ICE Goons Tear the Children Out of a Father’s Arms

ICE has not stopped and will have to be stopped

There are no shortage of upsetting stories from the Trump mass deportation campaign, which has not yet been functionally slowed, despite its important political setbacks in Minneapolis.

Here is one video from a new incident, in which ICE thugs attempt to pry a man’s young children from his arms:

As Sahiba Tahleel of NerdStash reports:

“A Rhode Island father was left holding his two crying toddlers as ICE agents surrounded him on a residential street, following a car crash that damaged his vehicle. The agents eventually released him, but the encounter left his family frightened and raised questions about how the operation unfolded.

“The incident happened Tuesday morning, October 20, in Providence’s Silver Lake neighborhood. According to The Boston Globe, the father, who asked to be identified by his middle name, Sebastian, is a Guatemalan construction worker. He told the newspaper that he was driving his children to a babysitter before heading to work when he noticed vehicles following him.

“Sebastian said he hit a curb while trying to avoid the vehicles, damaging the front of his car. He then got out and tried to walk his children home, but ICE agents approached and stopped him. The father was detained on the street for about an hour while holding his two young children, who cried as agents grabbed his arms and shoulders.”

Sebastian was released and no charges were filed but now his family and this community live under a cloud of fear. The children are unlikely to forget this encounter.

Mass deportation is happening. They are not on track to meet their insanely high four-digit daily targets by the end of Trump’s term, but that is hardly any consolation. Even if they do not deport 20 million, even if they do not deport 1 million, they will end up abusing, traumatizing, and terrorizing far more than that. We will likely spend decades documenting the extent of the atrocities committed in our streets and in overcrowded detention centers.

Mass deportation is a tool for achieving the administration’s other goals as well. Malcolm Ferguson at the New Republic reports:

“Armed federal agents are spending the days leading up to midterms going door to door asking people their immigration and voter registration status.

“CBS News reported Wednesday that the draconian crackdown—a combination of President Trump’s mass deportation effort and his desperate attempt to manufacture proof of election fraud—was already underway in multiple states, having accelerated last month. …

“On Monday, DHS announced that they arrested 11 people in Los Angeles, all of them green card holders. One of those arrested, a 72-year-old Belizean man, said he had never voted and couldn’t remember having registered to vote.”

Abolishing DHS is the moderate position. 

The free speech presidency

Joe Sommerlad at the Independent reports:

“The White House has demanded that Politico retract and apologize for a trio of articles it wrote about President Donald Trump and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, in the administration’s latest clash with the press.

“In a letter from Counsel to the President William Scharf to Politico’s Global Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Greenberger dated Monday, the outlet is accused of publishing ‘a series of demonstrably false and defamatory articles in an apparent effort to manufacture a narrative of dysfunction and infighting in the White House’ while ignoring denials from senior officials and Trump himself.

“‘Your publication was told the truth and presented with corroborating evidence, and yet chose to publish fanciful fictions regardless,’ Scharf alleged. ‘I... demand that Politico retract these defamatory articles and issue corrections promptly, or face the consequences.’”

I do recommend you read the letter for yourself. It’s quite short and it’s always revealing to actually pore through the language these people use. Like every communication to come out of the executive branch during this administration’s term, it reads more like a New York Post op-ed than an official letter from the White House’s counsel. Such is the nature of personality cults like Trump’s; rather than focusing on effectiveness or competence, everything they do is to please Dear Leader.

Scharf’s letter to Politico contains no specific legal claim (other than vague gestures at defamation without really unpacking that) nor any specific threat: “an immediate review of Politico’s relationship with the White House” and “consideration of all other appropriate and available legal remedies.” What would those be, exactly?

Even a legally frivolous threat has power when it comes directly from the White House. I wrote about the administration’s censorship tactics on February 1, 2025, because it was already obviously within the range of tools they would be employing to get their way.

I’d say that those who were hoping for a ‘free speech presidency’ have likely been disappointed, but to be blunt I suspect those harboring such hopes are far too stupid to recognize the obvious.

Brad Lander on the illegal occupation

As we mentioned yesterday, congressional candidate Brad Lander was detained in the West Bank. He was then released. As reported by the Associated Press:

“Israeli forces detained U.S. Democratic congressional candidate Brad Lander on Wednesday as he helped Palestinian farmers harvest olives in the occupied West Bank, releasing him hours later while dozens of other volunteers, including a group of American rabbis, remained in custody.

“The incident was the latest in an annual olive harvest that has been marked by violence between Israeli settlers and Palestinian villagers attempting to gather their crops.

“The Israeli military said the farmers and volunteers had failed to seek prior approval for the harvest and were detained ‘due to the security risk posed by conducting an uncoordinated harvest near an Israeli community.’ It later added that it viewed ‘the arrival of dozens of activists as an act intended solely to provoke, which undermines the harvesting process.’”

Lander replied to the statement from Israel:

Liberal Currents contributor Nathan Goldwag put it best:

I again encourage readers to listen to my interview with Lander from August, or simply watch this clip where he discusses Palestinian rights.

Today in object permanence

Around Liberal Currents

• The Techlash Is Coming, by Chuck Babbage: How can we tame the corporate monsters of Silicon Valley?
• The Diverse Communities of Staten Island (Out of the Jaws #14, with Mike DeCillis): An interview with the candidate for New York Congressional District 11, which includes Staten Island.

The election home stretch

• “CBS’ DraftKings Gamble,” by Brett LoGiurato in Status.
• “Trump ties NC Camp Lejeune settlements to GOP win, angering survivors,” by Trevon Spencer in NC Newsline.
• “McMorrow Says Fake Polling ‘Experiment’ Hurt Campaign, Eroded Voter Trust,” by Ben Solis in Michigan Advance.
• “The Outcome of Maine’s US Senate Race May Not Be Known for Weeks. Here’s Why.,” by Emma Davis in Maine Morning Star.
• “Top 2 Democrats on Intel Say They're Preparing for Trump to Claim Foreign Meddling,” by Eric McDaniel for NPR.