This was a devastating week in Minnesota, where the democracy movement—including its litigation wing—has been working hard despite the pain of witnessing the violence. I believe that the rule of law will be up to the task–with multiple lawsuits already on file and the ACLU and partners just having scored the first injunction against ICE illegality. We are in for a protracted battle in the district courts and on appeal, but I take hope from that initial win.
Part of the reason I’m hopeful is because of the success pro-democracy litigators have enjoyed across the board in so many other matters that I have tracked across 49 prior publisher’s notes. I quantified that earlier this week in a Contrarian essay, “Donald Trump Is Losing in Court.” Josh Kolb and I explained that pro-democracy advocates like my colleagues at Democracy Defenders Action are part of the coalition winning two-thirds of the time. If you include the over 300 immigration cases, that winning percentage goes up to 76%. Your paid subscriptions support all that.
More cause for hope: just after we published that essay, my colleagues and I helped secure two additional major litigation wins. By a 2-1 majority, the U.S. District Court of the Central District of California rejected the GOP effort to block the Prop 50 California redistricting—successfully countering Donald Trump’s theft of congressional seats. In addition, we and great partners rebuffed Trump’s effort to invalidate the collective bargaining agreement between the AFGE union and the TSA.
Now, we are already turning to the next wave of cases. In recent weeks, I worked on two that have a particularly personal resonance for me. Both involve fighting antisemitism. As the child of Holocaust survivors, I could not imagine two more important matters.
The first is representing Imran Ahmed, the CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH). He is one of the world’s premier fighters against antisemitism (and the exploitation of kids) in the digital space. Despite that, he was targeted by the administration with the threat of yanking away his green card because of his battle against disinformation. That would tear him away from his wife and infant daughter and undermine the fight against antisemitism.
I was very proud to work with Robbie Kaplan and other great colleagues to secure a temporary restraining order protecting Imran. I used to admire Imran from afar, but, thanks to the case, I’ve gotten to know him as a person—and I am blown away that he has chosen antisemitism as one of the issues to which he is dedicating his professional life.
Imran is the grandson of an Afghan Pashtun soldier who fought the Nazis in World War II and then immigrated to England. Imran helped lead the pushback against antisemitism within the Labour Party and then started CCDH, which, in the years since, has done some of the most extraordinary work on exposing digital hate. Imran has worked with those across the political spectrum in that mission.
In the time we’ve spent together I’ve been amazed by his dedication and integrity. He is a mensch. And it is great to work with Robbie, who secured the Charlottesville verdict against white supremacists and is one of our outstanding courtroom advocates.
Also on the antisemitism front, my colleagues and I this week filed to join a suit against the Trump administration for demanding lists of Jews from a university. Yes, you read that right. The Trump administration asked the University of Pennsylvania to put together and hand over lists of people involved in Jewish Studies and Jewish-affiliated campus groups, including their personal contact information and addresses.
Needless to say, the Jewish people of Penn were not too excited about this, and we were proud to represent the American Academy of Jewish Research, the Jewish Law Students Association of the University’s Law School, the National and University of Pennsylvania chapters of the American Association of University Professors, and the Penn Association of Senior and Emeritus Faculty in joining the litigation in order to stop these lists from ever being turned over.
Given my family history, you can imagine how I reacted when I heard that these lists were being demanded of the university. It flies in the face of constitutional protections, common sense and history. When coupled with other data points, such as administration appointees with antisemitic connections, it is ominous. We will not rest until there is a permanent injunction against these demands.
All this is supported by your paid subscriptions. As we near the one year mark of Trump’s return to office, the death and destruction is vast and increasing at home and abroad. But there are so many victories as we look back on 2025–and we hope so many lie ahead. Thank you for making that possible.
And now for this week’s Contrarian round up, authored by my wonderful colleagues Meghan Houser, Jamie Riley, Lily Conway, and our Contrarian team.
ICE Brutality Continues
Democrats Must Seize the Opportunity to Control ICE
In the wake of the murder of Renee Good and further escalation of ICE’s brutality, Jen Rubin called on Congress to use the spending fight to defend Americans’ lives. “Democrats can bring the same attention and pressure to bear on Republicans as they did in the healthcare fight.”
What Is ICE Hiding in Minneapolis?
Tim Dickinson reported on the black box that is the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, where captured immigrants and protesters alike are currently being detained by federal authorities. “Members of Congress have been banned from oversight. Religious leaders have been blocked from ministering. And the administration’s track record on providing adequate food, water, and hygiene … is egregious.” Are the horrors of immigrant detention from Chicago being replayed in Minnesota?
ICE Wants 10,000 More Agents on Our Streets
Jeff Nesbit wrote on Trump’s inordinate call for Congress to fund 44,500 ICE detention beds and 10,000 more agents on the streets—expanding his state of terror with our own tax dollars. “Good’s death must be a turning point. We cannot allow the normalization of…a system that is creating a humanitarian catastrophe on our own soil.”
Will the Supreme Court Allow Trump to Use the Insurrection Act?
Erwin Chemerinsky broke down Trump’s aspirations to use the Insurrection Act to send troops to American cities—a possibility left open by the Supreme Court that would “exacerbate tensions and set a dangerous precedent.”
America’s Place on the World Stage
Brian O’Neill wrote on Trump’s latest object of imperial desire, Greenland, and how turning the territory into a trophy would make the world less safe. “The danger is not that Greenland is insecure. The danger is that Washington is handing Moscow the one thing it wants most: proof that NATO can be weakened from the inside….”
An Opportunist in Dove’s Clothing
Jill Lawrence analyzed Trump’s long career in pretending to care about peace—while looking for the right political opening to play hawk for conquest and content. “For anyone who hasn’t gotten the message yet: Never trust Trump, even on war and peace. Especially on war and peace.”
Another Castro Fiasco In The Making
In an interview with Jen, Rep. Adam Smith broke down the Venezuela crisis along the lines of new possibilities for global instability, thanks to Trump thinking precisely nothing through. “Another Castro fiasco in the making.”
Rep. Greg Meeks spoke to Jen about Trump’s hunger for invading other nations, why a U.S. strike on Iran remains a real threat, and how what’s unfolding in Qatar should concern everyone.
The Economy on Shaky Ground
Jared Bernstein wrote on the uncertain year ahead for an economy roiled by industrial fragility and an administration bent on doing things such as, say, threatening criminal indictment of the Federal Reserve chair. “As usual, there are upside and downside risks, one of which is our increasingly untethered and unchecked leader.”
Big Business Should Wake Up to the Trump Threat
Jen wrote on the need for Democrats to engage corporate leaders who have stayed maddeningly—if not predictably—mute in the face of Trump’s attacks on the foundations of economic stability–and democracy. “Chalk up the relative quiet to sheer cowardice.”
Donald Trump’s Wrong Turn on Affordability
Former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Rich Cordray wrote on Trump’s desperate attempt to show he “cares” about affordability—and how he showed his hand by picking the CFPB as one of DOGE’s first targets. “Nothing encourages abusive conduct like companies knowing that if they rip people off, the officials … will no longer stand in their way.”
One Battle After Another
Breaking Down the Legal Battles Against the Trump Administration
On the podcast this week, April Ryan and legal expert Katie Phang looked at what’s in the courts. Also this week, Joshua Kolb and I looked back at the year in legal fights and reported the fortifying news that Donald Trump Is Losing in Court—2/3 of all cases, and about 75% if you include immigration!
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Suzan DelBene joined Jen to discuss the Democrats’ approach to this year’s all-important midterm elections, breaking down which House seats are up this cycle and how the party plans to defend them—and win more. “The number one big theme across the country is affordability.”
The Contrarian Covers the Democracy Movement
This week saw brave, angry, civil anti-ICE protests nationwide, from a demonstration outside the Customs and Border Protection headquarters in Washington, to ICE Out protests in New Jersey, California, Oregon and many more states, to the mourning of Renee Good in Minneapolis and elsewhere, and much more. Get help organizing from Indivisible, find protests in your area at mobilize.us, and send us your protest photos at submit@contrariannews.org.
Cartoons, Culture & Fun Stuff
This week our cartoonists covered the president’s Peace Prize delusions (Nobel Dreams, Nick Anderson), our violent reality (Tom the Dancing Bug, Ruben Bolling), and what else is under attack (Capital Punishment, RJ Matson; By the Neck, Nick Anderson).
The Cognitive Dissonance of the Golden Globes
Meredith Blake covered the head-in-the-sand normality of “Hollywood’s most corrupt awards show,” where “it was virtually impossible to tell that anything was amiss in the country, even after one of the bleakest weeks so far in Donald Trump’s second term in office.”
Getting the Story Right Was Never Easy
Meredith also wrote on Cover-Up, a documentary about the indefatigable investigative reporter Seymour Hersh, which shows how difficult it has always been to hold power to account—and provides a stark contrast with “the dire state of journalism in 2026, particularly at the legacy media outlets that gave rise to reporters like Hersh and are now controlled by Trump-friendly oligarchs.”
Thanks from the bottom of my heart for all you do
Eisen/Iron - you earn your name every day.