Law-abiding immigrants in ICE detention, stripped, shackled, and starved

Law-abiding immigrants in ICE detention, stripped, shackled, and starved

  We heard it over and over on the campaign trail: Donald Trump’s promise of a crackdown on criminals and undocumented immigrants at a scale and breadth this country had never seen before. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, commonly known as ICE, has swept into American cities and is detaining more people than ever before. However, 71 percent of those held in immigrant detention by the end of September did not have criminal convictions, according to the Migration Policy Institute, a…

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Trump’s incompetent Justice Department may have accidentally handed Democrats five House seats

Trump’s incompetent Justice Department may have accidentally handed Democrats five House seats

Ian Millhiser writes: In a decision that could potentially reshape the 2026 midterm elections and cement the Democratic Party’s future control of the US House, a federal court just struck down the gerrymandered Texas maps that President Donald Trump pressured that state to enact. If the decision holds, it could cost Republicans as many as five House seats. And that’s not all. The most remarkable thing about the three-judge panel’s decision in League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) v….

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The rise of the white-nationalist streamer, Nick Fuentes, should worry us even more than it already does

The rise of the white-nationalist streamer, Nick Fuentes, should worry us even more than it already does

Jay Caspian Kang writes: Part of what separates Fuentes from his fellow-streamers is that he is capable of keeping his thoughts in a coherent, if odious, order. He once offered a trollish, occasionally captivating, and always grossly bigoted hour-long act; that has evolved into something more like a daily address, one that presents a code of behavior and a set of distinct ideas. As recently as a year ago, I’m not sure I could have told you what Fuentes thought…

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Trump’s ‘reversal’ on Epstein files delays their release and conceals a GOP rebellion

Trump’s ‘reversal’ on Epstein files delays their release and conceals a GOP rebellion

Axios reports: President Trump said Monday he would sign a bill to release documents from the investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein if Congress sends it to his desk. Why it matters: Trump recently reversed himself and encouraged Republicans to vote to release the documents after repeatedly dismissing the scandal as a “hoax.” What he’s saying: “Sure I would. Let the Senate look at it. Let anyone look at it, but don’t talk about it too much,” Trump said Monday in the Oval Office in response to…

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Charlotte faith leaders view Trump’s immigration agenda as ‘antithetical to the Bible’

Charlotte faith leaders view Trump’s immigration agenda as ‘antithetical to the Bible’

Axios reports: When asked about President Donald Trump’s domestic policies, Charlotte-area pastors often cite Matthew 25:35-40, a Biblical parable that calls for Christians to care for the less fortunate. Why it matters: Christians, particularly conservative evangelicals, have supported Trump in the past. Now, many moderate and progressive Christians across the U.S., including in Charlotte, are challenging the president’s administration around immigration, civil rights and poverty. What they’re saying: The Trump administration’s policies are “antithetical to the Bible,” which calls for people to treat immigrants as neighbors and to…

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NC governor: Charlotte crackdown ‘not making us safer’ — ‘bear witness to what you’re seeing’

NC governor: Charlotte crackdown ‘not making us safer’ — ‘bear witness to what you’re seeing’

I know this is a stressful moment for many across North Carolina. Everyone should follow the law, remain peaceful, and bear witness to what you’re seeing. That’s the North Carolina way. pic.twitter.com/OL9QIdodfG — Governor Josh Stein (@NC_Governor) November 16, 2025 PBS reports: After a surge in Border Patrol activity in North Carolina’s largest city over the weekend, including dozens of arrests, Gov. Josh Stein said the effort is “stoking fear,” not making Charlotte safer. The Trump administration has made the…

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Trump calls it ‘the greatest economy in history’ but many Americans are struggling to pay their bills

Trump calls it ‘the greatest economy in history’ but many Americans are struggling to pay their bills

The Associated Press reports: More people are falling behind on paying their bills to keep on the lights and heat their homes, according to a new analysis of consumer data — a warning sign for the U.S. economy and another political headache for President Donald Trump. Past due balances to utility companies jumped 9.7% annually to $789 between the April-June periods of 2024 and 2025, said The Century Foundation, a liberal think tank, and the advocacy group Protect Borrowers. The…

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DOJ official told prosecutors that U.S. should ‘just sink the boats’ — and thus murder those onboard

DOJ official told prosecutors that U.S. should ‘just sink the boats’ — and thus murder those onboard

NPR reports: At a Justice Department conference in February, then-acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove told the department’s top drug prosecutors that the Trump administration wasn’t interested in interdicting suspected drug vessels at sea anymore. Instead, he said, the U.S. should “just sink the boats,” according to three people present for the speech. At the time of Bove’s comments, President Trump had only been back in office for a month. The White House had made clear that combatting drug cartels…

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The unraveling of the Justice Department

The unraveling of the Justice Department

The New York Times reports: President Trump’s second term has brought a period of turmoil and controversy unlike any in the history of the Justice Department. Trump and his appointees have blasted through the walls designed to protect the nation’s most powerful law enforcement agency from political influence; they have directed the course of criminal investigations, openly flouted ethics rules and caused a breakdown of institutional culture. To date, more than 200 career attorneys have been fired, and thousands more…

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Are plants intelligent? It depends on how you define it

Are plants intelligent? It depends on how you define it

Avery Elizabeth Hurt writes: It’s a pleasant summer morning. Across a field, a line of poplar trees sways in the breeze. Insects buzz and flit among the branches. Everything seems calm and peaceful. But don’t be fooled. These trees are actually under attack as hungry insects chomp on their leaves. The trees can’t hide, and they can’t run away. But they aren’t helpless: They have ways to fight back — and even aid each other. As soon as an insect…

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Marjorie Taylor Greene: ‘I’m sorry for taking part in the toxic politics; it’s very bad for our country’

Marjorie Taylor Greene: ‘I’m sorry for taking part in the toxic politics; it’s very bad for our country’

CNN reports: Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said Sunday she will stop using “toxic” rhetoric, marking what would be a dramatic shift in a political brand hallmarked by derogatory comments. The commitment comes amid a rift with Donald Trump that has spilled into public view, with the president attacking the Georgia Republican personally. Greene, meanwhile, has pivoted away from the Republican Party more broadly recently, criticizing the GOP on a number of fronts, including the party’s handling of the government…

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DHS has become the Department of Deportation and made America more dangerous for children

DHS has become the Department of Deportation and made America more dangerous for children

The New York Times reports: The Department of Homeland Security has diverted thousands of federal agents from their normal duties to focus on arresting undocumented immigrants, undermining a wide range of law enforcement operations in response to mounting pressure from President Trump, a New York Times investigation has found. Homeland security agents investigating sexual crimes against children, for instance, have been redeployed to the immigrant crackdown for weeks at a time, hampering their pursuit of child predators. A national security…

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Chicago pushback against immigration crackdown now serves as a model for other cities

Chicago pushback against immigration crackdown now serves as a model for other cities

The Associated Press reports: Baltazar Enriquez starts most mornings with street patrols, leaving his home in Chicago’s Little Village on foot or by car to find immigration agents that have repeatedly targeted his largely Mexican neighborhood. Wearing an orange whistle around his neck, the activist broadcasts his plans on Facebook. “We don’t know if they’re going to come back. All we know is we’ve got to get ready,” he tells thousands of followers. “Give us any tips if you see…

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Chicago-area mayor says Border Patrol terrorized his city. Here’s how to fight back, Charlotte

Chicago-area mayor says Border Patrol terrorized his city. Here’s how to fight back, Charlotte

Daniel Biss, mayor of Evanston, Illinois, writes: When federal agents came to my city of Evanston on Halloween this year, it was scary — and not in a fun way. That morning, we received reports of ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents in our neighborhoods. Helicopters circled overhead. CBP Commander Greg Bovino himself was in town—suggesting this “operation” was more about a made-for-TV spectacle than any legitimate public safety goal. Then, after a traffic collision apparently caused deliberately…

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