Morning all. I sat down with our paid subscribers last night for our weekly check-in about how we are doing in our fight for freedom and democracy, here and everywhere. A video recording is above and a full rough transcript is here. This was a lively and comprehensive conversation about this moment in our politics - get to it when you can.
Leaders Schumer and Jeffries released a more detailed outline of the emerging Dem ICE reform package late last night:
This is a very serious list of reforms, supported by every Democrat in both chambers. We are now having the fight over ICE we all wanted to have. We need to put our head down these few weeks and do everything we can to win it.
In the last few days we’ve reviewed two very comprehensive polls about ICE and Trump’s reign of terror (YouGov, Navigator). Each showed how much the American people had turned against ICE and the regime, and how supportive they would be of an agenda like the Leaders have offered. Navigator released some new data this morning I want to dive into, for it confirms the big argument I’ve been making these last few days - that Democrats must attack the big lie that the regime is using to justify the dramatic escalation we are seeing - that the regime’s immigration strategy is the targeting and removal of criminal migrants.
Look at this data. As we saw in the YouGov poll there simply is no support in the public for ICE’s targeting, detaining, and deporting law-abiding immigrants, legal or undocumented. In this question only 27% - 27%!!!! - said ICE should be removing all undocumented immigrants:
As we will see in this data it is clear the American people are wildly opposed to any version of mass deportation that goes beyond deporting criminals.
Look at this chart. The public is not just concerned about the violence. Americans are also extremely concerned that ICE is targeting people beyond Trump’s stated - and fictitious - goal of removing criminals:
Now, let’s look at a fascinating question. Here even Non-MAGA Republicans support a “balanced approach towards immigration” over the current Trump-Vance-Miller approach by 58%-33%. The 41 point advantage of our approach here is greater than our advantages on health care and affordability in most polling now:
And thus, not surprisingly, a majority are on board with the Congressional Dem approach to reining in ICE funding. The American people want change, though our margin dips when shutdown is introduced. So yes its why we need to be loud, as loud as we can be these next few weeks!
There is also a lot of data in this new report about how significant citizen videos of the violence and killings have been to shaping public opinion about the terror regime. It suggests we should be making the training of Constitutional Observers across the country to challenge ICE a national priority of the pro-democracy movement (yes many such trainings are already underway):
So, while I am generally pleased with where we are now, we should be working hard in the coming days to get our leaders to be more explicit about the need to roll back the $40b from the big ugly bill for the expansion of detention centers. These centers are only needed if the regime is allowed to execute its mass deportation plan, one that envisions deporting tens of millions of undocumented and legal immigrants over decades, and keeping the terror regime in our cities permanently.
Simply, as we see in this data (and in the YouGov data too) the American people do not support these mass deportation ambitions. And as we discussed yesterday we must do everything we can to fight the detention centers - both their current inhumanity, and their expansion. This bullet from the Dem agenda is a good start. But it doesn’t go far enough:
This kind of stuff described below must end. Now. For as we know from history where this goes if unchecked is only one place - dictatorship and the end of American democracy.
We cannot allow a series of these gulags to be built. For they are unnecessary, and if they get built they will get filled by undocumented immigrants, legal immigrants, journalists like Don Lemon, political opponents of the regime, Democratic leaders, and eventually all of us.
Now, Let’s Get To Work People
Keep contacting your Congressional Reps and demand they rein in ICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Big week ahead!
Fired up about our big win in Texas Saturday night? Contribute to our Audacious Expansion Fund which has already poured $70,000 into the Texas Democratic Party to help fuel this victory; fund the Texas Dems directly; watch my recent discussion with Kendall Scudder, the dynamic new Chair of the Texas Democratic Party discussing their ambitious 2026 plans.
Winning The Midterms - Support Our Candidates
Hopium’s Winning The House Campaign (2026) - $102,700 raised, $250,000 goal (new stretch goal) - Donate to all four endorsed House challengers with one click | Learn More | Enjoy our new conversations with Christina Bohannan (IA-01), Mayor Paige Cognetti (PA-08), Jo Mendoza (AZ-06), and Janelle Stelson (PA-10). Friends, we’ve hit $100,000 - thank you all!
Mary Peltola For Alaska Senate - $26,500 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Volunteer and learn more. Amazing start everyone!
Winning Ohio - $48,400 raised, $250,000 goal - Our new campaign splits contributions evenly among Sherrod Brown, the Acton/Pepper ticket, and the Ohio Democratic Party. Donate today and help us turn this critical 2026 battleground blue! | Watch my conversation with David Pepper, who does a great overview of the opportunities we have in Ohio this year. Note a generous donor has sent $21,000 worth of Hopium-infused contributions directly to the candidates which are not included in our on-line goal tracker.
Roy Cooper for NC Senate (2026) - $73,000 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Enjoy my conversation with Gov. Cooper and a new, terrific one with NC Dem Party Chair Anderson Clayton
Jon Ossoff GA Senate (2026) - $119,000 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Enjoy my inspiring conversation with Senator Ossoff
Expanding The Senate and Electoral College Maps, Winning In Red States and Red Places (2026-2032)
Hopium’s Audacious Expansion Fund - $347,600 raised, $500,000 goal (new stretch goal) - Join our new campaign to expand our map by investing in the Democratic Parties of Alaska, Florida, Iowa, Maine, and Texas. Many thanks to two generous Hopium community members who have audaciously donated $10,000 to each of our five state parties
Why We Must Invest Early, Now, And Not Wait - In three new essays (here, here, here) I discuss how one of the ways we win the 2026 midterms is by providing early support to our candidates and parties to allow them to staff up, be loud, define the terms of the debate now, before the inevitable onslaught on AI slop, Russian disinfo, and Trumpian lies funded through bribes and corruption wash across the land.
The midterms could be won or lost in these next few months - not in the fall of 2026 - and we need be fighting now with everything we got.
Winning The Big Arguments With Trump, Defend Our Democracy
1 - Call Your Senators and Member Of The House And Demand They Act Upon Our Five-Part Agenda - We need to be loud people, very, very loud and make the case for our now five part agenda:
Stand with Ukraine and our European allies, and far more forcefully challenge Trump’s traitorous efforts to sell out the US and the West to Russia; demand Congress rebuke/issue a no confidence vote on his new threats to seize Greenland and his new, dangerous European tariffs;
Congress must stand forcefully for rule of law in the Caribbean and the Pacific - these illegal strikes must end; no war can be waged without Congressional approval; there must accountability for those who have broken the law, and the US must withdraw from Venezuela and cease other threats to violate the UN Charter and the sovereignty of other nations
Roll back Trump’s terrible, illegal tariffs that are re-igniting inflation, driving up prices, shifting the tax burden from the wealthy to working people, hurting small businesses and farmers, reviving tyrannical “taxation without representation,” and alienating governments and people throughout the world. To put America on a sounder fiscal course due to the enormous deficits brought by Trump’s 2025 tax cuts we should reverse the cuts to the wealthy and corporations
Defend our democracy, rule of law, and our liberties by blocking the expansion of ICE; restoring due process for immigrants across the country; vigorously defending the 1st Amendment; warring against his outrageous targeting of his domestic political opponents; ending the use of the military on our streets and the dangerous occupation of our cities; stopping the unprecedented regime corruption; and by forcing the Administration to finally comply with Congress end the rancid cover up of the Epstein crimes.
Fight Trump’s war on science, higher education and our public health; reverse - not delay - the cuts to the ACA, Medicaid and our clean energy investments; support and co-sponsor the Stand Up For Science/Rep. Haley Stevens effort to remove Robert Kennedy from HHS.
Keep working hard all. The momentum is with us, and we need to keep fighting as hard as we can - Simon
