The Brief | Two Judges, Two Rulings, and the Question Nobody’s Asking
Plus: Trump tells Democrat mayors to say “please,” the shutdown limps on, Melania beats Jason Statham, and LAPD gives Newsom the cold shoulder.
Hey friends!
Happy Monday, friends. Hope you’re enjoying the weekend and thawed out a bit. Also, do we need to start a GoFundMe for the other half of Chappell Roan's Grammy look? If you don’t know what I am talking about count yourself lucky and stay off social media for the next 24 ours. Awards shows always ruin my feed.
In today’s Brief:
The tale of two judges, A Clinton judge quotes Scripture to release a detained father and son; a Biden judge says Minnesota has “no precedent” to stop ICE
Trump tells Democratic mayors to say “please” before DHS lifts a finger on their riots
Tyler Robinson’s defense wants 200 pages sealed and cameras banned
Shutdown drags into Day Whatever as House Dems refuse to fast-track what the Senate already passed
LAPD tells Newsom no, his ICE mask ban is a non-starter: “That’s not going to end well”
Melania’s documentary outgrosses Jason Statham — and conservatives keep proving Hollywood wrong
Let’s get into the news!
The Tale of Two Judges
Here’s a story the media would very much like to simplify into “ICE traumatizes child.” It’s more complicated than that. But isn’t it always?
Five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father Adrian Conejo Arias are back in Minneapolis after U.S. District Judge Fred Biery — a Clinton appointee working out of San Antonio — ordered their release from the Dilley detention center on Saturday. Biery’s ruling was... colorful. He accused the Trump administration of pursuing “daily deportation quotas” that require “traumatizing children,” compared ICE’s actions to those of the British Crown that sparked the American Revolution, quoted Jesus, and included a photo of the boy in his Spiderman backpack for good measure.
Democratic representatives Joaquin Castro and Jasmine Crockett visited the detention center, with Castro personally escorting the family back to Minnesota aboard a commercial flight. Rep. Ilhan Omar celebrated their return on social media.
Here’s what you probably didn’t see in the coverage: DHS says the father fled on foot when officers approached, leaving his son behind in the vehicle. Officers took custody of the boy and reportedly took him to McDonald’s while pursuing the father. School officials tell a different story; they say another adult in the home begged to take custody of Liam but was denied. The father disputes running, saying he was trying to alert others who “could come out and help.”
The case does raise legitimate questions about enforcement tactics and how families are handled during operations. But framing a man with a pending asylum case — released into the U.S. under the Biden administration with no deportation order — as simply a victim of “quotas” ignores that immigration enforcement necessarily involves difficult situations.
Meanwhile, roughly 100 miles north of where Biery was writing poetry about ICE, another federal judge issued a very different ruling.
U.S. District Judge Katherine M. Menendez — notably, a Biden appointee — denied Minnesota’s request for an injunction to halt Operation Metro Surge. Attorney General Keith Ellison, along with the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, had argued the operation violated constitutional protections, including the 10th Amendment.
Menendez wasn’t having it. “None of the cases on which they rely have even come close,” she wrote, calling the request to halt an entire federal enforcement operation something for which there is “no precedent.” She noted a previous injunction she’d issued restricting certain ICE tactics had already been lifted by an appeals court, if that order was too broad, “then the one at issue here — halting the entire operation — certainly would.”
The federal government had dismissed Minnesota’s claims as “absurdity” and “legally frivolous.” Attorney General Pam Bondi called the ruling “another HUGE legal win” for the Justice Department.
Two judges. Two rulings. One appointed by Clinton, issuing an impassioned release order with Scripture citations. One appointed by Biden, finding no legal precedent for stopping federal immigration enforcement.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called the Menendez ruling “disappointing” and described ICE’s presence as “an invasion.” Which brings us to our next story.
BREAKING
Trump, "Say Please"
President Trump had a message for Democratic mayors complaining about protests spiraling out of control over his immigration crackdown: ask nicely.
“I have instructed Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, that under no circumstances are we going to participate in various poorly run Democrat Cities with regard to their Protests and/or Riots unless, and until, they ask us for help,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. He added that federal forces would protect federal buildings “very powerfully” if attacked, but otherwise local governments would need to request assistance — and “you must use the word, ‘PLEASE.’”
The statement came after protesters in Eugene, Oregon, breached a federal building Friday night, prompting police to declare a riot and federal agents to deploy tear gas. Trump accused local police of doing “nothing to stop it.”
This is Trump at his Trumpiest, theatrical, always petty, and arguably effective. He’s essentially daring Democratic mayors to either admit they need federal help or own the chaos. It’s the political equivalent of watching your neighbor’s house burn and offering to lend them a hose, but only if they ask really, really politely.
Shutdown Theater, Day Whatever
The partial government shutdown rolled into the weekend and will likely stretch until at least Tuesday. The reason? House Democrats declined to provide the votes needed to fast-track a funding package that the Senate already passed.
Speaker Mike Johnson had hoped to rush the package through on suspension, which requires two-thirds support. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said no, Democrats want “a full and complete debate,” particularly on DHS funding and ICE reforms.
The Senate deal included five regular appropriations bills plus a two-week stopgap for DHS, specifically to allow negotiations over immigration enforcement reforms. Democrats are seeking mandatory body cameras for ICE agents, a ban on roving patrols, and judicial warrant requirements, which would virtually put an end to targeted ICE deportation operations.
Now Johnson has to use the regular rules process, which means he needs near-unanimous Republican support. With the GOP’s razor-thin majority, that’s never guaranteed. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna is already pushing to attach the SAVE Act — requiring proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections — to any funding package.
The shutdown affects the Pentagon, the State Department, the Treasury Department, and other agencies. Essential functions continue, but the political theater is on full display
LAPD to Newsom: Thanks But No Thanks
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell announced his department won’t enforce Governor Newsom’s directive banning federal immigration agents from wearing masks during operations.
McDonnell’s reasoning was refreshingly practical: “From a tactical perspective, having officers cite federal authorities for what amounts to a misdemeanor could be unsafe.”
Translation: he’s not going to order his officers into potential confrontations with federal agents over a mask violation while crowds are already agitated. Whatever you think of the mask policy itself — Newsom signed it into law last September, asking “What are you afraid of?” — asking local cops to enforce it during live ICE operations is a recipe for exactly the kind of escalation everyone claims to want to avoid.
The Trump administration has sued to block the law. ICE says agents wear masks to avoid being doxxed and to protect their families from threats.
Tyler Robinson’s Defense Wants the Lights Off
The legal battle over alleged Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson is heating up, and his defense team is fighting hard to keep as much of it as possible hidden.
Robinson’s attorneys filed a 200-page sealed motion on January 9th seeking to ban cameras from the courtroom. They’ve argued that public disclosure of their filings could prejudice the jury pool against their client, and have complained about “lip readers” analyzing close-up video of Robinson’s face to “distort” courtroom conversations. They’ve also accused media outlets of using their platforms to “call for Mr. Robinson’s death” and making “irrelevant and entirely unscientific claims” about his character.
Prosecutors and a coalition of media organizations are pushing back hard, arguing there’s no justification for the secrecy. Deputy Utah County Attorney Christopher Ballard wrote that the defense has failed to explain how public disclosure would violate Robinson’s right to a fair trial, and that concerns about pretrial publicity should be addressed through jury selection, not sealed filings.
The media coalition’s lawyers noted that the defense is relying on a legal precedent that the Supreme Court effectively overruled decades ago. Media attorney Royal Oakes, who successfully argued for televising the O.J. Simpson trial, told Fox News: “Transparency not only encourages people to do the right thing, it lets the public and the press push back if secrecy is unwarranted.”
Here’s what we do know from previously unsealed filings: Robinson allegedly spent about a week planning Kirk’s murder and confessed afterward to his lover, friends, and family. A text exchange between Robinson and his roommate, Lance Twiggs — who is cooperating with investigators — appears to contain an explicit admission:
“You weren’t the one who did it right????” Twiggs allegedly wrote.
“I am, I’m sorry,” Robinson allegedly replied.
Robinson is due back in court on Tuesday for a hearing on his motion to remove prosecutors from the case over a purported conflict of interest, as one of the deputy county attorneys has an adult child who was in the crowd at Utah Valley University when Kirk was shot. Prosecutors deny any conflict.
Robinson hasn’t yet entered a plea. If convicted of aggravated murder, he faces the death penalty.
First Lady vs. Jason Statham
Here’s a sentence you probably didn’t expect to read today: Melania Trump’s $75 million documentary beat Jason Statham at the box office.
Melania opened to roughly $7 million this weekend, placing third behind Sam Raimi’s Send Help ($20 million) and YouTuber Markiplier’s The Iron Lung. Statham’s action flick Shelter came in at $5.5 million. More impressively, Melania posted the biggest theatrical opening for a non-concert documentary since Disney’s Chimpanzee in 2012.
Vanity Fair, to its credit, actually analyzed why rather than just sputtering in disbelief. The answer isn’t complicated: conservative audiences have figured out that buying tickets is a form of political expression. The Daily Wire’s Am I Racist? was 2024’s top-grossing documentary. Sound of Freedom made $250 million domestically.
As Daily Wire co-founder Jeremy Boreing explained: “Theaters aren’t safe spaces. They’re places where millions of Americans also want to go and see content that they want to see.”
Social media was full of smug screenshots showing empty seating charts before opening night. Then the actual numbers came in.
Quick Rundown
Demond Wilson, the actor who played Lamont Sanford on Sanford and Son, died Friday at his Palm Springs home from cancer complications. He was 79.
Tom Homan announced that ICE and the FBI have located more than 145,000 unaccompanied alien children who entered during the Biden administration.
Sen. Mike Lee’s SAVE America Act — requiring proof of citizenship and photo ID to vote in federal elections — has 48 Republican co-sponsors and is gaining momentum in the Senate.
Let’s Talk
Judge Biery included a photo of five-year-old Liam in a Spiderman backpack in his legal ruling. Effective advocacy or inappropriate for the bench? What does it tell you about his ruling?
When protesters breach federal buildings, should local governments be expected to ask for help, or should federal law enforcement act independently to protect federal property?
Democrats want judicial warrants for ICE arrests. Would that be reasonable oversight or a backdoor way to shut down enforcement entirely?
Drop your thoughts. I read every response.
See you on Wednesday.
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I think the judge doing all that just shows he’s ruling on emotion and not the court of law. Which is not what I think a Judge’s job is.
In my opinion, the federal officers should do whatever means necessary to protect their building. Knowing some of these cities, the police won’t help anyways!
Back door way to shut down enforcement 😑