Vinny Eng

It’s not “left-wing” to want to avoid consigning people to squalid refugee camps along the Rio Grande where kidnappers prey on the vulnerable, nor is it “left-wing” to believe that asylum laws must be enforced.

Now, did many of the Biden admin’s policies fail? Yes. But that’s a different question!

Trump’s approval rating on immigration CRATERED in 2018-2019 as he enacted family separation in 2018, and then as people saw the appalling conditions in Border Patrol custody in 2019.

Biden’s efforts to provide expanded pathways for refugees and asylum seekers was arguably the popularist position!

Can I also just say, again, that the Biden admin under no circumstances committed to “left-wing” migration policy, in any way, shape, or form. I want Douthat to articulate what specific policies he thinks are included in that, because I think he seriously misunderstands the policies at issue.

the party now cared more about climate change and various academic fixations than cheap energy and good-paying jobs.

This right here, this exact sentence, is THE problem in American political journalism.

The IRA *was* cheap energy and good jobs! That was the whole bill! Democrats did precisely what political pundits are telling them to do and the pundits just ignore it.

Can Democrats Accept the Obvious?

The most obvious thing in politics is often the hardest to admit: If you lose an election, the best thing that you can do to make sure you win the next one is to find a message that puts you closer to the median voter than you were the last time around.

It is time to admit that Republicans won the 2024 election by running to the center.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/01/o...

Evanston Mayor Dan Biss on today’s ICE raids in his community: “What federal agents are doing in Evanston right now is monstrous.”

“.. the Times editorial board has compiled a list of 12 markers of democratic erosion .. The sobering reality is that the United States has regressed, to different degrees, on all 12.”

@nytopinion.nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

This Month in Criminalization — Interrupting Criminalization The October edition of Interrupting Criminalization’s This Month in Criminalization newsletter shares a message from IC co-founder Andrea J. Ritchie amid the torrent of horrible, alarming news and dev...

"Courage is collective, and requires us to come together as often as possible in community." —our co-founder @dreanyc123.bsky.social in our latest "This Month in Criminalization" newsletter

Read for more, as well as recent policy info/updates re: criminalization, resources, and ways to take action:

To recap: Trump is spending money Congress never appropriated to pay federal employees with guns, and cutting programs and grants even when Congress has appropriated funds.
They literally have a contingency fund for SNAP that they are refusing to use.
No Speaker has done more to weaken Congress.

BASH: You all found ways to pay the military and WIC. But why are you drawing the line now on 40 million Americans who literally will not be able to eat with govt assistance?

MIKE JOHNSON: If we had a contingency fund we could use, that would be done.


BASH: They say that's not what the law shows

Abolishing the death penalty is good actually, and we should do it because it's the right thing to do.

The scale of need is astronomical. Unfortunately the next few days and weeks are going to be catastrophic.

i mean i don't think you can separate any of this discussion from the fact that so many of the participants are men who clearly have hang-ups about their inability to perform a certain kind of blue collar masculinity

There is both hope and horror in this but I will take the hope.
h/t @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social

Quite a world when a federal judge has to call in a federal official to specifically tell him he can't use tear gas on children in Halloween costumes

(correctly) pointing out how badly this misunderstands the Revolution misses the point. These people have no coherent ideology and aren't trying to; they digest any imagery involving a heroic individual doling out violence and imagine themselves doing it to whoever they insist deserves it.

Climate change DEFINITELY affects hurricane:

STRENGTH: Warmer water is hurricane food

RAINFALL: Warm air holds more water vapor

SURGE: Warmer water expands, warmer ice melts, sea levels rise

PREDICTION: hotter seas mean faster intensification

U.S. immigration leadership is reportedly being revamped in the image of a Border Patrol chief who will be in federal court TOMORROW for allegedly violating a court order by personally throwing two tear gas canisters into a crowd without provocation.

More on him here youtu.be/7PER0Pcc800?...

This is a good illustration of what’s happening tonight re ICE leadership purge. Posts and caption identify this dude as ICE, but his uniform says Border Patrol. A LOT of the most aggro stuff that has been casually attributed to ICE (esp in Chicago and LA, and in Portland in 2020) was actually CBP.

Behind the Dismantling of the C.D.C.: Reform or ‘Humiliation’?

The CDC has lost a third of its work force this year. The Trump administration maintains that the losses are necessary, but critics say that there is no real plan, only animosity.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/27/h...

If you make 130% of the federal poverty level, you qualify for SNAP.

A family of four, making $40,560, qualifies for SNAP benefits meaning thousands of Missouri teachers qualify.

I’m tired of the bullshit. Most of the people who receive snap benefits work.

I don't want to overdo my personal hobby horse, but this is an example of "sheriff policing mentality" over progressive urban police (both bad but in different ways).

THIS is the reason why I have consistently tried to emphasize that Border Patrol and ICE are different agencies with different duties and different leadership and different styles.

Border Patrol are the aggro cowboys compared to ICE. Now they're going to be the ones running the show.

Bill Melugin @BillMelugin_ BREAKING: Per four senior DHS & Trump admin sources, a mass removal of ICE leadership around the country is underway, with up to 12 ICE field office chiefs being removed & reassigned in an effort to increase deportation numbers. I'm told the move is spearheaded by Corey Lewandowski, and a handful of the ICE Chiefs will likely be replaced by Border Patrol & CBP officials, some of whom will be hand-picked by aggressive & controversial Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino. I'm told some of the ICE leadership removed from their positions include the ICE Field Office Directors in: - Los Angeles - Phoenix - Philadelphia - Denver - El Paso - San Diego - Seattle/Portland - New Orleans Border Patrol officials taking over ICE leadership positions would be extremely significant, as Border Patrol and ICE do different things, and I've done numerous ride-alongs/embeds with both.

Generally speaking, ICE typically conducts very targeted operations, largely going after criminal illegal aliens or those with deportation orders, but almost always knowing who they are targeting for arrest, often conducting surveillance to learn their schedules before and waiting hours before arresting them if needed. Border Patrol, under Trump 2.0, while sometimes doing their own targeted operations, has been extremely aggressive and has been at the forefront of some of the most controversial immigration enforcement operations we've seen so far, carrying out roving patrols in Los Angeles, Chicago, etc, often at Home Depot, car washes, flea markets etc, leading to a handful of federal judges around the country issuing injunctions against them. A majority of the viral videos you see online are Border Patrol agents, including the use of a Trojan horse style Penske moving truck at a Los Angeles Home Depot, an operation organized by Bovino. ICE often gets blamed for what Border Patrol does, as the media and activists often cannot tell the difference between federal agents, and everyone is called "ICE". I'm told there are growing concerns about the political and PR fallout associated with some of the roving patrols Border Patrol is conducting as lawsuits continue to stack up and mid-terms approach next year.

I'm told there is significant friction within different wings of DHS and the administration, with Border Czar Tom Homan & ICE Director Todd Lyons preferring to prioritize targeting criminal aliens & the "worst of the worst" or those with deportation orders, while DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Corey Lewandowski, and BP Commander Bovino prefer to use aggressive tactics to arrest anyone in the US illegally, including but not limited to criminals, to ramp up deportation numbers and achieve President Trump's promises of mass deportations. I am hearing from both sides of this friction. One senior DHS official tells me: "ICE started with the worst of the worst, knowing every target they are hitting, but since Border Patrol started in LA in June, we've (DHS) lost our focus, going too hard, too fast, with limited prioritization. It's getting numbers, but at what cost?". Border Patrol agents I've talked to defend their tactics, with one telling me: "What did everyone think mass deportations meant? Only the worst? Tom Homan has said it himself, anyone in the US illegally is on the table."

It's quite a situation, as both sides of this are on the same team, with the same end goals, but different perspectives on how to get there. Another DHS official confirmed the personnel changes to me on deep background, adding that the moves are based on performance and doing what is needed to achieve the best results. Official statement to @FoxNews via @TriciaOhio : "While we have no personnel changes to announce at this time, the Trump Administration remains laser focused on delivering results and removing violent criminal illegal aliens from this country." 7:57 PM · Oct 27, 2025 · 29.6K Views

🚨BIG changes happening -- ICE leadership is being purged tonight. The old guard, which prioritized targeted enforcement operations aimed at people with criminal records, is being replaced with Border Patrol and Gregory Bovino's "Midway Blitz" style.

Think things are bad now? It'll get worse.

Bigots in the tent What did you think winning meant? vibes? papers? essays? losers.

this feels completely banal? yes, a big tent political party is going to include voters who have bigoted views. i don’t think anyone has argued otherwise? the actual question at hand is “to what extent should a political party ostensibly committed to equality appeal to popular prejudices?”

The only check-and-balance that actually matters

The destruction of the East Wing is a reminder that America has violated the only check-and-balance that actually ends up mattering: www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/the-only-c...

At this point, negotiating with the opposition party -- something that happens routinely in a democracy -- will be toxic to Trump's brand as a dictator, so he's balking.
When the inevitable deal is struck, Trump will be a weakened tyrant, as I discussed in PN.

FBI cuts ties with Southern Poverty Law Center after MAGA push The SPLC is the second civil rights group to lose its affiliation with the agency this week.

🧵3 days ago, on Friday, the FBI officially abandoned white nationalism as its top domestic terror concern.

Long-standing partnerships with the Southern Poverty Law Center & Anti-Defamation League over.

Finished. Kaput.

Plus...

Monstrous and inhumane. Our neighbors are being tortured

If the Court sides with GEO Group (and a military contractor in a separate case), private firms could be shielded from nearly all lawsuits — from abuse in immigration detention centers to negligence in war zones.