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Hi everyone. What a world. Last year I interviewed law professor Aziz Huq about the concept of a dual state. (You can watch it here.) That’s a legal reality in which the law is strictly enforced against ordinary citizens, but used as a shield to protect agents of the state who act with impunity. It certainly seems we are moving closer to that reality, if we’re not already there. Today Minnesota filed suit to get us back in line with the rule of law.
In today’s newsletter: Minnesota sues to get ICE out. In Iran, mass execution of protesters. Trump sues the head of the Fed and gets pushback. Plus the latest on Greenland, Venezuela, and the Golden Globes.
Iceout: Minnesota, Minneapolis, and St. Paul on Mondaysued the federal governmentin an attempt to stop its ongoing, unprecedented immigration operation in the state. The lawsuitargues the operationis a “federal invasion” that is unconstitutionally targeting Minnesota over its Democratic politics. They say the federal government is violating state sovereignty and the First Amendment by retaliating against the state for its politics. They also claim the feds are creating “chaos and despair,” making communities unsafe. They’re asking for a temporary restraining order to force ICE to leave or limit their operations. This follows asimilar lawsuit filed on Monday by Illinois, which accuses the Trump administration of terrorizing residents with unlawful force amounting to an “organized bombardment.”Surge: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noemsays that DHS is deploying“hundreds more” immigration agents to Minneapolis. This could bring thetotal ICE presence thereto 3,000 officers, roughlyfive times the sizeof the city’s police force. Videos corroborated by additional reporting show ICE agentsbursting into a home without a warrant,storming a gas station, and𝕏grabbing peopleand protesters off the street. Noem claims the surge is necessary to root out fraud in Minnesota, despitethe vast majority of those charged being US citizensand thestate’s lawsuit noting that ICE agents have no expertise combatting fraud; CBP CommanderGregory Bovino arguedit was needed for “effective, unabated Title 8 immigration enforcement.”Context: Protests over ICE’s use of force eruptedacross the country, includingin front of the White House, withtens of thousandsmarching in Minneapolis alone.Lack of Transparency: State and local officials have raised alarms about the Trump administration’s investigation of Good’s death, considering how fiercely senior officials are attempting to justify ICE agent Jonathan Ross’ actions. According toHennepin county’s attorney and prosecutor, by the time Minnesota’s investigative agency arrived on the scene of the shooting, “the evidence had been taken by the FBI.” According to Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN), the Trump administration subsequentlyblocked“state investigators from participating in any way in this investigation,” a situation she described as an attempted “cover-up.” The DOJ’s Civil Rights division isreportedly not involvedin the investigation. “Whatever outcome this investigation produces,”former ICE chief John Sandweg said, “I don’t see how anyone’s gonna believe it.”Above the Law: Meanwhile, Vice PresidentVance claimedRoss “is protected by absolute immunity.”Experts call this“absolutely ridiculous.”Qualified immunityonly protects officials from actions that don’t violate “clearly established law”. But state prosecutors will struggle to pursue the case without federal support, let alone against active federal interference.**Shoot First:**2025 was thedeadliest year in decadesfor those unfortunate enough to end up in ICE custody. 32 people died, six of them in December alone. Others have died after leaving US custody. Randall Gamboa Esquivel is aparticularly horrifying case. He was detained in December, 2024, and held for months in Texas. In September, he was flown to Costa Rica in a vegetative state. “When I saw my brother at the airport, I thought he had been tortured,” his sister said. “Have you ever smelled a cadaver? That’s how my brother smelled when he was deported.” Esquivel died a few weeks later. In October, US citizen𝕏Marimar Martinezwas shot five times in her car by an ICE agent named Charles Exum while trying to protect her neighbors. Trump’s DOJ chargedherwith attempting to murder the agent, accusing her of ramming his vehiclewhile armed witha semi-automatic weapon. Martinez’ lawyersdiscovered Exum’s textsbragging about the incident: “Sweet,” he wrote in one message. “I fired 5 rounds and she had 7 holes,” he wrote in another. “Put that in your book boys.” The DOJ eventually dropped all charges against Martinez. In September, an ICE agentshot and killedan undocumented immigrant and father of two called Silvero Villegas-Gonzalez in Illinois. DHS officials claimed the agent received “severe injuries” after being dragged by Villegas-Gonzalez’s car. But in body cam footage, theagent is hearddismissing his injuries as “nothing major.”
Obstruction: According to acourt filingby Democratic lawmakers, the day after Good’s death DHS “secretly reimposed” a seven-day notice requirement for congressional oversight of immigration detention facilities — despite a courtblocking this exact restrictiona month earlier.No Limits: Schools across Minneapolisreopened todayafter cancelling classes last week toprotect students. Manyinstituted additional security measures, from extra officers to lawmakers acting as witnesses to groups of parents lining the sidewalk and shielding kids leaving school.
Iran’s Deadly Response: Over the weekend, videos from Iran emerged showing rooms filled withblack body bagsand people picking through themto try and identify relatives. Eyewitnessesdescribed horrific scenes of violence during the latest anti-regime protests. According toreports on the BBC, forces “fired directly into lines of protestors” with assault rifles.Multiplehumanrights groups andinternational organizationsput the death toll in the hundreds, if not thousands. “We are fighting a brutal regime with empty hands,”one protester said. “In war, both sides have weapons,”another said. “Here, people only chant and get killed.” On Thursday, the regimeinstituted a nationwide internet blackout,including of Starlink, that remains in force. This has made estimating the true death toll and communication to the outside world extremely difficult.Tariffs, Again: Trumpon Monday announcedthat any country doing business with Iran will be subject to 25% tariffs on “any and all business” done with the US.**Military Action?**President Trumpwill be briefed on Tuesdayon possible responses to ongoing protests in Iran. The Trump administration isreportedly communicating with government (and opposition) officialsin Iran; today the White house said thatIran’s foreign minister spoke with Steven Witkoffandimplied the government is willing to negotiate. A spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministryacknowledgedthat the regime was considering “certain points and ideas” presented to them by the Trump administration. Tehransaid on Mondayit is “prepared for war” should Trumpfollow through on threatsto use lethal force against the government in retaliation for its brutal crackdown on protestors.Long Time Coming: This isfar from the first timeIranians have protested the authoritarian Islamic regime, but these are the largest demonstrations in many years. They began over economic concerns; Iran’s economy, struggling under heavy sanctions for years, was further weakened by itsdisastrous 12-day war against Israelin June. In November, the country’s yearslong water crisisapproached disaster levels, with the capital almost running out of water and senior officials warning its 10 million inhabitants may have to move. The following month, merchants and studentsbegan protestingsoaring inflation. As the demonstrations spread andgrew across the country, they turned into a wider critique of Iran’s theocratic, oppressive government. As is often the case in Iran, women are on the frontlines, protesting the regime’s extreme repression ofwomen’s rights.Razor’s Edge: The Iranian regimeclaimed on Mondaythat the “situation is now under total control.” It has acknowledged protest deaths, but has characterized those involved as riotersinfluenced or backed by the US and Israel.
Powell to the People: Trump’s DOJ haslaunched a criminal investigationinto Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Officially, it’s investigating Powell overongoing renovations to the Fed’s Washington headquarters, which are running far over budget. Federal prosecutors are looking into whether Powell misled Congress about the project during a hearing in June. But in a defiant move, Powell taped a video calmlyaccusing the administrationof punishing him for not conceding to Trump’s demands that the Fed lower interest rates. “This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions,” he said, “or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation.” He vowed to fight.New Waters: The chair of the Fed hasnever beforebeen the subject of a criminal investigation by the DOJ. Multiple lawmakers, including some Republicans, have[voiced their support for Powell](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/us/politics/jer…
