Richardson Law’s Ka Huli Ao Center celebrates 20 years of advancing Native Hawaiian legal education and advocacy. Councilmember Esther Kiaʻāina presented an honorary certificate recognizing its enduring impact on Hawaiʻi’s communities. Mahalo to all who shaped this milestone! 🔗 buff.ly/K81zLg4

Aloha nui to clinic fellow Stephanie Haro Sevilla for serving as a respondent, along w Prof. Mari Matsuda, at Satsuki Ina's lecture on the Japanese American internment. Stephanie shared about her family's recent experiences with her dad's immigration detention, connecting our past to our present.

So happy for our clients. Their case lasted over five years including an appeal because of this admin's attacks on gender-based asylum claims. Incredible to see the expressions of happiness and relief flood the mother's face as her kids hugged her. Safe at last.

From this minister's op-ed: "People wanting to experience God are more likely to meet the Divine trying to shut down the Broadview, Illinois, ICE facility than we ever were in church...God does not live in our houses of worship, but...with those who are bearing the brunt of cruelty in this moment."

Sunday cutie

Mamdani: "New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants, and as of tonight, led by an immigrant."

Mamdani: "My message to ICE agents & to everyone across this city is that everyone will be held to the same standard of the law. If you violate it, you must be held accountable. There is sadly a sense growing that certain people are allowed to violate that law, whether they be POTUS or ICE agents."

Imagine having a kid in this daycare who watches as their teacher is bodily dragged away by masked goons.

Mamdani: "Yes, aunties."

The defense team presses Lairmore on whether the sandwich really 'exploded.' They return to the photo of the sandwich and wrapper on the ground. "That sandwich hasn't exploded at all, has it?" defense asks. "It looks like a little bit is coming out towards the bottom," Lairmore replies.

Border Patrol agent Lairmore testifies that he was not injured by the sandwich, but he felt the impact through his ballistic vest. The sandwich came apart and "kind of exploded" on his chest upon impact, he says. "I could smell the onions and mustard."

Zohran picked 「卓蘭」("excellent orchid") for his first name and「夸梅」("brilliant plum") for his middle name. The orchid and the plum are among "The Four Noble Ones" in traditional Chinese art, the former symbolizing an indifference to fame and fortune, the latter an indomitable, incorruptible spirit.

That was the greatest baseball game I’ve ever seen.

the displacement of individuals who genuinely meet the definition of "refugee" for purposes of domestic and international law, by people clearly undeserving and highly politicized, is scandalous. public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2025-19752.pdf

Turkmenistan chic

NEWS: The Trump admin's decision to suspend SNAP benefits due to the shutdown has been blocked. In two cases, both judges found the government action is likely illegal. Although a judge in Mass gave the admin until Monday to reverse course, a judge in Rhode Island issued a TRO from the bench today.

NEWS: In the Rhode Island case, per the minute entry, "the Court orders the USDA to distribute contingency funds; report to the Court by 12:00 PM on Monday, November 3, 2025, regarding the status of the distribution; and to honor the existing waivers."

The only Dawn Patrol we've been partaking in lately

That sad feeling when you wear goth white costume makeup for Halloween and it's only a shade paler than your actual skin tone

Please join me in signing this @change.org petition by NOON on FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, to convene a special session of the Hawaii legislature to appropriate rainy day funds for discontinued SNAP benefits. Thank you for your attention to this matter! @indivisiblehawaii.bsky.social

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) Board of Trustees has approved $6.1 million in emergency funding. https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/10/29/oha-approves-6m-native-hawaiian-families-impacted-by-government-shutdown/

Today is the #SNAPDayOfAction, and we need you to join us and act now. 42 million Americans are at risk of losing SNAP benefits on Nov 1st. USDA has a contingency fund but hasn't released it. Contact your Members of Congress today: actionnetwork.org/letters/cong...

The Trump Administration’s assertion that it can't use SNAP’s contingency reserves for SNAP benefits is contrary to: ▪️The plain language of the law ▪️Their own (now deleted) shutdown plan ▪️Guidance from prior Administrations We have the receipts:

“Hello? 911? Someone called their mother’s cousin an auntie.”

She has now ordered Bovino to appear personally at the court every day to report back what has happened and to list everyone arrested who is not being arrested for immigration enforcement reasons. This is the most insane court session I've ever been in. Feels like a headteacher bollocking

Quite a world when a federal judge has to call in a federal official to specifically tell him he can't use tear gas on children in Halloween costumes

Increased our family's monthly donation to Hawaii Foodbank. Please give if can.

Making a recurring donation to your local food bank is one of the easiest & most effective ways to help people in your community. Now is a great time to either set one up or increase your existing support. Find a food bank near you: www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-lo...

Reminder you can donate $25 to help feed Angelenos and be entered into a raffle for two World Series tickets to game 4 with Shohei Ohtani on the mound! Let’s raise some money for people in need while gov’t funds/SNAP are being slashed: givebutter.com/game4?gbtid=...

The dream of every Muslim is simply to be treated the same as any other New Yorker. And yet, for too long, we have been told to ask for less than that, and endure hatred and bigotry in the shadows. No more.

In other architecture news this week, I saw an article disparaging the Obama Presidential Library as the product of DEI. The architect, Billie Tsien, became a favorite of mine when she gave these remarks, which resonated with me & which I had the chance to lightly edit for publication.

#NoKings Nome Alaska 💥⚡

Nation’s last rally of the day still going strong on Maui. #Hawaii #NoKings #NoDictators

Honolulu!

My boss: so how's our fourth quarter looking? Me, the sales manager at the company that makes inflatable frog suits: well, you're never going to believe this, but

Was just at a neighborhood school at dismissal. Hundreds of people with whistles surrounding the school and stationed down every block making sure ICE doesn’t snatch anyone. The same is happening at all the schools around here. I love my neighborhood and I love Chicago.

George was just trying to get to work. ICE pepper-sprayed him, dragged him from his car, locked him in a detention center, and placed him on suicide watch. He even missed his young daughter’s birthday in the process. This man is a veteran and American citizen. Don't look away.

aaand we are officially in the hide-your-neighbors stage

Dr. Jane Goodall filmed an interview with Netflix in March 2025 that she understood would only be released after her death.

One of the more incredible stories out of LA this year has been how a taco review blog became the best on-the-ground coverage of ICE raids in the city. They do a dispatch every day, follow-up on the kidnapped people (which almost no media outlet has done), and fact-check government claims.

Breaking: Trump-appointed federal judge issues temporary restraining order against Federalized deployment of National Guard in Oregon. Judge: “this is a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law.”

BREAKING: Federal judge BLOCKS a new ICE policy that went into effect last week to automatically detain unaccompanied migrant children on their 18th birthday when they “age out” of shelter care. The TRO enforces a court order in a case brought by @immcouncil.org and @immigrantjustice.bsky.social.

So proud of our clinic's Equal Justice Works Fellow Danicole Ramos, who was invited to share the Message of Aloha at the Honolulu City Council's October meeting. Danicole has spent the last two years serving noncitizen veterans, who in HI are largely from the Filipino, COFA, and Latine communities.

Richardson alumnus Julian Aguon ’09 wins the Right Livelihood Award, Sweden’s “Alternative Nobel Prize,” for his groundbreaking climate justice work at the International Court of Justice. Full announcement: law.hawaii.edu/29324/ #ClimateJustice #RightLivelihoodAward #RichardsonLaw

Congrats, Acting CJ McKenna! I believe she would also be the first "Judicat" (a band mainly comprised of Hawai'i judges) band member to ascend to leadership of the judiciary in Hawai'i. Hope to see you continue performing at Rock 4 Justice. ❤️

Congrats, CJ Recktenwald! Thank you for your service and your dedication to increasing access to justice in Hawai'i. ❤️

Of course Jane Goodall had a sense of humor❤️

The lack of fire from Democrats is bad, but I would argue “the hardest thing to tolerate” is that the Republican party is in charge of all major branches of government and they are completely supine. They have the power and the duty to do something and they are not.

Omg. I’ve never seen anything like this in a judicial opinion: