Sam Lowry said:

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Assassin said:

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Sam Lowry said:

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Assassin said:

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Sam Lowry said:

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GrowlTowel said:

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quash said:

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gtownbear said:

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I sure hope so. What's wrong with these judges? Pure evil.

---

They follow the law

Scalia would tell you if you don't like it blame Congress for the way the laws are written.

But I guess you'd blame the founders for the Constitution.

---

Which law?

---

8 USC 1357.

---

Why do you think she is blocking that law?

---

She isn't. She's just ordering the Border Patrol to comply with it.

---

8 USC 1357. (a) Powers without warrant Any officer or employee of the Service authorized under regulations prescribed by the Attorney General shall have power without warrant

---

Keep reading...

---

I did read it. And I read what she is saying, that a warrant needs to be required when the law says it doesn't. Tell me what I am missing. You are the lawyer between the two of us.
Add, I did read the Cornell version of the law so if you are a Harvard grad, that might explain it

gtownbear said:

---

No after adding 7 Trillion to the national debt in four years, Biden and Harris were spending 2 trillion more than we were taking in each year as they had taken spending from around 20% of GDP where it had been historically to 24%. This trajectory had the country on the path to bankruptcy as our interest payments to service the debt reached 1 trillion dollars. Harris and Biden's answer was to advocate for more government spending. In addition the brilliant Janet Yellen moved much of the debt to short term bonds which was nuts. So when the interest rates rose due to inflation the debt payments rose due to the short term duration which the current administration is having to deal with. So yes the statement is correct that if Harris had won we were on the path to bankruptcy that could have only been avoided by inflating the currency to the level that it was worthless to pay off government debt. We, the public, would all have been paupers.

---

That is ignorant of the nature of a central bank issuing the world's reserve country. You could Google it to learn the reasons we simply would not ever declare bankruptcy. Simply put, your only valid point in there is that Biden added a smidgen mote to the national debt than even Trump.1, which is silly given that Trump.2 is going to add much, much, much more than any President ever.

If you actually cared about the national debt, you'd be up in arms over the tax cuts.

Assassin said:

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Sam Lowry said:

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Assassin said:

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Sam Lowry said:

---

Assassin said:

---

Sam Lowry said:

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GrowlTowel said:

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quash said:

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gtownbear said:

---

I sure hope so. What's wrong with these judges? Pure evil.

---

They follow the law

Scalia would tell you if you don't like it blame Congress for the way the laws are written.

But I guess you'd blame the founders for the Constitution.

---

Which law?

---

8 USC 1357.

---

Why do you think she is blocking that law?

---

She isn't. She's just ordering the Border Patrol to comply with it.

---

8 USC 1357. (a) Powers without warrant Any officer or employee of the Service authorized under regulations prescribed by the Attorney General shall have power without warrant

---

Keep reading...

---

I did read it. And I read what she is saying, that a warrant needs to be required when the law says it doesn't. Tell me what I am missing. You are the lawyer between the two of us.
Add, I did read the Cornell version of the law so if you are a Harvard grad, that might explain it

---

Fair enough. Here's the relevant passage (from Cornell):

Quote:

---

(a)Powers without warrant

Any officer or employee of the Service authorized under regulations prescribed by the Attorney General shall have power without warrant--

(1) to interrogate any alien or person believed to be an alien as to his right to be or to remain in the United States;

(2) to arrest any alien who in his presence or view is entering or attempting to enter the United States in violation of any law or regulation made in pursuance of law regulating the admission, exclusion, expulsion, or removal of aliens, or to arrest any alien in the United States, if he has reason to believe that the alien so arrested is in the United States in violation of any such law or regulation and is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained for his arrest, but the alien arrested shall be taken without unnecessary delay for examination before an officer of the Service having authority to examine aliens as to their right to enter or remain in the United States;

---

In other words they can't just sweep people up and arrest them without warrants. At a minimum they need reasonable suspicion to stop the person and probable cause to believe the person is a flight risk. And those determinations have to be made on a particularized basis for each individual, not just because of their race or ethnicity, their occupation, or the neighborhood where they live.

Sam Lowry said:

---

Assassin said:

---

Sam Lowry said:

---

Assassin said:

---

Sam Lowry said:

---

Assassin said:

---

Sam Lowry said:

---

GrowlTowel said:

---

quash said:

---

gtownbear said:

---

I sure hope so. What's wrong with these judges? Pure evil.

---

They follow the law

Scalia would tell you if you don't like it blame Congress for the way the laws are written.

But I guess you'd blame the founders for the Constitution.

---

Which law?

---

8 USC 1357.

---

Why do you think she is blocking that law?

---

She isn't. She's just ordering the Border Patrol to comply with it.

---

8 USC 1357. (a) Powers without warrant Any officer or employee of the Service authorized under regulations prescribed by the Attorney General shall have power without warrant

---

Keep reading...

---

I did read it. And I read what she is saying, that a warrant needs to be required when the law says it doesn't. Tell me what I am missing. You are the lawyer between the two of us.
Add, I did read the Cornell version of the law so if you are a Harvard grad, that might explain it

---

Fair enough. Here's the relevant passage (from Cornell):

Quote:

---

(a)Powers without warrant

Any officer or employee of the Service authorized under regulations prescribed by the Attorney General shall have power without warrant--

(1) to interrogate any alien or person believed to be an alien as to his right to be or to remain in the United States;

(2) to arrest any alien who in his presence or view is entering or attempting to enter the United States in violation of any law or regulation made in pursuance of law regulating the admission, exclusion, expulsion, or removal of aliens, or to arrest any alien in the United States, if he has reason to believe that the alien so arrested is in the United States in violation of any such law or regulation and is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained for his arrest, but the alien arrested shall be taken without unnecessary delay for examination before an officer of the Service having authority to examine aliens as to their right to enter or remain in the United States;

---

In other words they can't just sweep people up and arrest them without warrants. At a minimum they need reasonable suspicion to stop the person and probable cause to believe the person is a flight risk. And those determinations have to be made on a particularized basis for each individual, not just because of their race or ethnicity, their occupation, or the neighborhood where they live.

---

My guess is that is not at all what this means in a court of immigration law, but that's just an outsiders view

Porteroso said:

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Assassin said:

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Oldbear83 said:

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Porteroso said:

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historian said:

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Sam Lowry said:

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EatMoreSalmon said:

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Sam Lowry said:

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historian said:

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Sam Lowry said:

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historian said:

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You are looking at politics and I'm looking at economics. The Austrian School is a branch of economics, essentially capitalism iodates for modern conditions. Those other issues are irrelevant to the discussion.

---

What I'm saying is, strictly in terms of economics, foreign workers migrating across the border is a good thing from the Austrian point of view. It's nothing but supply and demand in action. The immigration restrictions that you favor are an example of the government messing things up.

---

Only if they come legally. You obviously have no idea what kind of immigration restrictions I favor do you should not jump to conclusions. You look foolish going so.

---

That doesn't change the economic analysis. Whether legally or not, they are meeting a demand.

---

They are seriously only meeting the demand by the party elites for more Democrat party voters over the last four years.
Again, if you have to import voters illegally to stay in power, you are not legit.

---

Noncitizen voting is vanishingly rare, despite what Trump would have you believe.

---

Not really. Instead more and more reports are coming out of illegal voting in 2024. It's quite possible that Trump's landslide victory was bigger than anyone realizes once one filters out all the fraudulent votes for Kamala, many by illegals with no right to vote in the US.

---

Do you have any evidence of significant numbers of illegals voting?

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The 2020 election comes to mind.

And you asked for evidence, not proof.

---

15-20 million magical voters. No one knows where they disappeared to. Still

---

They didn't disappear, they didn't vote.

---

Sure, Pedro.

Assassin said:

---

Sam Lowry said:

---

Assassin said:

---

Sam Lowry said:

---

Assassin said:

---

Sam Lowry said:

---

Assassin said:

---

Sam Lowry said:

---

GrowlTowel said:

---

quash said:

---

gtownbear said:

---

I sure hope so. What's wrong with these judges? Pure evil.

---

They follow the law

Scalia would tell you if you don't like it blame Congress for the way the laws are written.

But I guess you'd blame the founders for the Constitution.

---

Which law?

---

8 USC 1357.

---

Why do you think she is blocking that law?

---

She isn't. She's just ordering the Border Patrol to comply with it.

---

8 USC 1357. (a) Powers without warrant Any officer or employee of the Service authorized under regulations prescribed by the Attorney General shall have power without warrant

---

Keep reading...

---

I did read it. And I read what she is saying, that a warrant needs to be required when the law says it doesn't. Tell me what I am missing. You are the lawyer between the two of us.
Add, I did read the Cornell version of the law so if you are a Harvard grad, that might explain it

---

Fair enough. Here's the relevant passage (from Cornell):

Quote:

---

(a)Powers without warrant

Any officer or employee of the Service authorized under regulations prescribed by the Attorney General shall have power without warrant--

(1) to interrogate any alien or person believed to be an alien as to his right to be or to remain in the United States;

(2) to arrest any alien who in his presence or view is entering or attempting to enter the United States in violation of any law or regulation made in pursuance of law regulating the admission, exclusion, expulsion, or removal of aliens, or to arrest any alien in the United States, if he has reason to believe that the alien so arrested is in the United States in violation of any such law or regulation and is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained for his arrest, but the alien arrested shall be taken without unnecessary delay for examination before an officer of the Service having authority to examine aliens as to their right to enter or remain in the United States;

---

In other words they can't just sweep people up and arrest them without warrants. At a minimum they need reasonable suspicion to stop the person and probable cause to believe the person is a flight risk. And those determinations have to be made on a particularized basis for each individual, not just because of their race or ethnicity, their occupation, or the neighborhood where they live.

---

My guess is that is not at all what this means in a court of immigration law, but that's just an outsiders view

---

Imagine just how moronic one would be to write the law the way Sam is interpreting it. "Okay fellas, we can arrest people who we suspect are criminals in the country illegally BUT ONLY if the arresting officer has a warrant! We can't have law enforcement out there enforcing the law and protecting the general public if criminal illegal aliens are being arrested without a judge being psychic and writing up a warrant on someone they've never had any contact with or prior knowledge of!!!"

Wangchung said:

---

Assassin said:

---

Sam Lowry said:

---

Assassin said:

---

Sam Lowry said:

---

Assassin said:

---

Sam Lowry said:

---

Assassin said:

---

Sam Lowry said:

---

GrowlTowel said:

---

quash said:

---

gtownbear said:

---

I sure hope so. What's wrong with these judges? Pure evil.

---

They follow the law

Scalia would tell you if you don't like it blame Congress for the way the laws are written.

But I guess you'd blame the founders for the Constitution.

---

Which law?

---

8 USC 1357.

---

Why do you think she is blocking that law?

---

She isn't. She's just ordering the Border Patrol to comply with it.

---

8 USC 1357. (a) Powers without warrant Any officer or employee of the Service authorized under regulations prescribed by the Attorney General shall have power without warrant

---

Keep reading...

---

I did read it. And I read what she is saying, that a warrant needs to be required when the law says it doesn't. Tell me what I am missing. You are the lawyer between the two of us.
Add, I did read the Cornell version of the law so if you are a Harvard grad, that might explain it

---

Fair enough. Here's the relevant passage (from Cornell):

Quote:

---

(a)Powers without warrant

Any officer or employee of the Service authorized under regulations prescribed by the Attorney General shall have power without warrant--

(1) to interrogate any alien or person believed to be an alien as to his right to be or to remain in the United States;

(2) to arrest any alien who in his presence or view is entering or attempting to enter the United States in violation of any law or regulation made in pursuance of law regulating the admission, exclusion, expulsion, or removal of aliens, or to arrest any alien in the United States, if he has reason to believe that the alien so arrested is in the United States in violation of any such law or regulation and is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained for his arrest, but the alien arrested shall be taken without unnecessary delay for examination before an officer of the Service having authority to examine aliens as to their right to enter or remain in the United States;

---

In other words they can't just sweep people up and arrest them without warrants. At a minimum they need reasonable suspicion to stop the person and probable cause to believe the person is a flight risk. And those determinations have to be made on a particularized basis for each individual, not just because of their race or ethnicity, their occupation, or the neighborhood where they live.

---

My guess is that is not at all what this means in a court of immigration law, but that's just an outsiders view

---

Imagine just how moronic one would be to write the law the way Sam is interpreting it. "Okay fellas, we can arrest people who we suspect are criminals in the country illegally BUT ONLY if the arresting officer has a warrant! We can't have law enforcement out there enforcing the law and protecting the general public if criminal illegal aliens are being arrested without a judge being psychic and writing up a warrant on someone they've never had any contact with or prior knowledge of!!!"

---

Fascinating.

QFP

No if you study the history of tax cuts, inevitably the revenues to the treasury always go up due to expansion of the economy. Unfortunately the big spenders in both parties always spend faster than the revenues increase further increasing the national debt.

I don't understand how you think you could solve this spiral by government taking more from the folks who earn the money through the sweat of their brow. You only slow growth by doing this because government is a drag on everything as it creates nothing. Thus increasing taxes decreases the private economy and increases government which history shows is a hindrance to economic growth.

Fellas,

I believe I heard Alina Habba address this today. I believe I am getting this correct as I was in the middle of something. She said I think that ICE officials could in regards to illegals who are gang members and/or otherwise have criminal backgrounds go before an immigration judge and I believe show evidence that an illegal is a criminal that poses a threat to citizens of the United States and that judge could issue a deportation order based on that evidence which would be their due process. She said it is not like all of these people get trials and all in court proceedings. If I am not mistaken that is what she said.

I found the YouTube video of Alina Habba's statement on Rob Schmidt's show. She answers different questions. Please go to the 2 minute 40 second mark in the video where she talks about the illegals and ICE actions. Sorry if I misstated anything before. My apologies.

Second try. 2min 41 sec

Doc Holliday said:

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historian said:

---

I suspect that making us all paupers is the goal for at least some of the millionaires & billionaires pulling the strings of Biden & Harris.

---

The goal is for us to be their domesticated animals, and they get to be the farmers.

---

Some of them want most of us dead because they believe the planet is overpopulated.

Assassin said:

---

Here's a new one. I suspect it will be the one that causes the Supreme Court to do something about all these outlaw judges

🚨BREAKING: U.S. District Judge Jennifer Thurston puts out an order banning Border Patrol from arresting criminal aliens without a warrant
pic.twitter.com/n7wIRBKg1y

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 30, 2025

---

One can hope but I have no confidence in any judges to follow the law or the constitution.

It's all an elaborate plot to provide an excuse to impeach Trump again. It's idiotic law fare again and again without a sound basis.

historian said:

---

Assassin said:

---

Here's a new one. I suspect it will be the one that causes the Supreme Court to do something about all these outlaw judges

🚨BREAKING: U.S. District Judge Jennifer Thurston puts out an order banning Border Patrol from arresting criminal aliens without a warrant
pic.twitter.com/n7wIRBKg1y

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 30, 2025

---

One can hope but I have no confidence in any judges to follow the law or the constitution.

It's all an elaborate plot to provide an excuse to impeach Trump again. It's idiotic law fare again and again without a sound basis.

---

The plaintiffs in whose favor she ruled were arrested under the Biden administration.

Believe it or not, some people do value the law over partisan politics.

gtownbear said:

---

Fellas,

I believe I heard Alina Habba address this today. I believe I am getting this correct as I was in the middle of something. She said I think that ICE officials could in regards to illegals who are gang members and/or otherwise have criminal backgrounds go before an immigration judge and I believe show evidence that an illegal is a criminal that poses a threat to citizens of the United States and that judge could issue a deportation order based on that evidence which would be their due process. She said it is not like all of these people get trials and all in court proceedings. If I am not mistaken that is what she said.

---

I think their due process is a hearing

gtownbear said:

---

I have evidence that democrat cities refuse to clean up their voter rolls and I have evidence that democrats fight laws requiring proof of identity to vote. Why is this so?

---

They do clean voter rolls, but often not as much as Repub cities. One reason is that valid voters are often removed with purges.

And on voter ID, they cite studies saying minorities would haves hard we time voting. The Democrats are just not going to publicly support any measure that creates even the smallest hurdle to minority voting. That has been one of their main things for a century now. Let's not pretend we were born yesterday.

gtownbear said:

---

No if you study the history of tax cuts, inevitably the revenues to the treasury always go up due to expansion of the economy. Unfortunately the big spenders in both parties always spend faster than the revenues increase further increasing the national debt.

I don't understand how you think you could solve this spiral by government taking more from the folks who earn the money through the sweat of their brow. You only slow growth by doing this because government is a drag on everything as it creates nothing. Thus increasing taxes decreases the private economy and increases government which history shows is a hindrance to economic growth.

---

It is certainly a topic for debate. Economists on both sides, I mean almost none on yours, but what is certain, is the Trump.1 tax cuts did not pay for themselves with additional GDP.

And the reason you don't cut taxes if you care about the national debt is because there is a certain tax rate the economy is used to. The people have paid that rate before, things were great. And when you haven't balanced the budget, let alone paid off the first of 37 trillion dollars of debt, you don't start the balancing process by unbalancing the budget further. It just simply does not make sense.

I mean in a vacuum... Because Trump is doing much worse. Not only will the tax cuts add to the deficit, we are heading into a recession. If you believe the GDP forecasts, we are already there.

BREAKING: Illegal migrant kiIIs Texas dad in front of his family. He was able to stay here despite 2 prior kiIIs + prior arrests. pic.twitter.com/VrL3Js6Vdt

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) May 1, 2025

Assassin said:

---

BREAKING: Illegal migrant kiIIs Texas dad in front of his family. He was able to stay here despite 2 prior kiIIs + prior arrests. pic.twitter.com/VrL3Js6Vdt

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) May 1, 2025

---

Another champion of the left

🚨Incredible. Stephen Miller just dropped the hammer on the Fake News defending MS-13 Terrorists:

"Many of the outlets in this room shill for this MS-13 terrorist... but All choose to live as far away from these gangbangers as possible."pic.twitter.com/hWxNKEvcj2

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) May 1, 2025

It takes days or weeks to obtain a single warrant for a single criminal search. Requiring a warrant for Border Patrol to conduct an interdiction of an illegal alien is an act of legal insurrection against national sovereignty. Never in the history of our country or any country… https://t.co/poO98D2BrH

— Stephen Miller (@StephenM) May 1, 2025

Assassin said:

---

It takes days or weeks to obtain a single warrant for a single criminal search. Requiring a warrant for Border Patrol to conduct an interdiction of an illegal alien is an act of legal insurrection against national sovereignty. Never in the history of our country or any country… https://t.co/poO98D2BrH

— Stephen Miller (@StephenM) May 1, 2025

---

This is a ruling by a federal district judge. Let's see if it survives appeals

Osodecentx said:

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Assassin said:

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It takes days or weeks to obtain a single warrant for a single criminal search. Requiring a warrant for Border Patrol to conduct an interdiction of an illegal alien is an act of legal insurrection against national sovereignty. Never in the history of our country or any country… https://t.co/poO98D2BrH

— Stephen Miller (@StephenM) May 1, 2025

---

This is a ruling by a federal district judge. Let's see if it survives appeals

---

This could be the one that goes to the Supreme Court and spells the end of the liberal judge onslaught

Assassin said:

---

Osodecentx said:

---

Assassin said:

---

It takes days or weeks to obtain a single warrant for a single criminal search. Requiring a warrant for Border Patrol to conduct an interdiction of an illegal alien is an act of legal insurrection against national sovereignty. Never in the history of our country or any country… https://t.co/poO98D2BrH

— Stephen Miller (@StephenM) May 1, 2025

---

This is a ruling by a federal district judge. Let's see if it survives appeals

---

This could be the one that goes to the Supreme Court and spells the end of the liberal judge onslaught

---

Hopefully

What is the Supreme Court waiting on? How far are they willing to let this go? Sometimes I believe Roberts might be stringing Trump along to see if he reacts wildly to these radical judges actions so the judiciary can attempt to punish him for his reactions. Face it, these folks are so deranged when it comes to President Trump that they cannot think reasonably any longer, and thus are capable of almost anything.

gtownbear said:

---

What is the Supreme Court waiting on? How far are they willing to let this go? Sometimes I believe Roberts might be stringing Trump along to see if he reacts wildly to these radical judges actions so the judiciary can attempt to punish him for his reactions. Face it, these folks are so deranged when it comes to President Trump that they cannot think reasonably any longer, and thus are capable of almost anything.

---

My guess is that they are loading up on legal. Bondi appears to be a very compartmentalized AG. She's not a "off the top of my head" like Elon Musk, but very thoughtful and precise. You could see this in her Cabinet meeting yesterday. She doesn't want whatever they hit them with to be blocked in the Supreme Court

This woman is screaming in the street because Alejandro Acosta Oliveros killed her cat

Alejandro Acosta Oliveros is a serial cat killer in Santa Ana, California

After murdering many cats throughout the area, Democrats have released him from jail

Over 100 people protested but… pic.twitter.com/tPREBwfVc1

— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) May 1, 2025

DEA Nominee Just Nuked Democrats' Argument on Kilmar Abrego Garcia's Tattoos RedState

gtownbear said:

---

What is the Supreme Court waiting on? How far are they willing to let this go? Sometimes I believe Roberts might be stringing Trump along to see if he reacts wildly to these radical judges actions so the judiciary can attempt to punish him for his reactions. Face it, these folks are so deranged when it comes to President Trump that they cannot think reasonably any longer, and thus are capable of almost anything.

---

They are waiting on a case. They can't rule unless there is a case properly before them.

I asked President Trump’s DEA chief nominee about illegal immigrant and suspected MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s knuckle tattoos.

His answer is a MUST WATCH 🔥 pic.twitter.com/EWmow1d8pZ

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) April 30, 2025

Assassin said:

---

I asked President Trump’s DEA chief nominee about illegal immigrant and suspected MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s knuckle tattoos.

His answer is a MUST WATCH 🔥 pic.twitter.com/EWmow1d8pZ

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) April 30, 2025

---

Why did Trump claim the photoshopped picture was an actual tattoo? See the Terry Moran interview

Osodecentx said:

---

Assassin said:

---

I asked President Trump’s DEA chief nominee about illegal immigrant and suspected MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s knuckle tattoos.

His answer is a MUST WATCH 🔥 pic.twitter.com/EWmow1d8pZ

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) April 30, 2025

---

Why did Trump claim the photoshopped picture was an actual tattoo? See the Terry Moran interview

---

The tattoos were not photographed. Only the explaination of the tattoos.

ScottS said:

---

Osodecentx said:

---

Assassin said:

---

I asked President Trump’s DEA chief nominee about illegal immigrant and suspected MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s knuckle tattoos.

His answer is a MUST WATCH 🔥 pic.twitter.com/EWmow1d8pZ

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) April 30, 2025

---

Why did Trump claim the photoshopped picture was an actual tattoo? See the Terry Moran interview

---

The tattoos were not photographed. Only the explaination of the tattoos.

---

The tattoos were photographed & then photoshopped

Judge Blocks Trump Administration from Using Alien Enemies Act to Deport Venezuelans
By David Zimmerman
May 1, 2025

A federal judge in Texas blocked the Trump administration's use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to justify the deportation of suspected Tren de Aragua gang members.

U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez issued the ruling on Thursday, dealing a blow to the Trump administration's efforts to detain and deport violent illegal aliens to El Salvador.

Rodriguez, who was appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term, found the White House's invocation of the 18th-century wartime law to be "unlawful" because there is no "declared war," "invasion," or "predatory incursion" under the statute.

"The historical record renders clear that the President's invocation of the AEA through the Proclamation exceeds the scope of the statute and is contrary to the plain, ordinary meaning of the statute's terms," Rodriguez wrote in a 36-page opinion. "As a result, the Court concludes that as a matter of law, the Executive Branch cannot rely on the AEA."

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/judge-blocks-trump-administration-from-using-alien-enemies-act-to-deport-venezuelans/

He's Held in El Salvador's Mega-Prison, Without Any Criminal Charges
Carlos Uzcategui's legal journey to the U.S. put the Venezuelan on a collision course with an 'unprecedented' deportation plan

By Belle Cushing and
Emma Scott
May 1, 2025 at 12:01 am ET

On March 15, Carlos Uzcategui Vielma made a phone call from an immigration detention center in Texas to his partner, Gabriela Mora Mndez, at their home in Venezuela. He told her that he thought he would be deported home to Venezuela that day. This was good news--Carlos had been in immigration detention for more than three months.

But Uzcategui never arrived. It wasn't until Mora recognized Uzcategui in images circulating on social media, showing men with shaved heads surrounded by armed guards, that she realized he was being held in El Salvador's maximum-security prison.

Uzcategui is one of more than 250 Venezuelan men the U.S. has sent to El Salvador to be imprisoned in the Terrorism Confinement Center, or Cecot. The U.S. contends that the men are members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. In this video, The Wall Street Journal investigated Uzcategui's story, and found no criminal record or ties to any gang. Our review found no evidence to suggest he should be held in a foreign prison with no indication that he will ever be released.

Uzcategui traveled to the U.S. via Colombia, crossing the Darin jungle in Panama as he made his way through Central America. In Mexico City, he applied for an appointment with the U.S. Border Patrol via the CBP One app for processing to cross the border. He waited in Mexico for nearly nine months until he entered the U.S. legally on the date of his appointment--at which point, friends and family say, he was immediately detained because of his tattoos.

To examine his back story, we conducted interviews with family, friends and work supervisors in Venezuela and Mexico; verified his journey to the U.S. through emails, social-media posts and text messages; and searched databases in the U.S. and abroad for any criminal records. We verified records provided by his family that show he has no criminal record in Venezuela, and obtained documents from his immigration case, which show that he was deemed removable from the U.S. but made no mention of any gang or criminal allegations.

The deportations of hundreds of men without formal criminal convictions, or even charges, to a foreign prison is "unprecedented," according to former Assistant Director for Homeland Security Investigations John Tobon, who helped lead the investigative strategy against Tren de Aragua and other gangs before he retired in January.

What brought these particular men to the prison, Tobon says, could amount to an extraordinary case of "wrong place, wrong time," that traces back over months of a shifting political climate. This video maps the timing of Uzcategui's journey alongside the growing perception of Tren de Aragua as a significant threat in the U.S. and the resurrection of an 18th-century law to target the gang's members. Though Uzcategui couldn't know it at the time, from the day he set out from Venezuela, he was on a collision course with a sweeping deportation plan that would land him in prison as an accused terrorist and criminal.

https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/hes-held-in-el-salvadors-mega-prison-without-any-criminal-charges-1c2b23ce?mod=hp_lista_pos1