That is not, de facto, true at all. But there's a French politics thread somewhere and I've digressed enough.
ICE
- Thread starter poochyena
- Start date
The main executive power of the French president is the ability to nominate the prime minister, who in turns composes the government. They can also dissolve the national assembly, yes, but it rarely helps their case and this is not something that can be done at will.
If another party obtains the (absolute) majority of votes at the parliament (the assemblée nationale, to be specific), said party gets to nominate a prime minister. As the president cannot dictate any government policy, he/she becomes restricted to geopolitics, more or less.
Such "cohabitation" (as it is called) has not happened since 2002.
I'd be very surprised if the French president could suddenly decide to partially defund a university, take over a university, cancel allocated fundings, or decide to fire thousands of state workers at his whim. I'm not sure Trump could lawfully do this, but he did. In France, this would be unthinkable.
EDIT: I see you said "when obeying the law". Well, the problem is that in the POTUS apparently has a way to have unlawful order executed. That is your main problem.
Since Trump is using ICE as a paramilitary organization to bypass the Posse Comitatus Act I think now is the time for Democrats (Congress etc..) to vocally call this out and try to get a judge to consider this as an attempt to bypass it.
That is the powers of the Italian and German president, and basically non-existing. The French system is a so-called semi-presidential system, and which grants the president more powers. He is also the chief of the armed force, appoints ambassadors, represents the country internationally, grants pardons, can veto laws, and has some limited options to bypass the parliament when necessary, though that is not well seen - last happened with the french pension reform last year.
There are numerous other mixed powers. The french president is actually super powerful on paper, and is mostly constrained by tradition and popularity.
I've given it some thought, and I really do believe that the MN Nat Guard handing out coffee/doughnuts/hot chocolate is an extremely MLP, and perhaps pinky pie specifically, coded thing.
(Is this a reverse containment breach?)
(Is this a reverse containment breach?)
That and push for impeachment for abuse of powers and for complicity as an accessory before and after the fact in multiple murders, kidnappings, and other crimes committed by his regime.
The Posse Comitatus Act applies to the actual military, though. I don't think that argument will get very far with a judge. It will probably get rejected immediately. Even if it doesn't, it's going to put a petitioner in the possible position of arguing that ICE is a part of the US military, which it definitely isn't.
Btw if you’re a USA TikTok user, they just changed their privacy policy to where they now also collect info around immigration status, sexual orientation, gender, etc.
This only applies to the USA.
I don’t use that brain poison shit, but now I have even fewer reasons to use it.
This only applies to the USA.
I don’t use that brain poison shit, but now I have even fewer reasons to use it.
Lycanthropos
Wise, Aged Ars Veteran
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/26/trump-tom-homan-minnesota-alex-pretti-ice.html
Trump is sending in Tom Homan to manage ICE now, and will be reporting to Trump directly.
I've personally lost any sense of reality, so couldn't say if this is copium/a foolish hope for 'normalcy,' but it kinda sounds to me like Trump is looking for an off-ramp to ICE activity in Mpls; he sends in a new guy that will be reporting to him directly, he can claim later that he 'had no idea it was so bad, get ICE out of MN NOW so they can SUFFER THEIR RADICAL LEFTIST CHOICES.' Or something. Based on the last few interviews, he's not feeling great about ICE, though; the article mentions someone asking him about the Pretti murder and he would only say they were reviewing the footage instead of insisting it was justified.
Trump is sending in Tom Homan to manage ICE now, and will be reporting to Trump directly.
I've personally lost any sense of reality, so couldn't say if this is copium/a foolish hope for 'normalcy,' but it kinda sounds to me like Trump is looking for an off-ramp to ICE activity in Mpls; he sends in a new guy that will be reporting to him directly, he can claim later that he 'had no idea it was so bad, get ICE out of MN NOW so they can SUFFER THEIR RADICAL LEFTIST CHOICES.' Or something. Based on the last few interviews, he's not feeling great about ICE, though; the article mentions someone asking him about the Pretti murder and he would only say they were reviewing the footage instead of insisting it was justified.
He gets no benefit of the doubt, so my assumption is working on the path to making it his personal paramilitary group as opposed to some nominal degree of separation
Considering Homan is part of the problem, him being in charge of ICE in Minneapolis isn't going to do much. I mean, "Don't murder protestors, especially when there are cameras present" seems like a directive that shouldn't need a Presidential envoy to enforce.
And then there's the possibility that for the average ICE thug in Minneapolis, the major response will be "Tom Who?"
And then there's the possibility that for the average ICE thug in Minneapolis, the major response will be "Tom Who?"
Damn. This morning The Guardian had a picture of an Humvee parked in front of the entrance to the Home2Suites that ICE is staying at in Minneapolis. You could clearly see the Home2Suites logo. Was pretty striking but they changed the picture and now I can't find it.
Chris Madel, one of the GOP primary candidates for governor, has ended his campaign due to his disagreement with the use of ICE in Minnesota.
Although I would imagine the idea of campaigning in Minnesota as a Republican gubernatorial candidate sounds like it would seriously suck now, which is probably a bigger factor in his decision.
Although I would imagine the idea of campaigning in Minnesota as a Republican gubernatorial candidate sounds like it would seriously suck now, which is probably a bigger factor in his decision.
Lycanthropos
Wise, Aged Ars Veteran
Madel was offering legal advice to Good's murderer a few weeks ago, so that's one helluva heel turn for him
Plans for an ice detention center in Shakopee, one of the outlying Minneapolis suburbs, has been put on hold indefinitely if not outright cancelled. Other nearby communities are also no longer jumping to sign on to hold ice prisoners.
https://bringmethenews.com/minnesot...tention-center-in-shakopee-has-been-abandoned
Additionally here's a link to the story about Madel ending his governor bid:
https://www.startribune.com/chris-m...deral-retribution-against-minnesota/601570793
https://bringmethenews.com/minnesot...tention-center-in-shakopee-has-been-abandoned
Additionally here's a link to the story about Madel ending his governor bid:
https://www.startribune.com/chris-m...deral-retribution-against-minnesota/601570793
He slipped and fell on the ICE?
Homan and Noem have been engaged in a long-standing feud.
This is effectively a demotion and a sign of lack of confidence in Noem.
This is effectively a demotion and a sign of lack of confidence in Noem.
Homan had been in ICE for thirty years and is a past director of ICE.
Oh no, that means Noem will only be able to do cosplay photoshoots three days a week instead of four.
I was referring to the influx of low-IQ, high aggression thugs that ICE has brought through the door this year. It's very possible most of these goons haven't been in ICE long enough for Homan to be a somebody.
To all US residents: be on the lookout for ICE concentration camps opening near you.
One of the counties near me has plans for a new facility and I plan on attending the board meetings to at least add another body to the opposition.
IANAL, but my understanding is that if the Federal government is able to make a purchase, there is little a state or locality can do. For the Shakopee facility, it sounds like Opus was the only thing standing in the way here. Open to corrections here.
poke 532810
Ars Praetorian
Several years ago, my neighbor and his wife were driving through a small town in eastern Washington when he was pulled over. He was a middle-aged, balding, white guy, so this wasn’t a “driving while brown/black” stop. He was puzzled because he had been driving well within the speed limit, wasn’t swerving, hadn’t run a red light or stop sign, or committed any other infraction he could think of. He did the normal routine of shutting off the car, rolling down the window, getting his license and paperwork out, etc.
When the officer came to the window, he asked why he’d been pulled over. A perfectly reasonable question. The officer responded by pulling out his gun, putting it to my neighbor’s head, and screaming a profanity-laden torrent about how he was going to blow his f’n head off and his wife’s too. This went on for a few minutes before the officer took the documents back to his police car. He came back a few minutes later, threw the documents in the car, and told them to get lost.
My neighbor filed a formal complaint, and he sued the officer and the police department. In the subsequent investigation, the state found that the police department had received numerous similar complaints about the officer over several years, but they had successfully quashed them. The police chief and other officers had covered up for the “bad apple” and ensured the victims stayed quiet. The difference with my neighbor is that he filed a complaint directly with the state.
So, who was the fascist? The cop that pulled the gun on an innocent man? The cops that covered for him and made sure the victims stayed quiet? The chief that quashed the complaints and made it look like nothing happened? How about the mayor and city council who turned a blind eye when there were rumblings that something wasn’t quite right with their police department?
It's a money maker for both county and state prisons here in Indiana:
https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2025/12/22/behind-the-walls-of-indianas-ice-detention-facility/
https://www.clintoncountytoday.com/clinton-county-jail-is-ice-detention-facility/
This is why Trump has funded immigration enforcement to a record 170b. Because it might not be Military in name but ICE is acting as one and loyal to MAGA. Huge loophole you can drive a truck through. Illegal Immigration is just a cover for what they are planning to do with ICE,CBP etc..
I bet those are the pre MAGA hires. They will be replaced with loyalists.
It'll be worse for loyalists because they gutted the hiring standards to get the numbers up ASAP, they're the true dregs, the ones that couldn't cut it in the military or police. They're not mentally or physically prepared for going into a town where literally every person hates them.
There are only so many MAGA loyalists who are young and fit enough to work as an ICE agent. Mix in terrible work conditions, even the most loyal are unwilling to work as ICE.
So "The Frostguard!" then, a copy of what will become the US version of Wagner?
And this is what happens with people with YEARS of use of force training. Imagine how keystones cops the thing would be with green loyalists. It would (will?) be fucking awful. But potential fucking awful in a way that will accelerate the backlash and peel off even more public support.
Is being nice to him all that's required?
I mean...I realize he's not playing with a full deck, but, man...how do you will something so random as this person's mind?
Or can we just read this as Homan is going to better at damage control and keeping things on the down-low than Noem?
I mean...I realize he's not playing with a full deck, but, man...how do you will something so random as this person's mind?
Or can we just read this as Homan is going to better at damage control and keeping things on the down-low than Noem?
Fine, but you're still not going to get a judge to agree that the Posse Comitatus Act applies to ICE.
I think this is a really interesting topic. From what I can infer, what's happening in Minnesota is exactly what the Trump administration - probably at the behest of Stephen Miller - wants. They seem to want a backlash from leftists (or at least people they can paint as leftists), they want to gaslight people about what's going on to paint themselves as the good guys fighting the enemy within, and they want to escalate it. This all seems very clear and intentional to me.
What isn't clear to me is what the true end goal is. Do they want to foment a civil war resulting in a government crackdown on the left, resulting in the deaths or purge of many left-leaning voters? Do they want to provide cover for statements that the government has completely failed, requiring a new constitution and form of government, a process which people like Thiel and Musk would push (are pushing?) to be part of?
I think what Stephen Miller et al have miscalculated on is that their ability to gaslight the public fails in the face of all the video evidence, at least to some extent. It's easy to pass off one video as AI, or craft an AI alternate version of it that suits their narrative. But when there are 2+ videos available that show the same event from different angles, it undercuts their ability to spin it.
Maybe they're going to start recruiting in retirement homes? Those are usually heavily Republican.
Do they want to foment a civil war resulting in a government crackdown on the left, resulting in the deaths or purge of many left-leaning voters?
I can’t imagine how it could be any more obvious, but yes. The rhetoric from the right for the last ~50+ years has been that liberals need to die to save the country for good, white, Christians. I grew up in it. I heard it. I saw it. I was taught it. Vought literally held a press conference calling their project the Second American Revolution.
It’s not just talk. It’s never just been talk.
But for this to work they need the left to overreact, not their own people. What they want is Portland. They want people throwing stones at ICE and pushing and shoving. They want antifa to show up and punch some MAGA hat wearing WWII veteran in the face.
It doesn’t work for them if public perception is their own people overreacting. When the narrative is “our thugs shot 2 innocent bystanders in as many weeks” it severely undercuts their project.