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jesscoded.substack.com
jess, just jess
@jesscoded.substack.com
𝙰𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚞𝚛 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚛.
𝙴𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚘𝚛 𝚘𝚏 @alteredstateco
𝙻𝚒𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚕, 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚐𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚎.
𝚂𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚗 “𝙸 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚍𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝” 𝚊𝚗𝚍 “𝙸’𝚖 𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚊 𝚗𝚊𝚙.”
* End family detention and stop detaining children.
* Allow unrestricted, real-time congressional oversight of detention facilities.
* Investigate the Minneapolis killings and federal use of force.

I’m a liberal, but I refuse to be complicit.
January 30, 2026 at 4:51 PM
Here’s where I stand:

No more funding, deals, or cooperation. We need enforceable rules that stop the violence, end family detention, and restore oversight right now.

If our leaders won’t treat this like a life-or-death issue, then we need new leaders who will.
January 30, 2026 at 4:51 PM
Booker has suggested accountability measures and detention reforms. But if we want immediate change, small steps do not use all the power we have to stop the harm happening now.
January 30, 2026 at 4:51 PM
Jeffries has publicly condemned what DHS and ICE are doing, but condemnation without using every available tool does not protect anyone.
January 30, 2026 at 4:51 PM
This week, Schumer helped make a deal to avoid a shutdown by extending DHS funding while talks continue. This means the agency at the center of the crisis keeps running as usual while leaders negotiate small changes.
January 30, 2026 at 4:51 PM
When I hear people call for bipartisanship right now, it sounds like they just want to keep things the way they are.

I see the statements. I see the concern.

But concern alone isn’t a real plan. Without a strategy, people will keep suffering.
January 30, 2026 at 4:51 PM
Behind the scenes, DHS is making oversight more difficult. House Democrats and reporters say DHS has policies that restrict or slow down congressional access to detention facilities, including a 'notice' requirement that lawmakers are now challenging in court.
January 30, 2026 at 4:51 PM
Investigative reports also show that the number of children in ICE detention has gone up sharply.
January 30, 2026 at 4:51 PM
In Minnesota, reports describe ICE observers facing teargas and arrests. Local news also lists arrests connected to clashes with federal officers.

Children are being held in custody. ICE detained a 5-year-old named Liam Conejo Ramos, but a judge has temporarily blocked his removal or transfer.
January 30, 2026 at 4:51 PM
People are being arrested for resisting and even for reporting. Journalist Don Lemon was arrested by federal agents after covering an anti-ICE protest, which raises serious First Amendment concerns.
January 30, 2026 at 4:51 PM
People are dying. This month in Minneapolis, two U.S. citizens, Alex Pretti and Renée Good, were killed in shootings involving federal immigration enforcement.

This is part of a larger pattern of ICE-related deaths and more children being detained in 2026, as several news outlets have reported.
January 30, 2026 at 4:51 PM
That goes for family and friends. I will not allow you to be okay with this, and I will call each and every one of you out! FUCK YOUR CHERRY PICKING ASS.
January 29, 2026 at 4:34 PM
If you want understanding, start by admitting the harm you caused and recognizing those who were right when you were not. Otherwise, don’t expect sympathy for your redemption story.
January 29, 2026 at 4:34 PM
We’re told to welcome people who change their minds, but let’s be honest: most of them haven’t really changed. They just don’t want to be linked to the problems they helped cause. That isn’t growth. It’s just public relations.
January 29, 2026 at 4:34 PM
You helped make this happen. You gave it legitimacy. You ignored it while the rest of us were dismissed as overreacting. And now you want to be praised for your “courage”?
January 29, 2026 at 4:34 PM
Where were you when it really mattered? When speaking out actually had consequences? When people lost their jobs and faced threats for saying what you’re saying now?
January 29, 2026 at 4:34 PM
You don’t deserve praise for changing your mind only after certain things happened:
* After leaving office.
* When January 6th made the truth impossible to ignore.
* When it became politically convenient.
* After the damage was already done.
January 29, 2026 at 4:34 PM