Where we left off in 2025...

OregonLive.com: DHS ramps up surveillance in ICE raids, sweeping in citizens

US to slash routine vaccine recommendations for children in major change experts say creates doubt

After SCOTUS case Trump backs away from deploying national guard in Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland 

 Trump administration reportedly freezes all childcare payments to all states

 

The Guardian: Billionaires added record $2.2tn in wealth in 2025

 

 

  

 

ICE error meant some recruits were sent into field offices without proper training, sources say 

 

ICE Making List of Anyone Who Films Them-“We have a nice little database and now you’re considered a domestic terrorist.” 

 

Confirmed: ICE Is Arresting American Citizens—and Lying About It-A government that flouts the Fourth Amendment and then lies about it to courts and the people has crossed a moral and legal frontier.

  

Judge says Trump administration must continue funding consumer watchdog 

 

Around 1,000 more immigration officers headed to Minneapolis, sources say, as tensions flare after fatal ICE shooting

  

‘Their first instinct was to loot’: how Trump’s acolytes are plundering the Kennedy Center

 

Kennedy Center reportedly changed rules before vote to add Trump’s name

 

More musicians drop out of Kennedy Center shows after Trump name change

 

Alien Enemies Act deportations violated due process, judge says : NPR

 

Judge orders administration to submit plans for return of migrants deported to El Salvador prison under AEA - ABC News

 

  

What's going on now?

ICE Took Their Papers—and Won’t Give Them Back
Immigrants are being released from detention without documents proving their status.

Judge rules Trump deportation flights to ‘third countries’ unlawful

States sue Trump administration over changes to vaccine recommendations for children

Nearly blind refugee abandoned by US border patrol found dead in Buffalo

Investigation under way after man was dropped off five miles from home but family wasn’t notified, officials say

Majority believes Trump moving US in wrong direction, poll finds

 Jobs, gas prices and ending wars: factchecking Trump’s SOTU claims

 ‘We did not hear the truth’: Spanberger criticizes Trump over cost of living

 Why the longest-ever State of the Union address was the most inconsequential

 Trump claims host of successes and attacks old foes in longest State of the Union

Democrats refuse to stand for Trump as Al Green ejected over ‘apes’ protest sign

 

 Ilhan Omar to Trump: “You Have Killed Americans”A tense exchange during a remarkably racist portion of the president’s State of the Union address. 

 The State of the Union Was a Rally for an Ailing Strongman An increasingly unpopular Trump lurched from plodding teleprompter readings to gothic MAGA fantasies in his long-winded speech.

 

NBC News: Judge blocks Trump DOJ from reviewing Washington Post reporter's seized data

 

Worst of the worst? Most US immigrants targeted for deportation in 2025 had no criminal charges, documents reveal

 

DoJ cases against protesters keep collapsing as officers’ lies are exposed in court

 

Federal agents shot and killed a U.S. citizen in Texas last year, but initial reports did not reveal their involvement, with the details now coming to light through internal U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) records. -Ruben Ray Martinez, 23, was shot by an ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) officer in South Padre Island, Texas, on March 15, 2025, after what ICE described as a failure to follow law enforcement instructions during a traffic incident as agents worked with local police on immigration enforcement.

 

11 Million Visitors Short: Inside America’s Continuing Tourism Slump Last year, the U.S. was the only major destination to see a decline in international travelers. With increased scrutiny at the border, ICE violence and unpredictable policies, the new year isn’t looking better.

 

The supreme court’s tariffs ruling puts Trump on notice with a bloody nose

Ed Pilkington The conservative-heavy court had largely given Trump everything he desired – until now, when two of his three nominees turned their back on him

 

Former top general calls military's removal of trans troops a costly mistake

 

White House grants ICE power to detain refugees for aggressive ‘rescreening’

 

Arts panel appointed by Trump OKs White House ballroom plan

 

Army veteran sues federal government after ICE detains him for three days

 

Trump officials plan to build 5,000-person military base in Gaza, files show

 

Environmental groups sue Trump’s EPA over repeal of landmark climate finding-Lawsuit from health and environmental justice groups challenges the EPA’s rollback of the ‘endangerment finding’

 

Trump officials sued over effort to ‘erase history and science’ in national parks 

 

More than 600 people were fired or punished for posting about Charlie Kirk’s death. They want justice

 

PBS: Nonprofit libraries ordered by State Department to stop processing passport applications

 

US paid $32m to five countries to accept about 300 deportees, report shows

 

Trump’s EPA repeals landmark climate finding in gift to ‘billionaire polluters’

 

DHS Shot Her and Called Her a “Terrorist.” New Videos Show Something Different.“It’s time to get aggressive,” a Border Patrol agent said shortly before Marimar Martinez was shot five times.

 

Trump administration working to expand effort to strip citizenship from foreign-born Americans

 

Judge Rules Against Hegseth, Finding That He ‘Trampled on Senator Kelly’s First Amendment Freedoms’ 

 

 

 

Judge orders US to provide California ICE detainees with medical care, attorneys and blankets

 

Grand jury declines to indict Democrats asking troops to refuse illegal orders 

 

Man pardoned by Trump for attacking US Capitol found guilty of child abuse

 

Irish man held in ICE detention says he fears for his life and asks Ireland for help

 

Debunked claims from election deniers influenced FBI raid in Georgia, affidavit reveals 

 

Support for Trump’s immigration efforts drops sharply after Minnesota shootings

 

The secretive, destructive work of an ICE attorney: ‘My job is to do what I’m told’

 

Judges are regularly threatening contempt charges against the DOJ in immigration cases | CNN Politics

 

The Intercept: “Uptick in Abductions”: ICE Ramps Up Targeting of Minneapolis Legal Observers

 

 

 

Case dismissed against LA protester accused of assaulting federal officer with cloth hat

 

The Guardian: US restaurants targeted for opposing ICE: ‘I refuse to cook for fascists’ 

 

Trump Rx prescription drug site ‘not a solution’ for many patients, experts say

 

ICE Is Expanding Across the US at Breakneck Speed. Here’s Where It’s Going Next

ICE plans to lease offices throughout the US as part of a secret, monthslong expansion campaign. WIRED is publishing dozens of these locations.

 

Hard hats and dummy plates: Reports of ICE ruses add to fears in Minnesota

 

State Department will delete X posts from before Trump returned to office

 

After years spent documenting state terror, I know it when I see it. And I see it now in the US and Israel

 

Immigrant whose skull was broken in eight places during ICE arrest says beating was unprovoked

 

New York judge extends block on federal cuts to social service funds in Democratic-led states

 

Federal judge reverses Trump’s freeze on $16bn for NY-NJ tunnel project

 

Slate: A Lawyer for ICE Broke Down in Court. It’s the Sound of the System Collapsing.

 

NBC News: DHS warned its independent watchdog that Noem can kill its investigations, senator says

 

Pardoned January 6 rioter pleads guilty to threatening Hakeem Jeffries

 

NBC appears to cut crowd’s booing of JD Vance from Winter Olympics broadcast

 

MPR News: DHS has requested expedited deportation proceedings against family of Liam Conejo Ramos

 

‘Unhinged and malignant bottom feeder’: top Democrats condemn Trump for sharing racist video about Obamas 

 

WNEP: DHS and ICE 'acted without authority' by putting ankle monitor on man a federal judge in Scranton ordered released, judge says

 

 

 

Calls to shut down Texas ICE facility for children grow amid measles outbreak

 

ICE agents in Oregon cannot arrest people without warrants, judge rules

 

Judge to Trump lawyers trying to move hush money appeal to federal court: ‘You sought two bites at the apple’ | CNN Politics

 

Trump DOJ Files 9/11-Era Charges Against Leftists Across the Country
Under Trump, the DOJ has changed how it brings terrorism cases, and is training them on the opposition.

 

Homeland Security is targeting Americans with this secretive legal weapon
 

Trump accused of ‘corruption, plain and simple’ after UAE invested in family firm

New Epstein files fail to quell outrage as advocates claim documents are being withheld

Judge says Trump administration must let lawmakers make unannounced visits to ICE detention facilities - POLITICO 

Trump administration cuts number of sites for testing the 2030 census, focusing on the South

Exclusive: US missions to review aid programs for compliance with new rules on abortion, diversity and gender

Federal Court Rules Requiring Use of Trans Student’s Pronouns Does Not Violate First Amendment
A Christian substitute teacher first sued the school for having to use a trans student's pronouns in 2024.

Judge blocks Trump administration’s stripping of Haitians’ protected status

Trump says federal government should ‘take over’ state elections

"He signed an executive order in March to require proof of U.S. citizenship on election forms, but months later a federal judge barred the Trump administration from doing so, saying the order violated the separation of powers.

“Because our Constitution assigns responsibility for election regulation to the States and to Congress, this Court holds that the President lacks the authority to direct such changes,” Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia wrote in October."

DHS’s account of two Venezuelans shot by border patrol falls apart in court: ‘A smear campaign’

Immigrant rights groups sue Trump administration over visa ban on 75 countries

The Trump administration says it's reviewing thousands of cases to look for potential fraud. A judge ordered a temporary pause, saying refugees cannot be arrested "without warrants or cause."

Misconduct complaint dismissed against judge in El Salvador prison deportation case | AP News

Two CBP Agents Identified in Alex Pretti Shooting

Trump’s post-truth agenda beaten back as Americans refuse to accept ICE lies

Chicago mayor orders police to investigate alleged illegal ICE activity in city

Federal judge blocks Donald Trump's order requiring proof of citizenship for voter registry

Democrats accuse DoJ of not releasing millions of files despite legal requirement

CBP employee in Minnesota charged after reportedly being found ‘covered in vomit’ in car

US DoJ opens federal civil rights investigation into killing of Alex Pretti

Here is the User Guide for ELITE, the Tool Palantir Made for ICE
Joseph Cox Joseph Cox-404 Media is publishing a version of the user guide for ELITE, which lets ICE bring up dossiers on individual people and provides a “confidence score” of their address.

More than 300 anti-ICE protests planned across US this weekend

US justice department releases more than 3 million new pages of Epstein files 

Thousands march in New York City: ‘If it’s them today, it’s us tomorrow’

 ICE’s surveillance app is a techno-authoritarian nightmare

Trump Awards $1.26 Billion Contract to Build Biggest Immigrant Detention Center in US-
Tent camp with 5,000 beds would be the largest such facility in the country, fueling fears of advocates who say they often don’t meet basic needs

U.S. appeals court says Noem’s decision to end protections for Venezuelans was illegal

The New Republic: Kash Patel Sets Off Diplomatic Incident With FBI Operation in Mexico

From worst of times to even worse: the Trump administration continues to spiral-Sidney Blumenthal

Trump sues IRS and US treasury for $10bn over leak of tax returns

Georgia lawmakers express alarm to see Tulsi Gabbard at FBI elections office raid

Senate fails to advance spending package after Democrats refuse to back DHS funding

‘Nothing has changed’: Minneapolis on edge despite Trump’s de-escalation vow

Republican senators call for Kristi Noem to resign as DHS secretary

No civil rights violation probe into latest Minnesota shooting, sources tell MS NOW-As DHS takes over the federal investigation, current and former law enforcement agents warn that Trump’s DOJ isn’t committed to facts or fairness.

PBS: Man charged with assaulting Rep. Maxwell Frost at Sundance Film Festival

AP News: Federal judge dismisses Justice Department lawsuit seeking Oregon’s voter rolls 

PBS: Fact-checking FBI Director Patel's false claim that guns are barred at protests

‘A militia that kills’: uproar in Italy over ICE security role at Winter Olympics 

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar sprayed with unknown substance at Minneapolis town hall

Families of two men killed in Trump’s military boat strikes sue US government

Pressure mounts on Kristi Noem as Republicans join calls for her to go

Trump Admin FBI to investigate Minneapolis activists after far-right claim about Signal chats

 Minnesota judge summons acting ICE director, warns of contempt over court defiance

‘Americans have died’: calls mount for Trump to fire Kristi Noem after deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good

White House backtracks initial claims about Alex Pretti after intense backlash

Bay Area tech workers ask CEOs to cancel ICE contracts

Minneapolis court considers whether Trump’s deployment of ICE agents violates constitution

Trump moved to cut funding for ICE body cameras and reduced oversight

Tim Walz urges Trump to remove agents from Minnesota: ‘You can end this’

‘This is what fascism looks like’: terror in Minneapolis reminiscent of civil war

 Trump officials continue to push lies after fatal shooting of Alex Pretti

Appeals court rejects DOJ’s emergency bid to arrest Don Lemon, church demonstrators - POLITICO

 ICE left racist death cards to intimidate Latinos in Eagle County

Federal judges reject DOJ motion to detain arrested Minnesota protesters
One judge found the Trump administration offered “no factual or legal support” to support its contention that this was a “crime of violence.”

Large protests spread across US after Alex Pretti fatally shot by federal agents

Video contradicts Trump’s claim man killed in Minneapolis was a ‘gunman’

Alex Pretti did not brandish gun, witnesses say in sworn testimony

Minneapolis shooting: Governor Tim Walz condemns ‘federal occupation’ as victim identified as Alex Pretti, 37

Man killed in Minneapolis by federal agents identified as VA nurse Alex Pretti: ‘He wanted to help people’

Slate: ICE Agents Detained Me for Eight Hours for Legally Observing Them. I Saw Exactly What They’re Up To.

Judge says academics can challenge Trump policy in free speech case | AP News

Philadelphia sues after slavery exhibits were taken down from President's House site

Democratic lawmakers accuse Trump of letting white-collar criminals ‘off the hook’ 

Minnesota judges continue to reject arrest warrants in ICE protests 

Trump Administration Drops Appeal in School D.E.I. Lawsuit
The administration withdrew its challenge to a ruling halting its effort to strip funding from schools and colleges with D.E.I. programs. It did not say why.

The Guardian: ‘We have to stand together’: Minnesota economic blackout organizers push to take demonstrations nationwide 

AP News: Workplace rights agency scraps anti-harassment guidance, citing Trump’s orders

Man accused of plot to murder US border patrol’s Bovino found not guilty

pennlive.com: Pa. man posing as ICE agent gets punched unconscious by teen during home invasion

Federal judge appears skeptical that Trump has legal authority to proceed with White House ballroom | CNN Politics 

The Trump administration has a Nazi problem

Jack Smith says Donald Trump is ‘person most responsible’ for January 6 Capitol riot during House testimony

Trump says he’s expanding defamation suit against the New York Times after unfavorable poll

Immigration officers assert sweeping power to enter homes without a judge’s warrant, memo says

Minneapolis leaders call the ICE surge a ‘siege’. My reporting from there concurs

The Congresswoman Criminalized for Visiting ICE Detainees-LaMonica McIver went to tour an immigration jail in her New Jersey district. Now she faces sevente

US court allows ICE to arrest and pepper-spray peaceful protesters in Minnesota

Eight wars settled and Chinese windfarms: factchecking Trump’s Davos claims

Trump’s Davos speech shows influence of deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller’s racist worldview

Trump’s rambling Davos speech rehashes warped ideas of US supremacy

President Trump commutes Rep. Womack's son sentence-President Donald Trump commuted Rep. Steve Womack's son remaining drug dealing  sentence -was sentenced to 96 months in prison for the distribution of methamphetamine in May 2024

Trump Admijn Admits DODGE Accessed Social Security Data

Minnesota Police Chief Warns ICE Is Targeting His Cops Now-Masked ICE agents are terrorizing Minnesota residents—including local police officers.

AP News: US citizen says ICE removed him from his Minnesota home in his underwear after warrantless search 

Epstein victims’ advocates express outrage over slow release of files 

Donald Trump needs helpers for his appalling neocolonialist project. What else is this ‘board of peace’?

Noem backtracks on ICE pepper spray denial amid tension in Minneapolis

EU considers retaliatory measures over Trump Greenland tariff ‘blackmail’

Trump’s calls to seize Greenland ignite fresh criticism from Republican party

How Trump’s promise to slash energy bills in half has failed across the US

Justice department loses bid to get sensitive information on California voters 

Press advocates condemn Pentagon move to seize editorial control of Stars and Stripes

Judge: TSA ‘plainly’ violated court order with renewed union busting push - Government Executive

‘Unconstitutional conspiracy’: Judge slams Trump administration over targeted deportations-A Reagan appointee pointedly rebuked decisions by Trump, Rubio and Noem.

The Guardian: Trump press secretary launches tirade against reporter who asked about ICE

‘Absolutely no detail’: experts alarmed as Trump unveils healthcare plan

Trump threatens to use Insurrection Act in Minnesota in response to ICE protests

ACLU sues Trump administration over ‘racial profiling and unlawful arrests’ in Minnesota ICE surge

CBS News report on ICE officer’s injuries drew ‘huge internal concern’

Death of man at ICE camp could be investigated as homicide after examiner’s report

Tribal leaders say ICE is detaining American Indians 

US cities increasingly compelled to police abuses by immigration agents

UPenn faculty condemn Trump administration’s demand for ‘lists of Jews’

FBI raids home of Washington Post reporter in ‘highly unusual and aggressive’ move

Trump administration reinstates fired employees of DoJ race relations agency

Time Magazine: ‘I’m Embarrassed’: ICE Agents Speak About the Shooting in Minneapolis

‘You don’t want this smoke’: US sheriff reflects on her viral remarks about ICE

US federal forces blind two protesters shot in face with ‘less-lethal’ munitions

ICE in St. Paul: Man roughly detained at gas station, Border Patrol chief jeered in Midway Target
Videos, photos show prevalence of federal agents in St. Paul recently

Appeals court rejects Republican bid to block California maps 

Trump administration suspends immigrant visas for applicants from 75 countries-The state department cites welfare use as it pauses visa processing for Brazil, Iran, Russia, Somalia and others

Donald Trump Violated the Constitution, Federal Judge Rules A federal judge ruled on Monday that the Trump administration's cancellation of approximately $8 billion in energy grants violated the Constitution by targeting recipients primarily based in Democratic-leaning states.

Mark Kelly sues Hegseth over ‘chilling’ effort to reduce military retirement rank

Federal prosecutor in Virginia fired after refusing to lead Comey case

 ICE and the Nazi History of “One of Ours, All of Yours”

Minnesota and Illinois sue Trump administration over immigration crackdown

US judge lets Danish firm resume Rhode Island offshore wind project halted by Trump

A congresswoman wants to impeach Kristi Noem. She’s right to do so

Dollar weakens after US prosecutors launch criminal investigation into Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell

OregonLive.com: Feds say shooting in Portland by Border Patrol was self-defense; witness describes agents cornering truck

Two people shot by US federal agents in Portland 

Judge to temporarily block effort to end protections for relatives of citizens, green card holders

Judge blocks Trump’s $10B welfare fund freeze-The emergency order temporarily keeps funding flowing to five blue states.

ICE agent in Minneapolis killing identified as 10-year law enforcement veteran

How billionaire and Trump donor Paul Singer could benefit from Maduro's removal

Trump’s Venezuela incursion has nothing to do with its freedom

US national parks staff say new $100 fee for non-residents risks ‘alienating visitors for decades’

This isn't the first Killing by ICE- and it won't be the last

Minnesota politicians slam Trump’s justification for immigration agent killing woman during ICE raid

Minnesota Democrats voice outrage after fatal ICE shooting

Trump pulls US out of 66 international bodies, including key UN climate treaty

AP News: Danish prime minister says a US takeover of Greenland would mark the end of NATO

European leaders rally behind Greenland as US ramps up threats

Donald Trump poses a threat to civilization

After Trump’s illegal Venezuela coup, there are two dangers: he is emboldened, but has no clue what comes next

Maduro is gone, but his regime is intact. What happened behind the scenes?

ICE plans $100m yearlong ‘wartime recruitment’ media blitz to attract new agents

We Found That More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.

DOI cracks down on stickers covering Trump's face on national park passes
Your American the Beautiful pass could be voided.

Trump is marching into 2026 with the worst cabinet in history

Chicago Sun-Times: Greg Bovino, Border Patrol chief blasted by a federal judge in Chicago, is now in court dustup in Tennessee

 Forbes: With The U.S. Debt A Staggering $38 Trillion Dollars, Who Exactly Do We Owe?

 US ‘has no right’ to take over Greenland, Danish PM says after renewed Trump threats

Trump taking ‘drill, baby, drill’ plan to Venezuela ‘terrible’ for climate, experts warn

Venezuela accuses US of trying to 'seize control' of country's resources

Global outcry after US launches strikes on Venezuela and captures president

by Tom Phillips

Venezuela’s authoritarian government has accused the US of risking plunging Latin America into chaos with “an extremely serious” act of “imperial aggression” after Donald Trump reportedly ordered strikes against the South American country.
Explosions, loud noises and low-flying aircraft were heard in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas in the early hours of Saturday amid reports that Trump had ordered the attack. In a statement, Venezuela’s government confirmed that Caracas had come under attack, as well as three other states: Miranda, La Guaira and Aragua.
“The only objective of this attack is to seize control of Venezuela’s strategic resources, in particular its oil and minerals,” it said, calling on the international community to denounce what it called a flagrant violation of international law that put millions of lives at risk.

Venezuela rejects “military aggression” by the United States, the government of president Nicolás Maduro said in a statement early Saturday.
“People to the streets!” the statement said. “The Bolivarian Government calls on all social and political forces in the country to activate mobilization plans and repudiate this imperialist attack.”
The statement added that President Nicolás Maduro had “ordered all national defence plans to be implemented” and declared “a state of external disturbance”.
We’ll bring you more on this when we have it…