Deadline: White House “What funding ICE has wrought”
Jan 29, 2026
Charlie Sykes, conservative commentator and newsletter author (To the Contrary). They dig into ICE’s expanded surveillance tools like biometrics, drones, and spyware. Then they shift to questions about Donald Trump’s public behavior: mysterious hand bruising, dozing in meetings, and his fixation on cognitive tests.
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Militarized Presence In American Cities
- Federal forces in Minneapolis outnumber local police by a wide margin and bring military-grade gear and tactics.
- The scale and equipment create a show-of-force that terrifies communities and escalates confrontations.
First Amendment Limits Ignored
- Maintaining records based on First Amendment activity violates the Privacy Act and constitutional protections.
- Recording public officials is protected speech and cannot justify databases targeting protesters.
War-On-Terror Tools Repurposed Domestically
- ICE uses license plate readers, cell-site simulators, and forensic hacking tools to map movements and extract encrypted data.
- Many tools once reserved for terrorism investigations are now repurposed for immigration enforcement and deportation operations.