What the Media Missed: ICE’s inaccuracies and Pritzker’s pushback
dailykos.com (nprofile…k7aw)
Last week’s edition of “What the Media Missed” sparked a good faith debate in the comments over whether I was right to include Kash Patel’s increasingly likely Senate confirmation as FBI director as one of last week’s overlooked stories. Let’s dig into that before we jump into this week’s roundup. Kash Patel One commenter slapped my knuckles with a ruler for failing to note that MSNBC has been covering Patel’s nomination since its earliest days—which was absolutely right. Another mentioned David French’s thoughtful column criticizing Patel in The New York Times. Those two exceptions are part of a larger, more concerning trend: When all mainstream media outlets are totaled, in-depth coverage of Patel’s nomination and values has actually decreased every week over the last month. MSNBC is doing necessary work, but it’s largely doing that work alone—and to greatly reduced ratings—until Jan. 20, that is. This week, cable news’ most-watched shows spent as much time yapping about Donald Trump’s visit to the Super Bowl as they did detailing the president’s unprecedented attack on USAID. Here are two of the biggest stories the mainstream media missed. A more dangerous ICE As Trump continues to roll out his always-on media circus, it’s important to keep an eye on the big changes the White House decides not to talk about. That’s especially true with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, where Daily Kos’ Alix Breeden reports that Trump’s big talk around mass deportations hides the fact that his administration is releasing more undocumented immigrants back into the country than President Joe Biden did. Huh? U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers gather for a briefing before an enforcement operation. That doesn’t mean Trump isn’t helping ICE flex its muscles in new and dangerous ways. ICE under Trump is less accurate at detaining the correct people than it was under Biden. In one embarrassing situation reported by NBC News, nearly half of the 1,200 migrants detained by ICE during a recent raid turned out to be incorrectly held. And as Oliver Willis reported in January, n some cases, even American citizens, including military veterans, found themselves unjustly caught in ICE’s immigration dragnets. Those are costly mistakes, both in time and payroll, and that kind of sloppy enforcement risks draining ICE’s annual budget with record speed. Trump is also making clear he isn’t in the mood to be told no. On Sunday, Markos Moulitsas reported on Trump’s effort to sue sanctuary states into cooperating with his mass deportation plan, a move which could significantly expand the number of migrants rounded up and detained in coming months. It’s clear Trump lacks the planning and ICE infrastructure to support such widespread deportations—which means his court case, like so many others, is just another effort to expand presidential power at the expense of Congress and the states. I guess we can put all that “small government” stuff to bed now. All of that pales in comparison to Trump’s latest scheme: Why not just ship undocumented migrants to El Salvador? That nightmare idea emerged after Salvadoran strongman leader Nayib Bukele floated the idea of housing deportees in the nation’s infamously tough prisons. The fact that most migrants aren’t actually from El Salvador didn’t seem to concern the brain geniuses responsible for pitching the policy to Trump’s team. Only the best people. Democrats’ emerging contender It may seem odd to think of billionaire businessman and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker as Democrats’ best answer to Trumpism, but Prtizker is quickly emerging as one of the party’s most effective attack dogs. For months Pritzker has been urging Democrats to adopt a more aggressive—and sarcastic—approach, and the governor stepped out early as a leading critic of Trump’s illegal attempt to revoke birthright citizenship. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker Last week Pritzker struck again, releasing a satirical video mocking Trump’s flurry of outrageous declarations and executive orders. But Pritzker’s headline-grabbing stunts are about more than poking fun at Trump’s extremes—they’re also great at driving media attention to Pritzker’s real efforts to Trump-proof Illinois, including his recent order barring any pardoned Jan. 6 convicts from holding state jobs. While Pritzker may be building his national profile in big new ways since November, he’s long been considered one of the Democratic Party’s most effective backroom players. He’s also one of the few Democratic governors who media outlets scramble to cover, meaning he’ll wield a powerful microphone while Democrats face two long years out of power. With little to lose after November’s wipeout, party leaders finally appear ready to give Pritzker’s in-your-face messaging strategy a try. For his part, Pritzker knows his family ownership of the Hyatt hotel chain presents a real problem for the party’s progressives. That’s one reason Pritzker has charted one of the most progressive governorships in America. With his party stuck in a ditch, Pritzker hopes battered Democratic voters will hear out his call to drop the civility and start pointing fingers. Can the man the media can’t help but cover bring his party out of the political wilderness? Reach out! Keep the conversation going all week by sharing stories you think the media missed with me at @themaxburns on Bluesky! And remember: If you’re tuned to cable news, you aren’t even getting half of the story. Until next week, keep your eyes peeled and stay inquisitive, friends. Daily Kos is ready to hold Trump accountable every step of the way. But we need your help. Give $3 a month to support Daily Kos coverage and news you can do something about.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/10/2302755/-What-the-Media-Missed-ICE-s-inaccuracies-and-Pritzker-s-pushback?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main
Last week’s edition of “What the Media Missed” sparked a good faith debate in the comments over whether I was right to include Kash Patel’s increasingly likely Senate confirmation as FBI director as one of last week’s overlooked stories. Let’s dig into that before we jump into this week’s roundup. Kash Patel One commenter slapped my knuckles with a ruler for failing to note that MSNBC has been covering Patel’s nomination since its earliest days—which was absolutely right. Another mentioned David French’s thoughtful column criticizing Patel in The New York Times. Those two exceptions are part of a larger, more concerning trend: When all mainstream media outlets are totaled, in-depth coverage of Patel’s nomination and values has actually decreased every week over the last month. MSNBC is doing necessary work, but it’s largely doing that work alone—and to greatly reduced ratings—until Jan. 20, that is. This week, cable news’ most-watched shows spent as much time yapping about Donald Trump’s visit to the Super Bowl as they did detailing the president’s unprecedented attack on USAID. Here are two of the biggest stories the mainstream media missed. A more dangerous ICE As Trump continues to roll out his always-on media circus, it’s important to keep an eye on the big changes the White House decides not to talk about. That’s especially true with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, where Daily Kos’ Alix Breeden reports that Trump’s big talk around mass deportations hides the fact that his administration is releasing more undocumented immigrants back into the country than President Joe Biden did. Huh? U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers gather for a briefing before an enforcement operation. That doesn’t mean Trump isn’t helping ICE flex its muscles in new and dangerous ways. ICE under Trump is less accurate at detaining the correct people than it was under Biden. In one embarrassing situation reported by NBC News, nearly half of the 1,200 migrants detained by ICE during a recent raid turned out to be incorrectly held. And as Oliver Willis reported in January, n some cases, even American citizens, including military veterans, found themselves unjustly caught in ICE’s immigration dragnets. Those are costly mistakes, both in time and payroll, and that kind of sloppy enforcement risks draining ICE’s annual budget with record speed. Trump is also making clear he isn’t in the mood to be told no. On Sunday, Markos Moulitsas reported on Trump’s effort to sue sanctuary states into cooperating with his mass deportation plan, a move which could significantly expand the number of migrants rounded up and detained in coming months. It’s clear Trump lacks the planning and ICE infrastructure to support such widespread deportations—which means his court case, like so many others, is just another effort to expand presidential power at the expense of Congress and the states. I guess we can put all that “small government” stuff to bed now. All of that pales in comparison to Trump’s latest scheme: Why not just ship undocumented migrants to El Salvador? That nightmare idea emerged after Salvadoran strongman leader Nayib Bukele floated the idea of housing deportees in the nation’s infamously tough prisons. The fact that most migrants aren’t actually from El Salvador didn’t seem to concern the brain geniuses responsible for pitching the policy to Trump’s team. Only the best people. Democrats’ emerging contender It may seem odd to think of billionaire businessman and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker as Democrats’ best answer to Trumpism, but Prtizker is quickly emerging as one of the party’s most effective attack dogs. For months Pritzker has been urging Democrats to adopt a more aggressive—and sarcastic—approach, and the governor stepped out early as a leading critic of Trump’s illegal attempt to revoke birthright citizenship. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker Last week Pritzker struck again, releasing a satirical video mocking Trump’s flurry of outrageous declarations and executive orders. But Pritzker’s headline-grabbing stunts are about more than poking fun at Trump’s extremes—they’re also great at driving media attention to Pritzker’s real efforts to Trump-proof Illinois, including his recent order barring any pardoned Jan. 6 convicts from holding state jobs. While Pritzker may be building his national profile in big new ways since November, he’s long been considered one of the Democratic Party’s most effective backroom players. He’s also one of the few Democratic governors who media outlets scramble to cover, meaning he’ll wield a powerful microphone while Democrats face two long years out of power. With little to lose after November’s wipeout, party leaders finally appear ready to give Pritzker’s in-your-face messaging strategy a try. For his part, Pritzker knows his family ownership of the Hyatt hotel chain presents a real problem for the party’s progressives. That’s one reason Pritzker has charted one of the most progressive governorships in America. With his party stuck in a ditch, Pritzker hopes battered Democratic voters will hear out his call to drop the civility and start pointing fingers. Can the man the media can’t help but cover bring his party out of the political wilderness? Reach out! Keep the conversation going all week by sharing stories you think the media missed with me at @themaxburns on Bluesky! And remember: If you’re tuned to cable news, you aren’t even getting half of the story. Until next week, keep your eyes peeled and stay inquisitive, friends. Daily Kos is ready to hold Trump accountable every step of the way. But we need your help. Give $3 a month to support Daily Kos coverage and news you can do something about.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/10/2302755/-What-the-Media-Missed-ICE-s-inaccuracies-and-Pritzker-s-pushback?pm_campaign=blog&pm_medium=rss&pm_source=main