I am not a lawyer, and I am not your lawyer.

Off the top of my head, I can’t really see where or how this is illegal in most US jurisdictions. In “at will” states you can be hired or fired at any time for any reason* or no reason. And likewise you can quit at any time for any reason or no reason. If you can be hired or fired based on this scam, you can be promoted or held back based on it.

Having said that, this is really scammy, and I would not want to work there.

*except discrimination based on: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age (>40), or genetics. Likewise, retaliation for unlawful sexual harassment.

There’s a third judge as well who has ruled on the “invasion” question. Hellerstein in SD New York, Rodriguez in SD Texas, and Sweeney in Colorado. They have all come to the rather obvious conclusion that the United States is not being invaded by a foreign nation or government.

+1 for MAGAt wielding the AK-style magazine with the big curve.

TeleMessage, an obscure Israeli company that sells modified versions of Signal and other messaging apps to the U.S. government to archive messages,

Wait so does this mean that someone in the admin who was involved in setting this up at least thought about complying with archive laws?

I work in engineering, sometimes with startup types that want to develop a “product”. I’m also a coinventor on some patent applications. This response will be based on US perspective and economics.

1. First before all, do a patent search. This is to find out if someone already patented your ideas. If so, you either need to pay them royalties to license the patent(s) or rework your product to avoid the patents. Google Patents is highly accessible for this.
2. Then, if you think you have original, patentable ideas, engage a patent attorney to do a “real” search and to work on filings. This will take money (at least 10s of thousands US) for the initial work. All the major legal jurisdictions are “first to file,” so it no longer helps to mail your notebooks to yourself for proof of date of invention. You have to at least file a provisional application to get a patent priority date. Keep everything top secret until you have that application. Execute non disclosure agreements (NDAs) with any outside firm or individual you talk with. 2b. As an aside, software is not generally patentable any more, on the grounds that math formulas are also not patentable. There may still be some ability to patent software-oriented ideas as business methods or the like. Just because the patent office issued a software patent doesn’t mean it’s enforceable. Courts hold patents to be invalid all the time.
3. I want to impress upon you some view of the real costs of prototype design and what is known as “nonrecurring engineering” (NRE) in the biz. You don’t say, but it sounds like you want some amount of custom electronics coupled with some backend software. Costs can vary considerably depending on circumstance, but I would typically see 100k-300k USD in design and prototype build costs to get initial prototypes with some limited functionality for these components. It could very well take 1 million USD or more to get a more complete product design. This also depends a lot on how you engage engineering talent: turnkey consultants can be the most expensive, or you could save a bunch of up front labor cost by offering equity to a key designer. 3b. I don’t know how complicated this app is, but it’s not unusual for software engineering costs to overshadow the hardware engineering costs, and sometimes by a lot. This might be something to keep in mind if you’re contemplating app development up front paired with virtual hardware plans.
4. A “virtual design” for hardware that is just drawings could be done for cheaper than the prototype quote I gave. I see common prices for that kind of work at least 10k and up to 50k depending on how much initial design work you want or need done (and how the talent is engaged, etc, etc).
5. Manufacturing. Depends of course on what is going into your gadget and how many units you plan to build.
   5a. Custom PCBs can commonly be run in low volumes for relatively cheap. It’s more expensive to solder the components on than just to etch the boards. There are many board houses that let you turn in your design files and get a quote online. 5b. For startup that wants a low volume (~100) of some gadget, you might want to look into contract manufacturers. These will assemble your product per drawings, typically in a non-automated or low-automation fashion. For example, they might have pick and place machines and expensive wave flow solder machines to assemble PCBs, but then the boards are screwed into enclosures by hand. These places might run double or triple the per unit cost of a more automated setup, but it can still be the best option for low numbers of units. 5c. Overseas manufacturing can cut costs through reduced labor bills. The traditional hurdles in the startup environment are long shipping lead times (particularly by sea, 10-12 weeks not uncommon) and the added hassle and complexity of international business dealings. In the US particularly, the recent tariff situation is throwing a monkey wrench right in the middle of this, and I will not attempt to analyze the impact. 5d. A commonly surprising manufacturing cost: if using injection molded plastic for enclosures or the like, the custom molds can cost several 10s of thousands to build and store. This is a fixed cost, so it doesn’t impact the per unit for large volumes, but it is often an expensive hurdle in the total manufacturing process for small startups.
6. Regulatory. It’s highly likely that any consumer facing gadget will need at least some regulatory testing, probably from a dedicated contract test house For example in the US, Underwriters Laboratory (UL) demands safety testing, and the FCC can require “part 15” testing and separate testing if you have a radio (such as WiFi or Bluetooth). As an exercise you could try looking up all of the various logos on the bottom of your favorite gizmo or in the fine print in the manual.

It’s more like the Pope clung on to life just for the opportunity to insult JD Vance. Once that was accomplished, there was no additional reason to stick around.

And even if the kids did say this thing, it would in no way prejudice his absolute right to remain in the country. Even if he did cross the border illegally without presenting at a port of entry, he would still have the right to enter and remain.

Correct. And then Trump just pardons them.

The bigger deal is that this immunity protection does not extend to the President’s minions and officials.

Trump is never going to round up the prisoners and fly the plane to El Salvador all by himself. He’s got people to do that, and those people can be served with court orders and criminal contempt process.

He already has a habeas petition filed, and a judge (actually the same judge handling Ozturk*) has ordered him not to be removed from Vermont.

*Not much of a coincidence. Vermont has two federal district judges in the entire state.

Update: I was expecting the plaintiff to use this Bukele quote, because it’s pretty good for him.

But instead it’s the Government that filed it!

At this point I utterly fail to understand their litigation strategy.

Here’s the guy they claim has jurisdiction saying the only reason he won’t send him home is because he can’t make the US accept him.

I can promise you this quote is going to be in Abrego Garcia’s next court filing.

This ruling was made by a Trump-appointed district court judge, and two Trump-appointed appellate judges declined to grant a last minute administrative stay.

That goes to show just how much of a loser this AP case is for the Trump administration. Yet the administration ignored the order anyway, and they filed a paper this morning suggesting that the appellate judges merely “forgot” to issue the steady.

This all assumes you’re a US citizen.

Correct. US citizens have an absolute right to enter the country. So if they want to detain for more than several hours, they have to come up with criminal charges.

Permanent residents theoretically enjoy some constitutional rights at the border, but you all have seen what the current situation is

Non-citizen non-LPRs can simply be refused admission and summarily deported on much flimsier grounds than any of this stuff we’re talking about.

No, I don’t think there is anything very special or unique about Abrego Garcia.

My theory is that someone ran a slapdash database search for unexecuted removal orders to El Salvador, to fill out a quota for the stunt.

Abrego Garcia allegedly has two pieces of paper from immigration court. Paper #1 (allegedly) is a final removal order, and it says he can be deported. Paper #2 is a withholding of removal order, and it says he can’t be deported to El Salvador.

Why do I keep saying “allegedly”? Because in the current court case, the government was unable to produce paper #1 in court. So Judge Xinis made her decision on the basis that there was no legal authority to remove Abrego Garcia to anywhere. However, the record seems to indicate that paper #1 really does exist, even if the chucklefucks can’t find it.

Why am I saying this here? Given the amount of utter stupidity with which this operation has been carried out, I think it may be reasonable that there may have been a legit mix-up between the two papers somewhere along the line. I have no evidence one way or the other.

Use a pass code. Do not use fingerprint or face ID unlock.

The current law is that you can be compelled to unlock your phone with your face or finger. (Probably should require a search warrant).

You cannot be compelled to say what a pass code or password is. You have the right to remain silent.

In the 1830s they were doing that shit in the southeast: Georgia, Carolinas, Alabama, and so on. They didn’t really get going clearing the “west” until after the war and into the twentieth century. Geronimo surrendered for the last time in the 1880s, and he died in 1909 as a POW at Ft. Sill. Oklahoma had gained statehood only two years before, in 1907.

Insider trading is where the one doing the trade has insider information. This “tweet” (“Truth”?) cannot be insider information by definition.

Could Trump administration figures do insider trading on the basis of more explicit insider information? Absolutely. Does this message prove any of that? No.

I’ve heard tell that DOJ has a gazillion open attorney positions* over at USAjobs.gov.

*Side effects may include sanctions and disbarment.