Esther S. Yoo

Iranian journalist reports in front of the flames of a burning Oil depot.

Four people smiling: a young man wearing leis and three women

Fast forward to today, I'm so proud of Danicole, Stephanie, and Pilar for fighting the good fight in an incredibly challenging time, with compassion, hard work & tenacity.

(And in a "only in Hawai'i" twist, our boxing teacher is now a guard at the detention center where we visit detainees.)

I felt out of place without a neck tattoo and vape. I wore running shoes because a public defender friend warned me that a fight would probably break out in the stands at some point (it did) and the police would be called.

Danicole was one of the first people I met when I moved to the islands. I knew he was special when he got me to take boxing/HIIT lessons with him, and when our teacher had a boxing match in a HS gym in Ewa Beach convinced me to go by telling me I would get to see "the real Hawai'i"

Cover of Hawaii Business magazine with 20 for the next 20 honorees

Article about Danicole Ramos

Congrats to our post-JD fellow Danicole Ramos on being named one of Hawaii Business Magazine's "20 for the next 20" honorees 🫶

Puppies everywhere are cheering

Four people smiling and standing in front of strands of paper cranes on branches.

Hawai'i is lucky to have great congressional representatives with very accessible and responsive immigration staffers.

Today we got to thank one of the very best, Justine from Sen. Hirono's office. Usually the reward for good work is more work, but today we brought a lei and a roll cake instead. 🤙

the one who loved horses, the one who was a great goalkeeper, the one who kept a diary every day, the one who held her sister's hand when they walked to school, the one who read Harry Potter in English, the one who collected old coins, the one who drew rainbows for her grandmother ...

I'd love to mahalo the events team, IT staff and my faculty support assistant Julie. Without their labor, nothing like this talk would ever get done. ❤️

Trump Immigration Sweeps Spawn Underground Safe Houses In Springfield, Ohio, some Americans have converted their basements and spare bedrooms into shelters for immigrant families who could be targeted in raids.

More than 10,000 Haitians call Springfield, Ohio, home. Trying to protect their neighbors from immigration raids, some of the city’s residents have converted their basements and spare bedrooms into shelters for Haitian families who could be targeted by the Trump administration.

this suggests that iowa fundamentally misunderstands the purpose of a sandwich, like, as a state

#nebraska

Some local reporting background from @amelianews.bsky.social on the West Virginia jails at issue from earlier this month: westvirginiawatch.com/2026/02/05/a...

#kansas #oklahoma #colorado

#mississippi

#arkansas

Map of US with 36 states in blue and 14 states in grey

I've always wanted to visit all 50 states and hope I can do so in the next few years. (The grey states on the map are the ones I have yet to visit.) Looking up Bluesky posts about each state has turned out to be a great way to learn about, and "meet" people from, these places.

I've passed by the naupaka before but this time I looked at them and thought of my family's history & the work I do. Felt comforted by nature's acknowledgement of our stories of love, forced separation & longing, and the unfulfilled dream of reunification we pass on from one generation to the next.

The story behind the flower: a princess (Naupaka) and a commoner (Kaui) fell in love. They asked for god's blessing to be together but did not receive it. One was sent to live in the mountains, the other by the sea. Eventually they died, apart, and their spirits turned into the naupaka.

The naupaka flower

On this trip, I looked for, and found, the naupaka flower.

The petals grow only on the bottom half on the naupaka that grows by the sea, and only on the top half on the naupaka that grows in the mountains. When the two are united, they complete each other.

View of the ocean from Pu'uhonua o Honaunau

Once a semester I take my class to work on the Big Island for the weekend. While there, I usually take them to Pu'uhonua o Honaunau, "the place of refuge."

For Hawaiians, it was a place where someone fleeing harm would be safe as soon as they set foot on the land.

men like this are the backbone of the American story. they must be welcomed, celebrated, and given small business loans for fusion cuisine restaurants

Federal judge blocks new DHS policy that would allow arrest of thousands of legal refugees "The new policy turns the refugees’ American Dream into a dystopian nightmare," Judge Tunheim wrote.

BREAKING: Federal judge blocks new DHS policy that would allow arrest of thousands of legal refugees.

"The new policy turns the refugees’ American Dream into a dystopian nightmare," Judge Tunheim wrote.

Tonight, at Law Dork:

After my ICE arrest, I learned one crucial way to respond to trauma. We can all take part | Rümeysa Öztürk I was detained for co-writing a op-ed about Gaza as a student at Tufts. My experience has only made me feel more connected to others facing oppression

Dr. Rümeysa Öztürk is using her experience of being unlawfully arrested and detained by ICE to advocate for children facing human-made trauma, including children in ICE detention and living under conflict.

Making my way through the amicus briefs filed in support of respondents in Trump v. Barbara and more than 10 of them address the risk of statelessness in a fairly significant way. Many others at least mention it in passing. A thread on the most significant arguments re: statelessness 1/

There is no amount of money in the world that would lead me to fight a Vietnamese refugee that grew up in Louisiana

(Also I really want to try a Korean style Po’ Boy)

Judgment – #242 in D.V.D. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (D. Mass., 1:25-cv-10676) – CourtListener.com Judge Brian E. Murphy: ORDER entered. FINAL JUDGMENT. (MBM) (Entered: 02/25/2026)

Huge decision in DVD case on removals to third countries!

DHS “policy fails to satisfy due process, not least [because] nobody really knows anything about these purported “assurances.”….How can anyone even know for certain that
they exist?”

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

Nurul Amin Shah Alam was a blind refugee, unable to speak English. DHS improperly detained-but finally released him

Instead of bringing him home, they dropped him miles away-without regard to his disability or notifying his family

Unable to find his way, he died on the streets of Buffalo

Alone

UK: Prince Andrew arrested.

South Korea: Former President Yoon sentenced for life.

Brazil: Former President Bolsonaro serving a 27-year sentence.

USA: President Trump demands $10 billion payout from taxpayers.

BREAKING: Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been convicted of insurrection for declaring martial law in December 2024, and has been sentenced to life in prison.