All posts tagged "immigration"

Trump officials 'furious' about new dress code for embattled federal agency: report

Senior Trump administration officials are "furious" about a new dress code for an embattled federal agency, a journalist revealed.

In a Friday post on X, reporter Anna Giaritelli shared that senior Trump administration officials and officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are "furious with changes to ICE's dress code."

According to reporting by The Intercept, the new dress code bans ICE agents from wearing jeans, sweatshirts, hoodies, non-collared shirts, and T-shirts displaying graphics while they're working in public spaces. Giaritelli wrote in her reporting for the Washington Examiner that the new guidelines went into place on July 17.

The Intercept noted in its reporting that the new dress code came "in direct response" to a pair of deadly shootings by ICE agents in Maine and Texas, as well as a botched arrest attempt by two plainclothes ICE agents at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas on July 13.

Giaritelli posted that senior Trump administration officials and ICE officers are now complaining "it could lead to more assaults against federal police because of how easy they will be to spot in polo shirts and khaki tactical pants."

However, online commentators showed their support for the dress code. In an X post reacting to Giaritelli's post, policy analyst Sarah Pierce said, "Heaven forbid the public know that it is a law enforcement officer that is questioning, arresting or shooting them."

"I am obviously sympathetic to concerns of officer safety," wrote immigration policy analyst Aaron Reichlin-Melnick. "But I find ICE's claim to need to be in hiding particularly strange in light of every other law enforcement agency in the country that manages to do its job with its officers in uniform."

'Do not disrespect Bad Bunny': White House's mass deportation celebration slammed

The White House used a Bad Bunny song to promote its deportations and harsh immigration agenda — and Tik Tok was not happy about it, TMZ reported on Friday.

A TikTok posted Thursday shows ICE agents handcuffing and hauling off detainees to Bad Bunny's "LA MuDANZA," according to TMZ.

In the video, the White House took the original lyrics "un aplauso pa mami y papi porque en verdad rompieron," meaning "a round of applause for mom and dad, because they really crushed it" — and changed them.

The video instead had: "A round of applause for Donald J. Trump because he really crushed it." The post was captioned "We're making America great again."

Bad Bunny hasn't commented on the White House move yet, according to TMZ.

The Puerto Rican rapper Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio has been a critic of the Trump administration and its policies. The international star performed at the Super Bowl halftime show in February, sending a message of pride to the Latino and immigrant community.

Tik Tok commenters were outraged. Nearly 3,000 people responded to the video, the top comments were mostly condemnations.

"Do not disrespect Bad Bunny like that," wrote one. Said another, "This is just disgusting."

@whitehouse We’re making America great again
♬ original sound - The White House

Trump suffers double blow in court as 'the dam has broken'

The Trump administration suffered two losses in one day, with a Trump appointee delivering one of the blows, per a legal reporter.

According to Politico senior legal affairs correspondent Kyle Cheney, the Trump administration's "unprecedented mass detention policy" aimed at immigrants suffered its fifth straight appellate court loss hours before a Trump appointee handed it a sixth.

"The dam has broken," Cheney wrote in a post on X reviewing the losses so far. "Six federal appeals courts in a row have now shot down ICE's mass detention policy, along with a 469-54 split against the administration among district judges."

The latest loss came from the California-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled 2-1 against the Trump administration's mass detention policy carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The Trump-appointed Judge Daniel Bress wrote the opinion in "the most significant rejection yet of the Trump administration's unprecedented mass detention policy," as Cheney described the ruling in his reporting for Politico.

According to Cheney, Bress found that the Trump administration had misconstrued a 1996 immigration law to justify its mass detention policy. The Trump administration's interpretation "has resulted in detained aliens filing thousands of habeas petitions in federal courts across the country, seeking bond hearings and possible release from detention," Bress wrote.

The other setback came from the Illinois-based 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which also ruled 2-1 and found that the Trump administration "defied logic" to justify mass detention. Biden appointee Judge Joshua Kolar noted the volume of prior judicial writing in his opinion, stating, "We add but a few more drops of ink to the gallons already spilled."

Trump's own judge flags 'shortcomings' in ruling on 'mandatory detention'

President Donald Trump's efforts to expand "mandatory detention" for long-time but undocumented U.S. residents were slapped down Thursday by a judge he appointed.

Judge Daniel Bress, appointed by the president in his first administration, joined a slew of other federal courts in rejecting Trump's claim to precedent.

"Although no reading of the complicated and interrelated textual provisions at issue here is without some shortcomings, the historical understanding of the statute is the better one," wrote Bress.

"The government's new interpretation, by contrast, is less consistent with the statutory text and introduces a series of interpretive complications."

Bress was joined by another federal judge on the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 decision, Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, reported.

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision written by Bress, joined the Second, Sixth, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuit courts in the decision, Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, shared in an update on X.

Reichlin-Melnick pointed out that in 2025, the Trump administration had "declared that a 1996 law had, without anyone noticing, mandated the detention of every undocumented immigrant who initially entered the country unlawfully, no matter how long ago."

Bress, who was joined in the decision by Judge M. Margaret McKeown — a judge appointed by President Bill Clinton — disagreed with the Trump administration.

"We conclude that the text, context, and structure of the INA, considered as a whole, did not direct such a significant, yet overlooked, change in the law," according to the ruling. "Although no reading of the complicated and interrelated textual provisions at issue here is without some shortcomings, the historical understanding of the statute is the better one. The government's new interpretation, by contrast, is less consistent with the statutory text and introduces a series of interpretive complications. We accordingly do not think that Congress in 1996 made such a large-scale change to our established system of immigration detention in the way that the government now contends."

'Really?': CNN panel wipes smirk off MAGA pundit's face after defending Trump crackdown

A CNN panel cornered a MAGA commentator as he insisted "plenty of evidence" supports an aggressive Trump policy.

The panel, hosted by CNN anchor Abby Phillip, was talking about President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigrants and plans to expand operations to deport Haitian migrants.

"This is one of the areas where President Trump is doing strongest, and Republicans are doing strongest on crime," right-wing pundit Terry Schilling said.

"We're not talking about criminals here," Phillip said. "We're talking about people who are not criminals, actually."

Phillip added that "there's no evidence by any stretch of the imagination" to suggest that Haitian migrants targeted by Trump's crackdown are criminals. Democratic strategist Christine Quinn agreed, saying, "There's no evidence that there is a significant number, if any, of the Haitians who are here on TPS" being "the worst of the worst."

Schilling, keeping a smile on his face, responded simply by saying, "There is plenty of evidence that there is crime related to all of this."

"Really?" multiple commentators, including Quinn, reacted. "Where's the evidence?"

"Terry, where's the evidence?" Phillip said.

"Where's the evidence?" Quinn repeated.

Schilling said that plenty of evidence shows "so much stress on our system," but Phillip said, "You just switched from crime" to talking about stress on the system.

"No, because it's all tied," Schilling said. "You can't say that immigration does not impact all these other sectors."

"All I'm saying is, where's the proof?" Phillip said.

Schilling's smile disappeared as he tried to shake off the demand. "I don't think this is really up for debate," Schilling said. Quinn could then be heard laughing.

"It's very much up for debate," Phillip shot back.

'Abhorrent': House Republican rattles internet with 'cartoon villain' remarks on Fox News

A Republican lawmaker's comments about ICE ramping up deportations of Haitian immigrants stunned the internet on Monday.

Rep. Michael Rulli (R-OH) reacted to the federal agency's plan, praising the move during an interview with Fox News.

"Let's get them out of here. Let's get 'em all out of here, and let's start from the beginning," Rulli said.

Social media users reacted to the remarks and called him out.

Journalist Aaron Rupar, who captured the clip and shared it, responded to Rulli's statements.

"There are a lot of cartoon villain House Republicans, but Rep. Michael Rulli is right up there on the list," Rupar wrote on X.

Others were concerned about the message this was sending.

"Start from the beginning of what? The beginning of racism? Alright folks! We'll start all white and go from there! Welcome back to the 1700's!" Liberal political commentator Chris Robinson wrote on X.

"Rep. Michael Rulli should be deported with them," X user Barb, who self-describes as a Democrat and political junkie, wrote on X.

Democratic strategist Jon Cooper had another idea.

"Actually, Rulli should be deported INSTEAD of them," Cooper wrote on X.

"Abhorrent and despicable," archaeologist Jeffrey A. Becker wrote on Bluesky.

Rep. Michael Rulli on reports that ICE is preparing to mass deport of Haitians from Ohio: "Let's get them out of here. Let's get 'em all out of here, and let's start from the beginning." pic.twitter.com/pNt50ux6VX
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 27, 2026

'Pants-on-head whacko': Legal expert tears apart disgraced Trump border chief's lies

Despite having been forced out of the job after a disastrous federal takeover of Minneapolis, President Donald Trump's former Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino continues to push extreme claims about illegal immigration — and one legal expert brought down the fact-check hammer on him Tuesday.

Bovino has repeatedly claimed for months that his goal is to deport 100 million people. He doubled down on this Monday, claiming on the Breanna Morello Show that he has personally verified there are 107 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States — a number which, as X-based political account Dominic Michael Tripi noted, "exceed[s] the semi-official number of 20 million by over 5x."

Bovino explained that he arrived at this number by looking at a financial report from the now-defunct Bear Stearns company in 2006, which he claims proves there were already far more immigrants than official tallies. He then extrapolated using the assumption that millions of people have been crossing the border illegally every year over that 20-year period — something he claims to have seen with his own eyes.

This entire thing is complete nonsense, wrote American Immigration Council senior fellow Aaron Reichlin-Melnick.

"To give you some sense of how pants-on-head whacko this number is, it would mean there are somehow over 90 million people living in the country that the Census missed; that 1 in every 4 people was undocumented," wrote Reichlin-Melnick. "Also, the semi-official number isn’t 20 million, it’s 14 million."

Bovino's claims are easy to prove wrong just by looking at birth statistics, said Reichlin-Melnick.

"It’s a hard number to fake. Almost everyone gives birth in a hospital, and hospitals report all births. If 90 *million* extra people came over the last 30 years, births would be up massively. But they’re not!" he wrote. Moreover, "Last year there were under 1,000,000 babies born to Hispanic mothers. Given that number, Bovino’s laughable 107 million estimate would mean that Hispanic women in the US have the lowest fertility rate of any population ever recorded in human history."

Stephen Miller's 'worst bet ever' put the 'blood of many' on his hands: ex-GOP operative

A former Republican strategist said Monday that Stephen Miller, one of President Donald Trump's top aides, has gambled on stifling free speech and using fear to maintain power — but there's a chance it won't work.

In a Substack video, Steve Schmidt called out the White House deputy chief of staff, whom he referred to as "the architect of fear." Schmidt referred to Miller as the "most psychotic and unhinged advisor, a man with the blood of many on his hands, including Alex Pretti and Renee Good, including all of these people who lost their lives under the weight of his viciousness and his insanity."

The co-founder of the anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project made it clear that he views Miller as "an empty little Nazi" and "Little Goebbels of Santa Monica." He also identified how Miller doesn't have unchecked political power.

"We have the right to speech, and we have the right to faith, and we have the right to dissent, and we have the right to oppose this whack job with the full weight of our convictions," Schmidt argued.

Schmidt pointed to Trump's confusion on stage after Spain's FIFA World Cup win as an example of how "he's not capable psychologically of stepping away from power" — and that Miller is part of the problem.

"There are people around Donald Trump who encourage this, who stoke it, who provoke it," Schmidt added. "They believe that they're going to benefit from it. I think it's the worst bet ever made because for those who have placed it, my opposite wager is on their ruination because the survival of the American Republic depends on it. What these people have done and threatened, the thousands they have abused, the money they have stolen, the crimes they have committed cannot be gotten away with."

"If they are gotten away with, then that will mean Trump has won. If Trump wins, then the Republic dies. It's as simple as that. And the choice has always been as simple as that: America or Trump," he added.

Outrage as visibly upset Trump border czar blurts out shock admission

President Donald Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, became visibly upset outside the White House, blurting out a shock admission to reporters before storming off.

Homan was talking about Minnesota and other ICE shootings and the public demand for federal law enforcement agents to wear body cameras following to multiple ICE killings, including deaths in Maine and Texas this month.

"All the mistakes they say happened in Minnesota — the mistakes they claim in Minnesota, a lot of them I don't think were mistakes," Homan admitted, shocking onlookers.

He also argued that the people killed by ICE did not follow directions, which led to their demise.

"It comes down to one simple fact — these people failed to comply with law enforcement ... all they had to do is comply. If they did, they'd be alive today," Homan said.

Before walking off upset, he complained that he can't buy milk in a store without a security detail, calling it "pathetic and disgusting."

Commentators quickly responded.

"Guessing many elected Republicans on the ‘26 ballot, including Susan Collins, won’t be happy that the official WH line on ICE killings is to blame the dead," journalist Chuck Todd wrote on X.

"You mean like Ashli Babbitt?" Meidas Touch editor-in-chief Ron Filipkowski wrote on X.

"Alex Pretti had turned away and was not engaging when DHS agents still attacked and killed him," David J. Bier, immigration policy analyst at the Cato Institute Director of Immigration Studies, wrote on X.

"No mistakes. Just horrific policy," Duncan Jones, director of "Warcraft," wrote on Bluesky.

Guessing many elected Republicans on the ‘26 ballot, including Susan Collins, won’t be happy that the official WH line on ICE killings is to blame the dead. https://t.co/IbJjHubuJa
— Chuck Todd (@chucktodd) July 20, 2026

'Alien Terrorist' court gets first case in 30 years as Trump amps up his crackdown: report

The Trump administration has activated a long-dormant court created to remove noncitizens accused of terrorism-related crimes, according to new reports.

The Alien Terrorist Removal Court has received its first case since it was created by Congress thirty years ago, Court Watch first reported on Saturday.

The court has five federal judges appointed by the Chief Justice to "review applications for the removal from the United States of alien terrorists," according to a description by the Federal Judicial Center.

The court's first case "represents a significant escalation in the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration" that comes amid the deadly crackdown by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a Newsweek report noted.

The Attorney General submitted the court's first application on July 15 and the court posted an order by Judge Joan Ericksen to a newly created website for the Alien Terrorist Removal Court, Court Watch reported.

The application and more details about the removal sought by the Department of Justice are sealed, but the court order mentioned that the Justice department is trying to "remove the respondent in the above-captioned matter from the United States."

In the court order, Ericksen wrote that "the court could benefit from the opportunity for more thoughtful consideration," and on July 16, the removal court had a hearing with the government about the submitted application.

However, "no sworn testimony was taken" at the hearing, and the DOJ lawyers offered to "supplement the record," per the order.

The court has requested more information on the sealed application, and the DOJ has until July 22 to provide it, Court Watch reported.