Celebrate the 4th

Get out of the water?

July 4th 1975, a simpler time - Jaws (Universal - Getty)

So much has happened since I last posted. Most of it is very dispiriting. The Executive branch has been jumping the shark daily since before the inauguration. Within the last few days, a Republican Congress, heretofore having relinquished its powers and responsibility to the Executive, squeaked out passage of the deeply unpopular One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), which is likely to be the most regressive and corrosive pieces of legislation ever.

Justice Fonz Barrett jumps the shark

SCOTUS jumped the shark, yet again, with its decision in Trump v. CASA. In what should have been a slam dunk in favor of a clear Constitutional right of birthright citizenship, the Court decided instead to kneecap the federal judiciary’s equitable powers thereby allowing Trump to essentially violate Constitutional rights at will. The hard-won freedoms celebrated on the 4th have never been so at risk in my lifetime. It is hard to celebrate.

One of my friends will not celebrate. Via an email entitled “No celebration if your name is Ramirez,” he explained his decision by pasting an ABC report on how Javier Ramirez, a U.S. citizen, was taken into custody by ICE.¹ When ICE raided Ramirez’s tow yard, he yelled “ICE! Immigration!” ICE targeted him immediately, dropped him to the floor, and handcuffed him as he screamed, 'I have my passport! I have my ID! I'm a U.S. citizen!' ICE took Ramirez, who was born in San Bernardino, to an undisclosed location without allowing him to take his insulin medication with him.

My friend’s last name is also Ramirez, and although the news reports on this incident speak for themselves, he expressed his feelings with the following editorial on the incident:

This is obviously Highly symbolic of a 1000 things that are going profoundly wrong in this country including collapse of reproductive rights, the right to be who you want to be gender and sexuality wise, the right to run an educational institution as you and your population sees fit, The right to have a fair and objective court system balance important rulings, The right to have a government providing you with accurate and important health education etc et cetera. Opposition to all this can and will take many forms but ultimately will be met by forceful often armed and always violent put down by those seeking power and suppressing their opponents. The vast majority of my friends being sent this information are in a relative safe space but certainly not all of them. So this particular episode is profoundly personal. I'm the guy who will absolutely yell "ICE is coming". And it is coming- to Virginia to Georgia to North Carolina, everywhere in this country. So it is highly likely I will be knocked down handcuffed beaten up and arrested. Do you think it might help if I yell "but I'm Jewish!" ?. Yeah probably not. I've been lazy about going to protest but this article made me get some blank signs, poles, and the determination to go to the next one having picked my slogan. It will simply say: MY NAME IS RAMIREZ

I think most of us can empathize with his righteous indignation and can understand way he refuses to celebrate this year.

No matter how you feel about undocumented immigrants, masked, armed federal agents are jumping the shark by violating the rights of citizens and non-citizens alike, and thanks to the OBBB they just got billions of additional dollars to do so in a much bigger way. With border crossings at an all time low, one wonders what all these current and future ICE agents are going to do with themselves…hummm…

ICE new recruit training

Perhaps they will increase their assaults on U.S. citizens. In addition to ICE assaults on the mayor of Baltimore, the Comptroller of NYC, L.A. protesters, and a California Senator, here is a summary of documented cases highlighting a pattern of wrongful detentions of citizens and legal permanent residents, often based on misidentification and racial profiling:

🇺🇸 U.S. Citizens Detained by ICE

1. Cary López Alvarado – A pregnant U.S. citizen arrested on June 8, 2025, alongside coworkers during a raid. She was briefly detained and released shortly after asserting her citizenship. visaverge.comen.wikipedia.org+1franknez.com+1

2. Jensy Machado – A naturalized citizen detained March 5, 2025, in Manassas, VA, mistaken for another person; released after showing documents. en.wikipedia.org

3. Adrian Andrew Martinez – U.S. citizen detained violently near a Los Angeles Wal-Mart in June; released on bond June 21. Charged later. en.wikipedia.org

4. Julio Noriega – U.S. citizen with learning disabilities detained January 31, 2025, in Chicago/Berwyn; held overnight then released once citizenship confirmed. theimmigrationhub.org+7en.wikipedia.org+7washingtonpost.com+7

5. Leonardo Garcia Venegas – American-born, detained in Foley, AL raid in May; released after verifying via SSN. sfchronicle.com+2en.wikipedia.org+2franknez.com+2

6. Jason Brian Gavidia – Detained in June in Montebello, CA, during a raid; released after document check. en.wikipedia.org+1franknez.com+1

7. Job Garcia – A U.S. citizen and photographer/PhD student detained June 18 in LA Home Depot raid while filming; held ~24 hours before release, now suing DHS. nypost.com+15theguardian.com+15en.wikipedia.org+15

8. Elzon Lemus – Stopped and briefly detained in Westbury, NY during a commute; released after providing ID. en.wikipedia.org

9. Javier Ramirez and Brian Gavidia (Montebello, CA) – In June, detained during raids; both U.S. citizens released after identity verification. franknez.com+1en.wikipedia.org+1

10. Cary López Alvarado again noted in Paramount, CA context (June), detained four days, released after giving birth. franknez.com+1en.wikipedia.org+1

11. 19‑year‑old Jose Hermosillo – U.S. citizen with disabilities held for nearly 10 days in Arizona; released after family provided birth certificate/SSN. immigrationforum.org

12. Juan Carlos Lopez Gomez – 20-year-old citizen arrested in Florida, held until birth certificate shown. immigrationforum.org

🛂 Legal Permanent Residents Detained by ICE

1. Johnny Noviello – Canadian citizen with U.S. green card detained May 15 in Florida; died in custody under investigation. houstonchronicle.com+15theweek.com+15washingtonpost.com+15

2. Kilmar Abrego Garcia – LPR arrested March 12, 2025, in Baltimore; transferred to remote detention facilities in Louisiana and Texas. theguardian.com+4en.wikipedia.org+4washingtonpost.com+4

3. Mohsen Mahdawi – Palestinian green-card holder detained April 14 during a citizenship interview in Vermont; released April 30 by court order. en.wikipedia.org

Yes, Clint. WTF!

I doubt this ChatGPT generated list is exhaustive. The most disconcerting aspect of this trend is how it relates to SCOTUS’s CASA decision. Trump will continue to attack birthright citizenship, and while he should eventually lose, the notion of citizenship itself will remain at risk while courts are unable to provide appropriately sweeping relief to those whose rights are being threatened. It won’t stop there. Trump and his minions have constantly asserted that if you don’t agree with them, if you aren’t MAGA, you hate this country, you aren’t a patriot, you aren’t a “real American,” and don’t deserve to live here. With that attitude, it’s not much of a leap for them to look for ways to take away your citizenship and deport you. We’ve only recently recognized our mistreatment of American citizens of Japanese heritage during WWII. Under racially-motivated Jim Crow era laws, many states still disenfranchise former felons, barely recognizing them as citizens. The right to vote is fundamental to citizenship, but for decades, it has been the stated objective of Republicans to dilute and restrict the ability of likely Democratic voters to express their rights as citizens. Now, Trump’s DOJ has made it a priority not only to revoke resident status but also to denaturalize U.S. citizens and revoke their citizenship on the basis of possibly vague notions of moral character. There are 25 million of our fellow citizens subject to possible denaturalization under this policy. For the great sin of opposing the OBBB, Trump has already threatened Elon Musk (former co-president, current thorn in side) with revoking his citizenship.

Elon Musk celebrates starting a new political party

Trump has also somewhat more obliquely threatened likely future NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Indeed, it is hard to feel celebratory about July 4th in light of current events, and I don’t blame my friend or anyone else for taking a pass on the holiday this year. But my friend will continue to defend and assert his rights in the best way he can. We can’t stay out of the water. Eventually, after great sacrifice, Chief Brody killed that shark (unfortunately, there were several sequels).

Personally, I’m putting the flag out on the front of the house to accompany our various “resist” yard signs. I’ll light up the grill and share food with neighbors. When it’s time for me to go back in the water, I hope I’m brave enough to do so, and I hope I’m surrounded by all of you (safety in numbers!). As much as I’m trying to put a light spin on some of this, I am weeping for my country right now. Nevertheless, on July 4th, I will celebrate what citizenship should mean in spite of the authoritarian assault on its concomitant freedoms.

Jocko loves him some fireworks!

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1. From ABC news 7 LA June13 2025.