WASHINGTON — The ink wasn’t even dry on the death certificate for Renee Good when the check cleared.
They say in this town that money talks, but today it didn’t just talk. It screamed. It screamed over the grave of a woman murdered by a badge named Jonathan Ross. It screamed over the people of Minnesota, who are currently living under the boot of federal agents in masks who roam the streets like they’re occupying a hostile nation.
And the message from the Senate Appropriations Committee, negotiated between Senator Katie Britt (R-AL) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) was loud and clear: Keep up the good work.
Yesterday morning, the suits in Congress dropped the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026” on the table. It’s a polite name for a hit job. You look at the pages, and you see the numbers, and you realize that the guys who stormed Minnesota aren’t rogue. They’re employees of the month.
The House Democratic leadership, wiping the sleep from their eyes, finally came out against this monstrosity this morning. They read the fine print and decided maybe, just maybe, giving a raise to the guys currently laying siege to a Midwestern state wasn’t good politics. But in this town, the money moves faster than a conscience.
Here is what they think your civil rights are worth: Negative thirty-two million dollars. That’s the cut to the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
Here is what they think of oversight: Zero. Zilch.
They took the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman—the one place you call when a guard beats a detainee in a dark cell—and they eliminated it. Gone. They zeroed out the Case Management Pilot Program. They killed the Family Reunification Task Force.
They fired the watchdogs and fed the wolves.
While Renee Good lies cold, ICE is getting $10 billion to keep the machine running. That includes “operations and support,” which is a fancy way of saying “more guys like Jonathan Ross on the street.” They threw in $20 million for body cameras, which sounds nice until you realize it’s pocket change compared to the $17.7 billion they handed Border Patrol. They found money for 6,500 new police vehicles for the Border Patrol and another 2,350 for ICE. That’s a lot of backseat cages for people who just wanted a job.
You have to appreciate the nerve of it. Section 214 gives the Secretary “flexibility” to reprogram funds to ensure detention. They call it “flexibility.” On the street, we call it a blank check to lock people up whenever you feel like it.
And Minnesota? That siege isn’t a mistake; it’s a business model. This bill funds “special operations” and “extended operations” to the tune of hundreds of millions. They are buying the gas for the vans that are currently patrolling Minneapolis without license plates.
The bill talks about “adequate performance evaluations” for detention centers. It talks about “reporting requirements.” But paper tigers don’t bite. When you cut the Ombudsman and gut Civil Rights, who is going to read the reports?
The Democrats see it now. They see that this isn’t a budget; it’s a war chest. But the machinery is already grinding. The cars are ordered. The overtime is approved.
Somewhere, Jonathan Ross is sitting in hiding, watching the news. He sees the billions rolling in for his buddies. He sees the “Help Wanted” sign going up for more agents. And he probably thinks what everyone with a badge and a gun thinks when the money arrives:
I guess we got away with it.
