“James Comer requested voluntary testimony from seven additional people as part of the committee’s investigation into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. They included Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Gateway, Inc. founder Ted Waitt and private equity investor Leon Black.

All three billionaires’ names appear in the documents released by the Justice Department under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. They provided in-person transcribed testimony.

Waitt is the ex-boyfriend of Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted on child sex trafficking charges.

He asked them to sit for in-person transcribed interviews.

Additionally, former Democratic White House employees Kathryn Ruemmler and Doug Band were asked to provide testimony on April 21 and May 5, respectively.

Ruemmler, who resigned from her role as Goldman Sachs’s top lawyer this week over her ties to Epstein, served as White House counsel in the Obama administration. Band was a key adviser to former President Clinton.” (The Hill)

In-person transcribed interviews are generally behind closed doors with no media or public access. The witness is not under oath but still could be charged with lying to Congress. The record is either transcribed by a clerk or videotaped. Congress may or may not release the record. This is much less transparent because the committee can keep the information confidential if it wishes. Since it is not a public hearing, the witness's reputation is not jeopardized, at least not immediately.

The Democrats on the Oversight Committee want public meetings with witnesses under oath. They wish to subpoena witnesses rather than invite them to testify. They want to sue the Department of Justice for all of the Epstein files, and they want the names of all but the true ‘victims’ unredacted. As long as Comer is chair, he makes the rules.

More importantly, Jamie Raskin, the ranking democrat on the committee, and others have indicated they want to investigate Trump family corruption, ICE/Homeland Security, the Department of Health and Human Services, and possibly the Tate Brothers/the Manosphere. (I hope to dig deeper into some of these atrocities in upcoming articles.)

When we flip the House this November, Jamie Raskin will, in all likelihood, become chair of the House Oversight Committee, and the Democrats will hold a majority on the committee. Hopefully the committee will fully expose all the corruption in the trump administration, the oligarchy, and the Epstein-Trump-Tate Brothers crime syndicate. This will make it impossible for any rational person to deny that he and his army of minions must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

The only way to do this is to vote regardless of how Trump tries to intimidate us or throw up barriers to stop us. It will take every eligible citizen to vote in November!

For those of you who expect my article to come out on Wednesday or Thursday each week, I apologize. I knew I would be traveling, so last week my article was early, and this week it will be a little later than normal. My wife and I were actually away from home for eight days. On three of those days, we spent hiking the trails in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado—a needed respite from the problems of the world.

This is one of my wife’s favorite places in the world, and she has traveled the world. We spend time there almost every year. Experiencing our country’s public lands allows us to understand how precious and, at the same time, how fragile our natural environment can be.

While at the park and the Roosevelt National Forest that surrounds it, I couldn’t help but think about the destruction Donald Trump is reeking on these lands, from the Boundary Waters of Northern Minnesota to Big Bend National Park in Southern Texas, where he is unnecessarily threatening the ecology of these pristine areas to feed his ego and pocketbook.

And this week, the Trump administration announced its intention to repeal a 2001 rule protecting about 59 million acres of national forest, or about 30% of the total land in national forests, from road-building, logging, and other development. On top of all this, we recently learned that the administration has pilfered 100’s of millions of dollars from the National Park budget to pay for his ballroom and other so-called White House improvements.

In February of this year, I wrote the article, The Trump Administration’s Environmental Abomination. At that time, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council’s (NRDC) White House Watch, 12 months into Trump’s second term, the administration had proposed at least 420 actions adversely affecting our environment, climate, or health.

What prompted the article was that month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “officially rescinded its own 2009 endangerment finding that climate change poses a risk to human health and welfare. And with that, the agency is claiming a free pass to simultaneously eliminate its rules to curb vehicle greenhouse gas emissions—one of the chief contributors to global warming. Additionally, this rescission could ease regulations on power plant emissions and oil and gas methane emissions.” (NRDC)

The destruction of our natural places is another way Donald Trump is stealing from us. Theft is not always about money. He is stealing our places of solitude, contemplation, history, culture, and recreation. He is attempting to steal our souls. We must be stronger than that. We must persevere and do what we can to counter his insane compulsions. This November, we must vote his lackeys in the House and Senate out of office.

Sources

White House Watch: Tracking Attacks on Our Environment & Health, Natural Resources Defense Council, February 5, 2026.

A Costly Move: EPA Abandons Endangerment Finding, Natural Resources Defense Council, February 12, 2026

“On May 29, 2026, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) proposed sweeping changes to overhaul the set of rules, known as the Uniform Guidance, governing federal grants, cooperative agreements, and other monetary awards to nonprofits, state and local governments, and other grantees.” (National Council of NonProfits)

For more than a decade, I was involved in applying for and managing numerous federal grants worth millions of dollars for the State of Iowa. Some of the money I managed stayed with the state, but the vast majority was allocated to cities and counties around the state on a merit-based system.

From the 1970’s through 2024, the policies and methods used to grant and manage what is now a trillion-plus-dollar pool of federal money were remarkably similar regardless of the administration’s political affiliation. Grant applications were almost always evaluated based on their merits by expert career civil servants in the granting agency. For scientific grant requests, applications were evaluated through a peer review process.

It has changed significantly since convicted felon Trump’s second term disregarded the current regulations and legislation and politicized many grant awards. It will be completely overhauled if the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) implements its proposals. The voluminous changes to Title 2 Part 200 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) proposed for public comment by OMB would change what was previously a merit-based process into a political one. By the way, OMB Director Russell Vought was one of the major authors of Project 2025!

Executive Order from President Trump: “Award decisions will undergo more rigorous evaluation by political appointees and subject matter experts to ensure they benefit the American public, align with administration priorities, and are coordinated across agencies to avoid duplication.”

Both on NPR’s August 3rd On Point program entitled, “Trump’s latest bid to rewrite the rules of federal funding,” and Barbara McQuade's book, “The Fix, Saving America from the Corruption of a Mob Style Government,” there is discussion regarding how the Trump administration gets state and local governments, nonprofits, universities and others to fall in line with its agenda by using a carrot and stick approach; by granting funds to those who agree with them and denying grants to those who do not.

Those especially impacted by this include local governments because approximately one-third of the money states allocate for local initiatives comes from federal grants. Both the National League of Cities (NLC) and National Association of Counties (NACO) have outlined dozens of issues with the proposed regulations, including concerns would increase administrative burdens and create cumbersome and unmanageable requirements. But to list all of these concerns would go too far into the weeds. Instead. I have only included the NLC list that may have the “risk of politicizing grant making.” The following comes from its website.

“Federal grantmaking should be consistent, transparent and accessible to all eligible communities, with clear policy goals and measurable outcomes. Several provisions raise concerns that decisions could become more subjective or politically influenced rather than grounded in objective policy criteria. Changes sought by OMB include:

Allowing agencies to consider an applicant’s “history of questionable practices” when deciding their eligibility for a grant. OMB does not provide guidance on what “questionable practices” means, allowing individual federal agencies — and compliance officers — wide latitude on how to enforce.

Permitting agencies to cooperate with private individuals or organizations in pursuing their own private cause of action or remedies for grant noncompliance.

Expecting recipients to adapt to Executive Orders, even when those directives are not codified in law and may change over the course of a grant’s period of performance.

Introducing “pre-issuance review,” which means that, as part of the broader merit review process, political appointees at each agency — rather than career experts — will ensure that proposals selected for funding are consistent with applicable law, federal agency priorities and the national interest.

Requiring municipalities that receive federal funding (including as subrecipient) not discriminate on the basis of the viewpoint, content or subject matter of speech (Disparate Impact) — including on the basis of political, ideological or religious affiliation or perspective — in providing services for events, meetings or other expressive activities, regardless of whether those activities are federally funded.”

On Point

During the August 3rd On Point program, Meghna Chakrabarti interviewed Jacob “Jack” Lew, former director of the Office of Management and Budget during the Clinton and Obama administrations. He is currently a professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs; Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits; and Holden Thorp, editor-in-chief of the Science family of journals. He is also a professor of chemistry at George Washington University.

During the conversation, each guest discussed how the Trump administration has affected their constituencies in the past 19 months and how the new proposal will affect them going forward.

They spoke of how Trump and his minions have slashed grants for scientific research at universities and hospitals because of their DEI policies, transgender athletes, and antisemitism. How he has withheld funds for infrastructure projects for highways, bridges, and railroad stations in “Blue” cities and denied emergency disaster aid to states just because they were “Blue” states. Finally, how he has eliminated certain programs, including alcohol and drug rehabilitation grants and education programs like the Digital Equity program.

OMB Director Russell Vought at a Faith and Freedom Conference in Washington, D.C. in June.

Vought: “We were largely funding liberalism and largely funding the left, and this administration has come on. The president gave us the instruction in an executive order last year, a direction to all the agency heads, “You have to be personally in charge of making sure this funding goes out for causes that are consistent with the agenda that I ran on.”

According to Secretary Lew, “OMB’s involvement in the grant process in the past has been to ensure regularity, to make sure that there isn’t fraud or mismanagement, and to set guidelines so that if there’s bad behavior by someone or some agency, there’s a process that would flesh that out and give you the ability to take action.

This proposed rule change turns that on its head. If you don’t agree with the president, you could be singled out at any point to have your funding either denied or cut off…

That’s the opposite of what OMB’s role in the grant-making process is supposed to be. It is OMB’s job to look across the government and see what is the president’s policy is it is being implemented according to the laws.

It’s not OMB’s job to make those decisions on this kind of a basis, and certainly not if it reverses decisions that were properly made by Congress in statutes or appropriations.”

Congress is the branch of government that’s supposed to appropriate funds, not the president. Since the impoundment issues of the 1970’s not funding programs that have been funded by Congress and moving money to the president’s pet projects are illegal!

Lew also spoke of some of the secondary impacts of the instability that occurs when grants can be canceled mid-term, for example, lowering a city or county’s credit rating or uncertainty of long-term employment. And that employment uncertainty makes it less likely that the best researchers would remain in the U.S.

He mentioned that one of the priorities of the Trump administration is to significantly reduce grants for basic research. Some of that research has led to innovations that the administration has lauded, for instance, A.I. What would have happened if the basic research that made A.I. possible and took decades to accomplish never happened?

Diane Yentel explained that nonprofits receive about 30% of their funding from the federal government, and a little more if one includes federal funds passed through from state and local governments.

She went on to say, “They’ve (the administration) now put out this 400-page proposal that in a slightly different but very related way, would completely upend the federal grant-making process and squeeze out many of the same nonprofits that they’ve been continuously trying to squeeze out of federal funding and out of other federal programs, like the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which was another example of where they attempted to carve out certain types of nonprofits from a program that they are legally entitled to benefit from…

She continued, “this proposal would be a complete upending of the federal grant process for non-profits. So non-profits really depend on federal grants that are predictable, transparent, and grounded in the rule of law in order for them to do their important work in our communities, and this regulation would do the opposite.

RUSSELL VOUGHT: When we find something that’s problematic that our policy officials would not have caught, we need to be able to turn it off.

Holden Thorp explained that scientific research, especially basic research, has already been significantly impacted by the Trump administration, and the proposed changes to the regulations could have an historic impact on future research. What might today’s basic research lead to in the future?

In his words Thorp explains, “I think it, would have an enormous effect, and it would be many dimensions. The first would be that it would make it that much harder for grants to be dispersed once you’ve been through the arduous process of getting them approved by the agency. And the uncertainty that would add would make it very difficult to complete a lot of research projects, including things like clinical trials and biomedical research.

Yes, we certainly are seeing a lot of people who can go to other countries. The investments being made by China are enormous, and they’re all going in a positive direction while we’re going backwards in the United States. So there are some high-profile folks who have made that move. Omar Yaghi, who’s a Nobel laureate at Berkeley, just decided to go to Tsinghua, for example.

And there are other people taking great offers to go do research elsewhere, and you can understand why. Because in the U.S., universities, because of these challenges, are sensibly cutting the size of their graduate programs. And the graduate students are the most important element of most research labs at universities in America.

And we’ve also now seen the dramatic limits on the people who can come here from other countries to study. It’s always been the case that perhaps the most important aspect of doing science in America is that we’ve always welcomed the best talent from everywhere. And when that starts to go in the wrong direction that means that it might be advantageous to build your group somewhere else.

And what worries me about that one is that even if some of these things get reversed in two and a half years or some other time in the future, once people have gotten out of the habit of starting with the idea of, I want to go to the U.S. to do my research, then that is going to be a very hard thing to reverse…

I’d go back to if these rules are put in place and there’s an administration of a different ideology in place that wants to push even further to the left then that could happen just as well, and then when it swings again, we’d have to go through this whole thing all over again.

And so I just don’t see sort of political payback as the right solution. Because all it’s gonna do is swing back and forth over the course of history.”

Summary

When Russell Vought speaks of “largely funding liberalism and largely funding the left,” it is code for social justice initiatives and what Trump, Vought, and Steven Miller want to eliminate.

This is the way autocracy takes hold. Autocrats use extortion to get higher education, the media, state and local governments, and other institutions to heel or stand down. The general public will then follow in line. The autocrat does this gradually, hoping the general populace doesn’t see it coming until it’s too late.

We've seen this begin with universities and the media, and now we see how they plan to accomplish it with nonprofits and local governments. The proposed regulation is set to take effect on October 1, 2026, but a Senate continuing resolution could delay implementation until Dec. 11. Contact your representatives in Congress to urge postponement of the regulation’s implementation, and vote for progressives in the midterm elections.

Sources

65K+Comments Submitted on Proposed Changes to Federal Grantmaking! Take Action by July 13!, National Council of Nonprofits, June 8, 2026, councilofnonprofits.org.

By Meghna Chakrabarti and Will Walkey, “Trump’s latest bid to rewrite the rules of federal funding,” On Point, NPR, WBUR, Boston, August 3, 2026, https://www.wbur.org.

Barbara McQuade, The Fix, Saving America from the Corruption of a Mob-Style Government, Seven Stories Press, New York, Oakland and London, 2026.

Federal Register/Vol. 91, No. 103/Friday, May 29, 2026/Proposed Rules

By Dante Moreno and Michael Wallace, New OMB Rules for Grantees Could Override Local Authority, National League of Cities, June 17, 2026, https://www.nlc.org.

By Charlie Ban, OMB proposes major change to federal grant administration, National Association of Counties, June 11, 2026, https://www.naco.org.

By Mark Lieberman, Trump Slashed Billions for Education in 2025. See Our List of Affected Grants, Education Week, January 27, 2026 | Updated: March 06, 2026, https://www.edweek.org.

In August 2025, a shocking scene unfolded in Tucson, Arizona: fourteen migrant children—some as young as three—stood before a judge in immigration court with no lawyers by their side. This crisis followed deep cuts to federal legal aid funding, leaving thousands of unaccompanied minors nationwide to face removal proceedings alone. (Zandersonlaw.com)

Getty Images

I will get to my report on ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP)-related deaths and shootings later in this article; first, I must speak to an almost unimaginable travesty of justice going on in our immigration courts. Persons facing deportation in Immigration Court have no legal right to an attorney under the Sixth Amendment! This is because the Sixth Amendment applies only to criminal cases, and immigration cases are civil matters.

According to the Zanderson Law firm, “legal representation is essential, not optional, for a child’s safety and future. Immigration law is among the most complex areas of U.S. law, and the stakes—family separation, deportation, or protection—could not be higher. “

In anti-trafficking legislation passed in 2008, Congress required that unaccompanied children receive legal representation to the greatest extent practicable. Then in 2012, Congress made funding available for attorneys to represent these children. The amount of money allocated for this purpose has steadily increased since then, and in 2024, Congress allocated over $5 billion to non-profit legal entities to provide these services.

On March 21, 2025, the Trump Administration terminated all contracts related to the payment of legal fees for the representation of Unaccompanied minors. In April 2025, a judge approved an injunction continuing the program until September 2025, and in July 2025, a federal district judge ordered that funds be restored. But Trump has been slow-walking re-contracting with non-profit legal institutions, and many of these institutions have laid off the attorneys for lack of funds, and so the problem continues.

Monthly Report

Fatal Shootings

Joan Sebastian Guerrero, 26 years of age, Colombia

On July 17, 2026, 26-year-old Joan Sebastian Guerrero, originally from Colombia, was fatally shot in the head when he was shot four times and killed by David Brouillette, a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer, during a traffic stop in Biddeford, Maine.

ICE agents admitted that it was not the man they thought they were pursuing. Guerrero was in the United States legally, was authorized to work here, and he had been issued a Social Security number. According to U.S. Senator Angus King from Maine, he was told by DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullins that the victim was not the target of the operation.

Un-Named Victim

A knife-wielding man stabbed a Customs and Border Protection agent before another agent opened fire and killed the attacker at theBlythe Station in California, near the California-Arizona border. The victim, who died at the scene, has not been publicly identified, even though it’s been four weeks since the incident. The agent was hospitalized, but I have found no further information on his condition.

Killings from Prior Reports

• Ruben Ray Martinez, a U.S. citizen who was shot and killed by a federal immigration agent on South Padre Island in Texas on March 15, 2025, had traveled there to celebrate his 23rd birthday. He was just trying to turn his car around when he was shot and killed by ICE,

• “Keith Porter Jr, a 43-year-old black U.S. citizen, was fatally shot by an off-duty ICE agent outside of his Los Angeles apartment complex on the evening of 31 December 2025.”

• “On July 7, 2025, CBP officers shot and killed 27-year-old Ryan Luis Mosqueda after he opened fire on a CBP facility in McAllen, Texas.”

• “Silverio Villegas González, a 38-year-old undocumented immigrant from Mexico, was shot and killed on Sept. 12, 2025.”

• “While conducting enforcement operations along the Rio Grande, a CBP agent shot and killed 31-year-old Mexican national Isaias Sanchez Barboza, who had just crossed the border with a group of people.”

• “Geraldo Lunas ⁠Campos died January 3, 2026, at ​Camp East Montana detention center in El Paso, Texas, at Age 55. The agency initially said he experienced “medical distress” and that they were investigating the incident. A detainee held at Camp East Montana was interviewed, who said he saw guards choking Lunas when he refused to ​enter solitary confinement. This death is now considered a homicide by local officials.”

• Renee Good was shot and killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by ICE agents as she attempted to turn her car around. She was 37 years old.

• Alex Pretti, a nurse, was shot and killed trying to help someone who ICE was accosting. He was shot several times after being subdued by ICE agents.

• Ophelia Baukholt, a member of the cult-like Zizians, was killed in a shootout with CBP officers. At the same time, a CBP officer was killed, and Teresa Youngblut, another Zizian, was injured. This incident was not related to Trump’s immigration crackdown.

• ​“Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a blind refugee from Burma, was dropped off at a doughnut shop in February’s frigid temperatures in Buffalo, New York, 5 miles from home. He was found dead days later. Had they taken him home or left him at the Erie County Holding Facility, where he had been detained and where his family went to pick him up, he would not have died. The case is being investigated as a homicide.

• Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, was fatally shot by ICE agents at approximately 6:50 AM on Tuesday, July 7, while driving to work with three other workers in his van, including his brother.

Non-Fatal Shootings

No new non-fatal shooting since my last report.

Non-Fatal Shootings-Previously Reported

• Nathaniel Muniz-Spry, 39, was shot in the leg while trying to escape CBP officers in Blaine, Washington, just steps from the Canadian border on June 16, 2026.

• Clemente Lara-Hernandez - ICE agents shot at a vehicle in Harrisburg after a wanted man fled from them. An ICE spokesman said the driver “weaponized” his vehicle by “ramming it” into an ICE agent’s sedan. But surveillance footage obtained by PennLive contradicts that and shows agents breaking the driver’s side window, then firing at the vehicle after the driver drove around the ICE vehicle, clipping the front end as he fled.

• Blu Zeke Daly, aka Cullen Zeke Daly, 26 years of age, was shot by a border patrol officer just after midnight on Sunday, February 23, 2026, in Pittsburg, New Hampshire, near the Canadian border.

• Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez was shot multiple times by ICE officers in Patterson, California, on April 7, 2026. The ICE agents allege that Mendoza rammed their car, trying to flee, and that’s when they opened fire. Officials reported that he is a suspected gang member wanted for questioning regarding a murder in El Salvador. His attorney said his client only rammed the officers’ car(s) after they began shooting. He was stopped when shots were first fired. His attorney also reported that Mendoza had never been convicted of a crime.

• On October 4, 2025, Miramar Martinez, a thirty year old U.S. citizen was driving in her Chicago Neighborhood, thirty-year-old U.S. citizen, Mirimar Martinez warning residents about ICE operations, Martinez when Customs and Border Protection agent Charles Exum pulled up behind her, aiming an assault rifle at her vehicle and shouting, “do something, bitch” before opening fire, striking her five times in the arms and legs.

• Carlitos Ricardo Parias, 44-year-old, known as “RichardLA” on TikTok (130,000+ followers), South Los Angeles, CA, Date: October 21, 2025.

• Jose Garcia-Sorto, Phoenix, AZ, originally from Honduras, Date: October 29, 2025.

• Carlos Jimenez, Ontario, CA, 24-year-old U.S. citizen, Date: October 30, 2025.

• Tiago Alexandre Sousa-Martins, originally from Portugal (visa overstay), and Solomon Antonio Serrano-Esquivel, originally from El Salvador, Glen Burnie, MD, Date: December 24, 2025 (Christmas Eve morning). Serrano-Esquivel was not shot but was injured in the crash that occurred after the driver, Sousa-Martins, was shot.

Died in Detention

Jesus Manuel Arenas-Silva, age 45, of Venezuela, died on July 13, 2026, of cardiac arrest pending an autopsy. He was en route between two ICE detention facilities in Georgia.

According to The Guardian, “Arenas-Silva’s sister and immigrants’ rights groups in Georgia said in a press statement that ICE did not provide him with necessary medications during his time in detention for an unnamed condition he was dealing with, despite his family’s pleas that he take the medications during his arrest last week. ‘He went without medication during his detention until he tragically died in ICE custody on Monday,’ the press statement said…

When Arenas-Silva was detained at his house last Thursday, ICE at first “ignored” his family’s request for him to take his medication with him, and then only allowed him to take one medication, the Georgia immigrants’ rights groups said in their press release. He later called his sister while in ICE detention and told her officials did not give him the medication he needed.

After he was found unresponsive on the transport bus, while en route to the Folkston detention facility, staff called for medical assistance and transported him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.”

Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, age 41, 08-01,-202641, El Salvador, Cause of death pending autopsy.^[

Prisciliano Trejo Ricano, age 29, 07-24-2026, Mexico, Cause of death: leukemia

Died in Detention - Previously Reported

• Felix Alcorta-Rodriguez, 63, Mexico, died of natural causes pending an autopsy.

• Mamuka Artmeladze, 43, Georgia, Cause of death pending autopsy

• Denny Adan Gonzalez, 33, Cuba, presumed suicide, under investigation.

• Aled Damien Carbonell-Betancourt, 27, Cuba, presumed suicide, under investigation.

• Alejandro Cabrera Clemente, 49, Mexico, found unresponsive.

• Brayan Rayo Garzón, 27, Colombia, presumed suicide, under investigation.

• Denny Adan Gonzalez, 33, Cuba

• Aled Damien Carbonell-Betancourt, 27, Cuba

• Alejandro Cabrera Clemente, 49, Mexico

• Tuan Van Bui, 55, Vietnam

• Jose Guadalupe Ramos-Solanos, age 52, Mexico

• Royer Perez Jimenez, age 19, Mexico

• Emanuel Cleeford Damas, age 56, Haiti

• Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal, age 41, Afghanistan, who fought alongside U.S. troops in Afghanistan, died of an allergic reaction to a drug administered during his detention.

• Pejman Karshenas Najafabadi, age 59, Iran

• Alberto Gutierrez Reyes, age 48, Mexico

• Jairo Garcia Hernandez, age 27, Guatemala

• Lorth Sim, age 59, Cambodia

• Victor Manuel Diaz, age 36, Nicaragua

• Heber Sánchez Domínguez, age 34, Mexico

• Parady La, age 46, Cambodia

• Luis Beltran Yanez-Cruz, age 68, Honduras

• Luis Gustavo Núñez Cáceres, age 42, Honduras

• Oscar Duarte Rascon, age 58, Mexico

• Huabing Xie, age 53, China

• Chaofeng Ge, age 32, China

• Ismael Ayala Uribe, age 39, Mexico

• Santos Reyes-Banegas, age 42, Honduras

• Nenko Stanev Gantchev, age 46, Bulgaria

• Delvin Francisco Rodriguez, age 39, Nicaragua

• Fouad Saeed Abdulkadir, age 46, Eritrea

• Jean Wilson Brutus, age 41, Haiti

• Shiraz Fatehali Sachwani, age 48, Pakistan

• Pete Sumalo Montejo, age 72, Philippines

• Francisco Gaspar-Andres, age 48, Guatemala

• Kai Yin Wong, age 63, China

• Gabriel Garcia-Aviles, age 56, Mexico

• Hasan Ali Moh’D Saleh, age 67, Jordan

• Leo Cruz-Silva, age 34, Mexico

• Miguel Angel Garcia-Hernandez, age 31, Mexico

• Norlan Guzman-Fuentes, age 37, El Salvador

• Lorenzo Antonio Batrez Vargas, 32, Mexico

• Isidro Perez, Age 75, Cuba

• Johnny Noviello, age 49, Canada

• Jesus Molina-Veya, 45, Mexico

• Abelardo Avellaneda-Delgado, age 68, Mexico

• Marie Ange Blaise, age 44, Haiti

• Nhon Ngoc Nguyen, age 55, China

• Brayan Rayo-Garzon, age 27, Colombia

• Juan Alexis Tineo-Martinez, age 44, Dominican Republic

• Maksym Chernyak, age 45, Ukraine

• Serawit Gezahegn Dejene, age 45, Ethiopia

• Tien Xuan Phan, 55, Vietnam

• Unnamed 52-year-old Chinese woman

Arrests, Detentions and Deportations

“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested about 51,000 people in July, the highest monthly total on record, according to internal DHS sources and a senior DHS official.” (Grounded News) This follows a surge in arrests in June of this year, which I reported last month. Because of these arrests, detentions have risen dramatically, as well.

With the Supreme Court’s decision in Mullens v. Doe et al., the Trump administration may be able to deport 1.3 million people who had been protected from deportation under Temporary Protected Status over the next six months.

The process has already begun; July 27th was the first day ICE could revoke green cards, drivers’ licences, and U.S. legal residency for over 300,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians. Some of whom have been in the United States for decades. When green cards are revoked, workers immediately lose their jobs and cannot be employed legally by a new employer.

On July 28th, in Key West, Florida, the Half Shell Raw Bar suspended six Haitian employees whose green cards were revoked. The same thing happened to dozens of Haitian employees at the Tyson pork plant in Waterloo, Iowa, and eighteen Haitians who provided home care to Holocaust survivors lost their jobs at the Jewish Community Services of South Florida in Miami.

“Hebrew SeniorLife in Greater Boston terminated 36 Haitian employees.” (VisaVerge), and according to the Washington Post, hundreds of Haitians have lost jobs in nursing homes, schools, and airports.

Summary

To date, ICE and CBP have killed 14 people, seriously wounded ten more, and 58 have died in detention. Seventy-two people have died, and 61 of them were under the age of 60! Many were aged 19 to 39, and there will be more, especially if DHS pushes its goal of one million deportations by year’s end.

We now know that hundreds of children are going to court with no legal representation and hundreds of Haitians have lost their jobs and legal status in the last ten days. Finally, in July, ICE arrested 51,000 people, more than they have ever arrested in any month in its history!

The list of names continues to grow, but I will continue to name all the names each month no matter the length. They must be named, and only by seeing the enormous list of names will people realize the impact it is having on our nation. We must continue to remember those who have died, been seriously injured, arrested, detained, or deported. We must demonstrate, agitate, and liberate, but most importantly, we must vote in November.

Sources

Zachary W. Anderson, Do Children Have to Represent Themselves in U.S. Immigration Court?, Zachary W. Anderson Law, Lincoln, NE, https://www.zandersonlaw.com.

Maggie Grether, Trump Wants Thousands of Migrant Children to Represent Themselves in Court, The Nation, May 23, 2025. https://thenation.com

List of shootings by U.S. immigration agents in the second Trump administration, Wikipedia, July 24, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/

By Justin Choi, Knifeman who stabbed federal agent on California-Arizona stateline shot dead by Border Patrol, New York Post, July 15, 2026, https://nypost.com.

By José Olivares, Venezuelan man becomes 22nd person to die in ICE custody this year, The Guardian, July 15, 2026, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news.

List of deaths in ICE detention, Wikipedia, August 5, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org.

ICE Arrests 51,000 in July, Setting DHS Monthly Record, Ground News, August 5, 2026, https://ground.news/daily-briefing.

By Gavin McGough, Haitian employees at Waterloo Tyson pork plant lose their jobs along with Temporary Protected Status, Iowa Public Radio, July 30, 2026, https://www.iowapublicradio.org/live-updates/news-of-the-day.

By Gisela Salomon, Associated Press and Matt Sedensky, Associated Press, Loss of work authorization sows confusion for thousands of Haitian immigrants and their US employers, WLRN Public Media, Miami, FL, July 29, 2026, https://www.wlrn.org/immigration/2026-07-29.

By Elena Marquez, Haitian Nationals Lose Work Authorization as TPS Officially Expires for Thousands, VisaVerge.com, August 5, 2026, https://www.visaverge.com/news.

By Lauren Kaori Gurley, Silvia Foster-Frau, David Nakamura, Airports, nursing homes and schools brace for disruption without Haitian workers, The Washington Post, July 31, 2026, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/07/31.

State Elections

As most of you know, I live in Iowa, a previously purple state that has gone red over the last 10 years; A state that voted for Obama twice and Trump three times. It appears that it will go purple, if not blue, in the midterms this year. But Iowa, like other states, needs to make sure that it’s not just the U.S. Senate and House races that flip. We must also flip state legislatures and county and municipal seats.

And lest we forget, Governor, Secretary of State, and Attorney General races will be especially important this election. The Governors because of their ability to issue executive orders and their veto powers. The Secretaries of State, because they are one of the last lines of defense against election interference, and the State Attorneys General, because, with a corrupt U.S. Department of Justice, they will be critical in bringing cases against the Trump administration.

In the last ten years, Governor Kim Reynolds and the Iowa State Legislature have passed some of the most egregious laws, from banning books to women’s reproductive rights, from the environment to cutting nutrition programs for low-income children, and from stomping all over LGBTQIA rights to sending National Guard troops to Washington, DC and the Southern border.

States across the South, Midwest, the Great Plains, and Rocky Mountains have passed similar legislation. No matter whether your state is red, purple, or blue, we need more progressives in state elected positions.

I’m not sure about other states, but over the past few years, the Iowa Governor and legislature have wrested control of several functions that previously were the purview of local government. My guess is other red states have done the same, especially left-leaning cities and counties. Gordie Fletcher wrote a great article on his Substack, WTF Iowa. I recommend you read his complete article. Click “Read More in the box below.

WTF Iowa?

Iowa Republicans, Stop Taking Away Local Control

How many times have we heard about “states’ rights” and “government overreach” in response to federal policies? An internet search shows Iowa’s Republican Attorney General Brenna Bird sued the Biden administration at least six times over policies she didn’t like…

Read more

a month ago · 18 likes · 5 comments · Gordie Felger

Here are some excerpts from Gordie’s article“A law that took effect on January 1 ended a pilot program designed to lift central Iowans out of poverty. UpLift gave income-qualified families in Dallas, Polk, and Warren counties $500 per month. The law prohibits Iowa counties and cities from establishing such a supplemental income program.” These three counties are part of the Des Moines Metropolitan Area, and Des Moines is considered a safe blue city.

And following the 2020 police murder of George Floyd, Cedar Rapids residents worked with city leaders to create a citizen review board. This cooperative effort allowed residents transparency into police practices and a way to address citizen concerns. The program increased trust between residents and law enforcement. But the Iowa Legislature said we can’t have that!” Cedar Rapids is considered a safe blue city.

“A bill Reynolds signed into law this year bans communities from offering broader civil rights protections than the state guarantees. This extends the 2025 law that removed gender identity as a protected class under the Iowa Civil Rights Act.”

“Another proposed bill would transfer control of public libraries from library boards to city councils. Why?”

“Reynolds signed a bill that prohibits locally issued identification cards.”

“Reynolds also enacted a law that forces local compliance with the governor’s order to fly the US and Iowa flags at half-staff at public buildings. This is just retaliation for a single county supervisor’s (Johnson County) refusal to heed the governor’s order last year.” Johnson County, the Home of the University of Iowa, is considered a safe blue county.

Finally, state legislatures will redistrict congressional districts and state legislative districts in 2031. This may seem a long time from now, but the process starts this year. Democrats must gain control of as many state legislatures as possible during the 2028 and 2030 elections to keep republicans from gerrymandering even more states! Some of these legislators serve four-year terms. We need to begin to make inroads now.

County and City Elections

We need progressive city councils and county boards of commissioners or supervisors, depending on the state, because the federal government and many states have cut social service and social justice programs. Counties and cities have tried to pick up some of the slack in progressively run jurisdictions but not in republican ones.

For example, Polk County, Iowa, with a democratic majority on its board of supervisors, has expended hundreds of thousands of dollars to help immigrants and refugees, as well as funds for housing and other social programs. Adjacent Dallas County, where all members of the board of supervisors have done little in recent years to make up the cuts made in state and federal social programs. Polk County is the largest county in Iowa by population, and Dallas County is the fifth largest.

We need to vote for county election officials, whether county auditors, election boards, or others, for the same reason we need progressive State Secretaries of State, to protect the integrity of elections. We need county attorneys, city attorneys, and magistrates to protect their constituents from flagrant violations of the law and constitution by the Trump administration and republican statee elected officials.

Summary

We need young progressive elected officials at the state and local levels so that the best and brightest can advance to the next level. You can help by volunteering with their campaigns and, if you can afford it, donating to some state and local campaigns. Most importantly, you can take some time to learn about the candidates and vote all the way down the ballot. If you can’t get to know the candidates, vote for the Democrats. In our day-to-day lives, state and local governments have a much greater impact on one's life than the federal government does.

As a former FINRA Registered Representative and Registered Principal, and with a 25-year career as a principal or partner with four venture capital funds, I know a little bit about financial markets. I realize some of these terms are new and confusing for people less familiar with investing and financial markets, so I will try to define terms as we move through this article. Those familiar with investment vernacular can skip right over the next few paragraphs.

FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, “is a not-for-profit organization authorized under the federal securities laws and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Alongside the SEC, FINRA oversees U.S. member broker-dealers and their personnel, including individuals who recommend or sell securities products to the public. FINRA’s mission is protecting you, the investor, and ensuring the integrity of our country’s securities markets” (FINRA.org).

FINRA Registered Representatives are registered financial professionals
who work for broker-dealer firms and hold FINRA registrations and state licenses. They buy and sell securities for customers. They are commonly referred to as stockbrokers or brokers (FINRA.org).

FINRA Registered Principal is any person associated with a member…, who is actively engaged in the management of the member’s investment banking or securities business, such as supervision, solicitation, conduct of business in securities or the training of persons associated with a member for any of these functions. Such persons shall include, among other persons, a member’s chief executive officer and chief financial officer (or equivalent officers).

A “principal” also includes any other person associated with a member who is performing functions or carrying out responsibilities that are required to be performed or carried out by a principal under the FINRA rules (FINRA.org).

401k plans are offered by employers, where employees can contribute a fraction of their salaries into a tax-free investment fund for retirement. Many times, employees match a percentage of the employee contributions up to 100%. Employers are responsible for overseeing the company’s plan. They choose all the financial service providers and decide what investment options are available to employees.

For decades, employers have had a fiduciary duty to make prudent decisions and put the interest of their workers first. If they allow financial firms to charge unreasonable fees, invest in unsuitable investments, or act in other ways that put the interest of the employer or fund management before their own, they can be held responsible under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. This has kept employers from investing employees' 401 (k) money in risky investments like the ones onald Trump is now promoting.

Hundreds of companies have been sued by their workers in recent years for making imprudent investment decisions regarding 401(k) plans. In fact, over 90 class action suits were filed in 2025. Companies currently being sued or that have settled out of court include Qualcomm, United Health, Boeing, and Clorox.

In the past, most 401 (k) plans were invested in mutual funds that are actively managed by professionals, but in recent years many have settled on index funds that can provide as good or better results with fees as low as 0.1% of the amount invested, compared to mutual funds that were charging 1% or more.

Convicted felon Trump would like to include much riskier investments than have been used in the past, including private equity funds, hedge funds, and cryptocurrency. Many financial services companies would also like to include equity funds and hedge funds because these funds are much more actively managed than even mutual funds and carry fees significantly higher than even mutual funds.

Trump would like to include private equity funds, hedge funds, and cryptocurrency because he and/or his family own and actively manage billions of dollars in cryptocurrency and private equity funds. I do not know whether or not know if they have an interest in hedge funds, but it wouldn’t surprise me. The convicted Felon Trump or his family has made billions of dollars in the last year on these financial instruments. It doesn’t take a genius to know why he wants them in your 401 (k).

At present, there is no restriction on the type of investments that can be invested in a 401 (k) plan, but employers have not made those investments because they know they are not suitable for this type of fund, and they would be liable if their employees lost that money. What Trump is planning to do is loosen the regulations regarding the liability employers now have regarding their fiduciary responsibility, making it extremely difficult for workers to win lawsuits. In fact, his Department of Labor, which oversees this program, is currently moving in this direction.

How risky are private equity, hedge funds, and Cryptocurrency? First of all, remember there are higher fees, which lowers the amount of money actually being invested. In fact, the Department of Labor calculated that a 1% increase in fees can reduce an average 410 (k) plan by $28,000 at the time of retirement! Secondly, if these same people personally tried to invest in a private equity fund or a hedge fund, they would almost certainly be prohibited from doing so.

This is because private equity funds, hedge funds, and venture capital funds are all private equity and are almost always raised using a financial vehicle called a private placement. Equity really just means an ownership interest in a business. Private equity is an ownership interest in a company that is not traded on a stock exchange, in contrast to public equity that is traded on an exchange; in other words, traded to the public.

Other than being an owner, a relative of an owner, or a close friend of an owner, there are really only two ways to invest in a privately held company or a private equity fund. You must be an accredited investor; one wealthy enough to afford the loss of the money, or a sophisticated investor; one who has sufficient experience and knowledge to evaluate the merits and risk of the investment. The exact SEC definitions of these types of investors follow.

Accredited Investors are investors that meet certain standards outlined in Rule 501(a) of Regulation D qualifies as accredited investors. For example, individuals may qualify by having (1) annual income exceeding either $200K (singly) or $300K (with spouse or spousal equivalent) in each of the two most recent years; (2) more than $1 million in net worth, excluding the primary residence (singly or with spouse or spousal equivalent); or (3) certain financial professional credentials… (SEC)

Sophisticated Investors are described under U.S. Regulation D as individuals possessing sufficient knowledge and experience in business and financial matters to effectively evaluate the merits and risks of a prospective private investment. This concept functions as a specific status in the private-offering context, distinct from the income or net-worth thresholds required for accredited status. (SEC)

I ask you, if the SEC doesn’t think you should invest in these types of investments individually, do you really think they should be in your 401 (k)?

There are at least two types of risk with private equity that are less severe in the public market. The first one is liquidity. A private placement usually has a specified limited life, generally 10 years. During that time, you have no right to take your money out. In a publicly traded stock, you can always sell the stock, maybe at a loss, but you will get some of the money back. Even in a 401 (k), you can borrow money from it if you are in desperate need. Secondly, privately held companies that are investments in a private equity fund are generally much riskier than ones traded on a stock exchange. The reason they take private equity is that they do not meet the requirements to be publicly traded, and they probably cannot meet the qualifications to get a bank loan for the amount needed.

I’m no expert on Crypto, but I do know its very complicated and you must educate yourself before you invest in it and then you must be very careful. Cryptocurrency may be the worst thing to put into your 401 (k). There currently is no meaningful federal oversight over crypto markets in the United States. This can lead to all kinds of scams, crypto robberies, and most importantly, money laundering. Cryptocurrency is known to be the financial instrument of money launderers across the globe.

There are also scams happening on an hourly basis, and if your computer or your crypto accounts are not secure, you may be robbed with no way to know the culprit. Would these things happen in a 401 (k)? I don’t know, but certainly many large corporations’ servers have been hacked.

Add to this that crypto markets are extremely volatile and people with enough cryptocurrency can influence the market negatively. “Some say that if you stay in it for the long term, you’ll get a tremendous return. They say, look at those that got in years ago and stayed in; they are extremely wealthy.” This was before the market grew to a significant size. There is no guarantees this will happen five, ten or twenty years from now. The Trump family made over a billion dollars in one year. Many others needed to lose for him to gain that much!

There is one reason that these types of investments haven’t been included in 410 (k) plans in the past. They are not suitable for retirement plan investments and there is one reason convicted felon Trump wants them in 401 (k) plans. He an his crony oligarchs can make money on it at the cost of others.

All of this is being done by changing federal regulations, not be legislation. But legislation could be passed to prohibit it. Call your senators and representatives. If regulations are loosened so employers can offer these investments warn those you know to be very careful in selecting their 401 (k) investment options.

Sources

Glossary, U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission, April 28, 2026, https://www.sec.gov/resources-small-businesses/glossary

Registered Representative: What Is It and How Is It Regulated?, InnReg.com, June 9, 2026, https://www.innreg.com/blog/registered-representative-guide.

Private Placements, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, 2026, https://www.finra.org/rules-guidance/key-topics/private-placements.

Paul Kiel, Wall Street Wants to Change the Rules for Your 401(k). It Could Put Your Retirement at Risk, Pro Publica, July 8, 2026, https://www.propublica.org/article/401k-retirement-investment-plan-risk-trump.

Kiana Danial, What Is Cryptocurrency?, Dummies.com, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., December 14, 2022, https://www.dummies.com/article/business-careers-money/personal-finance/cryptocurrency/what-is-cryptocurrency-237561/

Yesterday morning, 26-year-old Joan Sebastian Guerrero, originally from Colombia, was fatally shot in the head when ICE agents shot four times through his window. ICE agents again admitted that it was not the man they thought they were pursuing. Guerrero was in the United States legally, was authorized to work here, and he had been issued a Social Security number. According to U.S. Senator Angus King from Maine, he was told by DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullins that the victim was not the target of the operation.

In both cases, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed that the victims were attempting to ram their vehicles into ICE agents’ vehicles. In the Guerrero case, they backtracked their statement and said they feared for civilians’ safety. In both cases, they shot into a moving vehicle, a violation of protocol in almost every law enforcement agency, except evidently not DHS. The reason police officers don’t shoot at a moving vehicle is for public safety. And in both cases, the ICE agents were not wearing body cameras.

In a statement on the day of the shooting, DHS released a statement saying that, “On July 13, 2026 at approximately 7:00 AM ET, ICE was conducting targeted surveillance on the last known address of an illegal alien with a final order of removal. An illegal alien” (AKA a brown-skinned gentleman) “departed in a vehicle…The vehicle attempted to flee the scene and, fearing for the public safety, an officer discharged his gun.

There are several holes in the execution of this operation. First, they did not know if their target still lived at that address. Secondly, the agents didn’t attempt to determine if the person in the car was the suspect. Thirdly, the statement says that an illegal alien departed in the vehicle. In fact, he was not an illegal alien. Finally, the statement doesn’t mention that the car was moving, probably because they know that is not proper protocol. However, it was because a camera at a nearby residence recorded the car slowly making for or five rotations in the middle of the street.

Guerrero leaves behind a wife and a three-year-old daughter. Just like Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, Guerrero was on his way to work early in the morning when he was killed.

This is what happens when you have unqualified DHS leaders giving orders to ill-suited and poorly trained ICE agents with ominous goals to meet. There have now been 12 people killed by either ICE or Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents since Trump’s second term started, and at least eleven others who were shot but survived.

On January 12 of this year, referring to the murder of Renee Good, Guerrero posted on Facebook, “Sadly, here they pay you to kill a person.” Guerrero’s post was in response to someone else’s post about an online fundraiser for the officer who shot Good.

There have already been protests in Maine and Houston over these shootings, and I have heard people are contemplating ones in other cities. Please consider supporting our immigrants by attending a protest, and share this article. Thank you.

Sources

By Elise Hammond, Biddeford, a coastal Maine city, has a small immigrant population, CNN, July 13, 2026, https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/13/us/live-news/maine-ice-shooting-houston-minnesota.

By Katie Landeck, Bailey Allen, Margie Cullen, Ian Lenahan and Christopher Cann, Biddeford ICE shooting latest updates: Father says man was in US legally, Portsmouth Herald, July 14, 2026, https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/biddeford-ice-shooting-latest-developments-115824679.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall.

By Michael Williams and Maria Santana, Man killed in Maine ICE shooting reacted to Renee Good’s death: “They pay you to kill”. CNN, July 14, 2026. https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/14/us/live-news/ice-shootings-maine-houston

Fatal Shootings

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s 52nd Birthday

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, was fatally shot by ICE agents at approximately 6:50 AM on Tuesday, July 7, while driving to work with three other workers in his van, including his brother.

According to the New York Times, “Federal authorities said that agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement stopped a vehicle around 6:50 a.m. and tried to arrest Mr. Araujo, whom they described as an “illegal alien.” They said he “weaponized his vehicle” and tried to run over the agent, who then fired at him.”

In a separate article the Times also reported that, “Mr. Araujo’s son, Ronaldo Salgado, said his father was “a hard-working man who was trying to obtain his work permit…

Mr. Araujo had been in the country for 35 years and was a father of three, according to Juan Proaño, chief executive of the League of United Latin American Citizens, an organization that has been in touch with the Araujo family. Mr. Araujo was on his way to a construction site with three workers, including a brother, when he encountered the federal agents, Mr. Proaño said…

Mr. Proaño said his organization is calling for an independent investigation into the shooting by the local authorities.

He called the government’s account ‘a template.’

“We don’t trust ICE, and we don’t trust the F.B.I. to be responsible enough or open or transparent enough with what happened today,” he said.”

For more about Mr. Araujo and his family, click on the Bulwark story below.

The Bulwark

He Lived Here for 35 Years. Put Three Kids in College. ICE Killed Him.

LORENZO SALGADO ARAUJO CAME TO THE UNITED STATES thirty-five years ago—a few years too late to benefit from the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, popularly known as the “Reagan amnesty.” He worked in construct…

Read more

2 months ago · 1275 likes · 174 comments · Adrian Carrasquillo

Killings from Prior Reports

• Ruben Ray Martinez, a U.S. citizen who was shot and killed by a federal immigration agent on South Padre Island in Texas on March 15, 2025, had traveled there to celebrate his 23rd birthday. He was just trying to turn his car around when he was shot and killed by ICE,

• “Keith Porter Jr, a 43-year-old black U.S. citizen, was fatally shot by an off-duty ICE agent outside of his Los Angeles apartment complex on the evening of 31 December 2025.”

• “On July 7, 2025, CBP officers shot and killed 27-year-old Ryan Luis Mosqueda after he opened fire on a CBP facility in McAllen, Texas.”

• “Silverio Villegas González, a 38-year-old undocumented immigrant from Mexico, was shot and killed on Sept. 12, 2025.”

• “While conducting enforcement operations along the Rio Grande, a CBP agent shot and killed 31-year-old Mexican national Isaias Sanchez Barboza, who had just crossed the border with a group of people.”

• “Geraldo Lunas ⁠Campos died January 3, 2026, at ​Camp East Montana detention center in El Paso, Texas, at Age 55. The agency initially said he experienced “medical distress” and that they were investigating the incident. A detainee held at Camp East Montana was interviewed, who said he saw guards choking Lunas when he refused to ​enter solitary confinement. This death is now considered a homicide by local officials.”

• Renee Good was shot and killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by ICE agents as she attempted to turn her car around. She was 37 years old.

• Alex Pretti, a nurse, was shot and killed trying to help someone who ICE was accosting. He was shot several times after being subdued by ICE agents.

• Ophelia Baukholt, a member of the cult-like Zizians, was killed in a shootout with CBP officers. At the same time, a CBP officer was killed, and Teresa Youngblut, another Zizian, was injured. This incident was not related to Trump’s immigration crackdown.

• ​“Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a blind refugee from Burma, was dropped off at a doughnut shop in February’s frigid temperatures in Buffalo, New York, 5 miles from home. He was found dead days later. Had they taken him home or left him at the Erie County Holding Facility, where he had been detained and where his family went to pick him up, he would not have died. The case is being investigated as a homicide.

Non-Fatal Shootings

Nathaniel Muniz-Spry, 39, was shot in the leg while trying to escape CBP officers in Blaine, Washington, just steps from the Canadian border on June 16, 2026. Muniz-Spry is a resident of Everson, Washington. He is being charged with possession of a firearm by a felon.

Clemente Lara-Hernandez - “ICE agents shot at a vehicle in Harrisburg Wednesday after a wanted man fled from them.

An ICE spokesman said the shooting in a residential neighborhood happened because the driver, Clemente Lara-Hernandez, “weaponized” his vehicle by “ramming it” into an ICE agent’s sedan.

But surveillance footage obtained by PennLive contradicts that and shows agents breaking the driver’s side window, then firing at the vehicle after the driver drove around the ICE vehicle, clipping the front end as he fled.”

Non-Fatal Shootings-Previously Reported

• Blu Zeke Daly, aka Cullen Zeke Daly, 26 years of age, was shot by a border patrol officer just after midnight on Sunday, February 23, 2026, in Pittsburg, New Hampshire, near the Canadian border.

• Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez was shot multiple times by ICE officers in Patterson, California, on April 7, 2026. The ICE agents allege that Mendoza rammed their car, trying to flee, and that’s when they opened fire. Officials reported that he is a suspected gang member wanted for questioning regarding a murder in El Salvador. His attorney said his client only rammed the officers’ car(s) after they began shooting. He was stopped when shots were first fired. His attorney also reported that Mendoza had never been convicted of a crime.

• On October 4, 2025, Miramar Martinez, a thirty year old U.S. citizen was driving in her Chicago Neighborhood, thirty-year-old U.S. citizen, Mirimar Martinez warning residents about ICE operations, Martinez when Customs and Border Protection agent Charles Exum pulled up behind her, aiming an assault rifle at her vehicle and shouting, “do something, bitch” before opening fire, striking her five times in the arms and legs.

• Carlitos Ricardo Parias, 44-year-old, known as “RichardLA” on TikTok (130,000+ followers), South Los Angeles, CA, Date: October 21, 2025.

• Jose Garcia-Sorto, Phoenix, AZ, originally from Honduras, Date: October 29, 2025.

• Carlos Jimenez, Ontario, CA, 24-year-old U.S. citizen, Date: October 30, 2025.

Tiago Alexandre Sousa-Martins, originally from Portugal (visa overstay), and Solomon Antonio Serrano-Esquivel, originally from El Salvador, Glen Burnie, MD, Date: December 24, 2025 (Christmas Eve morning). Serrano-Esquivel was not shot but was injured in the crash that occurred after the driver, Sousa-Martins, was shot.

Died in Detention

Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal with two of his six children.

Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal, 41, an Afghan National who fought alongside U.S. forces in Afghanistan, died on March 14, 2026, of an adverse drug reaction one day after being detained. He is also listed under the previously reported deaths because I reported his death in April but did not know his background until an AP article published on Monday provided more detailed information.

According to the AP article, “An advocacy group, AfghanEvac, and two members of Congress on Monday called on Texas authorities to release his autopsy report, which they have sought to withhold by arguing its disclosure would interfere with a pending criminal investigation.

‘This family has a right to know what happened,’ said Shawn VanDiver, president of AfghanEvac. He asked authorities to explain what substance triggered the allergic reaction, how it got into his system, and why the date of the injury on the death certificate was listed as the day before Paktiawal was taken into custody…

An advocacy group, AfghanEvac, and two members of Congress on Monday called on Texas authorities to release his autopsy report, which they have sought to withhold by arguing its disclosure would interfere with a pending criminal investigation.

“This family has a right to know what happened,” said Shawn VanDiver, president of AfghanEvac. He asked authorities to explain what substance triggered the allergic reaction, how it got into his system and why the date of the injury on the death certificate was listed as the day before Paktiawal was taken into custody.”

Felix Alcorta-Rodriguez, age 63, 06-19-2026, Mexico, died of natural causes pending an autopsy.

Died in Detention - Previously Reported

• Mamuka Artmeladze, 43, Georgia, Cause of death pending autopsy

• Denny Adan Gonzalez, 33, Cuba, Presumed suicide, under investigation.

• Aled Damien Carbonell-Betancourt, 27, Cuba, presumed suicide, under investigation.

• Alejandro Cabrera Clemente, 49, Mexico, found unresponsive.

• Brayan Rayo Garzón, 27, Colombia, presumed suicide, under investigation.

• Denny Adan Gonzalez, 33, Cuba

• Aled Damien Carbonell-Betancourt, 27, Cuba

• Alejandro Cabrera Clemente, 49, Mexico

• Tuan Van Bui, 55, Vietnam

• Jose Guadalupe Ramos-Solanos, age 52, Mexico

• Royer Perez Jimenez, age 19, Mexico

• Emanuel Cleeford Damas, age 56, Haiti

• Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal, age 41, Afghanistan

• Pejman Karshenas Najafabadi, age 59, Iran

• Alberto Gutierrez Reyes, age 48, Mexico

• Jairo Garcia Hernandez, age 27, Guatemala

• Lorth Sim, age 59, Cambodia

• Victor Manuel Diaz, age 36, Nicaragua

• Heber Sánchez Domínguez, age 34, Mexico

• Parady La, age 46, Cambodia

• Luis Beltran Yanez-Cruz, age 68, Honduras

• Luis Gustavo Núñez Cáceres, age 42, Honduras

• Oscar Duarte Rascon, age 58, Mexico

• Huabing Xie, age 53, China

• Chaofeng Ge, age 32, China

• Ismael Ayala Uribe, age 39, Mexico

• Santos Reyes-Banegas, age 42, Honduras

• Nenko Stanev Gantchev, age 46, Bulgaria

• Delvin Francisco Rodriguez, age 39, Nicaragua

• Fouad Saeed Abdulkadir, age 46, Eritrea

• Jean Wilson Brutus, age 41, Haiti

• Shiraz Fatehali Sachwani, age 48, Pakistan

• Pete Sumalo Montejo, age 72, Philippines

• Francisco Gaspar-Andres, age 48, Guatemala

• Kai Yin Wong, age 63, China

• Gabriel Garcia-Aviles, age 56, Mexico

• Hasan Ali Moh’D Saleh, age 67, Jordan

• Leo Cruz-Silva, age 34, Mexico

• Miguel Angel Garcia-Hernandez, age 31, Mexico

• Norlan Guzman-Fuentes, age 37, El Salvador

• Lorenzo Antonio Batrez Vargas, 32, Mexico

• Isidro Perez, Age 75, Cuba

• Johnny Noviello, age 49, Canada

• Jesus Molina-Veya, 45, Mexico

• Abelardo Avellaneda-Delgado, age 68, Mexico

• Marie Ange Blaise, age 44, Haiti

• Nhon Ngoc Nguyen, age 55, China

• Brayan Rayo-Garzon, age 27, Colombia

• Juan Alexis Tineo-Martinez, age 44, Dominican Republic

• Maksym Chernyak, age 45, Ukraine

• Serawit Gezahegn Dejene, age 45, Ethiopia

• Tien Xuan Phan, 55, Vietnam

• Unnamed 52-year-old Chinese woman

Arrests

ICE arrested over 10,000 people over five days in June, according to an anonymous report! This 2,000 daily average is much higher than the December 2025 through February 2026 period, when it averaged 1,000- 1,300 arrests per day. DHS does not report arrest data, but according to UC Berkeley’s Deportation Data Project, the previous highest per-day average during the second Trump administration occurred in December, 2025 when DHS arrested 1,283 people per day.

Detention Centers

According to the Associated Press, the number of people entering ICE detention centers also increased dramatically in June, from an average of 30,000 detentions a month since February to approximately 39,000. Compare this to the 30,000 people in detention at the end of the Biden administration. These 39,000 from February must be added to the tens of thousands already in detention on January 31!

Deportations

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin confirmed on June 28, 2026, that 2026 deportation totals are on pace to exceed the 622,000 removals recorded in 2025, with projections suggesting the final count could surpass 1 million by year’s end.

DHS reports indicate that nearly 900,000 total removals have been conducted since January 2025. Mullin stated that at the current rate, 2025 totals would be surpassed within approximately six weeks.

With the Supreme Court's decision in Mullens v. Doe et al., the Trump administration may be able to deport 1.3 million people who had been protected from deportation under Temporary Protected Status over the next six months. This gives them a much larger pool of potential deportees.

Summary

To date, ICE and CBP have killed twelve people, seriously wounded ten more, and 55 have died in detention. Sixty-five people have died, and fifty-seven of them were under the age of 60! Many were aged 19 to 39, and there will be more, especially if DHS pushes its goal of one million deportations by year’s end.

The list of names continues to grow, but I will continue to name all the names each month no matter the length. They must be named, and only by seeing the enormous list of names will people realize the impact it is having on our nation. We must continue to remember those who have fallen; we must demonstrate, but most importantly, everyone must vote in November.

Source: Nouvette.com

The Supreme Court took a hatchet to another piece of legislation. This time, the portion of the Immigration Act of 1990 that created Temporary Protective Status for immigrants who cannot return to their country of origin for safety reasons.

Last Thursday, June 25th, it overturned the decision made by both the District Court and the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Mullen, Secretary of Homeland Security, et al. v Doe, et al., allowing the Department of Homeland Security to proceed with the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for people from Haiti and Syria who are in the U.S. under TPS. This will also affect people from the other ten countries who are here under TPS whose status has expired or is up for renewal within the next four months.

• Venezuela: Former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem determined that Venezuela no longer meets the conditions for its designation for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and that the termination of the 2023 Venezuela TPS designation is required as it is contrary to the national interest. On October 3, 2025, the Supreme Court allowed the termination to take immediate effect. Some Venezuelans, those who received TPS-related employment authorization documents (EADs), issued with October 2, 2026, expiration dates on or before February 5, 2025, will maintain work authorization and their documentation will remain valid until October 2, 2026, pursuant to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

• South Sudan: TPS expired January 5, 2026, extended per court order.

• Myanmar: TPS expired January 26, 2026, extended per court order.

• Ethiopia: TPS expired February 13, 2026, extended per court order.

• Somalia: TPS expired March 17, 2026, extended per court order.

• Yemen: TPS continues through May 4, 2026

• El Salvador: TPS continues through September 9, 2026,

• Lebanon: TPS continues through November 27, 2026

• Sudan: TPS continues through October 19, 2026

• Ukraine: TPS continues through October 19, 2026

The Supreme Court’s majority opinion in the Mullen v Doe case relied more on rationalizations than on sound legal arguments. It used an extremely expansive definition of the word “determination” to say that the Courts did not have the right to review the case.

Justice Alito, who wrote the majority opinion, claimed that the administration was not being racist in its decision not to extend Haiti’s TPS, even given Trump’s obnoxiously racist comments about Haiti and other third-world countries. His flawed argument relies on the premise that the Trump administration did not extend any country’s TPS of the several that have come up for renewal, so it must be a policy issue, not a racial one. He continued that since there is only one country with TPS status, Ukraine, which is majority white, and since extension has not yet reached its first renewal date, they have no means of comparing a white nation to a brown or black one. I guess he never thought that rejecting Honduras. Afghanistan, Nepal, Cameroon, and Nicaragua could have all been for racist reasons, as well.

Justice Kagan made great arguments in writing the minority opinion, explaining why Justice Alito’s arguments did not hold water and why the district and appeals court decisions should be upheld. She argued that Secretary Noem’s reasons for denying an extension did not meet a couple of the criteria for denial. The fact that she did not consult with other appropriate departments, especially the state Department, before making her decision, and secondly, she did not determine whether the country receiving those losing their status was safe enough for them to return. It doesn’t take a genius to know that the violence and instability of Haiti and Syria do not meet this test.

As of March 31, 2025, the most recent numbers available, approximately 1.3 million people lived in the United States covered by TPS. They came from seventeen countries, but since then, people from five countries have lost that status, accounting for approximately 75,000 people. Venezuelans also lost their status, but some can stay in the U.S. until October 2, 2026. The following are the countries that still have TPS in the U.S., and the number of people with that status as of March 31, 2025.

• Venezuela 605,015

• Haiti 330,735

• El Salvador 170,125

• Ukraine 101,150

• Ethiopia 4,540

• Syria 3,860

• Myanmar 3,670

• Sudan 1,790

• Yemen 1,380

• Somalia 705

• South Sudan 210

• Lebanon 140

What happens when people lose their TPS status? They become undocumented and lose their green cards. They can no longer legally work in the United States, so if they aren’t deported and remain, they would have no way to support themselves and their families. Sadly, news sources from Venezuela report that at least a dozen U.S. Deportees died in the earthquakes that occurred the day they arrived there.

As you can see, with the loss of the Venezuelans, Haitians, and Salvadorans, we could lose 1.1 million people! A huge hit to our labor force and our economy as a whole. The Penn Wharton Budget Model showed that, “ TPS workers generated $35.9 billion in GDP in 2023, with $10.7 billion from Florida alone, followed by Texas ($4.3B), California ($3.6B), and New York ($2.8B).”

The other side of this problem is that the economies, and possibly the governments of the countries where refugees return, may collapse under the strain of 100s of thousands of additional people. Both Haiti and Venezuela have almost non-existent governments, and Venezuela just experienced devastating earthquakes. El Salvador is in a better place, but it’s an underdeveloped nation that would have difficulties with a sudden influx of 100,000 people.

The 170,000 people with TPS status from El Salvador have been in this country for 36 years and have built lives for themselves; some have adult children and/or grandchildren who were born in the U.S. They could lose their status in September. Though the Lebanese and Sudanese have much smaller populations in the U.S., they’ve been here for 35 and 29 years, respectively.

Justice Kagan closed her opinion by briefly discussing the concerns of the two named individuals bringing the Syria and Haiti cases against the Secretary of DHS, and why they deserve to remain in the U.S. Following is the excerpt from her opinion.

“Take as examples two of the individual plaintiffs here. Fritz Emmanuel Lesly Miot is a Haitian national who has held TPS for fifteen years. He lives in California where he works in a laboratory researching Alzheimer’s, a job he can hold only because of his TPS work authorization. Miot suffers from Type 1 diabetes, which is easily treated in the United States. But in Haiti, the same disease can be a death sentence, given that country’s collapsed health-care infrastructure (attributable to both natural disasters and political conditions). And beyond those health issues, Miot believes his long-term residency in the United States would make him a prime target in Haiti for a kidnapping. Or consider Laila Doe, who fled Syria with her daughter in 2013 after her neighborhood was bombed. Today, Doe lives in Illinois where she works as a behavioral technician for individuals with disabilities and cares for her elderly mother, a U. S. citizen. Without TPS, she will have to leave her mother and return to a still ravaged, violent, and dangerous country. Doe fears that as a single woman living alone, she will be robbed or even killed there. And she is afraid that her now 17-year-old daughter, who has lived in this country almost all her life, will have no future in Syria because she speaks little Arabic.”

Refugees in the U.S. under Temporary Protective Status have no pathway to citizenship. They are here temporarily, but shouldn’t there be a way to become a permanent resident or even a citizen after living here for a predetermined number of years? What about Mr. Miot or Ms. Doe? Don’t we want alzheimer researchers and behavioral researchers to stay and contribute to our well-being, economy, and culture?

This is just one more reason we need a comprehensive immigration policy that provides a pathway to citizenship for anyone who has been a law-abiding resident in the U.S. for a specific number of years regardless of how they got here.

Sources

MULLIN, SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, ET AL. v. DOE ET AL., United States Supreme Court, June 25, 2026, https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/25-1083_f204.pdf.

Temporary Protective Status, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration, Department of Homeland Security, 2026, https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/temporary-protected-status.

Jesús Villero, Brendan Warshauer and Youran Wu, 550,000 Workers Lose Status by End of 2025: Potential Impact by State and Industry, Penn Wharton Budget Model, University of Pennsylvania, November 19, 2025, https://budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu/p/2025-11-19-550-000-workers-lose-status-by-end-of-2025/.

Temporary Protected Status (TPS): An Overview, American Immigration Council, June 25, 2026, https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/fact-sheet/temporary-protected-status-tps-overview/.

Introduction

It seems as though book bans have been out of the news for months, but they are still happening on a weekly, if not daily basis. In earlier articles, I have written about other news and information sources that have been swallowed up by American oligarchs who are benefiting from the Trump administration. The print media, social media, television, and even the motion picture industry have seen consolidation by a few billionaires who support Trump. Book bans are one more way that MAGA is limiting information to make it easier to indoctrinate the masses.

According to popular belief, concerned parents start book bans at the local level, but at least in the last several years, this has not been the case. Primarily, they have been initiated by well-financed, national conservative organizations such as Moms for Liberty, Citizens Defending Freedom, and Parents’ Rights in Education. These organizations go to governors, state legislatures, local school boards, and city council meetings and falsely claim that librarians are peddling pornography, inflaming the local citizens to action.

There are three parts to this article. The first provides data on the staggering number of books being banned and how book bans have increased dramatically over the past five years, rising from less than 300 per year before 2021 to more than 4,000 in 2005!

The second part will discuss how the books being banned disproportionally affect LGBTQIA, racial minorities, and teenagers in general. Some LGBTQIA teenagers have even claimed that books on the banned lists had saved their lives! This part also lists the twenty books that have been banned most frequently.

The third part provides four examples of the thousands of librarians who have risked their jobs, reputation, and safety to fight against book bans.

Book Bans by The Numbers

I have found two great sources if you would like to dig deeper into book bans in America: the American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom and PEN America. Their statistics vary slightly primarily because the ALA uses the calendar year and PEN America uses the school year. Another difference is that PEN America concentrates on school libraries, whereas the ALA looks more at the overall picture, but both organizations’ numbers are staggering.

PEN America reported that there were 6,870 book bans in the U.S. in the 2024-2025 school year and 22,810 cases of book bans across 45 states and 451 public school districts since July 2021.

The ALA reports 5,668 books banned in 2005. According to ALA, 51% of the challenges made to ban books were directed at public libraries, 37% at school libraries, 8% at school curricula, and 3% at higher education. ALA also reported 4,280 unique titles targeted in 2025 compared to a range of 208 to 276 annually from 2016 to 2020!

According to the report, “Facts & Fiction, Stories Stripped Away By Book Bans”, “While fiction titles still make up the majority of banned titles, the 2024-2025 school year saw a shift in the share of nonfiction and fiction titles compared to the previous year; fiction titles dropped from 85% to 69% of all banned titles, while nonfiction rose from 14% to a startling 29% of all banned titles… For books banned in the 2024-2025 school year, a strain of anti-intellectualism, as illustrated in bans on nonfiction titles, also mirrors the broader political attack on facts and knowledge and the skepticism and devaluation of, and disdain for, experts and expertise—tactics long associated with the rise of authoritarian regimes and intended to sow distrust in democratic institutions.”

Those Most Affected

The minority groups that are most negatively impacted by the book bans are the LGBTQIA, Black and Brown Americans, teenagers, and Native Americans. By limiting books that highlight these groups as strong, responsible, and courageous people, white people, especially white males, become the only role models in literature. This is meant to denigrate all minorities and portray them as “less than” whites. It can also have significant negative impacts on pre-teens and teens in their formative years when they cannot find books that explain why they feel the way that they do.

ALA statistics show that in 2025, “of the unique titles challenged in 2025, 1,671 (39%) represent the lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ people and people of color.” The reasons most commonly cited for censorship were false claims of illegal obscenity for minors; inclusion of LGBTQIA+ representation; covering topics of race, racism, social justice, and diversity; and presenting political or religious views with which the challengers disagreed.” PEN America reported similar data. See the graph below.

Below is a list of the 20 books compiled by PEN America that have been banned the most over the past five years. For the full list of 52 most banned, see https://pen.org/top-52-banned-books-since-2021/.

The books are both fiction and non-fiction and cover not only issues of LGBTQIA and racial minorities, but also such topics as bullying, a school shooting, teen prostitution, and human trafficking. Many of the books are highly acclaimed by great authors. Books such as A Handmaid's Tale, The Bluest Eye, and Water for Elephants, and great authors such as Toni Morrison, Ellen Hopkins, and Sarah J. Maas.

Books Band Most From 2021-2025: The Most Banned Books in U.S. Schools (PEN America)

1. Looking for Alaska, by John Green. 147 bans.

2. Nineteen Minutes, by Jodi Picoult. 142 bans.

3. Sold, by Patricia McCormick. 136 bans.

4. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky. 135 bans.

5. Crank, by Ellen Hopkins. 128 bans.

6. Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher. 126 bans.

7. Tricks, by Ellen Hopkins. 120 bans.

8. The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison. 116 bans.

9. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini. 115 bans.

10. A Court of Mist and Fury, by Sarah J. Maas. 112 bans.

11. Identical, by Ellen Hopkins. 110 bans.

12. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood. 106 bans.

13. Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen. 101 bans.

14. All Boys Aren’t Blue, by George M. Johnson. 100 bans.

15. (tie). The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie. 99 bans.

    (tie). Empire of Storms, by Sarah J. Maas. 99 bans.

    (tie). A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J. Maas. 99 bans.

18. Out of Darkness, by Ashley Hope Pérez. 98 bans.

19. Gender Queer: A Memoir, by Maia Kobabe. 94 bans.

20. A Court of Wings and Ruin, by Sarah J. Maas. 92 bans.

The Real Heroes: Librarians

Finally, I want to talk about the real heroes of the book bans: the librarians. Thousands of librarians have been torn over whether to resist the ban and possibly lose their jobs, be harassed and ostracized by the community, or go along and betray their profession's standards. Here are just four examples of those who have resisted.

Amanda Jones, author of “That Librarian,” was a middle school librarian in her hometown of Livingston-Parish, Louisiana, where she had been employed for 24 years. After speaking in opposition to the book ban in her district, she was harassed, accused of being a pedophile, and received death threats. Friends turned against her, but she did not give in to the pressure.

Suzette Baker, former head librarian at Kingland Library, filed a lawsuit against Llano County, Texas, and local library officials, alleging she was fired for refusing to take books the defendants had banned.

Five years ago, Becky Calzada, a school librarian in Leander, Texas, was on the front lines of the State of Texas book ban. She founded #FReadom Fighters to fight censorship. Her opposition to the book ban earned her the ALA’s Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award, the American Association of School Librarians’ Intellectual Freedom Award, and the Texas Library Association’s Libraries Change Communities Award.

Martha Hickson, school librarian at North Hunterdon High School in Annandale, NJ, was falsely labeled a sex offender, received hate mail, and was a target of vandalism for opposing book bans at her school. She received the 2022 Lemony Snicket Prize for Noble Librarians for her efforts.

To hear more librarians’ stories, I recommend watching the PBS documentary, The Librarians, streaming on PBS Passport.

There is much more to learn about book banning, but not enough room to cover it all. For more information, PEN America, the American Library Association, and the sources listed below will give you a great start.

Sources

Lisa Tolin, Banned Books List 2026, PEN America, February 20, 2026, https://pen.org/banned-books-list-2026/

James Factora, These Are the Far Right-Groups Leading the Book Ban Explosion, Them, September 21, 2023, https://www.them.us/story/book-bans-conservative-advocacy-groups

The Normalization of Book Banning, PEN America, October 1, 2025, https://pen.org/report/the-normalization-of-book-banning/

Censorship by the Numbers: Banned Books Data, American Library Association, 2026, https://www.ala.org/bbooks/book-ban-data

Facts & Fiction, PEN America, May 7, 2026, https://pen.org/report/facts-fiction/#heading-1

Lisa Tolin, Top 52 Banned Books: The Most Banned Books in U.S. Schools, PEN America, December 16, 2025, https://pen.org/top-52-banned-books-since-2021/

The Librarians, Directed by Kim A. Snyder, February 09, 2026, https://thelibrariansfilm.com/streaming/

Carol Peters, Alumna Who Fought Book Ban as School Librarian Receives National Award, Rutgers Today, Rutgers University, July 18, 2022, https://www.rutgers.edu/news/rutgers-alumna-who-fought-book-ban-school-librarian-receives-national-award

Carly Tagen-Dye, In New Memoir, Librarian Amanda Jones Recounts Her Fight Against Book Bans: ‘I’m Going to Keep Going’ (Exclusive), People Magazine, August 31, 2024, https://people.com/librarian-amanda-jones-fights-book-ban-memoir-exclusive-8703168

Kiara Alfonseca, Former librarian sues Texas county, alleges she was fired for refusing to remove books, ABC News, March 6, 2024, https://abcnews.com/US/former-librarian-sues-texas-county-alleges-fired-refusing/story?id=107812787

Kiko Martinez, She’s with the Banned: Texas librarian shares battle over book bans in PBS documentary, San Antonio Current, San Antonio, TX, February 16, 2026, https://www.sacurrent.com/movies-tv/movies/shes-with-the-banned-texas-librarian-shares-battle-over-book-bans-in-pbs-documentary/

Tomorrow is Juneteenth, the celebration of the end of slavery in Texas. But the end of slavery is not necessarily freedom, nor is it equal rights with whites. In the United States, we have played a game of “giving” civil rights to Blacks and then taking them away. As the Supreme Court just did by gutting the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

By the way, I put the word giving in quotes, because who are we, white America, to have the audacity to think it’s our prerogative to give or take away freedom; to give or take away rights from another race. And we’ve done it for over 500 years.

By the 1480s, Portuguese sailors were transporting African slaves to islands off the Atlantic Coast of Africa to work on sugar plantations. Around 1500 C.E., the Spanish conquistadors began bringing African slaves to the Caribbean, followed by the Dutch in the 17th century and England and France in the 18th century.

From the 16th century to the middle of the 19th century, European nations transported 10 to 12 million slaves to the Americas. By 1808, when the U.S. prohibited the importation of slaves from other nations, at least 388,000 slaves had been brought to the U.S. from Africa. We will start our timeline of U.S. slavery with the Fugitive Slave Clause in the Constitution, notwithstanding the treatment of slaves from the 1600s to 1787.

Even though there was a clause concerning fugitive slaves in the U.S. Constitution allowing slave owners to hunt for and return slaves to their plantations or homes, it had no penalties. So in 1793, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, which allowed slave owners and their agents to go into free states to find and capture their slaves. To be able to take them out of the state, the owners had to show evidence that the slaves belonged to them. Also, anyone harboring or hiding a slave could be fined $500.

Over time, many of the Northern states simply ignored the law, so in 1850, the Southern states pushed for and convinced Congress to pass the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. This law compelled citizens to aid in the capture of slaves, denied captured slaves the right to a jury trial, and fined those harboring or hiding slaves a $1,000 fine. It also placed enforcement of the law in the hands of Federal commissioners, who were paid more to send back a black person than to free him/her.

When Abraham Lincoln, an abolitionist, was elected President in November 1860, the Southern States panicked, believing that Lincoln would convince Congress to abolish slavery. During the six months from December 11, 1860, to June 8, 1861, the eleven states that would form the Confederate States of the Union seceded from the U.S. The Civil War began with the battle of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861.

In 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation proclaimed freedom to enslaved people in the Confederate States. On January 16, 1865, Field Order 15 was issued by General William Tecumseh Sherman, designating a 400,000-acre strip of land in South Carolina, Georgia, and Northern Florida for the settlement of freed slaves. In March of 1865, Congress passed legislation establishing what is commonly called the Freedmen’s Bureau to facilitate freed slaves’ transition into freedom. One of its duties was to distribute the land under Field Order 15 of up to 40 acres to freed slaves.

From March to October, the Freedman’s Bureau began allocating the seized land to black families. On April 14, 1865, President Lincoln was assassinated, and Vice-President Andrew Johnson from Tennessee became President. In October of 1865, he revoked Field Order 15 and began returning land to those who had owned it when it was seized, revoking the land titles former slaves had received. In 1865 and 1866, Johnson, who was no fan of emancipation, also encouraged Southern states to enact a set of “Black Codes” that restricted the rights of black citizens.

The 13th,14th, and 15th amendments to the Constitution were ratified in 1865, 1868, and 1870, respectively. These three amendments abolished slavery, bestowed voting rights on former slaves, and gave them the right to vote.

Following the midterm election of 1866, the Republican Congress began what would be known as Radical Reconstruction. In March of 1867, Congress passed the Reconstruction Act of 1867 over President Johnson’s veto, which divided the South into five military districts and mapped out how governments would conduct business under universal male suffrage. It also required the former Confederate states to ratify the 14th Amendment as a prerequisite to return to the Union.

Apart from losing the land promised to them in Field Order 15 and the Black Codes, blacks in the South had made great strides from 1865 to 1877. They were elected to local, state, and even Congressional seats. But it was not to last. There was still a great deal of racial bigotry in the South and the North, and in 1874, when an economic depression hit the South, the Democrats won control of Congress for the first time since the Civil War. When Mississippi Democrats attempted to take over the state government by force in 1875, President Grant refused to send troops and ended the U.S. Federal Government. support of Reconstruction. Three years later, the Compromise of 1877 marked the end of Reconstruction in the South.

The Compromise of 1877 concerned the election of Rutherford B. Hayes as president. There were contested votes in the election, which left no candidate with a majority of the Electoral College. Louisiana, Florida, and South Carolina threw their votes to Republican candidate Hayes with the understanding that all federal troops would be withdrawn from the South.

Thus ushered in the Jim Crow era, which many believed lasted until sometime in the 1950’s. Jim Crow laws in the South restricted voting, trial by a jury of their peers, and other civil rights for blacks. It called for separate bathrooms, water fountains, and seating in theaters. It banned blacks from White restaurants and other establishments and mandated that blacks sit in the back of the bus. This was accompanied by intimidation and violence, and even death for almost any reason. It meant that Blacks were sent to prison far more often than Whites, and when in prison could be hired out to the same plantation owners that used slaves before the Civil War.

This may have been worse in the South than in the North, but certainly, there was intimidation, discrimination, and violence against blacks and other minorities in the North, as well. There were certainly Federal laws or regulations, such as redlining neighborhoods to keep Blacks and other minorities from getting low-interest home loans, that adversely affected their wealth accumulation both in the North and the South.

Supreme Court rulings in the late 1950’s, such as Brown v. The Board of Education, mandating public school desegregation, the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, ended Jim Crow and made great strides towards equal rights. But the last ten years have shown that there is still a great deal of racial hatred and discrimination.

The latest salvo in this battle against social justice was the Supreme Court ruling in Calais v. Louisiana, where the majority of justices just eviscerated the Civil Rights Act of 1965, allowing states, especially Southern states, to gerrymander Congressional districts so that Black votes count less than White votes.

This is a time for our nation to celebrate the end of slavery, but also reflect on how much still needs to be done. It’s been over 160 years since the Emancipation Proclamation, and we are so far from equal rights and equal justice. We must make this right through our voices, our actions, and our votes.

Sources

Tonya Mosley interviews Eddie Glaude Jr., As the U.S. turns 250, this historian has blunt advice: ‘America has to grow up’, Fresh Air, NPR, https://www.npr.org/transcripts/nx-s1-5856348, June 15, 2026.

“Estimated number of African slaves transported*” by various world powers** during the transatlantic slave trade in each century from 1501 to 1866, Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1150477/number-slaves-taken-by-national-carriers/, 2026.

Transatlantic Slave Trade Timeline, Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/summary/Transatlantic-Slave-Trade-Timeline, 2026.

The Slave Trade, National Archives, https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/slave-trade.html, January, 2022.

The Slave Trade, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian, //www.americanhistory.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/many-voices/online/peopling-expanding-nation-1776–1900/western-migration/slave-trade,

Various Articles from History.com, A&E Television Productions:

• Fugitive Slave Acts, https://www.history.com/articles/fugitive-slave-acts, 2026

• Reconstruction, https://www.history.com/articles/reconstruction, 2026.

• Andrew Johnson, https://www.history.com/articles/andrew-johnson, 2026

• Compromise of 1877, https://www.history.com/articles/compromise-of-1877, 2026

The Rise and Fall of the Freedmen’s Bureau, National Park Service, https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-freedmen-s-bureau.htm, July 18, 2025.

A Brief History of Civil Rights in the United States: Reconstruction and Jim Crow Eras, Howard University School of Law, Howard University, https://library.law.howard.edu/civilrightshistory/blackrights/jimcrow, June 8, 2026.

It’s great that we have many young candidates in the Democratic Party who bring a much more progressive agenda to Congress if elected. But if elected, will these new representatives and senators be able and willing to make meaningful change? Will they continue to resist big money for their campaigns, or will they succumb to the temptation?

Since the 1980’s, whether Democrats or Republicans have been in power, the income gap between the very rich and everyone else has widened to a point that looks more like one would see in a third-world country. For all intents and purposes, the U.S. has lost its middle class. We have a very small percentage of wealthy people, and everyone else is struggling.

I wrote articles months ago about this issue, but today I would like to concentrate on how the Democratic Party has, over time, permitted this to happen. It’s not that the Democrats have completely ignored the hourly wage-earner; it’s that it hasn’t done enough. As labor unions shrank in size and in donations to political candidates, blue-collar workers became a lower priority, and suburban progressives a higher one.

For decades, this worked out okay for both parties, but the income gap reached a point where the majority of Americans could no longer afford the standard of living to which they were accustomed. They elected a President and Congress that were outside the traditional Republican and Democratic norms. Eventually, the radical, MAGA arm of Republicans took control and became the Republican Party. We now have two major parties, neither of which is popular with a majority of the population. Independents far outnumber both the Democrats and Republicans.

I would argue that currently, we have a far-right party and a moderate party. No one is representing the liberal side of the political spectrum that should be representing the workers, whether black, brown, or white, whether female, male, or non-binary. The reason for this comes down to winning elections, which should mean representing one’s constituents, but in this era of the thirty-second or even five-second sound bite, it comes down to money and lots of it.

We need a party that is not afraid of raising taxes on the rich, raising the minimum wage to a living wage, strengthening labor laws, developing a reasonable path for citizenship, decreasing military spending to something comparable to other first-world nations, increasing social programs that come closer to what other wealthy nations have and limiting the size of political contributions from PACs, Super-PACs, multi-millionaires, and billionaires!

If we do not accomplish these and other progressive issues, we will continue to weaken our economy, flip from one party to the other every election cycle, or a third party will be developed to meet the needs of the majority of citizens in this country, which may not be the worst thing that could happen.

Get out and vote, and make sure you have the necessary documents to vote. If you are not registered to vote, do it now. If you have the time, help get out the vote, drive others to the polls, and/or work at the polls.

A couple of related news items transpired last week that may be of interest to all of you. On Saturday, it was announced that a special unit of the Illinois State Police has launched an investigation into the killing of Silverio Villegas González, who was fatally shot in the neck by ICE agents on his way home from dropping his children off at day care and school in Franklin Park, Illinois, a suburb af Chicago, and a majority Hispanic/Latino community.

The second news item last week was the announcement from ICE that it would no longer release names of those who have died after recently being released from detention. This will hamper my reporting of people who may have been denied medical care, and when their condition became critical, were released to go home and die!

As I have mentioned before, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is sometimes slow and sporadic when releasing news and information. For instance, there are two reported shootings where persons were wounded, one in February and one in the middle of April, but I found nothing about either one for my May report. You can read about them below.

New Killings

There are no new killings reported since my last report

Killings from Prior Reports

• Ruben Ray Martinez, a U.S. citizen who was shot and killed by a federal immigration agent on South Padre Island in Texas on March 15, 2025, had traveled there to celebrate his 23rd birthday. He was just trying to turn his car around when he was shot and killed by ICE,

• “Keith Porter Jr, a 43-year-old black U.S. citizen, was fatally shot by an off-duty ICE agent outside of his Los Angeles apartment complex on the evening of 31 December 2025.”

• “On July 7, 2025, CBP officers shot and killed 27-year-old Ryan Luis Mosqueda after he opened fire on a CBP facility in McAllen, Texas.”

• “Silverio Villegas González, a 38-year-old undocumented immigrant from Mexico, was shot and killed on Sept. 12, 2025.”

• “While conducting enforcement operations along the Rio Grande, a CBP agent shot and killed 31-year-old Mexican national, Isaias Sanchez Barboza, who had just crossed the border with a group of people.”

• “Geraldo Lunas ⁠Campos died January 3, 2026, at ​Camp East Montana detention center in El Paso, Texas, at Age 55. The agency initially said he experienced “medical distress” and that they were investigating the incident. A detainee held at Camp East Montana was interviewed, who said he saw guards choking Lunas when he refused to ​enter solitary confinement. This death is now considered a homicide by local officials.”

• Renee Good was shot and killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by ICE agents as she attempted to turn her car around. She was 37 years old.

• Alex Pretti, a nurse, was shot and killed trying to help someone who ICE was accosting. He was shot several times after being subdued by ICE agents.

• Ophelia Baukholt, a member of the cult-like Zizians, was killed in a shootout with CBP officers. At the same time, a CBP officer was killed, and Teresa Youngblut, another Zizian, was injured. This incident was not related to Trump’s immigration crackdown.

• ​“Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a blind refugee from Burma, was dropped off at a doughnut shop in February’s Buffalo, New York, frigid temperatures, 5 miles from home. He was found dead days later. Had they taken him home or left him at the Erie County Holding Facility, where he had been detained and where his family went to pick him up, he would not have died. The case is being investigated as a homicide.

Newly Reported Non-Fatal Shootings

• Blu Zeke Daly, aka Cullen Zeke Daly, 26 years of age, was shot by a border patrol officer just after midnight on Sunday, February 23, 2026, in Pittsburg, New Hampshire, near the Canadian border. He had been stopped by the same officer in Stewartstown, NH, approximately 13 miles from Pittsburg. No charges were brought or tickets issued. When Daly drove away the CBP officer followed him at a safe distance. When Daly approached the border crossing, it was closed, and Daly began to turn back when the officer turned on his lights. At that point, Daly allegedly shot at the officer with a handgun. The officer returned fire, hitting Daly. Daly was arrested for attempted murder. Questions remain as to why Daly was stopped in the first place and why the officer decided to follow him.

• Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez was shot multiple times by ICE officers in Patterson, California, on April 7, 2026. The ICE agents allege that Mendoza rammed their car, trying to flee, and that’s when they opened fire. Officials reported that he is a suspected gang member wanted for questioning regarding a murder in El Salvador. His attorney said his client only rammed the officers’ car(s) after they began shooting. He was stopped when shots were first fired. His attorney also reported that Mendoza had never been convicted of a crime. While he was arrested for murder in El Salvador, he was exonerated, and a judge ordered his immediate release. Others have since been convicted of that murder.

  He underwent three surgeries related to the gunshot wounds and has difficulty speaking because he was shot in the jaw. He is 38 years old, has a two-year-old daughter, is gainfully employed, and is engaged to be married to a U.S. citizen.

Non-Fatal Shootings Previously Reported

• On October 4, 2025, Miramar Martinez, a thirty year old U.S. citizen was driving in her Chicago Neighborhood, thirty-year-old U.S. citizen, Mirimar Martinez warning residents about ICE operations, Martinez when Customs and Border Protection agent Charles Exum pulled up behind her, aiming an assault rifle at her vehicle and shouting, “do something, bitch” before opening fire, striking her five times in the arms and legs.

• Carlitos Ricardo Parias, 44-year-old, known as “RichardLA” on TikTok (130,000+ followers), South Los Angeles, CA, Date: October 21, 2025.

• Jose Garcia-Sorto, Phoenix, AZ, originally from Honduras, Date: October 29, 2025.

• Carlos Jimenez, Ontario, CA, 24-year-old U.S. citizen, Date: October 30, 2025.

• Tiago Alexandre Sousa-Martins, originally from Portugal (visa overstay), and Solomon Antonio Serrano-Esquivel, originally from El Salvador, Glen Burnie, MD, Date: December 24, 2025 (Christmas Eve morning). Serrano-Esquivel was not shot but was injured in the crash that occurred after the driver, Sousa-Martins, was shot.

Died in Detention - Newly Reported

Mamuka Artmeladze, 43, Georgia, 06-04-26, Cause of death pending autopsy

Denny Adan Gonzalez, 33, Cuba, 04-28-26, Presumed suicide, under investigation.

Aled Damien Carbonell-Betancourt, 27, Cuba, 04-12-26, Presumed suicide, under investigation.

Alejandro Cabrera Clemente, 49, Mexico, 04-11-26, Found unresponsive.

Brayan Rayo Garzón, 27, Colombia, 04-07-26, Presumed suicide, under investigation.

According to an article by St. Louis Public, “in May 2024, Garzón-Rayo was charged with shoplifting in Shrewsbury. He missed a court hearing in January, and the court put out a warrant for his arrest by the end of that month, according to court documents.

The Shrewsbury prosecuting attorney’s office did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

In March, the St. Louis circuit attorney’s office charged Garzón-Rayo with a misdemeanor for credit card fraud. Weeks later, he’d be dead.

According to a probable cause statement, Garzón-Rayo used a credit card that didn’t belong to him at The Nic, a vape shop on Delmar Boulevard. Grainy security footage obtained by St. Louis Public Radio shows Garzón-Rayo and two other men at the store on March 11…

Roughly two weeks after the credit card incident, Garzón-Rayo and his sister Deisy Garzón noticed several police officers taking pictures of their vehicles outside their home. Garzón-Rayo went to find out what was going on. That’s when police turned Garzón-Rayo around, handcuffed him and put him in the back of a police vehicle, the family said…

ICE arrested Garzón-Rayo on March 25 after he spent a day in police custody and transported him 100 miles to the Phelps County Jail…

The Missouri Highway Patrol, Division of Drug and Crime Control, opened an investigation into Garzón-Rayo’s death. The Garzon family still has many unanswered questions about what led to Garzon Rayo’s death.

Deaths While in Detention Previously Reported

• Denny Adan Gonzalez, 33, Cuba,

• Aled Damien Carbonell-Betancourt, 27, Cuba

• Alejandro Cabrera Clemente, 49, Mexico

• Tuan Van Bui, 55, Vietnam

• Jose Guadalupe Ramos-Solanos, age 52, Mexico

• Royer Perez Jimenez, age 19, Mexico

• Emanuel Cleeford Damas, age 56, Haiti

• Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal, 41, Afghanistan

• Pejman Karshenas Najafabadi, age 59, Iran

• Alberto Gutierrez Reyes, age 48, Mexico

• Jairo Garcia Hernandez, age 27, Guatemala

• Lorth Sim, age 59, Cambodia

• Victor Manuel Diaz, age 36, Nicaragua

• Heber Sánchez Domínguez, age 34, Mexico

• Parady La, age 46, Cambodia

• Luis Beltran Yanez-Cruz, age 68, Honduras

• Luis Gustavo Núñez Cáceres, age 42, Honduras

• Oscar Duarte Rascon, age 58, Mexico

• Huabing Xie, age 53, China

• Chaofeng Ge, age 32, China

• Ismael Ayala Uribe, age 39, Mexico

• · Santos Reyes-Banegas, age 42, Honduras

• Nenko Stanev Gantchev, age 46, Bulgaria

• Delvin Francisco Rodriguez, age 39, Nicaragua

• Fouad Saeed Abdulkadir, age 46, Eritrea

• Jean Wilson Brutus, age 41, Haiti

• Shiraz Fatehali Sachwani, age 48, Pakistan

• Pete Sumalo Montejo, age 72, Philippines

• Francisco Gaspar-Andres, age 48, Guatemala

• Kai Yin Wong, age 63, China

• Gabriel Garcia-Aviles, age 56, Mexico

• Hasan Ali Moh’D Saleh, age 67, Jordan

• Leo Cruz-Silva, age 34, Mexico

• Miguel Angel Garcia-Hernandez, age 31, Mexico

• Norlan Guzman-Fuentes, age 37, El Salvador

• Lorenzo Antonio Batrez Vargas, 32, Mexico

• Isidro Perez, Age 75, Cuba

• Johnny Noviello, age 49, Canada

• Jesus Molina-Veya, 45, Mexico

• Abelardo Avellaneda-Delgado, age 68, Mexico

• Marie Ange Blaise, age 44, Haiti

• Nhon Ngoc Nguyen, age 55, China

• Brayan Rayo-Garzon, age 27, Columbia

• Juan Alexis Tineo-Martinez, age 44, Dominican Republic

• Maksym Chernyak, age 45, Ukraine

• Serawit Gezahegn Dejene, age 45, Ethiopia

• Tien Xuan Phan, 55, Vietnam

• Unnamed 52-year-old Chinese woman

Died soon after being released from Dentention

Oudone Lothirath, 57 years of age, was detained by ICE. He was receiving chemotherapy for stage four cancer. During his several months in detention, he was refused chemotherapy, and his cancer spread significantly. He was released from the detention facility because of his worsening health. In April, he was still alive but was told he had very little time left.

I have heard that there are other stories of detainees being released in critical condition, but I have not yet found any credible stories.

Summary

In Donald Trump’s second term, in 17 months, ICE or CBP have killed ten people, seriously injured eight people due to shootings, and fifty-three people have died while in their custody. Sixty-three people have died either by being killed directly by ICE or CBP, or while in their custody, and eight have been seriously injured related to ICE or CBP shootings. This does not include others injured from beatings, tear gas. or by other means.

The shootings have slowed, but they have not stopped, and deaths while in detention have been at record rates for the last seventeen months, and much higher than medical professionals say is normal when incarcerated. I will continue to write this report until something is done to rein in ICE and CBP.

Sources

Hannah Meisel, “Illinois State Police investigating fatal ICE shooting of Silverio Villegas González”, Capitol News Illinois, Springfield, IL, May 6, 2026.

Kathy McCormack and Patrick Whittle, “Feds investigate shooting at New Hampshire-Canada border crossing; suspect hospitalized”, The Associated Press, https://apnews.com/article/new-hampshire-border-shooting-canada-immigration-e81d822ea8914fdd00a38278ac18334b, February 23, 2026.

Emilia Wisniewski, “Manchester man shot by U.S. Border Patrol agent charged with attempted murder”, Concord Monitor, February 25, 2026

“Man shot by ICE in California faces charges of assaulting a federal officer with his car”, CNN, https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/14/us/ice-shooting-california-assault-car, April 14, 2026.

“List of deaths in ICE detention”, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_deaths_in_ICE_detention, June 8, 2026.

“List of shootings by U.S. immigration agents in the second Trump administration”, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_shootings_by_U.S._immigration_agents_in_the_second_Trump_administration, June 8, 2026.

Brian Munoz, Chad Davis, Kavahn Mansouri, “A mother and son fled Colombia for a better life. He died in St. Louis on ICE’s watch”, St. Louis Public Radio,https://www.stlpr.org/law-order/2025-04-25/st-louis-police-brayan-garzon-rayo-ice-immigration-dead April 25, 2025, updated May 5, 2025

US President Donald Trump reacts after playing from the first tee to officially open the Trump International Golf Links course. © Getty

We all know too well the social programs that were cut from the budget recently in the Big Ugly Bill so that he could give yet another tax cut to his so-called billionaire friends. We all know that Trump has no real friends. But what about ill-conceived initiatives and just plain lavish personal and political spending of federal funds in his second term, much of which is legally questionable? Let’s look at 20 of the most egregious examples in no particular order.

1. The $400,000 jet donated to Trump by Qatar is estimated to cost at least $400 million to retrofit to meet executive airlift standards. What a deal we got from Qatar!

2. The demolition of the East Wing of the White House and the construction of Trump’s ballroom! He received approximately $350 million in donations from 37 corporations and personal donors and is asking Congress for another billion dollars. Remember when this was all going to be $200 million, all paid for by private donations? Now he wants $1 billion of taxpayer money! And that $350 million will also come with a cost when the donors get the favors they ask for from Trump.

3. According to the website Roll Call, in less than 18 months, Trump has spent almost as much taxpayer money on golf trips as he did in four years of his first term. Both numbers are staggering. In his first term, he spent $150.5 million on golf, and this term, he has already spent $144 million! Much of this went for room and board for his security detail at the golf clubs that he owns.

4. The Defense Department’s extravagant FY year-end 2025 spending. Federal agencies must spend their budgeted amount by the end of the year or give the remaining back. The Defense Department has always spent huge amounts of money in September, the last month of the federal fiscal year, to avoid giving it back and to avoid facing the possibility of getting less the next year, but 2025 was the DOD's highest spending since at least 2008 and probably the most ever. Here are some of the extravances:

• $2 million on king crab

• $6.9 million on lobster

• $15.1 million of ribeye steak

• $1 million of salmon

• $98,329 Steinway & Sons grand piano for the Air Force chief of staff’s home,

• A $26,000 violin,

• A $21,750 custom handmade flute from the luxury Japanese brand Muramatsu.

There are dozens of other items mentioned in an article by “Open the Books,” which operates the largest private database of public spending on record.

5. Painting the Reflecting Pond - $13.1 million

6. Paving over the Rose Garden - $1.9 million

7. ICE mandatory funding increase. $74.85 billion

8. Sinking Boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific - cost?

9. A $20 billion treasury swap to Argentina to the President Milea administration

10. Trivial and vindictive lawsuits - cost?

11. The Iran War to date - over $33 billion

12. Capturing Venezuelan President Maduro and his wife - estimated $60 million (This does not include the cost of detention.)

13. Envoys’ trips to Greenland - cost?

14. Slush Fund and forgiveness of taxes owed. $1.8 billion plus the lost tax revenue that Trump and his businesses may owe the IRS. - $100 million plus! It appears that the blatantly illegal slush fund is dead, at least until after the midterms; never say never with Trump in office. The $100 million in lost tax revenue Trump owes is still in play!

15. Unofficial 250th Anniversary festivities - cost?

16. Melania Trump’s luxury plane to go back and forth from New York to D.C.- $70 million

17. Cash Patel’s use of a government plane to visit his girlfriend - cost?

18. The proposed arch - $100 million

19. Glitter on Horse Sculptures near the Lincoln Memorial - cost?

20. Other contracts where there was no competitive bidding - cost?

Some of the items above are being paid for with appropriations approved by Congress. Other pet projects are being funded with money received from corporations that have paid the administration for approval of a merger or other federal regulatory approvals. This and the use of money received from tariffs should go through the Congressional appropriation approval process, but Trump claims he has the discretion to spend as he wishes! The idea that the President has sole discretion over certain funds is extremely dangerous, leading to autocracy and threatening our democracy.

In the meantime, SNAP benefits and Medicaid are being denied for refugees, and it’s estimated that five million people have or will be priced out of the Affordable Care Act insurance market because subsidies were not extended. Besides refugees, others are being ineligible for SNAP benefits for reasons, such as minimum work requirements. In addition to all of this, cuts to education, housing, and health programs are disproportionately affecting those in most need.

This outrageous spending and disregard for those in need must stop. Both the President and Congress are to blame. Our elected officials have completely lost touch with what their electorate needs.

At this point, the best way to stop this is to go to the polls and vote in the Midterms. If you aren’t registered, make sure you get registered. If you have the time and ability to help get the vote out, please do it.

Sources

Tom Malley, Donald Trump’s golf hobby has come at staggering cost to taxpayers, MSN.com, 2026, https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/golf/donald-trump-s-golf-hobby-has-come-at-staggering-cost-to-taxpayers/ar-AA21LMAo.

ICE Annual Budget: Breakdown, Costs, and Oversight, LegalClarity, May 28, 2026, https://legalclarity.org/ice-annual-budget-breakdown-costs-and-oversight/.

Did the U.S. give Argentina $40 billion under the Trump administration?, Factualy.co, December 7, 2025.https://factually.co/fact-checks/finance/did-us-give-argentina-40-billion-trump-b91806.

Roman Kukhalashvili, US-Iran War Cost Tracker, MilitarySpend, Defense Economics Research, Updated May 2, 2026, https://militaryspend.org/us-iran-war

How Much Did the U.S. Spend to Capture Maduro?, The Pricer, January 6, 2026, https://www.thepricer.org/how-much-did-the-u-s-spend-to-capture-maduro/.

Associated Press, Trump may face a $100M-plus tax bill if he loses IRS audit fight over Chicago tower, according to report, Politico, 05/11/2024, https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/11/trump-irs-chicago-audit-00157480

Pentagon Should Focus on Defense Priorities not Lavish Dinners, After Historic $93.4B September, Open the Books, 02/09/26.

Brendan Rascius In New York, Price of Trump’s planned victory arch for DC revealed - and it has 8 zeros, Independent, November 2025, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/victory-arch-trump-price-dc-cost-b2859320.html.

Joe Sommerlad, White House is keeping Kristi Noem’s $70M jet for Melania Trump and other senior staff to use, April 2026, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/kristi-noem-jet-melania-trump-b2953872.html

A man injured by a drone strike near Um Baru, Sudan, received treatment at a hospital in Tine, Chad, in January.Credit...Joris Bolomey/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The war in Sudan and its corresponding effects make it the most serious humanitarian crisis in the world. Add to this the outbreaks of violence in South Sudan and the threat of all-out war there, and you have a catastrophe of enormous proportions. And yet the U.S. media does little to inform the nation’s citizenry of the urgency of the problem. And the U.S. government has not only ignored what is going on in the two Sudanese nations but also denigrated the Sudanese people.

This disregard of the Sudanese is personal for me. In the past three years, I have worked with a community of Sudanese refugees in Des Moines, Iowa. Regardless of what Trump or MAGA say about the Sudanese and other refugees, they are hard-working, law-abiding, intelligent people.

They contribute greatly to the culture and economy of the U.S. and of the Midwest. According to the World Population Review, nearly 150,000 Sudanese people live in the U.S., and the Midwest has one of the largest concentrations of Sudanese. In fact, Iowa, where I live, ranks second in the number of Sudanese as a proportion of the state’s total population. Only Nebraska has a higher proportion of Sudanese. The largest concentrations in the two states are in Omaha, Nebraska, and Des Moines and Iowa City, Iowa.

Sudan is one of the largest nations in the world, ranking 16th in area and 29th in population among all countries. It is the third-largest country by area in Africa, and before South Sudan's secession in 2011, it was the continent’s largest country. Sudan is in its fourth year of a civil war between Government forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), once part of the government’s military.

It’s estimated that over 150,000 people have been killed in the first three years of the war, many of whom are civilians. In recent months, the use of drones by both sides of the conflict has changed the way the war is fought and has significantly increased the number of civilian deaths. The U.N. documented 880 civilian deaths between January and April of this year!

During that same time period, according to UNICEF, “As the conflict in Sudan hits the three-year mark, children continue to pay the heaviest price. Between January and March this year, at least 160 children have been reportedly killed and 85 maimed across the country – a 50 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2025. The highest casualties were recorded in Darfur and the Kordofan states, where ongoing violence has pushed communities to the brink.”

More than 4,300 children have been killed or maimed since the war began in 2023, and 5 million children have been displaced, often repeatedly as the war progresses.

On February 19, 2026, the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner reported that, “the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) carried out a coordinated campaign of destruction against non-Arab communities in and around El-Fasher, the hallmarks of which point to genocide…”

The report continued, “Carefully planned and executed, the takeover of El-Fasher and its surroundings was preceded by an 18-month siege that systematically weakened the targeted population through starvation, deprivation, trauma and confinement - conditions calculated to bring about their destruction. The city’s inhabitants were physically exhausted, malnourished, and in part unable to flee, leaving them defenseless against the extreme violence that followed. Thousands of persons, particularly the Zagahawa, were killed, raped or disappeared during three days of absolute horror.”

Everything I post is free. I will never limit what anyone can see with a paywall, but anyone who can afford to upgrade to a paid subscription should know that all proceeds I earn go to the Arabic Outreach Center in Des Moines, Iowa.

South Sudan is also in crisis as refugees from Sudan pour over the border. At the same time, conflicts break out in much of the country between government forces and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLA/IO), and another armed conflict in the south of the country, by the National Salvation Front (NSF), poses a second threat to the South Sudan government. All of this came after a fragile peace agreement led to a ceasefire in its own bloody five-year civil war ending in 2018, which resulted in an estimated 400,000 casualties!

Currently, the State of Jonglei in South Sudan is experiencing the biggest impact of the continuing conflicts in the country. In a statement made at UN Headquarters in New York, Anita Kiki Gbeho, officer in charge of the UN Mission in South Sudan, explained the issues facing Jonglei as follows:

“While the fighting is force-on-force at the moment, civilians are caught in the crossfire, losing their lives and their homes, with over 200,000 people reportedly displaced by the Jonglei conflict this month alone.

These vulnerable communities are further impacted by a sharp surge in cholera, with 125 cases reported in Jonglei this month. We’ve had 479 cases reported nationwide, and this comes after we have just gotten out of a bad outbreak of cholera, the worst that South Sudan has seen, with over 97,000 cases overall. Treatment centers are overwhelmed and critically short of supplies. An emergency response in Jonglei is currently now (sic) underway…”

She continued, “Flight, road and river restrictions are preventing medical evacuations and disrupting the delivery of life-saving supplies. Humanitarian facilities are being looted and damaged, including at least seven in Jonglei. Assets are being confiscated, and aid workers intimidated. These actions are having an intolerable impact on people in desperate need.”

The conflicts in Sudan and South Sudan have profoundly impacted both nations in other ways. Infrastructure has been destroyed, causing incredible economic effects. For instance, an oil pipeline destroyed in Sudan severely curtailed oil exports from South Sudan, and the destruction of highways and other transportation infrastructure has curtailed shipments of goods throughout the area. Finally, the confiscation of shipments by the warring parties for their own use has drastically affected the availability of food and other necessities.

According to the New York Times, “Across the nation, over 10 million Sudanese are experiencing severe and extreme levels of hunger. At least 13 million people have been forced from their homes by the war, making Sudan the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.”

Khadijah Muhammad Omar, 22, crossed from Sudan into Chad with her 4 children and her sister. She hasn’t heard from her husband since January. “I’m trying to stay strong for my children,” she says. Claire Harbage/NPR

The media needs to write more than an article every month or two about the Sudanese crisis. It needs to make it personal, as it did with Ukraine, so that the nation’s populace is outraged and pushes the government and private sector to act. The U.S. should not get involved militarily. It does need to provide much more in humanitarian aid for food, shelter, and medicine. The U.S. did provide $200 million in February, but that’s just a drop in the bucket compared to the predicted cost of Trump’s ballroom.

Most of the drones used in the war come from Middle Eastern countries and China; some support the Sudanese government, and others the RSF. The United States could begin discussions with these countries to drastically limit drones going to Sudan and thus drone warfare.

Most importantly, the U.S. needs to allow thousands of Sudanese and South Sudanese to emigrate to the United States. We have seen that closing our borders has damaged our economy, rather than stimulating it. And while they're at it, they should allow refugees from other developing countries, as well. We would all be better for it.

There is much more to learn about the conflicts in Sudan and South Sudan, but not enough space in this article to do it. If you would like to read some personal accounts of Sudanese people’s experiences, I recommend the following:

Photos: 4 women share their haunting stories of survival after fleeing war, NPR, https://www.npr.org/sections/goats-and-soda/2024/10/16/g-s1-26938/sudan-refugees-women-chad-hunger

Sudan’s voices: People impacted by the war speak out about their lives and how they will never be the same. Al Jazeera, https://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2025/sudan-voices/

Sources

By Brian O. Otieno, Drones Are Leading Cause of Civilian Deaths in Sudan War, U.N. Says, New York Times, May 12, 2026. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/world/africa/sudan-drones-civilian-deaths.html?searchResultPosition=3.

Sudanese Population by State 2026, World Population Review, 2024 data. https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/sudanese-population-by-state.

At least 245 child casualties in Sudan in the first 90 days of 2026, UNICEF, April 14, 2026. https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/least-245-child-casualties-sudan-first-90-days-2026.

A/HRC/61/77: Sudan: Hallmarks of Genocide in El-Fasher - Report of the independent international fact-finding mission for the Sudan (Advance unedited version), United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, February 19, 2026.

Anita Kiki Gbeho, Statement by the UNMISS Officer in Charge, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Ms. Anita Kiki Gbeho to Noon Briefing, United Nations Mission in South Sudan, January 30, 2026. https://unmiss.unmissions.org/en/press-releases/statement-unmiss-officer-charge-deputy-special-representative-secretary

Instability in South Sudan, Global Conflict Tracker, Center for Preventive Action, Updated May 1, 2026. https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/civil-war-south-sudan

Ephrat Livni and Declan Walsh, Sudan Enters Fourth Year of War Amid World’s Most Severe Humanitarian Crisis, New York Times, April 15, 2026. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/15/world/africa/sudan-war-hunger-crisis.html

By Fatma Tanis, Claire Harbage, Photos: 4 women share their haunting stories of survival after fleeing war, NPR, October 16, 2024. https://www.npr.org/sections/goats-and-soda/2024/10/16/g-s1-26938/sudan-refugees-women-chad-hunger

Federal agents detain a nine-month pregnant woman after exiting a court hearing in immigration court at the Jacob K. Javitz Federal Building in New York City, on September 11, 2025. (Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket/Getty Images)

On February 16, 2026, there were 86 pregnant women in the 23 ICE Health Service Corp facilities, along with 35 postpartum women and 15 lactating mothers. This does not include women in the 200 medical facilities with which ICE contracts services. Sixteen women have miscarried while in ICE facilities from January 2025 to February 2026! An incredibly high number given the number in detention at any point in time.

In the past, ICE was required to provide data on pregnant, postpartum, and lactating mothers in detention to Congress on a semi-annual basis. This requirement was rescinded in 2025. The only reason this data is available is that 31 senators, led by Senators Murray and Blumenthal, demanded it in writing.

The following is the ICE policy regarding pregnant, postpartum, and lactating women.

“Generally, ICE should not detain, arrest, or take into custody for an administrative violation of the immigration laws individuals known to be pregnant, postpartum, or nursing unless release is prohibited by law or exceptional circumstances exist.¹ ICE officers and agents should carefully weigh the decision to issue a detainer, arrest, or take into custody for an administrative violation of the immigration laws an individual who is known to be pregnant, postpartum, or nursing. This Directive does not address whether removal proceedings should be initiated (i.e., the issuance of a charging document) against such individuals. Such decisions should be made in accordance with U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE enforcement priorities and applicable guidance. The decision whether to detain should be made separately from the decision whether to initiate removal proceedings or take any other immigration enforcement actions. In the very limited circumstances in which detention is necessary and appropriate, ICE must monitor individuals known to be pregnant, postpartum, or nursing detained in ICE custody for general health and well-being, including regular custody and medical reevaluation, to ensure appropriate pre- and/or post-natal and other medical and mental health care. ICE must ensure that individuals known to be pregnant, postpartum, or nursing are housed in facilities suitable for their medical and mental health needs.”

A February 2026 Politico article titled, Judges decry treatment of nursing and pregnant detainees in ICE custody, included a few quotes from judges hearing cases of pregnant and nursing women.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt, concerning a nursing mother of a four-month-old who had no criminal history and a U.S. citizen husband, stated the following.

“Petitioner’s continued detention irreparably deprives her of her liberty, exposes her to adverse medical consequences, and prevents her from caring for her infant child,” Hoyt wrote. “The petitioner demonstrates that both she and her infant child are suffering irreparable harm.”

U.S. District Judge Jennifer Thurston, … said a 32-year-old Nicaraguan detainee who was both nursing and newly pregnant appeared to have been deprived of proper equipment and care.

“As a result of her sudden withdrawal from her baby and the inability to feed, she suffered the painful condition of having her milk ducts clog. There is no indication she was provided a breast pump or other assistance to maintain her milk supply,” Thurston wrote.

Her decision came around the same time U.S. District Judge Casey Pitts, … barred ICE from detaining the nursing mother of an infant. He noted that ICE had previously attempted to arrest her but held off because her baby was with her at the time.

In December, U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley, granted the release of an Indian national who said her weight had dropped to 90 pounds amid “dire conditions” of her detention by ICE. The judge said the woman’s reported medical concerns had put her pregnancy at risk and appeared to violate ICE’s 2021 policy.

Finally, a quote from a pregnant woman in detention, as shared with Women’s Refugee Commission and Physicians for Human Rights in Honduras.

“Two days ago, they took me to the hospital to see a gynecologist, but they took me in handcuffs, like I was a criminal. And while they were examining me, the guards didn’t leave; they just stayed there. They sent me to take a urine test, and do you know what they did? They tied one of my hands to a pole in the bathroom, and with the other, I had to hold the urine container, and the guard was standing outside with the door open. It would have been better not to have gone. … It was really awful.”

Photo Credit: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

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The same ICE report, mentioned previously, that was provided to Senators at their written request, reported that 363 pregnant, postpartum, or lactating women had been deported between January, 2025 and February 16, 2026.

According to a report by the Women’s Refugee Commission and the National Immigration Law Center, “ICE’s own medical policy recommends against air travel at 36 weeks or beyond and requires a medical case review and medical approval for air travel in weeks 27 – 35 of pregnancy. However, reports have already emerged about women being placed on “shuffle flights” between detention centers and/or deportation flights after that time, including one woman who was deported during her eighth month of pregnancy while in acute medical distress. The number of women listed as being in their third trimester raises serious questions about the health and safety of mothers and their unborn children…

Reports of women who have experienced life-threatening pregnancy complications and were deported in or with possible medical crises have likewise emerged.

Postpartum and Lactating women who are deported may also be separated from their infants. Significant levels of family separation have been documented, including a more than 300 percent increase in the deportation of mothers with US citizen children. Lactating women are, by definition, their child’s primary food source during the first few months of life. Abrupt separation of these mothers from their babies risks physical and emotional harm to both parent and child.”

A quote about people deported to Honduras by ICE. “Many of the women with whom WRC (Women’s Refugee Commission) and PHR (Physicians for Human Rights) spoke arrived without bras and underwear, because ICE officers seized those undergarments as potential weapons. Most men appeared able to keep their underwear, but they rarely arrived with their shoelaces.

What can we do to stop these degrading and life-threatening policies? We can write or call our congresspeople and ask them to “codify protections for pregnant, postpartum, and lactating women, including reinstating mandatory reporting requirements and passing legislation like the Stop Shackling Pregnant Women Act, which would prohibit ICE from placing pregnant women in restraints.”(National Immigration Law Center)

If you would like to read more stories of some of these ladies in detention, nursing, or deported, I suggest the following:

A pregnant mother in ICE detention says she’s bleeding — and hasn’t seen a doctor in weeks, The 19th, by Shefali Luthra, https://19thnews.org/2026/01/pregnant-mother-ice-detention-medical-care/. (The 19th is an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics, policy and power.)

Pregnant woman in medical distress deported from US, says attorney, The Guardian, by George Chidi, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/21/pregnant-woman-ice-deportation-atlanta

Detained pregnant people are entitled to full medical care. They say it’s not happening, the 19th by Shefali Luthra, https://19thnews.org/2026/03/pregnant-people-immigration-detention-medical-care/?itm_source=parsely-api

Sources

What ICE’s Data on Pregnant, Postpartum, and Lactating Women in ICE Detention Really Shows, Women’s Refugee Commission and the National Immigration Lae Center, https://media.nilc.org/2026/04/What-ICEs-Data-Really-Shows.pdf, 2026

Directive: Identification and Monitoring of Pregnant, Postpartum, or Nursing Individuals, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, https://www.ice.gov/directive-identification-and-monitoring-pregnant-postpartum-or-nursing-individuals, 2021

Judges decry treatment of nursing and pregnant detainees in ICE custody, Politico, By Kyle Cheney, https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/18/pregpdfnant-nursing-ice-detainees-00784683, 02/18/2026.

What About My Children? Family Separation Among Parents Deported to Honduras, Women’s Refugee Commission, and Physicians for Human Rights, WRC2026_FamilySeparation_Report_FINAL.pdf, 2026.

Don’t Forget About Immigration: with Kica Matos, Civil Discourse With Joyce Vance, Substack, https://substack.com/@kicamatos?utm_source=global-search, May 12, 2026.

This weekend, I had a completely different subject in mind for this week’s article. Early this week, I listened to two podcasts by Michael Popok and read articles by Robert Reich and Sydney Bloomenthal that took me in a completely different direction.

Michael Popok on the Substack network, Legal AF, spoke about “dummymandering,” a term Democrats use to describe how gerrymandering may weaken safe Republican congressional districts while trying to weaken Democratic districts. You see, to weaken a Democratic district, you must move Democratic voters into what was once a safe Republican district, making that district susceptible to flipping Democratic. This is especially true when Republicans may have lost a significant portion of their traditional support, as may be the case in this year’s midterm elections.

Michael Popok contends that in recent polling, Republicans have lost significant ground in several demographics, including overall in the South. I have not been able to find the poll or polls he is referring to, so I haven’t verified this data, but given his background and reputation, I tend to believe these numbers. Among adult voters (I’m not sure what voters are not adults; his words, not mine) in the South, Trump had a plus-thirteen advantage in 2024, and it is now a negative-five. Among whites with no college, Trump had a 34-point advantage over Harris, and now it’s only a 6-point advantage!

The following are other polling figures mentioned by Popok that don’t bode well for Republicans who are gerrymandering.

Voted for Trump in 2024 Will Vote for Republicans in 2026

Hispanics 46% 20%

Blacks 15% 8%

Under 30 46% 30%

This all looks great, but seven Republican states have voluntarily either already passed new congressional district maps or plan to do so. Only two Democratic states have voluntarily passed new redistricting maps that will switch one district from Republican to Democratic.

According to Ballotpedia, this is what states think they have accomplished by redistricting.

Republican Additions Democratic Additions

• Alabama 1 California 5

• Florida 4 Utah 1

• Louisiana 1 Virginia 4

• Missouri 1 Total 9

• North Carolina 1

• Ohio 2

• Tennessee 1

• Texas 5

Total 17

The states adding Republican districts will probably not gain 17 Republican House seats, but they may gain some. If they lose in half of these districts and pick up eight or nine seats, that could really hurt the Democrats’ chances of regaining the House, especially if Virginia loses its appeal to the Supreme Court. The way you win midterm elections is by getting the vote out. There is some indication that many Republicans are apathetic about this election, but Republicans traditionally have higher voter turnout than Democrats, so we cannot be complacent.

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In an interview with Robert Reich, concerning the redistricting in the South, Democratic Representative Justin Jones said, “We need the biggest voter turnout in history this fall. Every Black person, every Brown person, every Democrat, everyone who cares about the moral soul of this nation has to vote for equal voting rights. Take over Congress. Increase our power in state legislatures. This is the only way to respond.”

Robert Reich replied, “I’m with you, but I really wonder whether that’s possible.”

“How about a new Freedom Summer?” Jones responded, “A multi-racial force of young people fanning out across the South, registering voters, getting them to the polls, just like they did in 1964… So, yes, it’s possible. It’s got to be possible.”

It is possible. It’s about voter registration, campaign contributions, and getting the vote out; Not only in the South but in purple and red states in the Midwest, Great Plains, and Mountain states.

We have the Republicans on the run. Those who voted for Trump in the last three Presidential elections are abandoning the party in droves. The redistricting scheme is a last-ditch effort not only to save the midterms but to save the party.

In the title of an opinion piece in the Guardian, Sidney Blumenthal succinctly described the situation as follows: “Republicans would rather self-destruct than save themselves from Trump, he goes on to say, “The Republicans have no instinct for separation from Trump, no will to stage an intervention, no ability to muster an ultimatum. They have been complicit in their captivity, co-conspirators in their demise.”

Later in the article, he chastises the Republicans, saying, “The Republicans indulge in submissive gratification. They assist in building Trump’s kleptocracy in order to get their share of dark money. Through these under-the-table arrangements they have hollowed out the party. More than a few Republicans have transitioned to appear as true believers embracing Maga as Christian nationalist faith, worshipping the leader, and casting democracy as the diabolical antagonist.”

Sean Wilentz, on a Legal AF podcast with Blumenthal, referring to the Republican party, said, and I’m paraphrasing here, It’s a religious cult. It’s no longer a political party. He’s right, there is no platform and no guardrails. This is the time to act; The time to take back our democratic system of government. Demonstrate, advocate, register, and most importantly, get out the vote!

Sources

Michael Popok, Trump and MAGA Trap Themselves as Dems Refuse to Backdown!, Legal AF, Substack, May 12, 2026.

Michael Popock, Trump Explodes as Iran War Engulfs Him, Legal AF, Substack, May 13, 2026.

Robert Reich, How to Respond to the Rebirth of the Jim Crow South, Substack, May 12, 2026.

Sydney Blumenthal, Republicans Would Rather Self-Destruct than Save Themselves from Trump, the Guardian, May 11, 2026.

Sydney Blumenthal and Sean Wilentz, GOP Completely Screwed as Trump Problem Dooms Party, Legal AF, Substack, May 12, 2026.

Since the de-escalation in Minneapolis/St. Paul, both the traditional and independent press have moved on to other topics. This by no means implies that there isn’t anything going on; it’s just gone underground. Over one fourth of the posts I’ve written on Substack have concerned refugees. To me, refugees have names, faces, and personalities. You see, for several years, my wife, one of my daughters, and I have been in the refugee movement in Iowa. We have formed friendships with people from Central and South America, Africa, and Asia. They are friendly, hard-working, honest people who have moved here for a better life than they left and should be welcomed. Much of this article will be an update of previous articles with some new names and developments. But the first story is new.

Harassment and Torture of Children by ICE Contractor

Last Saturday, May 1, 2026, The Guardian broke a story about how, in April, ICE had contracted services from MVM Inc., a U.S. security firm, to make health checks on refugee children in the U.S. who were here with no adult relatives. Except, according to the article, they were doing much more than health checks.

According to the Guardian, “In 2024, MVM was sued by two Guatemalan fathers and their respective children in a California federal court for alleged ‘torture, enforced disappearance and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment’, according to the lawsuit, for the role it played in the family separation policy at the border under the first Trump administration that prompted widespread uproar.

‘MVM physically took thousands of children away from their parents and transferred them to shelters,’ the lawsuit said. ‘MVM transported and harbored these children using unmarked vehicles, commercial airlines, and makeshift detention centers…

The two Guatemalan children, a 16-year-old and a three-year-old, were separated from their respective fathers in 2017, ‘with the substantial assistance of MVM,’ the lawsuit says. The case continues to move through federal court.”

“This all seems like a ploy to do two things: one, find either kids or their sponsors to arrest and deport. Or, two, scare children into self-deporting,” said Michael Lukens, the executive director of the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, which provides legal representation to immigrant children. “It’s really deplorable. It’s really concerning…

For years, Trump administration allies pointed to a 2024 homeland security inspector general report that found that ICE was not able to adequately track unaccompanied minors. ‘They used that report to push a narrative that unaccompanied immigrant children have been lost and trafficked, Lukens said.

Their parents know where they are, their lawyers know where they are, usually the courts know where they are. It’s just ICE doesn’t have their address in a file,” said Lukens. “Those kids were never missing but they’re using it as an excuse to do these wellness checks…

MVM also has a track record of allegations of abuse with its previous immigration-related contract work…

‘We have seen MVM harm children in federal immigration custody in egregious ways for many years now,’ said Neha Desai, the managing director of children’s human rights and dignity at the National Center for Youth Law. ‘It is both deeply disturbing and completely unsurprising that this government has hired MVM to conduct so-called ‘wellness checks’. These checks have already terrorized numerous children and have led to family separation throughout the country.”

An aside: The Guardian article has much more detail concerning this story at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/02/ice-contracter-torture-allegations-undocumented-children. The Guardian is a non-profit media company that relies on reader donations to support its wonderful work. I use the Guardian often when researching information for my articles. I find them a factual and nonpartisan source of information, often writing articles that other mainstream media outlets choose not to report. If you find the Guardian helpful and have the financial resources to donate, it is another way to support quality journalism.

Deportations to the Congo

Two weeks ago, I reported that the U.S. was considering deporting 1,100 Afghan refugees now housed at a U.S. military base in Qatar to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This has not happened to date. What has happened is that recently, 15 South American refugees were deported from the U.S. to the Congo on April 17th. NPR’s show Morning broke this story on April 28th.

The deportees are women and men from Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. They are in Kinshasa, an impoverished city of over 15 million people, in an impoverished, war-torn country where it is not safe to leave their shabby hotel.

Morning Edition reports, “While the deportees are receiving regular meals, water can cut out for days at a time in the hotel, and rodents scurry through their rooms. Mosquitoes are also ubiquitous.”

The Congo is a country where French is the official language, but where most people speak Swahili. None of the South Americans speaks either language, and the culture is completely foreign to them. To make matters worse, they are not welcomed by most of the Congolese people.

The refugees were given the choice to be deported back to their country of origin or to a third country. They chose a third country, not knowing where that might be, because they faced danger if they returned. Many of the refugees also told Morning Edition that “they were deported despite ongoing court cases regarding their right to remain in the U.S.” There are 20 nations whose primary language is Spanish. The United States chose not to send them to any of these countries.

The following are quotes from the episode of Morning Edition.

"They took us, they put us on a plane, and they chained us by our hands and feet.” The deportees didn't know their final destination until they were on the plane,” he added. (Colombian man)

“Outside is another world.” (Colombian woman)

“I know that Congo has an armed conflict, with a yellow fever outbreak… I’m here in a place where I can’t do anything. I want to return to my country.”(Ecuadoran man).

According to Morning Edition, “Two of the deportees said they hadn't been vaccinated against yellow fever before being expelled from the U.S.”

For now, the refugees are unaware of what will happen next. Will they be sent somewhere else? Will their U.S. attorneys convince the courts to return them to the U.S.? They are confused and don’t have any answers.

For the complete transcript of the Morning Edition program, go to https://www.npr.org/2026/04/28/nx-s1-5798775/drc-latin-america-deportees-asylum-migration.

P.S. There may be more South Americans sent to the Congo. In a Substack article posted by Lylle Muller this Tuesday, May 6th, reported that José Yugar-Cruz, a Bolivian refugee, currently at the ICE Detention Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is fearful that he will be deported to the Congo.

In his words, recorded this week. “This government is interfering with my process. They want to deport me to the Congo. And the truth is, I’m fighting, trying to fight, so that I can stay here in this country.”

---

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More Deaths in Detention Facilities

Just over a month ago, I wrote a Substack article titled, “The Fifty-Plus Deaths Associated with ICE or Border Patrol (CBP), That Aren’t Renee Good and Alex Pretti.” In the article, I highlighted a person who had been killed, one who had been seriously injured, one who had died while in detention, and one who had died after being released from detention because they had not been given proper care while in custody. I also listed all other people who had been killed, seriously injured, or died in detention since January 2025.

I intend to update this list and highlight a few cases each month. Data from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) previously came out regularly, but recently it has been more sporadic. I will sometimes also use information coming from reliable sources other than DHS. I cannot be completely confident that I have found every incident, but if I find out I missed someone, they will be listed the next month.

According to Investigative Post published on February, 25, 2026, “Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a nearly blind refugee from Burma who Border Patrol agents dropped off at a doughnut shop Thursday and left to find his way home, 5 miles away, has been found dead.”

“I’m devastated, and I’m very frustrated,” said Imran Fazel, an advocate for Rohingya refugees who knows the family. “We never thought anyone would experience anything like this since coming to the United States. It doesn’t make me feel safe in a country like this…

Shah Alam, a Rohingya refugee, had been missing since February 19. He was released that afternoon from custody at the Erie County Holding Center after posting bail. In response to an immigration detainer that had been placed on him, the Erie County Sheriff’s Office contacted U.S. Border Patrol prior to his release, according to spokesperson Christopher Horvatits.

A spokesperson for Border Patrol,said that after agents determined Shah Alam was not supposed to be in their custody, they “offered him a courtesy ride, which he chose to accept to a coffee shop.” That Tim Hortons, the spokesperson said, was “determined to be a warm, safe location near his last known address, rather than be released directly from the Border Patrol station.”

He showed no signs of distress, mobility issues, or disabilities requiring special assistance,” the spokesperson said in the statement.”

According to an article by the New York Times, “Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, is investigating the circumstances surrounding Mr. Shah Alam’s Feb. 24 death and what transpired before then. A spokesman for the Buffalo Police Department said it was helping the investigation by seeking surveillance footage and witnesses.”

Agents, however, did not notify Shah Alam’s family or his attorney of his release at the Tim Hortons. His son was waiting for his release at the police station, and his family and attorney searched for him from Friday through Sunday.

I have not found any articles or data about ICE or Patrol shooting anyone since my last report. There are only two explanations for this. Either there haven’t been any or no one is reporting them. The following is a list of what I reported in my earlier post.

• Ruben Ray Martinez, a U.S. citizen who was shot and killed by a federal immigration agent on South Padre Island in Texas on March 15, 2025, had traveled there to celebrate his 23rd birthday. He was just trying to turn his car around when he was shot and killed by ICE,

• “Keith Porter Jr, a 43-year-old black U.S. citizen, was fatally shot by an off-duty ICE agent outside of his Los Angeles apartment complex on the evening of 31 December 2025.”

• “On July 7, 2025, CBP officers shot and killed 27-year-old Ryan Luis Mosqueda after he opened fire on a CBP facility in McAllen, Texas.”

• “Silverio Villegas González, a 38-year-old undocumented immigrant from Mexico, was shot and killed on Sept. 12, 2025.”

• “While conducting enforcement operations along the Rio Grande, a CBP agent shot and killed 31-year-old Mexican national, Isaias Sanchez Barboza, who had just crossed the border with a group of people.”

• “Geraldo Lunas ⁠Campos died January 3 at ​Camp East Montana detention center in El Paso, Texas, at Age 55. The agency initially said he experienced “medical distress” and that they were investigating the incident. The Post also interviewed a detainee held at the Camp East Montana site who said he saw guards choking Lunas when he refused to ​enter solitary confinement. This death is now considered a homicide by local officials.”

• Renee Good was shot and killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by ICE agents as she attempted to turn her car around. She was 37 years old.

• Alex Pretti, a nurse, was shot and killed trying to help someone who ICE was accosting. He was shot several times after he had been subdued by ICE agents.

• ​Geraldo Lunas ⁠Campos

  was murdered while in custody, possibly by ICE personnel.

Even though there have been no serious shootings since my previous post on this subject, I intend to show the entire list of victims each time I post a list. I do this primarily for shock value. One month’s data may not look like much, but when you see the naming of over 65 victims, it has a chilling effect. The following is a list of those who were seriously injured by immigration officials since Trump took office.

• On October 4, 2025, Miramar Martinez, a thirty year old U.S. was driving in her Chicago Neighborhood, thirty-year-old U.S. citizen, Mirimar Martinez warning residents about ICE operations, Martinez when Customs and Border Protection agent Charles Exum pulled up behind her, aiming an assault rifle at her vehicle and shouting, “do something, bitch” before opening fire, striking her five times in the arms and legs.

• Carlitos Ricardo Parias, 44-year-old, known as “RichardLA” on TikTok (130,000+ followers), South Los Angeles, CA, Date: October 21, 2025.

• Jose Garcia-Sorto, Phoenix, AZ, originally from Honduras, Date: October 29, 2025.

• Carlos Jimenez, Ontario, CA, 24-year-old U.S. citizen, Date: October 30, 2025.

• Tiago Alexandre Sousa-Martins, originally from Portugal (visa overstay), and Solomon Antonio Serrano-Esquivel, originally from El Salvador, Glen Burnie, MD, Date: December 24, 2025 (Christmas Eve morning). Serrano-Esquivel was not shot but was injured in the crash that occurred after the driver, Sousa-Martins, was shot.

The following is a list of people who have died while in the custody of ICE or Customs and Border Protection.

• Denny Adan Gonzalez, 33, Cuba, 04-28-26, presumed suicide, under investigation.

• Aled Damien Carbonell-Betancourt, 27, Cuba, 4-12-26, presumed suicide, under investigation.

• Alejandro Cabrera Clemente, 49, Mexico, 04-11-26, Found Unresponsive.

• Tuan Van Bui, 55, Vietnam, 04-01-26, Found Unresponsive.

The following is a list of those who died while in the custody of immigration officials that I have previously listed.

· Jose Guadalupe Ramos-Solanos, age 52, Mexico

· Royer Perez Jimenez, age 19, Mexico

· Emanuel Cleeford Damas, age 56, Haiti

· Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal, 41, Afghanistan

· Pejman Karshenas Najafabadi, age 59, Iran

· Alberto Gutierrez Reyes, age 48, Mexico

· Jairo Garcia Hernandez, age 27, Guatemala

· Lorth Sim, age 59, Cambodia

· Victor Manuel Diaz, age 36, Nicaragua

· Heber Sanchaz Domínguez, age 34, Mexico

· Parady La, age 46, Cambodia

· Luis Beltran Yanez-Cruz, age 68, Honduras

· Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres, age 42, Honduras

· Oscar Duarte Rascon, age 58, Mexico

· Huabing Xie, age 53, China

· Chaofeng Ge, age 32, China

· Ismael Ayala Uribe, age 39, Mexico

· Santos Reyes-Banegas, age 42, Honduras

· Nenko Stanev Gantchev, age 46, Bulgaria

· Delvin Francisco Rodriguez, age 39, Nicaragua

· Fouad Saeed Abdulkadir, age 46, Eritrea

· Jean Wilson Brutus, age 41, Haiti

· Shiraz Fatehali Sachwani, age 48, Pakistan

· Pete Sumalo Montejo, age 72, Philippines

· Francisco Gaspar-Andres, age 48, Guatemala

· Kai Yin Wong, age 63, China

· Gabriel Garcia-Aviles, age 56, Mexico

· Hasan Ali Moh’D Saleh, age 67, Jordan

· Leo Cruz-Silva, age 34, Mexico

· Miguel Angel Garcia-Hernandez, age 31, Mexico

· Norlan Guzman-Fuentes, age 37, El Salvador

· Lorenzo Antonio Batrez Vargas, 32, Mexico

· Isidro Perez, Age 75, Cuba

· Johnny Noviello, age 49, Canada

· Jesus Molina-Veya, 45, Mexico

· Abelardo Avellaneda-Delgado, age 68, Mexico

· Marie Ange Blaise, age 44, Haiti

· Nhon Ngoc Nguyen, age 55, China

· Brayan Rayo-Garzon, age 27, Columbia

· Juan Alexis Tineo-Martinez, age 44, Dominican Republic

· Maksym Chernyak, age 45, Ukraine

· Serawit Gezahegn Dejene, age 45, Ethiopia

· Tien Xuan Phan, 55, Vietnam

· Unnamed 52-year-old Chinese woman

Finally, when Oudone Lothirath, 57 years of age, was detained by ICE, he was receiving chemotherapy for stage four cancer. During his several months in detention, he was refused chemotherapy, and his cancer spread significantly. He was released from the detention facility because of his worsening health. At last report, he was still alive but was told he had very little time left

Sources

José Olivares, ‘Deplorable’: ICE hires firm accused of ‘torture’ to track down undocumented children, The Guardian, May 2, 2026.

Emmet Livingstone, ‘We don’t know what will happen to us’: U.S. deportees in limbo in DRC, Morning Edition, NPR, April 28, 2026.

J. Dale Shoemaker, Investigative Post, Blind refugee abandoned by Border Patrol is dead, Buffalo, NY, February 25, 2026.

Mark Sommer, A Refugee Died After Border Agents Left Him at a Cafe. Fear Followed. New York Times, March 15, 2026.

Natasha Korecki and Selina Guevara, Border Patrol agent’s texts after he shot a Chicago woman five times will be released, judge rules, NBC News, Feb. 6, 2026, 12:51 PM CST / Updated Feb. 7, 2026.

List of deaths in ICE detention, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_deaths_in_ICE_detention, May 7, 2026.

List of deaths in ICE detention, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_deaths_in_ICE_detention#2026, March 31, 2026.

One-third of Louisiana’s population is black, but only one of six districts is majority black. The new redistricting was meant to level the playing field, with one-third of the districts majority-black and two-thirds majority-white.

In the majority opinion, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote that the court had kept intact the Voting Rights Act but that Louisiana’s new majority-minority district violated the equal protection clause of the Constitution.

For decades, lawmakers have crafted congressional districts with a focus on ensuring that minority voters had the opportunity to elect candidates of their choice, often working to create majority-minority districts as they labored under scrutiny from federal courts that guaranteed the rights of minorities because of the Voting Rights Act.

Justice Alito wrote that the justices were updating the 40-year-old framework that courts look to for evaluating the use of race in drawing up congressional districts, essentially saying that the Voting Rights Act only prevents lawmakers from drawing maps that would intentionally limit the power of minority voters.

To successfully challenge district maps under the Voting Rights Act now, Justice Alito wrote, challengers will need to show proof a state “intentionally drew its districts to afford minority voters less opportunity because of their race.” A legal challenge that “cannot disentangle race from the state’s race-neutral considerations, including politics,” will fail.

In a similar case, less than three years ago, Allen, Alabama Secretary of State, Et Al. v. Milligan Et Al., the Court ruled that Alabama’s district mapping did not conform with the precedent used for the past forty years regarding the Fifteenth Amendment and the Voting Rights Act. The same nine justices who ruled on the Alabama case ruled on the Callais case yesterday. The vote on the Allen case was 5-4, with Roberts, Sotomayor, Kagan, Jackson, and Cavanaugh in the majority and Thomas, Gorsuch, Coney-Barrett, and Alito voting in the minority.

In her dissent, Justice Kagan said, “today’s decision completes the Supreme Court’s three-step plan to eliminate the protections of the Voting Rights Act that started in 2013 in the Shelby County case.” The following are excerpts of Justice Kagan’s opinion.

Today’s ruling is part of a set: For over a decade, this Court has had its sights set on the Voting Rights Act. In 2013, the Court made a nullity of Section 5, the provision of the Act enabling the Department of Justice to review and block new voting rules—including redistrictings—in jurisdictions with a history of voter suppression. See Shelby County v. Holder, 570 U. S. 529 (2013). Not surprisingly, a flood of discriminatory voting laws followed, and now only Section 2 stood in the gap.In 2021, the Court did half what was needed to raze that section too. See Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee, 594 U. S. 647 (2021). Section 2 prohibits not only vote-diluting districting plans, but also discriminatory burdens on the casting of ballots. In a suit involving the latter type of law, the Court invented a new legal standard making Section 2 useless... Since the Court ruled, not a single Section 2 suit has successfully challenged such a restriction on voting, however discriminatory in operation... And finally, today, the last piece—Section 2 as applied to redistricting. The last, and surely the hardest, for just three Terms ago the Court upheld a vote-dilution challenge to a districting map in a case much like this one—preserving Section 2 as a tool to prevent racially discriminatory redistricting. See Allen, 599 U. S., at 17. “[W]e decline to adopt,” the Court said then, “an interpretation of §2 that would revise and reformulate” our “§2 jurisprudence [of] nearly forty years…” Nothing has changed in the three years since. Yet today, the majority does “revise and reformulate” . . . and destroy. It avails itself again of the tools used before to dismantle the Act: untenable readings of statutory text, made-up and impossible-to-meet evidentiary requirements, disregard for precedent, and disdain for congressional judgment. And in that way it greenlights redistricting plans that will disable minority communities— in Louisiana and across the Nation—from electing, as majority communities can, “representatives of their choice...”

As Justice Kagan infers in her opinion, this ruling could affect redistricting efforts underway in Florida, Tennessee, and other red states attempting to add red districts for the mid-term elections. This is merely a summary of this case. To learn more, you can read several much longer articles that have been written this week about the ruling, or go to https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-109_21o3.pdf.

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This ruling may have occurred regardless of any reforms made to the Supreme Court, but certainly, many other cases abridging the rights of many people living in the U.S. may have been avoided. The following are three suggestions for Supreme Court reform.

First, the Court must adopt a meaningful code of ethics. It adopted a Code of Ethics approximately a year and a half ago, but it reads like recommendations, not prohibitions; there is no enforcement mechanism, and there are no penalties for violations. The word “should” is used throughout the document instead of “shall.” In legal parlance, this makes a big difference. According to LegalClarity.org, “Shall’ creates a binding legal obligation, while ‘should’ signals a recommendation.” At this juncture, we need more than recommendations; We need rules, a process to hold violators accountable, and consequences.

There is too much money, too many expensive gifts flowing to some justices, and too many familial conflicts of interest, especially as it applies to justices Thomas and Alito. These conflicts of interest, in all probability, influenced judicial decisions.

Secondly, there needs to be an upper age limit for all federal judges, including Supreme Court Justices. Now they have lifetime appointments. Ruth Bader Ginsburg served on the Supreme Court until her death at age 87, and Oliver Wedall Holmes is the oldest justice to serve on the Supreme Court. He retired when he was ninety. Did you know District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who is currently hearing the incredibly significant Maduro case, is 92 years old?

I believe that judges should be required to step down at age 75. Many organizations, both public and private, have set this as their mandatory retirement age. It makes sense, I am 73, and I know my memory and cognitive skills are not what they were even in my sixties. By 75, most judges will have been on the bench for 25 to 35 years, long enough at any age.

When the Constitution was enacted in 1789, the average mortality age for white males was in the upper 50’s, excluding child mortality. At that time, it was rare for someone to live to an age where their mental acuity was an issue. On the first Supreme Court, Chief Justice John Jay died at 83, but at the age of fifty he left the Supreme Court in order to run for Governor of New York.

John Rutledge served two years as an associate justice and resigned to accept the role of Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court. In 1995, he was appointed to replace John Jay as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. He served less than a year in that position and retired. He died five years later at the age of 60.

William Cushing served 20 years on the bench until his death at the age of 78. James Wilson served eight years on the bench and died while still serving at age 55. John Blair served on the Court for five years and died four years later at the age of 68. John Iredell served on the bench for nine years and died while still serving in that role at age 48. Giving judges a lifetime appointment made sense in 1789. It doesn’t make sense now.

Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas are 76 and 77 years old, respectively, already past my mandatory retirement age suggestion. Only two of the justices appointed on the 1789 Court lived past 68, and only one justice served past seventy-five. He is also the only one who served more than nine years on the court. Three retired from the court in their fifties or early 60’s.

Contrast this with the current court. Clarence Thomas, who’s been serving on the Supreme Court for 34 years, Chief Justice Roberts and Samuel Alito for 20 years, Sonia Sotomayor for 17 years, and Elena Kagan for 16 years.

Imposing a maximum age limit on justices will be difficult because it requires a constitutional amendment. The last amendment was ratified thirty-four years ago, and it was first proposed in 1789! All the others were easier to ratify, of course, but only 17 amendments have been added to the Constitution in the last 237 years. An amendment is needed to set a mandatory retirement age for judges because people are living much longer, and our mental acuity decreases with age. Secondly, it’s not good for the Court’s health for justices to be on the bench for 25 or even 35 years. People get burned out or start phoning it in at some point.

My last proposal is to expand the number of justices on the Supreme Court. At the beginning of our nation, it made sense to have six members on the Supreme Court because there weren’t that many cases, and there were three appellate circuits or regions, but there were no appellate judges. At that time, the appellate court consisted of two Supreme Court Justices and one state district judge. So with six justices, each appellate court could be assigned two Supreme Court justices. More justices would have meant some justices would be left with no appellate assignment.

During the nineteenth century, the number of justices fluctuated between five and ten justices, primarily for political reasons. In 1869, the number of justices went from seven to nine, and it has remained at nine ever since. President Lincoln originally changed it to nine to cover the nine appellate courts at the time. In eight years, between 1861 and 1868, the number of justices changed four times!

Currently, there are thirteen appellate courts in the U.S., and Joyce Vance, a legal scholar, has suggested that perhaps thirteen justices is the best number. One justice for each court of appeals. Even though appellate courts now have their own judges, each justice is assigned one or two appellate courts to take a first look at cases moving up from the courts of appeal to the Supreme Court. With thirteen justices, each would only need to be assigned cases from one appeals court.

In the 1930’s, FDR attempted to immediately raise the number of justices from nine to fifteen in one fell swoop, and was accused of packing the court, so it may be smart to phase in the increase over several years, maybe even two presidential terms, to avoid the same accusation. Of course, we would want to wait for a democratic administration to introduce the increase.

The Supreme Court decision yesterday was unconscionable, and one might wonder what would have happened had the three proposals above been in place. Certainly, my list of ways to fix the Supreme Court is not exhaustive, and all of them may not be feasible, but something needs to happen. We cannot sit idly and wring our hands. I am certainly open to other ideas and discussions. Let me know your thoughts.

Sources

Justices Further Weaken Voting Rights Act, Igniting Political Scramble, New York Times, 04/29/2026.

24-109 Louisiana v. Callais (04/29/2026), U.S. Supreme Court, https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-109_21o3.pdf.

21-1086 Allen v. Milligan, U.S. Supreme Court, (06/08/2023),https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/21-1086_1co6.pdf.

Code-of-Conduct-for-Justices_November_13_2023.pdf, U.S. Supreme Court, https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/Code-of-Conduct-for-Justices_November_13_2023.pdf.

Justices 1789 to Present, U.S. Supreme Court, https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/members_text.aspx, 2026.

History of the Courts, Supreme Court Historical Society, https://supremecourthistory.org/#, 2026.