It wasn't just Barney's advice that made her column tick: the column eventually became a sexy, strange, inspiring public square. Readers would write to say that they identified with someone else's problem, or to disagree with her advice, or to reach out to get in touch with someone who was having a hard time. Barney published these letters too, turning her column from a Q and A into a conversation. The smoke billowing out of Jeannie's Lamp was that of a whole scene taking shape in real time. [LARB; text is NSFW-ish]

"Feds" raid Ilhan Omar's home in effort to deport her. Federal agents seized the phone of Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., when they searched her Washington, D.C., home this week as part of a federal investigation into potential immigration-related crimes, and they have sent roughly a dozen subpoenas out in the case, according to two people familiar with the investigation.

The possible charges cited by federal officials included conspiracy and making false statements in immigration paperwork, one of the people said. The search came just three weeks before the midterms, within the window of time when the Justice Department has typically avoided overt actions in criminal cases that could affect an election. And the seizure of the phone of a sitting member of Congress would typically trigger a set of law enforcement protocols meant to ensure investigators aren't infringing upon the "speech or debate" clause of the U.S. Constitution, which protects members of Congress from being questioned for their legislative acts. On Friday, roughly a dozen subpoenas were sent out in the case, including to her family members, the second person familiar with the investigation told NBC News. WSJ: The Trump administration's investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) is aimed at building a case to strip her of her U.S. citizenship and ultimately deport her, according to U.S. officials and other people familiar with the probe. ... The Trump administration has made an unprecedented effort to denaturalize U.S. citizens by proving they lied in the process of obtaining citizenship, filing dozens of lawsuits. Omar's case, if it proceeds, could become the highest-profile—and most controversial—part of that effort. The president has long called for Omar's deportation, using her as a rallying point for the GOP's anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim wings. On Monday evening, an Ohio audience Trump was speaking to chanted "deport" after he talked about Omar and other Somalis. "They cheat on everything," he said. "We're not going to stand for it." Omar, 44 years old, has long been a top target for GOP-led investigations. A welfare-fraud scandal in Minnesota—heavily tied to defendants of Somali descent—has added fuel to the fire. At the center of the immigration investigation is whether Omar or her father changed her age on her citizenship application to show she was 17 years old rather than 18, according to people familiar with the probe. If Omar was 17 at the time her father applied for citizenship, she would have qualified automatically rather than needing to pursue her own immigration process. She became a citizen in 2000. Officials at Homeland Security Investigations looked into a similar tip under the Biden administration, according to people familiar with those efforts, but they decided not to move forward because they lacked evidence of fraud. The government can't simply strip a person of their U.S. citizenship. The Justice Department must file a lawsuit in federal court and prove that the person lied in a material way to gain their citizenship. Most of the cases the Justice Department has filed this term haven't yet been decided. One thing that I find somewhat conspicuous is that in any of the reporting I have read so far, the actual authority of the agents raiding her home has not been named. It is always "feds" or "federal agents." Not that it makes a huge difference, but I would very much like to know if those are FBI, DOJ or ICE agents. Regardless, this is extremely explicit weaponization of the criminal justice system for nakedly political ends, and represents a significant development in our ongoing Constitutional crisis.

President Trump Cut Legal Immigrant Entries 2.7 Times More Than Illegal Entries - "These cuts to legal immigration are harming US citizens seeking to reunite with their spouses, fiancés, children, and other relatives. They are also undermining US prosperity and increasing the US deficit. But they also illustrate the central misconception about the Trump administration's immigration agenda. It is not about stopping 'illegal' immigration. It is a broader assault on all types of immigration. As Americans debate the path forward on immigration, that's a reality everyone should understand."

also btw...

• US immigration authorities raid home of Democratic Trump critic Ilhan Omar [ungated] - "Omar wrote on social media that the US government is being weaponized to target a political enemy of the president."[1]
• New York City man shot in car with child present by ICE agents, mayor says [ungated] - "Federal immigration agents have shot at least 21 people since Republican President Donald Trump returned to office, 7 fatally, sparking protests across the US. Critics contend ​that Trump's push to ramp up deportations has led to an increasing number of violent confrontations, and accuse the administration of resisting accountability for the agents involved."[2] (previously)
• Trump administration freezes green cards for Microsoft, IT firms, probes universities [ungated] - "Since taking office, US President Donald Trump has pursued a broad effort to reduce the number of foreign-born people in the US and curtail their pathway to residence and citizenship. Thursday's twin actions mark the broadest strike yet against skilled-worker immigration programs — potentially cutting off a common path to permanent residency for foreign tech workers — while putting some of the country's top research universities on notice."

Mayor Mamdani holds a press conference on the ICE shooting in the Marble Hill neighborhood of New York. Transcript, Video [slyt] Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin lashed out [independent.co.uk] at NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani after the New York City Mayor said that ICE was 'rotten to its core'. Mullin said he would "never apologize" after federal agents, wearing construction vests and masks that concealed their faces, fired several rounds at a suspect inside a car with a 5-year-old.

Excerpt from Mamdani's speech: "We know that ICE is rotten to its core. Today's shooting is only further devastating confirmation of what we have long known: that ICE operates with impunity, that they sow chaos and terror across our country, that they have killed far more of our neighbors than they could ever have claimed to save. I also want to say something on a personal note. I stand here not just as the mayor of our city, but as someone who is proud to be an immigrant in our city. And I know that these kinds of raids, this kind of terrorizing of this city, leave the 3 million immigrants of this city asking if they are safe here, if they belong here, if this, too, can be their home. We will not normalize ICE's viciousness. We will not accept its cruelty. We know, and I've said this directly, whether to the president or to the public, ICE undermines public safety. It makes us less safe. New York City will not stand by while ICE agents shoot New Yorkers. And we will not back down from the demand that so many, including myself, have put forward time and again. This is an agency that must be abolished. Thank you."

Advocates for Trans Equality has a great slate of candidates running for office. Each of these leaders has demonstrated a deep commitment to the rights and well-being of the transgender community. With 5 federal candidates and dozens of state and local candidates in states as diverse as Massachusetts, California, Utah, Indiana, and Georgia, this list has something for everyone. If you're looking for a little inspiration, or a candidate you can support with some door-knocking or a donation, this list is for you.

Want more? The LGBTQ+ Victory Fund is devoted to electing pro-equality, pro-choice LGBTQ+ leaders to public office at every level. Their massive list lets you filter candidates by office level, state, and party. (Choose Republican and get "There are no candidates at this time. Please check back later.") The Washington Blade has mini-profiles on the LGBTQ candidates running for U.S. House and Senate. Pop quiz: What's the biggest caucus in the House of Representatives? If you guessed the famous Freedom Caucus, or even the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, or the Congressional Black Caucus, guess again:

At the beginning of the 119th Congress, the Congressional Equality Caucus is the largest* caucus in the United States House of Representatives with 191 members, the most the caucus has ever started a Congress with. In the 118th Congress, the Equality Caucus had a peak membership of 195.

(There are 214 Democrats in the House. 191 of them belong to the Equality Caucus.) The mission of the caucus is to work for LGBTQI+ rights. The caucus is chaired by the most senior openly LGBTQ member of Congress and co-chaired by the other openly-LGBTQ members of the House of Representatives. Membership is open to any member of Congress who is willing to advance LGBTQI+ rights. Caucus co-chair Becca Balint talks about what the Equality Caucus can achieve if Democrats take the House, even with a hostile president: Rep. Becca Balint says Dems can slow Trump's anti-trans warfare. But first they must win midterms. LGBTQ Nation, Faefyx Collington This post was inspired by someone who recently received an unwanted check from the government and thought donating to pro-trans rights Democrats would be a fitting use for the money. I hope these links are helpful to any MeFites finding themselves with an unpleasant partisan windfall they'd prefer not to keep. The length of this post was inspired by my admiration for so many wonderful posts by kliuless. This post is dedicated to fabulous MeFite mephron, and also to my personal hero, Montana State Representative Zooey Zephyr. (I have mentioned on MetaFilter that when I'm obsessing about the current horrorshow, I try to steer my thoughts to people who are doing the work to make the world better. Zooey Zephyr is in my thoughts a LOT.) * Some numbers: The Democratic Caucus has 214 members. The Congressional Equality Caucus has 191 members. The New Democrat Coalition has 112 members. The Congressional Progressive Caucus has 99 members (in the House, plus 1 in the Senate). The Congressional Black Caucus has 54 members (in the House, plus 4 in the Senate). The Problem Solvers Caucus has 48 members (26 Democrats). The Freedom Caucus has 31 members (all Republicans; at least 6 will be gone next year).

Gone in 90 seconds: an 'invisibilized' ICE is arresting more people than ever - "In order to sustain those numbers, they have to create more categories of people who can be subject to detention."

A Quiet ICE Surge That Unfolded 'Everywhere All at Once' This Summer [ungated] - "Federal agents appeared as people carried out their everyday routines. People were detained en route to a soccer match. Leaving Sunday Mass. Having a drink at a nightclub. At national forests and outside polling locations."

Arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement this summer soared to record highs since the start of this Trump administration — with 43,000 in June, more than 49,000 in July and nearly 51,000 in August — as officials cut or narrowed the pathways to legal residency in the United States and expanded the pool of people eligible for deportation. Federal agents appeared in nearly every corner of daily life, carrying out operations at hospitals and airports, outside suburban schools and along rural construction sites and truck stops. They fanned out from coastal cities in Maine to desert towns in Arizona, across the open plains of Wyoming and down through the southern borderlands. In Republican-led states like Texas and Florida, where the swell was strongest, they amplified their reach through partnerships with sheriffs and state highway patrol officers. In Democratic strongholds, they intensified their activities despite laws meant to restrict them.

ICE hides locations of thousands of detainees with final removal orders - "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has stopped publicly revealing where it is holding thousands of detainees who are subject to final deportation orders, an unannounced move that has made it far more difficult for lawyers and relatives to find them, according to current and former officials familiar with the practice."

As a result of the change, lawyers and relatives lost track of their clients and loved ones without explanation, which is especially concerning because detainees are frequently moved to new facilities before deportation, said Greg Chen, senior director of government relations at the American Immigration Lawyers Association. "Families are freaking out because they think the person has been deported and they don't know where the person might be," he said... ICE detention facilities held more than 65,000 people as of early July, the most recent available data. Around 30% of them likely have final removal orders, said Michelle Mendez, legal director at the National Immigration Project. More people have been issued final removal orders after failing to show up for hearings in recent months because the administration's immigration courts have taken steps to make it harder to participate and to reopen such cases, she said. "To me, it's just another iteration of disappearing people," she said. "Why would we do that in the United States of America? It's something we'd hear about in another country and be concerned about individual rights and due process." Some with final removal orders also have legal protections against deportation to their countries of origin based on the likelihood they would be tortured or persecuted. Many of them are facing removal to third-party countries where they have no ties and their disappearance in ICE's system will make legal challenges harder, lawyers said.

Supreme Court green-lights Trump's third-country deportations - "The Supreme Court will allow the Trump administration to resume rapidly deporting immigrants to 'third countries' and will consider the legal questions at a later date... The court stayed a February 2026 order that immigrants should have 'the right to meaningful notice' and should be able to raise concerns before being deported to a third country." (Trump's shadow docket blitz hits a new milestone)

• Michigan nurse charged with helping immigrant flee ICE custody - "Trinity ​Health said ⁠Freeman no longer works for the hospital."
• Venezuelan man shot and wounded by ICE agent in Texas is charged with assaulting an officer - "The charges came a day before he was set to appear in court to challenge the legality of his immigration detention... Garcés Pérez was transferred out of a facility in San Antonio, where he had been in immigration custody for nine days, and placed in federal criminal custody in a facility near Austin, according to Garza. 'It has created a web of detention for him,' she said of having Garcés Pérez be transferred from custody."

Mahmoud Khalil on his detention by ICE (transcript) - "What is happening behind ICE detention gates is horrendous. And I believe that it is a stain on the U.S. consciousness... Most of them, at least the ones that were around me, were picked up from their ICE check-ins, from their court hearings or from their work sites. Once you enter these detention centers, you see a very different reality about this country that supposedly champions human rights and liberty and justice. But once you cross into these prisons, literally that door, you see the opposite side of what's actually happening in this country."

Come for the coffee with extra Pumpkin Spice...

s̶̢̧̨̩̠͍̻͉͔̟̰̥͑͐́͋̔̏̿̈́̾̈͆̄͛̀͠ͅt̵̢̢̫̙͇͍̻̮̩̲͙̻͓̏͐̽́̂̄̔͒̐̆͂̐͘ͅa̵̢̡̰̻̲͔͚̣̤̜̞͕̥̐͠y̶̨̛̫̤̩̙͕̓̀̈̓͛̍̀͊̇͛͑͗̕͝ ̸̧̛̞͖̝͆̎̋̐̽́͜ͅf̸̢̡̲̥͇̲͇̠͚͉͈̗̥̞̓̓͗̂̈̊͌̓̓̈́͋̆̍́̀͘͘͜ö̶͖̰̲̪̋́̇͠ŗ̵̡̡͉̬̫̐͆͛̀̇̑̈́̆̀͆̇͌̒̏̕͘͜͝ ̶̡̛̺̝͈̼͐́̐̈́͛̐̂t̸͉͕̹̺̲̝̅̾̕̚ḩ̶̡͕͚͙̠͓͕̩͉͋̏̈̎̏̔̌̈́̂͂͂̚͝͠ë̶͔̖́ ̷̧̥̰̰̹͈͍̺̦͙͔̀́̈́̄̑͂̂̿̀̽͒̃̚͠ṹ̸̧͉̝̬̪̜̙̭̤͋͊͆̅̃͆͋͊̈̇͋̕̚ņ̸̡̲̜̣̭̰̺̮̣̤̙̮͙͋͛̎̄́̋̀̑̒͆͒́̎̈̂̒f̶̺̰͍̰̯̘̯̘̺͠o̶̠͛͐̅̑̉̿̐͒͑̆̑͋̀̚͝͝l̷̹̮͓̭͉̪̦̻͖͚͍̘̮̪̱̔͐̋͑́̾͐́̅̓͘̚͜ͅd̵͉̤̙̱̤͍̞͍͛́̉i̶̧̠̩̹͈̲̭͖̰̺̣̝͈̰̦̳̊̎ͅn̶̡͔͍̳̥̪̬̫̠̦̺̥̓͑͑̍̚̕̚g̷̡̞͇̰̙̻̳̻̥͚͔̙̹̜͚̅͐̔̈́͘͝͠͝ͅ ̶̢̜̙̹̈̀̋̈́̃̈́͆̓̈́͒͘h̸̛̘̦̱͍͓̀͑̃͐̏́ớ̷̡̞̘̻̘̘̞̦̟̝͕̝̝̭̐r̵̡̨̬̤̲͕̜̼̣̠̯̬̆͒̀͑̎́͌̋͐̈́̕ŗ̸̪̠̠̱̬̹͇̱͓̆̒̍͒̄̅̇͝o̵̧̫̖̠̯͚̰̗͚͗͠r̷̢͕̩̬̼̜̰̥͕̩͚̳̥̀͑...

"Your mother turned the worst thing that ever happened to her into the best thing that ever happened to her."

archive link here Written by Christopher Rice, the late author's son. IWTV will be celebrated its 50th anniversary this year.