ICE

Raw Story - Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Minneapolis appeared to threaten the life of a man who claimed he was trying to get home Sunday.

According to WGTC, the agents referenced the lesson that was given to Renee Good when she was shot to death by an ICE officer...

"Sir! This is a warning!" the agent yelled as he punched the man's vehicle window. "Stop f—king following us! You are impeding operations! This is the United States federal government!"

"I live over here," the driver explained. "I got to get to my house."

"This is your warning!" the officer exclaimed.

"I serve the Lord; go to church," the resident replied.

"I will arrest you!" the officer threatened.

"Don't make a bad decision," another agent warned.

"I serve the Lord," the driver repeated. "Not a draft-dodging coward."

"Let these people go to church," the driver added. "Let these people serve the Lord and worship."

"You're not going to like the outcome of this, sir," the first officer said. "I guarantee that... Did you not learn from what just happened [when Renee Good was killed]?"

"Learn what?" the driver asked. "I serve the Lord, not a draft-dodging coward. I can't believe you'd take orders from a draft dodger."

"Make America safe again, brother," one of the officers quipped.

"Always," the driver agreed.

Robert Reich -   ICE is reportedly investing $100 million on what it calls “wartime recruitment” of 10,000 new agents, in addition to the 20,000 already employed. Its recruitment is targeting gun and military enthusiasts, people who listen to right-wing radio, who have gone to Ultimate Fighting Championship fights or shopped for guns and tactical gear, live near military bases, and attend NASCAR races. It’s calling for recruits willing to perform their “sacred duty” and “defend the homeland” by repelling “foreign invaders.”

Meanwhile, Trump has announced that he’ll ask Congress for a $1.5 trillion defense budget for the next fiscal year — a 66 percent increase over the 2026 defense budget Congress just authorized.

There’s coming to be no difference between Trump’s foreign and domestic policies.

Both are based on the same eight maniacal ideas: (1) Might makes right. (2) Law is irrelevant. (3) America is at war with the world’s “radical left,” who are defined chiefly by their opposition to Trump. (4) Fear and force are better weapons in this war than hope and compromise. (5) The U.S. stock market is the best measure of Trump’s success. (6) Personal enrichment by Trump and other officials is justified in pursuit of victory. (7) So are lies, cover-ups, and the illegal use of force. (8) Trump is invincible and omnipotent.

Labor Politics - ICE relies heavily on the private sector to help carry out its Gestapo-like crusade against immigrants and their allies. Without the logistical, financial, and political support of business, its capacity to terrorize our communities would crumble.

Over the past week, activists around the country successfully pushed Avelo Airlines to stop running deportation charter flights, and workers in Minneapolis pushed a local Hilton affiliate to stop renting rooms to ICE agents. But these wins are just a fraction of what could be achieved if the millions of people who are outraged by ICE’s thuggery organize to pressure all companies to stop working with ICE.

Anti-authoritarian scholars and organizers stress that the most important thing for pro-democracy movements to do is to peel away a regime’s “pillars of support.” Even the most despotic of regimes can’t rule without the backing or consent of powerful external institutions. Businesses are society’s most important non-state institutions, and most of the biggest ones in America are collaborating with Trump, making themselves a very steady pillar of support for his rule.

These mega-corporations have immense financial and political power. It may seem like there’s nothing to be done to bring them to heel. But the successes with Avelo Airlines and the Minneapolis Hilton—as well as earlier pressure campaigns like the #Tesla Takedown, the fight to force Disney to rehire Jimmy Kimmel, and the boycott of Target over its Trump-friendly anti-DEI moves—show the immense leverage that consumers and workers have when provided an opportunity. We are not powerless, and there are concrete actions anyone can take to start eroding Trump’s support from big business. More

ICE's real rules

The Contrarian -   State and local law enforcement have every right, indeed, they have the sworn obligation, to investigate an alleged murder under state law. They simply cannot declare, “The feds have made it too hard.”

We already have replete evidence available from bystander accounts, multiple videotapes about ICE’s training, and data collected about ICE practices to warrant a full investigation. Minnesota law enforcement needs to preserve that evidence and then provide a completely transparent report on their findings. Then the feds can try to explain why they are sweeping this under the rug. If they have exculpatory evidence, let them produce it.

NPR -  U.S. representatives have typically been allowed to visit ICE detention facilities unannounced, but Homeland Security now requires elected officials to provide a seven-day notice to enter.