Spencer Reynolds

Palantir Is Extending Its Reach Even Further Into Government Palantir has become one of the few winners in the Trump administration’s cost-cutting efforts, offering other contractors a lifeline while consolidating its own reach and power.

NEW: Palantir is greatly expanding its footprint within the US government as it becomes the Trump administration's "go-to software developer," reports @makenakelly.bsky.social www.wired.com/story/palant...

Tallassee police arrest Chuck E. Cheese employee in full costume for credit card fraud with kids and their parents watching 👀

The officer, grabbing the employee, referred to him as the character himself, "Chuck E, come with me, Chuck E"

www.tallahassee.com/story/news/l...

Preventing Woke AI in the Federal Government By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1.  Purpose.

1/ Yesterday, the Trump administration announced its AI Action Plan - a pillar of which is an executive order that vows to end federal procurement of “woke AI.” The order would not only chill speech but also make the technology more unreliable and untrustworthy.

www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

NEW: U.S. Border Patrol says it needs "advanced AI" to "identify and track suspicious activity in urban environment[s]" and "dense residential areas," according to a presentation document I obtained theintercept.com/2025/07/23/c...

Border Patrol Wants Advanced AI to Spy on American Cities A Customs and Border Protection “Industry Day” deck also asks for drones, seismic sensors, and tech that can see through walls.

Border Patrol is buying new tech... "advanced AI" to surveil dense residential areas? Automated surveillance towers? Tech to see through walls??

I talked to @sambiddle.com of @theintercept.com about serious risks amid the agency's increasingly aggressive behavior.

theintercept.com/2025/07/23/c...

Amazon Ring Cashes in on Techno-Authoritarianism and Mass Surveillance Ring founder Jamie Siminoff is back at the helm of the surveillance doorbell company, and with him is the surveillance-first-privacy-last approach that made Ring one of the most maligned tech devices....

Amazon Ring is introducing a new feature that would allow police to request live-stream access to people’s home security devices.

Helllll no. If you have one of those things, get rid of it. Kill it with fire

Inside ICE’s Supercharged Facial Recognition App of 200 Million Images 404 Media has seen user manuals for Mobile Fortify, ICE’s new facial recognition app which allows officers to instantly look up DHS, State Department, and state law enforcement databases by just point...

This is truly wild: @josephcox.bsky.social got the user manual for ICE's new facial recognition app, which appears to be one of the most powerful face rec systems ever because it is connected to tons of different government databases and surveillance systems

www.404media.co/inside-ices-...

Flight Manifests Reveal Dozens of Previously Unknown People on Three Deportation Flights to El Salvador Hacked data obtained by 404 Media reveals dozens more people on deportation flights to El Salvador who are unaccounted for. “We have not heard from these people’s families, so I think perhaps even the...

"In addition to the names of people who were on the list CBS News published, the GlobalX flight manifests contain the names of dozens of people who were supposedly on the flights but whose status and existence has not been acknowledged by the U.S. government or previously reported in the press."

Budget Bill Massively Increases Funding for Immigration Detention The influx of money comes as the administration is resisting congressional oversight of conditions at ICE facilities.

The so-called big beautiful bill — now signed into law — will create a deportation-industrial complex like this country has never seen, allocating $175 billion over the next 4 years with the goal of deporting 1 million immigrants each year. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ana... 1/14

Los esfuerzos federales para castigar a las ciudades santuario son inconstitucionales Mientras los estados y las ciudades pueden elegir si asisten en la implementación de las leyes federales, la Décima Enmienda establece que el gobierno de EE. UU. no puede obligarlos a colaborar.

Mientras que los estados pueden optar por asistir a implementar leyes federales, el gobierno de EE. UU. no puede “apropiarse” de los recursos de los estados exigiendo su participación, o amenazándolos con enjuiciarlos o retener los fondos de los estados que decidan no colaborar. #BrennanEnEspañol

Los esfuerzos federales para castigar a las ciudades santuario son inconstitucionales Mientras los estados y las ciudades pueden elegir si asisten en la implementación de las leyes federales, la Décima Enmienda establece que el gobierno de EE. UU. no puede obligarlos a colaborar.

Como han recalcado expertos de todo el espectro político, las leyes santuario en materia de migración promueven la seguridad, mejoran la participación comunitaria con la policía y fomentan el desarrollo económico. #BrennanEnEspañol
bit.ly/46JkCpd

Yesterday SCOTUS gave the go-ahead for the Trump admin to dismantle the Department of Education. How can states respond? State Court Report & @brennancenter.org are holding a virtual event TODAY at 3pm ET with an all-star panel. RSVP below! www.brennancenter.org/events/troub...

BREAKING: A federal court blocked DHS from racial profiling and denying immigrants access to counsel when arrested.

No matter your status, skin color or the language your speak, we all are guaranteed constitutional rights from unlawful stops.

Every immigrant worker in California has felt the impact of unconstitutional raids based on racial profiling.

This legal victory will help protect workers from being stopped, harassed, or detained simply for looking brown and working hard.

For the past 20-plus years, virtually every worst-case scenario civil liberties advocates warned would happen again in the internet era—from commercialize surveillance to the rights-erasing chilling effect—has come true.

BREAKING: Judge rules that during its large-scale enforcement operation in LA, DHS/ICE has been arresting people without probable cause -- based on factors like accent and line of work.

She orders the agencies to stop.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

For months now, President Trump has been violating immigration law and the Administrative Procedure Act to shred due process for people being deported through expedited removal. There are cases pending, but they haven't gotten anywhere so far, despite unbelievably blatant violations of the law.

Cops’ favorite AI tool automatically deletes evidence of when AI was used AI police tool is designed to avoid accountability, watchdog says.

arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...

Priced Out of Phone Calls Home - Bolts The FCC blocked Biden-era limits on the exorbitant rates and fees charged by prison telecom companies, leaving incarcerated people and their families to fight for state-level reforms.

Prison phone calls are a crucial lifeline: They help incarcerated people & families stay in touch. Some go into debt just for the calls.

So why am I worried? Because the FCC just blocked a rule that made prison calls affordable. Now fewer folks will be connected. boltsmag.org/north-caroli...

The National Insurance Crime Bureau, which approves law enforcement like ICE to access this database, is headed by David Glawe. Glawe was head of Department of Homeland Security intelligence during the first Trump Administration.

www.nicb.org/about-nicb/l...

ICE Is Searching a Massive Insurance and Medical Bill Database to Find Deportation Targets The database, called ISO ClaimSearch, is nearly all encompassing and contains details on more than 1.8 billion insurance claims and 58 million medical bills.

New from 404 Media: ICE is searching a massive insurance and medical bill database to find deportation targets, according to internal ICE material. The database is all encompassing, contains details on 1.8 billion insurance claims and 58 million medical bills www.404media.co/ice-is-searc...

Yet the U.S. government continues to bring suits to browbeat states into compliance with federal policy goals.

These efforts are clearly contrary to the Constitution. Lawsuits will continue to pile up, either as the U.S. government tries make states submit to its will, or states push back. /7

Injunction granted to San Francisco, other cities challenging Trump sanctuary city crackdown A federal judge in California issued a preliminary injunction Thursday blocking the Trump administration from pulling funds from so-called "sanctuary cities" in response to a lawsuit brought by San Fr...

Courts have already settled similar claims. In 2018, a federal judge struck down efforts to claw back federal funds as punishment.

In San Francisco earlier this year, the same judge entered a similar order, saying, exasperated, “here we are again.” 6/
www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco...

The lawsuits are an attempt to punish existing sanctuary jurisdictions and dissuade others from joining them. Sanctuary laws vary across cities and states, but they typically involve the jurisdiction withholding active assistance from federal immigration enforcement. These laws may prohibit the initial collection of immigration status information, limit the sharing of identity information with federal agencies, or direct jail personnel to decline requests to detain immigrants simply so immigration agents may pick them up. No sanctuary laws authorize city or state officers to actively obstruct federal enforcement, and many have exceptions that allow sharing of information about certain serious crimes. Moreover, as experts across the ideological spectrum have noted, immigration sanctuary laws can promote safety, enhance community engagement with police, and foster economic development.

But as I explain, sanctuary laws are quite limited and simply allow cities to opt out of federal enforcement, not obstruct it: 5/

That’s exactly what is happening with the claims in its lawsuit against Los Angeles—and six others. The suits claim sanctuary laws violate federal law and “discriminate” against federal immigration officers.

The government paints state inaction as active obstruction. 4/

The U.S. government violates these tenets when it tries illegally to “commandeer” state resources for its own purposes.

It can do that by demanding participation in the enforcement of federal law, or by threatening criminal prosecution or to withhold funds for opting out. 3/

Tenth Amendment: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

The 10th Amendment reserves powers not granted to the federal government to the states and people.

Legal doctrine makes clear the U.S. government can’t coerce cities or states into enforcing federal law.

States can choose to, but can’t be made to do it. 2/

Federal Efforts to Punish Sanctuary Cities Are Unconstitutional While states and cities can choose to help enforce federal law, the 10th Amendment means that the U.S. government can’t force them to do so.

The United States sued Los Angeles over its sanctuary laws, which direct agencies not to help federal immigration enforcement. The suit follows others, and threats to cut funding and prosecute local officials.

These actions violate the Constitution: 1/
www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ana...

CoreCivic—private prison contractor and ICE detention operator—giving back to the community, and celebrating Juneteenth (comments disabled).

One of many misguided priorities in this bill.