Tag: Law Enforcement

You Say You Want a Constitution, Well, You Know…

Posted on by documentingdescent

All apologies to the Beatles.

It’s been two weeks since “liberation day”. I can’t talk about the tariffs, the stock market, the strength of the dollar as a reserve currency, or anything like that. Anything I say will become obsolete a day later. Sometimes even later in the same day. There is no predictability to be had, if you’re trying to ascertain the state of the United States economy. Or how anything is being decided. It’s incompetence and vibes, all the way down.

So instead, let’s take a look at the state of our constitutional crisis. It’s here!

On the subject of Kilmar Abrego-Garcia, Judge Paula Xinis told the DOJ on no uncertain terms they had to facilitate his return to the United States, and out of CECOT in El Salvador. The DOJ kicked it up to the Supreme Court, who decided 9-0 that the Trump Administration did have to do so. The DOJ’s response this week has been: “No, we don’t care what you say.” Their argument is that the SCOTUS decision is unconstitutional because nobody can compel the White House to engage or not engage in any kind of diplomacy. This comes after all kinds of spurious bullshit like, “We can’t possibly put any pressure on any country, especially a Latin American one, because of our long and rich history in not intervening in the affairs of other nations.”

Sure, buddy.

The DOJ’s incompetence has been on display front and center as well – while this rebuttal was due last week, they’ve had some problems. Filings made by people not part of the case, incorrect filing procedures, the presumption that SCOTUS would side with them delaying their reply, etc. Abrego-Garcia’s own lawyer suggests that maybe some people need to be held in contempt and arrested for them to start listening. I am inclined to agree – until there’s some kind of consequence for flipping the courts the bird, there’s no reason to assume they’ll change their ways. In fact, one of the court filings from yesterday indicated as much: it advised judges not to assume good faith in DOJ court filings, including an admonition not to believe them without external proof. I cannot stress how insane it is to tell the courts: “Hey, the Department of Justice is probably just always gonna be full of shit for the foreseeable future.”

So where does this leave Abrego-Garcia? Well, courts can deputize their own marshals to enforce the law, if the DOJ refuses to adhere to commands. Obviously, this hasn’t happened a whole lot in the history of the United States, but it’s something they can do. I’m not sure if they will, however.

Senator Chris Van Hollen has announced he’s going to go to El Salvador to try and secure Abrego-Garcia’s release, and he’ll be joined by several other lawmakers. I suppose it’s something, but I’d like to see some DOJ, ICE, and DHS people thrown in jail for being a bunch of smug assholes ignoring the courts.

I don’t think it’ll have much of an effect, since President Trump met with President Bukele yesterday and flat out both said Abrego-Garcia isn’t coming home. What’s more, Trump told Bukele to build five more CECOT type installations so that the United States can start shipping out “homegrown” folks.

You know, citizens.

Get Ready for Citizen Deportations

Posted on by documentingdescent

What did I tell you? Didn’t I say the Trump admin wouldn’t stop at visa holders or green card holders? That they’d come for citizens of the United States of America? I did, in fact, say just that, talking about Mahmoud Khalil.

Trump talked wanting to deport citizens just today. He said he’d love to send citizens to El Salvador if it was legal, and Bukele would love to accept them. He even said the following:

“I don’t know what the law says on that, but I can’t imagine the law would say anything different. If they can house these horrible criminals for a lot less money than it costs us, I’m all for it, but I would only do according to the law.”

Note this phrasing: he’s already priming his goons to believe that the law would be okay with this, by saying he ‘can’t imagine’ the law saying anything different. Of course he would only follow the law, but we’ve all seen exactly how much he respects the law – not just as a president, but as a human being.

Sure, buddy.

Karoline Leavitt also decided to chime in on how totally normal it would be to deport citizens to El Salvador, and that it would only be used on “the worst people”. Sure, lady. I absolutely believe this line of bullshit as much as every other line of bullshit you’ve spouted in your position. May you be hounded for the rest of your days by wrathful people with hate in their heart. I don’t generally like embedding social media into posts, but WordPress doesn’t seem to like embedded MP4s.

Karoline Leavitt confirms the Trump Administration wants to deport AMERICAN CITIZENS to El Salvador.

[image or embed]

— David Leavitt 🔜 #PaxEast (@davidleavitt.bsky.social) April 8, 2025 at 11:56 AM

Let’s be clear here on two issues.

One, it is not deportation when someone is moved to a country they are not a citizen of. It is kidnapping or rendition. Deportation explicitly means moving people to their country of origin or a country they have citizenship in, if they have multiple citizenships.

Two, United States law expressly forbids removing citizens of the USA to other countries. Citizens cannot be denied entry into the United States or removed from it against their will. Naturally, Trump does not give two shits about this, but it bears mentioning.

I guess we’ll see how far down the madness hole people are willing to let this admin go.

ICE Does Not Care About the Law

Posted on by documentingdescent

ICE has deported a father who is legally protected from deportation by court order to El Salvador’s CECOT megaprison. Apparently ICE does not give a shit about court orders.

File under the “No Shit” heading, obviously. I warned about this when they came for Mahmoud Khalil, and we saw it with the total lack of due process for people getting carted off to El Salvador without any semblance of due process. ICE’s attitude has been “trust me, bro” when it comes to their vetting of who gets sent to CECOT.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a refugee from El Salvador, owing to the fact that he and his family were under threat by Salvadorean gangs. He came to the United States in 2011 due to threats of murder, kidnapping and torture against him and his family. This was part of an extortion attempt by the gangs in question. After his asylum hearings, he was granted a status of “withholding of removal”, preventing deportation.

He was also accused in of being a member of MS-13 in 2019. He was picked up in a Home Depot parking lot while looking for work, and was identified as an MS-13 member by virtue of having tattoos and an accusation by an unnamed source; he was found by the judge to not be a member of MS-13, and his withholding of removal status maintained. This finding was due to the accusation having no proof, with even the police saying they did not believe the accuser and did not believe Abrego-Garcia was a gang member.

JD Vance has claimed Abrego Garcia is a “convicted gang member.” No. There was no conviction, only an accusation. JD Vance is a fucking liar. To state it a second time, Abrego Garcia’s withholding of removal was maintained, and no conviction occurred.

Yet nonetheless, Abrego Garcia was deported to CECOT. ICE personnel stopped his car after picking up his son on March 12, saying his status had changed.

The White House and ICE know they fucked this up. They have stated so. This was all a “administrative error”. Hell of a administrative error to deport a pan to a megaprison for an indeterminate sentence. “Although ICE was aware of his protection from removal to El Salvador, Abrego Garcia was removed to El Salvador because of an administrative error,” the government told the court.

It is the contention of the Trump administration that they are powerless to return Abrego Garcia to the United States. They definition have no interest in pursuing his return, based on their inaction and diffidence to his situation. They have offered two excuses for their inaction.

One reason is that they say they have no authority over El Salvadorian imprisonments. While technically true, when has that ever stopped the United States from demanding prisoner releases in the past?

The second reason is that Trump’s “primacy in foreign affairs” outweighs the interests of Abrego Garcia and his family. Abrego Garcia’s lawyer, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, had some choice words about that.

If that’s true, the immigration laws are meaningless – all of them – because the government can deport whoever they want, wherever they want, whenever they want, and no court can do anything about it once it’s done.”

The will eventually come for your neighbors, your friends, even you, if we allow this kind of thing to continue.

ICE Revokes Immigration Status for Students; Newsom is a Dirtbag

Posted on by documentingdescent

This morning, it was discovered that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement has been revoking visas for students across the country manually, rather than leaving that decision to universities, as is the norm. While Zeteo suggests the students and universities were not notified, this does not seem to be the case. In an article I haven’t linked, several hundred received notification to self-deport this morning. It is unclear if more visas were revoked than the 300 Zeteo reports, but those 300 seem to have been notified.

These visa revocations are tied to the visa provision preventing “interference in foreign policy”. In the cases Zeteo and other outlets reviewed, this interference was little more than social media activity. In some cases, merely sharing a post critical of US policy was sufficient for revocation.

California Governor Gavin Newsom decried the ‘toxicity’ of the Democratic Party on Friday, in an interview with Bill Maher. He said the party was ‘too judgmental’ and that it ‘needs to mature’. Rich words coming from a guy who’s busily doing a total 180 on positions held for years, probably in an effort to swing right in prep for a run for President. For instance, after hosting noted white supremacist and shitbag Charlie Kirk on his podcast, he performed an encore lap by inviting Steve Bannon on.

Newsom’s descent into dirtbag is well underway; it’s hard to exaggerate just how much he’s alienating his base in California in his efforts to court the entirely mythical swing Republican vote. Any Californian can tell you, the Republicans in this state hate his ass passionately – a drive up or down I-5 will plaster your eyes with anti-Newsom signage. Even Democrats in California have basically only been tolerating him, since he’s largely ineffectual. He exemplifies the bog-standard Big Donor Democrat stereotype, with no real policy positions at any given moment other than what’s politically expedient. He’s also totally in bed with PG&E, and has utterly failed to reform them after the massive fires their collapsing infrastructure has caused.

Democrats want a fighter and someone who will stand up to fascists, not someone who will invite them on to their podcast, agree with them, and be the most milquetoast politician while doing so.

In Wisconsin, Appellate court judge Andrew Voigt denied AG Josh Kaul’s lawsuit which is attempting to stop Elon Musk’s 1 million dollar voting giveaway; Kaul has already appealed the ruling. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find Voigt’s rationale for his refusal.

In international news, Ecuador is preparing for the arrival of United States military aid in Manta by building a new military base there. This is of particular interest to me, as I have a lot of friends in Latin America, and I work with a lot of people whose families are from Latin America. Ecuador is in a somewhat precarious position both geographically and politically. Geographically, coastal cities like Guayaquil are perfect for international narco trade, and former president Rafael Correa’s closure of the previous base in Manta encouraged the narcos to move into the country from Peru and Colombia. This was further exacerbated by FARC ending operations in Colombia, which was kind of policing the southern border with Ecuador. My friends in Colombia (Medellin and Barranquilla) have said the government is still making life difficult for the Colombian narcos, so moving their goods through Ecuador is easier.

Currently President Daniel Noboa is facing off in a special election with candidate Luisa Gonzalez, who’s the protégé of former president Correa. I suspect this base is a play to swing votes toward himself and away from Gonzalez, as the country is still dealing with some serious gang violence.

If it Can Happen to Mahmoud Khalil, it Can Happen to You

Posted on by documentingdescent

On March 8, 2025, Mahmoud Khalil was taken by ICE agents from his apartment and spirited away to an unknown location. Khalil had been, until December of 2024, a graduate student at Columbia University, and had acted as a liaison between the pro-Palestine demonstrators and university staff. Notably, Khalil was not at Columbia University on a student visa, but is in fact a lawful permanent resident of the United States. That is to say, a Green Card holder.

ICE agents told his 8 months pregnant wife (who is a citizen of the USA) that he had been taken to a holding facility in New Jersey, but this was a lie. Today it was revealed he had been taken to a holding facility in Louisiana. For two days, neither his wife nor lawyer had any means to contact him, and only through extensive searching could they turn up his whereabouts. Any transfer must be reported to the subject’s family and lawyer within 24 hours, but ICE has never exactly played better than ‘fast and loose’ with their legal responsibilities.

All of this comes due to Secretary of State Marco Rubio claiming the State Department has the right to revoke Khalil’s residency and deport him. Thing is, though, legally they do not. The Department of Homeland Security does, but they have to meet certain criteria:

  • Fraud or misrepresentation during the application process.
  • The comission of certain crimes.
  • Failure to maintain permanent residence.
  • Failure to notify USCIS of a change of address.
  • Security violations such as membership in a designated terrorist organization or espionage/treason.
  • Engaging in immigration fraud after getting a green card
  • Violation of terms if the green card is conditional (his is not).
  • Becoming inadmissible due to health reasons.

All of these must be proven in a court of law before an immigration judge. In no case can anyone be deported and their residency revoked without due process. Due process has not been followed in any way, here, and Rubio has grossly gone beyond his authority.

“But author,” some say, “this administration doesn’t follow the law! They’ll just ignore it!”

While this administration is lawless as fuck, it’s true, it’s important to make them work for it. Do not simply give in. What’s more Khalil is the canary in the coal mine here: if they are willing to ignore the due process of law, there is nothing preventing them from disappearing citizens as well.

No? Why not. Your citizenship is only as good as the willingness of people to respect your rights, and Khalil has rights just like you do. So it’s very important to ensure a light gets shined on this shit, and we do not simply roll over. If we do, you or your neighbors or both may suddenly be gone one day, with no warning. Khalil is important not just morally, but because our rights evaporate the moment we stop fighting for them. He’s important because the current administration is probably betting nobody wanted to stick their neck out for a pro-Palestine demonstrator. They have painted him as an agent of Hamas – for which there is no evidence, and such association must be proven in a court of law regardless.

The deliberate conflation of pro-Palestine activity, or anti-Israeli genocide activity, with pro-Hamas sentiment, is a pernicious tactic by those in power as a way to silence dissent and rally the racists of the United States to their side. It’s also cynical, and possibly fuelled by ulterior motives when it comes to the university.

Columbia University is culpable, and may have sent ICE to his apartment, as well. Just before his detention, he contacted the university administration asking for assistance, due to fear of threats he’d received. They may have been trying to curry favor with the Trump admin due to their $400 million in grants that were cancelled.

Appeasing bullies like Trump and his crew never works. All it shows is that you’re weak and can be pushed around, and will cave when the chips are down.

Proof that action and noise get results: Khalil is now represented by the ACLU and several other organizations, and an immigration judge has ruled he cannot be deported before he’s had his day in court.

We have to make them work for it and not just give in.

Kash Patel Confirmed as FBI Director

Posted on by documentingdescent

In a 48-45 vote in the Senate, Kash Patel has been confirmed as Director of the FBI. Only Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins defected from Republican ranks to vote against his confirmation.

Kash Patel is, to put it mildly, a wildly bad choice for director, and is also a conspiracy theorist. He has openly threatened independent journalists with prosecutions for doing their job, regularly appears on far right conspiracy podcasts and talk shows (often talking about how January 6th was an inside job by the FBI), and supported QAnon madness.

On the subject of his enemies list: “I have no interest, no desire, and will not, if confirmed, go backwards,” Patel said. “There will be no politicization at the FBI. There will be no retributive actions taken… should I be confirmed as the FBI director.” He later said, “It’s not an enemies list – that is a total mischaracterization.”

My man, you called it an enemies list yourself – or near enough as it makes no difference. You referred to your list of 60 people as “government gangsters” and claimed they were the most immoral, unethical people in government.

Hope y’all are ready for some politically motivated bullshit arrests and prosecutions, because buckle up, here they come.

ICE Prosecutor in Dallas Revealed as White Supremacist

Posted on by documentingdescent

ICE Assistant Chief Counsel James Rodden of Dallas, Texas, has been revealed to be behind the Twitter/X account “GlomarResponder”, responsible for years of overt white supremacist postings. This shouldn’t surprise anyone who’s looked into ICE, prosecutors in most places, or Twitter/X at all.

Rodden, under the GlomarResponder handle, was responsible for such scintillating gems as “All blacks are foreign to my people, dumb fuck”, “I’m not a commie, I’m a fascist – fasicsts solve communist problems. Get your insults right, retard” and “Migrants are all criminals.” He also suggested it was a holy duty to kill migrants, and suggested putting them in tree shredders.

Only the best and brightest for ICE.