What happened today - 15 April - There's lots, buckle IN
What happened today – 15 April 2025
Please read all the way through – SO MUCH NEWS today…
Some hot topics upfront before I get into if Karonline has her cross on today…
When Trump starts talking about “home-growns,”- he means American citizens, born here or naturalized, who’ve been convicted of violent crimes (assuming the administration didn’t “make up” your crime). In his latest meeting with El Salvador’s President Bukele, Trump actually floated the idea of shipping these so-called “homegrown criminals” off to prisons in El Salvador, saying, “Homegrowns are next, the homegrowns. You gotta build about five more places.” He rattled off examples like people pushing folks into subways or attacking the elderly, and made it clear he wants them out of the country, citizenship be damned. So, in Trump’s world, a “home-grown” is just any American citizen he doesn’t want around anymore—and he’s actively looking for ways to deport them, even though every legal expert on the planet says that’s about as unconstitutional as it gets.
This one really hits close to home—my wife was brought over from Vietnam as a baby during Operation Baby Lift. Because she’s brown, we figured it was smart to keep a certified copy of her naturalization certificate handy, just in case. But when she called to make this request, they told her she didn’t even exist in the system and to call back when she could “prove her identity.” So let me get this straight: the government took her from Vietnam, she was adopted here as a baby, and now she’s being told she might not count? Fantastic. And, she needs her passport renewed…so sending off the ONLY document that she has used her whole life…may get put in the mail to never be seen again...should something happen to her, you will see my tone change dramatically.
Garcia Update
The DOJ says they’re “ready to facilitate” Garcia’s return, but honestly, that just means they’ll fix his paperwork if El Salvador lets him go—they’re not actually doing anything to get him out of prison or bring him back. So far, they haven’t taken any real diplomatic steps or put pressure on El Salvador; they’re just saying if he somehow gets released and makes it back to the U.S., they’ll let him in. The courts are getting frustrated and demanding daily updates, but the administration is basically shrugging and saying it’s not their job to negotiate with another country. So, “facilitate” sounds good, but in reality, they’re not lifting a finger to actually make it happen.
This week, Senator Chris Van Hollen is not messing around when it comes to getting Kilmar Abrego Garcia back home. He’s already lined up a meeting with El Salvador’s President Bukele while he’s in the U.S., and if that doesn’t get Garcia released, Van Hollen says he’ll hop on a plane to El Salvador himself to check on Garcia and push for his release face-to-face. He’s calling Garcia’s detention “absolutely unjust and illegal”—especially since the Supreme Court already said the deportation was bogus and ordered Garcia brought back. Van Hollen’s rallying other lawmakers to join him, and they’re all making it clear: they’re not backing down until Garcia is back in Maryland where he belongs.
Think you are safe…think again
Bachir Atallah’s story at the border is a wake-up call for anyone who thinks citizenship is a shield—especially if you voted for Trump, like Bachir did. This guy’s a New Hampshire real estate attorney, a U.S. citizen for over a decade, and a Trump voter. He was just coming back from a quick family trip to Canada on Sunday April 13th, when border agents in Vermont yanked him out of his car at gunpoint, cuffed him, and dragged him inside while his wife watched in disbelief. No explanation, just “it’s the government.” They grilled him for hours, demanded his phone, and forced him to sign away his privacy—including access to his attorney-client emails—just to get out. Bachir started feeling sick from the stress, and they told him if he needed a hospital, he’d go under armed guard. After five hours and a call to his sister (who happens to be an immigration attorney), they finally let him go.
And here’s the kicker: Bachir actually voted for Trump, thinking he was voting for law and order—not for this. After his ordeal, he told reporters he felt “betrayed and humiliated,” and said, “I never thought this would happen to me, especially not in my own country.” Now he’s suing, and he’s warning everyone—if it can happen to him, it can happen to any of us. This is what happens when you let power go unchecked: nobody’s safe, not even the people who put these guys in office.
And one more…
Wilmer Gutiérrez still can’t believe how his son ended up in one of the world’s most notorious prisons. In their crowded Bronx apartment, he looks at old photos—him and his son in the Colombian jungle, crossing borders, surrounded by family in Venezuela. Now, those memories just make him sad.
They fled Venezuela in 2023, entered the U.S. legally, and applied for asylum. They were following all the rules and waiting for their immigration court date, which wasn’t until 2027. But on February 24, 2025, ICE agents picked up Wilmer’s 19-year-old son, Merwil, right outside their building—even though he had no criminal record or gang ties. Wilmer tried everything to find out where his son was, but got nowhere. The only call he got was a quick, supervised one from Pennsylvania.
Instead of being sent home, Merwil was shipped off to El Salvador’s infamous CECOT prison, known for its harsh conditions. This happened because of a new U.S. policy that fast-tracks deportations, even for people with no criminal history.
Now, Wilmer is left in the Bronx, missing his son and wondering if coming to America was the right choice. All he can do is hope for his son’s release.
Just for facts and clarity
Of the 238 sent to El Salvador, most were from Venezuela. Bloomberg News analyzed records and found 5 charged with or convicted of felony assault or firearms violations, 3 charged with misdemeanors including harassment and petty theft, and 2 charged with human smuggling. For the rest there was no available information showing they committed any crime other than traffic or immigration violations in the US.
The MAGA seems to be hard wired to their brain…
Someone I served with said this week that the only thing he’s uncomfortable with is the Garcia case, but that really misses the bigger picture. It’s not just about one guy being deported—Garcia was denied due process, sent to a dangerous foreign prison, and his constitutional rights were trampled, even after a Supreme Court order. The truth is, this isn’t some one-off mistake. Right now, we’re seeing mass expulsions at the border, families split up, asylum seekers left in dangerous limbo, and people locked up in conditions courts have called unconstitutional. The administration is using emergency powers to fast-track deportations and detain people without real legal recourse. So, focusing only on Garcia ignores the fact that these kinds of constitutional violations and real harm are happening to Americans and immigrants alike, every single day.
Holy Moly…DOGE whistleblower - this is scary and deserves to be at the top today as well…
This DOGE whistleblower situation is a five-alarm fire, and people need to pay attention. We’re talking about Elon Musk—yes, that Elon Musk—rolling into the National Labor Relations Board with Trump’s so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” and allegedly making off with sensitive labor data, including info on union organizers and ongoing legal cases. And let’s not kid ourselves: Musk’s companies, like SpaceX and Tesla, have a laundry list of open cases with the NLRB and other agencies for everything from union-busting and workplace discrimination to safety violations and even SEC fraud. There are at least a dozen active investigations into Musk’s companies right now, including:
- The NLRB’s complaint against SpaceX for firing employees who criticized Musk.
- The Department of Labor and EEOC going after Tesla for racial harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.
- The SEC suing Musk for securities violations tied to his Twitter/X stock shenanigans.
- Ongoing probes into federal contract fraud, safety violations, and even Musk’s meetings with foreign leaders.
Now, the real kicker: the whistleblower says DOGE engineers tried to cover their tracks—disabling monitoring tools, deleting logs, and even using backdoor code to extract data. So, did Musk go in and remove information on pending cases against him? The evidence is damning: there was a massive spike in data transfers, and the DOGE team wanted their actions off the record. Labor law experts are sounding the alarm that Musk could have gotten his hands on confidential case files, giving him a huge advantage in fighting or even derailing the investigations into his own companies.
This isn’t just about one billionaire playing fast and loose with the rules—this is about the integrity of our entire system for protecting workers and holding the powerful accountable. If Musk can waltz in, wipe the slate clean, and walk away with the evidence, what’s to stop anyone else? This is a test of whether we still have checks and balances, or if the fox is officially running the henhouse.
What’s going on with the budget…and why it will be damning for those who count on things like Medicaid and SNAP
This is huge. Both the House and Senate just agreed on the same budget resolution for 2025, which is a big step forward. The House barely passed the Senate’s version yesterday after a lot of back-and-forth about just how deep the cuts should go.
What’s actually in this thing? It sets up over $5 trillion for extending tax cuts and funding Trump’s priorities, but it also calls for at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts. And we’re not talking about trimming the fat—these are critical cuts to programs like Medicaid and SNAP that a lot of Americans rely on. If this goes through, it’s going to cause real harm for millions of people.
So, what happens next? Now that both chambers are on the same page, the Senate will start working on the actual reconciliation bill—the one that spells out all the details. Committees in both the House and Senate will be hashing this out over the next few months. Republican leaders want to have a final bill ready by July, before the August break, but the real deadline is September 30.
Bottom line: The budget resolution is done, but the real fight is just getting started. The Senate will be digging into the specifics soon, and there’s a lot at stake for everyday Americans. This isn’t just numbers on a page—these cuts could have a serious impact on people’s lives.
Truth Social should be called Lies and Propaganda…
Trump’s post this morning on Truth Social is pretty misleading. He’s claiming he got China to pay $28 billion to American farmers through a “great trade deal,” but that’s not true—the money actually came from U.S. taxpayers to bail out farmers hurt by his own trade war. He also says China stuck to the deal while he was in office and only backed out when Biden took over, but the reality is China never fully met their promises, even under Trump. He’s right that farmers get hit hard in trade fights and that China recently canceled a big Boeing order, but most of his post is twisting the facts to make himself look good…imagine that?
Trumps Approval Ratings…if this were golf (but it’s NOT), he’d be making headway on making par…and winning another made up trophy to place in his den of McDonald’s trash and Diet Coke cans – fun fact, did you know - He’s well known for drinking several cans a day and even had a red button on his desk in the Oval Office to summon a valet to bring him one. This habit has continued into his second term. Must be why he has 4.8% body fat….cause it’s Diet.
Trump’s approval rating as of April 15, 2025, is in the mid-40s, with disapproval in the low-50s, and the trend is downward as economic worries and backlash over tariffs grow.
I wasn’t going to look at my 401k…then I did…<sigh>
Since Trump started his second term, most of us have seen our retirement accounts drop by about 10 to 13 percent, give or take depending on what we’re invested in. The market’s been all over the place, and with all the talk of recession and constant volatility, it’s hard to feel confident about where things are headed. For those about to retire, that’s a big kick in the pants.
Harvard…how do you like those apples?!
Trump and his press secretary, Leavitt, are out here saying Harvard should apologize, but honestly, I think Harvard is doing exactly what more schools need to do. They’re standing their ground and not letting the government bully them into changing how they run their campus or what they teach. The administration’s demands aren’t just about fighting antisemitism—they’re about trying to control admissions, curriculum, and even who gets hired, all by threatening to pull funding. Harvard’s right to push back and protect their independence and academic freedom. If we let politicians start calling the shots at our universities, we lose what makes higher education matter in the first place. I’d love to see more schools show this kind of backbone and stand up for their values, no matter who’s in the White House.
The market today…
The stock market closed slightly down today, April 15, 2025, as investors weighed first-quarter earnings and ongoing tariff uncertainty. The Dow Jones finished down 155 points (0.38%) at 40,368.96, the S&P 500 slipped 0.17% to 5,396.63, and the Nasdaq dipped 0.05% to 16,823.17.
Good News!!!! (that’s not a typo, GOOD NEWS!)
The Termination of Parole Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, is hereby STAYED pending further court order insofar as it revokes, without case-by-case review, the previously granted parole and work authorization issued to noncitizens paroled into the United States pursuant to parole programs for noncitizens from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (the “CHNV parole programs”) prior to the noncitizen’s originally stated parole end date.
All individualized notices sent to noncitizens from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela via their USCIS online account notifying them that their parole is being revoked without case-by-case review pursuant to the Termination of Parole Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, are also STAYED pending further court order." (about 500,000 people)
Be heard!
The next major nationwide protest is set for April 19, 2025. This is part of the “50 Protests. 50 States. One Movement.” You can check for protests near you using - https://www.activismforall.com/protest, if you do not see your city – scroll down some and look at other options. If you are in Colorado - Colorado 50501 Chapter is partnering with Women’s Strike and Raise Her Voice to host a rally and march at the Colorado State Capitol from 12 PM MST – 4 PM MST on Saturday, April 19th, with approximately 8,000 people expected to participate. This march is occurring simultaneously across the nation. Be part of the voice!
Karoline didn’t wear her cross today…bummer.
If all of this feels like too much, you’re not alone. The news cycle right now is as wild and hard to keep up with as the dog that just bolted out the front door after a squirrel—one second you think you’ve got a handle on things, and the next, it’s chaos again. With Holy Week here and a lot of folks celebrating or just trying to find a little peace, don’t be afraid to take a knee and step back for a bit. Sometimes you need to catch your breath, regroup, and remember that it’s okay to pause.
If this has helped, please like and share—cause good trouble.
Go Cause Good Trouble, with Your Elbows Up!
Jenny