The Border is Everywhere: American Politics February 2026

Judge frees father & son, rips USAholes a new one, though they may appeal, Blanche whines:
https://www.axios.com/2026/02/01/5-year-old-liam-ramos-released-minneapolis-ice

Good afternoon!

Latest ep of Reveal:

...Brady was one of many Indigenous people working to build energy sovereignty for tribal nations—work that continues despite the administration clawing back federal funds.

This week on Reveal, we’re diving into how small communities across the country are navigating the current administration’s policies and how they show up in everyone’s lives, no matter where you are in this country. We’ve partnered with The Daily Yonder to share a story about the solar energy hopes of tribal nations; The Tributary in Jacksonville, Florida, to learn how local and state DOGE are complicating efforts to run the city; and Idaho-based reporter Heath Druzin to hear how the Trump administration’s immigration policy is rupturing the state’s Republican Party.

listen or read:
https://revealnews.org/podcast/local-news-doge-solar-power-immigration-idaho-jacksonville-florida-tribal-nations/

https://www.propublica.org/article/alex-pretti-shooting-cbp-agents-identified-jesus-ochoa-raymundo-gutierrez

the pigs who murdered pretti are named

good rundown of the US's ethnic cleansing campaign:
https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/trump-ice-haitians-springfield-ohio-20260201.html

Interesting testimony on history of cpb criminality: https://www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/accountability-for-ice-and-cbp

>the pigs who murdered pretti are named

*sniffs* names sound FOREIGN to me...

/s if that's not clear

7 and 11 years of experience each in case you know anyone still blathering about training

Ghoul In Chief Stephen Miller was feeling frisky on the eve of Black History Month:

Plenty of countries in history have experimented with importing a foreign labor class. The West is the first and only civilization to import a foreign labor class that is granted full political rights, including welfare & the right to vote. All visas are a bridge to citizenship.

if not for that last sentence, he could be talking about post-slavery America.

7 and 11 years of experience each in case you know anyone still blathering about training

anyone who signed up to be border patrol even in “normal” times is a ghoul and yeah they are now being encouraged to unleash their id

Ochoa, who goes by Jesse, graduated from the University of Texas-Pan American with a degree in criminal justice, according to his ex-wife, Angelica Ochoa. A longtime resident of the Rio Grande Valley, Ochoa had for years dreamed of working for the Border Patrol and finally landed a job there, she said. By the time the couple split in 2021, he had become a gun enthusiast with about 25 rifles, pistols and shotguns, Angelica Ochoa said.

curious how big a deal that actually is I mean I assume there's a ton of variance in those elections but a 30 point swing is fuckin crazy, seems to imply that even Trump's absymal polling numbers aren't capturing how terribly he's doing right now

― frogbs, Sunday, February 1, 2026 3:20 PM (eight hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

id imagine there a real big enthusiasm gap which then is amplified in a minor election like this

― lag∞n, Sunday, February 1, 2026 3:25 PM (eight hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

or not

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:nyjm4ylfid2a7mjm6varxuiq/bafkreieoyyqgglmlajwgvmk4i2mucsr25upnlvz4e5jyxt7s6vappl6fj4@jpeg

Amazon’s gold-plated rollout for Melania Trump’s documentary resulted in opening-weekend ticket sales of $7 million in the United States and Canada, box office analysts said on Sunday. That gave “Melania” the best start for a documentary (excluding concert films) in 14 years.

It was a face-saving result for the first lady — last week, ticket sales were pacing at about $5 million — but not for Amazon, which spent an exorbitant $75 million to buy distribution rights to “Melania” and market its release in 1,778 domestic theaters. Theater owners keep roughly 50 percent of ticket sales, meaning that Amazon will end the weekend with about $3.5 million to show for its investment.....

....The audience was overwhelmingly female (70 percent) and over the age of 55, according to Amazon.

At the Cinemark Valley View and XD in Cleveland on Friday, the audience for a “Melania” screening included a couple of buses worth of people from a nearby senior center. “It was a nice fluff piece,” Gordon Wilson, 80, said as he exited. Another Cleveland attendee, Anita Dloniak, 68, chuckled when she heard that some of the other ticket buyers called the film propaganda. “What did they think it was going to be?” she said.

Bob Schmidt, 60, went to see “Melania” at the Alamo Drafthouse on Staten Island on Friday. He rarely goes to the movies anymore, he said, but he bought a ticket to send a message to what he called the liberal movie industry. “I wanted to see this movie kick Hollywood’s ass,” Mr. Schmidt said. (During the screening, attendees erupted in applause during the scene when President Trump is sworn in. Someone shouted, “Trump 2028!”)

Something about those lithe, waifish bodies and the square black brutality of the redactions. Makes me think of Abu Ghraib. Sickening.

(Argh, should have gone in the Epstein thread)

the border is everywhere!

Quite

or not

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:nyjm4ylfid2a7mjm6varxuiq/bafkreieoyyqgglmlajwgvmk4i2mucsr25upnlvz4e5jyxt7s6vappl6fj4@jpeg

― lag∞n, Sunday, February 1, 2026 10:42 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

sheesh that might be one of the most dire results I've ever seen for either political party

please clap!

what did u do tulsi

WASHINGTON—A U.S. intelligence official has alleged wrongdoing by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard in a whistleblower complaint that is so highly classified it has sparked months of wrangling over how to share it with Congress, according to U.S. officials and others familiar with the matter.

The filing of the complaint has prompted a continuing, behind-the-scenes struggle about how to assess and handle it, with the whistleblower’s lawyer accusing Gabbard of stonewalling the complaint. Gabbard’s office rejects that characterization, contending it is navigating a unique set of circumstances and working to resolve the issue.

A cloak-and-dagger mystery reminiscent of a John le Carré novel is swirling around the complaint, which is said to be locked in a safe. Disclosure of its contents could cause “grave damage to national security,” one official said. It also implicates another federal agency beyond Gabbard’s, and raises potential claims of executive privilege that may involve the White House, officials said.

https://archive.ph/f2Dk9

oh and here are some uhhh interesting crosstabs from that recent FOX poll - these are white, no degree voters...not a great sign if he's underwater with them

Do you approve(51%) or disapprove(49%) of the way Trump is handling immigration: +2 (overall sample: -10, GOP: +70)
ICE is being too aggressive: 55%
of that 55%, ICE is being too aggressive because they're going after the wrong people: 49%
Is Trump spending too much time (41%), about the right amount of time (41%) or not enough time (18%) on immigration and border security: -23%
Do you approve (44%) or disapprove (55%) of how Trump has handled the economy: -11 (overall sample: -19, GOP: +56)
Have you been personally helped (20%) or hurt (41%) by Trump's economic policies: -21%
Is the country better (32) or worse off(50) now than a year ago: -18
Are you better(21) or worse(40) off financially than you were a year ago?: -19
Would Democrats (50) or Republicans (48) do a better job on helping the middle class: +2
Would Democrats (50) or Republicans (48) do a better job on affordability: +2
Is Trump spending too much time (5%), not enough time (71%) or about the right amount of time (24%) on the economy: -66
How motivated do you feel to vote in November elections? Extremely Motivated: 49% (overall sample: 56%. GOP: 51%)
Do you approve(28%) or disapprove(70%) of the job Congress is doing: -42 (overall sample: -43, GOP: -6)
Do you Approve (49%) or Disapprove (51%) of the job President Trump is doing: -2 (overall sample: -12, GOP: +70)
Do you strongly disapprove of the job President Trump is doing: 38% (overall sample 45%, GOP: 6%)

‪Scott Horton‬ robertscotthorton.bsky.social‬

I have spoken with several senior FBI counterintelligence officers who believe that there is a reasonably strong prospect that Tulsi Gabbard is a foreign intelligence asset.

https://bsky.app/profile/robertscotthorton.bsky.social/post/3mduym2tnps2n

who could have seen that coming?

Duhhhh

I have a hard time envisioning her as much of an asset to anyone, but if she is it’s certainly not to the ol’ USA.

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:jxrml6kad4fjeqnvwzg74phy/bafkreihjr67bicvepreyjaz5bk3buv3y2jvsgoi2tjidn5o3ym4iet6kxy@jpeg

trying to parse that WSJ story. the complaint has been seen by the inspector general, who has determined the allegations involving gabbard aren’t credible, but also they’re stonewalling congress for some reason, also the whistleblower hasn’t just informed congress themself, and also the whistleblower’s lawyer hasn’t seen the complaint?

It is confusing but members of Trump's admin have always had a tendency to try and block investigations even when the accused was likely to be exonerated.

A normal thing totally innocent people do

A representative for the inspector general said the office had determined specific allegations against Gabbard weren’t credible, while it couldn’t reach a determination on others.

xp

Gabbard now on the front page of the NYT for being Trump’s eyes and ears in the Georgia election raid. Is this even the story referenced above? Or just more Tulsi Tulsi-ing? The pearl-clutching about this is honestly pathetic. Like Trump is working closely with the FBI to persecute ppl who have wronged him? No shit!

Like can we just retire this sentence formula? They write it as if there’s any thought put into which “level” he has taken his actions

Even for a president who has radically transformed the Justice Department and the F.B.I. by trampling over their political independence and using them as tools for personal retribution, Mr. Trump appears to be taking that kind of involvement to a new level.

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:rbftmrlfcemtu2dqkyywtazu/bafkreidvsijarc64he2rp6wx77stz5f6dhnsdswmftm6auhhr6a6ijh72e@jpeg

were through the looking glass here people

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:rbftmrlfcemtu2dqkyywtazu/bafkreia4plxj7tyvykmtuum5qg5iv7h7ci6h5lrgail7zlggrinbxuoc6a@jpeg

if we can rock together, why can't we guac together

That's a lot of avocado toast

The people in charge of prosecuting Trump's political enemies are going to start meeting daily.

Justice Department officials are expected to meet Monday to discuss how to reenergize probes that are considered a top priority for President Donald Trump — reviewing the actions of officials who investigated him, according to a source familiar with the plan.

Almost immediately after Pam Bondi stepped into her role as attorney general last year, she established a “Weaponization Working Group” to review law enforcement actions taken under the Biden administration for any examples of what she described as “politicized justice.”

She said the group would focus on investigations into Trump conducted by former special counsel Jack Smith and his staff; Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York Attorney General Letitia James; and any “improper” investigations into the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.

But after a year, the group has not produced anything publicly.

In recent weeks, Trump has been pressuring Justice Department officials for results in these and other investigations, recently admonishing a group of US attorneys for failing to deliver on cases he wants brought.

The Weaponization Working Group is now expected to start meeting daily with the goal of producing results in the next two months, according to the person familiar with the plan.

A rightwing Brazilian influencer who claimed Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown targeted only “crooks” has been arrested by ICE agents in New Jersey.

Júnior Pena, whose full name is Eustáquio da Silva Pena Júnior, declared his support for the US president in a recent video message to his hundreds of thousands of social media followers.

“I [support] Donald Trump – I like the guy,” announced the South American TikToker and Instagrammer whose account purports to show “the reality of the United States” from a migrant’s perspective.

In a previous video, Pena reportedly urged Brazilians to stay calm and not “despair” after reports that ICE agents were rounding up migrants, including Brazilians. “But they’re all crooks. The lot of them,” he falsely claimed of the migrants being seized.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/02/rightwing-brazilian-influencer-junior-pena-arrested-by-ice

Ooooof

In recent weeks, Trump has been pressuring Justice Department officials for results in these and other investigations, recently admonishing a group of US attorneys for failing to deliver on cases he wants brought.

At the same time he reminded the DOJ that they should "go find me those 13,000 votes I needed in the 2020 Georgia election. Oh, and don't forget to nail that Raffensperger guy to the wall, too."

Every report about this is just evidence for the defense in whatever terrible cases they come up with. But as we were saying the other day, the point is not necessarily to put people in jail (tho they'd love to), but to bully and harass them as much as possible.

If the constitution survives all this it would be good to pass some more laws about the president not using federal police powers against opponents. Theoretically that's what the whole special prosecutor system is for, but Bondi's just totally ignoring all that. And god knows how much SCOTUS will even let them rein in the "unitary executive" — although more likely if it's a Democratic president.

A federal judge says Trump can't take away Haitians' TPS status, meaning they don't get to stage an ICE pogrom in Ohio like they were apparently planning. This is her conclusion:

There is an old adage among lawyers. If you have the facts on your side, pound the facts. If you have the law on your side, pound the law. If you have neither, pound the table.

Secretary Noem, the record to-date shows, does not have the facts on her side or at least has ignored them. Does not have the law on her side or at least has ignored it. Having neither and bringing the adage into the 21st century, she pounds X (f/k/a Twitter).

Kristi Noem has a First Amendment right to call immigrants killers, leeches, entitlement junkies, and any other inapt name she wants. Secretary Noem, however, is constrained by both our Constitution and the APA to apply faithfully the facts to the law in implementing the TPS program. The record to-date shows she has yet to do that.

By accompanying Order, the Court GRANTS Plaintiffs' Renewed Motion for a Stay under 5 U.S.C. § 705.

she's more of a puppy-pounder I think