Lita Lacson, contemporary Filipina artist.

"Tomorrow in Yellow."

"Watercolor."

They call them “Notifications.” I call them “Interruptions.”

Trump’s Immigration Policy Sidelines Foreign Doctors Amid Shortage

One of the issues I see in my work. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/04/u...

Travel to the U.S. is taking a big hit lately. No lines at the local borders. Fewer visas at the Consulate.

Farmers in Whatcom, Skagit fear high costs of Iran war | Cascadia Daily News Many farmers will start planting for the season next month

Farmers in Whatcom and Skagit counties will soon start planting their crops. They have to decide what to grow and how much. A complicating factor: an escalating war halfway across the globe.

I’ve heard of truckers detained at weigh stations in the south.

I read Project Hail Mary some years ago. The film looks good, maybe better.

AND, undocumented immigrants pay taxes....

No NYC Marathon lottery selection for me, alas! Only 1% selected, says the internet. High demand event. The irony...some say they only run when chased by bears.

Didn't World War 1 start with an assassination?

Judge Vows to End Trump Administration’s Noncompliance ‘One Way or Another’

Judge Schiltz identified 210 orders issued in 143 cases in Minnesota in which he said Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials had not complied with court orders. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/u...

Bluesky is this curious mix of rage against the machine and pictures of beautiful things. Hopefully the peace from targeted ads continues. "Geritol Now!" can wait.

Policy Brief: It Was Never About Unlawful Migration—Attacks on Legal Immigration Harm America The Administration has dismantled lawful immigration pathways wholesale, severely damaging our economy and national security, upending lives, and growing the undocumented population. This brief explor...

"Legal" immigration is under attack. 1.6 million have been stripped of their legal status in the past year. Insightful policy brief from the American Immigration Lawyers Association here: www.aila.org/library/poli...

I didn't watch the State of the Union. Seemed like the healthy decision. I went to the gym. But then I ate some expensive potato chips, so all is not good.

"Spring break trail work for teens: Local youth aged 14–18 are invited to join WTA for a fun spring break camp from April 7–9 at Larrabee State Park in Bellingham..."

Another image from yesterday evening in the Skagit River estuary... A juvenile bald eagle adjusts their perch, with Mount Baker looming in the background (about 20 miles away).

You know you're right

Con Men Posing as Lawyers and Judges Preyed on Immigrants, U.S. Says

Con Men Posing as Lawyers and Judges Preyed on Immigrants, U.S. Says www.nytimes.com/2026/02/20/n...

I'm not going to sing praises for this Supreme Court, and I have more questions about this "major questions doctrine", but nice to see the Court show some separation from Trump, as far as democracy goes.

This is great and I hate being this guy but @projectsaltbox.bsky.social noted this last Friday.

projectsaltbox.substack.com/p/nternal-ic...

Unpacking Myths About Noncitizen Voting — How Heritage Foundation’s Own Data Proves It’s Not a Problem - American Immigration Council A close examination of the evidence put forward by critics shows just how extraordinarily rare noncitizen voting truly is.

Unlawful voting is not a serious issue. The effort to say that is--that's the issue. www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/myths-a...

Paul Blume @PaulBlume_FOX9 · 1h BREAKING NEWS: U.S. District Court Judge Laura Provinzino has just found a government atty in CIVIL CONTEMPT of COURT for violations of her orders in a habeas case. Attorney cited is Matthew Isihara, a JAG atty from Dept. of War assisting in local US Attorney office @FOX9 (1/) Paul Blume @PaulBlume_FOX9 · 1h Judge Provinzino had ordered a detained immigrant held by ICE in El Paso, TX be released in Minnesota with all of his identification papers. ICE released the man in TX with none of his papers, forcing his attorney to find him a shelter for the night & flight back to MN (2/)

Paul Blume @PaulBlume_FOX9 · 57m Judge said she is imposing CIVIL CONTEMPT "to force the government to comply with her court order" to immediately return immigrant's papers. Gov't attorney Matthew Isihara is responsible for $500 daily fine, every day the man does not have his papers starting tomorrow. (3/3) Paul Blume @PaulBlume_FOX9 · 47m CONTEMPT FINDING: Matthew Isihara apologized for allowing the order in this habeas case to "fall through the cracks." Blamed situation on case overload & significant understaffing in US Attorney's office. Says he has picked up nearly 130 habeas cases in just last month. @FOX9

1. DHS surges 3,000 officers to Minneapolis without doing anywhere near enough prep first.
2. Hundreds of habeas cases overwhelm local courts.
3. Dozens of DOJ lawyers quit in disgust/anger.
4. The DOJ brings in JAGs to cover.
5. A JAG was just held in contempt and fined $500/day for ICE's failures.

How Legal Immigration Became a Deportation Trap Under Trump, the Homeland Security agency responsible for processing visas and green cards has become a site for easy arrests.

The Administration is targeting "legal" immigration. It's not just "criminals." It's not just undocumented. www.newyorker.com/news/annals-...

This AIC report is very prescient on the costs of mass deportation. Terrible spending decisions, aside from humanitarian, civil rights and economic impacts.

This is one reason we put out a huge report in 2024 analyzing the actual costs of mass deportation! Everyone was talking in the abstract and we tried to make it real. www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/report/mass-...

Breaking news has a way of ruining recording things for later consumption.

Moving On From Minnesota, ICE Leaves a Legal Mess Behind

Moving On From Minnesota, ICE Leaves a Legal Mess Behind www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/u...

Think Immigration: Keeping America Great: Immigrants Defending and Protecting the United States Through U.S. Military Service Joanna Kloet reflects on her time as Morgan Lewis Military Immigration Fellow and how “the line members of the national defense apparatus with whom I interacted...steadfastly advocated for individuals...

"Many people, including immigration lawyers, are surprised to learn that non-citizens have been permitted to enlist in the U.S. military for 250 years. In fact, no uniform rule governed enlistment of immigrants in the Armed Forces until 2006." https://bit.ly/4rdX3fv

Seriously....detaining and deporting grandma is not good policy.

About $75 billion was funded to ICE in Trump's bill last summer. That's a huge number.