Andrew Wimer

The latest from @jaredmcclain.bsky.social, a senior attorney at @ij.org, who represents Leonardo Garcia Venegas in a federal class-action lawsuit:

Opinion | He’s a citizen with a Real ID. ICE detained him anyway. Twice. Leo Garcia Venegas’s experience shows why Trump’s immigration raids are unconstitutional.

"When officers detain groups of people based on their occupation, their location, or 'how they look,' ... the stop will rarely — if ever — be justified."

-@ij.org's @jaredmcclain.bsky.social on ICE's unconstitutional work site raids. @postopinions.bsky.social
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

SCOTUS decision for case in Georgia could result in lawsuits against federal agent operations in Chicago Lawyer Patrick Jaicomo said he expects a tidal wave of lawsuits nationwide against federal agents by U.S. citizens and non-citizens in communities impacted the most by federal agents over the last sev...

Federal officers are abusing people in Chicago. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court cracked the door open for people all over the U.S. to get justice in a case brought by Trina Martin. She talks with @cbschicago.bsky.social about the legal battle: www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news...

Institute for Justice Since 1991, IJ has come to the aid of individuals who want to do the simple things every American has the right to do—including own property, start and grow a business, speak freely about commerce or ...

Press conference live at 11 am on www.youtube.com/user/Institu...

Swim Instructor Sues Columbia, SC, After City Changed Its Tune and Banned Her Backyard Business - Institute for Justice COLUMBIA, S.C.—Lifelong swim instructor Libby Souder has partnered with the Institute for Justice (IJ)to challenge the city of Columbia’s ban on backyard swim lessons, filing a lawsuit to […]

Press release with a link to the complaint is here: ij.org/press-releas...

Libby Souder taught swim lessons to kids in her backyard in Columbia, SC for years and she did it with the approval of the city. But last year, the city reinterpreted its rules and banned her backyard lessons. Now @ij.org is helping her fight back against abusive zoning rules.

Throughout the country, local governments are partnering with private companies to install automatic license plate reader cameras (#ALPRs) on their roadways.

But IJ is fighting back against mass surveillance.

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🔗: https://www.al.com/news/2025/10/alabama-citizen-detained-by-ice-twice-asks-judge-for-class-action.html 
A U.S. citizen who was arrested twice at work by federal agents is asking to expand his lawsuit to a class action case.

This is nowhere close to being true.

Two @ij.org clients are citizens who were arrested & @propublica.org found 168 more.

Plus, we have witness statements from others who--like most of the citizens caught up by Noem's tactics--didn't have their arrests recorded so they didn't make the news.

“We’ll Smash the Fucking Window Out and Drag Him Out” We’ve documented nearly 50 incidents of immigration officers shattering car windows to make arrests — a tactic experts say was rarely used before Trump took office. ICE claims its officers use a “mini...

Another blockbuster story from @nicolefoy.bsky.social. This time on immigration agents smashing windows. projects.propublica.org/trump-ice-sm... IJ client George Retes had his window smashed as agents were yelling contradictory directions, telling him to both back up his car and leave his car.

George Retes on His 3 Day ICE Detention

Homeland Security won't stop lying about who immigration enforcers are arresting In case after case, Homeland Security's Public Affairs Office releases incorrect information about arrests carried out by federal immigration officers.

Latest: I wrote about the DHS Office of Public Affairs shameless lies about ICE arrests and all the times it's lied to me and other reporters lately.

DHS did not respond to my request for comment about all the lies it's told. reason.com/2025/10/22/h...

More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days. The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes people who were held for days without a lawyer. And near...

The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes people who were held for days without a lawyer. And nearly 20 children, two of whom have cancer. @nicolefoy.bsky.social

I’ve been asked about Joe Arpaio and last decade’s “show me your papers” laws in a few interviews recently.

The current regime feels even worse because showing ICE your papers is not enough if you look Latino.

Officers just refuse to believe the papers are real.

ij.org/case/alabama...

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YouTube video by ABC News Alabama man sues federal government after being detained by ICE twice

Leo, an American citizen, was violently detained by immigration agents after he recorded them making an arrest. DHS claims he obstructed agents, but the cell footage shows the reality: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BeI...

IJ Defends U.S. Citizen Repeatedly Detained by Immigration Agents YouTube video by Institute for Justice

We streamed the press conference with @jaredmcclain.bsky.social: www.youtube.com/live/HUUTpkn...

YouTube video by Institute for Justice Innocent CITIZEN Arrested TWICE by ICE

Yesterday I was in Mobile to launch a new @ij.org case on behalf of a U.S. citizen detained multiple times by immigration enforcement. If the Fourth Amendment means anything, then law enforcement can't waltz onto private property and stop people who are doing nothing wrong: youtu.be/rYSfX9Wxs3M?...

WOW. Remember this May video of a US citizen wrestled to the ground by ICE agents and detained for an hour despite having a valid REAL ID?

It gets worse. Two weeks later, ICE did it AGAIN — handcuffed him and detained him for 20 minutes despite his REAL ID. Now the Institute for Justice is suing.

🚨 New Case Alert 🚨
Leo Garcia Venegas is an American citizen and construction worker in south Alabama.

Even though he has done nothing suspicious and is working on private property, Leo has been repeatedly detained (once violently) by federal officers enforcing immigration laws.
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‘I’m From Here!’: U.S. Citizens Are Ending Up in Trump’s Dragnet As immigration agents take a more aggressive approach, they have stopped and in some cases detained American citizens.

U.S. citizens, many of them Latino men, have been stopped and in some cases taken into custody by law enforcement officers who are carrying out President Trump’s immigration crackdown.

The only way to end the misuse of forfeiture funds is to end civil forfeiture, use criminal process to take property, and direct the proceeds to the general fund where the legislature can direct spending.

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From margarita machines to Zambonis to muscle cars, forfeiture funds have been abused over and over again. Just a few years ago, Georgia had a major scandal where millions of dollars was misdirected and then wasted by the Department of Revenue.

A former DA interviewed by a local TV station thinks that the newsletter falls outside the allowable uses of forfeiture funds. But the bigger problem is giving police and prosecutors what is essentially a slush fund.

Policing for Profit - Institute for Justice Nationwide, civil forfeiture is a massive threat to property and due process rights. So finds the third edition of Policing for Profit: The Abuse of Civil Asset Forfeiture.

The government can take money through civil forfeiture without convicting and sometimes without ever charging someone with a crime. And Georgia has weak protections for innocent owners. ij.org/report/polic...

The money to pay for this came from the civil forfeiture fund, which the DA's statement says isn't "taxpayer money." But that doesn't make it better, since the money could have come from innocent people.

According to a spokesperson and a statement on the DA's Facebook page, this is a communication for "victims and witnesses." While there are a few pages about convictions secured by the office, it's overwhelmingly glamor shots of the DA.

Justice Journal The Justice Journal is a publication from the Macon Judicial Circuit that coincides with Changing the Face of Justice Day, an annual event hosted by DA Howard.

In 26 pages, there are more than 60 photos of the DA giving awards, attending community events, and handing out big checks to charities: www.maconjudicialcircuitda.com/news/justice...

The Bibb County DA used nearly $50,000 to print and mail the "Justice Journal," which is a ridiculous piece of self-promotion. You would think that it's a campaign mailer but it was paid for with public funds.

Forfeiture Funds Encourage Law Enforcement To Misspend Public Money Civil forfeiture money goes into accounts controlled by prosecutors and police. The result is often wasted money. A Georgia DA used funds for a self-serving newsletter.

Read about it here and more in the thread: www.forbes.com/sites/instit...