICE’s acting director, states that administrative warrants are sufficient for forced entry if there’s a final order of removal. This policy could face legal challenges and criticism from advocacy groups. Whistleblower Aid, representing two government officials, describes the directive as seemingly unconstitutional and a significant shift in arrest powers. The Associated Press obtained the memo and whistleblower complaint from an official in Congress.
"A cottage industry of lawyers, lobbyists and consultants with close ties to Trump has sprung up to help people and companies seek leniency, often by arguing they had been victims of political persecution by the Biden administration"
How “Bitcoin Jesus” Avoided Prison, Thanks to One of the “Friends of Trump”
Billionaire fugitive Roger Ver was facing federal criminal charges until he sought the services of a select club of President Donald Trump’s former personal attorneys who have easy access to top Justice Department appointees.
Economist with a comprehensive takedown of the Trump admin's various Greenland arguments
Meanwhile, it sure looks like the deal Rutte sold Trump is nothing he couldn't have got by just asking nicely, without setting 70+ years of NATO good will on fire https://uk.news.yahoo.com/us-denmark-reopen-1951-defence-113731760.html
#KavanaughStop "after he gave them his Real ID, he said they became visibly irritated and insinuated that it was fake. A veteran, Fernando shared his name, rank, branch of service and social security number, but he said the officers were unfazed. They demanded that he step out of the car, Fernando said, and as he did so, they threw him to the ground and laid their body weight on top of him" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/22/us-citizens-racial-profiling-ice
admin "…decided that until Patel was confirmed, the FBI’s acting director would be Rob Kissane, a veteran counterterrorism agent. The acting deputy director would be Brian Driscoll, the special agent in charge of the Newark field office. But in its announcement, the White House accidentally named Driscoll to the top position. Though it was an error, Driscoll became the acting No. 1 and Kissane became the No. 2"
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/01/22/magazine/trump-kash-patel-fbi-agents.html?unlocked_article_code=1.GlA.zjoh.YSHu9fkx1y7r&smid=url-share
#GiftArticle
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/01/22/magazine/trump-kash-patel-fbi-agents.html?unlocked_article_code=1.GlA.zjoh.YSHu9fkx1y7r&smid=url-share
#GiftArticle
"Patel had his first director’s call with the heads of all the field offices. He had no agenda, no organized thoughts, no strategy or leadership philosophy or priorities to share. I specifically remember him saying at one point, “I don’t read.” He explained he didn’t read briefing materials"
"Federal judges in Minnesota have several times in recent weeks rejected arrest warrants for people protesting a surge of immigration officers in that state, finding that federal agents do not have sufficient evidence that protesters assaulted officers or committed other crimes, according to two people briefed on the discussions"
https://www.ms.now/news/minnesota-judges-continue-to-reject-arrest-warrants-in-ice-protests
Not a surprise to say the least, but now confirmed by the government's own records, the justification for masked goons grabbing and attempting to deport Rümeysa Öztürk was essentially one innocuous op-ed. Even if you believe (unlike the court) that Rubio had the authority, there's no serious argument it was anything other than censorship
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/23/politics/court-documents-student-israel-op-ed
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/23/politics/court-documents-student-israel-op-ed
Unsealed court documents suggest Trump admin detained Tufts student for writing op-ed critical of Israel
Newly unsealed court documents show the Trump administration did not have evidence that Tufts University PhD student Rümeysa Öztürk was supporting terrorist activity when she was arrested and her visa was revoked, and the action was taken because of an opinion article she wrote that contained criticisms of Israel.
NYT reports "In the case of Mr. Khalil and Ms. Chung, both students at Columbia, investigators wrote that they had attended protests where fliers containing language from Hamas were distributed — but not that either had played any role in producing or distributing them"
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/us/politics/trump-rubio-student-speech.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/us/politics/trump-rubio-student-speech.html
NYT confirms DHS initial account of Alex Pretti's murder was, predictably, a complete lie
The wink nudge fascist references and the gaslighting denials are quite obviously both part of the same plan
"In recent months a number of DHS statements about violent actions by officers have proven to be misleading or entirely false. Federal authorities have blocked local police from investigating suspected instances of excessive use of force. With this latest shooting, federal agents apparently tried to order the local police to leave the scene"
RE: https://mstdn.social/@Bellingcat/115957672014548440
Bellingcat on the Pretti murder with unsurprising conclusions
https://mastodon.social/@Bellingcat@mstdn.social/115957672158979926
A good take on Trump's Greenland obsession, and how even critical coverage tends to sane wash it "As so often happens with this president, there is no policy logic here, no planning process, no coherent ideological background—just one man’s whim. The fact that some of us are willing to respond with even a modicum of respect attests to worrisome flaws in our collective psychology"
https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/01/22/trumps-greenland-obsession-media-analysis-sanewashing-cognitive-bias/
https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/01/22/trumps-greenland-obsession-media-analysis-sanewashing-cognitive-bias/
Real "best people" energy in the table at the end of this story on the DHS goons attempts to prosecute resistance in Chicago: 1 jury acquittal at trial, 3 no bills (grand jury declined to indict), 11 dismissed by government, zero convictions so far
Woman shot by Border Patrol in Chicago asks judge to let her release evidence
Marimar Martinez is blocked from releasing evidence in her case by what's known as a "protective order." Though standard, her attorney says it's “become an albatross” around her neck and “keeps the entire country in the dark."
Lysenkoism watch: "In response to pushback from the hosts, Milhoan objected to the idea that the measles and polio vaccines reduced the spread of those diseases" https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/01/do-we-really-need-polio-shots-deep-thoughts-by-rfk-jr-advisor-get-dragged/
Acting CISA director Madhu Gottumukkala demanded a special exemption for ChatGPT access and later "uploaded sensitive contracting documents into a public version of ChatGPT last summer, triggering multiple automated security warnings that are meant to stop the theft or unintentional disclosure of government material from federal networks"
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/27/cisa-madhu-gottumukkala-chatgpt-00749361
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/27/cisa-madhu-gottumukkala-chatgpt-00749361
Schiltz is sick of ICE's shit "Attached to this order is an appendix that identifies 96 court orders that ICE has violated in 74 cases. The extent of ICE’s noncompliance is almost certainly substantially understated. This list is confined to orders issued since January 1, 2026, and the list was hurriedly compiled by extraordinarily busy judges…" https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26513988-trorder012826/
"NATO is well known for its collective defense commitment — Article 5 — but the alliance is also bound by Articles 2 and 3, which ask countries to promote economic cooperation and mutual rearmament. With his threats to impose tariffs on Europe and seize Greenland, Trump has violated both, [a] NATO diplomat said" https://www.politico.eu/article/mark-rutte-donald-trump-flattery-nato/
There are non-frivolous arguments for streamlining nuclear power regulations, but doing an end run around the NRC and re-writing the rules in secret does not seem like a good start
https://www.npr.org/2026/01/28/nx-s1-5677187/nuclear-safety-rules-rewritten-trump
https://www.npr.org/2026/01/28/nx-s1-5677187/nuclear-safety-rules-rewritten-trump
One more for the "We're respected again!" files: 44% of Europeans now believe that Trump behaves like a dictator and an absolute majority (51%) calls him an “enemy” of Europe. For 64% of respondents, U.S. foreign policy is defined by “recolonization” and “predation.”
https://legrandcontinent.eu/fr/2026/01/23/eurobazooka-geopolitique-trump-groenland/
Le moment Groenland: l’opinion européenne face à la menace américaine
La nouvelle vague de notre grande enquête d’opinion européenne révèle une rupture dans la perception des États-Unis pour les Européens : l’hypothèse d’un affrontement avec Washington est désormais clairement et majoritairement exprimée. Jean-Yves Dormagen présente les résultats du nouvel Eurobazooka.
Who could have predicted that a foreign policy based on unpredictable, exploitive thuggishness would lead to this? (me, for one*)
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/31/world/asia/trump-xi-starmer-carney.html?unlocked_article_code=1.IlA.LoWu.mWudP2o1LCaV&smid=url-share
"Americans express the least amount of confidence in Trump to act ethically in office. Just 21% are extremely or very confident he does this, while 60% express little or no confidence … While overall confidence in Trump’s ethics in office was already relatively low last February (29%), it has declined 8 percentage points since. And nearly all of that drop has come among Republicans" (Dems were single digit already)
"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"
ICE presence at hospitals triggers friction with workers
Nurses in Minneapolis doubted federal immigration officers' claims about a Mexican immigrant's severe injuries. ICE agents said Alberto Castañeda Mondragón ran headfirst into a wall while handcuffed. But hospital staff found his injuries inconsistent with that account. The seemingly implausible explanation from ICE is just one example of recent encounters that have undermined the agency’s credibility at Minneapolis hospitals and contributed to mounting friction between medical staff and immigration officers. 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.
Any other US administration would be deeply embarrassed by this
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/31/world/europe/denmark-military-march-us-troops.html?unlocked_article_code=1.IlA.TPrW.99DjbzckUfwo
"a journalist for Voice of America Persian told a foreign policy commentator that the network's management could not allow any critique of the president"
https://www.npr.org/2026/01/30/nx-s1-5683246/kari-lake-trump-voa-pnn-iran-firewall-propaganda
Shot: Supreme Court Justice Brett, establishing the #KavanaughStop doctrine "If the person is a U. S. citizen or otherwise lawfully in the United States, that individual will be free to go after the brief encounter"
Chaser: "When Maria did not immediately respond, the agents shattered her car window, forcibly removed her from the vehicle and threw her to the ground, causing numerous injuries"
U.S. citizen injured by federal agents in Salem who demanded to see “papers,” union says - Salem Reporter
A home care worker and union worker was pulled from her car and injured by federal agents Thursday according to a statement by SEIU 503. To comment on this story, use the form at the end of the report.
There's plenty of 🤡 in the admin's failed ethics complaint against Boasberg, but one of the wildest is that the core of the complaint was supposed to be supported by "attachment A", which DOJ neglected to attach, and when the D.C. Circuit told them, DOJ just ignored it
https://mastodon.social/@stevevladeck.[email protected]/115991490645102097
Possibly they realized it wouldn't help their case: "The primary theory of the complaint is that the judge made an improper statement at the Judicial Conference on March 11 about the risk that the Administration would not comply with federal judicial rulings" which judge Sutton explains wouldn't be misconduct if true (and anyone who isn't a Trump sycophant knows is an entirely reasonably concern)
https://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/internet/judicial_complaints/files/2025/06-25-90173%28Chad.MO.pdf
According to Propublica, the CBP goons who murdered Alex Pretti were Jesus "Jesse" Ochoa (43) and Raymundo Gutierrez (35), both of South Texas
Bondi's "Weaponization Working Group" will now meet daily to weaponize the DOJ against Trump's enemies
https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/02/politics/justice-department-trump-weaponization-priority
https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/02/politics/justice-department-trump-weaponization-priority
Justice Department expected to ramp up efforts to deliver on Trump’s ‘weaponization’ priorities
Justice Department officials are expected to meet Monday to discuss how to reenergize probes that are considered a top priority for President Donald Trump — reviewing the actions of officials who investigated him, according to a source familiar with the plan.
Courts not buying the administration's sudden, classified national security objections to offshore wind: "As of Monday, every single one of them has achieved the same result: a temporary injunction that allows them to continue construction. This, despite the fact that the suits were filed in three different courts and heard by four different judges" https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/02/court-orders-restart-of-all-us-offshore-wind-construction/
One for The Best People files: "'The ODNI review was initially overseen by the Director’s Initiatives Group, or Dig … But Dig was dissolved late last year after it misidentified the person who placed pipe bombs outside Democratic and Republican party headquarters before the January 6 Capitol riot"
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/03/tulsi-gabbard-2020-election-investigation-ed
'At one point, Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino arrived, and I’m not sure who the hero was, but they said, “Fuck you, Bovino.” That made the agents very upset, so they told us all to turn around and face the wall'
Guess Julie Le got what she wanted without even going to jail for contempt, but also we've repeatedly seen the DOJ sending unprepared junior folks to avoid having senior people under oath
https://apnews.com/article/julie-le-job-sucks-minnesota-dhs-ice-b0affbb6c394c39184a813c8f597d5a2
https://apnews.com/article/julie-le-job-sucks-minnesota-dhs-ice-b0affbb6c394c39184a813c8f597d5a2
DHS lawyer removed after telling judge 'this job sucks'
A government lawyer who told a judge that her job “sucks” during a court hearing stemming from the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota has been removed from her Justice Department post. That's according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity. The person said Julie Le had been working for the Justice Department on a detail from another government agency, but the U.S. attorney in Minnesota ended her detail after her comments in court on Tuesday. A hearing transcript says Le told U.S. District Judge Jerry Blackwell that she wishes he could hold her in contempt of court so she could get "a full 24 hours of sleep.”
Today from the party of "Let the market decide, government shouldn't pick winners and losers"
Remember that raid in Chicago that was supposedly about Tren de Aragua?
"new documents confirm in the government’s own words that what prompted the raid was more pedestrian: allegations that immigrants were squatting in the complex. And the landlord had given federal officials, who were already targeting immigrants in Chicago, the blessing to search the building"
https://www.propublica.org/article/chicago-venezuela-immigration-ice-raid-landlord-tren-de-aragua
The Real Story Behind the Midnight Immigration Raid on a Chicago Apartment Building
The Trump administration has claimed the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua had taken over the building. But new documents make no mention of the gang and reveal federal agents had information about “illegal aliens unlawfully occupying apartments.”
Story of the guy ICE claimed fractured his skull by running into wall* is every bit as horrific as you'd expect https://apnews.com/article/immigration-enforcement-minneapolis-hospital-ice-beating-assault-4e77742e0629fc7f127c0aa38b3d2a70
Immigrant whose skull was broken during ICE arrest says beating was unprovoked
A Mexican immigrant whose skull was broken during his arrest by immigration officers last month in Minnesota says the beating was unprovoked. Alberto Castañeda Mondragón says federal agents began hitting him right after they pulled him from a vehicle. He was hospitalized with eight skull fractures and five life-threatening brain hemorrhages. Officers claimed he ran into a wall, but medical staff immediately doubted that account. His case has sparked calls for accountability and transparency. Castañeda Mondragón, who entered the U.S. legally, faces a long recovery and uncertain future. He hopes to stay in the U.S. and support his family despite fears of another encounter with ICE.
"I know state terror when I see it. It is not just Iran’s [IRCG], Russia’s FSB or Egypt’s National Security Agency. It’s lawyers in suits and bureaucrats at desks and journalists spinning a narrative so the truth is distorted. It’s ICE agents breaking car windows and shooting unarmed citizens. It is militarised borders; family separations and deportations without due process. It is turning fear into a policy, a goal" https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/08/state-terror-us-israel-donald-trump-benjamin-netanyahu
ICC member states should really not be taking this sitting down
https://www.reuters.com/investigations/trumps-war-global-justice-court-staff-un-face-terroristgrade-sanctions-2026-02-06/
https://www.reuters.com/investigations/trumps-war-global-justice-court-staff-un-face-terroristgrade-sanctions-2026-02-06/
"We're respected again" in one picture
The Best People files: Cleta Mitchell sidekick election denier "researcher" Kevin Moncla, who reportedly provided evidence for the Fulton county search warrant "In 2004 … pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor voyeurism charge and was subsequently ordered by a jury to pay $3.25 million in damages after secretly filming guests in his home bathroom"
https://www.propublica.org/article/kevin-moncla-election-researcher-fulton-county-georgia
The Conservative Researcher Being Linked to the FBI’s Seizure of Election Records in Georgia
Kevin Moncla has tried repeatedly to prove that the 2020 vote in Fulton County, Georgia, was tainted by fraud. While state election overseers have rejected his claims, his work may be fueling the federal government’s ongoing investigations.
They really want to make sure everyone knows that any deal with US is worthless under Trump https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpw052pkvl0o
#KavanaughStop "the FBI field office in Boise initially said in a statement that claims of children being zip-tied were "completely false," officials there later amended that assertion, telling reporters that no "young" children were zip-tied. Later, the Caldwell Police Department, which participated in the raid, issued a statement acknowledging that minors had been zip-tied"
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/feds-zip-tied-14-year-old-girl-idaho-raid-ice-tactics/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/feds-zip-tied-14-year-old-girl-idaho-raid-ice-tactics/
A 14-year-old girl described being zip-tied during Idaho raid, sparking fresh questions about ICE tactics
A 14-year-old girl said she was "crying" and "struggling to breathe" when law enforcement officers herded her onto a racetrack with other detainees and zip-tied her hands.
A possible tiny silver lining to this shitshow is more grand juries realizing they can decline to indict the ham sandwich https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/doj-fails-secure-indictment-democrats-involved-illegal-orders-video-rcna258385
So much winning: "In 2025, only about 59% of Americans gave high ratings when asked to evaluate how good their life will be in about five years, the lowest annual measure since Gallup began asking this question almost 20 years ago" https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/new-gallup-poll-reveals-depth-of-americans-gloom-about-the-future
Good Politico round up of the administration's systematic contempt for the judiciary in immigration cases
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/10/ice-immigration-detention-court-orders-00771727
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/10/ice-immigration-detention-court-orders-00771727
This administration seems bound and determined to convince the world that any "national security" justification the US claims is a hollow pretext to be created or bargained away on a whim
(not that previous administrations were immune to pretextual "national security" measures of course, but they generally put more effort into maintaining a veneer of plausibility)
🤡 🎬 "Noem was forced to switch planes due to a maintenance issue, but the blanket she used was not transferred to the second plane … In response, Lewandowski fired the pilot.
In another plot twist, the pilot was then reinstated after no one else was available to fly the pair home"
https://www.thedailybeast.com/ice-barbies-alleged-lover-fired-her-pilot-for-absurd-reason/
I for one am shocked… "Video evidence has revealed that sworn testimony provided by two separate officers appears to have made untruthful statements"
(shocked that DHS would admit it)
JFC people, this should not be "reassuring" all that stuff about shared history and culture and how the US just wants to "help" Europe is just Vance's white supremacist screed in a cheap suit
https://www.rferl.org/a/rubio-warning-munich-speech-/33678260.html
Rubio Wraps Warnings In Warmth As Europe Breathes A Sigh Of Relief
At this year's Munich Security Conference, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed European leaders with affirmations of transatlantic ties -- calling America a "child of Europe" -- while urging reforms to address deindustrialization, migration, and sovereignty challenges.
Vance: We hate you and everything you stand for, so we must destroy the EU and install far-right racist parties in government
Rubio: We love you and our shared historical culture, so to save it we must destroy the EU and install far-right racist parties in government
Rubio: We love you and our shared historical culture, so to save it we must destroy the EU and install far-right racist parties in government
"Hundreds of judges around the country have ruled more than 4,400 times since October that President Donald Trump’s administration is detaining immigrants unlawfully"
"While Rubio’s tone was politer than the diatribe delivered by US vice-president JD Vance on the same stage the previous year — the first of a year-long series of blows dealt by Trump’s administration to the EU and Nato — the substance of the US message was little changed" https://www.ft.com/content/94633f65-04c0-4cea-b682-98c17720eebc
Aaron Blake rounds up a few of soon-to-be-ex DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin's biggest lies
https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/17/politics/dhs-ice-trump-tricia-mclaughlin
https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/17/politics/dhs-ice-trump-tricia-mclaughlin
The many claims by Trump’s DHS that have fallen apart
The imminent exit of Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin from the agency is the latest sign of a reset in the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation strategy, which has fallen sharply out of favor with the American people.
Chlorine Dioxide, Raw Camel Milk: The FDA No Longer Warns Against These and Other Ineffective Autism Treatments
The FDA has taken down a webpage warning about therapies and products making “false claims” of treating autism. It’s part of a series of actions the agency has taken under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to discredit long-established science.
Wittes' translation of Rubio's speech is not so different from mine https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-situation--translating-rubio
