BELIEVING WHOM?

THERE WAS A TIME, DEAR READER, when we believed our government. We—and it—were exceptional in this regard, we thought. Alas, not anymore. The Bullshitter-in-Chief TACO and his cohorts have taught us otherwise. 

Just recently, glaring inconsistencies have arisen concerning the tragic killings in Minnesota. Here are specific examples.

The Homeland Security View. “ICE Continues to Remove the Worst of the Worst from Minneapolis Streets as DHS Law Enforcement Marks 3000 Arrests During Operation Metro Surge,” Department of Homeland Security, January 19, 2026: The press release reads, in part, “We have arrested over 10,000 criminal illegal aliens who were killing Americans, hurting children and reigning terror in Minneapolis because Tim Walz and Jacob Frey refuse to protect their own people and instead protect criminals,” said Secretary Kristi Noem.

 “In the last 6 weeks, our brave DHS law enforcement have arrested 3,000 criminal illegal aliens including vicious murderers, rapists, child pedophiles, and incredibly dangerous individuals. A huge victory for public safety.”

The boldface is the choice of the DHS press release, not mine.

What follows in the release are photos and brief descriptions of 13 individuals; bad folks, to be sure: “convictions for homicide and robbery,” “sexual offender,” “possession of cocaine,” “Asian Boys” gang member.” Also, “driving under the influence and stealing a vehicle,” and, “driving under the influence, fraud, and violating a court order.”

With regard to all this, see “cherry-picking.”

CBS News View. Camilo Montoya-Galvez reports, “Less Than 14% Of Those Arrested by ICE in Trump’s 1st Year Back in Office Had Violent Criminal Records, Document Shows,” CBS New, February 9, 2026: “The official statistics contained in the DHS document, which had not been previously reported publicly, provide the most detailed look yet into who ICE has arrested during the Trump administration’s far-reaching deportation operations across the U.S. The internal DHS figures undermine frequent assertions by the Trump administration that its crackdown on illegal immigration is primarily targeting dangerous and violent criminals living in the U.S. illegally, people Mr. Trump and his lieutenants have regularly called  the ‘worst of the worst.’ ”

Image by Julia Ingram, Camilo Montoya-Glavez/CBS News. Source: DHS Internal Report.

Montoya-Galvez’s report continues, “Nearly 40% of all of those arrested by ICE in Mr. Trump’s first year back in office did not have any criminal record at all, and were only accused of civil immigration offenses, such as living in the U.S. illegally or overstaying their permission to be in the country, the DHS document shows. Those alleged violations of U.S. immigration law are typically adjudicated by Justice Department immigration judges in civil—not criminal—proceedings.”

TRAC’s View. Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse is a data gathering, data research, and data distribution organization that was founded in 1989 at Syracuse University. Its website recounts, “The purpose of TRAC is to provide the American people — and institutions of oversight such as Congress, news organizations, public interest groups, businesses, scholars, and lawyers—with comprehensive information about staffing, spending, and enforcement activities of the federal government.” 

Notes Google A.I. Overview, “TRAC (Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse) is widely considered a highly credible and authoritative source for independent, nonpartisan data on federal government operations, particularly regarding immigration. While it is generally respected by journalists and scholars, its veracity is occasionally the subject of debate between different political and research organizations.”

With this in mind, consider its array of “Immigration Detention Quick Facts.” In particular, of ICE’s 70,766 individuals held in detention as of January 25, 2026, 52,504 (74.2% of them) “have no criminal conviction. Many of those convicted committed only minor offenses, including traffic violations.”

What to believe? Whom do you believe? ds

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2026