Early on in Trump I, I was worried about the possible weaponization of passenger manifest lists for immigration enforcement. /1
Devin Theriot-Orr
@iamsunbird.bsky.social
Father, immigration lawyer, geek, caregiver for partner with Long Covid, MECFS.
I’ve been doing some in-depth reporting on the Prairieland cases, and had to get this out first as I continue to dig: I spoke with Ana Bell, sister of Des, who it turns out co-owns and runs an indie bookstore. We talked about the case, the judge, book banning, ICE killings, and living through this:
My Brother Was Sentenced to 30 Years for Moving a Box of Zines
The sister of a defendant in the Prairieland case, which targeted Texas ICE protesters, speaks out.
newrepublic.com
“My brother is just a vessel. It’s like they have to have a body to put in jail. And unfortunately, that happens to be my brother.” Much more here from Ana Bell, brother of Prairieland defendant Daniel “Des” Sanchez Estrada, who spoke with me not long after the anniversary of her brother’s arrest:
My Brother Was Sentenced to 30 Years for Moving a Box of Zines
The sister of a defendant in the Prairieland case, which targeted Texas ICE protesters, speaks out.
newrepublic.com
I'm diving into my first mega master today. In addition to being explicitly designed to increase the rate of no-shows, it's a profound waste of time. In my case, we filed a routine motion to skip this hearing and set the case over to a merits slot for adjudication. /1
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 2w agoThe 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.
This morning in Biddeford, Maine, a 26-year-old man said goodbye to his wife and daughter and left for work. Moments later he was dead, shot in the head by ICE agents, the second man ICE has killed in six days. ICE is killing our neighbors. ICE cannot be reformed. Abolish ICE.
I can't stop thinking about Prairieland.
PRARIELAND GODDAMN
"What kind of people are not against fascism?"
deportnation.substack.com
Melat Kiros is a refugee from Ethiopia who become a lawyer in the USA. Her law firm fired her because she condemned Israel’s genocide of Palestinians Tonight she won the Democratic nomination in deep blue CO-1 against a 15-term AIPAC entrenched corporate Democrat This is how we make America great❤️
Daniel Sanchez Estrada was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for transporting a box of zines he didn’t even write. The prosecution’s theory was that Sanchez moved zines, which discussed anti-government ideas, to conceal evidence in the case against his wife, Maricela Rueda.
A cartoonist named Daniel "Des" Rolando Sanchez Estrada was tried as a terrorist and sentenced to 30 years in prison for having anti-Trump comics in his car. Prosecutors connected him to a 2025 anti-ICE protest he didn't even attend because he was in the same book club as others who were.
the way you post when you’re loud, wrong, and allergic to articles(??)
Mark Zaid, Esq@markzaidesq.bsky.social · last mo.We are witnessing MAGA equivalent of destruction of Democratic Party through election of progressive Socialists. If you think this ends well for country, I believe you're sadly mistaken. Extremism on one side simply fuels opposite growth on other side. We need moderates.
I'm sorry. But the Democratic party has REFUSED to fund--or even acknowledge--candidates who went more progressive, more Democratic Socialist, because the CENTRIST DEMS kept giving more and more latitude to REPUBLICANS. Give me a fucking break. You never give anyone money other than your own.
Jaime Harrison@jaimeharrison.bsky.social · last mo.I say this with no ill will or animosity: if you hate the Democratic Party, then please don’t run for our nomination. Don’t use our resources. Don’t rely on our volunteers. Don’t use our infrastructure. Don’t ask Democrats to invest their time, money, and energy in your campaign.
The leftist equivalent to MAGA wouldn't be a Democratic Socialist. It would be an anarchist. There are no anarchist candidates. America only elects extremists from the right due to the historical legacy of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. The country spent centuries normalizing fascism for one race.
Mark Zaid, Esq@markzaidesq.bsky.social · last mo.We are witnessing MAGA equivalent of destruction of Democratic Party through election of progressive Socialists. If you think this ends well for country, I believe you're sadly mistaken. Extremism on one side simply fuels opposite growth on other side. We need moderates.
No one should mistake that not only did the vast majority of these defendants do *nothing but show up to a protest* but several are trans women who will now spend the rest of their lives being tortured by the state. This was targeted. This was a show trial.
Mel Buer@melbuer.bsky.social · last mo.30, 50, 70, and 100-year sentences for the Prairieland defendants so far. Dark day, man. Truly.
One of today's political prisoners. Cartoonist & zine maker Daniel Rolando Sanchez Estrada wasn't even at the ICE protest. He was accused of "moving" a box of anti-Trump zines THE NEXT DAY. A rightwing judge sentenced him to 30 years! Just for possessing zines. The darkness is descending.
Ryan Estrada@ryanestrada.com · last mo.A cartoonist named Daniel "Des" Rolando Sanchez Estrada was tried as a terrorist and sentenced to 30 years in prison for having anti-Trump comics in his car. Prosecutors connected him to a 2025 anti-ICE protest he didn't even attend because he was in the same book club as others who were.
Update on the case from last night. Hot off the press from the court in Michigan. Hats off to Farah Hobballah!
The question for today is how many different jurisdictions does one have to file in to stop a deportation... So far we are at 2 (WDWash and WDMich), but before we could get a TRO issued ICE moved our client to Louisiana.
Since anarchists are going to be heavily targeted by the fascists (again 😉) I want to TRY to garner a bit of curiosity from folks about anarchism. What is it? Where did it come from? What does it mean? Is it communism? Is it the same as Marxism/Leninism? Why do fascists HATE anarchists so much?
Jose Pagliery@josepagliery.bsky.social · 5mo agoBut the judge this morning drew a hard line at stopping the protesters from even claiming self-defense against an officer who drew his gun when chasing down an unarmed protester. Those monitoring say this trial has the potential to criminalize dissent in a way that harkens back to the Red Scare.
I am in Fort Worth, Texas, covering the Justice Department's first trial against antifascism as "terrorism." The "Prairieland 9" protesters are accused of attacking an ICE facility last summer ... but there's much more to this story than that. Writing a story in the coming days.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has invited both teams to his office for a photo op. He felt bad for the American women's team not going to the White House. Safer in his office than in trumps...
In October, ICE grabbed Maher Tarabishi. He was a 24/7 caregiver for his disabled son Wael. At the time of Maher’s detention, disability advocates warned that taking away Wael’s caregiver put his life at risk. Wael died 3 months later. ICE caused his death. They didn’t even get to say goodbye:
ICE Took Wael Tarabishi's Full Time Caregiver Away... and it Killed Him
Wael Tarabishi was a 30 year old disabled man who's father Maher was his full time caregiver. ICE took Maher in October, leaving Wael without support. He died three months later.
disabledginger.com
🚨HOLY CRAP. The Trump admin just took a SLEDGEHAMMER to due process, largely eliminating the Board of Immigration Appeals process and MANDATING DISMISSAL of ALL appeals (which cost $1,000 thanks to OBBBA) filed after tomorrow unless a majority of the BIA votes to hear the case.
Okay everything is awful so I'm posting a picture of the birthday eve dinner rolls my 12-year-old made for me.
🚨HOLY CRAP. An ICE whistleblower just revealed a secret memo authorizing ICE officers to break into homes without a judicial warrant, which DHS's own legal training materials say is unconstitutional! ICE then hid the memo from the public, passing it along by word of mouth and private conversation.
The Associated Press@apnews.com · 7mo agoBREAKING: Immigration officers are asserting sweeping power to enter homes without a judge’s warrant, a memo obtained by AP says.
Native Americans are being swept up by ICE in Minneapolis, tribes say www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Native Americans are being swept up by ICE in Minneapolis, tribes say
Tribal leaders say Indigenous people have been stopped, questioned, harassed and, in some cases, detained solely on the basis of their skin color or names.
washingtonpost.com
The thing I thought about immediately was what they would name the party bringing the suit? Because if they don't name it "the Kennedy Center," I think he's got a solid defense (among many others) since the other entity does not actually exist legally.
Paul Gowder@gowder.io · 7mo agoGetting a mad vision of some kind of defense to the damages suit that rests on the claim that the litigation itself is ultra vires because the people filing it weren’t lawfully appointed. (Can’t think of a case where this has happened before, but there must be one. Feels very classic common law.)
NEWS: Dan Richman — key figure in now-dismissed Comey case — wins motion for return of materials seized from his devices. Judge finds his rights were violated, orders that DOJ can only access data pursuant to lawful warrant. Order could complicate efforts to re-indict Comey.
![Richman's [l] Motion for Return of Property and ORDER the Government to return to
4 of 46
ichman the image of his computer that was made in 2017; any files obtained from his
vomo University email accounts) or his Apple iCloud accounts) in 2019 or 2020 that are in
the Government's possession; any copies of the image or files obtained from Petitioner
Richman's email or iCloud accounts that are in the Government's possession; and any materials
directly
obtained or extracted from those files that are in the Government's possession
(collectively, the "covered materials").
In order to "protect access to" the files at issue and preserve their availability for lawful
"use in later proceedings," see Fed. R. Crim. P. 41(g), and as an exercise of the Court's equitable
discretion to fashion a remedy that is appropriate under all the circumstances, the Court shall
further ORDER that, before returning the covered materials to Petitioner Richman, the
3
Case 1:25-mc-00170-CKK Document 21 |
Filed 12/12/25 Page 4 of 46
Government may create one complete electronic copy of those materials and deposit that copy,
under seal, with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, which shall have
supervisory authority over access to this material, for future access pursuant to a lawful search
warrant and judicial order. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia may then
exercise its discretion to decide whether to allow Petitioner Richman an opportunity to move to
quash any such warrant before it is executed.
The Court shall further ORDER the Attorney General of the United States or her
designee to certify, no later than 4:00 p.m. ET on Monday, December 15, 2025, that the Government has (1) returned the covered materials to Petitioner Richman; (2) not retained any
additional copy or copies of the covered materials; (3) not provided any copy or copies of the
covered materials to any other person, except for one copy that may be filed, under seal, in the
U.S.…](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:t4x2ruk2qmob2b2cx55h4v7r/bafkreiba2sbewkvptjeho6jqkofqdenvqrdk7st25xrwa7fhy7cbosaqnm)
We are dealing with such corruption in every aspect of our government, I don't know how we undo the damage.
