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Reposted by Michael Kagan

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 19h

Here's why the DOJ argued that the Supreme Court should also take up the constitutional question. I personally would prefer they do not take up the constitutional question, so this might be one small good sign.

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Reposted by Michael Kagan

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 20h

Yes, but interestingly the Supreme Court has chosen NOT to take up (for now) a 6th Circuit case which raised that constitutional question. The DOJ wanted them to, but they took up the 2nd Circuit's statutory-only case instead. At this moment, don't read too much into it. But it could matter.

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Reposted by Michael Kagan

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 20h

This will be one of the most important immigration cases in a generation. The Trump admin claims that a 1996 law mandates the detention of millions of people without any right to a bond hearing; every person who entered illegally, no matter how long in the past. If they win, it's a nightmare.

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Michael Kagan @michaelgkagan.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

@chrisgeidner.bsky.social This thought is kind why - while knowing the court is political - I don’t see it as obvious which way the winds blow it.

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Michael Kagan @michaelgkagan.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Important: Relief from third country removal may still be sought in individual habeas petitions.

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Reposted by Michael Kagan

Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

BREAKING: SCOTUS allows the Trump admin to restart third-country removals under a policy found by lower courts to violate federal law. The Democratic appointees dissent. The deportations will be OK'ed at least through the next several months, with SCOTUS agreeing to hear the case in December.

CERTIORARI GRANTED
DEPT. OF HOMELAND SEC., ET AL. V. D.V.D., ET AL.
The application for stay presented to Justice Jackson and
by her referred to the Court is granted. The February 25, 2026
order and judgment of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, case No. 1:25-cv-10676, are stayed.
The application is also treated as a petition for a writ of
certiorari, and the petition is granted. The parties are directed to brief and argue the following questions: (1) Whether
the district court had jurisdiction over Respondents' claims.
(2) Whether the district court had authority to enter classwide declaratory relief and APA vacatur under 8 U. S. C. §1252(f) (1).
(3) Whether the Government's Guidance on third-country removals
is unlawful under 8 U.S. C. §1231(b), the Due Process Clause, or FARRA/CAT and its implementing regulations. (4) Such other
questions that the Government determines are appropriate for the
proper disposition of the case. The Clerk is directed to
establish a briefing schedule that will allow the case to be argued in the December 2026 argument session. The stay shall
terminate upon the sending down of the judgment of this Court.
Justice Sotomayor, Justice Kagan, and Justice Jackson would deny the application for stay.

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Reposted by Michael Kagan

Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Yep. The commentators who overinterpreted the meaning of 2024 still haven't admitted how wrong they were, let alone acknowledged any of the disastrous consequences of that error.

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Reposted by Michael Kagan

Joaquin Castro @joaquincastrotx.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Update on Pedro Mendoza Chávez: While he was in the hospital, ICE refused to let his wife see or speak to him, and an officer told her he had fallen. Pedro, 63, says agents kicked him to the ground. Instead of being in a hospital, he's at an ICE detention facility in Taylor, Texas.

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Joaquin Castro @joaquincastrotx.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Pedro Mendoza Chavez was caught up in ICE’s dragnet in San Antonio, leaving him hospitalized with a head injury that required stitches. His wife has no idea where he is and has not been able to speak with him. My office is in contact with his family, and we will continue monitoring his case.

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Michael Kagan @michaelgkagan.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

We don’t throw anybody under the bus. 💜 👊 🔥 🌈

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Michael Kagan @michaelgkagan.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

You can’t have an election without a caravan panic

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Michael Kagan @michaelgkagan.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Who says lawyers have to be boring and serious?

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Michael Kagan @michaelgkagan.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

On September 15, ICE suddenly removed approximately 16,000 people from the system. They’re now just, well, disappeared. behindtheborder.substack.com/p/disappeare...

behindtheborder.substack.com

Disappeared in America

16,000 people, gone

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Michael Kagan @michaelgkagan.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

We are taught that fascists look like Adolf Hitler, concentration camps look like Auschwitz, and genocide looks like gas chambers and 6 million Jews dead. Which is how we fail to live up to our promise: Never again. behindtheborder.substack.com/p/the-mental...

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Michael Kagan @michaelgkagan.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

This post is a response to Kim Foster's excellent essay about concentration camps in America. I'll post a link to her essay in the thread below. behindtheborder.substack.com/p/the-mental...

behindtheborder.substack.com

The Mental Prison of 1942 Germany

I love Kim Foster’s essay “Do We Have Concentration Camps in the U.S.?” for many reasons (some of it just the writing).

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Reposted by Michael Kagan

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Mahmoud Khalil filed a motion to reopen his case in front of the Board of Immigrations Appeals on the grounds that the process was preordained (true) and thus denied him the neutral magistrates required by due process (true) and they responded with basically “how DARE you cite the FAKE NEWS at us.”

As the primary new evidence in support of the motion, the respondent presents a May 8, 2026, New York Times article ("Article"), a May 13, 2026, affidavit from Andrea Sáenz ("Sáenz Affidavit"), a May 13, 2026, affidavit from Dana Leigh Marks ("Marks Affidavit"), and a May 14, 2026, affidavit from Ryan R. Wood. In general, a domestic media article consisting primarily of opinions with minimal (and anonymously-sourced) facts will almost never be sufficient evidence to warrant reopening. Nearly every well-known domestic media outlet operates with a particular ideological valence which must be accounted for in assessing the persuasiveness of its reporting and its evidentiary weight. See, e.g., AllSides Media Bias Chart, AllSides, https://www.allsides.com/media-bias/media-bias-chart (last visited Sept. 25, 2026); cf. Davis v. Alaska, 415 U.S. 308, 316 (1974) ("The partiality of a witness... is always relevant as discrediting the witness and affecting the weight of his testimony.") (citation modified); see also, e.g., John K. Maciver Inst. for Pub. Policy,
Inc. v. Evers, 994 F.3d 602, 611 (7th Cir. 2021)

(recognizing that some media outlets are traditionally viewed as conservative leaning, such as the Washington Times, Wall Street Journal, Fox News, and Washington Examiner, whereas others are viewed as liberal leaning, such as the Capitol Times, New York Times, and Huttington Post). Media coverage of judicial decisions warrants particular skepticism because it is often focused on perceived nonlegal issues rather than the applicable law and legal reasoning actually at issue before the court. See, e.g., Barry Sullivan and Christina Camody Tilley, Supreme Court Journalism: From Law to Spectacle?, 77 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 343, 343-344, 437-442 (2020) (concluding that contemporary media coverage of the Supreme Court by newspapers including the New York Times focuses primarily on the justices' presumed political and policy preferences rather than the legal issues they confront in the case before them, which can undermine public confidence in the Court as an institution). To be sure, "[a] publication can be accurate but still biased." AllSides Media Bias Chart, supra. But a publication that is (1)

based on anonymous factual sourcing* supplemented by opinions of only individuals whose biases are aligned with that of the narrative of the story and who lack any firsthand knowledge of the facts at issue, (2) contains disputed facts, and (3) is clearly biased against the agency and in favor of the subject of the case warrants minimal, if any, weight, and is unlikely to be persuasive enough to warrant reopening. Further, taking action based on such an article would likely violate an Appellate Immigration Judge's ethical and professional duty to act in a neutral and detached manner. See Ethics and Professionalism Guide for Members of the Board of Immigration
Appeals,
SeC.
VIII
(May
4,
2011);
https://www.justice.gov/d9/pages/attachments/2017/08/24/bia_ethics and professionalism guide for board members.pdf ("A Board Member should not be swayed by partisan interests or public clamor.") (emphasis added).

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Reposted by Michael Kagan

Aaron Hall @immlawachall.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Board of Immigration Appeals: Our “there was no funny business in this case” published decision has people asking a lot of questions already answered by our decision www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...

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Reposted by Michael Kagan

Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

President Trump-Rubio are reportedly preparing to unleash sweeping sanctions to cripple International Criminal Court. One potential consequence: The release of some of the world's worst criminals held by the Court. Case 1: Philippines' Duterte held for crimes against humanity

justsecurity.org

Proposed U.S. Sanctions Against the ICC Could Lead to Detainees’ Release

A list of individuals currently in ICC custody awaiting trial or judgment, who could be released if U.S. sanctions dismantle the Court.

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Michael Kagan @michaelgkagan.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

As immigration habeas lawyers can tell you, this Administration often slow walks compliance with court orders and sometimes just doesn’t comply. Often later they will say “Oops! Small clerical error! Sorry we deported a guy!” Anyway, welcome to the club, news media.

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Michael Kagan @michaelgkagan.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I love my country. I love what it could be and should be. So this just makes me so sad. To those we let down: I hope you find a country that welcomes and values you like you deserve.

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Michael Kagan @michaelgkagan.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Oh man. I have ancestors who left Minsk. We could have been potash kings.

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Michael Kagan @michaelgkagan.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Last year I published an article for lawyers on “Representing the Incommunicado Client.” It used to be an exceptional problem. Now ICE is making it the norm, literally disappearing people across the board. scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/cgi/viewcont...

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Reposted by Michael Kagan

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

First eyewitness accounts from this afternoon’s ICE shooting in Austin is here, from freelance reporter Emiliano Tahui Gómez.

Emiliano Tahui Gómez
@emilianotahui
X.com

Combined tweets, cutting tags and other such

Here in North Austin, where ICE agents appear to have shot an individual in his car. I spoke to two of the only witnesses.

Nedevia Bolaños and her husband, Carlos, own a business just off the intersection where the shooting happened. Shortly before 1 pm they says they heard what sounded like two gunshots. Carlos ran out first. A blue Toyota sedan and a black Escalade were stopped under the highway.

Combined tweets, cutting tags and other such

He said he saw an olive-skinned man, seemingly in his 30s, leaning backwards against his seat. A masked agent was standing outside the car. The agent refused to answer questions. Within a few minutes as many as 10 other ICE agents arrived.

Carlos asked the victim if he was ok. "Yes," the man said in Spanish, but he looked exhausted. Carlos asked why they had shot him. "Because I didn't stop."

Combined tweets, cutting tags and other such.

Bolaños ran up next. She said she continously asked the ICE agents about why they'd shot him and if they were going to render aid. They didn't answer her. It was an APD officer who later arrived and cut open the young mans shirt, revealing a deep hole between his shoulder blades. The ambulance arrived about 10 minutes after and carried him off. "I've never seen all this. Thank God I'm a citizen," Bolaños said in Spanish. "Or I'd be living like this. In a dream of terror."

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Reposted by Michael Kagan

Matthew Eadie @mattheweadie.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

BREAKING: Evanston police confirm a U.S. citizen was briefly detained by federal agents Sunday morning near Howard and Dodge before being released The man was taken to the hospital for injuries to his head, neck and teeth after agents drove off

evanstonnow.com

Federal agents detained U.S. citizen Sunday morning - Evanston Now

Police chief says officers responded to a man with injuries to head, neck and teeth on Howard and made contact with agents involved.

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Michael Kagan @michaelgkagan.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Having tried melanoma, I would not recommend it to a friend and so I think this is good.

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Reposted by Michael Kagan

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

If someone posted this about a Jewish Senator, it would be rightly condemned as anti-semitism. El-Sayed was born and raised in Michigan, but because he is Muslim he is perpetually foreign and under suspicion.

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Molly Jong-Fast @mollyjongfast.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

The fact that Jeff Bezos ruined the Washington Post for nothing is just peak 2026

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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

JUST IN: The 1st Circuit rejects the Trump administration's 3rd-country deportation policy, finding blanket assurances from countries who say they won't torture U.S. deportees is not good enough. And the judges raise this point: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

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Michael Kagan @michaelgkagan.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Thanks for the feedback, Jim. Can I call you Jim? Anyway, please make sure your client follows court orders and doesn’t deport anyone illegally tomorrow. Thanks and best regards

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Gabe Ortíz @tusk81.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

“Federal agents were seen on video pulling one teen from the car and punching him several times in the face while he was face-down on the pavement. The person filming the scene appears to repeatedly yell at the agents that the boys are minors." www.thedailybeast.com/horrifying-v...

thedailybeast.com

Horrifying Video Shows ICE Attack Teens on Way to Enlist

The teenagers said they repeatedly told ICE agents who were attacking them that they were U.S. citizens, but were told that the agents “don’t give a damn.”

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Michael Kagan @michaelgkagan.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I am grateful for the engagement with my fans

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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

JUST IN: D.C. Circuit says IRS decision to share taxpayer info with DHS tens of thousands of violates the law — and that the administration's rebuttal to that claim is "weak sauce." www.documentcloud.org/documents/28...

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James Goodwin @jamesgoodwin.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

And here's why Hasan Piker is a problem for Democrats

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