Ben Watson

It's easy to look at this and say: These people just need to choose reliable sources.

But: How should they determine what's reliable? Teachers and professors are scared to touch anything that seems political, including helping students distinguish reliable from unreliable sources of news. 1/

White words on a black background read: 50+ Immigration agents have the authority to detain whom they reasonably suspect are in the country illegally. We found more than 50 Americans who were held after agents questioned their citizenship. They were almost all Latino. ~130 Agents also can arrest citizens who allegedly interfered with or assaulted officers. We compiled cases of about 130 Americans, including a dozen elected officials, accused of assaulting or impeding officers. ~20 Among the citizens detained are nearly 20 children, including two with cancer.

Hi, I'm the ProPublica reporter who's been tracking an unusual stat: U.S. citizens grabbed by immigration agents.

I did it because the government isn’t.

This is what I found.

Post from WH about Chicago "in chaos," showing scene from another state.

A terrific AFP fact check uses reverse image searches to expose how a White House video took scenes from Florida, Texas, South Carolina and Nebraska and lied that they showed "Chicago is in chaos."
factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....

ICE impersonator incidents rise during Trump’s second term | CNN A CNN review has found two dozen incidents of people posing as ICE officers in 2025 – more incidents than during the prior four presidential terms combined.

A CNN review has found two dozen incidents of people posing as ICE officers in 2025 – more incidents than during the prior four presidential terms combined.

I mean yes this is funny, but the fact that these unconstitutional stormtroopers are so directionless that they literally stand around waiting for random nonwhite delivery guys to bike past them is just pathetic. No mandate, no mission, no clue. Just racism.

the story correctly notes that crime is down in chicago, violent crime is down in chicago, and u.s. citizens, not immigrants, commit most of those crimes

yet these guys are kitted out like they're raiding osama bin laden's compound

Overheard at the Pentagon: “I’ve got my five points ready. I’ve been a productive member of society.”

The struggle over democracy is not just one among many issues. It’s an overarching concern that transcends and permeates all areas of public policy. It sets the conditions for how we determine who belongs, whose sensibilities and rights count, how we deal with all the collective action challenges.

Source: "Is This Democracy" podcast, episode 37 // Jan 24, 2025
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/3...

“That’s not like the be all end all explanation for everything that’s going on," @thomaszimmer.bsky.social, Georgetown University historian, replied. "But I think that’s a good—if you put that at the center of your interpretation of what’s going on, I think you’re on the right track,” he said.

Regarding Trump's desire to end birthright citizenship by reinterpreting the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment, here's an interesting note of contrast by @lilymasonphd.bsky.social, political scientist at Johns Hopkins University:

Defense One Radio, Ep. 170: Year in review We listen back on more than a dozen guests from conversations across 2024.

A fascinating crash course in national security in 2024, from @defenseone.bsky.social and @benwatson.bsky.social. www.defenseone.com/ideas/2024/1...

The D Brief: Seoul’s six-hour self-coup; Trump’s SecArmy pick; Palantir’s 18 theses; Lockheed braces; And a bit more.

We noted these and other related points in our newsletter today, which you can check out or subscribe to here: www.defenseone.com/threats/2024...

But if Ron DeSantis (the man responsible for the Martha's Vineyard stunt) winds up as Trump's pick to run the Pentagon, we can expect more misrepresentations like this when it comes to immigration policy—especially since the Martha's Vineyard allegation was spread by DeSantis himself.

Time will tell how far Trump can take his campaign promise to launch the “largest deportation operation in American history." After all, he campaigned on building a border wall in 2016 and that was never completed. But Team Trump, of course, has more experience and guidance this time around.

Why bring it up: Team Trump 2.0 is reportedly preparing for two main objectives in the year ahead.
• changes to border security/immigration policy
• and a return of Trump 1.0 tax cuts

www.semafor.com/article/12/0...

The claim purports to reveal hypocrisy—a powerful allegation, in this case seeking permission by precedent—when (to me) it seems closer to whataboutism and a kind of projection, if not the classic political deception/lies.

DeSantis wrong: Migrants not deported on Martha's Vineyard As he moves toward a potential bid for president, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has highlighted his efforts to crack down on

It's fairly easy to check into this and discover the claim is not true.

See here, e.g.
• www.politifact.com/factchecks/2...
• www.politifact.com/factchecks/2...
• www.npr.org/2022/09/16/1...

Here's a deceptive and inaccurate claim we may see + hear again in the coming months.

Democrats: “Trump can’t use the military to help deport illegals!"
Also Democrats: Called in the National Guard to deport 50 illegals out of Martha’s Vineyard to a military base within 48 hours of their arrival.

🎙️Our first author interview of 2024 just posted Friday: www.defenseone.com/threats/2024...

It's a revealing conversation about the recent history of anti-government, far-right militancy in America, with @cfr.org's Bruce Hoffman and Jacob Ware.

Check out their new book→ www.cfr.org/book/god-gun...