I talked with a man who came to the U.S. legally from India. His student visa was running out, so he applied for a master's at the University of Farmington.
The university's website, secretly set up by ICE, claimed to be approved by DHS's Student and Exchange Visitor Program.
So he enrolled, paid $15,000 in tuition, & got his visa. He then got a letter telling him it was all a lie & he needed to leave the country.
600 other students are in the same boat. Some left right away. About 250 were arrested & deported.
None have gotten their money back.
ICE claims they were trying to crack down on "visa fraud." That's weird, because the fraudulent operations were set up and maintained by the government.
They even went so far as to create a fake seal. Creative!
With the exception of 1 person, every targeted student was Indian. It seems ICE thinks Indian immigrants abuse the student visa program.
And by "abuse," I mean the agency resents the fact that they use it at all by legally coming here, studying, & working hard. The horror.
Biden promised he'd make immigration humane again. He also promised he'd make it easier to hold gov't accountable when they violate your rights.
And yet his admin is claiming immunity from a lawsuit where the gov't defrauded victims out of millions of $.
You can't make it up.
Some of the victims used their families' savings to go to Farmington—which they thought was an actual college. Many transferred from legit schools.
A bunch have since been jailed, detained, & deported. They've lost everything. Some say they're suicidal.
If the Biden admin wins in court, that sends a message to other courts: that law enforcement agencies can *violate contracts* & steal people's money with impunity.
@justinamash's bill from last June would've ended qualified immunity for all state actors. It had tripartisan support. It never received a vote. reason.com/2020/06/06/jus…
THREAD: A SWAT team decimated this innocent woman's home while chasing a fugitive. The city says it's not their problem—and has refused to pay for any damages.
Whitmer's April stay-at-home order prohibited all public and private gatherings. It banned the in-store sale of paint & outdoor goods at big retailers. It shuttered lawncare services. It made it illegal to use motorboats, but not boats without motors. reason.com/2020/04/13/mic…
Even with all the prohibitions, lottery sales were still deemed essential.
THREAD: Yet another rogue cop received qualified immunity yesterday.
The judge writing for the majority didn't actually want to grant it. He was forced to, and he had some choice words for everyone involved. It’s a stunning opinion.
The case surrounds a cop, Nick McClendon, who pulled over a man, Clarence Jamison, to conduct a drug search, which resulted in damage to Jamison's car. McClendon told Jamison he’d received a call that he had “10 kilos of cocaine.”
McClendon never actually received that call.
But McClendon proceeded to search anyway for almost two hours, because why not? He even called in a canine, because why not?
No drugs were found, because Jamison is not, in fact, a drug dealer. But McClendon did manage to cause $4,000 in damages to Jamison’s vehicle.