Vance admits the war, but downplays immigration. He’s wrong on the latter.
Vance’s Don’t Blame Me Post
…. Another pollster—one of the smartest people I know in politics, told me yesterday we’d lose the generic ballot by 13 points. I felt negative going into Tuesday, but even I was shocked by this. In his polling, he saw that a lot of Trump 2024 voters were angry and planning to vote for Democrats. He asked those voters who had abandoned us what would cause them to come back on our team. The top four answers, accounting for nearly all of the responses were:
- End the war
- Focus on cost of living/inflation
- Put America First
- Change our relationship to Israel
Our voters showed up. And the above four reasons are why many of them voted for Democrats. This is according to a pollster who nailed the results. While many spent Monday attacking Rachel Campos Duffy for calling for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict, it turns out her political advice was sound. (She’s also a great person.)
In the next few months, there’s going to be a lot of gaslighting. Expect to hear any number of establishment politicians say the solution to our woes is amnesty. I’m open to the idea that we should change enforcement—by focusing more on businesses that hire illegal labor, for instance. But anyone pushing amnesty is lying to you.
The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night.
If you’d like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so. Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that’s at least honest.
But everyone knows why we lost. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there.
I remain hopeful about our country. To the people who are pissed off and want to say, “I told you so”: you’re right, you did tell us so. Take that energy into electing Republicans who share your worldview. To the people who are just pissed at the results, you should be. Let’s take that anger and get back to the work of saving our country.
Yes, Deportations Too
It was the war. It was inflation. It was corruption.
Israel? That mattered to Michigan, perhaps.
But in general, it was a total repudiation of everything Trump, including deportations.
Heavy-handed deportations and farm policy mattered in Texas, Kansas, Ohio, and Iowa.
The Hispanic vote in Texas was exceptionally angry at deportations. It contributed to the Texas election massacre and may easily have been the final impetus to get rid of Abbott.
ICE Officer Indicted in Houston
On October 30, NBC News reported ICE officer is indicted after striking, injuring immigrant with his vehicle in Houston
A Texas grand jury indicted ICE officer Mario Alberto Morales on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, alleging he drove his vehicle into Miguel Parra Hernandez, who was on foot, earlier this month in Houston.
The indictment of Morales, 33, was returned by a Harris County grand jury Friday morning, Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said.
It is the first time an immigration agent is indicted in Texas. ICE enforcement officer Christian Castro was charged in the January shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis in Minnesota.
Teare said the charge is a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years.
“The evidence that we have in this case is as clear as any that I’ve ever prosecuted or investigated,” Teare said in a news conference Friday.
Vance Gaslighting on Immigration
When I saw that post late October on ICE, I made a mental observation that the timing was explosive enough to sink Governor Abbott.
Paxton sunk the Texas Senate. My belief is Paxton plus ICE brought down Abbott.
ICE was on my bucket list of things to write about before the election, but it was a post that I never finished.
I have a stunning number of posts saved up on ICE just from the past 6 months.
Vance’s Economically Illiterate Solution
Regarding deportations, Vance is a liar, economically illiterate, or both.
Here’s a real-time exchange on X ahead of the election.
Expect More Not Less Inflation
I stand by that. The economy would literally crash.
But what about drip-by-drip?
Mish “I did not favor Biden’s floodgate! It resulted in this push to other extreme. We need to develop a sensible policy. In my view that would be amnesty in return for cooperation from states to get rid of genuine criminals.”
October 30, the Day Ice was Indicted
Grok
Undocumented workers make up 13-19% of construction, 12%+ of agriculture, and 7%+ of hotels/food service.
Removing 18 million would trigger shortages, cut output, delay projects and harvests, and raise housing and food prices.
Wages for remaining workers in those jobs rise modestly short-term.
Studies show native employment also falls as firms scale back rather than raise pay enough to fill gaps. Net: smaller GDP.
What Is Feasible?
Love Grok’s Answer “Realistic plan for all ~13.5M unauthorized in 5 years is not feasible at scale.”
E-Verify
That is exactly the problem with Vance’s employer non-solution.
It’s either a sieve or it works. If it worked, it would work instantly across the board.
It would destroy 13-19% of construction, 12%+ of agriculture, and 7%+ of hotels/food service, immediately.
Kansas Governor on Ice
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has repeatedly criticized uncoordinated U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations across the state, citing major community and economic disruptions.
- Actions and Criticism: Governor Kelly addressed residents and meatpacking workers during a town hall in Dodge City on October 5, 2026, following September ICE enforcement sweeps in rural western Kansas towns like Dodge City, Liberal, and Garden City, where 104 individuals were arrested. She called the federal actions a “wanton abuse of power” and stated that “our system is broken”.
- Economic and Community Impact: Kelly noted that the raids caused widespread fear, school absences, business closures, and partial shutdowns at regional meatpacking plants that produce a large share of U.S. beef. She estimated the economic impact on the region to be at least $14 million and still climbing.
- Manhattan, Kansas: Kelly criticized ICE for conducting unannounced operations in Manhattan, Kansas, without coordinating or communicating with local law enforcement like the Riley County Police Department, noting a lack of standard protocol.
Dirty Little Secret
Here’s a dirty little secret. Republican farm state governors are sick of ICE.
I commend Kansas Governor Laura Kelly for being willing to take a public stand.
She had to step down due to term limits.
Please note: Democrat Cindy Holscher is leading in Kansas and the betting markets have it at 100 percent. Congratulations! But officially this is not yet called.
It may not have been the #1 factor, but it was likely the extra push in gubernatorial races in Kansas and Texas.
So, don’t gaslight me with nonsense about deportations not mattering.
What Will Trump Do?
I can tell you that every time Trump has hinted at realistic policy, the racist wing of MAGA led by Stephen Miller has won out.
As long as Miller is around, he will push for racist, economically illiterate policy. I cannot emphasize enough how much I hate that racist moron and everything he stands for.
With that, Trump just signaled who is calling the shots.
Nonetheless, I will tell you this. Governors in Texas, Georgia, Ohio, Iowa, and Kansas are now going to revolt hard on ICE policy.
Governor Flips
- Texas: Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated incumbent Republican Greg Abbott, becoming the first Democratic governor elected in Texas since before 1994.
- Georgia: Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms defeated Republican Rick Jackson to become the state’s first Democratic governor in over two decades.
- Ohio: Democrat Amy Acton won the executive seat, breaking a long streak of Republican control in the state.
- Iowa: Democrat Rob Sand won, marking the first time Iowa has elected a Democratic governor since 2006
- Kansas: State Senator Cindy Holscher (D) holds a narrow lead to succeed outgoing Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly in this deeply red state.
- Alaska: The race remains too close to call as tabular and ranked-choice percentages are finalized
ICE Punch Hispanic Man 22 Times
ICE Slashing Tires
Masked Goons
Texas Man Who Dies in ICE Detention was Lawful Resident
ICE run over U.S. citizen riding his bike—break his arm.
ICE Sends US Citizen to Mexico
Afghan Soldier Who Fought for US Dies in ICE Custody
ICE Kidnap US Citizen
ICE Detains 506 US Citizens
ICE Covers Up Murder
Amazing Irony – ICE Defender Deported
This crybaby got kid glove treatment.
It is hard feeling sorry for a hypocrite moron. He came out strongly calling for more deportations.
Irony abounds. He got his wish. But he is married to a US citizen and that is one of my lines.
Defund ICE
Massive Errors
Since last year, judges have ruled that the Trump administration has deported more than 170 people in violation of court orders, in defiance of legally mandated due process protections, or to countries from which they had sought or received protection from torture and persecution.
Most of those came in one operation last year, but POLITICO has tracked nearly 30 individual cases since then — including at least three in the past week
ICE Shoot DoorDash Driver in the Back
Goodbye Carlos
Investigate and prosecute every one of these cases.
Let Me Put This Politely
- Fuck ICE
- Shut it down.
- Go after every abuse.
- Investigate Border CZAR Tom Homan who is accused of accepting bribes
- Launch a Congressional Investigation of ICE prisons
To repeat: Fuck ICE. That is coming from someone who wants the criminals deported, all of then. Trump had a chance to do this right.
Few would have objected if he did. Most would have cheered, including me.
Unfortunately, Trump let racists like Miller set policy. The economically illiterate MAGA racists cheered.
Under Miller’s direction, ICE has made so many errors with inane quotas, lack of training, and miserable detention centers that the only sensible action is to start all over with something sensible.
What Is Sensible?
Believe it or not, Trump flirted with sensibility.
June 12, 2025.
Trump on Truth Social
Truth Social: Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace. In many cases the Criminals allowed into our Country by the VERY Stupid Biden Open Borders Policy are applying for those jobs. This is not good. We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!
Flashback June 13, 2025: TACO Trump Backs Down on Farm and Hotel Worker Deportations
Change came. It lasted less than a week before Miller objected.
The Softer Side of Trump
On November, 11. 2024, the Wall Street Journal discussed Trump’s Mass Deportation Promise
Speaking Monday on Fox News, Mr. Homan said the priority will be “public-safety threats and national-security threats,” as well as migrants who “had due process” and “their federal judge said ‘you must go home,’ and they didn’t.”
Good to hear, and add what Mr. Homan told “60 Minutes” last month. “It’s not going to be a mass sweep of neighborhoods,” he said.
Instead he said Mr. Trump’s plan would involve “targeted arrests,” and eventually “worksite enforcement operations.” If officers making an arrest also find an undocumented grandma in the house, will they detain her? “It depends,” Mr. Homan said. “Let the judge decide.”
Some of Mr. Trump’s advisers, including Mr. Miller, have talked about mass deportation in sweeping terms. But enforcement priorities are up to the President, and Mr. Trump has suggested he isn’t interested in illegal grandmothers.
“We have a lot of good people in this country, and we have to do something about it,” Mr. Trump said. “This has been going on for a long time. It’s a complicated subject.” He declined to specify whom he’d deport: “I don’t want to go too much into clarification, because the nicer I become, the more people that come over illegally.” Yet after stringent talk about deterrence, he ended with nuance: “There are some human questions that get in the way of being perfect, and we have to have the heart, too.”
Have to Have a Heart
Trump “There are some human questions that get in the way of being perfect, and we have to have the heart, too.”
Trump said in a recent interview with NBC, that he wanted to work with Democrats to come up with legislation to protect Dreamers, immigrants in the U.S. illegally who were brought as children, from deportation.
Key Trump and Homan Statements
- Homan: Mr. Trump’s plan would involve “targeted arrests.”
- Trump: “We have a lot of good people in this country, and we have to do something about it.”
- Trump: “This has been going on for a long time. It’s a complicated subject.”
- “There are some human questions that get in the way of being perfect, and we have to have the heart, too.”
- Trump said he wanted to work with Democrats to come up with legislation to protect Dreamers, immigrants in the U.S. illegally who were brought as children, from deportation.
How many people know that Trump said those things?
Well, he lied. The Miller racists won every time Trump hinted at doing something sensible. MAGA cheered, of course.
But those policies and Gestapo tactics contributed to losses in Texas, Iowa, Ohio, and Kansas.
Trump just signaled he will continue economically illiterate, racist policies. This will continue until it blows up, just like everything Trump touches eventually blows up.
Dignity Act
Please consider The Dignity Act Bill Summary
Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Florida) introduced the Dignity Act (H.R. 3599) in the U.S. House of Representatives on May 23, 2023, a bipartisan effort to strengthen border security in the United States, provide undocumented individuals with an opportunity to obtain legal status if they meet certain requirements, and update aspects of the U.S. legal immigration system. Additional co-sponsors include Reps. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Oregon), Mike Lawler (R-New York), and Jennifer Gonzalez-Colon (R-Puerto Rico).
This bipartisan effort comes as new polling indicates that more than 4 in 5 Americans – including 80 percent of Republican registered voters – support Republicans and Democrats working together on immigration reforms that address labor shortages and inflation, and protect people already in the U.S. and contributing to their communities. During the rollout of the legislation, Rep. Salazar indicated that the bill is intended to follow the biblical principles of Dignity and Redemption. The bill also aims to focus on modernizing America’s immigration system to meet the country’s economic needs and to do so in a manner that supports American workers. The bill’s title stands for ‘‘Dignity for Immigrants while Guarding our Nation to Ignite and Deliver the American Dream Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘DIGNIDAD (Dignity) Act of 2023.’’
The bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to deploy physical barriers, tactical infrastructure, technology, and personnel along the border where it is most effective. Specifically, it authorizes at least $35 billion in funding to enhance and improve infrastructure and technology between and at ports of entry. It also reforms the U.S. asylum system to make a final determination of asylum eligibility for most asylum seekers at the border within 60 days.
- Initial Screening (First 15 Days). Under the bill, migrants would receive a 72-hour rest period. After that, HC staff would provide an initial screening within 15 days. Staff will conduct criminal background checks, analyze biometric data, verify identification, conduct medical assessments, screen for human trafficking victims, and perform an initial credible fear interview.
- The bill incorporates a version of the Dream Act, which allows young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children and have lived in the U.S. for most of their lives to obtain legal status. This section could allow up to 1.9 million Dreamers, including the roughly 600,000 DACA recipients, to live and work in the U.S.
Immigrants Reduced US Deficits by $14.5 Trillion Since 1994
Please note a CATO study shows Immigrants Reduced US Deficits by $14.5 Trillion Since 1994
A Cato study analyzes how immigrants affected total US government debt.
Trump Doubles Down
Rep Maria Salizar
Salizar – I Can No Longer Support Trump
President Donald Trump turned on U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-FL) after the congresswoman released a campaign ad criticizing his administration’s mass deportation and immigration crackdown
- The Ad: Salazar released a campaign commercial stating that some Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) enforcement actions have gone “too far” and warning that Hispanic voters who supported Trump in 2024 now feel betrayed. She noted that 50% of people detained in July had no criminal records.
- Dignity Act History: Salazar previously authored the bipartisan Dignity Act to create legal pathways for undocumented immigrants, which has long drawn accusations from hardline MAGA wings of supporting amnesty.
- Truth Social Spree: Trump lashed out on Truth Social, calling Salazar a “backstabber” and claiming she grew “soft on the border”. [1, 2]
- Calls for Replacement: He reposted over a dozen critical attacks from supporters, including posts demanding that the party find a new Republican candidate to replace her on the ballot.
- Electoral Fallout: Salazar represents Florida’s 27th Congressional District, a heavily Hispanic district where Trump won 57% of the vote in 2024. Following the public rift, The Cook Political Report downgraded her seat from “likely Republican” to “lean Republican”.
September 18, 2026 GOP congresswoman breaks with Trump in new ad ahead of midterms: ‘Feel betrayed’
Florida Republican Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar tells President Donald Trump in a new ad that Hispanic voters feel betrayed by him as a result of his immigration agenda.
The ad is a remarkable break with the president by a member of his own party over immigration, a major political fissure just months ahead of the midterms.
The congresswoman addresses Trump directly in the ad, speaking straight to the camera as she says, “some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far.”
Salazar points to statistics she said show that 50% of the people detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in July “had no criminal record.”
September 28, 2026 Trump posts series of attacks on GOP congresswoman who criticized him on immigration
The president shared in quick succession on Truth Social at least 14 posts from other users critical of Salazar, who is facing a tough reelection race in Florida as Republicans’ midterm fortunes decline.
“She is nothing but a back stabber. I’m glad the Latino support hasn’t wavered,” one user wrote in a post shared by Trump.
Another user slammed the congresswoman: “She wants amnesty for the ppl how criminally crossed our borders defying our laws.”
The Ad
Salizar saved her career with that Gutsy Ad attacking Trump.
Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far. In July, 50% of the 50,000 people that were detained had no criminal record. Be careful what your advisers are telling you about immigration policy. The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today. You can be for immigration, but Lincoln was for slavery and Reagan was for communism. I’m not talking about giving them amnesty. I’m talking about giving them a dignified life in this promised land. I am Maria Alvara Salazar, and I approve this message.
The race will go to an auto-recount but she has nearly a 0.50 percent ahead.
Congrats to Salizar for openly breaking with Trump.
The ad undoubtedly saved her career.
Expect to see more House Reps and Senators breaking with Trump after this election massacre.
Can I say I called this? Yes, and I am damn proud of it.
Mish Proposal
Republicans and Democrats must work together on immigration reforms that address labor shortages and inflation, and protect people already in the U.S. and contributing to their communities.
In return for sensible amnesty policy, I request states cooperate with the Federal government to deport criminals.
We would not need ICE to do that. So, defund it, entirely. But don’t open the floodgates again.
Extreme policies backfired on Biden, then Trump.
To break the cycle, we need to get rid of Miller, stop listening to racists like Elon Musk, stop listening to the economically illiterate MAGA fools on X, and focus on something sensible that a huge majority can back.
I suggest we start with Salizar’s Dignity Act proposal and work from there.
In case you missed it, please see Trump’s Legacy and a Word of Thanks to MishTalk Readers
My reflections on one of the biggest political wipeouts in history, plus a word of thanks.
Want the answer in just one word?
Texas.
This post is a Helluva indictment! 100% agree on this one!
ICE profiled several high execs in the office. It was big discussion, big fear, big anger. REALLY BIG FEAR.
My buddies and I priced out custom body armor just in case we ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Draw Conclusions on how much this really affected the voting…Grok is Not needed for that.
Unconvinced
Part of the population is really upset at the brown shirt goons, but Americans in general do not care about murdering (other) people.
I think it’s not just a single issue that turned so many people around.
I think it’s the continual lying and promise-breaking.
Having someone look you in the eye and piss over your boots while telling you the rain is a heaven send against the drought.
Agree. Nobody upset about the “brown shirt goons” voted for Trump in ‘24. A sizable number of people who voted for Trump in ‘24 (knowing full well he promised deportations) voted democrat in 2026.
Your not wrong.
It played some part for sure, and for some people who knew people directly affected by ICE it probably played a large role. But for the average American it was a nothing burger next to inflation/rising cost of living which hit everyone. People vote with their wallets, always have and always will.
I’m kind of thinking Trump goes full on National Socialist and gives both Blue and Red teams what they want. Full bore FDR and Teddy and Raygun and Lincoln and Washinton. Bomb the fuck out of world and give out the free shit army on gold trimmed platters to everyone from CA to SC…………
NAZIS WITH SMILEY FACES
Goose stepping is very good cardio workout too.
Fuck ICE. Fuck Trump. Fuck the sanctuary cities.
Insane policies on both sides.
Deport the criminal illegals. Find a way to let the productive ones stay who pick the produce and build the houses.
It’s insane that we can’t solve this, but the only way to solve it is to find a compromise between the two insane extremes.
fuck you who want to fuck sanctuary cities. do you proof everyone for a passport or birth certificate ? how the fuck do you know who is legal ? you dumb fuck.
So you’re for state and local governments to protect criminal illegals with known criminal records? That’s insane.
My point is that there are many state and local governments that want no federal enforcement of any illegal. If that includes protecting criminals, then that is stupid.
Good name calling, but it won’t work.
why would you give a fuck if a local county sheriff or city police force doesn’t want to proof everyone for passports. don’t you want your local police to protect you from ICE goons with masks and no officers badges with names and numbers on them? are you that much of a bootlicker ? you said you want employers to pay a price. why? have you ever employed anyone in your life ? did you ask for a passport.
You’re just not getting it.
I never said that state and local police should be demanding passports or asking for proof of citizenship. Where did I say that?
What I am disagreeing with is active prevention of federal enforcement to deal with illegals with known criminal records.
My wife is a naturalized citizen. About half of her family is naturalized and the rest was born here. Her cousins’ husband was not naturalized and was deported after numerous DUIs and other criminal acts. Good riddance.
On the other hand, we have contact with numerous other family contacts, who I think are likely illegal and I would bet have no papers. I have no interest in deporting them or challenging their status, because they are productive and non-criminal. I don’t know whether or not they are here legally or not, nor do I care, because they are productive and don’t impact me.
It’s not black and white, it’s not all or nothing, it’s nuanced.
when ICE wears masks with no ID, it’s total USSR shit.
after Trump is gone. and ICE takes off the masks. and shows ID on their uniforms, we can talk. but the way it is NOPE>. i was in russia in 90s. you seem really naive.
When did I say I am good with the status quo?
Trump and ICE need to go.
So does the total amnesty open borders that Biden espoused and that many on the left still espouse.
You’re just not taking in what I am saying.
seriously are you not reading what I am posting? I hate ICE with a passion. I am not disagreeing with you, I just said the same thing. Try reading what I am writing.
Also, what part of my previous “Fuck ICE” quote made you think I am pro ICE? I’ll say this clearly for you – ICE is a modern Gestapo with their face masks and their lack of accountability. I hate them with a passion.
Also, I never said I want employers to pay a price. I think you’re confusing me with someone else.
Got it?
Do you want the states asking about a person’s immigration status when the person is reporting a crime? If the states get aggressive like that, even legal immigrants would be reticent to report crimes and would choose to not get involved in any way.
What? Where did I say that?
I’ll reiterate, both the left and right extremes are wrong.
Let me make my position clear:
I live in Los Angeles, one of the biggest sanctuary cities in one of the biggest sanctuary states in the nation.
On the MAGA extreme, the feds have come and national guard come in and create absolute chaos and trouble because of the feds being out of control. I’m 100% against that. I won’t bother to post evidence of that as there are plenty of open source reports of the chaos in LA early in the Trump 47 administration. I was and still am 100% against this insanity.
On the left extreme, the city and state refuse to cooperate and hand over known criminals, and only do so when forced to by federal edict. I am also against this behavior. Here is an example:
California jails transfer hundreds of illegal aliens into federal custody
I can provide other examples, but hopefully you get my point.
It is just easiest and to arrest and seriously fine the cheapskates who hire them, and then the illegals will self deport.
The only reason this is still a problem is because certain people don’t want a pathway to citizenship. Those people being a group with a vested interest in continuing to pay brown people pennies a day to work in the scorching sun just like old times. People who hate to see brown people doing anything but picking cotton and certainly not living here among us! They want a white ethnostate with cheap brown work, and it’s no longer subtle.
A reasonable country would solve this issue by having a clear and easy path to citizenship via service. We used to have a labor corps that built all kinds of infrastructure. The kind we’re currently lacking right now. But killing two birds with one stone means nobody picks fruit for free, and we can’t have that now can we?
Exactly. We hear soooooo much complaining about the “illegal immigrant” problem. But how many times have people ever bothered to ask about the “illegal EMPLOYER” problem?!
Well duh.
In the mid 20th century, there was a focus on providing green cards for workers that did do the work that the average American wouldn’t do. It was managed and the laborers knew that they were here for labor, and in addition, they had the opportunity to apply for citizenship, some got it.
I’ve got a bit of Mexican blood on my mom’s side of the family (from ancestors who were here before the Mexican American War) and because of that, my daughters are more brown than white. My father in law was one of those who came over, and he started out ‘illegal’ but he got his green card and eventually his citizenship. My wife got citizenship too, around 20. I don’t have a problem with immigration, but I do have a problem with uncontrolled immigration.
My point is that there needs to be a pathway to citizenship but that we also can’t have open borders for all. If we want to do that, then let’s just pre-emptively grant citizenship to all 8 billion people on the planet, and be done with it. That doesn’t make sense, so there needs to be something that balances out the insanity on both sides.
Trump and ICE are an over-reaction to the Biden open borders, which was an overreaction to the Trump 45 idiocy. If POTUS #48 is a pendulum swing even farther than Biden or Trump 47, then god help us all. We need to find a solution in the middle, not continued swings ever further to the extreme.
What laughable naivety,
This was not a repudiation of deportations at al, but rather anger and disgust at the complete failure to do it on anything like the scale expected and wanted.
And anger at the cost of living, and inflation, and an evil war.
Blindness like this really shows the extreme divides in the country, on so many levels. People are lying.
exactly my point. agreed. this is a a bit of a wishful thinking groupthink exercise going on here.
Mish provided the evidence and you are just a clown account.
Mike R
4 hours ago
from Mish
Going on a 3-day 2-night backpacking trip.
I will not be able to approve anything that gets caught up needing approval. Multiple links are one possible snare.
Coyote Gulch
Grand-Staircase Escalante
Need a break from this.
But I have many posts scheduled. Three Saturday and I think Three Sunday too. So keep checking.
Some really cool ones Including “Texas Goes Purple and What It Means”
Someone please post this message on my Saturday and Sunday articles.
Mish
I am 100% in favor of going after all the criminals (not counting the crime of being here).
If government does not enforce the crime of being here illegally as you wish, why would it not be ok for selective enforcement at the whim of anyone else? In order for the above to be truly credible congress needs to fix the immigration laws so being here is made possible legally. I consider this one of the issues that was not discussed in this election cycle, just like federal spending and service costs are very close to being beyond salvageable and some others.
Why not counting the crime of being here? How arbitrary is that. Why should people who jumped to the front of the line be rewarded. My partner was an immigrant and she did it legally but was admitted because her family was relatively affluent, skilled, and educated and brought value to the US and so was admitted. If I go to Japan, China or anywhere else I will be deported. I have not problem with them treating me as a criminal in so doing as I am breaking their entry laws.
No amnesty. Did it once didn’t stop or address the problem just made it worse encouraging more illegal immigration. Toothless enforcement. Illegals are a direct or indirect drain on our governments. Americans who want to work cannot find jobs. Remember that chicken plant they raided hundreds of Americans applying for work the next day. USA is one of the most open nations in the world regarding legal immigration.
Would love to see the footage of each of the individual interactions with ICE. Not the 5 to 10 second clips that paint the victims in the most favorable light taken out of context. Some mistakes were made but effectively zero in the grand scheme considering the numbers deported.
If you are not armed and packing ready to spend your life in an interaction with law enforcement and erroneous arrest. Usually being polite not mouthing off being a hard case resisting is the way to go. Contest at the station if a mistake is being made. You break into my house and I shoot you dead. To bad so sad would not be dead if not making such poor choices.
Economic and Community Impact: Kelly noted that the raids caused widespread fear, school absences, business closures, and partial shutdowns at regional meatpacking plants that produce a large share of U.S. beef. She estimated the ec.onomic impact on the region to be at least $14 million and still climbing.
Widespread fear, school absences, business closure & partial shutdowns.
Why unless they are illegal or have overstayed their visas again making them illegal? I’m irritated the business owners weren’t arrested.
Hernandez is another “immigrant” non US citizen fleeing ICE.
Fleeing an Immigration Checkpoint: Under 18 U.S.C. § 758, fleeing or evading a federally authorized immigration checkpoint (or failing to stop when signaled by an immigration officer) is a federal criminal offense.
Illegals are neither a direct drain nor an indirect drain. Hired professional liars created that nonsense for MAGA. Illegals have been coming for decades because conservative Republican businessmen have been hiring them like crazy for decades. By the tens of millions. In 1986 the US Chamber of Commerce pretty much scuttled the enforcement provisions because all of its members were making huge profits on illegal workers. The US Chamber of Commerce does not represent liberals.
1,000 unemployed Americans in a small town who want to work with a 1,000 illegals working under the table or using fake alias. If they were gone the Americans would have jobs, paying taxes and bills purchasing goods in the community.
You’re just wrong. Americans won’t work in the fields and pick produce, and other manual labor jobs like fast food and low paid restaraunt service, or hotel service jobs.
That’s been true for almost 100 years if not more. Hispanic workers were imported specifically for that work in California and the southwest since the 40s and 50s because of a lack of interest from Americans.
Americans won’t do those jobs because they are thankless, physically debilitating, and low paying. The people doing these jobs are a net positive not a net negative on the economy.
Deport the criminals, deport the negative contributors.
Deporting them all is idiocy, not groupthink.
how you gonna check as a boss. you sound ignorant. as fuck.
borders have been wide open for 400 years in north amerika. i hired plenty of mexican dudes in AZ. why would i ask a man for his passport or birth certificate. only way to prove you are amerikan. i don’t carry those around when i shaped up jobs as a kid or as an adult.
you want employers to be immigration officers? fucking idiotic. move to china.
I don’t think I’ve got anything to say Mish hasn’t already said. Anyone still not getting it can kindly take a look at the whipping you just got last Tuesday and wonder how hard it’ll be in 2028. Voters. Hated. This.
And further, if you have any stomach for this terror on our streets as seen in these chairs, I think we ought to send you and your kind somewhere far away from decent human beings.
Amen.
Competition in free and fair markets is implicit in Adam Smith. Trumpists reject this: they want to wave various wands (tariffs, walled borders) to (I can only wildly conjecture, supposedly) guarantee their core ethnic group a comfy living. Competition represented by immigrants and their creativity and hunger have driven the USA for a long time. Meanwhile there are also meat-axe rejections of various technologies that represent the future. Our walls are trapping us inside. Trump’s handle on trade puts this too much in his hands.
We can start undoing all this with reasonable immigration and trade policies. But Trump is seemingly sprinting the opposite way. But who knows, he is so unprincipled and impulsive. Congress needs to (1) stop deferring so much to the president, but necessarily (2) in either party, discipline and humble itself to finally do its job, deals across the aisle for the people’s benefit. Congress members in a lockstep behind a marginalized, nutty, lame duck president won’t get us there.
There should be reasonable moderate policies there, from taxation on down. But apparently reasonable is uncool. Flashy and sassy, extreme and arrogant are in.
trump has only one concern. to be the most talked about person on planet. good or bad, makes no difference to him. this is basic by now after 50 years of this cunt in the limelight.
Yes, almost every nation in the world uses tariffs.
Why Other Nations Use Tariffs
• Protecting local industries: Governments use tariffs to make imported goods more expensive, which gives local businesses a price advantage. Developing countries often rely on higher tariffs to shelter fragile or growing domestic companies from foreign competition.
• Raising government revenue: Taxes collected at customs ports provide a stream of income for public budgets, which is especially common in countries with fewer alternative sources of tax revenue.
• National security and strategic sectors: Nations frequently place tariffs on critical goods—such as energy, steel, or microchips—to ensure they maintain domestic production capabilities.
• Retaliation and leverage: Countries often impose retaliatory tariffs when a trading partner (like the U.S.) targets their exports, or use them as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations.
Exactly. I am for a level playing field and no tariffs if every other country immediately drops theirs. I am also in favor of open borders if I too can migrate to any country I want and collect whatever benefits I feel like and require in a reciprocal manner.
In 2024 the average tariff charged by countries on US exports was 2.4%. Total tariffs charged to foreign consumers by countries that imported our exports, in total, was 2.4%. On 39% of all US exports, countries charged zero tariffs.
I’m responding to peelo who you apparently have no issues with.
bully bully. you are dealing with morons. maga billies. that know nothing.
Very little. The people who think every random negative NPV invader parasite has a right to come here illegally and stay forever and get college admissions, job, loan and other benefit preferences over Americans were already voting against Epstein-owned Trump. His base and independents were very upset about a) the Epstein cover up and obvious concomitant corruption and primary fealty to a foreign country (Israel) over America thereby clearly implied, b) war with Iran for Israel such that MAGA was transitioned to MIGA, c) failure to end Ukraine war and the systemic corruption around this war as dollars are poured into an unwinnable war of attrition against Russia while Zelensky and company siphon our tax dollars into Swiss bank accounts, and d) economic losses primary related to his failure to execute material reshoring and domestic job production in a timely and systemic fashion as promised and the impact of the wars in Iran and Ukraine on affordability and economic well being.
Lies about what illegals actually qualify for didn’t work out in the election, but let’s see how it works a second time!
Not lies. Truth. You must be a very high IQ individual by not addressing any of my points. The question was merely about what caused the drubbing. My point was that those who care about illegals were already voting against Trump. That does not explain why so many changed course from the earlier election. My explanation does. There is a lot of anger about these wars and our foreign policy being subsumed and subordinated to a foreign country. I understand you boomers do not seem to understand this steeped as you are in your post ww2 Israel uber alles mystique but I can assure you those of us who are younger are not willing to sacrifice our children or quality of life for a jewish ethnostate that would not take any of us (Asian, European, Latino or African-American dutiful foot soldiers) as a member or other foreign misadventures.
Your points? The game here has been lying that illegals get benefits (they don’t), preferential treatment for jobs (they don’t), loans (nope), ect ect. And when you get called out you whine and scream like a child who’s been slapped. You’re lying through your teeth and hoping to gum everyone up disproving you.
I’m in my twenties, your shit ain’t flying with my generation (I smell gen X all over this). I don’t give a shit about Israel but it’s nice of you to play your whole hand about how this is about duh Jews to you.
Masked terrorists don’t belong in my town, and we ran them out at gunpoint. Fun fact, they were all Hispanic themselves, probably why their shit didn’t fly in white farming Southern country.
Nobody was voting about Israel in this election and you’re in cope city if you think so. This was purely about rampant inflation, corruption, and lawlessness. You got slapped hard, and you’ll keep getting slapped by keeping it up with Miller.
Go ahead and cry about it, your time is over. You’re getting a blue president in 2028 (you think Vance is gonna hold water?) and the next congressional election map favors Democrats. Not to mention Mississippi flipping making more weird shit likely. Too bad your downvotes didn’t translate to any votes last week.
And as for “no one who cared about illegals before would have voted any other way”. When a legal gun owner got shot down in the street, most folks in my very conservative town in the Carolinas were seething. Now South Carolina is a blue state. Keep it up and see what happens, you’ve already lost SC and Mississippi.
totally agree. boomer here who went to rallies against the paper please AZ repug governor long ago circa 2011. i hid “illegals” in my house from the sheriff raids in downtown phoenix. went to the rallies in brooklyn and columbia u AGAINST the nazis of biden gaza genocide……………fuck the old hate mongers. like 90% of my generation.
Nobody was voting about Israel? The fuck they weren’t. They know intuitively that Israel dragged us into this war that exacerbated inflation. That IS corrupt and lawless.
yup. it’s why biden lost in 2024. GAZA genocide and famine……..lost a fuck ton of arabs and people that give a fuck. like me.
It’s not letting me post multiple links so let me chop this up for you.
Okay then, go find some data backing yourself up. I posted polls at you once and I’ve got more of them to spare. Here’s AP showing that foreign policy was 4% of what people cared about (1). Immigration is 14% (quite minor), and what are the big two there? Oh, affordability and threats to democracy. Combine that with immigration and you see that all three top issues were domestic affairs.
Really notable is that your claim from the other post of republicans caring so much about deporting them all comes unwound when you see that less than 30% of Republicans put immigration as an important issue. Their top issue? The economy.
All of this adds up to show that the masked goon deport them all campaign achieved the following, none of them good things:
The takeaway? Immigration is far from the only cause of voters slamming MAGA in the trash, but the polling undeniably shows that immigration helped put MAGA there with groups that count. In fact, both of these polls show immigration was more important to voters than foreign affairs. And before you whine and cry, NYT was one of the top pollsters for accuracy in the last election so I don’t want to hear they’re a bad source.
Voters hate the war, and they don’t like Israel, but any claims this election was all about Israel specifically is pure delusion without a single number to back it up.
(1) https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/voter-poll/
(2) https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/10/23/polls/times-siena-poll-crosstabs.html
No one said the election was “all about Israel”. Mish posed the question “how much did the deportations affect the election” and the answer is not very much. You’re assuming those alienated people were alienated because of deportations (which is what we’re talking about). They had all sorts of reasons to be alienated. 74% of voters said the Iran war was an important factor in their vote. The war affected their cost of living, and everybody knows Israel dragged us into it. But even that is beside the point – which is why did people who voted for Trump in 24 reverse themselves in 26? It clearly wasn’t immigration/border (a proxy for deportations) since that is the one issue where a majority of voters expressed greater confidence in the GOP. Your bringing up the salience to voters of a given issue – whether it was their #1 or #99 issue – doesn’t address the fact that a slim majority of all voters rated Trump’s handling of immigration/border positively. Ergo, deportations don’t explain why 2024 Trump voters voted for democrats in 2026 or stayed home. Some might think anger over deportations caused democrats to vote in high enough numbers to explain the Tsunami, but only 49% of eligible voters voted – far lower than the presidential election in 2024. The Tsunami required 2024 Trump voters to vote for democrats. Trump doing what he’d said he was going to do on deportations didn’t cause that.
Except the data clearly shows otherwise, and now everyone can see you didn’t follow those links. Voters did not express greater confidence in the GOP. Quite the contrary, every single metric shows the opposite, especially with the independents who punished Trump the hardest. You’re just too dumb to read the polling. You have zero to back yourself up with, so you ignore my well sourced facts to pull shit out of your butt.
Put simply enough for you to understand: immigration only cost the GOP votes in the midterm. This is clearly demonstrated by data showing that independents strongly disapproved of it, as well as latinos who will likely never vote GOP again, and also the blacks who just flipped MS blue. You can stomp your feet and argue other issues mattered more, but the polling shows immigration was the number three issue. You have nothing to refute that so you keep making up statistics.
I say again, show me some data proving me wrong, or shut your mouth. I don’t have time for someone too stupid to read sources OR post their own.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-elections/exit-polls
Which party is better on immigration? GOP 43% Dems 41%.
That’s great, now compare it to the thirteen other polls and average it out. See the issue here? One of us is posting a single poll with no crosstabs and, yep, no stated number of respondents either. The other is posting thirteen polls that have crosstabs and an explicitly stated number of respondents. I have zero reason to give this exit poll any credit because it.
But let’s drill into this poll. It puts the GOP leading on that question by two point, which is an outlier to pretty much every other poll on the issue including RNG and Fox news. This alone makes the poll functionally worthless, since it’s being negated by over a dozen other pollsters.
Way more interesting is the fact that you seem to be ignoring the following question just a little further down:
Uh oh! Strongly support and somewhat support are… 39%! Guess you didn’t read that far down. Disapprove is an even 60%, aka a massive majority. What’s more, the somewhat disapprove is 43% republican, showing that at least some republicans do frown on ICE.
Your own data now shows that ICE is wildly unpopular, with 50% of the population strongly disapproving and another 10% somewhat disapproving. Care to tell me how that says “winning votes” again? Combine that with the dozen other polls showing that last question is a pile of crap and I’m just seeing more support for the fact that ICE screwed up real bad.
I’d also like to take a moment and say this is why aggregated polls are so important. Anything less than aggregated data and you get stuff like this poll showing that ICE has 39% support while the GOP also somehow breaks even on immigration overall, a statistic that doesn’t really add up. Using aggregated polling we can see that the GOP consistently polls at a net negative ten points on the issue. A very different story that lines up with the NBC poll’s data on ICE.
your sentiments are correct. however AIPAC backed candidates did extraordinarily well. and AIPAC spun off a new PAC so there are more. amerika loves warfare. reds and blues. just facts. not wishful thinking. like when the Ds took over in 2006 they gave W more money to wage more and more. same with obama the terrible. he doubled down on the warfare……..
EndlessSummer is exactly right. Almost everyone who thinks mass deportation is bad or evil voted for Kamala Harris. The question is what caused people who’d voted for Trump in 2024 to vote for democrats in 2026. The killings here in Minneapolis were unjustified and will be prosecuted, but didn’t change many opinions about how (or if) immigration law is enforced. Dems probably would have taken the House no matter what – just because of the normal ebb and flow of a midterm election. What made it a blowout was Trump doing the exact opposite of what he’d promised his base on every issue aside from border/immigration. Border /immigration is the only issue where – according to exits polls – Trump’s actions are supported by a majority (54%, as I recall) of voters. Of course, the blatant corruption, influence peddling, focus on irrelevant shit like his ballroom and his overall crudeness and weirdness didn’t help. The number one issue that brought about the Blue Tsunami was attacking Iran at the direction of Netanyahu – a total betrayal that required revenge from enough of his 2024 voters to create what happened on Tuesday.
I’m still waiting for you to find this poll by the way, seeing as the poll aggregation site Realclear polling shows you’re entirely pulling this out of your ass. Need a refresher? I’ll put it down below a second time, since you didn’t respond to it the first time. I count eleven pollsters showing that you’re full of shit, one pollster claiming it’s even that happens to be a huge outlier from the others, and not one pollster showing 54% like you claim. Are you gonna tell me Fox news polling is wrong now? How about RMG, the most right leaning pollster there is?
https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/approval/donald-trump/issues/immigration
From your link: https://www.bigdatapoll.com/blog/democrats-head-into-midterms-with-big-advantage-in-final-poll/ Immigration is the only issue that was R+1.
Barris may have been an outlier on that, but he was the only pollster predicting a +12 Dem environment and Tsunami. Pre-election polls aren’t the standard. Exit polls and subsequent analysis matter more.
One small issue with the graphic you’re citing
In Florida. One state. This is not a national poll, it is a state poll and is thus worthless for this argument. RCP’s page shows the crosstabs for approval nationwide, which is a net negative ten from Big Data Polling. Again, your own source is whacking you in the face.
And I cannot emphasize enough how much you deserve a 3-star Mishelin award on this post.
Yup, I’d like to see elon musk’s assets nationalized on the basis of national security and then someone do research into his alleged illegal working in the US under a student visa. If he did commit a crime, he needs to be stripped of his citizenship and shipped off to Nigeria or the Congo. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
He’d be sent to Canada or South Africa, not the Congo or Nigeria.
Which assets do you want to seize under the guise of national security? Only a tiny fraction (the military part of Starlink) would even remotely qualify. Not Tesla or the civilian part of Starlink or Space-X or his AI stuff.
he’s on the payroll of chinese gov too. i bet a pal, musk will be investigated by D congress and tried in court and sent away as a distraction from epstein investigation which has too many D and R billionaire donors on. musk is only in it for himself. he ain’t on anyone’s team. he’s also gonna spawn a thousand bastard children from mailing out his sperm……….it’s hysterical really. the amerikan people loved this cunt. as i say, democracy works. cunts love cunts.
many folks deported don’t go back to their home countries.
Seeing as SpaceX controls all of our space program launches and is playing hardball with NASA, nationalizing it would be entirely understandable and likely would have happened years ago if we were as competent as we were in the 50s and 60s.
NASA or other governmental agencies cannot run their own space program launches effectively so you want to nationalize them. Planning to enslave all his skilled workers who make things happen?
Hmmm let’s see, they put a man on the moon first and kept that up right until a feckless idiot (Bush) tore their funding out to fund his forever war in the middle east. Now instead of science we’re an international joke who can’t win a war AND can’t get into space. This is hilarious thinking given how well nationalization worked for America been when it wasn’t a hollow joke of a nation being run by corporations. USSR here we come!
i worked at NASA goddard space flight center in early 80s during grad school. great minds and wonderful tech. loved it.
I’d argue that the last 20 years have been some of the most successful government launches since Bush. Many Mars missions, several deep space missions, including the first probe to Pluto, plus missions to the outer planets, JWST, many military missions including AEHF, EPS, EPS-R, SBIRS and other military missions. Plus other ones that can’t be discussed.
And you’ll notice all of them happened when we had an administration that funded NASA. Republicans keep gutting it to fund wars in the middle east they inevitably lose. There’s no denying that this is explicitly a Republican thing, too. Bush? Starts a foreverwar. His daddy? Starts a foreverwar to start them all. Trump? Plunges us right back into the foreverwar after Obama tried to unwind it. Biden pulled out sloppily but pulling out is more than Trump can say as he thrust us right back into, you guessed it, a foreverwar!
Inversely, Bush gutted NASA (his dad didn’t thank God). Obama funded it, and Trump has crippled it into a subsidiary of his Epstein island pal Elon Musk. Did we all forget that we have emails of him begging to go to the island?
Having worked in Aerospace for 30 years and been involved in many successful space programs, I’d say both Dem and Rep administrations have been pretty successful in general. Not arguing about forever wars, my point is that we’ve been successful in space for the last 20 years as a rule. Clearly there were set backs but even in cases where things didn’t go as planned, we were able to fix a lot of problems (research AEHF-1 if you want a good case study).
JWST would never had been the success that it is had it not been for both Dem and Rep admins, bc of the cost and length of development. It’s a stupidly complex system that required everything to go absolutely correctly in order to actually work. Because of that complexity it required D and R administrations over about 15 years to support its design, development, construction, test, launch and deployment.
INTC yesterday. Elmo today. the entire globe tomorrow. pax dumbfuckistan cannot be stopped.
pfffttt that’s nonsense, propaganda.
NASA, the military and other government agencies have historically been the most successful organizations in the world at space launches since the 50s. Mercury, Apollo, Space shuttle, space stations, Voyager, Pioneer, Mars missions, Hubble, Compton, JWST, DSP, SBIRS, MILSTAR, AEHF, NGG, NGP and a shit ton of undisclosed launches… and that’s just from my memory with no research. There are many others but it’s not worth me researching to remember others.
Tell me who can compare to that record? (Answer, no one else).
But where is the money coming to pay for it? Expropriation is the currency of banana republics and it would never pass legal courts here (and if it did the panic it would cause over what might be expropriated next would sink the markets both stock and bonds). Hence to nationalize it means buying the stock, currently 1.8 trillion dollars worth.
Let’s see… how about the money going into it that we stole out of it to fund forever wars? Also, it wouldn’t? I recall America nationalizing a lot of things in the 50s and 60s no problem. Back when we weren’t exporting our weapons production to our enemies in China because it was cheaper. “What about the budget?!” is how we got to a position where the MIC is now entirely inefficient and dependent on Chinese materials to function. Also, I’d love to see that 1.8 trillion dollar valuation add up to any scrutiny. Just like how AI was worth 124308 trillion dollars that don’t exist?