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akalhan.bsky.social
Anil Kalhan
@akalhan.bsky.social
20K followers 4.1K following 2K posts
Law professor, Drexel Univ • Affil'd fellow, Yale ISP • NYC Bar Ass'n Rule of Law Task Force • AAUP Committee A on Academic Freedom & Tenure ⚾ Cleveland native/partisan 🏀 runner • https://linktr.ee/akalhan
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akalhan.bsky.social
Anil Kalhan @akalhan.bsky.social · Sep 27
What we might refer to as a "Kavanaugh Stop"
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · Sep 25
WOW. The lead plaintiff is a Latino man who's been here legally for 24 years. He was grabbed off the street by plainclothes federal agents who didn't even ASK about his status.

He was detained overnight and only released once a supervisor realized he had been illegally arrested.
Reposted by Anil Kalhan
jbendery.bsky.social
NEW: Liam Conejo Ramos, the 5-year-old who ICE agents in Minneapolis nabbed last week and shipped off to a Texas detention facility with his dad, is now in poor health, his school superintendent told me today www.huffpost.com/entry/liam-c...
5-Year-Old in ICE Detention Is Sick, Says Top School Official
The 5-year-old who was taken by federal agents in Minneapolis is being held behind bars with his father in Texas.
www.huffpost.com
January 28, 2026 at 9:59 PM
Reposted by Anil Kalhan
akalhan.bsky.social
Best read (if at all) after refreshing one's recollection about the rants in his interview with Isaac Chotiner www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
Q: You wrote last week, “In the United States, if the total death toll increases at about the same rate, the current 67 deaths should translate into about 500 deaths at the end.” We are currently at eight hundred deaths—over eight hundred deaths. [This was true when we spoke; the number is now over two thousand.] A: First of all, let me just say I wrote an amendment to that, the thing I regret most in that whole paper. But I was not so much interested in explaining why my number was right. I was interested in explaining why the other projections were wrong. Q: And you’re not an epidemiologist, correct? A: No, I’m trained in all of these things. I’ve done a lot of work in these particular areas. And one of the things that is most annoying about this debate is you see all sorts of people putting up expertise on these subjects, but they won’t let anybody question their particular judgment. One of the things you get as a lawyer is a skill of cross-examination. I spent an enormous amount of time over my career teaching medical people about some of this stuff, and their great strengths are procedures and diagnoses in the cases. Their great weakness is understanding general-equilibrium theory. Q: I’m not saying anything of the sort. A: Admit to it. You’re saying I’m a crackpot. Q: I’m not saying anything of the— A: Well, what am I then? I’m an amateur? You’re the great scholar on this? Q: No, no. I’m not a great scholar on this. A: Tell me what you think about the quality of the work! Q; O.K. I’m going to tell you. I think the fact that I am not a great scholar on this and I’m able to find these flaws or these holes in what you wrote is a sign that maybe you should’ve thought harder before writing it. A: What it shows is that you are a complete intellectual amateur. Period. Q: O.K. Can I ask you one more question? A: You just don’t know anything about anything. You’re a journalist. Would you like to compare your résumé to mine? Q: No, actually, I would not. A: Then good. Then maybe what you want to do is to say, “Gee, I’m not quite sure that this is right. I’m going to check with somebody else.” But, you want to come at me hard, I am going to come back harder at you. And then if I can’t jam my fingers down your throat, then I am not worth it. But you have basically gone over the line. If you want to ask questions, ask questions. I put forward a model. But a little bit of respect. Q: O.K. Let me ask you this question. All my questions are asked with respect. A: That’s not the way I hear it.
January 28, 2026 at 4:47 AM
akalhan.bsky.social
"The later, 6pm screening did twice as well, selling two tickets"
January 29, 2026 at 4:56 AM
Reposted by Anil Kalhan
allinwithchris.bsky.social
WATCH-- Tim Walz on his call with Trump officials: "Not once did they ever say Alex or Renee's name. Not once did they ask how the people of Minnesota were doing. So look, I know who I'm dealing with, and I know the reason that he was calling me was he needed something from us."
January 29, 2026 at 1:33 AM
Reposted by Anil Kalhan
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
An extraordinary document. Read it.

“Attached to this order is an appendix that identifies 96 court orders that ICE has violated in 74 cases. … ICE has likely violated more court orders in January 2026 than some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence.”
On January 8, 2026, petitioner Juan T.R. filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus.' The Court issued an order requiring respondents to file an answer no later than January 12, 2026. See 28 U.S.C. § 2243 (requiring judges to either "forthwith award the writ" or order the respondent to show cause, within three days, why the writ should not be granted). Respondents failed to answer. Accordingly, the Court granted the writ in part and ordered respondents to afford Juan a bond hearing within seven days or, failing that, to immediately release him from detention. ECF No. 4. Respondents neither held a bond hearing within the required time nor released Juan. ECF No. 6. The Court then issued a show-cause order and scheduled a hearing at which it ordered the personal appearance of Todd Lyons, Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE"). ECF No. 7. The Court noted, however, that if the parties filed a stipulation indicating that Juan had been released, the Court would cancel the hearing and would not require Lyons to appear. Id. The parties have now filed such a stipulation (ECF No. 9), and thus, as promised, the Court will cancel the hearing, and Lyons will not be required to appear. That does not end the Court's concerns, however. Attached to this order is an appendix that identifies 96 court orders that ICE has violated in 74 cases. The extent of ICE's noncompliance is almost certainly substantially understated. This list is confined to orders issued since January 1, 2026, and the list was hurriedly compiled by extraordinarily busy judges. Undoubtedly, mistakes were made, and orders that should have appeared on this list were omitted. This list should give pause to anyone —no matter his or her political beliefs— who cares about the rule of law. ICE has likely violated more court orders in January 2026 than some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence. The Court warns ICE that future noncompliance with court orders may result in future show-cause orders requiring the personal appearances of Lyons or other government officials. ICE is not a law unto itself. ICE has every right to challenge the orders of this Court, but, like any litigant, ICE must follow those orders unless and until they are overturned or vacated Juan asks that the Court schedule a hearing at which he may present evidence and argument concerning the hardships that he has suffered as a result of respondents' failure to abide by the January 14 order. See In re Tetracycline Cases, 927 F.2d 411, 413 (8th Cir. 1991) ("Civil contempt sanctions may be imposed for either or both of two distinct purposes, to coerce compliance with a court order, and to compensate the complainant for actual losses sustained by him as a result of the defendants' contumacy." (quoting In re Chase & Sanborn Corp., 872 F.2d 397, 400-01 (11th Cir.1989))). The Court will not schedule a hearing at this time. If Juan wants to seek monetary sanctions, he may file a properly supported motion to that effect. ORDER Based on the foregoing, and on all of the files, records, and proceedings herein, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the hearing currently scheduled for Friday, January 30, 2026, at 1:00 pm in Courtroom 15 (MPLS) is CANCELED.
January 28, 2026 at 10:42 PM
Reposted by Anil Kalhan
rickhasen.bsky.social
Dangerous escalation: “FBI executing search warrant at Georgia election office related to 2020 vote, law enforcement official says” electionlawblog.org?p=154010
Dangerous escalation: "FBI executing search warrant at Georgia election office related to 2020 vote, law enforcement official says" #ELB
Reuters: The Federal Bureau of Investigation is executing a search warrant at a Fulton County election office in Georgia related to the 2020 election, a law enforcement official familiar with the matt...
electionlawblog.org
January 28, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Reposted by Anil Kalhan
parkermolloy.com
Six years ago, I wrote about how the media has been falling for Trump's "new tone" nonsense for five years at that point. So we're now... 11 years into the media falling for Trump's "new tone." www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump...
MEDIAMATTERS F R AMERICA Journalists have been obsessing over Trump supposedly changing his "tone" for five years WRITTEN BY PARKER MOLLOY RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM JOHN KERR PUBLISHED 07/27/20 10:41 AM EDT
January 28, 2026 at 4:03 PM
Reposted by Anil Kalhan
gregsargent.bsky.social
I'm calling bullshit on the media narrative that Trump is "pivoting" and "deescalating" on his ICE raids. The threshold is this: As long as the military occupations and the treatment of US cities as enemy territory continue, there's no pivot. ICE out. 1/

(New piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2057...
Donald Trump Is Frightened
Trump wants to appear eager to minimize out-of-control clashes between government militias and protesters. But he doesn’t want to stop the things causing those clashes in the first place.
newrepublic.com
January 28, 2026 at 12:40 PM
Reposted by Anil Kalhan
thetnholler.bsky.social
“I watched him die… then I watched them maneuver his body like a rag doll— only to discover it was because they wanted to count the bullet wounds and see how many they ‘got’, like he was a deer.”
January 28, 2026 at 5:46 AM
Reposted by Anil Kalhan
kristenradtke.bsky.social
I wrote about my childhood friend Alexi Pretti. Please read it and share it and remember him as a human being. @theverge.com
I grew up with Alex Pretti
The kind-hearted ICU nurse shot by ICE agents was my childhood best friend.
www.theverge.com
January 27, 2026 at 4:45 PM
akalhan.bsky.social
Best read (if at all) after refreshing one's recollection about the rants in his interview with Isaac Chotiner www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
Q: You wrote last week, “In the United States, if the total death toll increases at about the same rate, the current 67 deaths should translate into about 500 deaths at the end.” We are currently at eight hundred deaths—over eight hundred deaths. [This was true when we spoke; the number is now over two thousand.] A: First of all, let me just say I wrote an amendment to that, the thing I regret most in that whole paper. But I was not so much interested in explaining why my number was right. I was interested in explaining why the other projections were wrong. Q: And you’re not an epidemiologist, correct? A: No, I’m trained in all of these things. I’ve done a lot of work in these particular areas. And one of the things that is most annoying about this debate is you see all sorts of people putting up expertise on these subjects, but they won’t let anybody question their particular judgment. One of the things you get as a lawyer is a skill of cross-examination. I spent an enormous amount of time over my career teaching medical people about some of this stuff, and their great strengths are procedures and diagnoses in the cases. Their great weakness is understanding general-equilibrium theory. Q: I’m not saying anything of the sort. A: Admit to it. You’re saying I’m a crackpot. Q: I’m not saying anything of the— A: Well, what am I then? I’m an amateur? You’re the great scholar on this? Q: No, no. I’m not a great scholar on this. A: Tell me what you think about the quality of the work! Q; O.K. I’m going to tell you. I think the fact that I am not a great scholar on this and I’m able to find these flaws or these holes in what you wrote is a sign that maybe you should’ve thought harder before writing it. A: What it shows is that you are a complete intellectual amateur. Period. Q: O.K. Can I ask you one more question? A: You just don’t know anything about anything. You’re a journalist. Would you like to compare your résumé to mine? Q: No, actually, I would not. A: Then good. Then maybe what you want to do is to say, “Gee, I’m not quite sure that this is right. I’m going to check with somebody else.” But, you want to come at me hard, I am going to come back harder at you. And then if I can’t jam my fingers down your throat, then I am not worth it. But you have basically gone over the line. If you want to ask questions, ask questions. I put forward a model. But a little bit of respect. Q: O.K. Let me ask you this question. All my questions are asked with respect. A: That’s not the way I hear it.
January 28, 2026 at 4:47 AM
Reposted by Anil Kalhan
taniel.bsky.social
Trump received 13% of the vote in 2024 in the Minnesota district (in St Paul) that held a legislative race tonight, losing it by 71%.

Today, the GOP nominee got 4%, losing the race by 91%.
January 28, 2026 at 3:57 AM
Reposted by Anil Kalhan
hbwhbwhbw.bsky.social
my grandmother, an Auschwitz survivor, was Anne Frank’s neighbor in Amsterdam, and Oma thinks this comparison is perfectly apt
January 28, 2026 at 2:37 AM
Reposted by Anil Kalhan
themountaingoats.bsky.social
ok the full clip is way better than the little one going around. her whole team try to get her to bail on the event and she's like no, I came to speak. incredible example.
thetnholler.bsky.social The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 1d
REP. OMAR after being attacked with liquid: “We will continue! These fucking assholes are not gonna get away with this! Here is the reality people like this ugly man don’t understand — we are Minnesota Strong. We’ll stay resilient in the face of whatever they might throw at us.”
January 28, 2026 at 2:13 AM
Reposted by Anil Kalhan
mattgertz.bsky.social
Homan was the architect of family separation, the biggest immigration enforcement debacle of Trump’s first term. www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox...
January 27, 2026 at 11:47 AM
Reposted by Anil Kalhan
brandonfriedman.bsky.social
Two Democratic members of Congress attacked in three days. Maxwell Frost was assaulted on Saturday, Ilan Omar tonight.
CNN: Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost assaulted at Sundance Film Festival event, police say By Aleena Fayaz Updated Jan 24, 2026 NBC News: Man lunges at Ilhan Omar during town hall and tries to spray her with unknown substance January 27, 2026
January 28, 2026 at 2:03 AM
Reposted by Anil Kalhan
literaturegeek.bsky.social
A zine documenting the National Park Service’s “Life Under Slavery at George Washington House” exhibit—removed by the government January 22, 2026 in an act of censorship (zinebakery.com/bakeshop/cen...)
Screenshot of cover of the PDF of the zine "read censored history, thwart fascists." It has a minimal black and white tyopgraphy-heavy cover with the words "censored history" in green and the rest of the text in black; the other text says "A zine documenting the National Park Service’s “Life Under Slavery at George Washington House” Exhibit —removed by the government January 22, 2026 in an act of censorship. Exhibit, text by the National Park Service; photos of exhibit by Stan Horowitz, NPS, & Michaela Althouse/PhillyVoice Zineification by Amanda Wyatt Visconti". There is a small version of a photo of the censored brick wall that used to hold the exhibits, from the Philly Voice.
January 27, 2026 at 10:05 AM
Reposted by Anil Kalhan
akalhan.bsky.social
"DHS was just the coffee boy"
therealbrent.bsky.social brent says Abolish ICE 🧊 @therealbrent.bsky.social · 2d
we are witnessing historic backpedaling here
January 27, 2026 at 4:05 AM
Reposted by Anil Kalhan
davidcorn.bsky.social
The $40 million that Bezos paid for the Melanie propaganda film would cover the cost of about 200 journalists for a year.
passantino.bsky.social Jon Passantino @passantino.bsky.social · 3d
News: The Washington Post is preparing to slash upwards of 300 staffers, incl sports, metro and foreign desks @nataliekorach.bsky.social reports.

“The newsroom is being punished for absolute incompetence from the owner and publisher,” one staffer told @status.news
www.status.news/p/washington...
Post Parting Depression
Looming cuts at The Washington Post threaten to decimate key coverage areas as staffers question the motives and commitment of billionaire owner Jeff Bezos.
www.status.news
January 27, 2026 at 8:29 PM
Reposted by Anil Kalhan
ashtonpittman.bsky.social
NEW: In response to Alex Pretti's killing, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said that it was "really hard to watch" protesters carrying upside-down American flags.

He called protesters "lawless hordes" and said they should go "back to Mogadishu."

He also blamed Pretti for (legally) carrying a gun.
Mississippi Governor Defends Federal Agents After Alex Pretti Killing
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves suggested Alex Pretti may have been to blame for his own killing because he had been legally carrying a holstered gun.
www.mississippifreepress.org
January 26, 2026 at 7:43 PM
Reposted by Anil Kalhan
chrisgeidner.bsky.social
BREAKING: Chief Judge Schiltz sets a contempt hearing for Friday in one of the hundreds of habeas cases in Minnesota pending as a result of Operation Metro Surge, ordering acting ICE Director Todd Lyons personally to appear in court and face contempt. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
This is one of dozens of court orders with which respondents have failed to comply in recent weeks. The practical consequence of respondents' failure to comply has almost always been significant hardship to aliens (many of whom have lawfully lived and worked in the United States for years and done absolutely nothing wrong: The detention of an alien is extended, or an alien who should remain in Minnesota is flown to Texas, or an alien who has been flown to Texas is released there and told to figure out a way to get home. This Court has been extremely patient with respondents, even though respondents decided to send thousands of agents to Minnesota to detain aliens without making any provision for dealing with the hundreds of habeas petitions and other lawsuits that were sure to result.' Respondents have continually assured the Court that they recognize their obligation to comply with Court orders, and that they have taken steps to ensure that those orders will be honored going forward. Unfortunately, though, the violations continue. The Court's patience is at an end. Accordingly, the Court will order Todd Lyons, the Acting Director of ICE, to appear personally before the Court and show cause why he should not be held in contempt of Court. The Court acknowledges that ordering the head of a federal agency to personally appear is an extraordinary step, but the extent of ICE's violation of court orders is likewise extraordinary, and lesser measures have been tried and failed. ORDER Based on the foregoing, and on all of the files, records, and proceedings herein, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT: 1. The Court will hold a hearing on Friday, January 30, 2026, at 1:00 pm in Courtroom 15 (MPLS) before Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz. Respondent Todd Lyons must appear in person to show cause why he should not be held in contempt for violating the Court's January 14, 2026, order. Petitioner's counsel may participate in the hearing, but his attendance is not required. If, before the hearing, the parties file a stipulation indicating that petitioner has been released from custody, the Court will cancel the hearing and will not require Lyons to appear. Dated: January 26, 2026 Is/ Patrick J. Schiltz Patrick J. Schiltz, Chief Judge United States District Court
January 27, 2026 at 2:20 PM
Reposted by Anil Kalhan
tom.medsky.social
Downfall Bovino Edition. You're welcome.
January 27, 2026 at 5:36 AM
akalhan.bsky.social
"DHS was just the coffee boy"
therealbrent.bsky.social brent says Abolish ICE 🧊 @therealbrent.bsky.social · 2d
we are witnessing historic backpedaling here
January 27, 2026 at 4:05 AM