Sam Nelson
@immlaw.bsky.social
š¤ 79
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Author of "Immigration Law Explained"
https://samsramblingss.substack.com/
pinned post!
After ten years of litigation, the Circuit Court rebuffs the BIA and grants asylum.
samsramblingss.substack.com/p/the-saga-o...
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The Saga of Suazo
Tenth Circuit rebukes the BIA and grants asylum
https://samsramblingss.substack.com/p/the-saga-of-suazo
3 days ago
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Amazing story from an immigration attorney defending a DV survivor.
unfunnylawyer.substack.com/p/seeds-plan...
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Seeds planted in 2018
Seven years ago today, I was transformed by this job.
https://unfunnylawyer.substack.com/p/seeds-planted-in-2018
about 1 hour ago
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After ten years of litigation, the Circuit Court rebuffs the BIA and grants asylum.
samsramblingss.substack.com/p/the-saga-o...
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The Saga of Suazo
Tenth Circuit rebukes the BIA and grants asylum
https://samsramblingss.substack.com/p/the-saga-of-suazo
3 days ago
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reposted by
Sam Nelson
Aaron Parnas
5 days ago
ICE is furious because the Hilton cancelled their reservation because of ICEās immigration enforcement activities.
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The first genuinely nuanced view of the Venezuela strikes that I've found:
behindtheborder.substack.com/p/listening-...
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Listening to Venezuelans After The Abduction of Maduro
Some Venezuelans are very happy that President Trump ordered the abduction of President NicolƔs Maduro.
https://behindtheborder.substack.com/p/listening-to-venezuelans-after-the
5 days ago
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A big win on "cancellation of removal", with commentary from Shanta Driver of the United for Equality and Affirmative Action Legal Defense Fund (UEAALDF).
samsramblingss.substack.com/p/justice-de...
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Justice delayed
For cancellation, age of qualifying children fixed at time of IJ's decision
https://samsramblingss.substack.com/p/justice-delayed
9 days ago
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Sam Nelson
Joe Gordon
10 days ago
A client was released and will sleep in his own bed tonight. Everything Is Terrible etc but I am grateful for the great writ of Habeas Corpus and federal judges who apply the law and smart lawyers I can rely on and learn from. May the coming year be better than 2025. Have a peaceful one, yāall.
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Snowy hike up Mt. Abe this morning.
15 days ago
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Your kid invites an undocumented friend over for a sleepover. Are you guilty of "alien harboring"? Legal guidance for churches, nonprofits, individuals, and anybody else who interacts with or provides services to an immigrant community.
samsramblingss.substack.com/p/harboring-...
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Harboring in Cahokia
Seventh circuit clarifies the definition of "harboring"
https://samsramblingss.substack.com/p/harboring-in-cahokia
16 days ago
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Merry Christmas. The court concludes that his continued detention offends due process. Accordingly, the court grants the petition, and orders the respondents to provide him with a constitutionally adequate bond hearing in Immigration Court as soon as possible.
scholar.google.com/scholar_case...
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https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=14605704767800652410
17 days ago
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reposted by
Sam Nelson
Adam Sawyer
17 days ago
DetentionReports.com
has been updated. Detention trends for a total of 233 facilities can be found on the website. Of those, the 216 facilities that ICE identified on the most recent list have data updated through December 11.
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Sam Nelson
Orin Kerr
18 days ago
Warrant needed to enter defendant's room at transitional homeless center to arrest him, NY trial court rules. It's not a traditional home, but Payton still applies, so physical fruits of search suppressed.
www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3ds...
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Coming tomorrow -- "Harboring in Cahokia", an exploration of the harboring law, with guidance for churches and nonprofits which serve undocumented communities. Subscribe for free and get a post every week.
samsramblingss.substack.com
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Immigration Law Explained | Sam Nelson | Substack
Real-world explanations of recent Circuit Court decisions on immigration law. Click to read Immigration Law Explained, by Sam Nelson, a Substack publication. Launched 6 months ago.
https://samsramblingss.substack.com/
17 days ago
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Sam Nelson
Samantha Michaels
25 days ago
I've been reporting on the criminal justice system for over a decade and have lived in an authoritarian country overseas, but I've never seen anything like the police presence in ICE-occupied Memphis. Here's my dispatch:
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
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I'm a veteran criminal justice reporter. I've never seen anything like ICE-occupied Memphis.
āItās about as sad as you can possibly imagine."
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/12/memphis-safe-task-force-trump-ice-crime-immigration-mass-deportations-287g/
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Sam Nelson
Vera Institute of Justice
19 days ago
Veraās ICE Detention Trends dashboard offers additional insight into the vast immigration detention network. Without data transparency, ICEās operationsāand their harmsāwill continue behind closed doors. Explore the tool:
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ICE Detention Trends | Vera Institute of Justice
https://www.vera.org/ice-detention-trends
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Great piece from the Times on the recent crackdown on Sikh long-haul truckers in the United States (gift link)
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/b...
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Long-Haul Trucking Was a Refuge for Sikh Immigrants. Until Now.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/business/sikhs-truckers-trump-crackdown.html?unlocked_article_code=1.-k8.TH11.CFpcCSxsh5Wd&smid=url-share
20 days ago
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More on Sikh persecution in Punjab here:
samsramblingss.substack.com/p/hell-be-fi...
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20 days ago
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Loving these habeas petitions. Wish they weren't necessary. The Court GRANTS the Petition. Respondents shall release Petitioner immediately, and shall not re-detain Petitioner without first providing a pre-deprivation hearing before a neutral decisionmaker.
scholar.google.com/scholar_case...
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https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=15056792198388752647
20 days ago
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Solstice sunrise from the top of Beacon Mountain.
20 days ago
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reposted by
Sam Nelson
Asylumist
24 days ago
Fight or Flight? The first decision in nearly every removal case is whether to do the case at all.
#asylum
#immigration
www.asylumist.com/2025/12/17/f...
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Fight or Flight?
I recently met with the family of a man from El Salvador who weāll call Jorge. Jorge was detained by ICE and is facing imminent deportation. He has been in the United States for more than 10 ā¦
https://www.asylumist.com/2025/12/17/fight-or-flight/
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Sam Nelson
SF Boswell
23 days ago
As someone on the ground, I cannot emphasize how horrific this is. 90% of the cases I witnessed yesterday were pretermissions. Parents with their children being told they needed to defend against being deported to a third country. Trans asylum-seekers threatened with deportation to Uganda.
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In Nigeria, Ozurumba was kidnapped, held prisoner, and coerced into serving as a cook for a terrorist group. After escaping, he was hunted across the country until he fled to the United States. ... and had his claim denied for "providing material support"
samsramblingss.substack.com/p/where-do-t...
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Where do terrorists drink?
De minimis and duress exceptions to the terrorism bar
https://samsramblingss.substack.com/p/where-do-terrorists-drink
21 days ago
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reposted by
Sam Nelson
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal
21 days ago
āLucy did not know where she was, nor did she understand the words being spoken around her⦠and yet, under the system we have built, she was the one required to answer." I witnessed the kids docket at immigration court. Itās cruel and inhumane beyond belief.
www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...
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Contributor: How does a 3-year-old hire an immigration attorney?
Lucy couldn't understand the words being spoken around her or the dangers she fled. Yet under the system we've built, she's the one required to answer to a judge.
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2025-12-18/united-states-vs-lucy
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reposted by
Sam Nelson
Joe Gordon
21 days ago
Lots of immigration news feels bad. This is about one of the brightest areas in a dark moment: habeas is working well for many, if they can get access. Good series, good reporting. How a āHabeas Machineā Reunited One Family That Was Pulled Apart by ICEĀ
talkingpointsmemo.com/news/how-a-h...
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How a āHabeas Machineā Reunited One Family That Was Pulled Apart by ICE
The agents were on the hunt, but as they staked out the...
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/how-a-habeas-machine-reunited-one-family-that-was-pulled-apart-by-ice
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reposted by
Sam Nelson
Chris Maggio
about 1 month ago
This is probably an unpopular position at various points in the political spectrum, but I donāt think someoneās right to migrate and live in this country should be determined by a calculation of their economic contribution
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Sam Nelson
Sam Biddle
22 days ago
NEW: ICE has hired the infamous for-profit prison company GEO Group to help its immigrant bounty hunter program. GEO Group now stands to make money both tracking down immigrants and imprisoning them.
theintercept.com/2025/12/19/i...
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ICE Hires Immigrant Bounty Hunters From Private Prison Company GEO Group
BI Incorporated, a subsidiary of for-profit prison company GEO Group, will help ICE pinpoint the locations of immigrants.
https://theintercept.com/2025/12/19/ice-bounty-hunters-location-surveillance-geo-group/
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Sam Nelson
Michael D. Baker
23 days ago
BIA in Matter of L-T-A-, 29 I&N Dec. 362 (BIA 2025), held that having a legal right to enter, live, work, and own property indefinitely in a third country shows āsome other type of permanent resettlementā and triggers the firm resettlement bar.
www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...
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https://www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1421286/dl?inline
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Harboring law: "Mr. Garcia burned his hand and wrist in a hot oil spill in the Tokyo Dragon kitchen, and Ms. Yan took him to the hospital. A nurse became suspicious and alerted authorities. The government began investigating Tokyo Dragon."
samsramblingss.substack.com/p/they-play-...
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Harboring in the Dragon's den
"Tends to" vs "with the intent to"
https://samsramblingss.substack.com/p/they-play-games-with-words-sometimes
23 days ago
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reposted by
Sam Nelson
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
24 days ago
Total victory on this issue; members of Congress will again have the right to conduct surprise inspections of ICE detention centers.
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Third Circuit too -- Paul Matey is big on this line of "reasoning".
samsramblingss.substack.com/p/un-persons
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25 days ago
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Sam Nelson
SF Boswell
26 days ago
I was in a tribunal a week ago where DHS moved to pretermit every single asylum case on "safe third country grounds." Every. single. one. At one point, a judge scheduled a second master for a man to prove he would be in danger in Honduras. Confused, he said "No, Peru. I'm from Peru."
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Sam Nelson
Sam Fisher 90 šāļøš
26 days ago
ICE Accidentally Publishes A 'Watch List' Of Immigration Lawyers, Which Is Definitely A Normal Thing For The Government To Do - Above the Law
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ICE Accidentally Publishes A 'Watch List' Of Immigration Lawyers, Which Is Definitely A Normal Thing For The Government To Do - Above the Law
ICE Accidentally Publishes A 'Watch List' Of Immigration Lawyers, Which Is Definitely A Normal Thing For The Government To DoĀ Ā Above the Law
http://dlvr.it/TPr1GW
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Congratulations to
@russcontreras.bsky.social
for being featured on the White House Recommended Reading List. He was featured for his reporting on how the administration has gutted major pillars of Americaās civil rights protections.
www.whitehouse.gov/media-bias-r...
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Russell Contreras Archives
https://www.whitehouse.gov/media-bias-reporter/russell-contreras/
26 days ago
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Congratulations to
@kendilanian-nbc.bsky.social
for being featured on the White House Recommended Reading List. He was featured for his reporting on Patel's use of FBI resources for a private security detail. Thanks to Trump for elevating this important story.
www.whitehouse.gov/media-bias-r...
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https://www.whitehouse.gov/media-bias-reporter/carol-leonnig/@kendilanian-nbc.bsky.social
26 days ago
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Congratulations to
@carolleonnig.bsky.social
for being featured on the White House Recommended Reading List. She was featured for her reporting on Patel's use of FBI resources for a private security detail. Thanks to Trump for elevating this important story.
www.whitehouse.gov/media-bias-r...
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Carol Leonnig Archives
https://www.whitehouse.gov/media-bias-reporter/carol-leonnig/
26 days ago
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Sam Nelson
American Immigration Council
29 days ago
Are you waiting to hear back from the U.S. government about an immigration application? USCIS is putting a significant number of applications on hold and even threatening to reopen some applications it's approved in the past few years.
@daralind.bsky.social
explains what you need to know.
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No biometrics = no way to apply āIf a person is incarcerated and only has a USCIS benefit pending (and not an EOIR application), USCIS will not send officers to the detention facility to collect biometrics, even if requested by family members or an attorneyā
migrantinsider.com/p/scoop-sile...
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SCOOP: Silent Policy Shift Dooms Detainee Applications
USCIS quietly scraps jailhouse biometrics, guaranteeing āabandonmentā denials for detained immigrants who canāt leave to keep their appointments.
https://migrantinsider.com/p/scoop-silent-policy-shift-dooms-detainee
26 days ago
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Great post from Emily K. Abel re. the public charge rule from a public health context. "The proposal is cruel but not surprising."
andreasankar1.substack.com/p/another-ex...
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Another excuse for stigmatizing immigrants: Expanding the public charge rule
Emily K. Abel
https://andreasankar1.substack.com/p/another-excuse-for-stigmatizing-immigrants
26 days ago
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Administration terminating the family reunification parole. Existing paroles will end in one month. "If an alien was paroled in the United States under the FRP programs and their parole has not yet expired on Jan. 14, 2026, it will terminate on that date."
www.uscis.gov/newsroom/ale...
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DHS Ends the Abuse of the Humanitarian Parole Process and Terminates Family Reunification Parole Programs | USCIS
The Department of Homeland Security is terminating all categorical family reunification parole (FRP) programs for aliens from Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras, and ...
https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/dhs-ends-the-abuse-of-the-humanitarian-parole-process-and-terminates-family-reunification-parole
27 days ago
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reposted by
Sam Nelson
Brad Heath
29 days ago
To give you a sense of how big a departure this year, the government doesn't do this for wanted criminals.
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Sam Nelson
Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie
29 days ago
I should note here that Immigration Judges are actually executive branch employees, and Trump has been actively getting rid of the ones he fears are interested in, y'know, judging, as opposed to facilitating shit like this
ballsandstrikes.org/law-politics...
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Supreme Court considering whether past conduct constitutes persecution is reviewed de novo or for substantial evidence. Hugely important for review of asylum decisions.
www.scotusblog.com/2025/12/cour...
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Court debates asylum determinations
InĀ Urias-Orellana v. Bondi, the Supreme Court on Monday considered whether federal courts of appeals should make their own determination on whether an asylum seeker experienced persecution, or leave i...
https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/12/court-debates-asylum-determinations/
29 days ago
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Sam Nelson
Adam Sawyer
29 days ago
āRules change when ICE is around.ā
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Sometimes asylum law is absurd. Claim rejected because: "petitioner's only evidence was that six male members of his family had been killed or had disappeared." Is that all? Maybe if a seventh relative had been killed, he would have had a case?
scholar.google.com/scholar_case...
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https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=16145413271973453207
29 days ago
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Sam Nelson
Make the Road NY
about 1 month ago
UPDATE: Early this morning, our client Allan Marrero, a queer immigrant New Yorker detained in a New Jersey ICE detention center was moved to an unknown location. Urge your elected official to contact the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR) to demand Allanās release!
#FreeAllan
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The Court chose to describe his three-day treatment in the hospital as including a āhot compress.ā Thatās like saying that a sore foot was treated with Tylenol and an amputation.
samsramblingss.substack.com/p/hell-be-fi...
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He'll be fine with a hot compress
Ninth circuit considers the definition of "persecution"
https://samsramblingss.substack.com/p/hell-be-fine-with-a-hot-compress
about 1 month ago
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Sam Nelson
Ximena Bustillo
about 1 month ago
This year, the Trump admin has taken an axe to USCIS, the agency where people go to seek things like green cards, as they look to reduce legal migration. It's rocking the agency from the inside, crushing morale and prompting resignations. My latest:
www.npr.org/2025/12/10/n...
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How Trump is remaking one agency to aid his deportation push
The Trump administration's changes to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services are taking an axe to the agency's traditional mission of ensuring people lawfully immigrate and stay in the U.S.
https://www.npr.org/2025/12/10/nx-s1-5611495/trump-citizenship-immigration-services-changes
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Loved this from Migrant Insider: Davis locked the door. āYou want some chicken?ā he said through the glass. āYou aināt getting it here, bro.ā And just like that, a store manager did what a lot of lawyers canāt do in a courtroom ā he stopped the government cold.
migrantinsider.com/p/am-dispatc...
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AM Dispatch: The Man Who Locked the Door
Plus, Illinois bans ICE from courthouses, Senate hearing documents ICE abuses, H-1B appointments kicked to March, deportation threats keep children from school, and more.
https://migrantinsider.com/p/am-dispatch-the-man-who-locked-the
about 1 month ago
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Well, fuck. "The denial of rights to deportees is therefore not inconsistent, unprincipled or unconstitutional." At least he's only worried about people in "Asiatic" attire.
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
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Opinion | Why denying rights to deportees is not unconstitutional
Constitutional rights, since their beginnings in America, have always come with a caveat.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/12/09/immigration-case-constitutional-rights-limit/
about 1 month ago
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Congratulations to
@ellenwapo.bsky.social
for making it onto the White House Recommended Reading List. She was featured, along with her colleague Alex Horton, for her reporting on Hegseth's "kill everybody" command. Thanks to Trump for elevating this story!
www.whitehouse.gov/media-bias-r...
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Alex Horton Archives
https://www.whitehouse.gov/media-bias-reporter/alex-horton/
about 1 month ago
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Mapping 1,200 ICE Partnerships: A visual report on the 287(g) Agreement Program Amazing analysis with a data dashboard for deep dive. Remarkable project.
maxwellcommons.substack.com/p/everything...
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Mapping 1,200 ICE Partnerships: A visual report on the 287(g) Agreement Program
Park rangers, lottery officials, and our new immigration police state.
https://maxwellcommons.substack.com/p/everythings-ice
about 1 month ago
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