ICE ICE baby - the immigration thread

[LVAllen]

Is not that fucking difficult. JL states no apology during Trump era. I quipped “Nor during Biden or Obama”.. JL clapped back with some response of me being the other side of the same coin as Frank (Which he oddly deleted.. #disappointed as I was going to sarcastically say “Why are you so mean to me. Why do you unfairly label me blah blah blah..”)

Frank responds with his initial response to Wally and then provides 8 or so examples of when Obama has apologized..

So tell me exactly who is he responding to with his dissertation of Obama’s apology tour..

Wally asked if any politician in recent history has apologized. Frank said Trump hasn't, here's a Google AI list of Obama, there may be more with Bush and Clinton.

It was directly responding to Wally's question.

Just because y'all responded to the same post doesn't mean he's responding to you. Especially if he has you on ignore and can't even see you.

[chrisrenrut]

No you wouldn't.

I guess I’ll have to assume based on this deflection and no one mentioning anything, that Lebowski’s response is the only correct one.

[Shaka]

I guess I’ll have to assume based on this deflection and no one mentioning anything, that Lebowski’s response is the only correct one.

I didn't want to debate it. Presidents should be able to have their guys in their appointed posts. While I think he's a bit of a dick, he hasn't done anything that I consider disqualifying.

[chrisrenrut]

I didn't want to debate it. Presidents should be able to have their guys in their appointed posts. While I think he's a bit of a dick, he hasn't done anything that I consider disqualifying.

Yeah, my question isn’t what disqualifies him, it is what has he done that qualifies him to lead the 3rd largest Us department?

DHS Size and Scope

• Workforce: Over 260,000 employees, including around 80,000+ law enforcement officers.
• Budget: Over $103 billion in total budget authority (FY2024).
• Structure: Comprises 22 main agencies/components (e.g., FEMA, Secret Service, ICE).
• Components: The Coast Guard is the largest component (~87,000+ employees).

Noem had at least been a governor. Hegseth had some military experience. Nitpick had been a CEO. This appointment looks to be on par with Kennedy, at having zero relevant experience or qualifications for a very important position.

[LVAllen]

Need a new thread for fraud. This one for fraud perpetuated by the US Government.

https://www.cato.org/blog/banned-imm...ded-government

The US government is taking fees from immigrants and US sponsors for services that it has no plans to provide. The government took their money, and now it won’t even adjudicate their applications—in many cases, it refuses even to issue denials. The State Department is actually telling consular officers not to notify future applicants that the government has banned them.

This massive fraud is the result of three policies promulgated by President Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the head of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Joseph Edlow.

Trump barred visas and legal entry from 40 countries. Applicants aren't told they've been barred. This is about 1 out of every 5 immigrants, including Cuba, Venezuela, Nigeria, Iran, and Haiti. The State Department has frozen all visa applications from 75 countries. USCIS froze all benefit applications from immigrants from 40 countries.

They aren't refusing the applications. They aren't processing the applications. They're just taking the fee and not doing the work. That's fraud.

Overall, we can estimate that the 2 million applications affected by the ban, which would’ve otherwise been approved, came with over $1 billion in fees. The fees came primarily from applications for work permits and filings to adjust status to permanent residence or immigrant visas—the two ways in which people receive green cards to stay permanently in the United States.

Cubans represent the largest group of affected applicants with nearly a million affected applications at a combined cost of $543 million. The second most common was Venezuelans, with 239,000 applications at a cost of $138 million. Nigerians, Afghans, Haitians, and Iranians are the other top nationalities. Interestingly, about 90 percent of the applications and fees come from countries targeted by the initial 40-country ban, not the later State Department immigrant visa restriction. That’s largely because the State Department charges much lower fees than USCIS does, and USCIS’s ban applies to so many different types of applications.

[Flystripper]

despicable

[Northwestcoug]

Good riddance, though we'll see if his and Noem's departures do anything to quell the white nationalism of ICE, clearly stated by this widely shared opinion:

Mr. Bovino said he had a master plan that was in motion before his exile back to El Centro. It would have neutralized protesters, he said, and made it possible to deport 100 million people.

That is a goal that the Department of Homeland Security has widely promoted. If it sounds extreme, that’s because it’s nearly 10 times the estimated number of undocumented people in the country. It is also more than a quarter of the entire U.S. population.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/24/u...smid=url-share

[wally]

Not from MAGA. I don't think Trump has apologized for anything.

Obama apologized for some stuff related to ACA

After promising Americans they could keep their existing health insurance plans, Obama apologized for those who received cancellation notices, telling NBC News: "I am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me".


Obama apologized to the families of American Warren Weinstein and Italian Giovanni Lo Porto, who were killed in a U.S. drone strike targeting an Al-Qaeda compound in Pakistan.

After calling California Attorney General Kamala Harris the "best looking attorney general in the country" during a fundraiser, a comment criticized as sexist, Obama called her to apologize for the remark.


Shortly after his election, Obama joked about not wanting to engage in a "Nancy Reagan thing" regarding seances. He apologized to the former First Lady for the comment


While discussing his poor bowling skills on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Obama joked that his game was "like the Special Olympics," and later apologized for the "careless and off-handed remark".



That's from google AI. I'm sure we find plenty from W and slippery Bill.

Thanks. Can't believe I didn't think to 'ai that shit."

Also, I don't remember any of these incidents, which means, I suspect, that apologies don't make headliners.

[wally]

Duh. Unfailing loyalty to the Mango Mussolini.

Can one avoid Godwin's Law accusations if the reference is to Mussolini? I think The Dude has us on a technicality here.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Can one avoid Godwin's Law accusations if the reference is to Mussolini? I think The Dude has us on a technicality here.

Besides that, it's funny.

[frank ryan]

Thanks. Can't believe I didn't think to 'ai that shit."

Also, I don't remember any of these incidents, which means, I suspect, that apologies don't make headliners.

I remember some of these. Doesn't take away from my point that this is not something Trump does.

[wally]

I remember some of these. Doesn't take away from my point that this is not something Trump does.

LOL! I am not defending Trump on this at all, don't worry. I just honestly couldn't think of a meaningful apology made by a politician in a while. You provided several examples, thanks.

[frank ryan]

ICE harassing people at the airports is not very helpful. Steve Bannon, who is unfortunately way too influential with Trump has said it's a test run for stationing ICE at polling places.

If they do that, I think that counts as Trump f*@king with the elections.


https://thehill.com/policy/transport...026-elections/