Independent: Not so fast, sir … One Capitol Hill bureaucrat stands in the way of Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful’ Fourth of July

But on Thursday, the Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, said the Republicans’ plan to cap a tax that states use to raise money for Medicaid did not pass the narrow rules of budget reconciliation, known as the “Byrd rule,” which determines what can be included in a reconciliation bill.

To make matters worse for Republicans, MacDonough’s office struck key parts of the immigration provisions in the bill. Specifically, she killed a $1,000 fee for anyone applying for asylum, a $100 minimum fee to advance a continuance in an immigration court, a $250 minimum fee to apply for the diversity visa lottery, a mandatory $400 processing fee for the same visa, a $5,000 minimum fee to sponsor a child who comes to the United States unaccompanied and money to expand the expedited removal of noncitizen immigrants arrested for crimes.

Oops! But somehow it did pass the Senate on July 2. 🙁

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/not-so-fast-sir-one-capitol-hill-bureaucrat-stands-in-the-way-of-trump-s-big-beautiful-fourth-of-july/ar-AA1HyLPz

Newsweek: Anti-Trump Protests Update: ‘National Day of Action’ Planned for July 17

Another round of national anti-Trump demonstrations is being planned across the U.S. for July 17 under the banner of Good Trouble Lives On, a reference to the late civil rights icon, Congressman John Lewis.

Good Trouble Lives On demonstrations are being planned for dozens of American cities on July 17 including the likes of New York, Washington D.C, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco with attendees invited to “March in Peace, Act in Power.”

The name is a reference to Lewis, a Georgia Democrat and an advocate of peaceful protests, who famously called for “good trouble” during the civil rights era.

According to its downloadable “Host Toolkit” for organizers, the protests have three main goals. These are demanding an end to “the extreme crackdown on civil rights by the Trump administration,” “the attacks on Black and brown Americans, immigrants, trans people, and other communities,” and “the slashing of programs that working people rely on, including Medicaid, SNAP, and Social Security.”

Good Trouble Lives On is being supported by a range of other groups including the 50501 Movement, which also helped organize the “No Kings” demonstrations.

https://www.newsweek.com/anti-trump-protests-update-national-day-action-planned-july-17-2088233

Washington Examiner: ICE sweeping up ‘essential workers’ as raids spread nationwide

Illegal immigrant workers in the agriculture and hospitality industries continue to be targeted for arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement following President Donald Trump’s recent decision not to exempt them from his deportation operation.

On Monday, 84 workers who lack legal immigration status were arrested at a southwest Louisiana racetrack, the agency announced Wednesday.

Fourteen farmworkers who work for Lynn-Ette & Sons in upstate New York’s Orleans County were taken into custody by federal immigration authorities last Friday as the White House mulled over whether to target working immigrants or focus on criminals.

The United Farm Workers union told the Washington Examiner on Wednesday that it has recently identified workers in Georgia, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington who were arrested or deported, going beyond the known arrests in California, New Mexico, and Nebraska reported last week.

Rebecca Shi, CEO for the American Business Immigration Coalition, said ICE raids are being reported “across red, blue, and purple states alike.”

“We’ve heard growing concern from our members across multiple sectors,” Shi said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “What we’re seeing is a pattern of sudden, chaotic raids that don’t appear to be narrowly focused on dangerous individuals. Instead, they’re sweeping up essential workers who are doing critical jobs and contributing to their communities.”

Guardian: Ice’s ‘inhumane’ arrest of well-known vineyard manager shakes Oregon wine industry

Friends and family of Moises Sotelo ‘disappointed and disgusted’ after respected fixture detained outside church

In the early morning hours of 12 June, Moises Sotelo woke up to go to work in the rolling hills of Oregon’s Willamette Valley wine country, a place he has called home for decades.

But this morning was not business as usual. A car tailed Sotelo as soon as he left his driveway, according to an account from his co-worker. Trucks surrounded him just outside of St Michael’s Episcopal church, where he was detained by federal immigration agents. By the end of the day, Sotelo was in an Ice detention facility.

“He was in chains at his feet,” Alondra Sotelo-Garcia told a local news outlet about seeing her father arrested. “Shoelaces were taken off, his belt was off, he didn’t have his ring, he didn’t have his watch. Everything was taken from him.”

His detention has sent shockwaves through the tight-knit Oregon wine community. Sotelo is a fixture of local industry – in 2020 he was awarded with the Vineyard Excellence Award from the Oregon Wine Board and in 2024 he established his own small business maintaining vineyards.

Left in the lurch is Sotelo’s family, the church he attends, the employees of his small business, the vineyards he works with and friends made along the way. Requests to Ice from family or attorneys regarding next steps in Sotelo’s detention are hitting dead ends.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/19/oregon-vineyard-manager-arrest-ice

Independent: Popular Oregon vineyard owner arrested by ICE agents outside his church: ‘Everything was taken from him’

A popular Oregon vineyard owner was taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody outside his church in Oregon on Thursday.

Moises Sotelo-Casas was detained outside of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Newberg, about 25 miles outside of Portland. His daughter, Alondra Sotelo-Garcia, told KGW8 that he’s now being held at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington.

She found out about her father’s detention when a neighbor spotted his truck and told her mother, she said. After confirming the car indeed belonged to her father, she tracked his location to an ICE detention facility in Portland and saw him later that day.

“I was crying, I was a mess,” she told the outlet. “He was in chains at his feet,” she said. “Shoelaces were taken off, his belt was off, he didn’t have his ring, he didn’t have his watch. Everything was taken from him.”

She said she understands that ICE is seeking to detain criminals, but reiterated that’s not who her father is.

The TV station said it couldn’t find any records for Sotelo-Casas.

Another family broken up to assuage the of egos Bimbo #2 Noem, Homan, Miller, etc., no criminal records to be found.

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/oregon-vineyard-owner-ice-arrest-church-b2770978.html

NBC News: As immigration raids continue, ICE protests spread coast to coast

Activists plan more events Tuesday in New York, Chicago, Dallas and Atlanta. A curfew was imposed across downtown L.A. until 6 a.m.

Activists had also gathered in New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta and elsewhere, rebuking the Trump administration’s tough stance against migrants and its aggressive round-up efforts, which Democratic leaders in California have criticized as contributing to a sense of fear across communities.

NBC News has counted at least 25 rallies and demonstrations coast to coast since Monday. Some involved only a few dozen people, while others attracted thousands.

The protests took place as federal immigration raids continued nationwide Tuesday, including a “targeted enforcement operation” in Los Angeles, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as a raid at a meat processing facility in Omaha, Nebraska.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/anti-ice-protests-held-coast-coast-l-unrest-national-movement-grows-rcna211980

NBC News: ICE protests held coast to coast as national movement grows after L.A. unrest

Activists plan more events Tuesday in New York, Chicago, Dallas and Atlanta.

The protests that have roiled Los Angeles seem to be spreading across the country, as activists gathered Tuesday in New York, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta and elsewhere.

Rallies protesting ICE raids and the government’s immigration policies have been planned across California and beyond this week. A series of so-called No Kings demonstrations is planned nationwide for Saturday.

Since Monday, NBC News counted at least 25 rallies and demonstrations coast to coast. Some involved only a few dozen participants, while others attracted thousands to make a stand against the detention and removal of suspected undocumented migrants.

Lots more …

  • California and the West Coast
  • New York and the East Coast
  • Texas, the South and the Midwest

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/rcna211980

NBC News: Anti-ICE protests held coast to coast after L.A. unrest as national movement grows

Activists plan more events Tuesday in New York, Chicago, Dallas and Atlanta.

The protests that roiled Los Angeles over the weekend were set to spread Tuesday across the country, as activists planned demonstrations in New York, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta and elsewhere.

Rallies protesting ICE raids and the government’s immigration policies have spread across California and beyond this week. A series of so-called No Kings demonstrations are planned nationwide for Saturday.

NBC News counted at least 25 rallies and demonstrations coast to coast. Some of them involved only a few dozen participants, while others attracted thousands to make a stand against the detention and removal of suspected undocumented migrants.

Many protesters across the country were trade unionists calling for the release of SEIU California President David Huerta, who was arrested on Friday.

Bimbo #2 is still too dense to get the message:

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi [Bimbo #2] Noem signaled on Tuesday that she would continue the agency’s program of raids and deportations despite the widespread protests.

“ICE will continue to enforce the law,” [Bimbo #2] Noem said.

It’s only just begun! 🙂

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/anti-ice-protests-held-coast-coast-l-unrest-national-movement-grows-rcna211980

MarketWatch: Millions of Americans may lose health insurance under GOP tax plan. Here’s who will be affected most.

The plan would represent the largest cut to Medicaid ever

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill could lead to at least 8.6 million Americans losing health coverage, with the majority expected to lose Medicaid. Most affected would be low-income adults without dependents, earning a bit more than a poverty income of $15,650 for a single person.

Go for it, suckers! Mid-terms are coming, and they will come with a vengeance!

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/millions-of-americans-may-lose-health-insurance-under-gop-tax-plan-heres-who-will-be-affected-most-bd965669

Newsweek: Trump Administration Accused of Declaring ‘Fake’ Emergency By 15 States

A coalition of attorneys general across 15 states is suing the Trump administration over declaring a “national emergency” on the first day of Donald Trump‘s presidency.

On January 20, President Trump declared a “national energy emergency” via executive order, over what he claimed to be “our Nation’s inadequate energy supply.”

The attorneys general from Washington and California say this is not true, and that US energy production is actually at “an all time high.”

“Washington state filed suit today alongside 14 other states to challenge the president’s fake “energy emergency,” declared to line the pockets of Big Oil by handing out free passes to pollute our environment,” said Washington Attorney General Nick Brown on May 9.

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-administration-fake-energy-emergency-15-states-2070864