Anna Hickey

i simply do not think the "2016 and 2024 prove america will never elect a woman" people in the QTs are expressing a savvy political wisdom as much as they are expressing cope

There's no reason for there to be discourse about the 2028 democratic primary before literally anyone has announced their candidacy

the hope rests almost entirely on the backs of ordinary Americans who have served admirably on juries (both petite & grand) as well as judges who have served as a bulwark of liberalism and democracy over the past year

I feel both more hopeful about the future of American democracy than I did in February 2025 and much more scared about what the Trump administration will do as it becomes more obvious they will lose

the statute that Jeanine Pirro reportedly tried to indict congressional Dems under, 18 USC 2387, was originally passed as part of the 1947 Smith Act, a notorious law used to clamp down on free speech during the Red Scare

JD Vance getting booed so loudly at the Olympics is hopefully a harbinger for what the reaction will be in the 2028 LA Olympics

Children trapped in Texas immigration facility recount nightmares, inedible food, no school A photo of Liam Conejo Ramos, a scared 5-year-old, drew attention to a detention center in Dilley, Texas. Advocates say his experience reflects what hundreds of children have endured out of public vie...

Maria is one of hundreds of children, who — like Liam Ramos — have been held at a Texas detention facility where parents say children languish as they’re served contaminated food, receive little education and struggle to obtain basic medical care.

Here's our attempt at telling their stories. 2/

Woke 2.0 back with a vengeance. You love to see it.

Had to drive in DC today because of an emergency and truly this city does not plow their streets for shit

Genuinely don't understand how it's still January

imo of all the formal political institutions in US life, the judiciary has given the best account of itself by a pretty large margin (with the obvious exception of SCOTUS) and a younger me was way more dismissive of the courts than history would prove deserved

the extent to which this administration is out of control is really summed up by the fact that they immediately went with “this was an armed terrorist there to kill law enforcement” knowing that video from multiple angles completely disproving them was out there and would be seen by everyone

It is clear that abuses committed by ICE and other federal agents—including today’s apparent execution of an unarmed man in the street—are so widespread that the country will need to undergo a major truth and reconciliation process, in addition to pursuing justice through prosecutions.

(also I got free tickets because I know someone performing)

At a Kennedy center performance but in a woke way (whenever I see Trump's name I shake my head and give and thumbs down)

The third lecture in @lawfaremedia.org's lecture series on the intellectual movement that has emerged around Trumpism hosted by @lkatfield.bsky.social is now up!

You can watch the series at: www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Deeply grateful for @jamellebouie.net's video on why trump can't just cancel the midterms - i feel like 1 out of 3 conversations I have IRL about politics include people who are so convinced there won't be 2026 elections

Every elected official should just be sworn in on Jan 1st or 2nd. It's so silly it's done any other way

You’ve Heard About Who ICE Is Recruiting. The Truth Is Far Worse. I’m the Proof. What happens when you do minimal screening before hiring agents, arming them, and sending them into the streets? We're all finding out.

A few months ago, ICE hired me

I didn't sign and submit any paperwork. I almost certainly failed the drug test. I'm real outspoken about my opposition to the Trump administration, and I am extremely googlable

And yet, there it was, in plain English. "Welcome to ICE!"

My latest for Slate

i think powell's response here is a demonstration of the folly of the idea that democratic accountability requires presidential control. what if the president is not acting in the public interest? you want independent agencies to be able to push back and pursue their *congressional mandate*

going along with Erik Erikson's "AWFUL" post—white women, if they are not conservative or don't present themselves as sufficiently feminine, are automatically appropriate targets for violence

YouTube video by Lawfare Lawfare Daily: The Legal Fallout After a Fatal ICE Shooting in Minneapoli

In a special edition of Lawfare Daily, @annabower.bsky.social spoke to @ericcolumbus.bsky.social and @michael-feinberg.bsky.social about the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE officer in Minneapolis, the federal government’s reported investigation of the shooting, and more.

Distraught woman says ICE killed her wife in video after deadly Minneapolis shooting “They killed my wife,” the distraught woman says, adding, “They shot her in the head.”

NEWS: In a heartbreaking video, after ICE shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis, a woman who was in the same SUV cries out: “They killed my wife. I don’t know what to do."

“We stopped to videotape, and they shot her in the head,” the distraught woman sobs.

www.advocate.com/news/minneso...

ICE agents stopped by protesters after the shooting an observer in Minneapolis, according to witnesse. ICE deployed pepper spray and tear gas.

Matt Walsh tweeted last year: "We've spent the last 25 years bringing "freedom" and "democracy" to countries around the globe while our own country has been systematically invaded and now our largest cities are run by foreigners and communists. If you want to know why I'm so avowedly non-interventionist, this is why." Then he tweeted today: ""This is a war for oil!!!!!" First of all, the "war" lasted like 90 minutes. Second, going to war to secure vital resources for your own people is totally legitimate. Why should we allow some third world communist shithole to control trillions of dollars worth of oil?"

Laura Loomer tweeted last year: "I’m America First, I don’t support “Regime Change”. I went on @Bannons_WarRoom to talk about Chinese aggression in Venezuela and why we need to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign Islamic terrorist organization." Then she tweeted yesterday: "Maduro has arrived at the DEA office in Manhattan. He was transported in an armored motorcade after being transported in a blindfold via helicopter & then by plane to New York after his compound in Caracas was raided by US Special Forces. Proud to be an American today! USA 🇺🇸"

Catturd tweeted last year: "Name one U.S. inspired regime change that hasn’t ended in absolute disaster." Then he tweeted yesterday: "Venezuela is now more free than New York City."

Will Chamberlain tweeted last year: "The Republican Party is no longer the party of regime change and endless wars If you want to be its standard-bearer that is a non-negotiable position" Then he tweeted yesterday: "I can think of few better uses of my tax dollars than black-bagging the head of a foreign narco-trafficking organization that enriches itself by addicting and poisoning my fellow Americans"

amazing how the entire machine can pivot within 24 hours. no need to slowly upsell the argument; just issue new marching orders

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Ruling is at least partially based on the argument over the definition of the term “regular forces” in used in Section 12406(3) that @martylederman.bsky.social had first identified in his appellate brief.

Listen to him discuss his brief in a previous Lawfare Live:

I am biased but the first two videos in @lawfaremedia.org and @situ-research.bsky.social's new investigative video series are incredible. A must watch for understanding the current state of immigration enforcement

B. No Order of Removal Exists for Abrego Garcia No such order of removal exists for Abrego Garcia. When Abrego Garcia was first wrongly expelled to El Salvador, the Court struggled to understand the legal authority for even seizing him in the first place. At the first hearing in Abrego I, the Court inquired of Respondents’ counsel: The Court: I want to ask, though, the very specific question, if there is a final order of removal, what . . . document got this process started? There is no warrant for his arrest by an order of removal. There is no statement of probable cause. There’s no charge. There’s no report that says that anyone saw Mr. Abrego Garcia doing anything illegal or criminal. So what is the actual document that gave these officers the authority to start this process? Counsel: That is not in the record, and the government has not put that into the record. And that’s the best I can do. Abrego I, ECF No. 33 at 21:11–22. The Court continued to press counsel about the existence of a removal order and was told plainly that none can be found:

The Court: Okay. So if there’s a Title 8 removal order, there would be an order of removal that’s being executed, and we don’t have one for Mr. Abrego Garcia, right? . . . Do you have that order? . . . Is it in the record? Counsel: I do not have that order. It is not in the record. Id. at 23:7–24:4. Since that time, Respondents have never produced an order of removal despite Abrego Garcia hinging much of his jurisdictional and legal arguments on its non-existence. ECF No. 1 ¶¶ 68–69; ECF No. 32 at 10, 15–17, 27; ECF No. 87 at 11–12. Indeed, Respondents twice sponsored the testimony of ICE officials whose job it is to effectuate removal orders, and who candidly admitted to having never seen one for Abrego Garcia. See ECF No. 107 at 30:16–22 (testimony of Cantú) (“Q: Based upon your many years of experience you described to us, you know what a final order of removal looks like, right, sir? Cantú: I do. Q: And have you seen a final order of removal in regard to Mr. Abrego Garcia? Cantú: I have not.”). See also Abrego I, ECF No. 234 at 46:6–12 (testimony of interim Assistant Director for ICE Removal Operations, Thomas Giles (“Giles”)) (“Q: You have not seen the final order of removal, have you, sir? Giles: What do you mean by that? Q: I mean, you have not seen a piece of paper that represents the final order of removal vis-a-vis Mr. Abrego Garcia, correct? Giles: No, I have not.”).15 Based on this, the Court concludes that no order of removal exists.

🚨Judge Xinis finds that, incredibly, Mr. Abrego Garcia was never ordered deported in 2019. She notes that every since this saga began all the way back in March, the government has NEVER been able to produce any evidence that the immigration judge actually issued a removal order.

1. Petitioner Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia’s Petition for habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 at ECF No. 1 is hereby GRANTED; 2. Respondents SHALL release Abrego Garcia from ICE custody immediately; 3. Respondents SHALL notify Abrego Garcia’s counsel of the exact time and location of his release no fewer than four hours prior to releasing him, and notify the Court of the status of Abrego Garcia’s release by email to chambers no later than 5:00 p.m. today, Thursday, December 11, 2025; 4. A representative of the United States Pretrial Services Office for this District SHALL separately contact Abrego Garcia’s criminal counsel with further instruction for installation on the release conditions previously imposed in his criminal case, United States v. Abrego Garcia, No. 3:25-CR-00115-1 (M.D. Tenn.);

Today, Judge Paula Xinis granted Kilmar Abrego Garcia's petition for habeas corpus and ordered Abrego Garcia to be released from ICE custody immediately. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...