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Ireland Lesley

@irelandlesley.bsky.social
241 followers 368 following 12 posts

Law student. Former congressional staffer.

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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
WIRED @wired.com · 02/10/2026
DHS agents not only tracked and intimidated people observing ICE activity in Maine, but stored information about them in a Palantir-built database, newly unsealed court filings say. www.wired.com/story/ice-ha...
wired.com
ICE Has Been Dumping Protester Photos Into a Palantir Database
DHS agents not only tracked and intimidated people observing ICE activity in Maine, but stored information about them in a Palantir-built database, newly unsealed court filings say.
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Ireland Lesley @irelandlesley.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
“Flock and other companies are building an omnipresent digital dragnet without democratic consent, enabling law enforcement to track people across the country with the click of a mouse.” www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/...
wbur.org
Flock is just one part of the new surveillance state
"Flock and other companies are building an omnipresent digital dragnet without democratic consent, enabling law enforcement to track people across the country with the click of a mouse," writes Gideon...
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
Amanda Levendowski Tepski @tepski.tech · 02/10/2026
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
Librarians Discuss the Challenges and Triumphs of Running a Library Today (Gift Article)
We asked dozens of them about America’s libraries — what they provide, what they need to survive. Here’s what they told us.
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
Jordan Francis @jordfran.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Reporting from 404media on a company's pitch to run facial recognition and other data analysis on video from Flock cameras. www.404media.co/surveillance... This is your reminder that if you build systems of surveillance, their capability and uses will creep over time, regardless of your intent.
404media.co
Surveillance Company Tells Cops It Wants to Add Facial Recognition to Flock Cameras
A surveillance company wants to "close the gap" that Flock won't do, by pitching facial recognition on its cameras.
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
WIRED @wired.com · 29/09/2026
One of AI’s fiercest critics believes the doom talk is about founders making money, not saving humanity. www.wired.com/story/the-bi...
wired.com
Timnit Gebru Believes There Is No ‘Existential Threat’ From AI
One of AI’s fiercest critics believes the doom talk is about founders making money, not saving humanity.
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The idea that people want AI oversight to happen "all of a sudden" ignores years of research, warnings, and policy efforts. The delay hasn’t been a lack of awareness; it’s been because of years of industry lobbying against regulation, political resistance, and inaction.
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Incredible. First Secretary Mullin claimed that DHS had identified 15,903 noncitizens on Nevada’s voter roll. Then DHS officials told a skeptical Nevada, no no no, that’s just people we flagged. Here are the names of 185 people we KNOW aren’t citizens. All 185 were citizens. DHS got 100% wrong.
When the Department of Homeland Security sent Nevada a list of 185 names last month that it claimed identified noncitizens who had been improperly allowed to register to vote, state election officials got to work.
On Tuesday, the state sent a strongly worded rebuke to the federal government: Every single person on the list was a lawful citizen.
"As for the 185 individuals, our records indicate that they were citizens," Greg D. Ott, a deputy attorney general in Nevada, wrote, according to a copy of a letter sent to Department of Homeland Security officials obtained through open records requests.
"You have provided nothing of substance to suggest otherwise."Following the meeting, Ms. Vogt sent a clarifying email to Nevada officials. "I also wanted to be sure I clarified that we did not reduce the 15,903 to 185," she wrote. "We've manually reviewed some of the 15,903 and confirmed 185 are not U.S. Citizens."
Now, Nevada officials are saying even that 185 number is wrong. They also took issue with a letter D.H.S. sent them in early September, in which the agency reiterated its initial claims about nearly 16,000 noncitizens on the rolls and pressured state officials to review each case in a letter to Nevada officials in early September.
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
American Immigration Council @immcouncil.org · 21/09/2026
ICE’s detention system is at a record size. Now ICE is making thousands of people even harder to find. Hiding the location of people with final deportation orders makes it more difficult for lawyers and families to reach them, and for people to challenge their detention and removal in court.
apnews.com
AP Exclusive: ICE hides locations of thousands of detainees with final removal orders
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has stopped publicly revealing where it is holding most detainees who are subject to final deportation orders, in a move that has made it harder for lawyers an...
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
AILA @aila.org · 17/09/2026
"Immigration officer wanted on assault charges for shooting and ​wounding a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis was arrested there on Wednesday, eight months after a confrontation that became a flashpoint over ‌US President Donald Trump's deportation sweeps." reut.rs/4rlOHDM
reut.rs
ICE agent charged with assault, lying about shooting, jailed in Minnesota
A federal immigration officer wanted on assault charges for shooting and ​wounding a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis was arrested there on Wednesday, eight months after a confrontation that became a fla...
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
Tiffany C. Li @tiffanycli.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Published a new post on @statecourtreport.org @brennancenter.org today: “State Privacy Rights Are More Important Than Ever” statecourtreport.org/our-work/ana...
statecourtreport.org
State Privacy Rights Are More Important Than Ever
With federal privacy protections receding or unsettled, state constitutions can provide a necessary shield.
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
Liza Goitein @lizagoitein.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
On Sunday, the Trump administration missed a statutory deadline to declassify a FISA Court opinion from March that reportedly finds more Section 702 compliance issues affecting Americans’ rights. The administration is now in violation of the law. 1/18
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Ireland Lesley @irelandlesley.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
I don’t know if AI development has a 10% chance to end humanity, but I do know that AI is *already* supercharging discrimination, harming workers, and increasing utility prices. Any discussion of AI regulation that does not also address the issues *currently happening* severely misses the moment.
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Flock is very serious surveillance technology that cops take very seriously: 404media.co/cops-search-...
404media.co
Cops Search Thousands of Flock Cameras for Reasons of ‘LMAO,’ ‘IDK,’ ‘Hehe,’ and ‘asdfg’
The EFF found cops writing “idiot,” “WEIRD KID,” "blah," "leave me alone," and button mashing in Flock's 'reason' box.
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
AILA @aila.org · 11/09/2026
"I think most of us can agree that children, especially a 1-year-old, cannot understand legal proceedings, complete immigration paperwork, navigate our complex immigration system or have a fair chance in court," writes AILA member Roxana Avila-Cimpeanu. bit.ly/4r5iiAX
bit.ly
Opinion | A 1-year-old was told to represent himself in immigration court. Welcome to Trump's America.
More and more kids, and even babies, are being forced to show up for immigration court alone without lawyers, adequate resources or protection.
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
ACLU of Massachusetts @aclum.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Flock's dragnet surveillance technology and nationwide data sharing model put our civil liberties and privacy at risk. And Massachusetts residents across the state are fighting back. Find out if your community is included: www.aclum.org/campaigns-in...
Green graphic reads, "Massachusetts communities are saying: Get the Flock Out!" by ACLU of Massachusetts.
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
The Associated Press @apnews.com · 02/09/2026
U.S. Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts secured the Democratic nomination in his bid for a third full term, fighting off a challenger who argued that it was time for a generational change. bit.ly/4zSc23F #APPhoto by Meg Kinnard
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
David Brody @dbrody.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
But for ICE, this man would be alive.
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
S.T.O.P.—Surveillance Technology Oversight Project @stopspyingny.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
DHS agents infiltrated community meetings, recorded license plates, and compiled dossiers on people not accused of crimes. Government surveillance interrupts community and threatens our First Amendment rights. Read here: www.npr.org/2026/08/25/n...
npr.org
Churches, libraries and breweries: Inside DHS' covert surveillance operation
DHS allegedly went undercover at community meetings, subpoenaed the financial records of labor unions, and created dossiers on people at a church gathering, according to court filings.
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Ireland Lesley @irelandlesley.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
As part of my incredible summer at @epic.org, I wrote a piece analyzing a recent decision in the New Jersey Supreme Court, which secures defendants’ the right to access information about facial recognition used during investigations. While the court got a lot right, there is still a long way to go.
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
EPIC @epic.org · 26/08/2026
This summer, the New Jersey Supreme Court held in State v. Miles that New Jersey must disclose to defendants any use of facial recognition technology in its investigation, finding such information is “necessary to safeguard a defendant’s right to a fair trial.”
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
Gravel Influencer @gravelinfluencer.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Gus would like to remind you that early voting in the Massachusetts primary starts today and to vote for Ed Markey
A yellow lab in front of a town hall with bunting
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
Ansley Erickson @ansleyerickson.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Breaking my heart this morning: “Fitting ankle monitors on noncitizens without a criminal history who remain in compliance with their immigration cases has little precedent.” True in the narrowest sense. False given how the history of slavery and peonage roars through each part of this story.
nytimes.com
In Ohio, Haitians Feel Shaken by Ankle Monitors and Increased ICE Presence
The devices, which will make it easier for authorities to locate immigrants in Springfield if large-scale deportations begin, have intensified a sense of dread.
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
ACLU @aclu.org · 22/08/2026
DHS has been abusing administrative subpoenas to go after people who criticize ICE online. If this happens to your accounts, know your rights.
aclu.org
When the Government Demands Info About Your Online Accounts
The First Amendment protects the right to document and criticize government actions, including when doing so anonymously online. But the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has ramped up efforts to surveil and silence critics using a tool called an "administrative subpoena" or "administrative summons".
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
EPIC @epic.org · 14/08/2026
On July 31, plaintiff O.W. asked the Supreme Court to hear the case. EPIC urges the Court to do so. This case is a chance to fix a blind spot that has let courts sidestep Riley for over a decade—with real consequences for kids caught in the school-to-prison pipeline. Read EPIC's full analysis:
epic.org
Riley Says Get a Warrant — So Why Are Schools Skipping That Step?
Analysis
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
EPIC @epic.org · 06/08/2026
Last week, EPIC submitted comments urging the FTC to rescind its recent policy statement on AI regulations, which falsely suggests that companies could violate federal consumer protection law by complying with state AI laws.
epic.org
EPIC Urges FTC to Abandon Misleading Guidance Suggesting Consumer Protection Laws Preempt State AI Regulations
On Friday, EPIC submitted comments urging the FTC to rescind its recent policy statement on AI regulations, which falsely suggests that companies could violate federal consumer protection law…
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
WIRED @wired.com · 03/08/2026
Internal documents show ICE's DNA collection has skyrocketed in the second Trump administration. Now, the genetic information of hundreds of thousands of people never convicted of a crime–including children–are held in an FBI criminal database forever.
wired.com
ICE Collected Nearly 1 Million People’s DNA Last Year—Including Young Children
Internal documents show ICE's DNA collection has skyrocketed in the second Trump administration. Now hundreds of thousands of people never convicted of a crime are in an FBI criminal database forever.
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
404 Media @404media.co · 03/08/2026
SCOOP: 404 Media has obtained a coaching guide that Flock surveillance gives to police about “how to speak to city councils about public safety technology.” It encourages police to “own the narrative before someone else does” by championing the technology before citizens can oppose it.
404media.co
‘Own the Narrative’: Leaked Flock Guide Shows How It Teaches Cops to Promote Its Tech
"This document shows a coordinated effort from Flock Safety to compel law enforcement agencies to convince our elected leaders to represent their interests as a company rather than the interests of co...
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
404 Media @404media.co · 02/08/2026
“They didn't understand it was satire in the beginning until the end,” Casa Grande, Arizona resident Jacob Petrosky told 404 Media. “They were not happy, they were very upset.” www.404media.co/casa-grande-...
404media.co
'I Would Never Do This To You:' Protesting Flock, Arizona Man Presents Plan to Surveil Government Officials
“They didn't understand it was satire in the beginning until the end,” Casa Grande, Arizona resident Jacob Petrosky told 404 Media. “They were not happy, they were very upset.”
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
The Verge @theverge.com · 20/07/2026
Dr. Jill Lepore on why AI backlash is vital for the future
buff.ly
Dr. Jill Lepore on the ‘Artificial State’
They went and built the Torment Nexus.
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
More Perfect Union @moreperfectunion.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
In one California town, Flock misread license plates in 71% of the time. Out of a sample of 1,427 alerts that Flock sent to police in the town of Roseville, alerts that flagged vehicles as stolen or used in a felony after they passed one of the city's Flock cameras, 71% were inaccurate.
businessinsider.com
Flock misread license plates in 71% of the alerts it sent to police in one California town
Flock sent 1,427 alerts to Roseville police over two years, flagging cars as stolen or used in a felony. In 71% of them, Flock read the plates wrong.
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
EPIC @epic.org · 27/07/2026
ICYMI: Last week, EPIC and @niwr.org released a white paper examining the rise of algorithmic unionbusting —a practice in which employers use workplace technology and worker data to identify, track, or interfere with organizing efforts—and what policymakers can do to combat it.
epic.org
Who’s Got the Power? Restoring Worker Power in the Age of Algorithmic Unionbusting
EPIC and the National Institute for Workers’ Rights’ white paper, Who’s Got the Power? Restoring Worker Power in the Age of Algorithmic Unionbusting, examines how employers increasingly use…
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
ACLU of Massachusetts @aclum.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Defendants should know when surveillance technology is being used to build a case against them. This toolkit gives defense attorneys in Massachusetts new resources to challenge potentially unconstitutional uses of surveillance tech by law enforcement. www.aclum.org/campaigns-in...
aclum.org
Surveillance Discovery Project - ACLU of Massachusetts
Surveillance technology creates and perpetuates injustices across our legal system. This toolkit will help level the playing field for criminal defense attorneys and their clients.
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
WIRED @wired.com · 20/07/2026
The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts says it’s releasing an online toolkit for attorneys to uncover the technologies police use—and conceal—to build criminal cases, from facial recognition to AI-written police reports.
wired.com
The ACLU Is Arming Lawyers to Expose State Surveillance Secrets
A new toolkit for attorneys in Massachusetts targets the technologies police use—and conceal—to build criminal cases, from facial recognition to AI-written police reports.
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
EPIC @epic.org · 14/07/2026
On Monday, EPIC submitted testimony to the D.C. Council Committee on Public Works & Operations urging councilmembers to further strengthen the proposed DC Government Data Privacy and Protection Act of 2026.
epic.org
EPIC Urges D.C. Council to Strengthen Proposed Government Data Privacy and Protection Act
EPIC submitted testimony on Monday to the D.C. Council Committee on Public Works & Operations urging them to further strengthen B26-0670, the DC Government Data Privacy and Protection Act of 2026.
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
Andrew Couts @couts.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
NEW: HUD appears to be making up FOIA exemptions. @telliotter.bsky.social with the scoop: www.wired.com/story/doge-d...
wired.com
DOGE Used AI for Housing Policy. The Government Won’t Say How
In response to a public records request, HUD has withheld documents about DOGE’s use of AI—in part by citing a privilege that doesn’t exist.
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
NEWS --> Three men who were in the van with the victim of the ICE shooting in Texas are potential witnesses, but they're now under pressure to self-deport, a rep for the families tells me. They remain in detention even as ICE's story falters. Details in this piece: newrepublic.com/article/2129...
newrepublic.com
Texas ICE Killing Darkens: Rep Says Witnesses Pressured to Self-Deport
There were three others in the van with the man shot by ICE in Houston this week. A represenative for the families tells TNR that the government is pressuring these potential witnesses to self-deport.
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
dell cameron @dell.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
NEW: The ICE office that customarily probes employee misconduct is being refocused to investigate ICE critics, opening hundreds of "doxing and threat" cases and subpoenaing tech companies to unmask anonymous posters. Detention facility inspections, meanwhile, are plummeting. by @regret.bsky.social
wired.com
ICE’s Internal Watchdog Is Now Investigating Online Critics
The Office of Professional Responsibility has opened more than 100 cases over what ICE officials call “incidents of doxing and threats” against ICE employees.
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Another U.S. citizen was reportedly investigated by federal authorities for criticizing ICE after the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. If you saw this happening in another country, what would you call it? www.npr.org/2026/07/01/nx-s1-587412…
npr.org
He sent a harsh email to ICE's top official. 5 months later, federal agents tracked him down
Federal agents went to a Rochester man's home to warn him that an email he sent five months ago could be an illegal thre
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Iconic line from @stevevladeck.bsky.social here in response to Will Baude’s SCOTUS boosterism www.nytimes.com/2026/07/01/o...
Baude: I agree that we are in unprecedented times, maybe even a constitutional crisis, but if we survive it, the court deserves no small share of the credit.
Vladeck: Exactly the same credit we might give to the arsonist who shows up with a fire extinguisher.
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EPIC @epic.org · 30/06/2026
“[Chatrie] is one of this Court’s most important decisions on privacy in years. The Court rightly reaffirmed that the Constitution places real limits on the government’s ability to exploit the vast amounts of data generated by the devices we use every day to track us,” said @alanindc.bsky.social.
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
BREAKING: The Supreme Court rules 6-3 in favor of the Trump admin on Temporary Protected Status, blocking the lawsuit on jurisdictional grounds, allowing DHS to strip over 350,000 people of legal status even though they utterly failed to follow the required legal procedures.
MULLIN v. DOE
Syllabus
that the termination of Haiti’s TPS designation violated the constitutional right to equal protection because it was motivated by race. The
District Court granted interim relief, and a divided D. C. Circuit panel
declined to issue a stay. The Government sought a stay and a writ of
certiorari before judgment in both cases. This Court granted review,
consolidated the cases, and deferred ruling on the stay applications.
Held:
1. The TPS statute bars judicial review of non-constitutional claims.
Pp. 12–18.
(a) Section 1254a(b)(5)(A) provides that “[t]here is no judicial review
of any determination of the [Secretary of Homeland Security] with respect to the designation, or termination or extension of a designation,
of a foreign state.” The term “determination” may mean either an individual decision or the process leading to a decision. Under either
understanding, §1254a(b)(5)(A) bars all of respondents’ non-constitutional claims. Further, the phrase “with respect to” “generally has a
broadening effect, ensuring that the scope of a provision covers not
only its subject but also matters relating to that subject.” Patel v. Garland, 596 U. S. 328, 339 (internal quotation marks omitted). Pp. 12–
13.
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S.T.O.P.—Surveillance Technology Oversight Project @stopspyingny.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Cooper Quintin of the @eff.org warns that allowing local police to use facial recognition for immigration enforcement marks “a significant expansion of ICE’s operations” and “makes this sort of face surveillance ubiquitous on American streets.” #surveillance www.npr.org/2026/06/19/n...
npr.org
Some local police have access to an ICE facial recognition app
A document from the Department of Homeland Security outlines plans to issue local police facial recognition technology used by federal immigration agents, a move that will expand the scope of ICE surv...
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Reposted by Ireland Lesley
The New York Times @nytimes.com · 24/06/2026
Breaking News: A federal judge in California barred immigration agents nationwide from making arrests inside immigration courts.
nyti.ms
Federal Judge Bars ICE From Making Arrests in Immigration Courts
The ruling in a class-action lawsuit filed in California applies to immigration courts nationwide.
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EPIC @epic.org · 22/06/2026
BIG PRIVACY WIN: A federal judge has struck down the Trump administration’s unlawful attempt to meddle in elections, finding that “the federal government has knowingly trampled on the privacy rights of American citizens in a manner that threatens the sacred right to vote.”
eocampaign1.com
PRESS RELEASE: Federal Judge Shuts Down Trump-Vance Voter Purge Database
WASHINGTON, D.C. –– A Trump-Vance administration attempt to unlawfully meddle in elections was struck down today, as a federal judge ordered the
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
The Department of Justice is trying to get the NAACP’s Clean Air Act suit against xAI tossed because it claims the government should be able to block *all* citizen suits it opposes to avoid “Article II” concerns. As today’s “One First” explains, this argument is as scary and alarming as it is novel:
stevevladeck.com
234. DOJ, Citizen Suits, and the xAI Litigation
DOJ's move to toss out a lawsuit against xAI for illegally operating gas-burning turbines to power data centers turns on a dangerous new constitutional claim.
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EPIC @epic.org · 17/06/2026
Last Friday, FISA Section 702 lapsed. The debate over its renewal has produced some misconceptions — and outright lies — about the reauthorization fight and what the statute's sunset means for U.S. intelligence. EPIC put together this Myth vs. Reality guide to help clear up some of the confusion:
epic.org
The FISA Section 702 Debate: Myth vs. Reality
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) grants the government the authority to compel U.S. electronic communication service providers to cooperate with surveillance programs that target non-U.S. persons outside the United States, but this surveillance also “incidentally” captures the communications of Americans. Prior to Section 702 authority sunsetting on June 12, 2026, Congress was unable to agree to reauthorize the authority. The debate on reauthorization has been pervaded by myths to obscure the reality.
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