The Supreme Court, urged on by well-funded far-right ideologues like Stephen Miller, is set to curtail important provisions of the Voting Rights Act, opening the door to aggressive, racially based disenfranchisement.
The US Supreme Court is reportedly set to gut core provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, a landmark law that prohibited racial discrimination in the voting process. Urging the court to act is the America First Legal Foundation, a nonprofit public interest law firm cofounded in 2021 by top Trump adviser Stephen Miller.
At the same time, the firm is urging the US Election Assistance Commission, which oversees national voter registration forms, to institute a nationwide policy requiring voters to show proof of citizenship to vote.
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Miller’s firm’s petition is opposed by a number of voting rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union. In its letter on the matter, the Fair Elections Center says that the petition could disqualify millions of eligible voters who lack documentary proof of citizenship and quotes former conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s insistence “that a simple means of registering to vote in federal elections will be available.”
Stephen Miller Against Voting Rights
The US Supreme Court is reportedly set to gut core provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, a landmark law that prohibited racial
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has repeatedly criticized federal immigration enforcement, suggesting state prosecutors may investigate Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents for alleged misconduct under the Trump administration. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials have condemned his remarks, arguing they endanger federal personnel. Pritzker noted that Illinois and local prosecutors are reviewing possible legal action related to raids in immigrant communities.
Pritzker said, “These people should recognize that maybe they’re not gonna get prosecuted today, although we’re looking at doing that, but they may get prosecuted after the Trump administration for the things that they did because the statute of limitations won’t have run.”
Civil rights groups claim some operations involve racial profiling and have damaged trust with law enforcement. Pritzker stated, “The tables will turn someday.”
Pritzker added, “These people should recognize that maybe they’re not gonna get prosecuted today, although we’re looking at doing that, but they may get prosecuted after the Trump administration for the things that they did because the statute of limitations won’t have run.”
Pritzker said, “They’re taking away people’s rights, you know, by not identifying themselves; they’re coming in with masks on. They’re coming in with unidentified vehicles.” He added, “Now, they’re acting like a bunch of thugs and taking away people’s free speech rights.”
Pritzker stated, “These are all things that need to be taken up again by an inspector general or somebody investigating at the federal level because they have immunity at the state level, but we’re looking at how we might be able to hold them responsible despite the fact of federal immunity.”
‘I Was In Exile’: Trump Makes Freudian Slip, Implies He Wants To Be President For Life During Meeting In The Oval Office
During a recent bilateral meeting in the Oval Office with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Donald Trump bizarrely stated that he was “in exile” for 4 years when Joe Biden was president, implying that the White House is his rightful home.
The price of enforcing the rules has been high as U.S. Border Patrol try to impose law on Democrat-run Chicago.
A Department of Homeland Security news release noted that Wednesday was “one of its most violent days since beginning Operation Midway Blitz.”
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said that” agitators stalked law enforcement, rammed vehicles, fled scenes, injured agents, and caused multiple accidents across town—putting law enforcement and the public in danger.”
Border Patrol Faces Attacks from Violent Chicago Rioters on ‘Most Violent Days’ of Operation Midway Blitz
The Border Patrol is not letting threats and violence prevent it from doing its job to root out illegal immigrants in Chicago.
Mostly likely lies, give their track records in other arrests of innocent demonstrators, but to the extent, if any, that the charges are true: What goes around, comes around. ICE and the Border Patrol will get their just desserts.
Former Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) John Sandweg has warned that the agency’s rapid expansion may weaken oversight and training. ICE has intensified enforcement across the United States, prompting Democratic pushback following reports of excessive force and widespread arrests. The hiring surge has raised concerns that a focus speed may come at the expense of accountability and professionalism.
Sandweg said, “But the concern here would be, to the extent to which the administration wants to get these people deployed quickly, do they cut corners? I worry that if you start cutting corners on standards or background checks or training, that it’s only a recipe for problems down the line.”
Authorities said Jose Castro-Rivera, 24, was killed in Virginia.
The Department of Homeland Security said an undocumented immigrant was killed after being struck by a vehicle on a highway while attempting to flee immigration officials.
A DHS spokesperson said Jose Castro-Rivera and other occupants traveling in a vehicle were stopped by ICE officers on Thursday as part of a “targeted, intelligence-based immigration enforcement operation.” DHS did not provide further details about the operation.
While DHS did not say where the incident took place, the Virginia State Police reported it happened on Interstate 264 in Norfolk around 11 a.m. and said Castro-Rivera was struck by a 2002 Ford pickup truck and was pronounced dead at the scene. Its report said he was 24 years old.
DHS says migrant fatally struck by vehicle while fleeing ICE agents
The Department of Homeland Security said an undocumented immigrant was killed after being struck by a vehicle on a highway while attempting to flee immigration officials.
During a House Appropriations Committee hearing in May, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) grilled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem over stealing $200 million from USCIS and CBP to spend on political ad campaigns.
‘This Is $200 Million’: Kristi Noem Squirms In Her Seat When Exposed For Stealing Taxpayer Dollars To Model For Political Ads
During a House Appropriations Committee hearing in May, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) grilled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem over stealing $200 million from USCIS and CBP to spend on political ad campaigns.
President Donald Trump has demanded the imprisonment of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, accusing them of neglecting to safeguard U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers amid escalating protests over intensified immigration enforcement. A federal appeals court upheld a lower court’s injunction blocking the full deployment of National Guard troops in Illinois, while Operation Midway Blitz has resulted in over 1,000 arrests of undocumented migrants in the Chicago area, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The administration has federalized 300 Illinois and 400 Texas National Guard troops to secure federal sites in Chicago and beyond, a step decried by state and city leaders as an unconstitutional intrusion and discriminatory tactic, prompting lawsuits from Illinois and Chicago to halt the operations.
Trump said, “Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) Officers!” He added, “Governor Pritzker also!”
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Bovino said, “I doubt the governor could fill custard in a pie factory if it came down to it, but what he is adept at is placing his citizens, his law enforcement officers, and his state in jeopardy at the hands of criminals.” Bovino added, “It’s plain and simple: he doesn’t care.”
Trump Escalates Feud With Illinois Over Immigration
Cook County Courts Chief Judge Timothy Evans has barred Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from making courthouse arrests, citing concerns that detention has discouraged court appearances. The order has prohibited civil detention of parties, witnesses, and visitors. Immigrant groups claimed prior arrests have undermined trust in the justice system.
Since July, ICE has arrested at least a dozen people outside Cook County courthouses. Advocacy groups said fear has kept residents from hearings, including one woman detained outside a domestic violence court.
Cook County Public Defender Cruz Rodriguez said, “I have had numerous conversations with clients who are presented with a difficult decision of either missing court and receiving an arrest warrant or coming to court and risk being arrested by ICE.”
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Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch (D) urged statewide limits on federal arrests near public institutions, while Gov. JB Pritzker suggested agents may have violated prior court restrictions. Welch stated, “We won’t sit back and let our democracy be taken from us.” He added, “If we can do something similar statewide, I’d love to get that done, because what’s happening with these ICE agents and courthouses and territories around courthouses is unacceptable.”
Federal immigration agents reportedly detained a 15-year-old U.S. citizen during a Chicago Border Patrol (CBP) operation, prompting criticism from civil rights advocates. Attorneys claimed the teenager was held without charges or legal counsel. The law firm representing him launched a civil investigation into the incident, calling it a troubling abuse of authority.
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The 15-year-old was arrested for assault and later released without charges. DHS said the teen was arrested for allegedly throwing an egg that hit a Border Patrol agent during a chase following a vehicle collision. Officials noted that the teen admitted to the act. Attorneys from Romanucci & Blandin said the teen was held for several hours without family contact before release.
Attorneys claimed the detention may have violated constitutional protections against unlawful seizure and due process. Attorney Antonio M. Romanucci stated, “This is how people disappear in autocracies—grabbed off streets, held in unmarked locations, no calls to family, no stated charges, no due process.”
Chicago Teen’s CBP Arrest Sparks Civil Rights Uproar
A Chicago woman has told Newsweek she was “forcibly removed” from her vehicle by immigration agents. Dayanne Figueroa, a U.S. citizen and paralegal, said her car was struck by an unmarked government vehicle at the 1600 block of West Hubbard Street in Chicago on the morning of Friday, October 10, while she was on her way to get coffee before work.
A Chicago woman has told Newsweek she was “forcibly removed” from her vehicle by federal immigration agents.
Dayanne Figueroa, a U.S. citizen and paralegal, said an unmarked government vehicle struck her car at the 1600 block of West Hubbard Street in Chicago on the morning of October 10, while she was on her way to get coffee before going to work.
“I was in shock and terrified,” Figueroa told Newsweek. “Instead of handling the situation as a routine traffic incident, the masked agents, armed in hands, forcibly removed me from my car without questions and without informing me that I was under arrest.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Newsweek that Border Patrol was making a targeted arrest when Figueroa’s vehicle blocked agents and struck an unmarked government vehicle.
Footage obtained by Newsweek appears to show armed federal agents detaining Figueroa, dragging her by the legs to remove her from her vehicle. Some agents brandish guns, and bystanders can be heard shouting, “You hit her,” as the situation unfolds.
Additional video obtained by Figueroa’s family from another witness provides a different angle of the encounter. The bystander who is filming tells federal agents: “You hit her. We all saw it.”
“You guys are f*****g scumbags, f*****g Nazis. They hit her car. You guys hit her, and you f*****g know it,” the bystander is heard saying.
“As agents were departing, the driver, a U.S. citizen, struck an unmarked government vehicle,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek.
“In fear of public safety and of law enforcement, officers attempted to remove her from the vehicle. She violently resisted, kicking two agents and causing injuries. This agitator was arrested for assault on a federal agent,” McLaughlin added.
Figueroa disputes DHS’s account, denying that she crashed into agents and accusing the immigration enforcers of using excessive force.
“The video evidence is clear: Agents crashed into me. I was not involved in any protest or related activity, and I intend to seek justice for how I was treated. I am confident the facts will speak for themselves,” she said.
Chicago has emerged as a focal point in the national conversation over immigration enforcement as federal authorities step up operations under the Trump administration’s Operation Midway Blitz. The initiative has included increased ICE activity across the city, with arrests and targeted actions in neighborhoods with large immigrant populations. Critics say the operations have heightened fear among residents and strained community relations, while federal officials maintain that the measures are necessary to enforce immigration laws and detain individuals with criminal records.
Amid the Trump administration’s hard-line mass deportation push, there have been dozens of reports of U.S. citizens being questioned or detained by immigration authorities, raising concerns over racial profiling, the agencies’ practices and enforcement criteria. Multiple federal agencies—including Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives—are being mobilized to carry out coordinated immigration operations as the administration pursues its goal of removing millions of migrants without legal status.
Figueroa described the experience as physically and emotionally distressing, saying the manner in which she was removed from her vehicle left her traumatized and injured. She said she was treated “like cattle.”
The paralegal said she was transported to multiple undisclosed locations and was not allowed to contact her family or legal counsel. She said she was never charged with a crime or informed of a legal reason for her detention.
“These actions constitute serious violations of federal civil rights law and multiple provisions of the United States Constitution,” Figueroa said.
She said she had recently undergone kidney surgery. “I am presently receiving ongoing medical treatment and attending numerous appointments to rehabilitate from recent kidney surgeries and from multiple new injuries directly caused by this assault,” Figueroa said.
Her family is now raising money on GoFundMe for legal and medical fees following the incident.
US Citizen dragged from car by Border Patrol in Chicago
“I was in shock and terrified,” Dayanne Figueroa told Newsweek.
