Papers, Please.
Plus: Then they came for the journalists...
U.S. District Judge Amy M. Baggio, American Hero, Just Doing Her Job
Before we get to the headline stories, let’s take a look at an order issued Friday, Mar. 6, 2026 by Oregon federal judge Baggio in the case of Reach Community Development v. DHS. The 57-page order goes into great detail, but here are some highlights:
“Since June 2025, federal officers have deployed chemical munitions during protests at the Portland Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) Facility (the “Portland ICE Facility”). … This case concerns allegations by Plaintiff tenants and businesses at Gray’s Landing that Defendants’ use of chemical munitions in connection to the protests has been so excessive—so enveloping—that it violates Plaintiffs’ rights.” - Pages 3-4.
“Because of the proximity of the Portland ICE Facility to Gray’s Landing, the Resident Plaintiffs have reported that the gas deployed by federal officers entered their homes and bodies, causing injury.” - Page 10.
“Plaintiffs have shown a deprivation of their constitutional liberty interest in bodily integrity, and that Defendants’ conduct over the course of the last eight months shocks the conscience such that Plaintiffs have shown a likelihood of success on the merits.” - Pages 30-31.
“Defendants were specifically notified of the harm that their widescale deployments of chemical munitions were having on the Resident Plaintiffs, but Defendants chose to use chemical munitions anyway, often in large quantities…” - Page 34.
“Defendants’ use of chemical munitions in response to protests at the Portland ICE Facility over the past eight months shows a pattern of deliberate indifference. - Page 40.
“The Court has reviewed hundreds of pages of incident reports documenting Defendants’ use of force over the past eight months, and the Court finds deliberate indifference based on the quantity of chemical munitions used, the distance from the Portland ICE Facility to the impact areas, the fact that chemical munitions are being used contrary to the advice in agency use of force manuals, and particularly in light of Defendants’ specific notice of harm to Resident Plaintiffs.” - Page 42.
“In sum, these eight months of conduct, involving repeated, large-scale deployments of chemical munitions, impacting sizable areas away from the Portland ICE Facility, coordinated with large numbers of officers, seemingly contrary to warnings contained in the Use of Force manuals, and in the face of repeated notice of physical harm to the Portland ICE Facility neighbors, combine to form a robust record for this Court’s conclusion that Defendants had “extended opportunities to do better” but instead displayed a “protracted failure even to care,” thereby constituting deliberate indifference.” - Page 44.
“Defendants, their agents, and all persons acting in concert or participation with Defendants are enjoined from using chemical munitions in quantities such that the aerosolized chemicals discharged from said munitions are likely to reach Gray’s Landing—including the Resident Plaintiffs’ individual apartments. Such use is prohibited unless it is determined to be necessary to address an imminent threat to life. IT IS SO ORDERED.” - Page 57.
Of course, since DHS thugs have already murdered at least three American citizens in cold blood in recent days, we should not be surprised that they want to gas us into submission.
We will not submit.
PAPERS, PLEASE…
AZCIR, Mar. 4, 2026: “For the first time in Arizona, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are using a Cold War-era law to ticket legal immigrants for minor offenses like not carrying their immigration documents, a break from the agency’s longstanding focus on people in the country illegally. In the past year, federal agents in southwest Arizona issued more than 100 citations to individuals that included permanent residents, visa holders and international students under a 1952 provision enacted to track noncitizens, according to law enforcement records reviewed by AZCIR. The tickets typically carry fines of about $80, though the statute allows for up to 30 days in prison and fines as high as $5,000. … Experts say the consequences could extend well beyond the people who receive citations. Anyone who could be perceived as an immigrant may feel compelled to carry papers at all times, creating “spillover effects even for U.S. citizens,” said Annie Lai, an immigrants’ rights attorney and professor at the University of California, Irvine School of Law. “The idea that we are a place where everybody has to carry their papers is not American,” she said. “That’s not the kind of country that I think a lot of people think we should be.” … “Federal law is full of a lot of different provisions and requirements that this administration … resurrected and used in ways that have never been used before,” said Hiroshi Motomura, an immigration law professor at UCLA. … “This is a move to turn the clock back to a narrower version of who belongs in America,” Motomura said.”
AND THEN THEY CAME FOR THE REPORTERS…
New York Times, Mar. 8, 2026, gift link: “On Tuesday, Estefany Maria Rodriguez Florez, a journalist for a Spanish-language news outlet in Nashville, reported on four immigration-related arrests in Middle Tennessee. On Wednesday, Ms. Rodriguez was herself being tracked by immigration agents and then was taken into custody, accused of violating the conditions of her visa. The arrest of Ms. Rodriguez, an immigrant who was seeking asylum in the United States after she said she received threats for her reporting in her native Colombia, prompted an immediate outcry in Nashville and beyond. And some wondered whether her work documenting the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown had made her a target. … Ms. Rodriguez is an unusual target for detention. She has an active asylum case, a pending green card application through her American husband and no criminal record. In the past, immigrants applying for green cards through their American spouses were not subject to detention, even if they had overstayed their visas. The National Association of Hispanic Journalists said it “denounces immigration enforcement that involves detaining journalists and expresses concern about setting a dangerous precedent for journalists covering immigration.” Katherine Jacobsen, a program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, warned that the United States, which has long served as a safe haven for journalists fleeing retaliation, is now showing “a cruel disregard for this tradition.”
GOOD NEWS FROM MY HOME TOWN, DENVER:
Denverite, Feb. 26, 2026: “Denver Mayor Mike Johnston signed an executive order Thursday that attempts to limit the ability of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to operate in the city. The order blocks ICE agents from staging on city property to enforce immigration law if they don’t have a judicial warrant, a court order or other legal mandate. And it empowers Denver Police officers and sheriff’s deputies to arrest ICE agents in some instances. … “We've seen Americans like Renee Good and Alex Pretti killed for peacefully raising their voices,” Johnston said at a Thursday press conference. “And Denverites ask me every day, ‘What will we do if that chaos comes to Denver?’ To answer that question for Denverites today, I will sign Executive Order 152.”
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Comments always welcome.
Stay brave!
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