Michael E. Kanell
@michaelkanell.bsky.social
Economics writer, cat guy, I love that dirty water
Reposted by Michael E. Kanell
🚨HOLY CRAP. An ICE whistleblower just revealed a secret memo authorizing ICE officers to break into homes without a judicial warrant, which DHS's own legal training materials say is unconstitutional!
ICE then hid the memo from the public, passing it along by word of mouth and private conversation.
ICE then hid the memo from the public, passing it along by word of mouth and private conversation.
January 21, 2026 at 10:00 PM
🚨HOLY CRAP. An ICE whistleblower just revealed a secret memo authorizing ICE officers to break into homes without a judicial warrant, which DHS's own legal training materials say is unconstitutional!
ICE then hid the memo from the public, passing it along by word of mouth and private conversation.
ICE then hid the memo from the public, passing it along by word of mouth and private conversation.
Reposted by Michael E. Kanell
🚨ICE violently dragged a U.S. veteran out of her car near Minneapolis
ICE: Get out of the f*cking car!
Vet: You know I'm a Marine Corps veteran?
ICE: I don't care what you are!
[ICE drags her from car & then points taser at passenger]
ICE: "F*cking move I'll f*cking taze you!"
ICE: Get out of the f*cking car!
Vet: You know I'm a Marine Corps veteran?
ICE: I don't care what you are!
[ICE drags her from car & then points taser at passenger]
ICE: "F*cking move I'll f*cking taze you!"
January 21, 2026 at 7:53 PM
🚨ICE violently dragged a U.S. veteran out of her car near Minneapolis
ICE: Get out of the f*cking car!
Vet: You know I'm a Marine Corps veteran?
ICE: I don't care what you are!
[ICE drags her from car & then points taser at passenger]
ICE: "F*cking move I'll f*cking taze you!"
ICE: Get out of the f*cking car!
Vet: You know I'm a Marine Corps veteran?
ICE: I don't care what you are!
[ICE drags her from car & then points taser at passenger]
ICE: "F*cking move I'll f*cking taze you!"
Reposted by Michael E. Kanell
16 years ago today, SCOTUS sided with big corporations over the American people in their infamous Citizens United ruling.
That decision paved the way for unchecked & secret money in our politics & helped billionaires & special interests buy more elections.
We must reverse it.
That decision paved the way for unchecked & secret money in our politics & helped billionaires & special interests buy more elections.
We must reverse it.
January 21, 2026 at 10:38 PM
16 years ago today, SCOTUS sided with big corporations over the American people in their infamous Citizens United ruling.
That decision paved the way for unchecked & secret money in our politics & helped billionaires & special interests buy more elections.
We must reverse it.
That decision paved the way for unchecked & secret money in our politics & helped billionaires & special interests buy more elections.
We must reverse it.
Reposted by Michael E. Kanell
I try to avoid hyperbole when it comes to Trump policies, but this is absolutely frickin’ insane—on about eleventy different levels.
Massive, systemic Fourth Amendment violations because … reasons.
Massive, systemic Fourth Amendment violations because … reasons.
ICE secretly told its officers that any time someone has been ordered removed, ICE can break down their door.
It has been accepted for generations that the only thing which can authorize agents to break into your home is a warrant signed by a judge. No wonder ICE hid this memo!
It has been accepted for generations that the only thing which can authorize agents to break into your home is a warrant signed by a judge. No wonder ICE hid this memo!
![May 12, 2025
MEMORANDUM FOR: All ICE Personnel
FROM: Todd Lyons Acting Director
SUBJECT: Utilizing Form I-205, Warrant of Removal
On January 20, 2025, President Donald J. Trump issued Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion, directing the Secretary of Homeland Security to "ensur[e] the successful enforcement of final orders of removal." 90 Fed. Reg. 8443, 8444 (Jan. 20, 2025) (E.O. 14159). Essential to the removal of aliens subject to final orders of removal is the ability to locate and arrest them. To this end, certain supervisory immigration officers within both Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) are authorized to issue an administrative warrant, Form I-205, Warrant of Removal (Form 1-205), for the arrest of an alien with a final order of removal. 8 C.F.R. § 241.2(a)(1). All U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents and deportation officers are authorized to execute Forms 1-205. 8 C.F.R. § 287.5(e)(3)(iii) - (y)
Although the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not historically relied on administrative warrants alone to arrest aliens subject to final orders of removal in their place of residence, the DHS Office of the General Counsel has recently determined that the U.S. Constitution, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the immigration regulations do not prohibit relying on administrative warrants for this purpose. Accordingly, in light of this legal determination, ICE immigration officers may arrest and detain aliens subject to a final under of removal issued by an immigration judge, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), or a U.S.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2vtbmhmrwzbqcfv4we4uxzzt/bafkreifrzrvaszfhj4bzhgtyvx3fm6ht4kc2zrwtvozijyxl3zxgp7vx6a@jpeg)
January 21, 2026 at 10:28 PM
I try to avoid hyperbole when it comes to Trump policies, but this is absolutely frickin’ insane—on about eleventy different levels.
Massive, systemic Fourth Amendment violations because … reasons.
Massive, systemic Fourth Amendment violations because … reasons.
Reposted by Michael E. Kanell
Heartbreaking cruelty visited upon children in our name
January 21, 2026 at 6:25 PM
Heartbreaking cruelty visited upon children in our name
Reposted by Michael E. Kanell
This story gets worse and worse.
Minnesota: "School officials say the [5-year-old] child was used as bait. They say [ICE] agents made little Liam knock on the door to ask to be let in in order to see if anyone else was home."
January 22, 2026 at 1:01 AM
This story gets worse and worse.
Reposted by Michael E. Kanell
PSA: You do not, under any circumstances, fund the Gestapo
January 22, 2026 at 1:06 AM
PSA: You do not, under any circumstances, fund the Gestapo
Reposted by Michael E. Kanell
Stop what you’re doing and read this whistleblower report. ICE has been training its agents that they don’t need a judicial warrant to break down your door - a blatant violation of the 4th Amendment. www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
DHS ICE memo 1-21-26
www.documentcloud.org
January 21, 2026 at 10:58 PM
Stop what you’re doing and read this whistleblower report. ICE has been training its agents that they don’t need a judicial warrant to break down your door - a blatant violation of the 4th Amendment. www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
Reposted by Michael E. Kanell
if you don’t think you can campaign on abolishing this agency and prosecuting the people involved - if you don’t think you’re able to make that case using this video and other like it - get the fuck out of politics
Minnesota: "School officials say the [5-year-old] child was used as bait. They say [ICE] agents made little Liam knock on the door to ask to be let in in order to see if anyone else was home."
January 22, 2026 at 1:17 AM
if you don’t think you can campaign on abolishing this agency and prosecuting the people involved - if you don’t think you’re able to make that case using this video and other like it - get the fuck out of politics
Reposted by Michael E. Kanell
A Cuban detainee’s death at an El Paso federal immigration detention center was ruled a homicide Wednesday, with the medical examiner finding he was suffocated while restrained, contradicting immigration officials’ claim that he died by suicide.
El Paso medical examiner rules death in ICE camp a homicide
Immigration officials initially said the 55-year-old Cuban detainee died of “medical distress” but later changed the cause to suicide. The medical examiner ruled he was suffocated while being restrain...
www.texastribune.org
January 22, 2026 at 12:34 AM
A Cuban detainee’s death at an El Paso federal immigration detention center was ruled a homicide Wednesday, with the medical examiner finding he was suffocated while restrained, contradicting immigration officials’ claim that he died by suicide.
Reposted by Michael E. Kanell
That is an ICE agent pepper spraying a restrained victim in the face at close quarters; it's an unquestionable and indefensibly abusive use of excessive force that should (but won't) be criminally prosecuted as assault
An observer arrested in Suth Minneapolis. Photo by Richard Tsong-Taatarii/The Minnesota Star Tribune
January 21, 2026 at 10:15 PM
That is an ICE agent pepper spraying a restrained victim in the face at close quarters; it's an unquestionable and indefensibly abusive use of excessive force that should (but won't) be criminally prosecuted as assault
Reposted by Michael E. Kanell
Very glad the Supreme Court appears skeptical of the case against Lisa Cook.
But every time I consider the court's logic of protecting *only* Fed independence, leaving other independent agencies exposed, I feel like I've swallowed crazy pills. Manipulating inflation data will also crash markets.
But every time I consider the court's logic of protecting *only* Fed independence, leaving other independent agencies exposed, I feel like I've swallowed crazy pills. Manipulating inflation data will also crash markets.
January 22, 2026 at 1:07 AM
Very glad the Supreme Court appears skeptical of the case against Lisa Cook.
But every time I consider the court's logic of protecting *only* Fed independence, leaving other independent agencies exposed, I feel like I've swallowed crazy pills. Manipulating inflation data will also crash markets.
But every time I consider the court's logic of protecting *only* Fed independence, leaving other independent agencies exposed, I feel like I've swallowed crazy pills. Manipulating inflation data will also crash markets.
Reposted by Michael E. Kanell
by the way, all of this, dozens of goons, weapons brandished massive teargassing of public space, people beaten in the street, destroying two intersections on either side of my neighborhood, horror, all seems to have been to create a distraction to abduct crying two teenagers who were here legally
look what they’re doing to my city. apologies for the camerawork
January 21, 2026 at 10:33 PM
by the way, all of this, dozens of goons, weapons brandished massive teargassing of public space, people beaten in the street, destroying two intersections on either side of my neighborhood, horror, all seems to have been to create a distraction to abduct crying two teenagers who were here legally
Reposted by Michael E. Kanell
“[T]he agent took the child out of the still-running vehicle, led him to the door, and directed him to knock on the door, asking to be let in, in order to see if anyone else was home—essentially using a 5-year-old as bait.” - the kid’s principal
ICE detained four children from Columbia Heights, Minnesota and sent them to detention centers in Texas.
bringmethenews.com/minnesota-ne...
bringmethenews.com/minnesota-ne...
ICE detains 4 Columbia Heights students, including 5- and 10-year-olds sent to Texas
Columbia Heights Public Schools leaders addressed the ICE surge into the district, saying the community is "shattered."
bringmethenews.com
January 22, 2026 at 1:26 AM
“[T]he agent took the child out of the still-running vehicle, led him to the door, and directed him to knock on the door, asking to be let in, in order to see if anyone else was home—essentially using a 5-year-old as bait.” - the kid’s principal
Murder, Inc.
"ICE agents have waited in vehicles outside hospitals, routinely entered medical buildings and even followed patients into emergency rooms."
Diabetics rationing insulin. Jaundiced babies missing appointments. Appendicitis festering untreated for days. Expectant mothers laboring in hiding.
Minnesota doctors say the immigration crackdown is forcing patients to hide, endangering lives. minnesotareformer.com/2026/01/20/m...
Minnesota doctors say the immigration crackdown is forcing patients to hide, endangering lives. minnesotareformer.com/2026/01/20/m...
January 21, 2026 at 9:00 PM
Murder, Inc.
Reposted by Michael E. Kanell
Trump suffers from dementia,what do you expect?
“I haven’t been able to find any wind farms in China”
January 21, 2026 at 3:49 PM
Trump suffers from dementia,what do you expect?
Reposted by Michael E. Kanell
We have to get rid of Jeffries and Schumer. We have to. It’s unendurable that these men are the most prominent Democrats of the moment. They are two of the most broadly undistinguished men I could imagine in politics, zero fire, zero fight, zero zeal, machine politicians with sinecures.
January 21, 2026 at 1:30 PM
We have to get rid of Jeffries and Schumer. We have to. It’s unendurable that these men are the most prominent Democrats of the moment. They are two of the most broadly undistinguished men I could imagine in politics, zero fire, zero fight, zero zeal, machine politicians with sinecures.
Reposted by Michael E. Kanell
New internal documents show ICE is planning a major expansion of its detention and transfer network centered in Minnesota with capacity across five Midwest states.
ICE Details a New Minnesota-Based Detention Network That Spans 5 States
Internal ICE planning documents propose spending up to $50 million on a privately run network capable of shipping immigrants in custody hundreds of miles across the Upper Midwest.
www.wired.com
January 20, 2026 at 8:11 PM
New internal documents show ICE is planning a major expansion of its detention and transfer network centered in Minnesota with capacity across five Midwest states.
Reposted by Michael E. Kanell
The Federalist Stooges in charge of SCOTUS don’t give a shit about any independent agency other than the Fed.
Why?
The answer to 90% of all Qs throughout history:
Money.
The other agencies protect everyone else.
The Fed protects their donors.
Tariffs fall next.
Trump will stroke out.
Good week.
🗽⚖️
Why?
The answer to 90% of all Qs throughout history:
Money.
The other agencies protect everyone else.
The Fed protects their donors.
Tariffs fall next.
Trump will stroke out.
Good week.
🗽⚖️
January 21, 2026 at 4:26 PM
The Federalist Stooges in charge of SCOTUS don’t give a shit about any independent agency other than the Fed.
Why?
The answer to 90% of all Qs throughout history:
Money.
The other agencies protect everyone else.
The Fed protects their donors.
Tariffs fall next.
Trump will stroke out.
Good week.
🗽⚖️
Why?
The answer to 90% of all Qs throughout history:
Money.
The other agencies protect everyone else.
The Fed protects their donors.
Tariffs fall next.
Trump will stroke out.
Good week.
🗽⚖️
Reposted by Michael E. Kanell
Happening right in front of us.
January 21, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Happening right in front of us.
Reposted by Michael E. Kanell
In authoritarian regimes, the government uses its powers to threaten, harass, and silence its opponents.
Mischief Toy Store in St. Paul has until Wednesday to turn over employment records to the Department of Homeland Security as part of a surprise audit launched Friday, just hours after one of the shop's owners criticized ICE agents during a television interview. bit.ly/4r5AFol
January 21, 2026 at 4:33 PM
In authoritarian regimes, the government uses its powers to threaten, harass, and silence its opponents.
Reposted by Michael E. Kanell
There is an extremely moving moment in Mandy Patinkin’s Yiddish version of Paul Simon’s ‘American Tune’ in which he says “di Statue of Liberty” and you are reminded of how profound and universal and powerful that phrase was to so many of the huddled masses. I’ve been thinking about it constantly:
January 21, 2026 at 2:33 AM
There is an extremely moving moment in Mandy Patinkin’s Yiddish version of Paul Simon’s ‘American Tune’ in which he says “di Statue of Liberty” and you are reminded of how profound and universal and powerful that phrase was to so many of the huddled masses. I’ve been thinking about it constantly:
Reposted by Michael E. Kanell
NYTimes: they have quite an operation going
bsky.app/profile/nyti...
bsky.app/profile/nyti...
Minneapolis residents have joined a church-run effort to donate groceries to immigrant families who fear being caught in public by federal agents. What started with a couple of hundred deliveries a week has quickly swelled into a vast operation involving thousands of volunteers. trib.al/1qT1xMw
January 21, 2026 at 10:54 AM
NYTimes: they have quite an operation going
bsky.app/profile/nyti...
bsky.app/profile/nyti...
Reposted by Michael E. Kanell
This is Donald Trump's favorite business practice, not paying the bills he owes.
1. ICE has STOPPED PAYING for medical treatment for its 73,000 detainees
ICE has not paid its bills to 3rd party providers since OCTOBER and the situation will likely persist for MONTHS, a Popular Information investigation reveals
Meanwhile, critically ill ICE detainees are not receiving care
🧵
ICE has not paid its bills to 3rd party providers since OCTOBER and the situation will likely persist for MONTHS, a Popular Information investigation reveals
Meanwhile, critically ill ICE detainees are not receiving care
🧵
ICE has stopped paying for detainee medical treatment
ICE halted payments in October, and the situation will persist for at least several more months
popular.info
January 21, 2026 at 11:19 AM
This is Donald Trump's favorite business practice, not paying the bills he owes.
Reposted by Michael E. Kanell
Mamdani: "I am in support of abolishing ICE. What we see is an entity that has no interest in fulfilling its stated reason to exist. We're seeing a government agency that is supposed to be enforcing some kind of immigration law, but instead what it's doing is terrorizing people."
January 20, 2026 at 4:56 PM
Mamdani: "I am in support of abolishing ICE. What we see is an entity that has no interest in fulfilling its stated reason to exist. We're seeing a government agency that is supposed to be enforcing some kind of immigration law, but instead what it's doing is terrorizing people."