Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
Senior Fellow at the American Immigration Council. Commenting generally on immigration law and policy. Retweets =/= endorsements, views are my own.
Pinned
Brief intro to those who don’t know me from Twitter.
Hello! I’m a Senior Fellow (formerly Policy Director) at @immcouncil.bsky.social, a pro-immigrant nonprofit aiming to defend immigrants through litigation, advocacy, and more. I help break down the confusing world of immigration law and policy.
Hello! I’m a Senior Fellow (formerly Policy Director) at @immcouncil.bsky.social, a pro-immigrant nonprofit aiming to defend immigrants through litigation, advocacy, and more. I help break down the confusing world of immigration law and policy.
Reposted by Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
I'm in WaPo today explaining why the administration's profiling of people for immigration stops based on their ethnicity and occupation is unconstitutional:
wapo.st/43W3haf
wapo.st/43W3haf
November 10, 2025 at 2:16 PM
I'm in WaPo today explaining why the administration's profiling of people for immigration stops based on their ethnicity and occupation is unconstitutional:
wapo.st/43W3haf
wapo.st/43W3haf
Reposted by Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
I feel like you can say with some confidence that this is one area in their lives where Americans do not want to negotiate and feel like entrepreneurs.
Trump: "I want the money to go into an account for people where they buy their own health insurance. It's so good. The insurance will be better. It'll cost less. Everybody is gonna be happy. They're gonna feel like entrepreneurs. They're actually able to go out & negotiate their own insurance"
November 11, 2025 at 1:25 AM
I feel like you can say with some confidence that this is one area in their lives where Americans do not want to negotiate and feel like entrepreneurs.
The Trump administration State Department is taking money that's supposed to be used for helping vulnerable refugees around the world and using it to bribe corrupt governments into taking people that ICE can't deport to their home countries.
November 11, 2025 at 1:09 AM
The Trump administration State Department is taking money that's supposed to be used for helping vulnerable refugees around the world and using it to bribe corrupt governments into taking people that ICE can't deport to their home countries.
Reposted by Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
I swear to god if they fix Bivens but only for members of Congres...
Fascinating. So Congress knows how to write a bill allowing people to sue federal officers?! www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/u...
Spending Bill Would Pave Way for Senators to Sue Over Phone Searches
www.nytimes.com
November 11, 2025 at 1:07 AM
I swear to god if they fix Bivens but only for members of Congres...
Reposted by Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
Fascinating. So Congress knows how to write a bill allowing people to sue federal officers?! www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/u...
Spending Bill Would Pave Way for Senators to Sue Over Phone Searches
www.nytimes.com
November 11, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Fascinating. So Congress knows how to write a bill allowing people to sue federal officers?! www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/u...
There was a similar thermostatic anti-287(g) backlash during Trump 1.0. On a local levels, non-cooperation policies have had enormous success in recent years. Unfortunately, that has also led to a backlash, with multiple GOP states *mandating* cooperation through new state laws.
NEW: Dems easily flipped the sheriff's office in Pennsylvania's Bucks County, a big swing county in the Philly suburbs.
So? The incumbent GOP sheriff had contracted with ICE. His Dem challenger promised to end the contract.
Now he wants other swing-state Dems to look at his victory as a lesson:
So? The incumbent GOP sheriff had contracted with ICE. His Dem challenger promised to end the contract.
Now he wants other swing-state Dems to look at his victory as a lesson:
Voters Ousted This Pennsylvania Sheriff After He Signed Up to Collaborate With ICE - Bolts
A populous, swing county replaced its GOP sheriff on Tuesday after months of controversy over his joining ICE’s 287(g) program. The Democratic winner promises he’ll end the contract.
boltsmag.org
November 11, 2025 at 1:04 AM
There was a similar thermostatic anti-287(g) backlash during Trump 1.0. On a local levels, non-cooperation policies have had enormous success in recent years. Unfortunately, that has also led to a backlash, with multiple GOP states *mandating* cooperation through new state laws.
Reposted by Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
NEW: Dems easily flipped the sheriff's office in Pennsylvania's Bucks County, a big swing county in the Philly suburbs.
So? The incumbent GOP sheriff had contracted with ICE. His Dem challenger promised to end the contract.
Now he wants other swing-state Dems to look at his victory as a lesson:
So? The incumbent GOP sheriff had contracted with ICE. His Dem challenger promised to end the contract.
Now he wants other swing-state Dems to look at his victory as a lesson:
Voters Ousted This Pennsylvania Sheriff After He Signed Up to Collaborate With ICE - Bolts
A populous, swing county replaced its GOP sheriff on Tuesday after months of controversy over his joining ICE’s 287(g) program. The Democratic winner promises he’ll end the contract.
boltsmag.org
November 10, 2025 at 7:12 PM
NEW: Dems easily flipped the sheriff's office in Pennsylvania's Bucks County, a big swing county in the Philly suburbs.
So? The incumbent GOP sheriff had contracted with ICE. His Dem challenger promised to end the contract.
Now he wants other swing-state Dems to look at his victory as a lesson:
So? The incumbent GOP sheriff had contracted with ICE. His Dem challenger promised to end the contract.
Now he wants other swing-state Dems to look at his victory as a lesson:
Today the Supreme Court heard a very, very technical case about whether a government contractors (in this case, private prison company GEO Group) should get essentially qualified immunity for contractors (I'm oversimplifying). The answer, it seems, will be no.
news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-...
news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-...
Justices Doubt Timing of Immunity Appeal in GEO Wage Case (1)
Several US Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical of GEO Group Inc.’s argument that it can immediately appeal a lower court’s rejection of its immunity defense to escape forced labor claims from im...
news.bloomberglaw.com
November 11, 2025 at 12:08 AM
Today the Supreme Court heard a very, very technical case about whether a government contractors (in this case, private prison company GEO Group) should get essentially qualified immunity for contractors (I'm oversimplifying). The answer, it seems, will be no.
news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-...
news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-...
Reposted by Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
“If you tilt some of the most commonly cited data points this way or that, you can just as easily argue on the behalf of a woman crisis as a man crisis—or, perhaps most accurately, for an ongoing multidirectional crisis affecting us all.”
November 10, 2025 at 5:00 PM
“If you tilt some of the most commonly cited data points this way or that, you can just as easily argue on the behalf of a woman crisis as a man crisis—or, perhaps most accurately, for an ongoing multidirectional crisis affecting us all.”
Wonder how much of this is “old people think young people should pay more” vs “young people think young people should pay less.”
hm. from CATO but you gotta wonder how this ends up looking politically
November 10, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Wonder how much of this is “old people think young people should pay more” vs “young people think young people should pay less.”
Reposted by Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
US HOUSE SPEAKER JOHNSON SAID HE WON'T COMMIT TO A VOTE ON ACA SUBSIDIES, I'M TOLD – SEMOFAR REPORTER ON X
November 10, 2025 at 4:56 PM
US HOUSE SPEAKER JOHNSON SAID HE WON'T COMMIT TO A VOTE ON ACA SUBSIDIES, I'M TOLD – SEMOFAR REPORTER ON X
Reposted by Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
New:
On The Gateway Pundit's podcast yesterday, Stewart Rhodes announced he's relaunching the Oath Keepers
He also urged Trump to “call us up as a militia" & "order us all to come together in our counties under his command."
www.mediamatters.org/oath-keepers...
On The Gateway Pundit's podcast yesterday, Stewart Rhodes announced he's relaunching the Oath Keepers
He also urged Trump to “call us up as a militia" & "order us all to come together in our counties under his command."
www.mediamatters.org/oath-keepers...
![STEWART RHODES (FOUNDER, OATH KEEPERS): And one other thing I want to say is that President Trump, as commander in chief, always has absolute authority to call all of us up as the militia because every one of us — in federal statues defining the militia, it's every able-bodied male from age 17-45. And for us veterans, it goes up to age 64 because of our prior training and experience.
Right now, under federal statutes, President Trump can call us up as the militia if he sees it necessary, especially for three purposes: to repel invasions, to suppress insurrections, and to execute the laws of the union. And right now, we see all three of those in play.
...
And the militia is all of us. So the National Guard is part of the militia, which is why it's completely lawful for him to use the National Guard as he has, and he should do more of that, I think, across the country.
...
He could just say given the circumstances of an invasion, insurrection, and resistance against federal law being being enforced, I'm calling up the militia, ordering all the men to come together [in] every county, put the veterans in charge of training and organizing all the other men and just have them stand too and await his orders. He can do that and I think he should do that. And so that's what I'll be advocating for from him. So from the bottom, from down the rank and file, we can let President Trump know that we're ready to serve, encourage him to do that, call us up as a militia, order us all to come together in our counties under his command, which gives you complete legal sanction to do what you're doing.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:af7tqcetuyt352aolf3znlxe/bafkreialm4skuozqobejpd6vx4m6kuwsgtidxmmxvj3ftcff6otiuyohiy@jpeg)
November 10, 2025 at 4:54 PM
New:
On The Gateway Pundit's podcast yesterday, Stewart Rhodes announced he's relaunching the Oath Keepers
He also urged Trump to “call us up as a militia" & "order us all to come together in our counties under his command."
www.mediamatters.org/oath-keepers...
On The Gateway Pundit's podcast yesterday, Stewart Rhodes announced he's relaunching the Oath Keepers
He also urged Trump to “call us up as a militia" & "order us all to come together in our counties under his command."
www.mediamatters.org/oath-keepers...
Reposted by Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
if I'm an ATC who took one measly sick day since it was fucking October and my kid had a cold I am *incandescent* over this.
The President wouldn't last five minutes as an air traffic controller, and after everything they've been through - and the way this administration has treated them from Day One - he has no business shitting on them now.
November 10, 2025 at 4:59 PM
if I'm an ATC who took one measly sick day since it was fucking October and my kid had a cold I am *incandescent* over this.
Reposted by Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
Many people recently deported on flights told Capital & Main that the U.S. government had taken their phones, and they struggled with the little money that they had to find their way out of being stranded in a city they did not know.
Read more here: www.laprogressive.com/immigration-...
Read more here: www.laprogressive.com/immigration-...
www.laprogressive.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Many people recently deported on flights told Capital & Main that the U.S. government had taken their phones, and they struggled with the little money that they had to find their way out of being stranded in a city they did not know.
Read more here: www.laprogressive.com/immigration-...
Read more here: www.laprogressive.com/immigration-...
Reposted by Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
Illegal entries up along San Diego coastline according to the acting deputy chief of US Customs & Border Protection
He said the increased military presence & border wall infrastructure in the area are pushing migrants into the ocean for unlawful crossings
www.borderreport.com/immigration/...
He said the increased military presence & border wall infrastructure in the area are pushing migrants into the ocean for unlawful crossings
www.borderreport.com/immigration/...
www.borderreport.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Illegal entries up along San Diego coastline according to the acting deputy chief of US Customs & Border Protection
He said the increased military presence & border wall infrastructure in the area are pushing migrants into the ocean for unlawful crossings
www.borderreport.com/immigration/...
He said the increased military presence & border wall infrastructure in the area are pushing migrants into the ocean for unlawful crossings
www.borderreport.com/immigration/...
Reposted by Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
Completely normal
November 10, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Completely normal
Reposted by Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected Kim Davis' call to overturn its 2015 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
www.mississippifreepress.org/us-supreme-c...
www.mississippifreepress.org/us-supreme-c...
US Supreme Court Rejects Kim Davis' Call to Overturn Same-Sex Marriage Rights
The Supreme Court has rejected a call to overturn its landmark decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
www.mississippifreepress.org
November 10, 2025 at 2:56 PM
The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected Kim Davis' call to overturn its 2015 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
www.mississippifreepress.org/us-supreme-c...
www.mississippifreepress.org/us-supreme-c...
Reposted by Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
At 11:54 p.m. ET, the First Circuit *denied* the Trump administration's request for a stay pending appeal in the SNAP case.
#SCOTUS now has 48 hours (so, through 11:54 p.m. on Tuesday) to either grant the same relief or extend the "administrative stay" entered by Justice Jackson on Friday night.
#SCOTUS now has 48 hours (so, through 11:54 p.m. on Tuesday) to either grant the same relief or extend the "administrative stay" entered by Justice Jackson on Friday night.
SNAP
www.documentcloud.org
November 10, 2025 at 5:21 AM
At 11:54 p.m. ET, the First Circuit *denied* the Trump administration's request for a stay pending appeal in the SNAP case.
#SCOTUS now has 48 hours (so, through 11:54 p.m. on Tuesday) to either grant the same relief or extend the "administrative stay" entered by Justice Jackson on Friday night.
#SCOTUS now has 48 hours (so, through 11:54 p.m. on Tuesday) to either grant the same relief or extend the "administrative stay" entered by Justice Jackson on Friday night.
This single loss doomed immigrants for over a decade and counting
Not that the Gang of 8 bill was great. But it was the last gasp of a real chance at bipartisan compromise. Gone.
Not that the Gang of 8 bill was great. But it was the last gasp of a real chance at bipartisan compromise. Gone.
thinking back to when eric cantor got knocked out in a primary in 2014
November 10, 2025 at 3:20 AM
This single loss doomed immigrants for over a decade and counting
Not that the Gang of 8 bill was great. But it was the last gasp of a real chance at bipartisan compromise. Gone.
Not that the Gang of 8 bill was great. But it was the last gasp of a real chance at bipartisan compromise. Gone.
Reposted by Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
Large parts of Jamaica were plunged into darkness. People with rooftop solar panels got their power back almost immediately.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/c...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/c...
After Jamaica’s Disastrous Storm, Solar Power Is a Bright Spot
www.nytimes.com
November 10, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Large parts of Jamaica were plunged into darkness. People with rooftop solar panels got their power back almost immediately.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/c...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/c...
Reposted by Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
Sen. Tim Kaine statement "on the funding deal to reopen government, protect federal employees, and vote to protect health care"
bluevirginia.us/2025/11/sund...
bluevirginia.us/2025/11/sund...
November 10, 2025 at 1:04 AM
Sen. Tim Kaine statement "on the funding deal to reopen government, protect federal employees, and vote to protect health care"
bluevirginia.us/2025/11/sund...
bluevirginia.us/2025/11/sund...
Reposted by Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
Senators reach tentative deal to end the government shutdown
Everything you need to know — details, who's involved, prospects of passage and timing: www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...
Everything you need to know — details, who's involved, prospects of passage and timing: www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...
Senators reach tentative deal to end the government shutdown
The deal, negotiated by a group of Democrats and GOP leaders, funds the government through Jan. 30. If it passes, it will still need to clear the House, which will likely take days.
www.nbcnews.com
November 10, 2025 at 1:13 AM
Senators reach tentative deal to end the government shutdown
Everything you need to know — details, who's involved, prospects of passage and timing: www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...
Everything you need to know — details, who's involved, prospects of passage and timing: www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...
Reposted by Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
Major concession from Democrats here is enhanced ACA funds aren’t extended. Preserving them was Dems’ central demand in this fight. They secured a promise of a vote (which Thune has been offering for weeks), but that could still fail. Even if it passes, Johnson has made no promise of a House vote.
Tentative Senate deal to end shutdown, multiple sources tell me & @frankthorp.bsky.social:
—CR through Jan 30
—Approps minibus
—Fully funds SNAP
—Reverses Trump’s shutdown RIFs
—Promise of Senate vote on ACA subsidies by Dec second week (details/outcome uncertain)
—Led by King/Shaheen/Hassan
—CR through Jan 30
—Approps minibus
—Fully funds SNAP
—Reverses Trump’s shutdown RIFs
—Promise of Senate vote on ACA subsidies by Dec second week (details/outcome uncertain)
—Led by King/Shaheen/Hassan
November 10, 2025 at 12:54 AM
Major concession from Democrats here is enhanced ACA funds aren’t extended. Preserving them was Dems’ central demand in this fight. They secured a promise of a vote (which Thune has been offering for weeks), but that could still fail. Even if it passes, Johnson has made no promise of a House vote.
Reposted by Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
Cave bill text is out
www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/do...
www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/do...
www.appropriations.senate.gov
November 9, 2025 at 11:43 PM
Cave bill text is out
www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/do...
www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/do...