The Correction
Phones up! Hit record!
The date is his son’s birthday. It has nothing to do with Tren de Aragua.
Please take 20 minutes to watch this July 21, 2026 video by John Carlos Frey, “Wrongly Accused by ICE.”
“John Carlos Frey tells the story of Gabriel Cariaco's arrest in Bellevue, Nebraska — a legal asylum seeker who fled Venezuela, accused of being a member of the gang Tren de Aragua, and charged with attempted murder of a federal agent. Frey traces how the government's account changed within 24 hours of the arrest, how a tattoo meant to honor his son's birthday became "evidence" of gang membership, and how bystander video ultimately contradicted the sworn federal complaint filed against him. A year later, a federal judge called the original report "at worst a misrepresentation and at best complete negligence" — and said, from the bench, that he had doubts about trusting law enforcement in this case. This is a story about how a false narrative gets built, how fast it travels, and what it takes to unravel it once it's already made headlines.”
YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK:
High Country News, July 21, 2026: “A new section of the billion-dollar border wall in Arizona is bent out of shape. At least four panels of the wall in the San Rafael Valley were mysteriously damaged months before a controversy-plagued contractor even finished construction.”
LITTLE MARCO JUMPS MANY, MANY SHARKS:
The State Department issued a 100-page report that makes some pretty unhinged claims, including: “For nearly seven decades, the Cuban regime has waged a sustained campaign of subversion against the United States. It is a campaign that has infiltrated the highest reaches of the U.S. government, recruited and cultivated generations of American activists, backed an unprecedented wave of left-wing terrorism on American soil, and carried out one of the most durable and damaging foreign intelligence penetrations in American history.” Wow!
ONE OF MY MENTORS HONORED:
UCLA Law, June 30, 2026: “Hiroshi Motomura, the Susan Westerberg Prager Distinguished Professor of Law and the faculty Co-Director of the Miñana Family Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law, has been named part of the 2026 Class of Great Immigrants, Great Americans by the Andrew Carnegie Foundation. The 2026 Class of Great Immigrants highlights naturalized citizens from 21 countries who are honored for their achievements in academia, the arts, business, medicine, sports, science, technology, engineering, and math. … Motomura is widely regarded as one of the most influential legal scholars in the field of immigration today. His extensive contributions have helped shape modern U.S. immigration policy and advocacy. He was part of the legal team that led the Obama administration to implement the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in 2012. He is also the co-founder of the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN), a nonprofit that provides free legal services to adults held in immigration detention and to immigrant children throughout Colorado. He is a prolific writer, and his influence is visible across a range of academic disciplines and in federal, state, and local policymaking. His book, Americans in Waiting: The Lost Story of Immigration and Citizenship in the United States (Oxford 2006) won the Professional and Scholarly Publishing (PROSE) Award from the Association of American Publishers as the year’s best book in Law and Legal Studies and was chosen by the U.S. Department of State for its Suggested Reading List for Foreign Service Officers. He is a co-author of the immigration casebooks: Immigration and Citizenship: Process and Policy (10th ed. West 2026), and he has published many widely cited articles on immigration and citizenship that are widely cited classics in the field. His book, Immigration Outside the Law (Oxford 2014), won the Association of American Publishers’ Law and Legal Studies 2015 PROSE Award and was chosen by the Association of College and Research Libraries as a Choice Outstanding Academic Title. His most recent book, Borders and Belonging: Toward a Fair Immigration Policy, published by Oxford University Press in 2025, explains why immigration policy is such a contentious area and charts a path forward.
He is also the co-host of the podcast series: Unsettled: Immigration in Turbulent Times, which examines Trump administration policies and actions affecting immigration, migrants and their communities. Inside the classroom, Motomura is known for creative and effective teaching. He was one of 26 professors featured in What the Best Law Teachers Do from Harvard University Press. The book is full of anecdotes from former students. One recounts how Motomura’s teaching helps him successfully represent asylum seekers. “His work has saved lives,” the attorney asserts. In 2017, Motomura received a Guggenheim Fellowship, and he was awarded a Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Residency in 2024.”
A LOOK BACK:
Many (many!) years ago, when Hiroshi and I were both still in Colorado, we showed off our karaoke vocal skills, singing “I Fought the Law and the Law Won.” Take a look:
Needless to say, we both look a bit different today.
That’s all for now. THANK YOU! to all subscribers, new, free and paid.
Comments always welcome.
If you see ICE, CBP or Border Patrol causing trouble, get out your phone and hit record!
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