Trent and Caitlin check in with journalist Steven Monacelli, a special investigative correspondent for the Texas Observer, about the evolution and current-day doings of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, the dangers they pose to citizens and noncitizens alike, and the experience of being a journalist observing resistance to authoritarian police actions.

Resources:

Steven’s Observer work: https://texasobserver.org/author/steven-monacelli/

Steven’s website: https://stevenmonacelli.com/

“Less lethal”: https://wired.com/story/what-tear-gas-does-to-the-human-body/

Australian reporter hit by rubber bullet: https://youtube.com/watch?v=fkdajl35J48

ICE prosecutor running white supremacist account: https://texasobserver.org/ice-prosecutor-dallas-white-supremacist-x-account/

ICE fact sheet: https://immigrationforum.org/article/fact-sheet-immigration-and-customs-enforcement-ice/

Immigration enforcement costs: https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/cost_of_immigration_enforcement_factsheet_2024.pdf

Trump wants immigrants tortured: https://vox.com/scotus/416163/trump-supreme-court-deport-immigration-convention-torture

AI license plate readers: https://thebarbedwire.com/2025/06/10/cities-halt-license-plate-readers/

Trump wanted a police state: https://rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-police-state-troop-deployment-los-angeles-1235360655/

ICE escalates on purpose: https://wsj.com/us-news/protests-los-angeles-immigrants-trump-f5089877

Voters don’t like it: https://poll.qu.edu/poll-release?releaseid=3924

Caitlin and Trent reconnect with librarian and intellectual freedom advocate Katie Talhelm for an update about the legislative attacks on public and school libraries since we last spoke. She provides a window into the procedure libraries follow to decide which books to acquire.

UPDATE: Texas Governor Abbott announces special legislative session beginning June 21 https://texaspolitics.com/2025/06/23/gov-abbott-unveils-special-session-plans-reviews-legislative-wins/

Resources

Library collection development: https://ala.org/tools/atoz/Collection%20Development/collectiondevelopment

TX SB 12: https://kvue.com/article/news/politics/texas-legislature/texas-dei-ban-public-schools-final-approval-house-senate/269-eae4ff23-c1fe-46e1-bea0-73dc220fbe12

TX SB 13: https://texastribune.org/2025/05/26/texas-school-library-bill/

TX HB 3225: https://kltv.com/2025/05/29/tyler-reps-bill-ban-explicit-library-books-minors-falters/

TX SB 412: https://texastribune.org/2025/05/02/texas-legislature-teachers-parents-protections/

Rep. James Talarico on SB 13: https://instagram.com/reel/DKVRGhEJyCN/?igsh=c3huYzRydHF4M2hk

Rep. Anne Johnson on HB 3225: https://youtu.be/TCNioq57WIA?si=9tJU6MtqT9U_LptV

Photo of Moms for Liberty founder: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moms_for_Liberty#/media/File%3ATina_Descovich_on_Reason_Magazine.jpg

Trent and Caitlin talk to their old friend Clay Jackson, a former litigator and current licensed attorney in Texas. They discuss his plans to embrace a life in his new home on the range, recent developments in immigration rights, and the death penalty in the US. They discuss the history and justifications for the practice, highlight the stories of some Texas men who are wrongfully convicted, and ask listeners to advocate for the people currently sentenced to death.

Support the Innocence Project: https://innocenceproject.org

Upcoming executions: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/executions/upcoming-executions

Police abuses in LA: https://bbc.com/news/articles/cj93d3r0zz0o

Inhumane conditions in ICE facility: https://cbsnews.com/news/immigrants-at-ice-check-ins-detained-and-held-in-basement-of-federal-building-in-los-angeles/

Legislators denied entry to ICE facility: https://nytimes.com/2025/06/08/nyregion/ice-detention-federal-plaza-nyc.html

Stephen Milller & Kristi Noem pushing for more abuses: https://newrepublic.com/post/195787/stephen-miller-screams-ice-not-arresting-enough-people

Portland, OR: https://opb.org/article/2025/06/06/asylum-arrest-portland-yzlh/

JD Vance threatens Menswear Guy: https://axios.com/2025/06/09/vance-post-suggests-deporting-the-menswear-guy

Sources for the history of execution:

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/history-of-the-death-penalty/#fn6

https://archive.org/web/20131129221302/http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/jamestown-browse?id=J1023

https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/lawes-divine-morall-and-martiall/

https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/yeardley-sir-george-bap-1588-1627/

Wilkerson v. Utah: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/99/130/

Furman v. Georgia: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/408/238/

Gregg v. Georgia: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/428/153/

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/legal/criminal-defense/second-degree-murder/

Public opinion on death penalty: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/research/analysis/reports/year-end-reports/the-death-penalty-in-2024/public-opinion

“Eye for an eye” dominates reasons for support https://news.gallup.com/poll/1606/Death-Penalty.aspx

No evidence for deterrent effect: https://scientificamerican.com/article/evidence-does-not-support-the-use-of-the-death-penalty/

Financial costs: https://cato.org/blog/financial-implications-death-penalty

Bryan Stevenson’s Book: https://justmercy.eji.org/

Our hero Gretchen Sween: https://gsweenlaw.com/uploads/1/3/1/1/131145032/light_got_in.pdf

Robert Roberson: https://themarshallproject.org/2023/09/15/texas-shaken-baby-syndrome-baby-death-robert-roberson

Charles Flores: https://freecharlesflores.com/

Pablo Torres Finds Out: https://youtu.be/JUm2YgmBG1o?si=z4FCTmrrblxpAwIZ