In its ongoing war against higher ed—and law firms—the battles MAGA has won are those where the other side surrendered in advance. (The Columbia/UT Austin/Paul Weiss "strategy," vs the Harvard/UCLA/Perkins Coie/etc strategy.) Resistance is not just braver but also smarter and more effective.

Just as ICE and CBP have no legitimate role in "election security" neither does the head of DHS. The mere existence of this press conference should be a scandal, much less this tone-deaf comment.

Repeat after me: An executive order is not a royal edict; it is not law. It is a direction to the executive branch as to how to carry out the law. Also: Key parts of Trump's last EO on elections have been stopped by federal courts, ruling that the President has no role to play in federal elections

This whole piece is 🔥 www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Amazing, terrific news!

Believe that they're really ending the surge in Minnesota when people on the ground say it's happened but also *even* if this is nothing but more face saving, it's a huge acknowledgement that they know they're losing and that the people of Minnesota are never going to stop protecting their neighbors

Was just there. I highly recommend the Komo Park Conservatory.

Putting all that work into preparing Bondi's oppo binders, rather than into holding anyone accountable for the Epstein files, was a choice.

DOJ trying to indict opposition lawmakers for accurately stating the law is an authoritarian weaponization of the justice system. Grand jurors returning a no bill is patriotism in action.

ICE is running concentration camps in the desert, far from civilization and the lawyers and media civilization attracts. Stopping the construction of camps and shutting down the existing camps needs to be a top priority. I don't see democrats talking about this? www.newyorker.com/news/the-led...

Correct

The underlying premise in the whole "how do I explain being gay to a kid" is that being gay is about sex, hence inappropriate for kids. But unless you're a maniac, you don't explain being hetero by talking about sex! You talk about love and being a family.

Part of what's great about this is how Hunter Hess tried really hard to not go into specifics but Trump (1) deduced (correctly!) that any reference to things that aren't "good" or "moral" must mean him and (2) decided he needed to elevate it with some bonkers response. Great work, Mr. President. 🫡

Partisan gerrymandering should be constitutionally barred. SCOTUS says it isn't. Until a constitutional amendment changes that we can't have unilateral disarmament. Which means once Republicans kicked off mid-decade redistricting this was the only possible response

Concentration camps: “For 280 days we haven’t eaten a single piece of fruit, banana, apple, orange, or anything fresh. We are all in one big room with no doors or windows. We can’t see any grass or trees. We are all constantly sick."

The cruelty is breathtaking

Hold him to it!

Let’s make it viral folks. Thank you @histoftech.bsky.social.

“Unfortunately, because Congress is not taking any steps to rein ICE officers in, there really is no option other than states protecting their constituents’ rights.” Local and State Police Can Investigate Federal Agents, But Rarely Do

This is brilliant. I'm so grateful for this testimony. I've transcribed it to use in letters I'm writing. Sharing the full transcription here (see alt text to copy/paste it):

Of all the non-originalists in the world, Alito is the most non-originalist.

This is a really thoughtful post.

Very good piece on the possibility of state laws to allow people harmed by federal officials to sue for violations of the federal constitution. (And I make a brief appearance!) www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/u...

“Seniors in long-term care facilities develop deep bonds with their staff. Blumberg’s residents, she said, ‘can relate to not being wanted, to being kicked out and coming to America for salvage and freedom and safety and shelter. And they want to be able to protect the Haitians.’”

My 10yo just asked me out of nowhere if ICE was going to pick me up. I explained I was a US citizen so this is highly unlikely and that if they did, we would sue the pants off of them. Notably she did not ask her white father. This is where we’re at.

The agents who killed Alex Pretti are now identified by ProPublica. The man who shot Pretti in the back ("A4"), is Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa. The man who instigated the confrontation, then shot Pretti's prone body, is CBP officer Raymundo Gutierrez. Not new hires - 8 and 12 years service. 1/

To steel your spine

I testified Friday before Gov. Pritzker's commission studying abuses of ICE and CBP and tried to explain how the agencies went so far off track. It's actually way worse than I ever realized. Please read and share my testimony as Congress considers reform: www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/accountabi...

Beautiful

And finally there is an editorial, in which we argue that Donald Trump is "creating a militia which answers only to himself" and how he could use it to "stage provocations pretty much anywhere with impunity, including during elections" if Congress does not step in www.economist.com/leaders/2026...

www.facebook.com/share/v/17oA... Musical balm

Union workers solved the trolley problem, you're welcome

Outstanding piece

Breaking on MS NOW: Career DOJ prosecutors in both Minnesota and Los Angeles refused to be involved in charging Don Lemon and the other journalists who covered the Minneapolis church protests. The prosecutors believe the evidence does not support the charges, per @carolleonnig.bsky.social.

So what can be done about Trump's potential interference with the 2026 midterms? As I write @slate.com:

🚨New #Beans ☕️ with @muellershewrote.com & @dgcomedy.bsky.social #MSWMedia Guest: @cshaplaw.bsky.social Listen: the-daily-beans.simplecast.com/episodes/fed...

I know all eyes are on Minneapolis, but there's a fast-approaching nightmare in Springfield, Ohio. Trump is revoking protected status for tens of thousands of Haitians living there on Feb. 3. Reportedly, on Feb. 4, 1000 ICE agents are arriving to remove this population. Ethnic cleansing.

This right here is one of my great pet peeves: THERE WERE NOT ONLY ONE GROUP OF FOUNDERS. The Reconstruction Founders led a massive, important constitutional change, and we don’t need to look at English common law to understand what equality, citizenship, and freedom meant. WE WERE OUR OWN NATION.

I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Stay free

Maher Tarabishi, who has been detained by ICE since October, was the primary caretaker of his disabled adult child, Wael. On Jan. 23, Wael died from complications related to Pompe disease, a rare genetic condition. ICE has now denied Maher’s request to attend his funeral, his attorney says.

In Printz v. United States, #SCOTUS held that the Constitution bars the federal government from forcing or otherwise compelling local or state governments to enforce federal law. The liberal squish who wrote the majority opinion in that case? Justice Antonin Scalia: tile.loc.gov/storage-serv...

The US Holocaust Museum being more outraged by Tim Walz saying that, like Anne Frank, children today are in hiding from armed agents of the state, than they are about the fact that children are in hiding from armed agents of the state, is why Holocaust remembrance culture is in crisis.

We need to get it broadly understood that Stephen Miller's ethnic cleansing will result in a permanent metastasized immigrant carceral state and paramilitary warfare on US streets that goes on *for years.* The internal logic of his agenda dictates this of necessity. newrepublic.com/article/2041...

Con Law professor here. I feel you.

DHS has shot 12 people during immigration enforcement operations since September:

Literally EVERYTHING else aside: Officers involved in shootings - even shootings that everybody agrees were justified - always take time off to emotionally process their experience, go to therapy, process it. Sending somebody right back out says "this is an everyday part of your job, expect it."

UPDATE: Minnesota Department of Corrections puts out a statement refuting Bovino’s lies about the man they say they were arresting before they killed Alex Pretti. The Trump regime’s lies are endless.

CBP chief Bovino has confirmed that the officers who executed Alex Pretti in the street yesterday are not only *not on administrative leave,* they have all been reassigned to other jurisdictions and are all on the street today. This is totally unheard of for any officer-involved shooting

Stare criminal prosecutions are possible. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/minn...

A reminder to the news media: “conflicting accounts” is what you say BEFORE the incontrovertible video evidence appears. After that, your job is to ask why one side is lying, not to repeat the lie and pretend no one knows the truth.