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Thank you. Because of you, I sat down with a 61-page federal opinion and a 107-page complaint over the weekend and found the family the entire national press corps walked past. A judge just sent that family’s case back for a real decision. You helped me find that.
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Thanks so much for being here. Over seven days in August the Trump regime lost big. In court, on a recorded call, and at the ballot box. Corporate media is too busy focused on Trump’s latest distraction to take the time to read the fine print. So we dug in. That’s what this edition is about.
Before we jump in, hit the ❤️ like button and restack it. Restacking is the share button on Substack, a few taps pushes this post past the algorithm that hides these stories. Help us spread this great news.
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Help us flip the House and Senate by joining us as a paid subscriber today:
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On Friday, a federal judge threw out Trump’s ban on immigrant visas from 75 countries. Every major outlet read the top of the ruling. We read the fine print.
Cesar Aguirre made $104,000 last year supervising a warehouse in Shirley, New York. In January he flew to Guatemala with his wife and their daughters, ages seven and two. His wife had to interview at the US consulate there to finish becoming a permanent resident. It’s the last step. They were following the rules. Her petition was approved and her fees were paid.
Her interview landed on January 21, the day Trump’s ban took effect. Guatemala was on the list, as were nearly forty percent of the nations on earth.
She’s stuck in Guatemala with their two-year-old, who is still nursing. Their daughter has a condition called Turner syndrome, which means her heart and eyes need constant monitoring. Most recently, she had ear surgery. The care she needs simply doesn’t exist in Guatemala.
Marco Rubio’s State Department claimed the ban would keep out people who would “take welfare and public benefits.” Among those refused was a Colombian endocrinologist who trained at Harvard. He had already been approved for a visa that Congress reserves for those with extraordinary abilities.
Rubio ordered the consulates to keep interviews going, but they were theater. Officers still met with applicants. If they found no lawful reason to refuse someone, the order was to refuse anyway. The outcome was fixed before they even met.
On Friday, Judge Jeannette Vargas put an end to Trump’s cruel policy, striking the whole thing down in a 61-page opinion. “In many ways, this is not a challenging case,” Vargas wrote.
Vargas reached back to a 1965 law that ended the national-origins quota system—the one that sorted people by the country on their passport. Congress passed it alongside the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. Rubio rebuilt that system. Vargas used that same law to strike his version down.
Every refusal that relied on Trump’s order is now void. All of those cases go back to the consulates for a real decision.
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In July, a reporter from Fox News emailed Nevada’s election office. He wanted comment on Homeland Security’s discovery of more than 15,000 noncitizens on the state’s voter rolls. Nobody in that office had heard of it. They wrote back and told him so. Three days later, DHS announced it publicly.
Then DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced the full number. He said his department found 250,000 noncitizens registered to vote across four states. Nevada’s share was 15,903. If any election official refused to help Mullin investigate and purge the voter rolls, he warned they could face steep fines or even prison time.
Mullin’s announcement conveniently left out the fact that a computer generated the 15,903 names by matching Nevada voter records to federal immigration files. That’s a starter list, it’s not a true finding. Every name still has to be checked by a human being.
On August 13, DHS finally got on a video call with Nevada. The state recorded it and released the recording under a public records request. Chief Deputy Secretary of State C. Murphy Hebert asked the question straight: “So, what you’re saying is that the 15,000 number has not been vetted?”
Kimberley Vogt, the DHS official on the line, wouldn’t say yes. She said her department had done some work to get the number down to 15,000. Then she explained why the rest were still sitting there untouched. Checking them one at a time, according to Vogt, is a lot of work.
Of the 15,903 names, DHS has hand-checked 185. More than 14,000 have never been checked at all.
Mullin threatened election officials with prison over a list his own department hadn’t finished checking.
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Homeland security money in Nashville buys equipment that detects radioactive and biological threats, chemical response gear, and funds search-and-rescue training for building collapses. This is the same city where a bomb tore up a block downtown on Christmas morning in 2020.
In June of this year, FEMA told Nashville officials that funding for security now comes with conditions. They had to get rid of voting machines that read barcodes, hand-count 5% of all ballots, and run every registered voter and poll worker through a federal database called SAVE—the one that’s supposed to tell you whether someone is a citizen.
FEMA left a big part out, buried deep in the complaint. DHS’s own paperwork estimates that their database is wrong 5-10% of the time. That is an enormous fail rate.
So Nashville sued alongside Columbus, Ohio, as well as Harris and El Paso counties in Texas on August 17. Twenty-five states plus DC sued over the same demands.
Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein was clear as day: “We will not be bullied by this president and his administration.”
El Paso County ran the numbers, and found that in order to comply with the regime’s demands, they’d have to close polling places and cancel naturalization ceremonies where new citizens register to vote. Which seems to be one of the reasons why the regime is pushing this in the first place.
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Jacksonville is the largest city in Florida. Five of its council seats are elected by the whole city instead of one district. All five were held by Republicans—until now.
On August 18, Moné Holder won the At-Large Group 1 seat outright with 51% in a three-way race. She cleared the threshold that would’ve forced a November runoff. Holder will now be the only Democrat holding one of those five seats.
Holder was not the favorite, a true underdog. Her Republican opponent Deborah Wesley was a retired sheriff’s office commander—endorsed by the sheriff himself, along with more than half the sitting council. It wasn’t enough.
Republicans usually own Election Day in Duval County. Wesley received about 5,000 more votes than Holder that day. But Holder had won early voting and mail ballots by nearly 15,000.
Holder ran on affordability and called out the council for trying to cut “meals-on-wheels and infant mortality programs.” Other Democrats should take note.
She gets sworn in on August 31, just in time to vote on the city budget. The Republican majority dropped from 14-5 to 13-6 on that council. Budget fights there take thirteen votes to pass. Republicans now have exactly thirteen.
Next spring, every seat on that council is on the ballot. We might be focused on the midterms, but we know the fight isn't just for flipping Congress, and it won't end there. That’s why we need all hands on deck, so we can sprint through November and beyond.
So if you haven’t yet, join us as a paid subscriber today to support our exclusive investigations and our organizing against the regime. Let’s go win:
Then hit the ❤️ like button and restack this. Restacking drops it onto your feed where your neighbors see it—and somebody on your feed is convinced no Democrat can win in a place like Duval County. Moné Holder just did. Go tell them.
Onward!
Scott
Vogt said checking them one by one is a lot of work. What else do you think is too much work for Homeland Security?
An underdog story in Jacksonville just gave the City Council its only Democrat elected by the whole city. Are there any other local races you’re following that most people are ignoring?
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🚨 MAIN FOCUS TODAY Tell Congress to stop Trump's destruction of our national forests!
Let's get Blanche to release ALL Epstein files: https://tinyurl.com/2uc9vca9
Close Dilley: https://tinyurl.com/w9zj48j6
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Defend voting rights: https://tinyurl.com/3f3m728j
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Exactly! Local elections matter so much and can have immediate impacts on communities. Thanks for highlighting that!
Look for the least noticeable elected position and be sure that the person holding it does not run unopposed, if they are republican! That’s all the Republicans did it, play the long game start with the basics.
Yes,wonderful news ! And to note…FL Rep Angie Nixon, who is running against US Senator Ashley MAGA Moody,is from Jacksonville.
GO JAX!!
That is wonderful news! It’s great to see local leaders making waves. Go Jax!
None of this coverage happens without this community.
The letters. The support. The shares.
Thank you for making it possible to dig into the fine print and put these wins in front of people who need to see them.
We keep going.
Absolutely, Sam. The power of this community makes it all possible. We’re in this together, and we keep going!
Ain't THAT the TRUTH - & I am talking REAL truth here. Not the djt version of "truth"... oh, BTW talking about truth: why did a US military plane (C-17A) just land in Moscow today? Apparently, "nobody knows"....
The mystery flights definitely raise eyebrows, Judy. Keeping a close eye on everything they do is more important than ever.
Absolutely. When you (well, those of us in MN) have the likes of Tom Emmer, Michelle Fischbach, Brad Finstad, and Pete Stauber in office... we NEED checks & balances, eagle eyes and a healthy dose of skepticism! None of them can be trusted to deal with reality or provide transparency.
I just read in the Kinzinger column that it was the CIA director who flew to Moscow.
One can assume the worst. But maybe it’s a prisoner exchange? 🤞
We can certainly hope it’s a positive development, like a prisoner exchange. Fingers crossed! 🤞
Thank you for providing fact-checked good news each and every day. It continues to provide stamina to keep up the RESISTANCE!
Thank you so much, Monica! Providing that stamina and keeping everyone informed is exactly why we do this. Keep up the resistance!
Lazy, sloppy, racist slugs & thugs employed by the federal government.
I started to say "working in" then thought better of my word usage.
It’s exhausting to see the lack of professionalism and dedication, Judy. We deserve a government that works hard for the people!
Never trust a grown ass man with two first names. a hillbilly redneck plumber running DHS what could go wrong? Actually this! I just don't understand the morally corruption that happens to anyone who joins the regime or even votes republican now. The lies and corruption? how can these people live with themselves?
It’s hard to wrap your head around the choices they make. We just have to keep calling it out and fighting for better!
I am a firm believer that IF REPUBLICAN DIDN'T LIE, NO ONE WOULD ELECT THEM!!
But those LIES have unraveled!
You have no healthcare. Hospitals are closing. You have no FOOD. Your choice is LIFE SAVING MEDICATIONS or FEEDING YOUR KIDS.
Your life is at risk if you have a DARK COMPLEXION.
KEEP LIFE SIMPLE: WHAT HAVE REPUBLICANS DONE FOR YOU?
And is about corrupt as Trump! Now living in Oklahoma I would never use Markwayne Mullin plumbing business! It's a hard fight living in a pathetic Deep Red State.
Spot on, Joan! Respect and proper vetting should be the bare minimum for any agency, let alone DHS.
I would love to see that these Thugs and their families Deported to a third world country!
It appears that vetting applicants for ICE and CBP is too much paperwork for the DHS! 😖They hire thugs instead.
It definitely seems like they’re prioritizing the wrong things. Proper vetting is non-negotiable! 😖
Scott, this is great reporting, as usual. There is so much happening that it’s downright difficult or impossible for us to sift through all of the events and statements, policies coming from this immoral, corrupt, and incompetent regime. They all need to go away, with the thousands of executive orders Trump has signed. We want our democracy back together in one piece. I could care less if we’re the world leader in much of anything but we should be able to be true to our constitution and the rule of law which so many millions of people have defended and lived by. However, we have a group of people led by a tyrant who’s a nincompoop of the highest order.
No one knows how or when this regime will end. I just hope it’s soon and not violent. The one thing we do not need is for a French Revolution scenario to occur. God help us in our quest to a return to democracy.
Thank you. It is a massive amount of information to process, and we’re dedicated to breaking it down so we can all stay informed. Let’s hope for a peaceful return to the rule of law.
So what if it’s a lot of work. They are holding people’s lives in their hands! I don’t understand hoe so many Americans that work for this administration has lost their humanity and integrity!
It’s heartbreaking. Holding people’s lives in their hands requires humanity and integrity—two things sorely lacking right now.
day after day after day you work to share ALL the ways “we the people” bring light and justice to these very turbulent times. THANK YOU TEAM DWORKIN🙏🏻🙏🏽🙏🏾💪🏿💪🏽🙏🏻💪🏽
Thank you so much for your support and kind words! We appreciate you being part of this movement. 🙏💪
Too much work for Homeland Security is doing a good and fair job… an HONEST JOB.
Classic Trump pattern: create a bogus argument out of bogus data; blast it into the echo chamber (which includes mainstream and social media) and repeat endlessly with or without “factual” consistency. It works well with his base.
Classic playbook, indeed. The constant repetition of lies is exactly why we have to keep fighting back with facts!
Agree, and I would argue that to be effective the facts need to be delivered so they can be digested and understood by a mass audience. Trump’s phrasing is colorful, accessible by readers at all levels and repeated ad nauseam. Doug Ford just gave us a master class.
Homeland Security also apparently finds it is too much work to vet their applicants. Just take any bully and nutcase and hand them a shock glove. What could go wrong?
Exactly! Skipping the vetting process is a recipe for disaster, especially for an agency with that much power.
Tracking and jailing immigrant criminals - instead of this and deporting day care workers, Home Depot senior workers and other tax paying non criminals
The priorities are completely backwards. Going after hardworking, taxpaying individuals instead of focusing on actual threats is infuriating.
Agreed - I’m concerned locally about Newburgh NY and the DHS office contracts. They are also talking about using parts or all of Stewart Airport for a concentration camp. It was an AF base.