Nobody has to announce that they are bringing institutions back. They do not have to hold a press conference, unveil a banner, or say the quiet part into a microphone. The long walk back to institutions can begin much more quietly than that. It can begin with a legal opinion. A budget line. An agency transfer. A waiting list. A phrase like “limited resources,” delivered in the same calm voice people use when telling families there is no help available, but thank you for calli

A lot of people think they already know what ICE can do. They’ve seen clips online. They’ve heard stories from friends. They’ve watched a shaky cellphone video that starts halfway through an encounter and ends right before the explanation. Somewhere along the way, many people come to one of two conclusions: either ICE can do almost anything it wants — or ICE can’t do much of anything at all. Both ideas are wrong. This post exists for one reason: to slow all of that down and c