“To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.”-George Orwell.

For previous entries, click here.

Given all that is going on, including the prospect of US direct involvement in the Iran-Israel war, it is hard to keep track of all that is going on right in front of our noses. So, allow me to highlight yet another elected official cuffed and detained by ICE.

Here’s the BBC: Federal agents arrest NYC mayoral candidate at immigration court.

New York City’s top financial officer, who is running to be its next mayor, was handcuffed and arrested by federal agents while guiding a defendant out of immigration court on Tuesday.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detained Brad Lander, who is the city’s comptroller, “for assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer”, a spokesperson said.

Lander, who was later released, said he “certainly did not” assault an officer.

[…]

Upon his release, Lander said that no charges were being brought against him.

The comptroller said the man, who he identified as a man named Edgardo, “has been stripped of his due process rights by a government and a judge that owe him a credible threat hearing before they deport him”.

One commonality these events have is that they often are taking place in very crowded conditions wherein there is physical contact being made between the ICE and politicians (often initiated by ICE in these videos–at least as much as it is being initiated by others involved). But to call any of this “assault” is absurd.

Another commonality is that in at least some of these instances (Mayor Baraka in Newark, Senator Padilla in California, and thus far, Lander in New York) were cuffed but not charged, despite the rhetoric that comes out of DHS. So the goal seems to me to be a whole lot more about attempts at intimidation and use of force with impunity rather than actual law enforcement.

As Andrew Egger noted at The Bulwark this morning.

the story continues the pattern of Trump’s federal law enforcement agencies publicly accusing people of criminal conduct that goes beyond what they’re willing to actually charge in court. Think of last month, when Attorney General Pam Bondi repeatedly accused Kilmar Abrego Garcia of “human trafficking” during a press conference announcing charges against him—when in fact the Justice Department was charging him with the significantly milder crime of ferrying undocumented migrants around. You can say anything on Twitter or in a press conference; in an indictment, you need the facts to back you up.

The ongoing policy of the Trump administration to gaslight the public via rhetoric that they know will not stand up in court is just more of their unreality campaign.

Also, this is worth noting from that piece.

Finally—and most important—there’s the way in which ICE’s lawlessness has incentivized good samaritans to resist their enforcement efforts. Think of how ICE arrests used to go. Agents show up to take a person into custody. They may be in uniform or in plainclothes, but their faces are visible and they show their badges when asked. The person they’re arresting knows he’ll have the opportunity to speak to a lawyer, to tell his family where he’s being held, and to plead his case before a judge.

Now snap back to the present day and put yourself in Lander’s shoes. Masked agents show up to whisk a migrant away. Maybe he’ll get to tell his family where he is, maybe he won’t. Maybe he’ll have the opportunity to speak to a lawyer or plead his case to a judge, maybe he won’t. And you think to yourself: Will there be a legal process? Or am I the very last person who has a chance to intervene on this person’s behalf?

Really, if a bunch of masked dudes, many in plain clothes, show up to take someone away, it is utterly reasonable to ask for identification and a signed warrant. The assassination in Minnesota over the weekend underscores that just because someone claims to be law enforcement does not mean it is so.

One can claim that this was a stunt by Lander, who is running for mayor, but that doesn’t make ICE’s actions appropriate. Why not just show the warrant?

Here’s the video:

By the way, I have the same question as Lander: on what legal authority is ICE cuffing him, let alone taking him into custody?