Dems Go Soft, Fast, on Hard-and-Fast ICE Demands

But Schumer and Jeffries are pushing for more than they have, and, holy shit, everywhere else even Republicans are pushing back

Feb. 5: Congressional Democrats release list of demands that they’re not actually demanding, per se … Bannon’s call for ICE at the polls is dumb so don’t freak out … Even red counties are rejecting federal concentration camps … EXCLUSIVE: Inside (but not very far) the weirdness of the already weird dueling (or duetting) National Prayer Breakfasts …

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Ed. note: Wednesday’s TFN had a bleakness and pessimism that I fear pushed some Newsfuckers into rage and despair, which is the evil opposite of TFN’s mission. So today I’ll ask us to focus on the bright spots once we get to them. UPDATE: There are bright spots!

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) at a Capitol press conference laid down a hard line Wednesday for them to walk back later. (Screengrab / Senate Democrats video.)

Congressional Democratic leaders on Wednesday released their official list of Ten Things I Hate About ICE.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) outlined ten policy changes — plus the removals of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from Minneapolis, MN, and of Homeland (sic) Security Secretary Kristi Noem from her job.

Funding for the Department of Homeland (sic) Security (DHS), including ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will run out on Feb. 13 without a new funding bill. Or, put an equally biased way, funding for DHS will continue past Feb. 13 without someone stopping it.

The Schumer/Jeffries letter — to dear Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) — did not demand reforms to ICE and CBP. Their letter did not threaten that Democrats will vote against DHS funding without their reforms.

What it said was, “We believe that Congress needs to enact the following guardrails.”

Less ransom note than diary entry. Less fearsome warning than polite Letterboxd review.

The guardrails they did ask for aren’t great, but they’re better and arguably are great by Schumer/Jeffries standards.

• Warrants for going on private property.

• Not putting citizens in concentration camps (instead of fucking no one in concentration camps).

• No secret police (ID required and no masks).

• No raids at sites like medical facilities, polling places, courts, or places where kids might be (presumably places like schools, daycare centers, Turning Point USA conferences, Epstein island, and Pres. Donald Trump’s basement).

• No more racial profiling.

• Use-of-force policies like don’t.

• Local coordination/investigations.

• Access and accountability at concentration camps (because what Dachau needed was more attorney visits).

• Regulation uniforms and equipment so ICE and CBP look like real cops, not like paramilitary cosplay or the avatars new agent gamers use at home because reality and girls are scary.

Plus, ICE out of Minneapolis and Noem out of work, out of job security and back to her homeland. A bill putting all of this straight-forward prose into legislative gobbledygook is expected today.

Arguably, congressional Democrats could have asked for much more. Clawing back the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBuBBA) funds. Emptying DHS concentration camps. And, of course, releasing Savannah Guthrie’s Mom.

Democrats can also simply not negotiate at all and just announce their only demand for DHS is that it stop being, be less, be no more, begone, and unbe.

Also, the details matter! Remember that $20 million for body cameras that Republicans agreed to? I just learned that their legislation for that didn’t require the agents to wear the cameras! They just have to have them, the way I have an exercise bike¹ and dental floss.

One problem with the polite requests Schumer and Jeffries made may be evident. Much of it amounts to: “Comply with the law and norms.” But there’s no reason to think tossing another law onto the stack of ignored laws and norms will lead to real change.

Is it something? Yes. Is it worth adding another year of funding onto the stack of funding already provided by OBuBBA last year? Your call!

My personal view is that ICE and CBP and DHS should not exist. Move the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to another department; for instance … just picking one at random … the Department of Transportation.

But what about immigrants, even some tribal Democrats will say. Well, TFN routinely hammers how immigrants, regardless of document possession, are better behaved than documented American yahoos. Their productivity saved America from a COVID recession.

And now we have new insights into the threat a lack of immigrants poses, thanks to a landmark analysis Tuesday from the Cato Institute, based on available data, which goes all the way back to 1994. This covers all immigrants, regardless of what documents they have. Some highlights of what we’ve reaped over the past 30+ years thanks to immigrants invading us:

• Immigrants pay more in taxes than they get in government benefits.

• Immigrants gave federal, state, and local governments $10.5 trillion more in tax revenues than those governments had to spend due to those immigrants being here helping us out.

• Immigrant productivity netted the U.S. $14.5 trillion, reducing our national debt load by $3.9 trillion.

• Immigrants cut U.S. budget deficits by roughly one third.

• Immigrant contributions eased U.S. public debt down, possibly preventing a debt crisis.

• Immigrant-generated income and tax revenues are above the U.S. average.

In fact, it’s estimated that all of these economic boons immigrants create would still hold even if you subtract all the jobs their presence here created at Fox.

Immigrants use a lower share of government benefits, compared to their share of the population, than those documented entitlement-junkies with citizenship who leech off of honest, hardworking, taxpaying immigrants:

So it’s not just that DHS is terrorizing communities and damaging local economies. By sealing off the border to illegal crossings and squeezing legal entry, Pres. Donald Trump and Republicans — and anti-immigrant Democrats! — are planting a megaton economic demographic time bomb.

Now, does the Schumer/Jeffries weasely language foretell a massive Democratic cave? Probably. Does that mean DHS will get funded? Probably. But didn’t TFN promise hope? Yes! So are there signs of real resistance? Also yes.

The American Prospect’s Robert Kuttner sees encouraging signs of Democratic steel on Capitol Hill. And things look even better off the Hill…

The Heat’s on ICE

ICE BLOCK AT THE POLLS Even my normie neighbor texted me Wednesday about Steve Bannon calling for ICE and the Army to surround polling places in November. I get it. It’s scary. It’s also not happening.

For one thing, there are simply too many polling places. So you’d have ICE clusters clusterfucking at some polls … and on social media! And because politics is Newtonian, well, this thread lays out it beautifully:

Remember, no matter how bad the Trumpshit du jour sounds, don’t pre-panic. Never pre-panic. Give the experts time to assess and the nerds time to share it.

And federal law specifically bars the military at polling places. I know, I know: Law, shmaw. But the politics just aren’t there for it.

Both Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) this week stood up for the Constitutional right and duty of states to administer their own elections. Laughable, sure, but a year ago Republican leaders standing up at all would’ve been laughable. They can’t read their oaths, but they can read the polls.

And in the rank and vile, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) also rejected Trump’s call to illegally “nationalize” elections. “That’s not what the Constitution says about elections,” Paul said, as if Trump gives a shit.

DRAWDOWN White House “border” “czar” Tom Homan said Wednesday in Minneapolis — at least four hours from the border by czar — that ICE and CBP will remove 700 of the roughly 3,000 federal agents now roughly mistreating Minneapolis. As with most drinks at expensive bars, however, there’s still way too much ICE.

But this is a partial acknowledgment of the public and political pressure mounting against Trump and his goon squad of professional goons.

We don’t have to believe Trump to recognize that moderating his tough-guy rhetoric means he recognizes how unpopular it is. On Wednesday he discussed using a “softer touch” while still being “tough.” In other words, he’ll clean up Minneapolis by being tough on stains but gentle on your skin.

DHS’S UNSUSTAINABLE ENERGY Even with new funding — approved by Democrats! — for the Justice Department, the Trump administration’s legal defense is now running on unregulated fumes. And the emissions are choking the courts.

Defending Trump’s and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller’s mass incarcerations is proving to be too much for the lawyers forced to defend the indefensible.

The Justice Department just fired prosecutor Julie Le — whose previous attempt to resign was rebuffed — for having the attorney equivalent of a nervous breakdown/crisis of conscience. Among the highlights from Le’s filings and court statements:

• “The system sucks. This job sucks.”

• “I wish you would just hold me in contempt, Your Honor, so that I can have a full 24 hours of sleep.”

• “Being in jail a day to catch up with sleep is not bad right now with all the hours I have to put into this job.”

• “I am not white, as you can see. And my family’s at risk as any other people that might get picked up too, so I share the same concern.”

THE LAW OF THE HOMELAND Some local officials and law enforcement are taking a stand. State Attorney General Letitia James (D-NY) isn’t leaving it to everyday people to observe and document DHS abuses.

Despite Trump’s inept attempt to prosecute her for mortgage fraud, James carved out time to deploy ICE observers from her office. Professional, state-employed, legal types will be on the streets of New York documenting ICE conduct. (h/t)

CONCENTRATING ON THE CAMPS The DHS just bought two massive warehouses — one in Williamsport, MD, and one in Surprise, AZ — to store its human overstock. The DHS is seeking to acquire 23 of these, let’s call them camps, in which to concentrate its detainees.

The U.S. is already holding a record 73,000 people in camps. But even some Republicans are drawing a line. At least, a NIMBY line.

Here’s Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) fighting ICE plans to convert a Mississippi warehouse into a camp to warehouse humans. On humanitarian grounds? No, because that wouldn’t be cool. No, Wicker says an ICE camp won’t generate as much income as other uses. Because what every successful concentration camp needs is a solid business plan.

The Hill reports that Wicker could try to block the camp in the new DHS funding bill. Which Democrats could agree to in return for Wicker opposing every camp in every other state.

Here’s a Canadian company dropping its ICE plans like a hot potato. The company said it will not be selling a massive Virginia warehouse to the DHS. That’s after the Hanover County board voted to oppose the sale. On humanitarian grounds? No, because that wouldn’t be cool. No, the board opposed it because it would cost about $1 million annually in lost revenue. (h/t)

But that vote came after more than 1,000 people showed up at a county meeting to protest the sale. On humanitarian grounds? Fuck yes, because the people are cool (even in a county that voted for Trump by 26 points; some people are dumb or oblivious and just need time to figure out that they voted for the bad guys.)

The entire state of New Mexico is about to ban federal concentration camps. The state Senate on Tuesday approved a state House bill that now goes to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM), who has said she’ll sign it. The state law will also bar local law enforcement from cooperating with the feds on immigration enforcement/persecution. (h/t)

The New Republic rounds up other places where the populi are concentrating their vox against camps for people the government rounds up. (h/t)

• A Republican New Jersey county board voted unanimously against a new ICE center.

• Oklahoma City’s Republican mayor opposed ICE big-box storage there and the owner of the warehouse opted not to sell it to ICE.

• Officials in Kansas City, MO, and Salt Lake City, UT, are also trying to put ICE’s plans on ice.

Why all the pushback? Most Americans hate concentration camps! Polling shows 64% oppose warehousing people who haven’t even been found guilty of not having their papers in order. And thanks to still-functioning local governments, people everywhere are finding out about these camps in time to turn out against them.

In other words, after fucking up in 2024, America’s starting to give the right answer to the question: What would we do if we lived in Germany in the ‘30s? (The previous ‘30s, that is. If we lived in Germany in the next ‘30s we’d be having beer for breakfast and driving evs down the autobahn at a blistering 80 km per hour.)

Waffling

EXCLUSIVE By the time you read this, we should have a better idea about the current status of the National Prayer Breakfast(s). Because it’s today. Are.

There are two of them today, both called the National Prayer Breakfast. It’s not clear whether they’re working together more closely. Or less.

What we do know is that the more-socially-acceptable one on Capitol Hill is still run by people tied to the seedy, tawdry one at the Washington Hilton run by the Fellowship Foundation, aka The Family. I reported on all of this over at my original-reporting Substack Wednesday night.

And, I reported, the confusion between the two is still helping Fellowship allies overseas boost themselves to their domestic audiences by saying, “Lookit me, Ma, President Donald Trump himself personally invited me to pray with him over pancakes!” And I dug up federal filings showing that overseas lobbyists are still using the Fellowship’s event as a diplomatic backdoor to Fellowship fellows including Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Mike Rounds (R-SD).

One Quickie

• Remember Pres. Donald Trump saying he’d cap credit-card interest rates at 10%? And then Republicans rushed not to introduce legislation supporting Trump’s wishes? Well, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who’s so dumb he’s a billionaire, is pushing back against the GOP non-legislation, saying credit-card interest rates should be capped in the states first, to see how it goes. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) reminded Dimon that federal law doesn’t let the states do that. So I guess congressional Republicans will have to rush another non-bill to Trump’s desk.

Recommended Reading

In a fascinating case study of jaw-dropping horror, dignity-dropping cringe, and wild political naïveté of seasoned intelligence professionals, the New York Times did one of those massive projects only the New York Times can do: Talking to dozens of people both inside and recently inside the FBI of Director Kash Patel. (Pretty sure it’s a gift link, because I love you.)

Sample quotation and example of aforementioned naïveté:

“I assumed Congress would see how uniquely unqualified Kash Patel was for the job. I assumed the Senate would do its due diligence and decide not to confirm him.” — Former Intelligence Division Section Chief and adorable political newbie John Sullivan.

FIVE THINGS WORTH THINKING ABOUT Fellow Substacker Lauren Jones wrote up 5 Things White People Should Stop Saying Right Now. Once I got past my knee-jerk defensiveness, I got a passing grade but still quibbled about one. So: still white! (See author pic.) Some of these five are said by lots of nonwhite folks, and are problematic there, too. It’s a smart, thought-provoking list, helpful and worth checking out.

TCB

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Go get ‘em, kids! Even without Schumer or Jeffries, there’s still way more of us than there is of him.

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TFN creator and writer Jonathan Larsen co-created Up w/ Chris Hayes and wrote for Countdown with Keith Olbermann at MSNBC, helped launch CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360° and Air America Radio, and has also worked at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Young Turks.

1. Not true.