🔗 Sources, Documentation

Just some links to supporting docs re: sub posts or things that might come up on stream.

Judiciary 🧑‍⚖️

Legal Opinions

Case No. 25-cv-03899 (APM) CITY OF SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA v. Wright, DOE Secretary. Filed 01/12/26. Opinion & Order, against 🍊 cancellation of grants violated 5th Amendment.

OMB Director, Russell Vought, bragged that nearly “$8 billion in Green NewScam funding to fuel the Left’s climate agenda is being cancelled,” then listed only states that did not vote for Trump. Meanwhile on Truth Social, Trump confirmed he met with Vought to “determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political SCAM, he recommends to be cut” during the shutdown.

On Monday, US District Judge Amit Mehta wrote in his opinion that the case was “unique” because ordinarily “the mere presence of political considerations in an agency action” does not mean that officials have run “afoul of the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection.”

But in this case, Trump “freely” admitted that he made grant termination decisions “primarily—if not exclusively—based on whether the awardee resided in a state whose citizens voted for President Trump in 2024.” And that classification had “no rational relationship” to the government’s supposed interest in cutting off funding, Mehta found, which was that projects were not “economically viable” or didn’t advance the administration’s energy goals. In fact, Mehta noted that similar projects in red states continued to receive funding.

Immigration & Customs Enforcement

Why "Abolishing ICE" is a bad idea.

If ICE were eliminated...

No federal agency has the combined customs law and immigration law authority to go after cartels, human trafficking rings, and cyber criminals across borders.
Economic protection: unchecked, counterfeit, imports, fraud, and illicit finance would cost US businesses billions annually. In FY23, seized $10.4 million in counterfeit goods and $25.86 million in general merchandise.
International cooperation: disruption of joint investigations, weakened partnerships; the fact that we have 16 partner nations shows ICE diplomatic leverage in fighting crime globally.
There is no centralized body to enforce human detention practices leading to greater legal exposure in human rights criticism.
Workforce expertise: just like with DOGE and some of my related criticisms (e.g. where Elon went after workforce with a sledgehammer not a scalpel), 20,000 of the highly trained, good ice agents would be gone with the wind; Losing institutional memory and specialized skill sets, primarily because of its unique mandate, which includes immigration, customs enforcement, and specified investigative techniques. (It's hard to replace from elsewhere.)

The majority of ICE discretionary core enforcement resources are in HSI (Homeland security investigations) – recall Tiny poking fun at the jackets of the DHS agents in MN after the Shirley/Somali investigations… they were HSI.
Only ~15% (of discretionary core enforcement spend) are for Enforcement and removal operations (ERO).

ICE Quick Reference

What does ICE do besides the current activities under 🍊 47?

FIVE CORE PROGRAMMATIC FUNCTIONS

1. Enforcement and removal operations (ERO) - detain and remove non-citizens who pose a threat (e.g. terrorists, gang members, war criminals). Note: of the approximately 1.2 million removals in 2023, 600,000 were voluntary fill the legal obligations under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

2. HSI - human trafficking, child, exploitation, cyber crime, financial crime, narcotics, counterfeit goods, weapons, illicit opioids supply chain

3. Customs and trade enforcement - import/export compliance, seizing contraband, protecting intellectual property; forfeiture proceeds, go back into law enforcement

4. Detention standards and oversight - akin to internal affairs. Sets national detention standards, inspect facilities, handles misconduct complaints.

5. International partnerships - joint task forces, extends the US reach in law-enforcement/investigations, shares intelligence, and builds the US capacity abroad; as of FY 23, 16 partner countries.

Authority to Arrest, Prosecute

While ERO primarily conducts administrative arrests for violations of US immigration law it also has the authority to make criminal arrests and initiate prosecution cases for immigration-related offenses, primarily under Title 8, but also under Title 18 of the U.S. Code. Using this authority, ERO Criminal Prosecution teams work with AUSA offices to pursue violations of the U.S. Criminal Code that come to light during enforcement actions. Noncitizens who are convicted generally complete their criminal sentences. The noncitizens are subsequently taken into ICE custody for administrative immigration violations and placed into removal proceedings after completing their criminal sentences.

Statutory Authority

Pub. L. 119–1, §1, Jan. 29, 2025, 139 Stat. 3 The Laken Riley Act. 8 USC 1101 note.

Immigration and Nationality Act, as codified, U.S. Code – Title 8 (Aliens and Nationality)

Gives ICE four distinct enforcement mandates (removal, criminal investigations, customs enforcement, and immigration adjudication).
Non‑Immigration Powers – Sections § 1152 (employment visas) and § 1159 (refugee admissions) empower ICE to protect the labor market and national security beyond “cracking down on undocumented folks.”
Congressional Intent – The act was crafted to balance openness (visa categories) with protection (inadmissibility grounds) so stripping ICE would upset that equilibrium and force Congress to rewrite huge swaths of law.

Cites

ICE Annual Reports – general overview of the agency’s mission, ERO priorities, and OPR oversight

FY 2023 press release that breaks out the HSI statistics (arrests, narcotics seizures, counterfeit goods, child‑exploitation victims, etc.)

“2023 Year‑in‑Review” feature – details on the Transnational Criminal Investigative Units (TCIUs) expansion to 16 partner countries and other FY 2023 highlights

PDF of the FY 2023 Annual Report (full tables, seizure totals, arrest counts, etc.)

PDF of the FY 2024 Annual Report (latest seizure numbers, operational updates, and emerging priorities)

[Note, Devon authorized my requested use of this wiki page. Blesstiny. :D]