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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick

@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
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  1. 1

    ICE is engaged in a very large escalation nationwide, with the agency claiming to be hitting record arrest numbers amid the return of quotas. This has gotten very little attention from the media because ICE learned lessons from the chaotic disasters of Kristi Noem’s tenure.

    Keep a watch.

    WA Whistles @wawhistles.bsky.social
    ICE is surging in the Seattle area. (Map shows activity in the last week) Do you have your whistle with you?
    Map of ICE sightings from iceout.org, 7/1-7/8, showing Puget sound area between Fort Lewis and Marysville.
    8,710 5,518
    Jul 9, 2026
  2. 2

    Last year ICE said a man tried to murder a female ICE officer while she was trying to arrest him. They swore under oath he grabbed her by the neck and tried to choke her to death. He was even indicted for attempted murder.

    Problem is, it never happened! Bystander video unraveled the lie.

    A Venezuelan man was accused of attempting to choke an ICE officer to death in Bellevue. Bystander video tells a different story
    Gabriel Hurtado-Cariaco was referred to by DHS as a “criminal illegal alien” and a “known Tren de Aragua terrorist.” The agency said he “violently attacked an ICE agent” by slamming her head into the ...
    11,625 4,978
    Jul 3, 2026
  3. 3

    WOW. The ex-wife of the ICE officer who shot a 26-year-old Colombian man in Maine has come forward to say that he had mental health issues and was abusive in their relationship.

    She says after the shooting he called asking her to vouch for him — instead, she went to the press.

    Ashley Brouillette told the Portland Press Herald in a phone interview Thursday afternoon that her ex-husband called admitting to the shooting and defending his actions. The Press Herald reviewed a screenshot of incoming calls Ashley Brouillette received from her ex-husband’s current wife’s Facebook account on Wednesday. “He was asking me to lie for him and to cover for his character,” Ashley Brouillette said. “I told him that I was not going to lie for him. And then he tried to say that it was a justified shooting because the guy tried to hit him with his car.” She said she has seen videos of Brouillette on the scene of the shooting and confirmed that was him on scene, telling him: “nowhere in there does it show that this man charged at you with a car.” “In his head it’s justified. He’s unusually calm about it,” she said. Ashley Brouillette told a reporter that she wanted to speak publicly because she had previously reported concerns to his superiors in the military about his mental health. She said he was abusive in their relationship. She said that she’s been inundated with calls, since reports of Brouillette’s involvement began circulating online, threatening her and her family.
    Bruno J. Navarro @brunojnavarro.bsky.social
    The federal immigration agent who shot and killed a 26-year-old Colombian man in Biddeford has been identified as David Michael Brouillette. Brouillette, who is 37 and lives in Manchester, was identified by an ex-wife as the ICE agent who shot Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero.
    ICE agent who shot man in Biddeford identified as former Maine law enforcement officer
    Public and court records show that David Brouillette, 37, has worked for the VA in Togus, the Maine Correctional Center and the Manchester fire department.
    8,852 3,172
    Jul 16, 2026
  4. 4

    After ICE shot and killed Lorenzo Araujo, the FBI leaked to Fox News a claim that he was found with possible meth in the van.

    His family said it was a total falsehood; it was a bag of salt to be used to make an electrolyte drink. And they were right. It was not drugs.

    Harris County District Attorn... • X.com @Harris CountyDAO We can confirm the substance found in Lorenzo Salgado Araujo's van tested negative for narcotics/ illicit drugs. We are not commenting further on the test results, as the investigation is pending. Harris County District Attorn... 9.1h O We have notified Salgado Araujo's family because we felt they had the right to know.
    7,781 2,668
    Jul 24, 2026
  5. 5

    This is FALSE. ICE data showed DHS averaging 1,259 deportations/day through April 4. There is ZERO sign deportations rose by 154% since.

    Mullin also mixes up DHS's (also FALSE) claim that 70% arrested have any criminal record at all, and claims that 70% are felons. Wildly wrong.

    Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com
    Markwayne Mullin says DHS is deporting over 3,200 people a day
    ▶
    6,211 2,338
    Jul 1, 2026
  6. 6

    🚨 HUGE ongoing surge of ICE arrests, with ICE directing 80% of all officers to go out into the field and round people up, aiming to hit 2,000 arrests a day; which would be more than during the Minneapolis surge.

    This may be why the nun in Texas got briefly picked up.
    www.nytimes.com/2026/07/01/u...

    Immigrant Arrests Surge to 10,000 in 5 Days as ICE Clamps Down
    2,979 2,062
    Jul 2, 2026
  7. 7

    KEY: all three witnesses are being detained apart, and their story is consistent. They say that there were agents along the side of the vehicle but none in front.

    When you add the videos showing a lack of evidence of damage to the front despite ICE's ramming claim, ICE's story is falling apart.

    “That is a lie,” wrote Jose Trinidad Rojas, 51, in a handwritten statement. “It is impossible for them to say that they were going to get run over … there were no officers in front of or behind the vehicle. They were on the sides.” Balderas-Ibarra spoke to Rojas, Daniel Tirado Pantoja, 43, and the shooting victim’s brother, Victor Salgado, 44, and said he heard the same story from each as he interviewed them separately. The men are not being housed together, the attorney said. All three are undocumented Mexican immigrants who are now facing removal proceedings. “All of them reiterated that there were never any ICE agents in front of the van,” Balderas-Ibarra said. “They came in and started shooting from the sides.”
    Katie Phang @katiephang.bsky.social
    All 3 men inside of the van with Lorenzo Salgado Araujo “‘reiterated that there were never any ICE agents in front of the van…They came in and started shooting from the sides.’” www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
    Migrants who saw man killed by ICE in Houston say he did not ram officers
    Three men who were in the vehicle alongside Lorenzo Salgado Araujo are contesting the Department of Homeland Security’s account of the fatal shooting.
    4,876 1,822
    Jul 10, 2026
  8. 8

    The SAVE America Act mandates that all voters must bring to the polls specifically a photo ID which has proof of citizenship “on the front of the document.” So REAL IDs don’t count.

    If the ID does not precisely conform to that standard, you must also bring separate proof of citizenship.

    SEC. 3. PHOTO VOTER IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED FOR VOTING IN A FEDERAL ELECTION. (a) IN GENERAL.—Each individual voting in an election for Federal office shall present an eligible photo identification document. (b) PRESENTATION REQUIREMENTS.— (1) IN-PERSON VOTING.—In the case of an individual who votes in-person, the eligible photo identification document shall (A) be a tangible (not digital) document; and (B) be presented at the time of voting. (c) ELIGIBLE PHOTo IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENT.—For purposes of this section: (1) IN GENERAL.—The term "eligible photo identification document" means any document which (A) is issued by an authority described in paragraph (2); and (B) meets the requirements of paragraph (3). (3) REQUIREMENTS.—A document meets the requirements of this paragraph if the document contains (A) a photograph of the individual identified on the document; (B) an indication on the front of the document that the individual identified on the document is a United States citizen; and (C) either (1) an identification number issues by the entity described in paragraph (2)(A); or (11) the last four digits of the social security number of the individual identified on the document. (4) USE OF ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION.— (A) USE OF ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION.—A document which fails to meet the requirements of paragraph (3)(B) shall not fail to be treated as an eligible photo identification document if the document is presented together with another identification document that indicates the individual is a United States citizen.
    Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com
    Scalise: "Anybody that gets on an airplane has to show a picture ID to vote. Nowadays, if you want to go to Olive Garden and get unlimited pasta, you gotta show a picture ID. This isn't complicated stuff."
    ▶
    3,769 1,556
    Jul 21, 2026
  9. 9

    ICE does not deny that it's pressuring key eyewitnesses to the shooting of Lorenzo Araujo to agree to deportation without a court hearing, and instead offers no responsive comment at all.

    Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social
    Wow. I just heard back from ICE on this. Here's their statement. No comment at all on the claim that the three witnesses in the van with the deceased man are being pressured to self-deport, and ICE refers further questions to the FBI:
    3,131 1,424
    Jul 9, 2026
  10. 10

    The Trump admin's latest strategy to mass generate removal orders is diabolical:

    - Take a huge group of people with hearings scheduled in late 2026, 2027, or 2028.
    - Send them a physical letter rescheduling all of their cases to next week.
    - Those who inevitably miss court get ordered deported.

    Deportation Orders Soar in NYC as Trump 'Mega Master' Hearings Accelerate
    A new report finds removal orders for people who missed hearings more than doubled in New York City in June, as a new tactic of hastily scheduled court dates rolled out.
    1,930 1,232
    Jul 21, 2026
  11. 11

    A total violation of international law. Eswatini is imprisoning people from multiple countries no crime, based on no violation of law in that country, and with the direct knowledge and acquiescence of the United States.

    Gillian Brockell @gillianbrockell.com
    Reuters confirms. 11 more people captured by ICE have been sent to a maximum security prison in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), a country where they have no ties and committed no crimes. reut.rs/4wpbIGU
    Eleven more Trump deportees arrive in Eswatini from the United States, lawyer says
    Eleven more migrants deported by the Trump administration under a ​policy of sending them to third ‌countries arrived in Eswatini from the United States on Wednesday, a U.S. lawyer following the case ...
    2,235 1,096
    Jul 8, 2026
  12. 12

    This is a good example of the fear that ICE has engendered in so many. A man here completely legally with nothing (on paper) to fear from ICE took off running when they showed up at a gas station and was struck by a passing truck. Awful.

    The New Republic @newrepublic.com
    NEW INFO HAS REVEALED that the 28-year-old Mexican man killed while running from ICE last week was just visiting on short tourist visa—and already had a plane ticket to go home. newrepublic.com/post/213277/...
    Man Who Died Running From ICE Was Tourist With a Ticket Home
    The man has been identified as Juan Jairo Coronilla Duran, who was in the U.S. on a tourist visa and already had a plane ticket to go back to Mexico.
    3,087 1,087
    Jul 21, 2026
  13. 13

    Now @apnews.com has a deeply reported story confirming the recently-hired ICE officer who shot a man in Maine had serious mental health issues and a long history of violence against women.

    This comes after ICE slashed hiring standards and rushed some into the field before background checks cleared.

    By JACK BROOK, MICHAEL R. SISAK, AMANDA SWINHART and CLAIRE GALOFARO Updated 7:59 PM EDT, July 16, 2026 Comments 115 AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who shot a Colombian man in Maine this week is an Army veteran who has struggled with serious mental health issues since early childhood and never should have been given a badge and gun to patrol American streets, several of his close relatives told The Associated Press. David Brouillette has a history of terrifying and violent behavior, according to those relatives. They accuse him of attacking women in his life over the years, and one shared a voicemail with the AP from last winter in which he told her that he thought someone should slit her throat. Brouillette’s troubling past further challenges how thoroughly the Department of Homeland Security has vetted recruits as it went on a hiring spree to help carry out President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. At least 10 people have died in encounters with immigration agents since Trump launched the crackdown after retaking office, including 25-year-old Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a Colombian national who was shot and killed by Brouillette on Monday while in his car near his home in the coastal Maine city of Biddeford. DHS, which hasn’t released the name of the officer who killed Durán Guerrero, has said the “vehicle attempted to flee the scene and, fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon.”
    The Associated Press @apnews.com
    ICE officer who shot Colombian man in Maine has history of threatening behavior and mental illness, family and court documents say.
    AP Exclusive: ICE officer in Maine shooting has history of violent behavior, family and records say
    The Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who shot a Colombian man in Maine this week is an Army veteran who has struggled with serious mental health issues since early childhood, according to close relatives who spoke to The Associated Press.
    2,721 1,063
    Jul 17, 2026
  14. 14

    In Texas, a Border Patrol agent was just indicted by a local grand jury for aggravated assault for running down a migrant with his car on January 31, 2025.

    Video from a homeowner showed the agent driving straight into a man who was calmly walking on the side of the road. myrgv.com/local-news/2...
    2,860 1,051
    Jul 23, 2026
  15. 15

    The victim's brother said that ICE agent approached from the passenger side of the car, stuck his hand in through the window, and opened fire.

    He says that ICE officers kept shooting even as the car had come to a stop and was put into park.

    An officer then jumped out of one of the vehicles, ran toward them from the side and yelled, “Stop!” He started firing from the passenger side of the van, hitting Salgado Araujo in the abdomen. Victor Salgado, the driver’s brother, said he felt the force of the firearm as the agent pointed his gun toward his brother. “When he shot my brother, the gun was in front of my face,” read Balderas-Ibarra from his interview notes of his conversation with Salgado. The brother was sitting in the passenger seat when the agent pulled the trigger. Salgado Araujo was able to stop the van and place it in park, the men said, but the officer or officers continued to unload additional rounds from the sides of the vehicle.
    David J. Bier @davidjbier.bsky.social
    I suspect that this killing was the same as Renée Good. If I had to bet, I'd bet that Lorenzo was shot as he was turning around. As he pulls away (after seemingly being rammed in the side by an ICE vehicle), you can see ICE agents to the side of his vehicle (not in front) on the passenger side...
    undefined ▶
    2,354 1,008
    Jul 10, 2026
  16. 16

    He died at Irwin, the detention center made notorious by allegations of unwanted gynecological procedures, and that Biden had shut down.

    Trump reopened it. Now it’s the site of yet another death in ICE detention following claims of medical neglect.

    Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social
    ICE has killed another person, this time by depriving him of life-sustaining medication for a known medical condition. Jesus Manuel Arenas-Silva was detained on Thursday. He was dead by Monday. Per @detentionwatchnetwork.org:
    2,008 929
    Jul 16, 2026
  17. 17

    WOW. The Trump admin just barred the FBI from investigating cases where DHS officers get into confrontations with immigrants or citizens.

    ICE HSI will lead all investigations, yet HSI has no jurisdiction to investigate civil rights violations.

    The fox is guarding the henhouse.

    Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social
    BREAKING NYT: Federal agents around the country were told in recent days that the FBI would no longer investigate confrontations with immigration agents — cases that sometimes yield evidence that could be used to prosecute DHS agents implicated in violent encounters.
    Federal Agents Were Told FBI Will No Longer Investigate ICE Confrontations
    Senior officials deny such a change is in the works, despite guidance shared with agents around the country in recent days.
    2,012 857
    Jul 19, 2026
  18. 18

    Last year, TSA began sharing passenger manifests with ICE, and ICE began arresting people at airports. After some initial arrests led to backlash, ICE pulled back a bit. But with the pressure on from the White House right now, we're seeing a lot more arrests at airports recently.

    Jenn Budd @jennbudd.bsky.social
    Just received this from immigration attorney Mo Goldman. This is why ICE is in the airports. Please share! @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
    TRAVEL WARNING: ICE has been arresting and detaining people at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. We are hearing of several reports of this happening over the past week. This includes people in the legal process (we have one client who had a pending asylum application who got arrested by ICE last night despite awaiting the result of his asylum interview that happened recently). They are tracking everyone they can get their hands on. So, just be forewarned that any domestic travel through airports is very risky. This applies to anyone who does not have a steady lawful status in the country (so, if you have an application pending and you are "doing it the right way" you could be arrested and detained).
    1,140 660
    Jul 23, 2026
  19. 19

    NEW from @gregsargent.bsky.social: it sure sounds like @ICEgov is trying to stop the witnesses to the shooting of Lorenzo Araujo from speaking out.

    All three of the people in the van have been kept in detention and now ICE is pressuring them all to agree to be deported.

    /reposted with correct name

    But it appears three other people were in the van with the now-deceased man, and they presumably could recount their version of what happened: the victim’s brother and two employees of the dead man’s construction business. They were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the encounter, and we haven’t heard from them publicly about what happened. Now, in another potentially dark turn in the saga, those three men are under pressure from immigration officials to agree to self-deport, Juan Proano, a representative for the families and CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens, claimed in an interview with The New Republic. Proano—who regularly confers with the family members of the victim and the three detainees and organized a press conference on their behalf earlier this week—said the family members were able to reach the three detainees, who then related this situation. “They’re being pressured to sign self-deportation orders,” Proano told me. “They’re currently in detention. These men hold the key to what actually happened.” Under self-deportation, detained migrants agree to leave the country voluntarily within a prescribed time period.
    Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social
    NEWS --> Three men who were in the van with the victim of the ICE shooting in Texas are potential witnesses, but they're now under pressure to self-deport, a rep for the families tells me. They remain in detention even as ICE's story falters. Details in this piece: newrepublic.com/article/2129...
    Texas ICE Killing Darkens: Rep Says Witnesses Pressured to Self-Deport
    There were three others in the van with the man shot by ICE in Houston this week. A represenative for the families tells TNR that the government is pressuring these potential witnesses to self-deport.
    1,619 658
    Jul 9, 2026
  20. 20

    WHOA indeed. DHS is *not* saying that the officer feared for his life. That is VERY notable in comparison to other shootings.

    David J. Bier @davidjbier.bsky.social
    WHOA DHS does not say that the agent feared for his life… just the vague concern for “public safety.” So he killed him just because he did not want him in America, not because of any specific threat to agents?
    2,453 638
    Jul 14, 2026
  21. 21

    ICE just spent $1.5 BILLION to purchase two massive prisons in California it was already using for detention, in an effort to avoid oversight from the state, which has been pressuring the private prison company that owned them. CoreCivic will continue operating the facilities.

    CoreCivic said it anticipates that the sale of the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego County and the California City Detention Facility in Kern County will bring the company an estimated net proceeds of approximately $1.1 billion. The sale closed on July 2, according to a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, with the federal government paying $739.2 million for the 1994-bed Otay Mesa facility and $732.6 million for the newly-opened 2,560-bed California City facility. The two properties were sold under separate purchase agreements, signed and completed on the same day.
    Wendy Fry @wendyfry.bsky.social
    #BreakingNews Private prison company sells two of California’s immigrant detention centers to the feds calmatters.org/justice/2026...
    Private prison company sells two of California’s immigrant detention centers to the feds
    Private prison company CoreCivic sold two California properties to the Department of Homeland Security. It will continue operating them as ICE detention centers.
    866 616
    Jul 6, 2026
  22. 22

    🚨BIG news! Fifth Circuit says undocumented immigrants with no criminal records, specifically those who came across the border at some point long in the past, MUST be given a bond hearing within 90 days of arrest, at which the government must be able to justify continued jailing.

    Given the absence of any categorical justification for detention, unlike in Zadvydas (aliens who have been found to be removable) and Demore (aliens who were convicted of criminal offenses), there is no reason to lengthen the period of time during which the validity of detention can be presumed.13 We conclude that the Government may detain aliens under Section 1225(b)(2)(A) for ninety days but no longer without a bond hearing. We described earlier the manner in which, by regulations, the Government had We are not ordering any particular process, and it is for the defendants to determine in what manner to provide such a hearing within those 90 days. Failure to provide timely hearings might again lead to the involvement of district courts. Our only requirement is that a hearing must be held within 90 days of the commencement of detention and that at the hearing, the Government must articulate an individualized justification for further detention without bond. Two such justifications already have judicial imprimatur — dangerousness and flight risk — but we do not reject the possibility that the Government may be able to assert another justification why an unadmitted alien must be detained.
    Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social
    BREAKING: The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals just ruled 2-1 that ICE cannot detain people under the Trump administration's massive new detention policy for more than 90 days without affording them a bond hearing. s3.documentcloud.org/documents/28...
    1,619 537
    Jul 2, 2026
  23. 23

    Wild stuff; the Trump admin appears to be getting ready to claim that Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, shot and killed by ICE on his way to work, had multiple baggies of meth just sitting in plain view on the DASHBOARD for anyone to see.

    I know the truth is sometimes stranger than fiction, but COME ON.

    The shooting has come under heavy scrutiny in Houston and nationally. Residents have called for the names of the ICE agents involved in the encounter to be made public. And since the shooting July 7, there have been numerous demands for an independent investigation. Special Agent McNeilly wrote in the application that he "inspected the vehicle and observed in plain view several plastic bags with what appeared to be a white crystal-like substance packaged in small plastic bags." Specifically, the agent said, four bags were visible through the windows, and three bags were seen in the middle of the dashboard. Another bag was seen on the passenger-side floorboard. The agent wrote that the packaging was "consistent with methamphetamine." The application was signed by Judge Richard W Bennett, a magistrate judge in the Southern District of Texas. It was not immediately clear why the van had not been searched earlier, or whether the agents who obtained the search warrant found any drugs inside the van on the day of the shooting. A spokesman for the F.B.I. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
    2,120 526
    Jul 15, 2026
  24. 24

    ICE’s Camp East Montana is a hellhole. It’s been open less than a year and three people have died there, including the first-ever homicide in ICE detention (allegedly at the hands of guards). Both DHS and Congressional watchdogs have documented extensive problems.

    Shut it down!

    The 84-page report issued jointly Wednesday by Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union also says men and women held at Camp East Montana, located at the U.S. Army's Fort Bliss in El Paso, recounted being denied necessary medical care, forced to live in filthy conditions and fed inedible meals. Detainees also said they were prevented from contacting their lawyers or family members. Of the 71 detainees contacted over a five month period, 64 - about 90% of those interviewed - said they had either personally been assaulted by the staff or had seen others physically abused, according to the report.
    Tyler King @tyleraking.com
    Ninety percent of the 71 detainees contacted in the concentration camp on Fort Bliss say they were beaten by guards are witnessed beatings, in addition to inedible meals and lack of access to medication or lawyers.
    Report: Detainees at ICE facility in Texas report frequent beatings and other human rights abuses
    A new report from human rights advocates says 90% of detainees interviewed at a sprawling ICE facility in Texas say they were either beaten by guards or witnessed others being beaten.
    1,026 487
    Jul 16, 2026
  25. 25

    This is I believe the third incident where ICE has gone to arrest people, they flee, and someone is hit by a car or other vehicle and dies.

    In this case, ICE officers went to question some people at a gas station, they panicked, and one of them ran into the road and was hit by a truck.

    Miami Herald @miamiherald.com
    NEW: A 28-year-old man died Tuesday morning following an encounter with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations agents in St. Augustine, marking the third death involving ICE in a week.
    Man dies during immigration encounter in Florida, the third ICE-involved death in a week
    Third ICE-involved death in a week confirmed after fatal St. Augustine crash during joint agency operation. National outrage grows over enforcement and deaths
    1,153 473
    Jul 14, 2026