Leaders in the Massachusetts Senate unveiled a new piece of legislation this week that would allow residents to sue federal law enforcement officers who violate their constitutional rights. The move comes as residents continue to push leaders on Beacon Hill to do more to combat the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement agenda. The lawmakers behind the bill directly referenced the administration's violent operation in Minnesota, saying that measures like this are necessary when the federal government refuses to hold its own officers accountable.
About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say President Donald Trump has "gone too far" in sending federal immigration agents into American cities, according to a new AP-NORC poll that suggests political independents are increasingly uncomfortable with his tactics. Views of Trump's handling of immigration - which fell over the course of his first year - remained steady over the past month, with about 4 in 10 saying they approve of the president's approach.
I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis, The Boss wrote on his website. It's dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Springsteen signed that introduction: Stay free.
Pretti was trying to help a woman whom federal agents shoved violently to the ground. A fellow ICE observer, the woman flew a few feet through the air and landed hard; it had to hurt. "Are you OK?" Pretti asked her, according to bystanders. Those were his last known words. He kept trying to help the woman, and the agents kept trying to stop him, finally shooting him in the head at close range, execution-style, and then at least nine more times.
DHS claimed in their statement about the event that the man had been armed and acted as a threat to agents who were conducting an operation in the area. The officers attempted to disarm the suspect but the armed suspect violently resisted. Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots, they said.
After the shooting, bystanders gathered and screamed profanities at federal officers, calling them "cowards" and telling them to go home. One officer responded mockingly as he walked away, telling them: "Boo hoo." Agents elsewhere shoved a yelling protester into a car. On Friday, thousands of demonstrators protesting against the crackdown on immigrants crowded the city's streets in sub-zero temperatures, calling for federal law enforcement to leave.
Kristi Noem first denied that federal agents were using chemical agents against protesters, then after being shown video footage turned to blaming the protesters themselves, as tensions continued to run high amid the Trump administration's surge of federal officers into Minneapolis. The head of homeland security, who has acted as spearhead for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in the city known as Operation Metro Surge told the CBS show Face the Nation on Sunday that her department had not used pepper spray against crowds.
A helicopter flies low across the water at night before heavily armed figures rappel to the ground, take their positions and break down a door. It's not a trailer for a movie, a video game or a recap of a Pentagon operation. Instead, it's a video from the Department of Homeland Security showcasing Border Patrol agents at work. Despite the combative visuals, it is captioned with the Bible verse, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."
If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don't obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State. Thank you for you attention to this matter! President DJT
Scarcely a week ago, U.S. warplanes and drones were streaking across the Caracas night sky to deliver a swift end to the reign of the Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro. The extraordinary display of kinetic violence delivered a stunning reminder about the reach of the world's most powerful military-and symbolized the start of a new chapter for the man who commands it.
If you witness abuses by federal law enforcement agents in California, you can now report it online to the state Department of Justice. On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the launch of an online portal where anyone can report potentially unlawful activity in California by federal law enforcement, including officers or agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, or federalized National Guard soldiers or airmen.
Prosecutors in Oregon are warning the US justice department to rein in federal agents who've repeatedly used excessive force on protesters, immigrants and even local police. A joint letter from Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield and district attorneys from Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington Counties, demands the US Department of Justice "immediately halt unlawful and reckless actions by federal officers operating in Oregon."
Yet federal agents are responding with increased force. Federal police unleashed a volley of weapons and chemical agents on anti-ICE protesters and journalists on Saturday, October 11. It was a notable escalation in the response to protests at the Portland immigration processing facility that led to violent arrests, a photojournalist getting shot with a pepper ball, and a large group being sprayed indiscriminately with tear gas.