Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of October 19

An Idaho ICE Raid Rounded Up Hundreds. The Fallout Could Change How ICE Operates

Summary below

Hundreds had gathered at the arena for a festival celebrating horse racing and Mexican culture.
As the military-style helicopter hovered above them, attendees from the rural, predominantly Latino community, began to get nervous.

Within minutes, the festival grounds descended into chaos. Backed by armored trucks and snipers, more than 200 members of law enforcement stormed the grounds, some shot rubber bullets into the crowd and hurled flash-bang grenades into vehicles where people had fled to hide. Hundreds of people, including teens as young as 14, were detained and zip-tied.

When it was all over, federal authorities had arrested 105 people for alleged immigration violations. Yet on paper, this wasn’t an immigration raid at all. The only warrant for the Wilder raid was secured by the FBI. Its target: the owner of the track and four others for alleged unlicensed gambling.

Advocates argue that in Idaho, ICE unlawfully piggybacked on an FBI operation, rather than securing their own warrant, as they would be expected to do on this type of operation. A lawsuit brought forth by the ACLU argues that federal authorities violated the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, by using an unrelated search warrant as a “cover to go fishing for immigration arrests.”

Among the 105 people who were ultimately arrested, 75 are believed to have been deported to their home countries, according to local media, and 26 were released from ICE custody after their lawyers filed habeas corpus petitions. The whereabouts of the remaining four people are unclear. ICE did not provide an update on their case status.

The day after the raid, the Wilder School District reported absent rates soared, with 20% of students absent, according to The Idaho Statesman.

I'd hope this would be eye-opening for anyone who doubts where we're going as a country.

NWLC: White House Establishes Women’s Health Division Amid Major Attacks on Women’s Health

“This order seemingly contradicts the administration’s absurd claims that any program focused on women constitutes ‘illegal DEI,’ and it also comes as the administration’s actions are directly causing women to lose access to vital health care. From the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s cuts to Medicaid and the defunding of Planned Parenthood, to gutting the federal Offices of Minority Health and slashing funding for women’s health research, this administration has made it clear that it doesn’t actually care about women’s health care needs, despite what this weak executive order attempts to convey. This is an attempt to change the headlines, not women’s lives.”