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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 20h

A federal appeals panel in Chicago clipped the President’s wings—upholding the lower court’s ban on deploying National Guard troops to Illinois streets. The Guard remains under federal command, but troops stay on base, barred from the streets for now.

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 1d

1. Foreign invasion or danger thereof
2. Rebellion against U.S. government authority.
3. The President is unable to execute federal laws.

Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 1d

The court found that President Trump likely exceeded his statutory authority under 10 U.S.C. § 12406, which permits National Guard federalization only under three specific circumstances:

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 1d

Judge Perry found there was no credible evidence of “rebellion” or justification for federalizing the Guard, and ruled that deploying troops in these circumstances would violate the Tenth Amendment and intrude on the state's reserved sovereign powers.

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 1d

The court sided with Illinois: the federal government cannot override a state’s control over its own National Guard without meeting extraordinarily high legal standards. acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:...

Adobe Acrobat

acrobat.adobe.com

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 2d

The reality is that any “day of reckoning” will be both limited in scope and significantly delayed by the labyrinthine procedural protections surrounding federal agents.

Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 2d

For non-citizens facing the same system without even citizenship protections, the outcome is predetermined: constitutional rights exist on paper while federal courts guarantee they remain meaningless in practice.

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 2d

The result is what legal scholars recognize as constitutional rights without remedies—a system where the Constitution promises protection but federal courts ensure victims never receive justice. Davino Watson, a U.S. citizen, spent over three years in detention and received nothing.

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 2d

1. FTCA time limits that run during detention without counsel
2. Bivens restrictions that refuse new immigration contexts
3. Qualified immunity that shields agents from “unclear” law violations
4. Equitable tolling denial that treats systematic deprivation as “common”

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 2d

Justice Kavanaugh’s claim that federal court remedies are “accessible” for ICE violations represents judicial gaslighting of the highest order. The federal court system has constructed a perfect storm of procedural barriers:

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 2d

This is not justice delayed—it is justice systematically denied through procedural warfare designed to protect federal agents while abandoning their victims to a legal wasteland where constitutional promises become constitutional lies. www.cnn.com/2025/09/10/p...

Kavanaugh faces blowback for claiming Americans can sue over encounters with ICE | CNN Politics

Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s breezy suggestion this week that Americans who are roughed up by ICE can sue agents in federal court is drawing pushback from civil rights attorneys who note the Supreme Cour...

www.cnn.com

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 2d

ICE Wants to Build Out a 24/7 Social Media Surveillance Team | WIRED www.wired.com/story/ice-so...

ICE Wants to Build Out a 24/7 Social Media Surveillance Team

Documents show that ICE plans to hire dozens of contractors to scan X, Facebook, TikTok, and other platforms to target people for deportation.

www.wired.com

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 2d

Apple Took Down These ICE-Tracking Apps. The Developers Aren't Giving Up | WIRED www.wired.com/story/apple-...

Apple Took Down These ICE-Tracking Apps. The Developers Aren't Giving Up

“We are going to do everything in our power to fight this,” says ICEBlock developer Joshua Aaron after Apple removed his app from the App Store.

www.wired.com

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 3d

“Not even Alexander Hamilton could have envisioned one state’s militia to be used against another state’s residents because the President wants to punish those with views other than his own.” www.fox32chicago.com/news/judge-p...

LIVE UPDATES: Judge partially blocks Trump’s National Guard deployment to Illinois

A federal judge partially granted a temporary restraining order halting President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Illinois after hearing arguments challenging the legality of the...

www.fox32chicago.com

Reposted by Michael D. Baker

Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 3d

BREAKING: A federal judge in Illinois has blocked Trump administration authorities from using force against journalists in the Chicago area — including threats or arrest or riot control weapons. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 4d

The Supreme Court justified this constitutional travesty by claiming deportation is "civil," not criminal. Justice O'Connor wrote that "various protections that apply in the context of a criminal trial do not apply in a deportation hearing".

Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 4d

The Supreme Court's Lopez-Mendoza decision created a major constitutional dilemma: "The 'body' or identity of a defendant or respondent in a criminal or civil proceeding is never itself suppressible as a fruit of an unlawful arrest."

Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 4d

Even when these violations are "egregious," immigration courts can only suppress specific pieces of evidence while the deportation case proceeds based on the person's physical presence.

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 4d

The September ruling permitted federal agents to resume stops based on apparent race, language, and work type.

Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 4d

Judge Cummings emphasized that ensuring probable cause for arrests is "more important than ever" following the Supreme Court's recent Vasquez Perdomo decision, which allows immigration officers to consider race and employment status when determining probable cause for immigration stops.

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Reposted by Michael D. Baker

Chicago Tribune @chicagotribune.com · 4d

A Chicago federal judge has extended a nationwide consent decree requiring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to better document and report probable cause for immigration arrests.

Federal judge in Chicago finds ICE repeatedly violated consent decree over ‘warrantless arrests’

A Chicago federal judge has extended a nationwide consent decree requiring ICE to better document and report probable cause for immigration arrests and found the agency repeatedly violated the 2022…

trib.al

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 4d

Mark Fleming of the National Immigrant Justice Center described ICE’s conduct as “reckless and unlawful enforcement,” and hailed the ruling: “This decision gives us tools to hold DHS and ICE accountable,” ensuring the Constitution and law must be followed.

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 4d

Cummings extended the decree through February 2, 2026, ordered ICE to reissue national compliance notices, reimbursed bonds, and required monthly reports on warrantless arrests.

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 4d

Federal Judge Jeffrey Cummings ruled that ICE violated the Castañon Nava consent decree by arresting at least 22 people without a warrant in Chicago and Missouri earlier this year, following President Trump’s inauguration.

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