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"A California law aimed at prohibiting ICE agents from wearing masks was struck down in court earlier this year. The carve-out that led to the successful Trump administration challenge came out of negotiations between the offices of Gov. Gavin Newsom and Sen. Scott Wiener. Newsom and Wiener have said they were proud to pass the first attempt at an ICE mask ban, and efforts to pass a new version are underway."

"The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office is investigating 17 incidents in which immigration authorities potentially violated the law — including one involving former Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino — and is asking the public to submit evidence that could assist the investigations. "

From Portland to Minneapolis, aggressive actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents against citizens and noncitizens alike have been well documented. Many of these encounters raise grave constitutional concerns. Yet it may surprise—and alarm—many to learn that there is often no viable path to sue federal officers if they violate your constitutional rights, even egregiously.

"The City of Madison on Monday appealed a ruling that allows it to be sued for monetary damages for disenfranchising nearly 200 voters in the 2024 election, arguing the decision would unrealistically require 'error-free elections' and expose municipalities across the state to liability for mistakes. . . . Bryna Godar, a staff attorney at the University of Wisconsin Law School’s State Democracy Research Initiative, clarified that a court wouldn’t need to overturn the historic Black voting rights case entirely to rule that it doesn’t apply in the lawsuit against Madison."

“A U.S. citizen and Army veteran who was detained by federal immigration authorities for three days last summer in Southern California filed a civil rights suit against the federal government on Wednesday."

Horizontal, interbranch competition is only one species of checks and balances. Especially in moments of politically consolidated federal power, the Constitution’s structure offers another, potentially more meaningful safeguard: the states.

"If you're skeptical of states going after ICE agents in particular, ... there's a really strong originalist case that states have this power."

"Congress has never created an analogous version for federal agents, largely because it sort of didn't have to. The result is that you have federal agents who are behaving as if they know it is extremely unlikely that they will face any penalty for violating constitutional rights."

"'The president doesn't really have the power to do these things on his own,' Clinger says. 'The U.S. Constitution is very clear that the power to run elections rests with the states. Congress can pass legislation regulating elections, but so far they've not done anything to give the president this type of control.'"

"The proof of age law doesn't exist to 'protect' beer, said Derek Clinger, senior staff attorney with the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin law school. It is meant to prevent underage drinking, which poses health risks."