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Deborah Fleischaker

@dtfleisch.bsky.social
134 followers 218 following 25 posts

Former acting ICE Chief of Staff and DHS Privacy Officer. Currently consulting on immigration, law enforcement, privacy, and transparency.

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Reposted by Deborah Fleischaker
The Weekend on MS NOW @theweekendmsnow.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
“Detention should be saved for people who are public safety threats, it shouldn’t be punitive” Former Acting ICE Chief of Staff @dtfleisch.bsky.social blasts the Trump administration’s plan of buying up warehouses to detain more immigrants.
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Reposted by Deborah Fleischaker
Andrea R. Flores @andreaflores.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Great interview of Former DHS Official and ICE policy expert Deborah Fleischaker with @ichotiner.bsky.social www.newyorker.com/how-donald-t...
newyorker.com
How Donald Trump Has Transformed ICE
A former D.H.S. oversight official on what, legally, the agency can and can’t do—and the accountability mechanisms that have been “gutted beyond recognition.”
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Reposted by Deborah Fleischaker
America's Voice @americasvoice.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
🎥 “It's not about public safety. It's about optics and immigration enforcement, plain and simple.” Former acting ICE Chief of Staff @dtfleisch.bsky.social warned that operation "Midway Blitz” is only the beginning.
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Deborah Fleischaker @dtfleisch.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
“The idea that immigration enforcement is the most significant national security and public safety concern that we as a country face is deeply unserious.” newrepublic.com/article/1961...
newrepublic.com
Stephen Miller Erupts in Fury Over Low Arrests—and Hands Dems a Weapon
Hitting Miller’s new deportation quotas could mean fewer resources to fight child trafficking, terrorism, and other crimes. Do Americans really want that?
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Deborah Fleischaker @dtfleisch.bsky.social · 01/06/2025
It’s the definition of being between a rock and a hard place. No real options, only bad choices.
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Reposted by Deborah Fleischaker
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 01/06/2025
NEW: The National Sheriffs’ Association(!) puts out a statement saying the Trump admin’s publication, with no feedback first, of a list of Sheriff departments alleged to be sanctuary jurisdictions “violated the core principles of trust, cooperation, and partnership with fellow law enforcement.”
NSA PRESIDENT ISSUES STATEMENT CALLING FOR DHS ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY
May 31, 2025 - (Alexandria, V.A.) - The National Sheriffs' Association (NSA)
President Sheriff Kieran Donahue (Canyon
County, I.D.) released the following statement in response to the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) compiling and publishing a list of alleged non-compliant Sheriffs in a manner that lacks transparency and accountability.
"This list was created without any input, criteria of compliance, or a mechanism for how to object to the designation. Sheriffs nationwide have no way to know what they must do or not do to avoid this arbitrary
label.The completion and publication of this list has not only violated the core principles of trust, cooperation, and partnership with fellow law enforcement, but it also has the potential to strain the relationship between Sheriffs and the White House
administration. This is an unfortunate and unnecessary erosion of unity and collaboration with law enforcement and the
enforcement of the rule of law at a time
when that unity is needed most. This decision by DHS could create a vacuum of trust that may take years to overcome.
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Reposted by Deborah Fleischaker
Rep. Veronica Escobar @repescobar.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
Due process exists for all persons in our country because our laws assume you're innocent until proven guilty, not the other way around. That being said, the "they need to do it the right way" crowd is awfully quiet on this report. www.cato.org/blog/50-vene...
cato.org
50+ Venezuelans Imprisoned in El Salvador Came to US Legally, Never Violated Immigration Law
The US government not only denied these men due process; it has generally failed to provide their families, their attorneys, or the public any information about what it alleges these men did to deserv...
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Deborah Fleischaker @dtfleisch.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
It should be the lowest of our expectations that our leaders understand basic constitutional protections. Apparently, Kristi Noem doesn’t pass the test.
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Reposted by Deborah Fleischaker
David J. Bier @davidjbier.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
Cato has published my comprehensive review of the ~240 Venezuelans the US government renditioned 2 months ago to Salvador’s notorious prison. We identified FIFTY who came legally, never violated any immigration law, but are imprisoned at the US government’s request and at US taxpayer expense.
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Deborah Fleischaker @dtfleisch.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
Discretion is a dirty word in the Trump administration, but it shouldn’t be. CBP could have declined to arrest her, ICE could decline to detain her, and Ms Petrova could be allowed to continue her work. There is a better way forward on immigration if we want it. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/13/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | The Science I Would Be Doing if I Weren’t in ICE Detention
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Reposted by Deborah Fleischaker
Jonathan Blitzer @jonathanblitzer.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
For those of us following the story of the Democrats’ search for a new political approach to immigration it’s fascinating to see @gallego.senate.gov release a seemingly fresh plan. It looks moderate, well reasoned & also a whole lot like another document that Dems’ve been hearing abt for months. 1/
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Reposted by Deborah Fleischaker
Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
The Suspension Clause: 1) Doesn't allow the President to unilaterally suspend habeas, especially when Congress is in session; 2) Applies only to cases of invasion or rebellion (this is quite clearly neither); and 3) *Even then,* applies only "when the public safety may require it." (It doesn't.)
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Deborah Fleischaker @dtfleisch.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
There’s always an FTCA claim, but I don’t hold out much hope either.
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Reposted by Deborah Fleischaker
Angry @angrystaffer.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
There should be bipartisan concern about the reports that DOGE is merging HHS, Social Security, and IRS data into one database. That is the trifecta of personal information, and any competent person (or machine) could essentially put together a complete profile of your life.
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Deborah Fleischaker @dtfleisch.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
Really strong reporting by the Wall Street Journal on one man’s attempt to cross the border legally and ending up in CECOT based on nothing more than a few (likely non gang related) tattoos. youtu.be/mZCqic4ameY
youtu.be
How a Man With No Charges Wound Up in El Salvador’s Mega-Prison | WSJ
YouTube video by The Wall Street Journal
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Deborah Fleischaker @dtfleisch.bsky.social · 27/04/2025
Mass deportation is a failure, both in terms of the lower-than-promised deportation numbers AND the higher-than-anticipated breach of American values like fairness and due process.
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Deborah Fleischaker @dtfleisch.bsky.social · 27/04/2025
So in an enforcement operation targeting people with final orders of removal (people who have been through the legal process), 505/780 arrests were of people without them. These 505 people not being deported (legally at least) anytime soon. Discretion matters. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/26/u...
nytimes.com
ICE Arrests Nearly 800 in Florida in Operation With Local Officers
The four-day operation came as the Trump administration has sought to enlist local authorities in an immigration crackdown.
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Deborah Fleischaker @dtfleisch.bsky.social · 27/04/2025
This is the unfortunate outcome when speed and numbers are the only goals.
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Reposted by Deborah Fleischaker
Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 27/04/2025
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Judge Hannah Dugan, two-year-old V.L.M. They are not outliers, exceptions, or aberrations. … What we are witnessing is the Trump administration’s immigration plan in motion. Today, at Law Dork:
lawdork.com
The horrors are not aberrations. This is the Trump administration's plan.
This is their plan. But the plan is just that — a plan. It can and must be stopped.
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Reposted by Deborah Fleischaker
The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 20/04/2025
Q: "How do you respond to Governor Newsom?" Sen. Van Hollen: "I think Americans are tired of elected officials or politicians who are all finger to the wind...Anybody who can't stand up for the Constitution and the right of due process doesn't deserve to lead."
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Reposted by Deborah Fleischaker
Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 19/04/2025
One point that's going to get lost in the discussion of #SCOTUS's intervention in the Alien Enemy Act case: This is the *value* of nationwide injunctions. Without them, you have to go district by district, and the government can try to play games by moving people to districts without relief (yet).
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Deborah Fleischaker @dtfleisch.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
In Trump’s worldview, all migrants are “the worst,” so they’re all eligible to be sent to Gitmo. Would be good if folks started to understand that Trump’s “worst of the worst” means nothing and everything and could be any of us.
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Reposted by Deborah Fleischaker
much ado about muffin @muffindoin.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
the exact sort of thing CRCL would promptly investigate if it still existed which is of course why it doesn't exist anymore
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Deborah Fleischaker @dtfleisch.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Ding ding ding ding ding
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Deborah Fleischaker @dtfleisch.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
It is such welcome news. Now it’s up to us to force the administration to bring Mr Abrego Garcia - and the rest of the people unconstitutionally deported and left to rot in a torture prison - back to the US.
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Deborah Fleischaker @dtfleisch.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
It’s no surprise the Administration is arresting people at courthouses, but their approach is short-sighted. It will discourage people from interacting with the justice system and reduce public safety when the criminal justice systems can’t operate effectively. www.jsonline.com/story/news/l...
jsonline.com
After ICE arrests at Milwaukee courthouse, officials cautiously look into changes
The Journal Sentinel confirmed the identity of one of the people arrested by ICE, a 27-year-old man facing charges for firing a gun outside a bar.
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Deborah Fleischaker @dtfleisch.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
On top of the actual fiscal cost of disincentivizing the filing of income tax returns by undocumented people AND their US citizen families, I suspect the actual benefit to the sharing is likely to be relatively modest. So high cost, low “reward.” Seems about right for the current times.
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Deborah Fleischaker @dtfleisch.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
The current and ongoing immigration efforts are designed to scare and overwhelm, but unfortunately leave us less safe. We should focus on true nat sec and public safety threats, but we can’t when we’re focused instead on optics and cruelty without conscience. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/07/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Immigration Enforcement Under the Trump Administration Is Going Rogue.
The real threat isn’t immigrants. It’s misused power.
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Deborah Fleischaker @dtfleisch.bsky.social · 06/04/2025
People used to claim they weren’t anti-immigrant, but that immigrants should come into the US “the right way.” Those same people are now working to take away legal status from people who did enter legally. Spoiler alert: It was never about the way they entered. www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...
usatoday.com
Legal today, illegal tomorrow: How Trump is undoing the Biden border crisis
Biden offered humanitarian protections during a period of record migration. Now Trump is revoking their status.
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Deborah Fleischaker @dtfleisch.bsky.social · 05/04/2025
We are PAYING the government of El Sal to imprison him. Of COURSE we can bring him back to the US. This isn’t a question of ability, it’s a question of will.
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Deborah Fleischaker @dtfleisch.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
In my time at ICE, I aimed to work with moral clarity to fix mistakes, including bringing people back to the US when they were deported wrongly. It was not always easy, but it WAS doable There is no common ground to be found here, there is only right and wrong. www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
theatlantic.com
An ‘Administrative Error’ Sends a Maryland Father to a Salvadoran Prison
The Trump administration says it mistakenly deported an immigrant with protected status but that courts are powerless to order his return.
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Reposted by Deborah Fleischaker
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
On X, VP Vance falsely claims that Mr. Abrego was a "convicted MS-13 gang member." In fact, Mr. Abrego has no criminal record at all. He was arrested (but not charged) while looking for day labor outside a Home Depot in 2019. Local cops then said a "confidential informant" said he was in MS-13.

JD Vance
@JDVance
My comment is that according to the court document you apparently didn’t read he was a convicted MS-13 gang member with no legal right to be here. 

My further comment is that it’s gross to get fired up about gang members getting deported while ignoring citizens they victimize.
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Reposted by Deborah Fleischaker
Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 30/03/2025
If you're looking for an explainer on why due process matters to share with friends and family members who might ... need convincing, I've removed the (partial) paywall from my March 19 post for "One First" on the topic: www.stevevladeck.com/p/bonus-133-...
stevevladeck.com
Bonus 133: Due Process and the Rule of Law
Too many Americans don't understand, at a basic level, *why* the Constitution requires due process when the government deprives anyone of their life, liberty, or property.
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