Tag Archives: Chicago

CNN: Immigration Raids “Made for TV”

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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.

Dr. Phil was embedded with ICE during controversial Los Angeles immigration raids | CNN Business
The footage is being incorporated into a special report on “Dr. Phil Primetime,” a program on McGraw’s conservative TV channel Merit TV, a spokesperson confirmed to CNN.

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

Mirror: LA immigration protests LIVE: Civil war fears explode as 2,000 National Guard troops deployed

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Americans are panicking about chaotic scenes unfolding in Los Angeles today as angry protesters clashed with federal agents.

Americans fear civil war is beginning right before their eyes as LA protesters and police clash – and California Democrat Adam Schiff has even accused Donald Trump of wanting a reason to justify martial law.

Trump is deploying 2,000 National Guard troops as protesters seek to block federal immigration authorities from carrying out deportations. And defense secretary Pete Hegseth has threatened to send in the Marines, with around 500 troops on standby.

In a statement released on Sunday, U.S. Northern Command said that, at the direction of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about 500 Marines are “in a prepared to deploy status” should they be called upon to defend federal facilities and personnel.

In an earlier directive, the President invoked a legal provision allowing him to deploy federal service members when there is ”a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”

Writing on X, one user said “sadly LA looks like a scene from the 2024 Civil War movie,” while another user asked: “Is the US now in de facto civil war or is that not yet what they call it?”

Others said they fear LA is the “beginning” of a wider civil war across the U.S.

California Governor Gavin Newsom and Trump are publicly clashing about efforts taken to contain the protests, with Newsom even going as far as accusing Trump of “manufacturing a crisis.”

This was echoed by Schiff, who wrote on social media: “There is nothing President Trump would like more than a violent confrontation with protestors to justify the unjustifiable — invocation of the Insurrection Act or some form of martial law.”

Civil war fears explode as 2,000 National Guard troops deployed to LA
Americans are panicking about chaotic scenes unfolding in Los Angeles today as angry protesters clashed with federal agents.

https://www.themirror.com/news/us-news/la-immigration-protests-live-flash-1195445

Mirror: LA immigration protests LIVE: Civil war fears explode as 2,000 National Guard troops deployed

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Americans are panicking about chaotic scenes unfolding in Los Angeles today as angry protesters clashed with federal agents.

Americans fear civil war is beginning right before their eyes as LA protesters and police clash – and California Democrat Adam Schiff has even accused Donald Trump of wanting a reason to justify martial law.

Trump is deploying 2,000 National Guard troops as protesters seek to block federal immigration authorities from carrying out deportations.

In a directive Saturday, the President invoked a legal provision allowing him to deploy federal service members when there is ”a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”

Writing on X, one user said “sadly LA looks like a scene from the 2024 Civil War movie,” while another user asked: “Is the US now in de facto civil war or is that not yet what they call it?”

Others said they fear LA is the “beginning” of a wider civil war across the U.S.

California Governor Gavin Newsom and Trump are publicly clashing about efforts taken to contain the protests, with Newsom even going as far as accusing Trump of “manufacturing a crisis.”

This was echoed by Schiff, who wrote on social media: “There is nothing President Trump would like more than a violent confrontation with protestors to justify the unjustifiable — invocation of the Insurrection Act or some form of martial law.”

Civil war fears explode as 2,000 National Guard troops deployed to LA
Americans are panicking about chaotic scenes unfolding in Los Angeles today as angry protesters clashed with federal agents.

https://www.themirror.com/news/us-news/la-immigration-protests-live-flash-1195445

News Nation: Community outraged as ICE raid sparks questions in Chicago

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A Chicago community was fired up Monday after an alleged Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid on the city’s South Side.

NewsNation affiliate WGN was told several people donning FBI vests illegally entered a business and a residence, taking two Mexican nationals into custody.

“We are, right now, investigating the reason why those neighbors have been detained without a warrant,” Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez said.

Sigcho-Lopez said the raid happened around 8:30 a.m.

“In both instances, the video footage and the witness’s recollection, there was no warrant,” Sigcho-Lopez. “It’s questionable if they even attempted to identify the people they ultimately detained.”

Community outraged as ICE raid sparks questions in Chicago

https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/immigration/border-coverage/chicago-ice-raid-pilsen-community-outraged

The Conversation: Surge of ICE agreements with local police aim to increase deportations, but many police forces have found they undermine public safety

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Part of that operation includes what’s known as the federal 287(g) program. Established in 1996, it allows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, whose work is normally carried out by federal officials, to train state and local authorities to function as federal immigration officers.

Under 287(g), for example, local police officers can interview people to determine their immigration status. They can also issue immigration detainers to jail people until agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement take custody.

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Since Trump began his second term in January, ICE has increased 287(g) agreements from 135 in 25 states in December 2024 to 628 in 40 states as of May 28, 2025.

As a criminal justice scholar, I believe the surge of 287(g) agreements sets a dangerous precedent for local policing, where forging relationships and building the trust of immigrants is a proven and effective tactic in combating crime. In my view, the expansion of 287(g) will erode that trust and makes entire communities – not just immigrants – less safe.

Surge of ICE agreements with local police aim to increase deportations, but many police forces have found they undermine public safety
History shows that building the trust of immigrants is an effective tactic in combating local crime and making entire communities safer.

https://theconversation.com/surge-of-ice-agreements-with-local-police-aim-to-increase-deportations-but-many-police-forces-have-found-they-undermine-public-safety-255937

Alternet: Busted: Major investigation catches Trump administration in a massive lie

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The Trump administration knew that the vast majority of the 238 Venezuelan immigrants it sent to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador in mid-March had not been convicted of crimes in the United States before it labeled them as terrorists and deported them, according to U.S. Department of Homeland Security data that has not been previously reported.’

President Donald Trump and his aides have branded the Venezuelans as “rapists,” “savages,” “monsters” and “the worst of the worst.” When multiple news organizations disputed those assertions with reporting that showed many of the deportees did not have criminal records, the administration doubled down. It said that its assessment of the deportees was based on a thorough vetting process that included looking at crimes committed both inside and outside the United States. But the government’s own data, which was obtained by ProPublica, The Texas Tribune and a team of journalists from Venezuela, showed that officials knew that only 32 of the deportees had been convicted of U.S. crimes and that most were nonviolent offenses, such as retail theft or traffic violations.

The data indicates that the government knew that only six of the immigrants were convicted of violent crimes: four for assault, one for kidnapping and one for a weapons offense. And it shows that officials were aware that more than half, or 130, of the deportees were not labeled as having any criminal convictions or pending charges; they were labeled as only having violated immigration laws.

As for foreign offenses, our own review of court and police records from around the United States and in Latin American countries where the deportees had lived found evidence of arrests or convictions for 20 of the 238 men. Of those, 11 involved violent crimes such as armed robbery, assault or murder, including one man who the Chilean government had asked the U.S. to extradite to face kidnapping and drug charges there. Another four had been accused of illegal gun possession.

Busted: Major investigation catches Trump administration in a massive lie

https://www.alternet.org/venezuelan-deportees

BBC: Trump commutes gang leader’s sentence in flurry of pardons

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As part of a spree of clemency actions, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday commuted the federal prison sentence of Larry Hoover, the founder of a notorious Chicago street gang.

Hoover was the leader of the Gangster Disciples and in the 1990s was given six life sentences on conspiracy, extortion, drug and other criminal charges.

In addition to his federal sentence, Hoover still faces a 200-year jail term in the state of Illinois for murder, and is unlikely to be released soon. A president is unable to commute state-level sentences.

Let’s hope Illinois keeps him in the hoosegow!

Trump commutes gang leader’s sentence in flurry of pardons
Larry Hoover founded the Gangster Disciples, one of the most notorious US street gangs.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crk27003pv7o

Irish Star: US citizen detained by immigration officials who thought Real ID was a fake

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Immigration officials detained a US citizen during a raid on a construction site, as video footage showed numerous officers rushing to handcuff the man while others shouted in his defense

A US citizen was detained during an ICE raid at a construction site and claims he was ‘tackled’ and ‘handcuffed, hard,’ as police accused his REAL ID of being a fake.

Leonardo García Venegas, 25, was detained at the Foley, Alabama, site where he was working as ICE agents raided the place. A video of the incident aired by Telemundo showed the scene as authorities on the site had García Venegas bent over while multiple officers rushed over to put handcuffs on him, and someone yelled in the background, ‘he’s a citizen!’

Garcia was kept in a vehicle until officers released him. He says he took out his wallet and ID and showed them his REAL ID.

“They took out my wallet, took out my ID,” he said in an interview. “And they told me it was fake. Said it wasn’t valid and that it was fake. My ID. They handcuffed me, and they handcuffed me really tight.”

“Very hard.”

“Apparently, a REAL ID is not valid anymore. He has a REAL ID,” his cousin Shelah Venegas said.

García Venegas was born in Florida to Mexican parents and is a US citizen.

“We all made sure we have the REAL ID and went through the protocols the administration is asking for….. He has his REAL ID, and then they see him, and I guess because his English isn’t fluent and/or because he’s brown, it’s fake, it’s not real.”

The arrest left Venegas shaken, but mostly afraid for his brother, who is in the country illegally and was arrested and detained.

Venegas says he wants to sue but was told by lawyers that prosecuting a federal agent would be nearly impossible.

Pigs just gotta be pigs. ICE will be reformed only from top down, by rolling heads. Once enough people are fed up with their Gestapo behavior, it will happen.

US citizen detained by immigration officials who thought Real ID was a fake
Immigration officials detained a US citizen during a raid on a construction site, as video footage showed numerous officers rushing to handcuff the man while others shouted in his defense

https://www.irishstar.com/news/us-news/citizen-detained-immigration-officials-who-35283394

Tampa Free Press: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz Says ICE Is ‘Trump’s Modern-Day Gestapo’ In Commencement Speech

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Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz compared the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel executing the Trump administration’s immigration agenda to the Gestapo in a Saturday commencement address at the University of Minnesota law school.

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Walz, the failed Democratic nominee for vice president in 2024, suggested during the speech that Trump is using ICE to implement his immigration agenda in similar fashion to how Nazi German dictator Adolf Hitler used the Gestapo secret police to target opponents, according to RealClearPolitics.

“Donald Trump’s modern-day Gestapo is scooping folks up off the streets,” Walz claimed. “They’re in unmarked vans, wearing masks, being shipped off to foreign torture dungeons—no chance to mount a defense, not even a chance to kiss a loved one goodbye, just grabbed up by masked agents, shoved into those vans, and disappeared.”

“To be clear, there’s no way for us to know whether they were actually criminals or not, because they refused to give them a trial,” Walz continued. “We’re supposed to just take their word for it.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz Says ICE Is ‘Trump’s Modern-Day Gestapo’ In Commencement Speech
Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz compared the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel executing the Trump administration’s immigration agenda to
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz Says ICE Is ‘Trump’s Modern-Day Gestapo’ In Commencement Speech

NBC News: Justice Department to investigate Chicago after mayor’s remarks about hiring Black officials

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Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said she authorized the probe after Mayor Brandon Johnson’s comments about hiring prominent Black officials for his administration.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said Monday that it was opening an investigation into the city of Chicago after Mayor Brandon Johnson’s comments Sunday highlighting prominent Black officials in his administration.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon wrote in a letter to Johnson posted on X that she had “authorized an investigation” into whether Chicago is “engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination” following Johnson’s remarks at a church Sunday.

The actual numbers:

According to the mayor’s office, white and Black employees are a majority of staff members, with 30.5% of employees identifying as white and 34.3% identifying as Black.

This is just more harassment for a Democratic mayor.

Justice Department to investigate Chicago after mayor’s remarks about hiring Black officials
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said she authorized the probe after Mayor Brandon Johnson’s comments about hiring prominent Black officials for his administration.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/chicago-mayor-brandon-johnson-justice-department-investigation-black-rcna207840