The key to holding Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents accountable for constitutional violations may lie in a 1987 law review article by a young law professor named Akhil Reed Amar.
“I think it was a good idea then,” he said last week, “and it’s only taken more than half a lifetime for people to actually read the thing.”
The article has, in truth, been quite influential. It has been cited, for instance, in seven Supreme Court opinions. But it was also 96 pages long and touched on many issues.
“I was actually trying to do a bunch of different things — and get tenure,” Professor Amar, now a leading constitutional scholar at Yale Law School, said of the article, “Of Sovereignty and Federalism.”
His central point for present purposes was that state legislatures can authorize lawsuits against federal officials for violating the Constitution. If that is right, such state laws would close an odd gap in federal law that — broadly speaking — allows such suits against state and local officials, like police officers, but not against federal ones, like ICE agents.
Congress authorized the first kind of lawsuit in an 1871 law that most people call Section 1983. But Congress has not enacted legislation allowing suits against federal officials for violating the Constitution.
“It’s an enormous problem that federal officials are in some ways the hardest people to hold accountable for violating people’s constitutional rights, even harder than state and local officials,” said Carolyn Shapiro, a professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law and a former solicitor general of Illinois.
The Supreme Court tried to address the gap in 1971 in Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents, allowing the victim of an unconstitutional search by federal agents to sue them. But the court has essentially abandoned that approach, saying instead that Congress must act if suits against federal officials are to be allowed.
That is where state lawmakers come in, Professor Amar said.
Michael Lipset, a Montreal resident originally from Minneapolis and one of the protest organizers, didn’t mince words when addressing the crowd. “The violence ICE is bringing upon people within the United States will not be tolerated anywhere,” he declared, as reported by CBC. Lipset and others also called out Canadian businesses—such as Vancouver-based Hootsuite, Ontario’s Roshel, and Montreal’s GardaWorld—for maintaining commercial ties with ICE. “We will not tolerate Quebec’s complicity and Canada’s complicity in that violence by way of corporate contracts with ICE,” Lipset added, urging an end to what he described as indirect support for U.S. immigration enforcement.
The anger on display in Montreal mirrors the frustration simmering inside the United States, particularly in places like the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas—the largest ICE family detention facility in the country. According to the Associated Press, attorney Eric Lee witnessed a protest inside the Dilley center on February 1, 2026. Detainees, including families and children, erupted in chants of “let us out, let us out,” as guards ordered visitors to leave and locked down the facility. The 2,400-bed center, which detains thousands of immigrants swept up in ICE raids, has become a flashpoint for criticism over deteriorating conditions and indefinite detention.
Lee, who represents several detained families, described what his clients have called “a deliberate policy of cruelty.” He detailed reports of contaminated water—used by mothers to mix baby formula—food infested with bugs and debris, and regular verbal abuse by guards. “The water is putrid yet mothers have to mix baby formula with it,” Lee told AP. “Food has bugs and debris in it. Guards are regularly engaging in verbal abuse.”
Conditions at other ICE centers have drawn similar scrutiny. At a Texas facility near El Paso, detainees allege routine beatings by guards and being forced to use clothing to mop up sewage water in areas where meals are served. In Baltimore, a viral video showing dozens of people crammed into a holding cell sparked a lawsuit by immigration advocates, who described “inhumane conditions.”
Liam Conejo Ramos, the 5-year-old boy who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and went viral, has returned to Minneapolis with his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, after they were released from a detention center in Texas.
On Sunday, Feb. 1, the father-son duo boarded a plane to Minnesota, as seen in footage obtained by ABC News. The pair went viral back in January, when ICE agents detained them in their driveway following their return home from Conejo Ramos' preschool.
"I'm happy to finally be going home," Adrian told ABC News as he carried his sleeping son onto the aircraft.
Their trip home comes a day after a Minnesota judge ordered that Adrian and Liam be released from the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas.
Judge Fred Biery of the Federal District Court for the Western District of Texas pointed out an “ill-conceived and incompetently government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children," according to the order obtained by The New York Times.
He also called out the “government’s ignorance of an American historical document called the Declaration of Independence.”
Liam’s case, Biery wrote, originated in “the ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children.”
“Observing human behavior confirms that for some among us, the perfidious lust for unbridled power and the imposition of cruelty in its quest know no bounds and are bereft of human decency,” wrote the judge. “And the rule of law be damned.”
Biery also took aim at administrative warrants, which federal immigration agents often use to make arrests and which do not require a judge’s signature. “Administrative warrants issued by the executive branch to itself do not pass probable cause muster,” he wrote. “That is called the fox guarding the henhouse. The Constitution requires an independent judicial officer.”
Biery noted Liam and his father may well end up facing deportation anyway due to what he called the “arcane” US immigration system – but “that result should occur through a more orderly and humane policy than currently in place.”
The judge finished his colorful opinion by quoting Benjamin Franklin’s description of the nascent nation at the 1787 Constitutional Convention: “Well, Dr. Franklin, what do we have?” “A republic, if you can keep it.”
Shaukat told Newsweek that she hired Pretti as a research assistant at the Minneapolis VA in 2014, when he was looking to gain some experience in health care.
“He was very earnest and just very enthusiastic about contributing to patient care,” she said. “So we gave him a chance, we took him on. We trained him. He learned really well, he was a really valued team member.”
In 2019, Pretti became interested in going into nursing school while still working with Dr. Shaukat, who wrote a recommendation letter for him. During this time, she said he would bring “funny stories” to work from his side gig as a pizza delivery driver. He never expressed any “radical or crazy thoughts” and was “very honest and hard-working,” she added.
He returned to the same hospital, where he “rose the ranks in nursing all the way to his ICU position,” she said.
“That was really good for him and he literally just had his whole life ahead of him when this tragic event happened,” she said, describing him as a “good kid.”
Pretti found “deeper meaning” working in health care, particularly when it came to working with veterans, who are a more vulnerable population because of social and mental health challenges, she said.
He was always open about things he cared about, including the environment and helping his community, she said. Attending a peaceful protest was “very much like” him, as his community in south Minneapolis would have been the “epicenter” of what was happening, she added.
Friday, the Justice Dept released more from the Epstein files. Adam Downer (DAILY BEAST) reports:
Elon Musk is now claiming the Epstein files are a “distraction” that “doesn’t matter” after he was busted begging to come to one of Jeffrey Epstein’s parties.
The 54-year-old billionaire had long been a vocal advocate for releasing the Epstein files and arresting the late sexual predator’s clients.
But after emails in which Musk planned to visit Epstein’s Island for the “wildest party” were exposed in Friday’s Epstein files release, Musk has changed his tune.
“What matters is not release of some subset of the Epstein files, but rather the prosecution of those who committed heinous crimes with Epstein,“ he wrote in an X post Saturday morning.
“When there is at least one arrest, some justice will have been done. If not, this is all performative. Nothing but a distraction,” he added.
Musk knows that corporate America has expanded as far as it's ever going to for him. They've looked away at the drug use, they've taken him at his word that he learned the lesson about politics (something he is already demonstrating that he didn't learn) and now he's a part of the Epstein ring. So he tries to down peddle it.
Gabe Whisnant (NEWSWEEK) explains:
Billionaire Elon Musk exchanged emails with Jeffrey Epstein about visiting the financier’s private Caribbean island, according to newly released documents that include correspondence from 2012 and 2013.
The emails show Epstein discussing potential travel arrangements to Little Saint James, an island he owned in the U.S. Virgin Islands that later became the focus of numerous allegations of sexual abuse.
Musk is insisting that his e-mails are being misinterpreted. At GIZMODO, Mike Pearl writes:
“What day/night will be the wildest party on your island?” Elon Musk asked Jeffrey Epstein on on Nov. 25, 2012.
In 2019, Musk told Vanity Fair that in their past interactions, he had detected that Epstein was “obviously a creep.” Indeed, it wouldn’t have taken much sleuthing to pick up on this attribute of Epstein’s back in 2012. He already had a conviction on his record at the time for soliciting prostitution, and it was also widely reported in the media that the prostitution conviction stemmed from a generous plea bargain, and that the charges Epstein had been facing included sexual relations with minors.
So with that in mind, here’s what Musk and Epstein wrote as they attempted to make plans in 2012 for Musk to visit Epstein’s island with British actress Talulah Riley, Musk’s wife at the time (typos and other text issues are left in tact. I don’t want to be accused of misinterpreting):
Epstein: you are welcome to stay or just come for the day, plenty of rroom i will=send heli to get you
Musk: Do you have any parties planned? I’ve been working to the edge of sanity th=s year and so, once my kids head home after Christmas, I really want to hi= the party scene in St Barts or elsewhere and let loose. The invitation is=much appreciated, but a peaceful island experience is the opposite of what=l’m looking for.
Epstein: Understood, , I will see you on st Barth, the ratio on my island might m=ke Talilah uncomfortable
Musk: Ratio is not a problem for Talulah
It may be true that Musk declined one or more invitations to visit, but he also tried to make plans to visit multiple times. In addition to the aforementioned change, he emailed Epstein on December 14, 2013 saying he was going to be in the Virgin Islands “over the holidays,” and asked “Is there a good time to visit?” In my opinion it sort of undermines the inherent morality of rejecting offers to be taken to Epstein’s island if you also repeatedly attempt to visit Epstein’s island.
While Musk continues his efforts to lie and spin, Mike Stunson (FORBES) notes one person is already backing up the assertion Musk visited Epstein Island:
Musk’s estranged daughter, 21-year-old Vivian Wilson, wrote in a post on Threads her memory of visiting the region where Epstein’s island was located when she was younger: “There was this boat ride from St Vincent to St Barth’s I remember from when I was little. We used to visit around the holidays. I remember the sea being so dark at night.” She would have been around 9 at the time.
Friday's release was over three million pages, however, everything has not been released yet Deputy AG Todd Blanche has announced this will be all that the government releases. Per The Epstein Files Transparency Act, everything was supposed to have been released by December 19th. This is the law passed by Congress and signed, November 19th, by Donald Chump.
CNN notes at the top of their coverage:
The Justice Department released more than 3 million pages of files related to the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein today. The documents contain references to President Donald Trump and other powerful figures, including Elon Musk, Bill Clinton and a former Obama White House counsel.
• An FBI list of allegations related to Trump — many of which appear to have come from unverified tips — is among the new documents. The White House referred CNN to a Justice Department statement that called the claims “unfounded and false.” Trump has long denied wrongdoing in connection to Epstein.
• Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department has now completed its review of the Epstein files and that the White House had “no oversight” of the process.
Despite the new disclosures, a group of survivors of Epstein’s alleged abuses said some of their alleged abusers “remain hidden and protected”.
A statement from 19 of the survivors, some using aliases or initials, said information about them still remained in the files, “while the men who abused us remain hidden and protected.” The letter demanded “the full release of the Epstein files” and that Attorney General Pam Bondi directly address the matter when she testifies before Congress next month.
Musk isn't the only one whose lies have been exposed by the latest release. Nicholas Confessore (NEW YORK TIMES) notes:
On a podcast last year, Howard Lutnick, the secretary of commerce, described being so revolted by a mid-2000s visit to Mr. Epstein’s Manhattan mansion that he decided to “never be in a room with that disgusting person ever again.”
Mr. Lutnick’s disgust appeared to prove temporary. In 2012, he emailed with Mr. Epstein to arrange a visit with his wife and children to Mr. Epstein’s private island just before Christmas. An assistant to Mr. Epstein later forwarded Mr. Lutnick a message from Mr. Epstein: “Nice seeing you,” it said. (On Friday, Mr. Lutnick said that “I spent zero time with him.”)
Also exposed is Melania Chump. Sarah Ewall-Wice (DAILY BEAST) notes:
A gushing email exchange between First Lady Melania Trump and Jeffrey Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell was included in the latest dump of Epstein files.
In the first message from 2002, Mrs. Trump praised a New York magazine article about Epstein and complemented the socialite now serving 20 years in prison for sex-trafficking.
“Dear G! Howe are you?” it starts. “Nice story about JE in NY mag. You look great in the picture.”
At the time, the first lady was still Melania Knauss and was just dating Trump.
The pair were captured in multiple pictures with Epstein and Maxwell around that time, but the email appears to be the first written communication between Mrs. Trump and Maxwell from the files.
In other Epstein news, Carl Gibson reports on questions regarding the convict's death:
Before he died in prison, convicted child predator Jeffrey Epstein was reportedly attacked in his cell, extorted by his cellmate and slipped a handwritten note into a book.
That's according to Miami Herald investigative journalist Julie K. Brown, who initially broke the story that led to the first arrests of Epstein and his chief accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. In a Thursday post to her Substack entitled "Why I don't believe Jeffrey Epstein Killed Himself (Part 2)," Brown delved into Bureau of Prisons records about an apparent suicide attempt that took place not long after he arrived at New York City's Metropolitan Corrections Center in the summer of 2019.
Brown
alleged the Bureau of Prisons never fully investigated the suicide
attempt, and asserted from available evidence that the convicted sex
trafficker had instead been attacked by an inmate. She noted that child
predators are at the bottom rung of the prison hierarchy, and that
Epstein had a target on his back due to the volume of reporting on his
crimes. Epstein's cellmate ["bunkie" in prison parlance], Nicholas
Tartaglione — who Brown described as a "violent
ex-cop-turned-drug-dealer — denied playing a role in the assault.
"Just 13 days after he arrived at MCC, he was found laying on the floor of his cell, with a piece of fabric around his neck," Brown wrote. "The very first story he told prison officials was that his cellmate tried to kill him."
However, Epstein later changed his story to say that he didn't remember the details of the attack. Eventually, an incident report attributed his injuries to "self-mutilation." Tartaglione was also accused of threatening to harm Epstein unless he paid him. Eventually, some details of the attack were apparently "expunged," according to Brown.
Meanwhile
Chump is mentioned throughout. Many of the pages contain allegations
of Chump with young women and girls. Some of those pages were removed
after being released yesterday. Zachary Leeman (MEDIAITE) explains:
In a complaint made by a friend, the president was accused of forcing a 13-14-year-old to perform oral sex on him.
“[Redacted] reported an unidentified female friend who was forced to perform oral sex on President Trump approximately 35 years ago in NJ. The friend told Alexis that she was approximately 13-14 years old when this occurred, and the friend allegedly bit President Trump while performing oral sex. The friend was allegedly hit in the face after she laughed about biting President Trump. The friend said she was also abused by Epstein,” the complaint reads.
[. . .]
Another in Epstein’s orbit also made allegations of “sex trafficking” and murder. The unidentified person was following up on a tip given to the NYPD in which the person alleged they were raped at 13. The person also alleged Trump regularly paid them to perform sexual acts and claimed he was present when her newborn child was murdered.
“Complainant reported Donald Trump participated regularly in paying money to force her to perform sex acts with him and alleged Trump was present when her uncle murdered her newborn child,” notes on the complaint read.
According to the paperwork, there was “no contact made.”
By the way, THE NEW YORK TIMES will not be reporting on the 4,000+ pages about Donald Chump. They say so in an article credited to "THE NEW YORK TIMES," "The New York Times is not describing the details of the unverified claims." What is the paper of record ignoring?
Donald Trump and his allies stayed connected to Jeffrey Epstein well after they claimed they had stopped communicating.
The president has long asserted that his close friendship with the child sex trafficker ended after the duo had a falling out over real estate in Palm Beach, ultimately nixing contact altogether after 2006, when a grand jury indicted Epstein on state charges related to prostitution. That same year, Trump banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago (though Epstein publicly denied the finale of his membership at the time).
But documents published Friday amid the Justice Department’s larger rollout of another tranche of the Epstein files indicate that Trump’s narrative is far from the entire story.
An email out of the trove, issued by Epstein to an individual named William Riley, revealed that the sex trafficker was planning to call Trump as late as 2011.
“Before I call Trump, with regard vrginina ,, are there any other alternatives,” Epstein wrote on April 18, 2011.
It is not clear who Riley is, though a decorated Iraq War veteran known as William Sascha Riley was identified in November as another one of Epstein’s victims by Substack writer Lisa Noelle Voldeng. Riley claimed his adoptive father, William “Bill” Kyle Riley, worked as a pilot for Epstein and trafficked him to the global predator.
As it turns out, Trump’s friends had similarly malleable principles. In an interview with the New York Post podcast in October, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick recalled an instance in 2005 when Epstein—who was at the time his Upper East Side neighbor—invited him to tour his infamous East 71st Street townhouse.
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