TLDR
Trump signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario to “Lake America.”
The Department of Homeland Security social media account posted a portrait of Trump asking, “Did you remain loyal?”
Hundreds of federal immigration fraud officers were reportedly redirected from reviewing legal immigration cases to searching voter data for potential noncitizen registrations.
Newly released government data showed ICE arrested 49,571 people in July, the highest monthly total of Trump’s second term.
Asheville, Pflugerville, Kendall County, Wylie, Tempe and St. Paul all took major steps this week toward ending or removing Flock license-plate surveillance systems from their communities.
Monday
The Supreme Court opened a path for Trump’s mail voting restrictions
The Supreme Court gave the Trump administration a procedural victory Monday in the fight over his executive order restricting mail voting and the Supreme Court didn’t rule that Trump’s mail-voting order is constitutional.
The court said that the states challenging the order sued too early. The majority specifically said its decision didn’t mean that whatever the administration later did to implement the order would be lawful.
The Postal Service now issued rules implementing parts of Trump’s order, including new requirements involving voter lists and mail-ballot processing. New lawsuits followed and on Thursday, the Postal Service said its requirements were now in effect while those court challenges continue.
The wife of an active-duty Army sergeant was deported
Villafranca-Trejo has no known criminal record.
She entered the United States in 2016 and received a removal order in 2017 after missing an immigration hearing. However, her husband says she never even received any notice of the hearing.
The Associated Press identified over 50 cases involving immediate family members of active-duty U.S. troops being placed in federal immigration detention after the Trump administration rolled back protections for military families.
Villafranca-Trejo is at least the seventh spouse or parent of an active duty service member to be deported. Her husband is now trying to balance military service with raising their daughter on his own.
DHS would like to know if you “remained loyal”
“Did you remain loyal?”
August 23, about 150,000 mostly Trump supporters converged on Washington, DC, to watch Indy
Cars whiz around downtown. Today’s “Grand Prix” concluded Trump’s Freedom 250 series, clearly designed to engage and mobilize his base.
Every time I spotted Freedom 250’s tagline, “Celebrating 250 years of freedom,” I was reminded of how inextricably entrenched our nation is in white supremacist ideologies. Only deniers of African American history would defend that tagline when 4,000,000 African Americans weren’t free until 1865.
So, also today, “International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition” (UNESCO), we stood against MAGA’s whitewashing of our nation’s gravest crimes against humanity and honored the ancestors to whom all Americans are indebted.
-Thank you Erika Berg for sharing this with our 50501 community!
Tuesday
Federal immigration officers are being redirected toward Trump’s voter fraud effort
The officers work in USCIS’s Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate.
Three former officials told the Washington Post that the reassignment caused their regular work screening immigration applications for fraud and possible security threats to effectively come to a halt.
The administration says it’s lawfully cross referencing voter information to check for people who may not be eligible to register.
But this is happening within a larger federal effort around voter data. Homeland Security Investigations also sought contractors capable of collecting and securely delivering voter-registration and voter history files.
The administration is taking personnel whose job was investigating immigration applications and moving them into election-related work less than three months before November’s Midterms.
ICE arrests reached 49,571 in a single month
New government data analyzed by the Associated Press showed ICE arrested 49,571 people in July. That was the highest monthly total of Trump’s second term.
The number was 15% higher than June and about 70% higher than February, when ICE recorded 29,241 arrests.
The Trump administration moved away from relying as heavily on highly visible tactics that drew major protests earlier this year and increasingly used traffic stops, local law enforcement, and lower-profile arrest strategies.
Wednesday
Families in Danbury reported parents being detained around school bus stops
Immigrant-rights groups in Danbury, Connecticut, reported dozens of immigration arrests over several days this week, including parents detained in front of school-bus stops.
Danbury Unites for Immigrants told the Connecticut Mirror that at least 25 people were detained Wednesday. Connecticut Students for a Dream counted another 16 Monday and 12 Tuesday, based on arrests witnessed and reported by activists. ICE did not respond to the outlet’s request for information about the operation.
Thursday
Trump renamed Lake Ontario “Lake America”
On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order directing the federal government to refer to Lake Ontario as “Lake America.”
The change applies to the U.S. federal geographic naming system. Trump can’t force Canada to use the name, which is an important clarification considering the United States and Canada share the lake.
This took place during the escalating trade dispute where the United States imposed 50% tariffs on $20 billion in Canadian goods and Canada responded with retaliatory tariffs.
Trump had a map behind him with “LAKE AMERICA” printed across the lake.
He then floated the possibility of renaming an ocean. 🙄
“Now, all we need is an ocean.”
He suggested maybe the Atlantic or Pacific could be next.
The original name, incidentally, comes from the Huron word oniatarí:io, translated as “lake of shining waters.” The lake had that name before the US or Canada existed.
Senators tried to stop the Shock Gloves but ICE still bought them.
Earlier this month, we shared an article that ICE was considering spending up to $20 million on SHOCK gloves capable of delivering painful electrical shocks through direct contact with someone’s skin.
On Thursday, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and 15 colleagues urged ICE to cancel the plan, raising concerns about deploying another use-of-force device during civil immigration arrests without obvious rules and oversight.
Hours later, ICE published notice that it had awarded a $16.7 million no bid contract for 6,000 pairs of the gloves anyway. The contract includes support equipment and services over the next six months.
UPDATE: The mail-voting restrictions were blocked again, Thursday night 🎉
Late Thursday, U.S. District Judge Talwani temporarily blocked the Postal Service from enforcing Trump’s new mail-voting rule, just one day after USPS said requirements took effect.
This doesn’t permanently end Trump’s mail-voting plan, the order lasts 14 days while the court considers a longer preliminary injunction, with a hearing scheduled for September 3. The case could also quickly return to the Supreme Court.
So as of this morning, Trump’s new mail-ballot restrictions are currently blocked.🎉
Good News Regarding Flock
6 local governments moved away from Flock in about two days
Asheville, North Carolina
On Tuesday, the Asheville City Council voted 5-2 to terminate its Flock contract. City employees were ordered to stop accessing, searching or sharing data through the system, and the city requested removal of the hardware.
Pflugerville, Texas
Pflugerville voted unanimously Tuesday not to renew its Flock agreement.
The decision followed revelations from public audit records indicating that outside organizations had conducted around 1.6 million searches that included Pflugerville’s camera network over 6 months, even though the city believed its sharing was considerably more restricted. City officials said a system issue permitted nonpartner law-enforcement agencies to access the data.
A resident found it through a public-records request.
Kendall County, Texas
Kendall County commissioners voted 5-0 Tuesday against renewing the county’s Flock agreement.
Wylie, Texas
Wylie City Council voted 7-0 Tuesday not to renew its Flock contract.
Tempe, Arizona
On Wednesday, Tempe announced that it turned off its Flock cameras and would end the contract.
The city said it wouldn’t seek another company to replace it.
St. Paul, Minnesota
Also Wednesday, the St. Paul City Council unanimously passed a resolution calling for the city and Ramsey County to end their Flock contracts.
Mayor Kaohly Her and Police Chief Axel Henry then announced that St. Paul’s two city-owned cameras will be removed.
Resource for FLOCK
Investigate the Flock system where you live
Our How to Investigate Your Local Flock System guide explains how to find cameras, check retention and sharing settings, obtain logs, review contracts and renewal dates, and turn what you find into an organized local campaign. It also includes a printable worksheet:
The midterms are November 3.
Q & A
Did ICE deport 49,571 people in July?
No, that number refers to arrests, not deportations. ICE recorded 49,571 arrests in July, according to government data that was analyzed by AP.
Did ICE confirm 53 people were arrested in Danbury this week?
Not ICE, this number came from immigrant rights organizations documenting arrests, 16 Monday, 12 Tuesday and at least 25 Wednesday. ICE didn’t respond to the Connecticut Mirror’s request for information on the operation.
Has ICE bought the electric-shock gloves yet?
Yes, on Thursday, ICE awarded a $16.7 million no bid contract to purchase 6,000 pairs of the electric-shock gloves, along with support equipment and services over the next six months.
Is Lake Ontario now legally called Lake America everywhere?
No but the Trump’s executive order changes how the U.S. federal government identifies the lake. Canada, or any of us really, are not required to recognize the new name.
Help Grow 50501
Send, share or comment!
Sources & Additional Reading
Associated Press Supreme Court and mail voting
Reuters Mail-voting requirements now in effect
The Washington Post Immigration officers reassigned to voter-fraud work
Associated Press ICE arrests reached 49,571 in July
Associated Press Deportation of an active-duty soldier’s wife
Connecticut Mirror Danbury ICE arrests
Associated Press Trump renames Lake Ontario “Lake America”
WIRED Georgia officer’s alleged misuse of Flock
Associated Press Senators challenge ICE shock-glove plan
FDT! Loyal to the Constitution of the USA.