UPDATED: ICEOUT Receives FOUR Unconfirmed ICE Observations in Easton Area

ICEOUT is a nationwide map through which people can report ICE observations in their community. It is maintained by People Over Papers, a 501c3 nonprofit. 

The map includes an unconfirmed report that ICE was observed at the Easton Recreation Office, 123 S 3rd St, Easton, PA at 1:47 pm. The report indicates that 15 agents in 5 or more cars were there. Another unconfirmed report, including a photo, indicates that ICE was seen outside the vacant LA Fitness Center in Wilson Borough on January 31 at 1:30 PM. Two vehicles and about 5 agents are spotted. A third unconfirmed report indicates four vehicles were spotted the same day at 10 am at 2403 Butler Street in Wilson Borough. 

UPDATED 2:20 PM: A fourth unconfirmed observation of ICE as made at Easton's Centre Square (which is a circle) today at 10 am. Five cars observed. 

UPDATED: ICE Tactics Make Partial Federal Gov't Shutdown Likely

We've just gone through the longest federal government shutdown in US history. Democrats wanted a funding bill that included an extension of Obamacare healthcare subsidies enacted during the throes of the COVID pandemic. Senate Republicans refused to budge. A 43-day shutdown ensued. Soon after the Trump administration refused to fund SNAP benefits, eight Senate Democrats (including Pa.'s John Fetterman) voted to join Republicans and end the stalemate.  Now, as a result of the controversial manner in which ICE has enforced immigration laws, at least a partial shutdown looms. 

Congress has already passed 6 of 12 funding measures for government operations. The final 6 include the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which includes ICE and Border Patrol. There are 53 Senate Republicans, so at least 7 Senate Democrats are needed to keep the federal government fully operational. 

Democrats have so far resisted the temptation to insist on abolishing ICE. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has asked Republicans to separate the DHS bill from the others because changes are needed as a result of the overzealous manner in which ICE has acted in Minneapolis. Two American citizens have been shot dead. They entered the home of an elderly Hmong-American citizen without a warrant and took him away, undressed, in a case of mistaken identity. They've stopped people because of the color of their skin and their accents. They've become an occupation force in which the very people they should be protected are treated like enemy combatants. 

They've somehow managed to turn "Minnesota nice" into Minnesota nasty. We should have learned from the COVID pandemic that people hate restrictions on individual liberties, even something as innocuous as wearing a mask. What is going on is far more repressive, and the entire nation is increasingly concerned that we are on the way to becoming a police state. 

Senator Schumer has offered Democratic support for 5 of the 6 bills. Just not the bill funding DHS. He has four basic demands. First, no home should be entered without a judicial warrant. Second, a general prohibition on wearing masks (I can envision numerous exceptions that would be reasonable). Third, a mandate for body cams and IDs. Fourth, a code of conduct. 

I would also insist on more training, and that it should include crowd control in an urban environment. Most local police officers have far more training than 47 days.  

UPDATED 1:15 pm: The Senate has voted 55-45 to block the spending package that includes funding for DHS. All Democrats were joined by 8 Republicans.

Now That Trump Has Changed Course on ICE, Perhaps His Supporters Should, Too

In response to yet another ICE killing in Minneapolis, this time involving an ICU nurse who was shot in the back, President Donald Trump appears to have recognized that sweeping raids by untrained and masked agents wearing tactical gear are bound to backfire. Stopping someone and demanding proof of citizenship simply because he looks or sounds different is repulsive to freedom-loving Americans. Grabbing 5 year-old kids on their way home from preschool is third-world, something I'd expect to see in North Korea, not Minnesota. Yanking a disabled American citizen out of her car when she is on her way to see her doctor and what we see in a police state. Trump has finally made nice with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and has shuffled ICE boss Greg Bovino back to California, along with numerous of his shoot-first agents with him. Bovino has been replaced by Tom Homan, who favors the Obama approach to illegals as opposed to ICE Barbie's repressive tactics. So those of you who attempted to justify the blatant violations of our Constitution in comments on this blog, perhaps it's time for you to re-evaluate.  I'll agree that illegal immigration was getting out of hand and something had to be done. Perhaps it's time for you to agree that the approach taken by Kristi Noem, who actually bragged about shooting her dog, is completely in-American.   

Politicians Exploit ICE Homicide to Raise Funds 24 Hours After His Death

On Saturday, an ICU nurse who was participating in anti-ICE activity was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agents that have turned Minneapolis into a war zone. Without question, Alex Pretti was armed. If you want to make cops nervous, that's the way to do it, even if you have a valid permit. At this point, there's no evidence that Pretti was brandishing his weapon, as Kristi Noem falsely claimed, or that he was intended to "massacre law enforcement," as Border Patrol czar Greg Bovino has stated. In fact, Pretti's gun was removed from a holster by an ICE agent before our masked police opened up and poured 9 or 10 bullets into him. 

Without question, this homicide is yet another tragedy inflicted by poorly trained cowboys who, once again, initially refused to allow a physician to render aid. We've been asked to believe that this was a justifiable homicide by officers who were defending themselves from a domestic terrorist. Like Renee Good. Or a disabled American citizen on her way to her doctor when she was yanked from her car. Or detaining a 5 yo boy on his way home from pre-school. I'm sure they were domestic terrorists, too. Ironically, the same people who vehemently protested about being asked to wear masks during a pandemic see nothing wrong with secret police that is stepping all over our basic fourth and fifth amendment rights. 

I've written several times that ICE is totally out of control and needs to refocus its entire strategy. But what I also hate is to see grubby politicians who lack the basic decency to wait until Pretti is buried before exploiting his death and trying to cash in. I'll give you three examples.

First, a PAC with ties to Kamala Harris began exploiting Pretti's death just hours after he was shot. "Alex Pretti is the limit," pontificated Democratic Youth Wave PAC, hitting people up for $50.

Second, Bernie Sanders exploited Pretti's death in a bombastic email today soliciting money for candidates in Minnesota. He only wants $27.

Finally, and close to him, Taiba Sultana sent a blast email to potential contributors on Sunday under the subject "ICE IS KILLING CEVILIANS [sic]". She announces "Another American Killed by Immigration Enforcement," tries to pin the blame on State Senator Lisa Boscola and then asks you to send her "$150 $250 $550 $1000 or any amount [that] helps us organize, reach voters, and prove that conscience still has a place in politics."

My conscience tells me that you don't exploit the murder of a fellow human being 24 hours after his death.

She finishes her email with "Because Pennsylvanian[sic] deserve better.

You certainly deserve someone better than Sultana in Harrisburg.

ICE Out of Control

ProPublica, a Pulitzer-prize winning online investigative journalism news site, has published a report documenting 40 separate instances during which ICE agents using chokeholds, carotid restraints, kneeling on necks, outright choking and strangleholds. It's the type of excessive force that would get any local police officer fired. There have been no repercussions to ICE officers even though chokeholds and carotid restraints are banned by the Department of Homeland Security.

This report comes in the wake of the homicide of Renee Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross. Right after putting three bullets into her face, either Ross or another ICE agent called her a "Fucking bitch." Rather than investigating Ross for the possible excessive use of force, the DOJ is instead focusing on his victim's ties to groups opposing ICE 's aggressive enforcement tactics. This in turn has led to the resignation of four federal prosecutors.  

As tragic as this homicide is, ProPublica starts its report by stating, "Immigration agents have put civilians’ lives at risk using more than their guns." It reviewed video footage with 8n former law enforcement officers who conclude "this is what bad policing looks like."

One person put in a chokehold was a 16 yo American citizen whose undocumented father was driving him to school. 

A husband with an undocumented wife and a 1 yo child was told by ICE agents to give her up or he would be arrested and his child sent to foster care. He chose his family and was subjected to a carotid hold. This blocks 70% of blood flow to the brain and can be fatal. He went into convulsions and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. ICE later claimed he was faking it. He was denied medical assistance. 

Since the beginning of 2025, there have been 24 shootings by immigration agents. Six people have died. ICE agents have shot at moving civilian vehicles 13 times, a practice banned by most police departments because it is simply too easy to hit an innocent civilian. 

Without question, a majority of the American public thought that immigration was out of control under former President Joe Biden. That's why Trump was elected. But now it is ICE that is out of control. 

Pa. Senator Amanda Cappelletti has proposed legislation that would ban ICE arrests within 1000' of any state-owned or leased property without a judicial warrant. In my view, this does not go far eneough. ICE agents should also be banned from carrying out any activities within 1000' of any school. Moreover, it is time to reinstate the common law principle that prevents authorities from arresting a party or witnesses attending court. If a person knows he might be detained, he'll be less likely to appear. This is in derogation of the Pa Constitutional provision that "[a]ll courts shall be open; and every man for an injury done him in his lands, goods, person or reputation shall have remedy by due course of law, and right and justice administered without sale, denial or delay."

Videos Contradict Trump Administration Account of ICE Shooting in Minnea...

This is pure evil! A physician was denied the ability to render aid, and the Ice cowboy who shot and killed this woman just left the scene.

Is This America?

Diane Figueroa is a U.S. citizen from Illinois who was on her way to work after dropping her 5 year-old son off at school. She stopped for a cup of coffee on the way but as she got closer to her destination, "I approached what seemed to be chaos." While driving she was sideswiped by a silver SUV with double-tinted windows. Before she knew what was happening, masked passengers jumped out of the SUV with guns drawn and proceeded to yank this young woman out of her car. (You can see that video below). After being rammed off the road and dragged from her car at gunpoint, she was thrown into a van without explanation or rights read. While in custody, she was denied medical care despite recent kidney surgeries, mocked when she begged for help, and left in degrading conditions. She emphasizes the racial profiling, abuse of authority, and trauma she endured, noting that she was never formally arrested or charged. Her assailants were ICE agents. I'd call them Nazis. I believe the more reasonable among you, including those of you who voted for President Donald Trump, would agree. Close the borders? Sure. Deport illegals who commit crimes? Yes. Yanking a defenseless American woman from her car after you sideswiped her? Nazi. 

Below is the statement she gave at a Congressional hearing last week.

Thank you for giving me the space to speak today. My name is Dayanne Figueroa. I am a proud first-generation Mexican American, a Criminal Justice major, a single mother, and a future law student. What happened to me almost exactly two months ago, on October 10, 2025, was not law enforcement. It was violence, blatant racial profiling, and a shocking abuse of federal authority.

That morning, I kissed my son goodbye and watched him walk into school, never imagining that it would be what felt like days, before I felt safe again. On my regular commute into Chicago, I approached what looked like chaos - cars stopped in the middle of the street, people running, yelling, and recording on their phones.

Moments later, my life changed forever.

A silver SUV with double-tinted windows suddenly swerved into my lane and struck my car. The driver’s face was almost entirely concealed - hat, dark tinted glasses, a face mask. He made no gesture. No signal. And he did nothing to identify himself.

Before I could even process what was happening, his passengers - other masked men -jumped out with guns drawn and aimed directly at me. They ripped my door open. One of them screamed in my face, demanding that I get out, yet never identified himself, never asked for my ID, and never told me whether I was being detained or why. They never read me my rights. Instead - I was violated - these tough guys violently dragged me from my car, yanked me by my feet, ripped my phone from my hand.

Beaten, bleeding, and barefoot, I was thrown into a red van. I begged them to tell me who they were and where they were taking me. No one answered. I was shoved onto the edge of a third-row seat - no seatbelt, suffocating heat, no air conditioning. I was wedged between two terrified Latino men who did not speak English. We were all handcuffed. Unsecured. Helpless. I went into a full panic attack.

While I was shaking, crying, gasping for air, and banging my head against the window, screaming for help - hoping someone from the outside could hear me - they raised their phones and began photographing me openly. Two more masked men in full black tactical gear, carrying professional cameras, had been circling me from the beginning - documenting my terror, where those images ended up? Only God knows. I was not treated like a human being, and certainly not like a U.S. citizen, but preyed upon - they were proud to have captured me.

I was first violated at the Broadview Immigration Detention Center and eventually while in FBI custody in Lombard. Everything moved quickly and without explanation. I was fingerprinted, photographed, swabbed for DNA, and fully processed and identified. All the while, my physical condition was rapidly worsening. I repeatedly told them I was recovering from two recent kidney surgeries. No one took it seriously - until I began to pee blood.

I begged for help. For a phone call, a lawyer, for water, and bandages. For anything to ease the pain. Instead, I was laughed at and thrown into a filthy jail cell. The only toilet available for me was under direct surveillance. With no privacy, no dignity, and unbearable pain, I had no choice but to use it. When visible blood appeared, their soulless demeanor finally vanished - not out of care, but because they did not want me to die in their custody.

While I was being kidnapped, my family and friends were desperately trying to find me. Contacting members of our inner circles, elected officials, civil rights organizations, and legal advocates. They didn’t know whether I had been killed, kidnapped, or trafficked.

Hours later, when I was finally allowed access to my phone again by the heroic paramedics, my cut and trembling hands could barely type - but I managed to send a message at 2:07 p.m.: “in an ambulance.” Within seconds, my boyfriend replied with something that stunned me - a photo of the very Village of Lombard ambulance I was inside of. Their determination, their love, and their refusal to stop searching are the only reasons I was not lost entirely, like the thousands of people - including children - who have been reported missing from the ICE locator system since these domestic terrorizations began in our country, or worse, killed - like my neighbor and father of two, Silverio Villegas Gonzalez of Franklin Park, Illinois…….A father of two minors…….my neighbor….. died in the course of an ICE Operation….

What happened to me that day was not an arrest. It was an assault and the kidnapping of a U.S. citizen.

I was never arrested.

Never charged.

Never given an explanation.

And never given an apology.

But the damage is done and continues.

I suffered severe bruising, nerve damage, a broken tooth, and aggravated injuries to my leg and wrists. My surgically repaired kidney became swollen and inflamed. And emotionally, I developed PTSD, panic attacks, and severe anxiety. I swear - I’ve been kidnapped in my nightmares every single night since.

Weeks later, a disturbing pattern emerged - reports of nearly identical incidents. This time, a man with schizophrenia was kidnapped and later released in a completely different town by the same masked agents, using the same reckless tactics and the same red van they used to attack me. It is important for me to say this clearly: the individuals who did this do not represent the honorable men and women who serve in our military, our local police departments, or our federal agencies with integrity and accountability. Those people protect us. What I encountered operated in the shadows - masked, unnamed, and unaccountable.

Yet even in this darkness, I have witnessed the best of humanity - strangers reaching out from across this country and beyond, reminding me that most Americans still believe in compassion, fairness, and accountability.

I am pursuing justice - not just for myself, but for every person who has been or could be unlawfully targeted. My message is simple: keep recording. Keep documenting. Keep advocating. Transparency and accountability protect us all.

Despite everything, I am here.

I am standing.

I am speaking.

Because I refuse to let ICE rewrite my story.

I refuse to let fear silence me.

And I refuse to let my son grow up in a country where masked federal agents can assault women in broad daylight without consequence.

This was not just an “incident.”

It was a violation of my physical being, my rights, my dignity, and my humanity.

And I will not rest until there is accountability, transparency, and change.

Thank you for listening.

And thank you for standing with me.

Team Trump Tags Lehigh and NorCo as "Sanctuary" Counties

Late yesterday, Homeland Security listed over 500 counties, cities and states it considers "sanctuary" jurisdictions. Among the 11 Pa. counties included are NorCo and Lehigh. Five Pa cities (Gettysburg, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, State College and York) are also included. 

A memo that accompanies this listing includes the following explanation: 

Executive Order 14287: Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens requires that a list of states and local jurisdictions that obstruct the enforcement of Federal immigration laws (sanctuary jurisdictions) be published. Sanctuary jurisdictions including cities, counties, and states that are deliberately and shamefully obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws endangering American communities. Sanctuary cities protect dangerous criminal aliens from facing consequences and put law enforcement in peril.

The list below was created to identify sanctuary jurisdictions, which are determined by factors like compliance with federal law enforcement, information restrictions, and legal protections for illegal aliens.

Each jurisdiction listed will receive formal notification of its non-compliance with Federal statutes. DHS demands that these jurisdictions immediately review and revise their policies to align with Federal immigration laws and renew their obligation to protect American citizens, not dangerous illegal aliens.

Note that the list can be reviewed and changed at any time and will be updated regularly. No one should act on this information without conducting their own evaluation of the information.

U.S. Rep Ryan Mackenzie (Pa.-7), at a Homeland Security Committee hearing on May 14, said that sanctuary counties, which presumably includes two of the counties he represents, "are more focused on defending these violent criminals from deportation than they are in protecting American citizens in our local communities." He criticized NorCo Executive Lamont McClure's executive order, "which bans ICE from arresting illegal immigrants when they're going through processing for a separate crime. And what this means in practice is that when ICE wants to go arrest a violent member of Tren de Agua or a domestic abuser who is going through the processing in our local community, they cannot go inside that courthouse and actually arrest that person. They have to stake out the courthouse, outside, taking up hours of resources from law enforcement, potentially leaving our community more vulnerable if that person were to go out a different exit of the courthouse and escape into our local community, they would be free to reign terror all across our beautiful Lehigh Valley."

Mackenzie's characterization of Northampton County's policy, enacted after an ICE officer arrested an undocumented immigrant walking out of a courtroom in 2020, is completely disingenuous. (You can read it here). Call this person an illegal alien if that makes you feel better. What happened is that an out-of uniform ICE officer, clad in jeans and a "Pro God Pro Gun Protected" T-shirt, conducted a warrantless arrest of an undocumented immigrant inside the courthouse. It made no difference that this person was married to an American citizen, gainfully employed and a licensed driver who has paid his taxes for the past 10 years. It made no difference that he was just inches away from getting his green card. He was carted away in handcuffs, destination unknown. 

The Executive Order that McClure issued in no way bans ICE from entering the courthouse. That's sheer nonsense. What his order does provide is that, after a judge relinquishes jurisdiction, the county will hold an alleged illegal for up to 48 hours if a detainer has been issued. During that time, ICE can seek a warrant from a federal judge, which is fairly easy to obtain. 

The reason for seeking a warrant is because that's what's Lehigh County found out the hard way. Galzara, a US citizen, was improperly held in Lehigh's jail because of an immigration detainer that ICE had incorrectly lodged. The Third Circuit (one stop below the Supremes) ruled that "immigration detainers do not and cannot compel a state or local law enforcement agency to detain suspected aliens subject to removal." An ICE detainer is nothing more than a "request." Northampton County will honor an ICE detainer by holding a suspected illegal for 48 hours, but wants to see a warrant before handing him over to ICE, 

Mackenzie talks about protecting American citizens but fails to point out that this includes protecting taxpayers from paying out huge settlements. ICE does tend to have a large number of cowboys who have been detaining US citizens simply because they speak Spanish. Why should NorCo or Lehigh County taxpayers pay for ICE stupidity?

Now ICE can refuse to get a warrant and just hang around the jail when an undocumented immigrant is released. But that's because ICE is wasting manpower, not the county. All ICE has to do is obtain a warrant from a neutral judge who will make sure they are actually arresting someone who is here illegally and not because he speaks another language. 

Mackenzie also complains that a defendant released from a jail can slip out a side exit. It's a jail, Ryan. There's only one way out. Sorry. 

Lehigh County denies it is a sanctuary county: 

"Lehigh County respects the dignity and basic humanity of every person within our borders, however, we strongly disagree with the position of some entities that our policies make us a sanctuary county. We do not shelter undocumented immigrants, nor do we interfere with any law enforcement agency or its efforts to identify and remove people who may be here unlawfully.

"Lehigh County cooperates with US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to the fullest extent legally possible, in compliance with the Third Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in Galarza v. Szalczyk, 745 F.3d 634 (2014). We notify ICE, if possible, any time an undocumented person is detained in the jail by other authorities, so that ICE may pursue the necessary steps to take the person into custody when the detainer is dissolved."

NorCo Exec Lamont McClure provided this response to seeing his county named as a sanctuary: 

"Northampton County acknowledges the Federal Government’s important responsibility to enforce our Nation’s Immigration laws. That is why we fully cooperate with I.C.E. consistent with the Pennsylvania and United States Constitutions. We cooperate as we agree that undocumented persons who commit crimes should be deported. We honor I.C.E. Immigration detainers for up to 48 hours. (Well in excess of what most jurisdictions do.) 

"While I.C.E. is aware our policy requires a court order to remand an undocumented person into their custody, who has been otherwise freed by a judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Northampton County, they routinely refuse to obtain constitutionally guaranteed process. Even so, we will inform I.C.E. of the date and time of the release of the undocumented person. We will even work with I.C.E. to release the undocumented person at its convenience. We do this even though it is clear that the law does not require local governments to assist the Federal Government in enforcing immigration laws. Northampton County’s inclusion on this list is nothing more than naked MAGA politics."