Political Facts You Need to Know for the Next 6 Months or So
https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/02/politics/worksite-immigration-enforcement-raids-trump
After months of relatively "quiet" operations since January, as you all probably know (from one of the previous posts about 10K detainees in 5 days), they are ramping up abductions again. Multiple reports say the White House "ordered" ramping up numbers to 2000 detainees per day. It probably is Stephen Miller doing this. It is a risky move for them right before the midterms when Republicans are politically vulnerable. A politically "savvy" person would avoid doing this, but the likes of Stephen Miller are ideologues who do not care about public opinions and political consequences as long as they can achieve their ideological goals. My suspicion is that they are doing this because their time is running out. The midterms in November will likely be disastrous for them, so they are doing as much as they can do before they lose political power in Congress.
I understand that not everyone follows political news and/or has time to do so. So, here are a few things you need to know and can even possibly do (politically).
Republicans in Congress passed reconciliation for the budget for ICE and BP for the rest of Trump's term. So, further government shutdowns or gridlock in funding bill negotiations will NOT affect them from now on.
Democrats are favored to win back the House of Representatives and have a shot at taking back even the Senate. This year's Senate map was very unfavorable for the Dems, but their odds have been improving.
If Democrats take back the House and/or Senate, they will have enormous power to fight back against the administration. One big thing is subpoena power. They can subpoena ICE and BP officials to force them to testify and produce documents under oath. They will have leverage to even rescind or cut funding already appropriated for ICE and BP during negotiations with Trump for the last 2 years of his term.
The House is expected to flip. But, the Senate is still favored to remain in Republican power. The Senate is crucial, though. If the Senate goes to Democrats, Trump will lose power to confirm judges and possible Supreme Court Justices. On Top of that, losing the Senate (along with the House) will be a political nightmare for Trump. Senate Dems will gain subpoena power as well.
IF YOU CAN VOTE, here's one thing you can do to make a difference even in WA - phone banking for the crucial Senate seats. The most crucial states are Maine, Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, Alaska, Texas, and Ohio. Georgia and Michigan are currently Democratic seats. But, keeping them and winning some of the red seats is crucial. If you have time, volunteer some of your time to do phone banking for Democratic Senate nominees in these states.
If Republicans lose the Senate in November, expect them to rush and force some of the Supreme Court Justices (Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas) to resign so that they can appoint and confirm horrible young Justices before they lose power in January. This might not sound related, but it has enormous consequences for future court cases involving immigration and immigrants.