The altered photo of the vice president might’ve revealed his weird, sweaty soul better than Hillbilly Elegy ever could.
This week, a 21-year-old Norwegian tourist named Mads Mikkelsen was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at Newark Airport, and the most important part of the story is NOT that there’s another guy named Mads Mikkelsen. The most important part of the story is that Mikkelsen claims he was detained and eventually returned to Norway at least in part because of an image CBP agents found on his phone, which is this doctored photo of JD Vance.
Upon his return to Norway, Mikkelsen gave an interview to local newspaper Nordlys, saying that CBP agents threatened him with a $5,000 fine if he did not unlock his phone and allow them to scroll through his photos, and when they saw this hilarious and unsettling image, that was the last straw. The story spread far and wide, and CBP felt the need to address the situation on social media.
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Because the CBP chose to address the story publicly rather than let it blow over, the JD Vance meme has been on the front page of European newspapers and websites all week long, which is the dumbest and funniest and most obvious possible outcome. It is proof that people in power do not understand the Streisand Effect.
How U.S. Customs and Border Protection Accidentally Sent a JD Vance Meme into the Viral Stratosphere
The altered photo of the vice president might’ve revealed his weird, sweaty soul better than Hillbilly Elegy ever could.
Families could see their annual expenses rise by $2,150 due to President Donald Trump‘s hardline deportation policies, according to a new report by FWD.us.
The additional costs stem from stricter rules, including work permit cancellations, mass deportations, and reduced legal immigration, which are expected to drive up prices for everyday goods and services nationwide.
Families face $2,150 bill from Trump’s immigration policies—Study
An expert told Newsweek that removing immigrant workers leads to shortages in goods and services, which pushes prices higher.
According to the study, 2.28 million immigrants living in California are undocumented; they make up nearly 8% of the state’s workforce
Earlier this month, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released a statement in which it said the agency had arrested more than 66,000 undocumented immigrants as well as deported an additional 65,682 people during the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term.
ICE’s stepped-up enforcement has focused heavily on sanctuary cities, including Los Angeles, as the administration seeks to meet its stated target of 3,000 deportations per day.
As immigration enforcement actions intensify, a new study by the University of California, Merced warns that mass deportations could cause serious damage to the state’s economy. The report estimates that removing California’s undocumented immigrant population would result in a $275 billion economic hit and a loss of $23 billion annually in local, state and federal tax revenue.
Mass Deportations of Undocumented Immigrants Could Cost California $275 Billion, Study Finds
A new study by the University of California, Merced warns that mass deportations could cause serious damage to the state’s economy.
Democrats push back against masked agents arresting immigrants, but Republicans worry about officers’ safety
Doxing has already struck a nerve among federal agents in El Paso supporting immigration operations.
“I have experienced that with one of my employees, who was photographed during an operation. It was put out on Instagram, and the individual who had posted that had indicated that ‘the community needs to remind him where he came from,’” said Jason T. Stevens, HSI special agent in charge in El Paso.
What is clearly free speech for some can translate into a threat to others.
“My employee felt such a threat that he completely changed his appearance to be able to protect his family when he’s off-duty and out in the community with them,” Stevens said at a recent Senate committee hearing in Washington, D.C.
FBI Deputy Assistant Director Jose Perez said doxing – the act of publishing someone’s private information online without consent – can not only hurt the target but also their loved ones.
“The doxing poses tremendous vulnerability,” said Perez, who heads the Criminal Investigative Division. “One example […] In this incident, the agent was being threatened also with pictures of his children to back down on the operations that are ongoing. It is a significant threat that we are concerned with.”
Dox them all — the masked Gestapo thugs terrorizing neighborhoods and disappearing people off the streets get no sympathy from me!
Let the First Amendment rule!
News Nation: Doxing strikes nerve among federal agents
The Santa Ana Police Department is asking residents to alert authorities if they see abandoned vehicles or property they believe may belong to someone detained by federal immigration officers. The department issued the public service announcement on social media following a high-profile immigration arrest in the city that has drawn local and national attention.
“If you believe a community member has been detained by federal officers and their vehicle or property has been left alone or abandoned, please call our Communications Division,” the statement read. Police added they would make a “reasonable effort” to contact family members or others who could retrieve the belongings. The notice was initially posted in Spanish, with a follow-up video in English.
Beating and kidnapping of Narciso Barranco by ICE Gestapo goons:
The message comes amid heightened immigration enforcement activity in Southern California, which has left many families scrambling for answers and assistance. One case in particular has sparked outrage: the arrest of Narciso Barranco in Santa Ana, a 48-year-old husband and father of three U.S. Marines.
Barranco was allegedly detained Saturday by U.S. Border Patrol agents while working as a landscaper outside an IHOP near Edinger Avenue and Ritchey Street. Video of the arrest, shared widely on social media, shows masked federal agents tackling a man to the ground, striking him, then forcing him into an unmarked silver SUV.
The footage was first posted by the Instagram account @SantaAnaProblems. In the video, agents wearing tactical vests and face coverings are seen surrounding the man, pinning him to the pavement. One agent repeatedly strikes him on the arm and near the head before others lift him up and push him into the vehicle using what appears to be a metal rod. The man did not appear to be seriously injured in the footage.
His son, 25-year-old Alejandro Barranco, identified the man as his father, Narciso. He told KTLA’s Sara Welch that his father has lived in the United States for nearly three decades and was targeted, he believes, because of how he looked and where he worked.
“I think part of it is racial profiling,” Alejandro said. “They probably assumed because he was working the landscaping he had no documentation.”
On Sunday evening, hundreds of community members gathered in Santa Ana for a candlelight vigil in support of Narciso. The event drew several hundred attendees, including faith leaders and elected officials, all rallying behind a family whose story has gained national attention.
“We never expected a turnout like this—all the elected officials, the support—it’s crazy. I’ve never seen anything like it, but I’m very glad we’re all here for each other,” Alejandro said.
Santa Ana police urge public to report abandoned property after immigration arrest video sparks outrage
ICE agents detain mother in Pasadena in front of children without showing a warrant (and the mother wasn’t who they were looking for — 3 masked men just jumped out of a car and grabbed her)
A mother walking with her children in Pasadena was taken into custody by immigration agents over the weekend in an incident that was partially captured on video and has drawn sharp criticism from witnesses.
Rosalina Luna Vargas, a mother of two and the primary breadwinner for her family, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers on Saturday morning around 8 a.m., according to bystanders. Her children were present at the time of the incident, which took place in broad daylight in the corner of Catalina and Del Mar.
The encounter was recorded by Jillian Reed, a Caltech alum and local resident, who was driving by when she noticed a commotion on the sidewalk.
In the footage she captured, three individuals in plain clothes—two of whom were masked and wore badges on lanyards—can be seen attempting to force Vargas into an unmarked Honda Accord. A third man, appearing younger and without any visible identification, also participated.
“I saw the commotion while driving, and when I slowed down, the kids shouted for help,” Reed said. “They kept asking for a warrant. They told the officers they would stop resisting if they just showed them a warrant. One of the men said he had one but didn’t show it.”
The video cuts off just as Vargas’s daughter pleads with Reed to call the police. According to Reed, she did call 911, reporting what she believed at the time to be a possible kidnapping.
As the situation escalated, Vargas allegedly broke free from the agents and ran into the courtyard of the nearby Del Mar Park Assisted Living Facility, with her children following close behind. The agents pursued, but were confronted again by the children, who physically tried to shield their mother.
“They formed a human wall,” Reed said. “One of the kids clung to her, telling her, ‘Don’t let go! Don’t let go!’ while crying. Then he started shouting to the crowd, ‘I can’t lose my mom!’”
Reed said the staff at the assisted living facility intervened, telling the agents they were on private property and could not proceed without a warrant. The agents, she said, took photos of everyone present—including Reed—before leaving in two separate vehicles.
Pasadena police later arrived and took statements from those at the scene. According to Reed, ICE agents returned later and took Vargas into custody.
A family member told Reed the warrant in question was for someone else entirely, and that Vargas and her children had simply been “in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Community members say the incident highlights growing concerns over ICE’s arrest tactics and the lack of transparency in operations conducted in public areas without coordination with local law enforcement.
Reed, still shaken, called the incident “horrific” and questioned whether law enforcement procedures were followed.
“Only two of the three men had badges, and none were in uniform,” she said. “I didn’t know if I was witnessing a hate crime or a kidnapping. And because they might have been law enforcement, I wasn’t even sure whether to call the police.”
ICE has not publicly released details about the arrest, including the charges or the identity of the agents involved.
The incident comes as federal immigration enforcement actions have intensified in parts of Southern California, prompting backlash in immigrant communities and renewed debate about due process, civil rights, and the rights of children in enforcement situations.
ICE agents detain mother in Pasadena in front of children without showing a warrant
A mother walking with her children in Pasadena was taken into custody by immigration agents over the weekend in an incident that was partially captured on video and has drawn sharp criticism from w…
National Guard troops deployed to California to quell the anti-deportation riots were later mobilized to help federal agents bust dozens of illegal migrants working at illegal marijuana farms.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) confirmed that their agents, working in conjunction with multiple federal agency partners, arrested at least 70 illegal migrants allegedly working at multiple illegal marijuana farms in California’s Coachella Valley. National Guard troops assisted DEA, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agents in the massive raid.
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Roughly 315 National Guard troops mobilized to respond to the anti-ICE violence were redeployed to the Coachella Valley area to help federal agents with the operation, according to newly filed court documents obtained by the LA Times.
Using nationally mobilized National Guard troops for law enforcement purposes is a clear violation of the federal Posse Comitatus Act.
National Guard Joins DEA In California Desert To Bust Illicit Marijuana Grow
National Guard troops deployed to California to quell the anti-deportation riots were later mobilized to help federal agents bust dozens of illegal migrants working at illegal marijuana farms. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) confirmed that their agents, working in conjunction with multiple federal agency partners, arrested at least 70 ill…
This month, Californians filled the streets of Los Angeles to peacefully demand justice for SEIU President David Huerta—who was violently detained by ICE during an immigration protest—and for so many hardworking immigrant families across our state. The response? Tear gas. Rubber bullets. National Guard troops unnecessarily deployed to flex federal muscle. And a United States senator literally wrestled to the ground for daring to ask basic questions.
This wasn’t just an overreaction. It was a message: fall in line—or face the consequences.
At the same time, in Washington, the Trump administration is dismantling the very systems that keep our families safe and healthy. They’re firing scientists, defunding cancer research, slashing Medicaid, and replacing trusted experts with conspiracy theorists. It’s not just policy failure. It’s a campaign of calculated neglect—and political retribution aimed at states like ours that dare to push back.
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In just six months, the Trump administration has launched a full-scale assault on these safeguards. They’ve gutted funding, laid off thousands of career scientists, and shuttered key public health teams—all while claiming these cuts are about “efficiency.”
Let’s be clear: this isn’t streamlining. It’s sabotage.
This administration didn’t just fire the experts tracking avian flu, which has now infected dozens of people in California and is spreading rapidly through livestock. They disbanded the FDA team investigating the lead-contaminated applesauce that poisoned more than 500 children. They cut NIH programs working to prevent cancer and Alzheimer’s. They even fired the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel—weeks after a measles outbreak, as pregnant women and children remain vulnerable to viruses like COVID-19—only to replace them with vaccine skeptics.
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They Created a Crisis in LA To Cover for a Catastrophe in D.C. | Opinion
We can’t stand by while Washington plays politics with our health, our future, and our hardest-working families.
More than 300 National Guard troops initially tasked with aiding law enforcement in the Los Angeles protests and subsequent unrest assisted federal agents during the week of June 15 in a large-scale raid targeting three suspected illegal marijuana farms in Thermal, a desert community in Riverside County, California. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) led the operation, which spanned approximately 787 acres in the Coachella Valley.
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However, California officials argue that extending the Guard’s role to operations far from Los Angeles exceeds Trump’s authority. In a federal court filing cited by The Los Angeles Times, California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office stated that the marijuana farm raids were not related to protecting federal property or personnel in Los Angeles, and questioned whether the president’s order remains legally valid, given the changed circumstances.
The dispute centers on whether Trump’s extended use of the National Guard violates the Posse Comitatus Act, which restricts the use of military forces for domestic law enforcement without congressional approval. Bonta’s office asked the court to review whether federalized troops can operate in areas where no violence or protests are occurring. Defense Department documents indicate that the deployment could last 60 days or longer, at the discretion of the secretary of defense.
National Guard, DEA raid illegal marijuana farms in Southern California
A federal raid in Thermal sparked a legal fight over Trump’s use of National Guard troops for immigration enforcement far from Los Angeles.
The Trump administration could soon be forced to turn over a cache of documents, photos, internal reports and other evidence detailing the activities of the military in Southern California, a federal judge wrote Tuesday, signaling a possible procedural victory to the state in its fight to rein in thousands of troops under the president’s command.
If he approves “expedited, limited discovery,” Senior U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer in San Francisco would likely also authorize California lawyers to depose key administration officials and might review questions about how long California National Guard troops remain under federal control.
Judge in Newsom vs. Trump could soon order L.A. troop deployment records handed over
A federal judge weighed ‘expedited, limited discovery’ in California’s challenge to Trump’s authority over troops deployed to L.A. County, potentially allowing depositions and signaling he might review questions about how long California National Guard troops remain under federal control.
