Chump's Iran War continues.
Haley Britzky, Zachary Cohen abd Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) report:
Iran retaliated against US forces on Sunday after the US
military struck Iranian rocket launchers, a US official said, marking
the first escalation between the sides in over a month.
Iranian missiles fired into Jordan have been intercepted,
the official said, and no impacts have been reported so far.
The attacks came after the US military struck Iran’s Larak
Island, where it observed Iranian forces preparing to launch rockets
with mines into the Strait of Hormuz.
There are numerous waves of Operation Happy Talk being put out by Chump supporters.
This morning on NBC's MEET THE PRESS, Senator Ted Cruz relied on one only to face the obvious response from moderator Kirsten Welker, "Senator,
I hear you arguing that military objectives have been achieved. If
that’s the case, why can’t the troops come home? There are still some
50,000 troops there." He did not attempt an honest answer to that question (instead he tried to spin it). Why? There is no honest answer to that question the administration can afford to make.
Pete Hegseth’s top spin doctor lashed out at a
report that top military brass are pushing back against Hegseth’s
orders, only for his meltdown to blow up in his face.
The Washington Post
revealed Sunday that commanders are warning Hegseth, the Fox News
host-turned-defense secretary, against extending the deployment of more
than 50,000 troops in the Middle East for President Donald Trump’s war
with Iran.
Sources told the Post that four-star
commanders overseeing operations in Europe, Asia, and Latin America,
along with the Navy’s top admiral, each registered a formal ‘non-concur’
with proposals contained in the latest Secretary of Defense Orders
Book, a classified Pentagon document produced twice a month to outline
the worldwide availability, readiness, and movement of U.S. forces.
A
‘non-concur’ formally records a commander’s disagreement with a
proposed course of action, even though the commander may ultimately be
required to carry out the final order.
James West (MOTHER JONES) notes the report by THE POST and adds:
On Day 10 of the Iran conflict, Trump declared the war “very complete, pretty much.”
It’s now many months later, with no deal, no end date, and a $37.5
billion price tag, according to Hegseth’s July testimony to Congress.
Last week we documented the ongoing whiplash in our video below—from
demands for unconditional surrender, to negotiations, to this week’s
“Operation Economic Outcast,” a sanctions campaign that amounts to a
tacit admission that six months of bombing didn’t get the job done.
Watch:
JOEL ROSE, HOST:
The Trump administration's crackdown
on illegal immigration is yielding big results. Newly released data show
the number of arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
climbed to nearly 50,000 in July. It's part of a broader crackdown on
illegal and legal immigration during Trump's second term. Here to talk
about what's going on is NPR immigration correspondent Vanessa Romo.
Hey, Vanessa.
VANESSA ROMO, BYLINE: Hi, Joel.
ROSE:
Let's start with new data showing that ICE has made more arrests in
July than any other month during the current administration. How has the
agency been able to do that?
ROMO: Well, it's sort of a
combination of factors. One, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne
Mullin has shifted ICE's strategy, and he's really broadened when and
where people are being arrested. So yes, it's still raids, but it's also
happening a lot more quietly. It's happening at airports and ICE
check-ins and immigration court.
And then second, ICE has a
lot more manpower now. This year, they've added more than 12,000 new
hires, doubling the size of the force. And many states and local law
enforcement are actually now participating in the effort to arrest
people through a program that's called 287(g). And these are agreements
where ICE works with local law enforcement to make those arrests.
ROSE:
Who are the people who are being arrested? I mean, I know a lot of
Haitians lost protections from deportation recently. Is that showing up
in these numbers?
ROMO: Yes, definitely. The Supreme Court
ruled back in June that the Trump administration can strip 300,000
Haitians of what's called temporary protected status. And so that has
shown up in the July figures. But the experts I spoke to say we're
actually likely to see a lot more of those in the August data.
ROSE:
With all of these arrests, there are also a lot of people being held in
detention, right? Exactly, you know, where are all of these people
being held?
ROMO: So you're right. As of July 11, there
were nearly 66,000 immigrants being held in detention across the
country, and that's according to the TRAC Project at Syracuse
University. And that's really, really concerning for immigrant rights
activists who say that detention center facilities are already
overcrowded.
I've spoken with a lot of people in detention
and their lawyers, and I've heard about how overcrowding exacerbates so
many of the problems that already exist. You know, overcrowding can lead
to unsanitary conditions and inconsistent medical care. Now, both the
government and the private companies running these facilities have
repeatedly defended their level of care that they provide. But with the
massive infusion of cash from Congress to DHS and ICE specifically, the
government is also planning on acquiring new detention centers to
address that.
The issue was addressed today on CBS' FACE THE NATION when moderator Margaret Brennan spoke with Senator Richard Blumenthal:
MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to ask you about what's happening in the state of Connecticut.
Nationwide, ICE arrests have increased significantly in June and in July. This past week, the governor of Connecticut said, despite President Trump saying to governors he would not send in ICE to cities that did not ask for help, they detained dozens of people in Danbury, Connecticut, in Bridgeport, and Stamford. ICE did not inform those cities in advance.
You're seeing footage of some of those arrests. What have you learned? Has this operation concluded? How many people were arrested? And was it timed to back to school, as your colleague Senator Chris Murphy alleges?
SENATOR RICHARD BLUMENTHAL: We've learned nothing from ICE. But we know that probably about 100 were detained and arrested. Very
few of them, only a fraction, maybe six or seven, have any kind of
criminal history. So, the administration saying that it's detaining the
worst of the worst or deporting people with serious criminal history is
absolutely belied by the facts. That's not what's happening.
In fact, they are seizing people. Many of them have legal status…
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
SENATOR
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL: … in this country. They may have come here seeking
asylum. And they are doing it in a way that is repugnant and inhumane.
The point is cruelty. They are trying to spread terror and sow fear in a way that is destructive of those communities.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
SENATOR
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL: I'm going to be walking through Danbury tomorrow
with the mayor. And I hope to have a forum. The Permanent Subcommittee
on Investigations has been doing spotlight forums on these abuses by
ICE. I hope to have one in Danbury or in Connecticut later in the week.
BASH: I want to
turn to what's being reported in Connecticut. Senator Chris Murphy said
ICE officers targeted parents at school bus stops this week. He said --
quote -- "In Danbury, they are just targeting parents sitting at school
bus stops just to terrorize little kids."
Are ICE officers detaining parents at school bus stops?
HOMAN: ICE isn't in the business of terrorizing children. That's -- that's just -- that's just political fire.
ICE
is out there enforcing law that was enacted by Congress. Then we arrest
illegal aliens? Are some parents? I'm sure many are. But we're not out
there to terrorize children. We're out there to look for illegal aliens
with final orders of removal, those who overstayed, those that are
criminals, and we're out there looking for them and arresting them.
ICE
has no intention of terrorizing children. That is just a political
statement made to enrage the American people. In the last two years, I
constantly hear the attacks on ICE and what ICE is doing. They think
it's a winning message to know to vilify ICE.
And I have said
for a long time all these hateful words against ICE and what ICE does,
that's a reason assaults against ICE officers are up over 9000 percent,
the threats. It -- and no other law enforcement agency in the world has
that percentage of increase in threats.
And I say most of it is
based on hateful writer and mischaracterization what ICE does, just
like the Delaney Hall, right? Delaney Hall was a big story. Everybody's
protesting up in Newark on Delaney Hall, said there was a hunger strike.
I went there. There was never a hunger strike. People weren't
eating at the cafeteria, but they're eating in the commissary. And there
-- no one was missing medication. They said one person, one father was
arrested while buying diapers. No, he was arrested at a jail, and he was
there for domestic violence charges.
But all these false stories come out, and people buy off on them.
BASH: Well...
HOMAN:
But you notice, when we prove those stories are fake, no one ever
covers that. No one ever says, OK, we were wrong. There actually wasn't a
hunger strike. There wasn't actually mistreatment at that facility.
BASH:
Yes, well, that's literally why we have you on, and we appreciate you
coming on. Three detainees did die at that facility.
But I want
to stick to bus stops, because I -- my question is, even more broadly
beyond Connecticut, are bus school stops fair game for a place where
parents can be arrested?
HOMAN: Look, we -- the ICE policy is
-- it used to be what we call a sensitive location policy. We don't have
that policy anymore.
But I have pointed out, for the last two
years, you -- no one can point to one single incidence we arrested
anybody in an elementary school. We haven't arrested anybody in a
hospital. We haven't arrested anybody in the church. ICE is real good at
their job.
Now, did they -- somebody arrest somebody at a bus
stop? I'm not aware of that. But ICE is out there to enforce law those
that have been ordered removed by a federal judge. And if the --
especially if they're a criminal or if they're a national security
threat, there's no safe harbor for them in this country. We will go
where we need to go.
But to this day, ICE has not made arrests
in one of those three sensitive locations I'm aware of. But you read a
lot of stories they have, but no one's giving me one instance...
BASH: Yes.
HOMAN:
... one name, one date where somebody's arrested at one of those three
instances. As far as the school bus, I'm not aware of that incident at
all.
An Ecuadorian mother and daughter were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at a hospital after a car crash in central Florida.
On
20 August, Grace Stephanie Calero Cabanilla, 39, and her daughter,
Giulianna Mía Carriel Calero, 19, were involved in a car crash in
Poinciana, Florida, according to arrest reports reviewed by multiple news outlets.
According to Jonathan Bravo, Calero Cabanilla’s cousin, who spoke to Newsweek,
she was driving to work with her daughter when another vehicle struck
the passenger side of their car, in which the pair “almost died” after
the car flipped over four times.
That was just last week. It's happened before as well but this was just last week. As border czar, Homan should be aware of what happened last week.
Joe DePaolo (MEDIAITE) notes Chump attacked Kristen Welker for something she said on NBC's MEET THE PRESS when, in fact, she made the comment on another program:
:
President Donald Trump blasted NBC’s Kristen Welker early Sunday morning — but the comment that triggered him actually wasn’t made on Meet the Press.
Welker was appearing on NBC 4 Washington during the 6 a.m. ET hour to promote Sunday morning’s Meet the Press. In her brief comments, Welker — citing NBC News reporting — noted that Trump has taken a few losses in recent GOP primaries.
“He’s going to loom large over these
midterms,” Welker said on NBC 4 Washington. “There’s no doubt about
that. He, of course, has endorsed a slate of candidates in the
primaries. He’s had some mixed results, but most recently, his pick of
Senator Darline Graham, of course, the sister of the late Senator
Lindsey Graham, was successful in her primary battle, so now she takes
on Dr. Annie Andrews in South Carolina.”
Chump took to social media to attack the journalist. Jennifer Bowers Bahney (MEDIAITE) notes a reaction to the attack:
Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez called President Donald Trump’s Truth Social demand to punish NBC News’s Kristen Welker for saying something he didn’t like, “dangerous” for democracy.
Trump became enraged with Welker after a promo clip of her aired on
Washington, D.C.’s, local NBC affiliate, where she noted Trump’s recent
endorsement losses — and wins.
[. . .]
In response to the president’s tantrum, Gomez wrote on X, “As I’ve said many times, the FCC has no authority
to punish journalists this administration doesn’t like. These threats
to press freedom are dangerous. They undermine the foundation of our
democracy, and they have no place in it.”
Let's wind down with this from Senator Adam Schiff's office:
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla (both D-Calif.), members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, formally demanded an investigation into Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) recent attempt to enter an immigration law firm in Sacramento, California.
“The reporting of this operation is alarming. ICE
officers attempted to enter private property unlawfully, with one
officer allegedly threatening to return in the early morning hours of
the following day and break windows to enter the law firm’s premises. We
request a thorough investigation into this operation, including a
review of the officer’s conduct, threats made by the Department of
Homeland Security and ICE personnel, and timely and comprehensive
responses to our questions about ICE’s perceived authorities to conduct
such actions,” the Senators wrote.
In an inquiry directed to Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Secretary Markwayne Mullin and ICE Senior Official Performing the Duties
of the Director David J. Ventulla, the lawmakers are pressing for
answers on the purpose of ICE’s attempted entry onto Morris Law Group’s
premises, on ICE failing to secure a judicial warrant prior to arriving
at the firm, information about ICE’s policies to enter private property
without warrants and on alleged threats of violence
made by an ICE officer during their attempt to gain entry. The lawmakers
also pushed back against DHS’s statement that ICE officers were not
aware that this address was a law firm prior to their arrival, though
the firm’s name was clearly legible on its premises.
The Senators continued, “after months of significant
community indignation, unanswered congressional oversight, and
commitments from DHS Secretary Mullin at his nomination hearing that DHS
“will not enter a home or a place of business without a judicial
warrant, unless we’re pursuing the individual that runs into a place of
business or a house,” DHS is again failing to comply with the law, its
commitment to Congress, and its promise to the American people.”
The full text of the letter can be found here and below.
Dear Secretary Mullin and Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director Venturella:
It has come to our attention that Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) officers conducted an operation in Sacramento,
California on Friday, August 14 at an immigration law firm named Morris
Law Group. The reporting of this operation is alarming. ICE
officers attempted to enter private property unlawfully, with one
officer allegedly threatening to return in the early morning hours of
the following day and break windows to enter the law firm’s premises. We
request a thorough investigation into this operation, including a
review of the officer’s conduct, threats made by the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE personnel, and timely and comprehensive
responses to our questions about ICE’s perceived authorities to conduct
such actions.
The behavior carried out by DHS enforcement officers and agents
throughout this last year in Los Angeles, California; Chicago, Illinois;
Portland, Oregon; and Minneapolis, Minnesota, make clear that
immigration enforcement officers and agents are capable of and have
acted without regard for the safety and civil liberties of
individuals. It is clear that some DHS enforcement personnel wrongly
believe they can enter individuals’ private properties, including places
of business, without valid, judicial warrants required by the Fourth
Amendment (notwithstanding exigent circumstances that could be
sufficiently established in a court of law). After months of significant
community indignation, unanswered congressional oversight, and
commitments from DHS Secretary Mullin at his nomination hearing that DHS
“will not enter a home or a place of business without a judicial
warrant, unless we’re pursuing the individual that runs into a place of
business or a house,” DHS is again failing to comply with the law, its
commitment to Congress, and its promise to the American people.
Reporting also states that this same ICE officer claimed to have a
“list” from “Washington, D.C.” which listed the building’s address for
inspection and that the officers wanted to “tour the office for beds.”
Furthermore, in DHS’s statement to KCRA 3 following the reporting of
this incident, DHS stated that ICE officers approached “an unmarked
door” and believed it to be an address with beds, but that after
learning it was a law firm, left. We are baffled by this statement.
First, a Google search of this address shows that it is a law
firm. Second, a Google street view image of the address shows
clearly that “Morris Law Group” is written on the front of the entire
building, right next to the building number. We find DHS’s statement
troubling and unsatisfactory.
ICE’s conduct here is another example of a broader, systemic
effort by this administration to intimidate immigrant communities and
the attorneys and legal representatives who represent them. We refuse to
tolerate these efforts to target law firms and organizations based
solely on who their clients may be or their practice areas. Federal
immigration officers and agents must comply with the law as all other
federal law enforcement agents are required.
We are troubled by the serious allegations that ICE
officers attempted to enter private property without a judicial warrant
and further threatened to return to the law firm at 3 a.m. to “break
windows” to enter private property. We request that DHS and ICE promptly
investigate the nature of these threats by its officers, and request
responses to the following questions:
- What was the purpose of the ICE operation on August 14 at Morris Law Group?
- Why did the ICE officers fail to secure a judicial warrant prior to their arrival at Morris Law Group’s premises?
- What is ICE’s protocol or policy regarding requiring judicial
warrants to enter private property since Markwayne Mullin was sworn in
as the DHS Secretary? Where and when was that policy made public?
- Will DHS and ICE commit to investigating this incident,
including the allegation that an ICE officer claimed they could return
at “3 a.m.” to “break windows” to enter private property, and share the
outcome of that investigation with our offices?
- What is ICE’s policy regarding investigating officers who threaten violence during enforcement actions?
- Are ICE officers required to be trained in deescalation in the
context enforcement actions? If so, is that training required prior to
beginning employment? Are there additional and continuous deescalation
trainings throughout their term of employment? Please provide all
documentation regarding ICE’s policy and training
protocol regarding deescalation.
- Why did ICE officers request to tour the law firm offices for beds?
- Reporting indicates that ICE officers received a “list” from “Washington, D.C.” for this enforcement action.
- From whom did they receive this list?
- What is the process for creating lists of targets for ICE
enforcement actions? Please provide a list of the offices and officials
involved in the process, both at DHS and ICE, as well as any engagement
by the White House and other federal agencies.
- What is the process for creating targeting lists of law firms or
legal service providers and what factors are considered for such
lists? Please provide a list of the offices and officials involved in
the process, both at DHS and ICE, as well as any engagement by the White
House and other federal agencies.
- Who are the officials responsible for creating and approving such lists and distributing them to ICE officers?
- What were the specific factors that established Morris Law Group as a target for this enforcement action?
- Was this enforcement action anchored in seeking a particular
individual? Or does DHS believe it can target locations without a
particular human target?
- Was the ICE San Francisco Field Office leading this enforcement operation?
- If yes, what is the protocol for coordinating with the ICE San
Francisco Field Office to prepare lists of individuals or law firms
subject to enforcement actions?
- If not, which ICE Field Office was tasked with carrying out this enforcement action?
- How many officers were involved and were they wearing body cameras? If not, why not?
- Does ICE have a protocol for verifying addresses before arriving at them?
- If yes, why was this protocol not followed in this instance?
Will ICE investigate possible lack of compliance with protocol here?
- If not, why not?
Given the serious allegations of this incident, we request
responses by Friday, September 11. We appreciate your attention to this
matter.
###
The following sites updated:
