U.S. Border Enforcement - ICE will get you

[Ellie]

Pamela Geller

Link to Guardian article

I have to say, though, that -- at least based on the article (which is all I know about the group) -- there would be an arguable case for excluding them from the UK, too, as we have in the past excluded figures like Michael Savage, Robert Spencer, Pamela Geller, Lauren Southern and Brittany Pettibone.

On X, Sharon Osbourne urged people to advocate for revoking band members’ visas, saying that their projections displayed “anti-Israel messages and hate speech” and that they “openly support terrorist organizations.” Asked about Osbourne’s tweets, Mo Chara responded, “Her rant has so many holes in it that it hardly warrants a reply, but she should listen to ‘War Pigs’ that was written by Black Sabbath (her husband).”

Kneecap Respond to Coachella Criticism, Address Sharon Osbourne Comments

“The reason Kneecap is being targeted is simple — we are telling the truth, and our audience is growing,” the statement read.

“Those attacking us want to silence criticism of a mass slaughter. They weaponize false accusations of antisemitism to distract, confuse, and provide cover for genocide,” bringing up “massive numbers of Jewish people” who are “outraged by this genocide just as we are”.

Kneecap release statement following Coachella controversy: "We have faced a coordinated smear campaign"

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Kneecap Respond to Coachella Criticism, Address Sharon Osbourne Comments



Kneecap release statement following Coachella controversy: "We have faced a coordinated smear campaign"

Fair enough, but I thought -- in the interests of balance, since I'm obviously no supporter of Trump and how his administration are abusing visa controls -- it worth noting that Kneecap's apparent public support for Hamas and Hezbollah (both proscribed terrorist organisations in the UK) would probably give them problems with British border control were they not a UK group.

I suspect that the band's provocative name, combined with its rather OTT adoption/appropriation of Irish nationalist iconography (tricolour balaclavas? PIRA used black ones) is simply a post-Good Friday Agreement provocative pose, but their self-identification with PIRA is a useful reminder that nationalist movements are frequently an alliance between left-wing anti-colonialists and right-wing ethno-religious nationalists, with a fair bit of organised crime thrown into the mix.

 

[Ellie]

Would the definition of terrorist organization action include the May 2024 IDF murders of 7 World Central Kitchen aid workers and March 2025 execution of 15 paramedics and rescue workers? Arguably acts of terrorism sanctionable as such if committed by any other country.

While it's vital to bar the entry of those advocating violent action into any country, this band has repeatedly emphasized its support for non-violent protest.

The US and UK governments appear to be hell bent on silencing & criminalizing free speech by any critical of their allies, and even deporting them (US), when there's overwhelming evidence that ally commits state-sanctioned murder.

(trigger warning)

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/02/evidence-execution-style-killings-palestinian-workers-israeli-forces-doctor-says

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Would the definition of terrorist organization action include the May 2024 IDF murders of 7 World Central Kitchen aid workers and March 2025 execution of 15 paramedics and rescue workers? Arguably acts of terrorism sanctionable as such if committed by any other country.

While it's vital to bar the entry of those advocating violent action into any country, this band has repeatedly emphasized its support for non-violent protest.

The US and UK governments appear to be hell bent on silencing & criminalizing free speech by any critical of their allies, and even deporting them (US), when there's overwhelming evidence that ally commits state-sanctioned murder.

(trigger warning)

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/02/evidence-execution-style-killings-palestinian-workers-israeli-forces-doctor-says

No. Terrorist organisations, in this context, means organisations that have been proscribed by the UK Home Secretary as such under the Terrorism Act 2000 .

However, the murder of civilians by soldiers is almost certainly a war crime, and the UK can (and does) prosecute both British and foreign nationals accused of such crimes.

Met Police assessing claims Britons committed war crimes in Gaza

Officers are deciding whether to investigate, a Counter Terrorism Policing spokesperson said.

www.bbc.co.uk

It also, of course, will arrest people subject to war crimes indictments and extradite them for trial by the ICC

No 10 indicates Benjamin Netanyahu faces arrest if he enters UK

Downing Street refuses to comment on the case but says the government will fulfil its "legal obligations".

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Jopsy Pendragon]

Trump is killing the tourism industry

"Travel advisories have spread from Germany to the UK to to Canada to Denmark and Finland."

www.publicnotice.co

Evernote Link

It's not just a loss of foreign tourists either.

The deportations will have an inevitable impact on tourism related industries. Food prep, hotel housekeeping, janitorial, maintenance, landscaping, sanitation, and more.

Tariffs will impact the cost of imported foods, gift shops, often a critical way that commercial parks and entertainment venues suppliment their revenue with outrageously marked up foreign-made cheap chotchkies, t-shirts and souvenirs.

Without the bulk/economy of scale to skim slim profits off of, what little tourist oriented services that remain will quickly be priced out of the range of typical Americans too, causing the industry to shrink even further.

I guess those cashiers/shop/attraction workers can always go get a job delivering amazon packages or mask up and be an anonymous ICE agent breaking into people's homes without a warrant or something.

 

[Lexxi]

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/25/us-citizen-deportation-donald-trump-00311631

Judge says 2-year-old US citizen appears to have been deported with ‘no meaningful process’
The girl was deported Friday with her mother to Honduras, despite her father’s efforts to keep her in the United States.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Irish woman living legally in US for decades detained after visiting her father in Ireland

Cliona Ward (54) lives in California but is being held in a large immigration prison in Washington state

www.irishtimes.com

 

[Jopsy Pendragon]

I swear this whole damned ICE effort seems to be less about getting rid of foreigners, and more about just arming redneck white racists and cutting them a paycheck. Building loyalty and infrastructure to make sure they're ready to incarcerate the entire left when they pull the trigger.

 

[Free]

I can't tell if this is The Onion or not.

ICE Agents Wait At Edge Of Delivery Table To Deport Newborn

theonion.com

 

[Free]

We are all potentially illegal immigrants now.

Republicans vote against move to stop ICE deporting US citizens

One Democratic lawmaker called the situation "bats**t crazy."

www.newsweek.com

House Republicans have voted down an effort to block immigration enforcers from using federal resources to detain or deport U.S. citizens.

During a House Judiciary Committee meeting on Wednesday, Democrats tabled amendments to a sweeping budget bill that President Donald Trump has dubbed "one big, beautiful bill."

One amendment introduced by Representative Pramila Jayapal, the Democrat from Washington state, sought to make clear Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cannot detain or deport U.S. citizens under any circumstances. GOP lawmakers killed that amendment.

 

[Free]

Expect more of this, considering how easy ICE's behavior is making it.

Florida woman accused of impersonating ICE agent to kidnap ex-boyfriend's wife

A Florida woman was arrested and accused of impersonating an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer to kidnap her ex-boyfriend's wife.

Authorities arrested Latrance Battle and charged her with kidnapping, falsely impersonating an officer while committing a felony and robbery, the Bay County Sheriff's Office said in an April 21 news release.

The victim, who is in the process of obtaining legal residence in the United States, told investigators she went with Battle because she believed Battle was a real immigration agent, but grew suspicious and frightened.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Link to Slate article

Evernote Link

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

We are all potentially illegal immigrants now.

Republicans vote against move to stop ICE deporting US citizens

One Democratic lawmaker called the situation "bats**t crazy."

www.newsweek.com

I'm on the fence about this. I mean, yes, the Republicans showed their hand here. But it is already unlawful to deport a US citizen, so what extra protection did that amendment offer?

The fact of the matter is, the Trump administration has already demonstrated it believes itself above the law, so if it gets a wild hair up its ass and decides to deport citizens to El Salvadoran gulags, it'll do so, amendment or no amendment.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

https://www.reuters.com/world/china/us-economy-risks-losing-billions-travel-demand-weakens-analysts-warn-2025-05-02

Evernote Link

 

[Beebo Brink]

Frankly, I'm surprised anyone from overseas is still visiting the U.S. The ICE stories alone would be enough to persuade me that my money could be spent elsewhere in the world for a safer vacation.

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

Frankly, I'm surprised anyone from overseas is still visiting the U.S. The ICE stories alone would be enough to persuade me that my money could be spent elsewhere in the world for a safer vacation.

I can understand how someone who already had a vacation booked might just hope and pray the stories are overblown. ...though I think they have been confirmed from too many sources, so I agree.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Airport Detentions Have Travelers ‘Freaked Out’

Fears of being detained are in overdrive, even if the Trump administration insists that they’re overblown.

www.theatlantic.com

Evernote Link

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Trump's Deal with an Authoritarian Hitman

The Trump administration is trying to outsource immigration policy to a dictator who hunts down and murders his political opponents with ruthless assassins.

www.forkingpaths.co

Evernote Link

 

[Free]

Trump is big on doing business with those he'd like to emulate.

 

[Beebo Brink]

Lord Buffalo Drummer Detained by Border Patrol

Yamal Said, drummer of the Austin, Texas-based rock band Lord Buffalo, was forcibly removed from a plane and detained by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol on Monday while en route to the band’s European tour; he has had no contact with his bandmates for two days, according to a social media post from the group. Said is a Mexican citizen but a legal permanent resident of the United States and holder of a green card, according to the post.

According to the Austin Chronicle, Said has been an Austin resident since the 1980s, when his parents relocated the family here following an earthquake in Mexico City. He is a longtime staple of the Austin music scene and previously played with the band the Black, and also worked as a music instructor and substitute teacher at the Texas School for the Blind.