Chart of Democratic overperformances in the last year by G Elliot Morris
Hi, all, and happy Sunday!
It’s been another brutal week, but boy did we have some notable wins nonetheless! From massive electoral over-performances in Texas to court wins in Minneapolis to more examples of defiance and resistance from celebrities, tech CEOs, and we the people, our growing coalition is absolutely knocking it out of the park.
So yes, it’s tough out there. AND yes, our wins are abundant and getting bigger.
Please read this list, then share it with everyone you know so they can see proof that we are on the upswing.
Thank you for your hard work, folks. It’s working!
Celebrate This! 🎉
A federal judge ordered the release of 5-year-old Liam Ramos and his father from an ICE detention center in Texas. On his flight home the flight crew let him up into the cockpit and made a fuss over him before the plane took off. He and his dad are now home in Minnesota with Liam’s mom! Shout out to Rep. Joaquin Castro for prioritizing this child’s case.
Photo from Rep. Castro’s IG
Democrat Christian Menefee won a Texas U.S. House seat in a special election that will narrow Republicans’ majority in the House.
In a major upset, Democrat Taylor Rehmet, a machinist and Air Force veteran, flipped a state Senate seat in Fort Worth, Texas in a district Trump won by 17 points! He defeated Trump-endorsed Republican Leigh Wambsganss by double digits. An absolutely huge win!!
Much of the country participated in a last minute one-day general strike on Friday, with students skipping school, businesses shutting down for the day, many choosing not to spend money, and massive protests taking place in cities across the country. HUGE!
A company called Gist Yarn offered a free “Resistance is American” Name Draft in solidarity with those participating in the general strike. If you’re unfamiliar, Name Drafting is a method of encoding words into woven fabric. In this specific draft, the threading is coded “Resistance” and the treadling sequence is coded “is American.”
A Minnesota judge appointed by George W. Bush has become an unlikely critic of the Trump administration’s tactics in Minnesota. He’s the one who ordered the acting head of ICE in MN to personally appear in court in Minneapolis on Friday.
A number of Republican mayors are speaking out against the Trump administration’s hardline immigration enforcement tactics in Minnesota saying “our cities are no longer safe.”
Democrats outraised their GOP counterparts across several of this year’s marquee Senate races heading into 2026, according to new filings submitted to the Federal Election Commission on Saturday.
A fundraiser for the family of Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old ICU nurse shot and killed by Border Control agents, has topped $1.6 million. (May require login)
The two Customs and Border Protection officers who shot Pretti have been put on leave.
A federal judge granted an order barring federal officials from altering or destroying evidence in the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, after state officials said they were blocked from accessing the scene to collect evidence despite having a warrant.
The Department of Justice dropped its effort to obtain personal and medical information for transgender patients at a Los Angeles children’s hospital.
Though Congress cut $500 million from NPR and PBS stations, vanishingly few have closed their doors so far. Sounds like private donors are stepping up!
A federal judge revived a wind farm that Trump had halted off Martha’s Vineyard.
A bill banning ICE from operating detention facilities in New Mexico moved forward in the legislature.
In special elections on Tuesday, Democrats won two left-leaning districts in Minnesota, preventing Republicans from holding a majority in the State House of Representatives.
The family of Alex Pretti has retained the lawyer who helped prosecute the George Floyd case.
Knitters are protesting the ICE siege in Minnesota with red hats, inspired by resistance to Nazi Germany in the 1940s, when “Norwegians made and wore red pointed hats with a tassel as a form of protest against Nazi occupation of their country.”
Support for abolishing ICE is surging among Republicans; 19% now “somewhat or strongly support” abolishing ICE, up from 12% earlier this month.
A Republican candidate for governor of Minnesota dropped out of the race, blaming President Trump’s immigration operation in the state and calling it “an unmitigated disaster.”
FEMA has extended housing aid for survivors of the 2023 Maui wildfires through February 2027.
More than 60 CEOs of major Minnesota-based companies — including Target, 3M, Best Buy, and General Mills — signed a letter “calling for an immediate deescalation of tensions and for state, local and federal officials to work together to find real solutions.”
The NRA and other “pro-gun” groups are calling for a “full investigation” into the killing of Pretti.
A growing number of Republican lawmakers are also pressing for a deeper investigation into Pretti’s fatal shooting.
Mattel released a new Barbie honoring Opal Lee, who is known as the “grandmother of Juneteenth.”
Heart disease and stroke deaths in the U.S. have dropped for the first time in five years, according to the American Heart Association’s latest annual report, which cites data through 2023.
Nine progressive prosecutors—including my favorite, Larry Krasner—are launching a coalition to assist in prosecuting federal law enforcement officers who violate state laws. It’s called the Project for the Fight Against Federal Overreach or FAFO. Fantastic!
Ezra Levin told me that Indivisible’s Eyes on ICE training on Monday had 200,000 people on it!
31,000 frontline registered nurses and health care professionals represented by UNAC/UHCP plan are on an unfair labor practice (ULP) strike at Kaiser Permanente hospitals and clinics across California and Hawaiʻi. The strike is the largest health care strike in the nation this year.
The largest union of federal workers in the US demanded the resignation or firing of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller after Alex Pretti’s murder.
Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) is retiring from office and will not seek re-election this year.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom filed a civil rights complaint with the HHS urging a probe into Dr. Mehmet Oz’s baseless allegations targeting Armenian Americans.
Kristi Noem finally agreed to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee after months of stonewalling.
President Trump’s immigration policy fell to its lowest level of approval since his return to the White House in a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, with a majority of Americans saying his crackdown on immigration has gone too far.
Gregory Bovino has been removed from his role as Border Patrol ‘commander at large’ and will return to his former job in El Centro, California, where he is expected to retire soon.
Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala says ICE, which is supposed to support security operations at the Winter Olympics in Italy, is “not welcome.”
Remember how I asked you to donate to help Osbaldo, a Boyle Heights street vendor who’s been in the country for 30 years and was recently detained by ICE? Well, not only has he made bail—the needed amount was surpassed by 10K!
Reid Hoffman published an Op-Ed in the San Francisco Standard entitled “Silicon Valley Can’t Be Neutral Anymore.” Good.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker announced the creation of the Prairie State Access Fund, a public partnership with the Michael Reese Health Trust, designed to expand reproductive healthcare amid mounting national restrictions.
Composer Philip Glass called off a scheduled world premiere at the Kennedy Center of a symphony about Abraham Lincoln, the latest in a wave of cancellations since FOTU$ ousted the previous leadership.
According to Rolling Stone, some two-thirds of the crew members who worked on Melania in New York have requested not to have their names formally credited on the documentary.
U.S. life expectancy rose to 79 years in 2024 — the highest mark in American history.
Sarah Mullally became the archbishop of Canterbury, making her the first woman to lead the Church of England.
Family members of two Trinidadian men who were killed in a U.S. strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat in October sued the U.S. government, accusing it of wrongful death and extrajudicial killings.
Martha Stewart spoke out against ICE on Instagram after her 14-year-old granddaughter sent her a text message, which read, “I’m not sure it’s excusable to not be speaking up right now.” Amazing.
Amanda Gorman posted a spectacular poem in honor of Alex Pretti.
Democrats succeeded in getting the DHS funding bill separated out from the other 5 spending bills. They now have two weeks to create meaningful guardrails for ICE or the DHS funding will get shut down.
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar announced her campaign to succeed Gov. Walz.
The Canadian-based company that owns the Hanover County warehouse in VA, which was previously slated to become an ICE facility, has backed out of the deal.
Don Lemon was released on his own recognizance after a federal judge rejected the government’s request to order a $100,000 bond, and also denied a request to limit his travel to New York and Minnesota. Independent Minnesota journalist Georgia Fort and two others were also released.
Watch This! 👀
Bruce Springsteen released a protest song called “Streets of Minneapolis” to condemn the violence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis and memorialize the lives of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. If you haven’t yet seen the video please watch! It made me weep.
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