CNN: Immigration Raids “Made for TV”

Dr. Phil was embedded with ICE during controversial Los Angeles immigration raids

As federal agents prepared to fan out in Los Angeles for a controversial immigration crackdown, the officers were greeted by a familiar face: Dr. Phil McGraw.

The television personality and his camera crew were on hand before and after the raids that took place on Friday and triggered several days of street protests.

McGraw was there “to get a first-hand look at the targeted operations,” according to his conservative TV channel, MeritTV.

McGraw also had “exclusive” access to Trump’s border czar Tom Homan, a spokesperson for the channel said. The two men sat down for taped conversations about the Immigration and Customs Enforcement efforts both “the day before and day after the LA operation.”

The TV personality and Homan were also together at the Homeland Security Investigations field office in L.A. on the morning the raids began.

McGraw’s presence on the ground in L.A. reinforces the made-for-TV nature of Trump’s immigration crackdown.

The former daytime talk show host was embedded with ICE officials in Chicago back in January, when some federal agents were told to be camera-ready for a show of force at the very start of President Trump’s second term.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/09/media/dr-phil-mcgraw-ice-immigration-raids-los-angeles

New York Times: Agents Use Military-Style Force Against Protesters at L.A. Immigration Raid

Armed agents in tactical gear threw flash-bang grenades to disperse a crowd in Los Angeles’s Fashion District. Later, agents fired less-than-lethal ammunition at protesters outside a detention center.

Federal agents in tactical gear armed with military-style rifles threw flash-bang grenades to disperse an angry crowd near downtown Los Angeles on Friday as they conducted an immigration raid on a clothing wholesaler, the latest sign of tensions between protesters and law enforcement over raids carried out at stores, restaurants and court buildings.

The operation was one of at least three immigration sweeps conducted in Los Angeles on Friday. In another one, federal agents converged at a Home Depot where day laborers regularly gather in search of work.

The raid at the clothing wholesaler began about 9:15 a.m. in the Fashion District, less than two miles from Los Angeles City Hall.

It was an extraordinary show of force. Dozens of federal agents wearing helmets and green camouflage arrived in two hulking armored trucks and other unmarked vehicles, and were soon approached by a crowd of immigrant activists and supporters. Some agents carried riot shields and others held rifles, as well as shotguns that appeared to be loaded with less-than-lethal ammunition.

Agents cleared a path for two white passenger vans that exited the area. A short time later, as officers boarded their vehicles to leave, a few agents lobbed flash-bang grenades at groups of people who chased alongside the slow-moving convoy. Some protesters had thrown eggs and other objects at the vehicles. At one point, the vehicles snagged and crushed at least two electric scooters that protesters had used.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/06/us/los-angeles-immigration-raid.html?unlocked_article_code=1.NE8.NsYh.Ex_rWREZ8Ksq&smid=url-share

The Hill: Why are ICE agents running amok? Because they can. 

As the Trump administration pushes for more mass deportations, law enforcement officers from the Department of Homeland Security are suddenly everywhere. 

In San Diego, Homeland Security officers conducted a SWAT-style raid on a restaurant, handcuffing 19 employees over an hour and slamming the manager against a wall in the process. Eventually, they arrested four people. The raid was so heavy-handed that the officers had to deploy flashbang grenades to escape from the angry crowd that gathered in response.

Even members of Congress aren’t safe. Last week, Homeland Security officers forced their way into Rep. Jerry Nadler’s (D) New York office without a warrant. When one of the staffers protested, she was handcuffed and detained

The cases you hear about are only the tip of the iceberg. Federal officers are fanning out across the country, conducting raids, traffic stops, even scooping people up at courthouses when they appear for immigration hearings and carting them away in leg irons and shackles — harsh treatment that you seldom see even when felons are arrested. 

This heavy-handedness and cruelty isn’t a glitch — it’s intentional, as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Tom Homan, President Trump’s border czar, attempt to frighten immigrants into leaving the country. Even legal residents and American citizens are getting caught up in the crackdown.

And the worst part is, while things like barging into a congressman’s office and detaining his staffers aren’t legal, there is nothing anyone can do about it. If Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents force their way into your house without a warrant, slap you around and detain your family at gunpoint while conducting an illegal search, you have no way of getting your constitutional claims into federal court. As a practical matter, these agents are above the law and cannot be held accountable for violating your constitutional rights. 

https://thehill.com/opinion/immigration/5335758-homeland-security-raid-immigration

Alternet: ‘One of the worst’: Kristi [Bimbo #2] Noem slammed for ‘false accusation’ against man who was framed

Authorities have acknowledged an error in their initial assessment of a Wisconsin man who was arrested last month under suspicion of threatening President Donald Trump, CNN reported Tuesday.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Secretary Kristi Noem had previously labeled Ramón Morales Reyes, an undocumented immigrant, as a potential threat based on threatening letters allegedly written by him. However, a subsequent investigation revealed that Morales Reyes, who cannot read or write in English, was framed by Demetric Deshawn Scott, a 52-year-old man from Milwaukee.

Bimbo #2 doesn’t care who or what she hurts. Just ask her goat or puppy.

Never mind, the goat & puppy are dead — Bimbo #2 shot them.

https://www.alternet.org/kristi-noem-dhs

Law & Crime: ‘Disingenuous’: Judge orders Trump admin to reveal its deal with El Salvador after immigrant objects to his jailing in notorious CECOT prison

A request for jurisdictional discovery from a Venezuelan immigrant locked up in a notorious Salvadoran prison has been granted, opening the door for the release of revelatory details into the Trump administration’s detainment deal with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.

In a wide-ranging immigration case that intersects with others that have captured national interest, a petitioner referred to as E.D.Q.C. — reportedly previously identified as Edicson David Quintero Chacon, 28, argued he was not given prior notice of his planned deportation to El Salvador, a country with which he has no affiliation, and thus unable to raise concerns of being tortured at the country’s Terrorism Confinement Center, otherwise known as CECOT, which is accused of ill-treatment.

Middle District of Georgia U.S. Magistrate Judge Amelia Helmick ruled that if such allegations of a lack of notice are true, E.D.Q.C.’s transfer to and imprisonment in CECOT is “likely unlawful.” She also firmly rejected arguments by the Trump administration that certain “privileges” exist barring them from releasing information into their deal with the Salvadoran government, saying that “the only reason El Salvador has even entered the conversation in this case” is because the U.S. government sent the petitioner there.

Daily Beast: Stephen [“Goebbels”] Miller Threatened ICE Leaders With a Furious Ultimatum Over Arrest Targets

An irate Stephen [“Goebbels”] Miller threatened senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials with termination unless their offices upped their game and started detaining at least 3,000 migrants a day.

The White House deputy chief of staff also warned that leaders of field offices ranking in the bottom 10 percent for migrant arrests were at risk of being fired, NBC News reports, citing unnamed sources.

The little Hitler works hard to alienate everyone!

https://www.thedailybeast.com/stephen-miller-threatened-ice-leaders-with-a-furious-ultimatum-over-arrest-targets

Guardian: US immigration officers ordered to arrest more people even without warrants

Exclusive: Ice officers told to get ‘creative’ with arrests, including of undocumented people encountered by chance

Senior US immigration officials over the weekend instructed rank-and-file officers to “turn the creative knob up to 11” when it comes to enforcement, including by interviewing and potentially arresting people they called “collaterals”, according to internal agency emails viewed by the Guardian.

Officers were also urged to increase apprehensions and think up tactics to “push the envelope” one email said, with staff encouraged to come up with new ways of increasing arrests and suggesting them to superiors.

“If it involves handcuffs on wrists, it’s probably worth pursuing,” another message said.

This will greatly increase the harassment and “accidental” deportations of legal residents and U.S. citizens.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/04/immigration-officials-increased-detentions-collateral-arrests

Associated Press: Judge blocks administration from revoking protected status for small subset of Venezuelans

An estimated 5,000 Venezuelans granted temporary protected status can continue to work and live in the U.S. despite a Supreme Court ruling revoking protections while their lawsuit against the Trump administration is pending.

U.S. District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco ruled Friday that Venezuelans whose Temporary Protected Status was extended to October 2026 are not affected by the Supreme Court’s order and are not eligible for deportation.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-venezuelans-tps-federal-judge-be20785b80aa5d2ec27f1100132d5010

Miami Herald: Kristi Noem’s ‘Unprofessional’ Post Draws Backlash

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has sparked controversy by posting the message “Suck it” on her official social media account alongside a screenshot of a court filing confirming the voluntary dismissal of a lawsuit. The remark followed the ACLU’s dismissal of a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s plan to transfer detained migrants to Guantánamo Bay. Critics have since criticized Noem’s leadership and her repeated focus on media engagement.

The lawsuit was dropped after several plaintiffs were deported or declined to continue. Critics have scrutinized Noem’s leadership under Trump, arguing that her media presence undermines her professional responsibilities.

One X user wrote, “How unprofessional. But I don’t expect anything less from someone who shoots puppies.”

Don’t forget her poor goat. She shot her goat, too!

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/kristi-noem-s-gloat-over-dismissed-migrants-lawsuit-sparks-outrage/ar-AA1FkDJu

The Hill: Mass deportation effort sweeps up U.S. citizen children with deported parents

The Trump administration is coming under scrutiny for deporting several U.S. citizen children along with their foreign-born parents.

Trump officials have defended the move, saying the minors were not deported, rather the parents have elected to take them along rather than be separated from their children.

But attorneys for the families involved in such cases say their clients were given little notice and forced to make split-second decisions about what to do with children born in the United States.

Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), has been in contact with attorneys for several families, including a Honduran woman with two U.S. citizen children, including a 4-year-old with stage 4 cancer.

“At no time did the mother offer any consent. At no time did the mother sign anything. Also, the mother was not given the opportunity to speak with legal counsel, even though the lawyer was in the same building at the time,” Magaziner told The Hill.

And then there’s the case of two Mexican parents living in Texas who were deported along with five of their six children after being stopped at a border checkpoint.

The family was en route to Houston for emergency treatment for their 10-year-old, U.S. citizen daughter who had recently had a brain tumor removed.

The Hernandez family, using a pseudonym to protect their privacy, pleaded while in custody for staff to look at documentation from the hospital requesting permission to travel.

Instead, they spent the night in custody before being taken to a bridge and turned over to Mexican authorities in an area rife with kidnappings. The family has since gone into hiding in rural Mexico.

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5326444-trump-administration-deporting-us-citizen-children