Andy Genz
@ajgenz.bsky.social
Dad, immigrant rights advocate, lawyer, DC resident, jogger
Reposted by Andy Genz
A big part of why Mamdani won is that he actually seemed like he was interested in doing the job of mayor, and I would appreciate it if people let him focus on what is already going to be an uphill battle without demanding that he also declare war on the Democratic party.
AOC has been playing inside ball to climb the national dem party for years and this is why a lot of NY DSA now hates her; Mamdani barely just won over the NY machine, he has good reasons to not immediately start fights with the state party before he is even in power and has his people staffed.
AOC and Mamdani, arguably the two most prominent members of the DSA, allegedly choosing not to back Ossé in his potential primary run against Jeffries is certainly an interesting choice in the face of the NYC-DSA's reputation of being anti-Black
November 18, 2025 at 4:23 PM
A big part of why Mamdani won is that he actually seemed like he was interested in doing the job of mayor, and I would appreciate it if people let him focus on what is already going to be an uphill battle without demanding that he also declare war on the Democratic party.
Reposted by Andy Genz
This is why I talk about sheriffs a lot when it to comes to immigration: they decide (in most states) on whether to hold people for ICE at all!
ICE abducted Leticia Jacobo and tried to deport her, she is Native American.
Polk County Sheriff’s Office, which held her for ICE, admitted that it was a ‘clerical error’.
Her family fought through layers of bureaucracy to stop her from being disappeared.
www.iowapublicradio.org/ipr-news/202...
Polk County Sheriff’s Office, which held her for ICE, admitted that it was a ‘clerical error’.
Her family fought through layers of bureaucracy to stop her from being disappeared.
www.iowapublicradio.org/ipr-news/202...
Native American woman nearly deported after Polk County Jail issues ICE detainer by mistake
A Native American woman from Arizona was nearly deported by federal immigration officials after a clerical error at the Polk County Jail. The woman's family had to scramble to prove she was Indigenous...
www.iowapublicradio.org
November 18, 2025 at 3:21 AM
This is why I talk about sheriffs a lot when it to comes to immigration: they decide (in most states) on whether to hold people for ICE at all!
Reposted by Andy Genz
Trump take tourism
NEW: An Irish tourist visiting the US was jailed by ICE for 3 months after overstaying 3 days due to medical issue. Thomas agreed to be deported, but instead went to federal prison where he recounted horrific conditions + no medical care.
“Nobody's safe from the system if they get pulled into it"
“Nobody's safe from the system if they get pulled into it"
Irish tourist jailed by Ice for months after overstaying US visit by three days: ‘Nobody is safe’
Exclusive: For roughly 100 days, Thomas says he faced harsh detention conditions, despite agreeing to deportation
www.theguardian.com
November 17, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Trump take tourism
Reposted by Andy Genz
Reminds me of the time I asked a judge why she had signed off on a bunch of no-knock warrants that all used identical cut-and-paste language. She told me I didn’t know what cops had told her about those cases that wasn’t in the affidavits.
Which . . . that’s worse.
(And then nothing happened.)
Which . . . that’s worse.
(And then nothing happened.)
I’m not a lawyer but I’m pretty sure you’re not allowed to tell the jury to “vote assuming we actually have a whole bunch more secret evidence”
November 17, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Reminds me of the time I asked a judge why she had signed off on a bunch of no-knock warrants that all used identical cut-and-paste language. She told me I didn’t know what cops had told her about those cases that wasn’t in the affidavits.
Which . . . that’s worse.
(And then nothing happened.)
Which . . . that’s worse.
(And then nothing happened.)
Reposted by Andy Genz
I’m trying to decide if I‘ve accidentally taken acid, or if it’s reality itself that’s breaking down.
Nicki Minaj is set to speak at the United Nations on behalf of the Trump administration.
November 17, 2025 at 8:59 PM
I’m trying to decide if I‘ve accidentally taken acid, or if it’s reality itself that’s breaking down.
This sucks.
NEW, for The Handbasket:
I spoke with concerned community members and local/state electeds about what's been going on re: detainments on the parkways in the DC area. Commuters use these fed hwys to get to and from work--and now families of detained drivers are on the hook for hundreds in tow fees.
I spoke with concerned community members and local/state electeds about what's been going on re: detainments on the parkways in the DC area. Commuters use these fed hwys to get to and from work--and now families of detained drivers are on the hook for hundreds in tow fees.
NEW—US Park Police w/ DHS officers near DC are increasingly pulling over Black and brown men, leaving their work vans on the side of the parkway + immediately calling a local towing company to take them. Families who just lost their breadwinner are stuck with the bill.
@melbuer.bsky.social reports:
@melbuer.bsky.social reports:
November 17, 2025 at 8:49 PM
This sucks.
Reposted by Andy Genz
Everything Alex Jones feared would come to pass has been brought to fruition by his own party.
He's so partisan that he won't admit that it was Trump and his cronies who have deployed everything he claimed to oppose.
He's so partisan that he won't admit that it was Trump and his cronies who have deployed everything he claimed to oppose.
license plate data merged with credit header data, marriage records, vehicle ownership, and voter registrations, in one app for ICE agents. oh and it sends push notifications when someone they're seeking is nearby.
🆒: www.404media.co/this-app-let...
🆒: www.404media.co/this-app-let...
This App Lets ICE Track Vehicles and Owners Across the Country
Material viewed by 404 Media shows data giant Thomson Reuters enriches license plate data with marriage, voter, and ownership records. The tool can predict where a car may be in the future.
www.404media.co
November 17, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Everything Alex Jones feared would come to pass has been brought to fruition by his own party.
He's so partisan that he won't admit that it was Trump and his cronies who have deployed everything he claimed to oppose.
He's so partisan that he won't admit that it was Trump and his cronies who have deployed everything he claimed to oppose.
Reposted by Andy Genz
The 9th Circuit’s description of what happened after the government introduced the “metering” policy to block asylum seekers at the border. Incredibly bleak. www.scotusblog.com/wp-content/u...
November 17, 2025 at 3:00 PM
The 9th Circuit’s description of what happened after the government introduced the “metering” policy to block asylum seekers at the border. Incredibly bleak. www.scotusblog.com/wp-content/u...
But somehow the only "gains" even most Trump supporters will feel from Trump (and his tariffs) will be a psychic wage from looking down upon some group of others as less worthy.
I just wish this weren't enough for them.
I just wish this weren't enough for them.
BESSENT: “THE $2,000 DIVIDEND COULD COME IN LOTS OF FORMS… IT COULD BE JUST THE TAX DECREASES. IT COULD BE NO TAX ON TIPS.”
November 17, 2025 at 2:47 PM
But somehow the only "gains" even most Trump supporters will feel from Trump (and his tariffs) will be a psychic wage from looking down upon some group of others as less worthy.
I just wish this weren't enough for them.
I just wish this weren't enough for them.
Reposted by Andy Genz
wait, I saw 'peril' earlier and just assumed 'oh bc they knew this was behavior that could get them in trouble'
now that I see 'born in China' I'm like, bitch, did they mean YELLOW PERIL oh my God?
now that I see 'born in China' I'm like, bitch, did they mean YELLOW PERIL oh my God?
The Harvard Crimson has ID'ed and published the name of a well-known economist who was the subject of emails between Larry Summers and Epstein.
Born in China, she did her B.A. – Ph.D. at Harvard.
The code name that Summers and Epstein used in their emails about her was "peril." What a vile pig.
Born in China, she did her B.A. – Ph.D. at Harvard.
The code name that Summers and Epstein used in their emails about her was "peril." What a vile pig.
As Summers Sought Clandestine Relationship With Woman He Called a Mentee, Epstein Was His ‘Wing Man’ | News | The Harvard Crimson
When former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers was pursuing a romantic relationship with a woman he described as a mentee, he turned to a longtime associate for guidance: convicted sex offender Jef...
www.thecrimson.com
November 17, 2025 at 4:36 AM
wait, I saw 'peril' earlier and just assumed 'oh bc they knew this was behavior that could get them in trouble'
now that I see 'born in China' I'm like, bitch, did they mean YELLOW PERIL oh my God?
now that I see 'born in China' I'm like, bitch, did they mean YELLOW PERIL oh my God?
Reposted by Andy Genz
Just heard re: some ICE agents who raided a Chicago taqueria, then went back to the same taqueria for lunch the following week and got confused when the owner kicked them out, and I realized "jesus these doofuses really do believe we're all living in a video game where the NPCs have no memory"
November 17, 2025 at 4:53 AM
Just heard re: some ICE agents who raided a Chicago taqueria, then went back to the same taqueria for lunch the following week and got confused when the owner kicked them out, and I realized "jesus these doofuses really do believe we're all living in a video game where the NPCs have no memory"
As someone who hates locking up people but who is not at all clear on how to imagine transitioning to a world without them altogether, the reconceptualization of prison abolitionism as "an anchor on a longer-term project" is very appealing.
I consider myself a prison abolitionist despite the very real and material challenges of that position. It's not a practical one day-to-day policy slate, but an anchor on a longer-term project not possible in the current context, contingent on social changes that are wildly unlikely in my lifetime.
I‘m tired of being nice about this; “abolitionism” has had years to develop a non-idiot policy program and the best they’ve come up with is ”murder without even the pretense of juridical process.” And I am not nut-picking; this is all over abolitionist writing.
November 17, 2025 at 2:06 PM
As someone who hates locking up people but who is not at all clear on how to imagine transitioning to a world without them altogether, the reconceptualization of prison abolitionism as "an anchor on a longer-term project" is very appealing.
So sorry to hear that Avelo's decision to profit off of authoritarian misery-transit didn't pay off as handsomely as they hoped.
NEW: Avelo’s ICE flights have been a fiasco, internal documents show.
Serious safety lapses, poor planning, mechanical issues, an emergency landing — and they’re not even making as much money as they hoped they would.
From me for @prospect.org:
prospect.org/2025/11/17/i...
Serious safety lapses, poor planning, mechanical issues, an emergency landing — and they’re not even making as much money as they hoped they would.
From me for @prospect.org:
prospect.org/2025/11/17/i...
ICE Air’s Sloppy, Dangerous Deportation Flights - The American Prospect
Poor planning, mechanical issues, serious safety lapses, and the shutdown are taking a toll on Avelo, America’s most famous deportation airline, internal documents show.
prospect.org
November 17, 2025 at 2:02 PM
So sorry to hear that Avelo's decision to profit off of authoritarian misery-transit didn't pay off as handsomely as they hoped.
Reposted by Andy Genz
at the very least, it was the beginning of 25 years of “because I said so” jurisprudence that has completely trashed SCOTUS’ aura of nonpartisanship, which will not be recovered in my lifetime
i don't think that bush v. gore is the *worst* ruling in the history of the supreme court, but i do think it is the most openly *corrupt* ruling in its history. a real disgrace.
November 17, 2025 at 1:10 PM
at the very least, it was the beginning of 25 years of “because I said so” jurisprudence that has completely trashed SCOTUS’ aura of nonpartisanship, which will not be recovered in my lifetime
Reposted by Andy Genz
The debate over whether this is 'fascism' is a silly semantic one in which a small minority mean 'completed fascist authoritarianism' and the vast majority mean 'the people in power say and do things that demonstrate completed fascist authoritarianism is what they want to achieve.'
November 17, 2025 at 9:06 AM
The debate over whether this is 'fascism' is a silly semantic one in which a small minority mean 'completed fascist authoritarianism' and the vast majority mean 'the people in power say and do things that demonstrate completed fascist authoritarianism is what they want to achieve.'
This is insane.
November 17, 2025 at 1:21 PM
This is insane.
Reposted by Andy Genz
Two things can be true: informal systems of retributive justice or corporal/capital punishment would be *vastly* worse than today's system, AND we should not let a failure of imagination or hope extinguish the idea that prisons aren't an inevitable feature of human society.
November 17, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Two things can be true: informal systems of retributive justice or corporal/capital punishment would be *vastly* worse than today's system, AND we should not let a failure of imagination or hope extinguish the idea that prisons aren't an inevitable feature of human society.
Reposted by Andy Genz
If war is a continuation of politics by other means and our politics are incredibly stupid and incoherent then our wars should be too. That's just theory.
The Trump administration is rapidly escalating its pressure campaign against Venezuela, even as President Trump’s aides provide conflicting accounts of what, exactly, they are seeking to achieve. nyti.ms/49nV4PY
November 17, 2025 at 2:20 AM
If war is a continuation of politics by other means and our politics are incredibly stupid and incoherent then our wars should be too. That's just theory.
Reposted by Andy Genz
I found it. The most 2025 story.
thehill.com
November 16, 2025 at 6:25 PM
I found it. The most 2025 story.
Reposted by Andy Genz
It is interesting to me how the media seems far less interested in Trump's Murder Memo than you'd expect. Only a few reporters seem to be even trying to get a hold of it, and very few commentators are talking about it. Contrast that with Bush's torture memo, which was a national obsession. Weird.
Trump's illegal murders in the Caribbean just got worse. An internal DOJ memo on the bombings says the victims are waging war on the US, but per NYT, it extensively cites the WH's *own claims* to this effect as evidence!
It gets even darker than that. 1/
(new piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2032...
It gets even darker than that. 1/
(new piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2032...
November 16, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Reposted by Andy Genz
"ProPublica’s reporting debunks the idea of a ’Tren de Aragua complex' taken over by a horde of terrorists. We found no criminal convictions for 18 of the 21 Venezuelans we identified. Three of the men had been charged with offenses ... but in each case the charges were dropped."
“I Lost Everything”: Venezuelans Were Rounded Up in a Dramatic Midnight Raid but Never Charged With a Crime
Authorities said Tren de Aragua “terrorists” had taken over the building. A ProPublica investigation found little evidence to back up the government’s claims. For the first time, the Venezuelans arres...
www.propublica.org
November 16, 2025 at 6:29 PM
"ProPublica’s reporting debunks the idea of a ’Tren de Aragua complex' taken over by a horde of terrorists. We found no criminal convictions for 18 of the 21 Venezuelans we identified. Three of the men had been charged with offenses ... but in each case the charges were dropped."
Reposted by Andy Genz
It’s pretty simple.
When you do a huge armed midnight raid on an apartment building rounding up and terrorizing children and later find out there were no criminals there everyone involved resigns in shame and we have loud showy Congressional hearings.
When you do a huge armed midnight raid on an apartment building rounding up and terrorizing children and later find out there were no criminals there everyone involved resigns in shame and we have loud showy Congressional hearings.
November 16, 2025 at 6:31 PM
It’s pretty simple.
When you do a huge armed midnight raid on an apartment building rounding up and terrorizing children and later find out there were no criminals there everyone involved resigns in shame and we have loud showy Congressional hearings.
When you do a huge armed midnight raid on an apartment building rounding up and terrorizing children and later find out there were no criminals there everyone involved resigns in shame and we have loud showy Congressional hearings.
Reposted by Andy Genz
Remember the recent middle-of-the-night apartment building raid where children were dragged outside naked & zip-tied in the street while black & Latino residents were _sorted by race_ and piled into separate vans while their apartments were ransacked & robbed? That raid? So it resulted in 0 arrests.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem should resign and be criminally charged, according to critics who seized on a report revealing that zero people who were arrested in a high-profile raid were charged with a crime.
'Noem should resign over this': Fury over alleged DHS 'child kidnapping and trafficking'
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem should resign and be criminally charged, according to critics who seized on a report revealing that zero people who were arrested in a high-profile raid were charged with a crime.ProPublica recently reported on the DHS raid on an apartment building that was al...
bit.ly
November 16, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Remember the recent middle-of-the-night apartment building raid where children were dragged outside naked & zip-tied in the street while black & Latino residents were _sorted by race_ and piled into separate vans while their apartments were ransacked & robbed? That raid? So it resulted in 0 arrests.
It's as easy as it is damaging to write off people at young ages because they struggle with reading, focusing or controlling their emotions, but if those hurdles can be cleared it has outsized long-term benefits. Yet we generally do much more for "smart kids destined for smart guy jobs."
A lot of education discourse is at root an inability to decide whether the purpose of our education system is to 1) teach material and measure learning 2) reward students who work hard 3) separate the smart kids (destined for smart guy jobs) from the dumb kids (destined to serve the smart guys)
November 15, 2025 at 10:02 PM
It's as easy as it is damaging to write off people at young ages because they struggle with reading, focusing or controlling their emotions, but if those hurdles can be cleared it has outsized long-term benefits. Yet we generally do much more for "smart kids destined for smart guy jobs."
Reposted by Andy Genz
LOL: Eric Adams. ERIC ADAMS sent an email out today reminding state employees they can't accept gifts this holiday season. BAHAHAHAHA
November 14, 2025 at 4:30 AM
LOL: Eric Adams. ERIC ADAMS sent an email out today reminding state employees they can't accept gifts this holiday season. BAHAHAHAHA