Still Educating Sam Hasler: The Benefits and Costs of Illegal Immigration

I have been sick these past two days; sick to the point I am not confident of my cogency. A sinus infection that started on Friday and took with a vengeance yesterday. I have slept more than I have been conscious. The last time I was out of the apartment was Saturday before the snow hit, a quick run to Dollar General, The coughing started yesterday, I sounded like an artillery barrage and my chest ached. I went back out today to get meds, and more Coke Zero. This will probably the only post I write today. Which is Monday; I slept so much I have been thinking it was Tuesday.

Onto today's topic; the benefits, first.

We forget what Milton Friedman said about illegal immigration (The Hill); not that I am a fan of Milton - I find his ideas antagonistic to humanity.

Friedman said illegal immigration was a good thing so long as it is illegal. Illegal immigrants do not qualify for welfare benefits, Social Security, or other myriad benefits American citizens can receive. Illegal immigrants work hard, are good workers, gravitate to jobs, are better off here, and benefit the U.S. and American citizens. Illegal immigrants take jobs most Americans do not want.

But if you make illegal immigration legal, then “it’s no good,” Friedman added.

The costs:

Killing of anti-ICE protester exposes rare GOP rift on immigration — even in Florida

Federal judge slams Iowa ICE agents for unlawful arrest, ‘misleading’ actions

Immigration agents detain family taking 7-year-old child to Portland hospital

The Trump administration’s playbook after fatal DHS shootings (NBC News)

Brendan Nyhan, a Dartmouth College professor who focuses on misperceptions, conspiracy theories and political communication, said that the Trump administration’s strategy can work to a point but that it brings risks: The images of Pretti killed by a federal agent could fuel a national backlash.
“It’s possible that’s what this will prove to be,” he said.
In a New York Times/Siena poll conducted after Good’s shooting but before Pretti’s, 61% of respondents said ICE’s tactics had gone too far.
Some Republicans are already speaking out. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., called for an investigation and said in a statement that the “credibility of ICE and DHS are at stake.”
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Pretti’s death was causing “deep concerns over federal tactics and accountability.”
“Americans don’t like what they’re seeing right now,” he said.
Trump and his allies have seemed to change their stance however slightly; after Good’s death, both Trump and Vice President JD Vance suggested ICE had made mistakes.

Border Patrol surveillance cameras approved over California city (SFGate)

Chris Madel drops out of race for GOP nomination for governor, blasts immigration crackdown

Madel said in a video posted to X that he’s dropping out, in part, because he can’t stand by the Republican Party’s support of the federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota, where many U.S. citizens walk the streets in fear and carry documentation to prove their citizenship.

“I cannot support the national Republicans’ stated retribution on the citizens of our state, nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so,” Madel said, whose defense of a state trooper charged with murder raised his profile in recent years. “Operation Metro Surge has expanded far beyond its stated focus on true public safety threats.”

His statement underscores the increasing unease Minnesota Republicans — which now includes several swing-district lawmakers — are expressing about the surge of federal officers.

‘Moral and Political Debacle’: Right-Wing Media, CEOs Urge Trump to Stop Deadly ICE Crackdown (Common Dreams)

“The Trump administration spin on this simply isn’t believable.”
That’s what the editorial board of the right-wing Wall Street Journal wrote Sunday calling for a “pause” in Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) anti-immigrant blitz following Saturday’s killing of 37-year-old intensive care nurse Alex Petti—who was disarmed before being shot by federal agents in Minneapolis—and top administration officials’ claims that the man who helped save US military veterans’ lives was a “domestic terrorist.”

‘Fucking Insane’: Journalist Finds at Least 2,300 Illegal ICE Detentions Since July (Common Dreams)

Minnesota AG Keith Ellison Calls Trump Officials’ Response to Alex Pretti Killing ‘Flat-Out Insane’ (Common Dreams)

In a filing submitted hours after Pretti’s killing, Ellison and other Minnesota officials asked a federal court to prevent DHS and the Trump Justice Department from concealing or destroying evidence related to the shooting.
“According to reports, federal personnel may have seized cell phones, taken other evidence from the scene, and detained witnesses,” the filing states. “It is unclear whether federal personnel otherwise processed the scene—let alone how carefully. Then just a few hours after the shooting, federal personnel left, allowing the perimeter to collapse and potentially spoiling evidence.”
“From a law enforcement perspective, this is astonishing,” the filing continues. “The federal government’s actions are a sharp departure from normal best practices and procedure, in which every effort is taken to preserve the scene and the evidence it contains... [T]he federal government appears to have taken measures that directly led to the destruction of evidence.”

Senate GOP Plans to Give ICE $10 Billion More as Masked Agents ‘Murder People in Broad Daylight’ (Common Dreams)

An unnamed Senate Republican aide told Punchbowl that “government funding expires at the end of the week, and Republicans are determined to not have another government shutdown. We will move forward as planned and hope Democrats can find a path forward to join us.”
One of the bills up for consideration in the Senate this week would provide $64.4 billion in taxpayer money to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including $10 billion for ICE—an agency that is already more heavily funded than many national militaries. Last summer, congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump approved $170 billion in new funding for immigration enforcement, which ICE has used to massively jack up weapons spending.

Exclusive: Hegseth boosts Minneapolis immigration siege, approving use of military base (San Francisco Chronicle)

In an email obtained by the Chronicle, U.S. Customs and Border Protection asked for space at Fort Snelling, a decommissioned military base in an unincorporated area next to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, to house federal immigration agents, weapons, vehicles and aircraft.
Fort Snelling is already the site of a U.S. Immigrations and Custom Enforcement field office and a DHS immigration enforcement and detention processing center. CBP will use land on a U.S. Army Reserve base there.
“The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requests support from the Department of War (DoW) to provide existing infrastructure to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a component of DHS, specifically an area for parking approximately 300-500 vehicles and 10 storage trailers, a ready room space for approximal 500-800 CBP personnel, a space to house, maintain and operate five CBP Air Assets, access to a magazine to store munitions, and other necessary facilities to support operations in the Minneapolis, Minnesota metropolitan area,” the email said, using the Trump administration’s name for the Department of Defense.
On Monday morning, Hegseth approved the request, according to correspondence obtained by the Chronicle.

‘Noem’s Impeachment Is the Bare Minimum’: Fury at DHS Chief Grows After Pretti Killing (Common Dreams)

In a call, Trump told Walz he’d look into reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota

In a Truth Social post, Trump said that Walz called him “with the request to work together.” Trump said the call was “very good” and that the two “seemed to be on a similar wavelength.”
Trump also said that he spoke with Walz about his decision to send U.S. border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota to oversee ICE operations, which has led to speculation that Trump has lost confidence in current operations.
“He was happy that Tom Homan was going to Minnesota, and so am I!” Trump wrote in the post.
The call comes amid a two-month siege in federal immigration enforcement activity that Walz has sharply criticized, including in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece published after the call Monday, and two days after federal agents shot and killed 37-year-old Pretti.
Videos from multiple angles of the killing appear to show Pretti disarmed of a gun he never drew before he was shot by federal agents, contradicting the immediate narrative set by senior Trump administration officials that Pretti had posed a clear and present danger. Criticism of Trump’s deployment of over 3,000 federal agents to Minnesota has only grown since then, with some elected Republicans and gun rights groups expressing discomfort with the Trump administration officials placing the blame on Pretti.

A Message from Your Federal Overlords (McSweeney's)

1. What happened was not what happened.
While it may have looked like a shooting, it was actually a “rapid de-escalation outcome.” We recognize that phrases like that may sound invented, which is why we ask you to repeat them anyway.

If you witnessed something disturbing, please understand that witnessing is not evidence. Evidence is what exists after it has been reviewed by the people who require it not to exist.

2. The real problem is your reaction.
We regret to inform you that your anger is trending. This is deeply unhelpful. When the public reacts emotionally to repeated tragedies, it puts pressure on leadership to respond with something other than carefully selected words. We ask that you limit yourself to the approved emotional range: concerned but not furious, shaken but not mobilized, heartbroken but still able to return to normal programming.

3. Words matter, which is why we will choose yours for you.
Certain phrases have become popular among Minneapolis residents, including:

“This is unacceptable.”
“Why does this keep happening?”
“Who is responsible?”
These phrases are inflammatory because they imply causality. To keep things calm, use safer language, such as:

“A misunderstanding.”
“A complex situation.”
“Questions remain.”
“Both sides.”
If you would like to express outrage, consider saying “This is concerning” while staring silently into the distance. This creates the sensation of accountability without the discomfort of actual accountability.