Tag Archives: Stephen Miller

Daily Mail: Nursing student detained by ICE after cop noticed she had ‘a bit of an accent’ during routine traffic stop

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A college student was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers after a cop noticed she had ‘a bit of an accent’ during a routine traffic stop.

Caroline Dias Goncalves, 19, was pulled over on the Colorado Interstate 70 on June 5, accused of driving too close to a semi-truck.

The University of Utah nursing student complied with the officer, identified as Investigator Alexander Zwinck, by handing over all of her documentation and paperwork.

In bodyworn camera footage seen by DailyMail.com, Zwinck told Goncalves he would let her off with just a warning, asking: ‘Where are you from? You have a bit of an accent.’

Goncalves answered: ‘I’m from Utah.’ 

Zwinck asked how long she’d been living in Utah and whether she was ‘born and raised there’, to which she cautiously answered: ‘No. I was born in, um, gosh I always forget the town.. down in Brazil.’

‘My parents moved here,’ she added.

Zwinck appeared unfazed by her answer, moving on to ask her questions about her boyfriend, her weekend plans and her dreams of becoming a nurse.

Mistake #1: Personal questions are none of the pig’s business. Respectfully decline to answer any such questions.

After explaining to her once again that he was giving her a warning which would not require any following up, he sent her on her way, wishing her safe travels and urging her to give semi trucks on the road a little more space.

But minutes after the friendly interaction, Goncalves was pulled over again by ICE agents as she exited the freeway, and taken into custody.

The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office has since revealed that Zwinck was part of a group chat with local, state, and federal law enforcement partners which was used to improve multi-agency cooperation to stem the drug trafficking trade.

‘We were unaware that the communication group was used for anything other than drug interdiction efforts, including immigration,’ the statement read.

‘We have since removed all Mesa County Sheriff’s Office members from the communication group.’

…

Goncalves is now being held in Denver Detention Facility.

She is one of 2.5 million Dreamers in the United States, referring to undocumented migrants who were brought to the US as young children.

It is understood her family arrived in the US on a tourist visa, which they overstayed. Her father then applied for asylum, and that case is pending.

Goncalves earned a coveted TheDream.US national scholarship, which allows undocumented youth to help finance college.

While her asylum claim was pending, she had been granted temporary rights to work.

A GoFundMe set up by a friend to help Goncalves’ family cover legal costs associated with her detention has already raised $25,000.

‘Caroline has always followed the law, passionately pursued her education, and dreamed of a future full of opportunity,’ the fundraising page reads.

‘Yet she now finds herself unlawfully detained, frightened, and far from the safety and support she deserves.’

Nursing student detained by ICE after cop’s shocking observation
Caroline Dias Goncalves, 19, was pulled over on the Colorado Interstate 70 on June 5, accused of driving too close to a semi-truck.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14822749/college-student-caroline-dias-goncalves-detained-ice-traffic-stop.html

Wall Street Journal: Trump Is Losing Political Ground on Immigration

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The Trump administration’s aggressive deportation program is testing the political bounds of what Americans will tolerate, spurring a backlash from voters and some Republicans and testing the administration’s resolve.

Federal officials in recent weeks have stepped up raids on worksites and farms, seeking to fulfill President Trump’s pledge of mass deportations. The move has sparked alarm in immigrant communities and street protests in Los Angeles and other cities. Last weekend, Trump directed that arrests be paused at farms and hotels, only to reverse the directive days later.

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Republican members of Congress from California, Texas and Florida have publicly urged the White House to give priority to deportations of criminals rather than migrants who have resided in the U.S. for long periods and have otherwise obeyed the law. The chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R., Pa.), called the farm raids “just wrong.” The co-founder of Latinas for Trump, Florida state Sen. Ileana Garcia, wrote on X that the administration’s actions were “unacceptable and inhumane” and “not what we voted for.”

“I may have voted for Trump, but I can’t stay silent about what’s happening with ICE in LA,” Ryan Garcia, a former interim lightweight boxing champion who endorsed Trump last year, wrote on X. “We can have borders without losing our humanity.”

Presidents of both parties have historically hesitated to pursue large-scale immigration enforcement in the country’s interior precisely because it tends to be politically unpopular. Trump’s push for deportations far from the border has begun to trigger a backlash in public opinion, with polls showing his approval rating on immigration and deportations—formerly one of his strongest issues—has now turned negative.

A Quinnipiac poll earlier this month found that just 43% approved of Trump’s performance on immigration while 54% disapproved. On deportations, 40% approved while 56% disapproved. In the polling average maintained by the analyst Nate Silver, Trump’s immigration policies were popular on a net basis until earlier this month—but are now more unpopular than popular by a 3-point margin. 

Trump Is Losing Political Ground on Immigration

https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-is-losing-political-ground-on-immigration-20de43bc

Also here:

Trump Is Losing Political Ground on Immigration
The administration’s aggressive deportation push has alarmed voters, including some of the president’s supporters.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-is-losing-political-ground-on-immigration/ar-AA1H5df5

Robert Reich: The Dogs of War

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What’s really going on.

As a result, he’s probably getting decent advice about what’s good for Trump but not about what’s good for America or the world. It’s an inevitable consequence of purging from the government anyone more loyal to the United States than to him. Besides, Trump only listens to information he wants to hear.

1. Why is Trump taking us into war with Iran?

2. Is (or was) Iran building a nuclear weapon?

3. Is Trump getting good information and advice?

4. Will Iran now cave and agree to destroy its remaining stockpile of enriched uranium and allow inspectors to confirm that the stockpile is gone?

5. Have the bombings wiped out Iran’s capacity to enrich uranium to produce fissile material for nuclear weapons?

6. What’s the worst Iran can now do to the United States in retaliation?

7. Will the American public “rally ‘round the flag” and support Trump in this war

8. Will he send in American ground troops?

9. What’s Congress likely to do now?

10. Bonus question: Where does the phrase “dogs of war” come from?

The Dogs of War
What’s really going on

https://robertreich.substack.com/p/the-dogs-of-war

Latin Times: Border Czar Announces New Change Of Course In Immigration Enforcement, Says ‘Criminals’ Will Be Prioritized

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Immigration

Border Czar Announces New Change Of Course In Immigration Enforcement, Says ‘Criminals’ Will Be Prioritized

“We’re going to continue doing worksite enforcement operations, even on farms and hotels, but based on a prioritized basis,” said Tom Homan

White House border czar Tom Homan said immigration enforcement raids will continue at places like hotels and farms, two industries with a significant percentage of migrant workers, but claimed people with criminal records will be prioritized.

It is the latest announcement related to the industries following several comings and goings over the past weeks. President Donald Trump initially suggested migrants would be exempted given the disproportionate impact that enforcement operations could have, but authorities later claimed they would continue. Now, Homan said they will indeed continue targeting the industries but prioritize people with criminal records.

Prioritizing criminals doesn’t mean shit if you’re still busting anyone & everyone. This is just the latest lying bullshit from a colossal failure of a human being masquerading as Acting DIrector of ICE.

There will be special place in Hell for pondscum like Tom Homan.

Border Czar Announces New Change Of Course In Immigration Enforcement, Says ‘Criminals’ Will Be Prioritized
White House border czar Tom Homan said the Trump administration will continue conducting immigration raids at places like farms and hotels, but criminals will be prioritized

https://www.latintimes.com/border-czar-announces-new-change-course-immigration-enforcement-says-criminals-will-585329

MSNBC: Stephen Miller is becoming a victim of his mass deportation policy’s success

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The chief architect of Trump’s mass deportation policy faces internal pushback as the effects of increased ICE raids become clear.

In a meeting last month, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller tore into senior leaders at Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, demanding a massive surge in arrests of undocumented immigrants. As ICE tried to comply with Miller’s orders, immigration activists and other concerned Americans launched a series of protests in defiance of the mass deportation agenda. But it was a different set of protests that got the attention of Miller’s boss, President Donald Trump.

Last Thursday, the administration abruptly paused raids and arrests at hotels, farms and restaurants, a stunning shift in priorities that was clearly contrary to Miller’s orders. But the change was short-lived. The Department of Homeland Security reversed that guidance Monday, according to The Washington Post, allowing the immigration raids on those industries to resume and letting Miller retake control of the policy that has been the focus of his years in both Trump administrations.

Since Inauguration Day, Miller has had carte blanche on immigration policy in his dual role as deputy chief of staff and homeland security adviser. His insistence that ICE make 3,000 arrests per day kick-started a scramble from field offices to meet his demand. But as Vox’s Eric Levitz recently noted, Miller’s own strategy of deterrence at the border has led to a decline in the kind of encounters that would make it easy for ICE agents to rack up those numbers:

Over the past two months, America witnessed the largest decline in its foreign-born workforce since the pandemic in 2020. This contraction was driven partly by a collapse in unauthorized border crossings. Between January 2022 and June 2024, US Customs and Border Protection encountered an average of 200,000 people per month at America’s Southwest border. According to an analysis of government data from Deutsche Bank, that figure has fallen to just 12,000 people per month since Trump’s inauguration.

That has meant ICE has had to expand its list of targets to meet its quotas, including rounding up day laborers in Home Depot parking lots and field workers toiling on farms. The resulting climate of fear has scared more than just undocumented immigrants in these workforces. A Texas farmer recently told NBC affiliate KVEO of Brownsville, Texas, that within the last three weeks, there have been “zero people wanting to come out and be exposed to be able to be picked up whether they are legal or illegal.”

Opinion | Stephen Miller is becoming a victim of his own success
The chief architect of Trump’s mass deportation policy faces internal pushback as the effects of increased ICE raids become clear.

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/stephen-miller-ice-deportation-rcna213491

MSNBC: Trump overplayed his hand in L.A. Now he’s going to try it in Chicago and New York City

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The president announced he’ll look to deport more immigrants from America’s biggest cities.

President Donald Trump sought to use Los Angeles as a test case for his most dramatic efforts to date to fulfill his campaign promise to carry out the largest deportation in U.S. history. The results show he may have overplayed his hand.

After immigration officials carried out a series of sweeps in Los Angeles, crowds began to gather, leading to protests and, in some cases, clashes with police. Trump sent in the National Guard over the objection of the governor, then the Marines. A California senator was removed from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s press event when he tried to ask questions.

So what did Americans think of all this? Roughly half said Trump has “gone too far” with the arrests of immigrants and disapprove of his handling of the protests, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

True to form, Trump is now doubling down. In a post on Truth Social on Sunday, he wrote that he will be directing ICE to “expand efforts to detain and deport” undocumented immigrants in “America’s largest cities,” specifically naming Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City.

Even if Trump wanted to carry out mass deportations at the scale he’s promised, the logistics are nearly impossible.

If at first you don’t succeed, fail, fail again!

Opinion | Trump overplayed his hand in L.A. Now he wants to try Chicago and New York.
The president announced he’ll look to deport more immigrants from America’s biggest cities.

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-deportations-chicago-new-york-project-47-rcna213240

Daily Beast: Stephen Miller and ICE Barbie in Bitter West Wing Civil War Over Round-Ups

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White House Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem—dubbed “ICE Barbie” for her stylized anti-immigration photo ops—were enraged after learning that Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins had called Trump and suggested that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents avoid deporting longtime workers in sectors heavily reliant on migrant labor, Axios reported.

Rollins’ intervention—which one insider described as “minimal”—appeared to sway the president. Last week, Trump floated the idea of carving out exemptions from his mass deportation plans specifically to avoid targeting non-criminal workers on farms and in hotels.

An official policy shift followed soon after. Senior ICE official Tatum King informed regional ICE offices Thursday that “investigations/operations on agriculture (including aquaculture and meatpacking plants), restaurants, and operating hotels” would be paused.

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By Monday, the Department of Homeland Security reversed course, notifying staff that the previous guidelines were scrapped and that ICE would resume raids on agricultural businesses, hotels, and restaurants, The Washington Post reported.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/stephen-miller-and-ice-barbie-kristi-noem-in-bitter-west-wing-civil-war-over-round-ups

Washington Post: Many here wanted Trump to enforce immigration law, but ‘it’s going overboard’

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Interviews with more than four dozen people in this swing region encompassing northern Los Angeles County show how much tactics matter in the immigration debate.

Jesus Martinez, a 36-year-old aerospace worker, said he initially supported President Donald Trump’s decision to send the military to quell immigration protests in California. But he has grown increasingly uneasy after seeing images of ICE raids near schools and at workplaces where families are being separated.

“It’s going overboard. It’s too much,” said Martinez, a former Democrat who supported Trump in 2020 and sat out the 2024 election.

“They said only criminals, and now they’re saying, ‘Well, they did come in illegally, so they are criminals,’” he added. “Hispanics or Latinos that voted for Trump, they didn’t think he was going to go after kids.”

…

In this working-class and heavily Latino area known for its wildflower blooms, a region that moved toward Trump in the 2024 election, voters from both parties voiced support for Trump’s promises to deport immigrants who are here illegally, especially those with criminal records. But they drew lines — some over the scope of those deportations and, to a lesser extent, over his decision to crack down on immigration protesters with the military.

“When you already have aggressive people and then you’re sending in people like that, I feel like it just makes it kind of worse,” said Christian Strand, a 19-year-old EMT from Palmdale, a majority-Latino city, referring to the deployment of National Guard troops and Marines. “It’s creating more of a pushback, because the aggression is rising.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/06/17/trump-california-immigration-voters

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/many-here-wanted-trump-to-enforce-immigration-law-but-it-s-going-overboard/ar-AA1GUEAR

Guardian: Trump orders Ice raids on farms and hotels after pausing them days earlier

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Reversal comes days after president posted on Truth Social his ‘very aggressive’ raids were hurting farmers and hotels

Donald Trump has abandoned his brief immigration and customs enforcement (Ice) reprieve for farm and hotel workers, ordering the agency’s raids in those sectors to resume after hardliners crushed a pause that lasted just four days.

The whiplash reversal, first reported by the Washington Post, exposes the dysfunction gripping the president’s deportation agenda, where competing advisers battle over policy while Trump lurches between contradictory positions.

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The flip-flop also follows Trump’s erratic pattern on major policies – from threatening then retreating on mass global tariffs to wavering on federal spending cuts – as different factions fight for his ear.

Trump orders Ice raids on farms and hotels after pausing them days earlier
Reversal comes days after president posted on Truth Social his ‘very aggressive’ raids were hurting farmers and hotels

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/17/ice-raids-farms-hotels-trump

Mediaite: Stephen Miller’s Wife Demanded Government Agency Lie to Cover Up a Bogus Elon Musk Fraud Claim: NY Times

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Katie Miller — a top Trump administration aide who is married to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller — ordered a government agency to lie in an effort to cover up a bogus claim by Elon Musk, according to a blockbuster New York Times report.

According to a piece Monday co-authored by Times reporters Alexandra Berzon, Nicholas Nehamas and Tara Siegel Bernard, employees at the Social Security Administration (SSA) were told to confirm Musk’s claim — made at a rally in March — that 40 percent of all calls to the agency’s service lines were scams.

“The number is 40 percent,” Katie Miller reportedly told the acting Social Security Administrator Leland Dudek in an April 1 call. “Do not contradict the president.”

NYT: Katie Miller Ordered SSA to Lie to Back Elon Musk Claim
Katie Miller ordered a government agency to lie in an effort to cover up a bogus claim by Elon Musk, according to a blockbuster New York Times report.
Stephen Miller’s Wife Demanded Government Agency Lie to Cover Up a Bogus Elon Musk Fraud Claim: NY Times