Brianne Agatep
@brianneagatep.bsky.social
Former editor, current background investigator/researcher who loves books, art, animals, nature, truth, justice, and learning.
she/her
she/her
Reposted by Brianne Agatep
A lot of people talk about wanting Dems with the courage and anger to meet this moment, but Rep. @ramirez.house.gov is actually doing it.
Read this 🔥 interview I did with her Friday:
Read this 🔥 interview I did with her Friday:
"The day of accountability will come": Rep. Delia Ramirez on abolishing and prosecuting DHS
The Handbasket spoke with the congresswoman who called out ICE long before it was popular.
www.thehandbasket.co
February 15, 2026 at 5:55 PM
A lot of people talk about wanting Dems with the courage and anger to meet this moment, but Rep. @ramirez.house.gov is actually doing it.
Read this 🔥 interview I did with her Friday:
Read this 🔥 interview I did with her Friday:
Reposted by Brianne Agatep
![KABAS: So many comparisons have made between the current state of US immigration terror and Nazi Germany in the 1930s, and I've seen some say that kind of seeks to absolve this country of its own history of racial terror and genocide. In the hearings this week with ICE and CBP and USCIS, you said you have “no respect for inheritors of the Klan hood and the slave patrol.” How did it feel to publicly and explicitly draw that connection?
REP. RAMIREZ: I knew that I was going to make them very uncomfortable. I'm not talking about just the DHS directors there—I meant my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. And I say this often, ‘Courage is not the absence of fear. It’s the willingness to act despite the fear.’ I'm a little scared [in that moment], because if I'm being blunt with you, every time I speak there's a death threat. And yet I thought it was so important, as a daughter of immigrants, as a proud representative of Illinois-3, as someone who has been calling out what they do, to be able to look evil in the eye and call them what they are.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ejihld4sywvvqwe67cdkn4jq/bafkreieyek3u7oka3cei3fdsxn2u7wyxj64s6uxl5kk7dx5zuu3wqr4vue@jpeg)
February 14, 2026 at 12:14 AM
Reposted by Brianne Agatep
Someone has sure already made this observation but the fact they can convert all those empty warehouses into prison camps means they could have converted them into housing, community centers, job training centers or, hell, libraries or schools all along. It’s always a matter of will not resources.
February 15, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Someone has sure already made this observation but the fact they can convert all those empty warehouses into prison camps means they could have converted them into housing, community centers, job training centers or, hell, libraries or schools all along. It’s always a matter of will not resources.
Reposted by Brianne Agatep
tl;dr: CBP fired a new weapon into domestic airspace that the FAA had previously warned posed grave risk to human life. It did so without warning to FAA and without restricting airspace. FAA restricted airspace in response. White House overruled them. The target turned out to be a party balloon.
An astonishing account of recklessness and maladministration at the highest levels. (gift link) www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/u...
Inside the Debacle That Led to the Closure of El Paso’s Airspace
www.nytimes.com
February 15, 2026 at 12:34 AM
tl;dr: CBP fired a new weapon into domestic airspace that the FAA had previously warned posed grave risk to human life. It did so without warning to FAA and without restricting airspace. FAA restricted airspace in response. White House overruled them. The target turned out to be a party balloon.
Reposted by Brianne Agatep
4400 times
Courts have ruled 4,400 times that ICE jailed people illegally. It hasn’t stopped.
The decisions amount to a huge legal rebuke, one the administration has ignored.
www.reuters.com
February 15, 2026 at 8:46 AM
4400 times
Reposted by Brianne Agatep
YOU MUST HAVE SOMETHING TO EAT TO HAVE STRENGTH TO CRUSH YOUR ENEMIES.
February 15, 2026 at 3:31 AM
YOU MUST HAVE SOMETHING TO EAT TO HAVE STRENGTH TO CRUSH YOUR ENEMIES.
Reposted by Brianne Agatep
Yes it’s Valentine’s Day. But it’s also the chosen birthday of Frederick Douglass who was born in 1818 on a plantation in Talbot County, Maryland. He escaped from slavery & rose to become the most eloquent and forceful voice for the abolition of slavery & for Black voting rights in the U.S.
February 14, 2026 at 6:45 PM
Yes it’s Valentine’s Day. But it’s also the chosen birthday of Frederick Douglass who was born in 1818 on a plantation in Talbot County, Maryland. He escaped from slavery & rose to become the most eloquent and forceful voice for the abolition of slavery & for Black voting rights in the U.S.
Reposted by Brianne Agatep
Republican state attorneys general pressured the agency that advises the U.S. Supreme Court and federal judges on scientific and technical matters to withdraw all of its content on climate change from an authoritative reference manual.
By @abrahm.bsky.social
By @abrahm.bsky.social
Under GOP Pressure, Federal Agency Pulls Climate Change Chapter From Official Manual for U.S. Judges
The “Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence” — updated for the first time in 15 years — eliminates some 90 pages about climate science and comes just as numerous climate cases make their way through ...
www.propublica.org
February 14, 2026 at 4:00 PM
Republican state attorneys general pressured the agency that advises the U.S. Supreme Court and federal judges on scientific and technical matters to withdraw all of its content on climate change from an authoritative reference manual.
By @abrahm.bsky.social
By @abrahm.bsky.social
Reposted by Brianne Agatep
AOC: "Extreme level of wealth inequality leads to social instability and drives authoritarianism, right-wing populism, and really dangerous domestic internal politics. That is a direct outcome of the failure of democracies over decades to deliver."
February 13, 2026 at 5:50 PM
AOC: "Extreme level of wealth inequality leads to social instability and drives authoritarianism, right-wing populism, and really dangerous domestic internal politics. That is a direct outcome of the failure of democracies over decades to deliver."
Reposted by Brianne Agatep
end qualified immunity and make cops carry personal liability insurance
"'She is dead,'" Officer Auderer told Officer Solan, before bursting out laughing.
"'No, it’s a regular person,' Officer Auderer said, adding: 'Yeah, just write a check — $11,000. She was 26, anyway. She had limited value.'"
"'No, it’s a regular person,' Officer Auderer said, adding: 'Yeah, just write a check — $11,000. She was 26, anyway. She had limited value.'"
Seattle to Pay $29 Million to Family of Woman Fatally Struck by Police S.U.V.
www.nytimes.com
February 13, 2026 at 3:00 PM
end qualified immunity and make cops carry personal liability insurance
Reposted by Brianne Agatep
Marimar Martinez is a hero. Please keep her safe.
And please remember every time you hear a claim from the DHS that they will lie. Constantly. Blatantly. Without remorse.
And please remember every time you hear a claim from the DHS that they will lie. Constantly. Blatantly. Without remorse.
Chicago's U.S. attorney's office has released evidence from the case against Marimar Martinez, pre-empting her press conference later today.
It even released text messages it once claimed would "sully" a Border Patrol agents's rep.
From @chicago.suntimes.com: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...
It even released text messages it once claimed would "sully" a Border Patrol agents's rep.
From @chicago.suntimes.com: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...
Border Patrol agents say 'time to get aggressive' in footage that contradicts claims against Marimar Martinez
Martinez is expected to announce a new lawsuit stemming from her Oct. 4 shooting by a Border Patrol agent at a press conference Wednesday. Her attorneys say newly released evidence will show an agent ...
chicago.suntimes.com
February 11, 2026 at 5:52 PM
Marimar Martinez is a hero. Please keep her safe.
And please remember every time you hear a claim from the DHS that they will lie. Constantly. Blatantly. Without remorse.
And please remember every time you hear a claim from the DHS that they will lie. Constantly. Blatantly. Without remorse.
Reposted by Brianne Agatep
🚨"The white community is finally seeing what [Black people] have been saying all along—how government cover ups happen, how those in power lie and manipulate," arrested ICE church protester Nekima Levy Armstrong on Trump cover-ups of Renee Good & Alex Pretti murders.
February 11, 2026 at 7:46 PM
🚨"The white community is finally seeing what [Black people] have been saying all along—how government cover ups happen, how those in power lie and manipulate," arrested ICE church protester Nekima Levy Armstrong on Trump cover-ups of Renee Good & Alex Pretti murders.
Reposted by Brianne Agatep
A) This is a lie. Other countries have it.
B) Trump uses it regularly.
Bottom line: They are afraid of you voting.
B) Trump uses it regularly.
Bottom line: They are afraid of you voting.
February 12, 2026 at 8:14 PM
A) This is a lie. Other countries have it.
B) Trump uses it regularly.
Bottom line: They are afraid of you voting.
B) Trump uses it regularly.
Bottom line: They are afraid of you voting.
Reposted by Brianne Agatep
it really can't be said enough that this is a person who has dined with the president of the united states
Fuentes then fantasizes about “breeding gulags”: “So just like Hitler imprisoned Gypsies, Jews, communists, you know, all of his political rivals, we have to do the same thing with women… They go to the breeding gulags. The good ones will be liberated. The bad ones will toil in the mines forever.”
February 12, 2026 at 4:11 PM
it really can't be said enough that this is a person who has dined with the president of the united states
Reposted by Brianne Agatep
Trump lied about immigrants in 2016 too. He then defeated an official from the administration that holds the deportation record.
If migration caused Trump's reelection (I don't think it did), it wasn't b/c of migrants. It was b/c mainstream, centrist outlets amplified fearmongering about migrants.
If migration caused Trump's reelection (I don't think it did), it wasn't b/c of migrants. It was b/c mainstream, centrist outlets amplified fearmongering about migrants.
Not going to read them all because jesus fucking christ but this is nasty work from Friedersdorf
February 12, 2026 at 5:03 PM
Trump lied about immigrants in 2016 too. He then defeated an official from the administration that holds the deportation record.
If migration caused Trump's reelection (I don't think it did), it wasn't b/c of migrants. It was b/c mainstream, centrist outlets amplified fearmongering about migrants.
If migration caused Trump's reelection (I don't think it did), it wasn't b/c of migrants. It was b/c mainstream, centrist outlets amplified fearmongering about migrants.
Reposted by Brianne Agatep
You can't... repeal... a scientific finding. At that point it's just called lying about it.
Breaking News: The Trump administration repealed the bedrock scientific finding that greenhouse gases threaten human life and well being, meaning that the EPA can no longer regulate them. nyti.ms/4rSszQu
February 12, 2026 at 8:38 PM
You can't... repeal... a scientific finding. At that point it's just called lying about it.
Reposted by Brianne Agatep
17. It is dangerous, as it upends a decade of rightwing effort to move public understanding of immigration away from a matter of freedom and opportunity to a matter of crime and punishment.
February 12, 2026 at 12:45 PM
17. It is dangerous, as it upends a decade of rightwing effort to move public understanding of immigration away from a matter of freedom and opportunity to a matter of crime and punishment.
Reposted by Brianne Agatep
And what awaits these clients in Texas? Unspeakably cruel and inhumane treatment.
1. Rotten food. I had a client explain she had to make a half-pint of milk and an apple last every day because the other meals consisted of spoiled or rotten food. One client wasn’t fed for >36 hours.
21/
1. Rotten food. I had a client explain she had to make a half-pint of milk and an apple last every day because the other meals consisted of spoiled or rotten food. One client wasn’t fed for >36 hours.
21/
February 11, 2026 at 9:56 PM
And what awaits these clients in Texas? Unspeakably cruel and inhumane treatment.
1. Rotten food. I had a client explain she had to make a half-pint of milk and an apple last every day because the other meals consisted of spoiled or rotten food. One client wasn’t fed for >36 hours.
21/
1. Rotten food. I had a client explain she had to make a half-pint of milk and an apple last every day because the other meals consisted of spoiled or rotten food. One client wasn’t fed for >36 hours.
21/
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(And let me note that immigration law FAVORS such horrific outcomes. Asylum is very hard to win. Immigration “court” isn’t a real court. It’s a kangaroo court where DHS is judge, jury, and executioner. You have no right to counsel. And the law tilts against non-citizens all conceivable ways.)
4/
4/
February 11, 2026 at 9:56 PM
(And let me note that immigration law FAVORS such horrific outcomes. Asylum is very hard to win. Immigration “court” isn’t a real court. It’s a kangaroo court where DHS is judge, jury, and executioner. You have no right to counsel. And the law tilts against non-citizens all conceivable ways.)
4/
4/
Reposted by Brianne Agatep
I don’t really know what I expect in posting this, but maybe some people see it and can learn from it.
I’ll call it “lessons from an unwilling immigration attorney.”
1/
I’ll call it “lessons from an unwilling immigration attorney.”
1/
February 11, 2026 at 9:56 PM
I don’t really know what I expect in posting this, but maybe some people see it and can learn from it.
I’ll call it “lessons from an unwilling immigration attorney.”
1/
I’ll call it “lessons from an unwilling immigration attorney.”
1/
Reposted by Brianne Agatep
People can have different political opinions about immigration policy. Political differences are fine, healthy for a democracy.
But if you’re okay with this, that’s not a political opinion. That is a moral failing.
27/
But if you’re okay with this, that’s not a political opinion. That is a moral failing.
27/
February 11, 2026 at 9:57 PM
People can have different political opinions about immigration policy. Political differences are fine, healthy for a democracy.
But if you’re okay with this, that’s not a political opinion. That is a moral failing.
27/
But if you’re okay with this, that’s not a political opinion. That is a moral failing.
27/
Reposted by Brianne Agatep
Friends from Minneapolis reporting to me that things are at the point where folks are being hidden in other people's houses and we are in the "again" part of "never again" which the "never" was supposed to preclude
February 10, 2026 at 10:54 PM
Friends from Minneapolis reporting to me that things are at the point where folks are being hidden in other people's houses and we are in the "again" part of "never again" which the "never" was supposed to preclude
Reposted by Brianne Agatep
Here's what DHS doesn't want you to know: Working for ICE is one of the safest jobs in America — and last year was the second-safest year for the agency on record.
And the doxxing? It hasn't actually happened even once.
The masks are justified by a lie. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/ice-s-mask...
And the doxxing? It hasn't actually happened even once.
The masks are justified by a lie. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/ice-s-mask...
ICE's Masks Are All a Lie
Working for ICE is actually less dangerous than being an elementary school student in America.
www.doomsdayscenario.co
February 10, 2026 at 3:48 PM
Here's what DHS doesn't want you to know: Working for ICE is one of the safest jobs in America — and last year was the second-safest year for the agency on record.
And the doxxing? It hasn't actually happened even once.
The masks are justified by a lie. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/ice-s-mask...
And the doxxing? It hasn't actually happened even once.
The masks are justified by a lie. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/ice-s-mask...
Reposted by Brianne Agatep
Clear language is essential. We can't remake or reform ICE. We must abolish it.
February 10, 2026 at 4:38 PM
Clear language is essential. We can't remake or reform ICE. We must abolish it.
Reposted by Brianne Agatep
This is true, and even if we get rid of Trump, we still have to reckon with the fact that a substantial proportion of US economic and political elites were *eager* to jump on the fascism train. They will still be the same people when Trump is gone.
The political dynamics of 2025 were shaped by Democrats and Republicans over-reading Trump's victory in the same way. That turns out to be a problem for a LOT of rich and powerful people who made a very large bet on the theory that MAGA had won the culture war. www.offmessage.net/p/trump-has-...
Trump Has Lost The Culture
And his greediest collaborators are awakening to the fact that they made a terrible bet.
www.offmessage.net
February 10, 2026 at 5:27 PM
This is true, and even if we get rid of Trump, we still have to reckon with the fact that a substantial proportion of US economic and political elites were *eager* to jump on the fascism train. They will still be the same people when Trump is gone.