Yes, We Have No Bananas or Strawberries or Avocadoes or …

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whatever else immigrants, documented and undocumented, were working on to supply us.

Story beginning at 3:42 minutes in about the strawberry fields raids:

Jacob Soboroff, NBC News Correspondent joins Nicolle Wallace on Deadline White House from Ventura County, California the site of a immigration raid conducted by ICE on Tuesday to show the impact that the continued immigration raids and mass arrests carried out by ICE is set to have on the California and American economy, with many of the workers essential the agricultural afraid to go to work out of fear.

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52 thoughts on “Yes, We Have No Bananas or Strawberries or Avocadoes or …”

  1. nor oranges this year what with ICE-ing and the huanglongbing*

    *Florida’s orange industry is severely affected by citrus greening disease, also known as huanglongbing (HLB). This bacterial infection, spread by the Asian citrus psyllid, has led to a 92% decline in orange production over the past 20 years, with nearly every citrus grove in Florida now infected. The disease causes symptoms such as premature fruit drop and tree death, and there is currently no known cure. Efforts are ongoing to manage the disease and protect the remaining orange trees, but the situation remains critical for Florida’s citrus industry.
    Business Insider


  2. California Governor Gavin Newsom warned that President Trump plans to send troops to any state he perceives as an enemy, ICE raided a major meatpacking plant in Nebraska, and the president announced he’s reversing Congress’s decision to remove Confederate names from military forts.

  3. more on the ag raids

    NBC’s Jacob Soboroff reports from Ventura County, where ICE raids have reached California’s agricultural heartland, sparking fear among farm workers and their families. Advocates say the enforcement actions are keeping parents from schools and homes, as helicopters and security forces raise tension in the fields.


  5. A meat processing plant in Omaha, Nebraska was targeted in a major ICE operation that saw dozens detained. Douglas County, NE Commissioner Roger Garcia was at a live streamed meeting when he found out about the raid and excused himself to support his district. He joins Ana Cabrera to reflect on how this will impact his community and more.

  8. I am slightly surprised that krasnov did not do his version of the assassination of President Lincoln last night. He had everything there. A seat on the second level, a play, lots of adoring fans to watch the “blood” flow, even a “wife”.

    Perhaps someone should tell him that Ford’s Theater is just a few blocks from the White House. Maybe he could do it there. But he would need to be presented with a cartoon of the whole thing so he might grasp what it is and how important he would be afterwards.

  9. “Illegal is illegal”. That’s the fallback argument I keep hearing to justify what’s happening. If you came here illegally you deserve this. The counter arguments aren’t gaining much traction.

  10. from ACLU

    Is the fact of being present in the United States in violation of the immigration laws a
    crime?
    No. The act of being present in the United States in violation of the immigration laws is not,
    standing alone, a crime. While federal immigration law does criminalize some actions that
    may be related to undocumented presence in the United States, undocumented presence
    alone is not a violation of federal criminal law. Thus, many believe that the term “illegal
    alien,” which may suggest a criminal violation, is inaccurate or misleading.
    Entering the United States without being inspected and admitted, i.e., illegal entry, is a
    misdemeanor or can be a felony, depending on the circumstances. 8 U.S.C. § 1325
    . But many
    undocumented immigrants do not enter the United States illegally. They enter legally but
    overstay, work without authorization, drop out of school or violate the conditions of their visas
    in some other way. Current estimates are that approximately 45% of undocumented
    immigrants did not enter illegally. See Pew Hispanic Center, Modes of Entry for the
    Unauthorized Migrant Population [May 22, 2006].
    Undocumented presence in the United States is only criminally punishable if it occurs after an
    individual was previously formally removed from the United States and then returned without
    permission. 8 U.S.C. § 1326
    (any individual previously “deported or removed” who “enters,
    attempts to enter, or is at any time found in” the United States without authorization may be
    punished by imprisonment up to two years). Mere undocumented presence in the United
    States alone, however, in the absence of a previous removal order and unauthorized reentry,
    is not a crime under federal law.

  11. “The counter arguments aren’t gaining much traction.“

    …the counter-argument “their guy and all his goons are all overt criminals” isn’t gaining traction?

  12. Craig – there is the issue of skin color. Just as sfb imported some white folk from South Africa using some paperwork to state they are here legally, many of the people being deported also have paperwork stating they are here legally. I read that one of the administrations many questionable programs is somehow dismissing the immigration cases at the hearing so ICE can grab and hide away the people. Considering that there is no identification on most of the people literally kidnapping people off the streets and on job sites, we can guess what they are doing is illegal.

  15. New MAGAt talking point: No immigration from “third-world countries,” because we are “at capacity.”

    1) The US is the only industrialized country without universal healthcare, paid maternity leave, etc., and we have the biggest prison system. We ARE a third-world country.

    2) We are “at capacity,” but they also want women to have as many babies as possible, and to start as early as possible. So, we both are and aren’t “at capacity.” (Ahem, you have a piece of rampant racism stuck to the bottom of your jackboot.)

  16. I injected Prime Rib with butter and rolled in Cajun flour. Tonight I’m deep frying it.
    Nobody stopped me.
    Tonight: the Director’s Cut. Messier. Butterier. Possibly illegal in 7 states.
    Here’s the trailer:

  17. Anon, i don’t think “their guy and all his goons are all overt criminals” is getting the job done like it should. By the job, I mean persuading folks in the center this is all a big deal. And some of those do think anyone coming here illegally should be deported.

  18. Today would be Anne Frank’s 96th birthday, but she died in a prison camp at the age of 15.

    Today we are at the point where Anne Frank was hiding in an attack.

    Chasing farm workers through a strawberry field. Slave patrols.

  20. Craig – The lack of empathy is an infection.

    What would have to happen for them to leave home, on foot or in the back of a hot semi-truck, children in tow? They may be unable to reflect on that, but are more likely unwilling because they see themselves as above that happening to them, which is actually rooted in fear that they are humans just like the immigrants.

    Racism exacerbates it, because there are a lot of Irish in NYC and Boston who came for “vacation” decades ago, and those folks just might be OK with them.

    The say “illegal is illegal,” but the image in their heads is of poor, brown people.

    There is also a lack of understanding that being undocumented is a civil matter.

  22. One counter argument for fence sitters is how companies lure, recruit or simply look the other way to encourage “illegals” to cross the border and work for them. Nobody is deporting them.

  24. Craig,
    Hiring of undocumented is just a form of the old Bracero programs. Everyone knows it and looks the other way. As long as no crime is committed, they are just regular workers …no harm no foul.

  25. Of course wiping out USAID means more third world people need to leave home just to survive. Combining cruelty with racism doesn’t seem like a viable action.

  26. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/12/california-sen-alex-padilla-handcuffed-at-noem-presser-00403253

    California Sen. Alex Padilla handcuffed at Noem news conference in LA

    Video provided by Padilla’s office shows the senator approaching the lectern as Noem was touting federal law enforcement’s immigration crackdown efforts in Los Angeles. He was stopped and shoved back by multiple men.

    “I’m Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,” he said. He tried to speak further as he was forcibly removed into an adjoining room, where he yelled “Hands off!”

    *How long before any elected official questioning anything publicly gets manhandled?

  27. https://apnews.com/article/immigration-raids-omaha-ice-food-plant-bebe9e642964aa06fbaef0b7e8ada093

    Immigration authorities raided an Omaha meat production plant Tuesday morning and took dozens of workers away in buses, leaving company officials bewildered because they said they had followed the law.

    The plant uses E-Verify, the federal database used to check the immigration status of employees. When he said as much to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers who carried out the raid, they told him the E-Verify system “is broken.”

    *They are purging the country of as many brown folks as possible. They will be replaced with prison labor (mostly non-yt, US citizens) and child labor.

    Arbeit macht frei.

  28. imagine the effect if all the immigrant workers (plus friends and relatives) go into hiding and don’t go to work because they’re scared, grieving or angry. think it will begin to worry the monied classes, the politically powerful, and all who depend on these folk to get them through the day?
    veggies will rot in the fields. fruit will not be picked. meat will not be processed. the sick, the elderly, children and the handicapped not cared for. restaurants and hotels unmanned, buildings not built and trash putrid in the potholed streets.
    such a strike is foreseeable. no need to protest in the streets, just stay home and lock the doors. quiet factories make a mighty noise.

  30. https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/bruce-springsteens-berlin-concert-echoes-history-stark-warning-122749501

    BERLIN — BERLIN (AP) — Veteran rock star Bruce Springsteen, a high-profile critic of President Donald Trump, slammed the U.S. administration as “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous” during a concert Wednesday in Berlin.
    He was addressing tens of thousands of fans at a stadium built for the 1936 Olympic Games that still bears the scars of World War II and contains relics from the country’s dark Nazi past.
    “Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experiment to rise with us, raise your voices, stand with us against authoritarianism, and let freedom reign,” he said.
    Springsteen has made increasingly pointed and contentious public statements in recent concerts. He peppered Wednesday’s performance with mentions of the American democracy’s system of checks and balances designed to ward against authoritarianism.
    His short speeches — referencing recent headlines about immigration raids, the freezing of federal funds for universities and measles outbreaks — came between songs that were also captioned in German on large screens beside the stage. The set was flanked by an American flag on one side and a German flag on the other.
    Still, the Boss remained hopeful: “The America that I’ve sung to you about for the past 50 years of my life is real. And regardless of its many faults, it’s a great country with great people. And we will survive this moment.”
    But last month in Manchester, he denounced Trump’s politics during a concert, calling him an “unfit president” leading a “rogue government” of people who have “no concern or idea for what it means to be deeply American.”
    Springsteen is no stranger to Berlin. In July 1988, he became one of the first Western musicians to perform in East Germany, performing to a roaring crowd of 160,000 East Germans yearning for American rock ’n’ roll and the freedom it represented to the youth living under the crumbling communist regime.
    “I’m not here for or against any government. I’ve come to play rock ’n’ roll for you in the hope that one day all the barriers will be torn down,” Springsteen said in German at the time, before launching into a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Chimes of Freedom.”
    An Associated Press news story from that period says “fireworks streaked through the sky” and hundreds of people in the audience waved handmade American flags as they sang along to “Born in the USA.”
    The Berlin Wall fell the following year, and some experts credit the concert for its part in fueling the protest movement that brought the end of the Communist government.
    Almost four decades later, Springsteen issued a stark warning: “The America that I love, the America that I’ve sung to you about, that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous administration.”
    The rocker closed Wednesday’s three-hour show with “Chimes of Freedom.”


    Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out /Twist and Shout / Chimes of Freedom Olympiastadion, Berlin , Deutschland , Tour: The Land of Hope and Dreams Tour , June/11/2025

  31. Oh, they knew alright, they are event security and allegedly Secret Service and local police, yeah, those thugs knew the man they cuffed and threw to the floor violently was the senior Senator from California, the Honorable Alex Padilla. They fucking knew it so they wanted to show off to Trump by violently attacking a Democrat.
    Schumer and others back in Washington are screaming from the podium for a full investigation with consequences while Noem brushes it all off saying this UNKNOWN man lunged at her. FUCK! This is an outrage.

  32. Dexter – you touched on something that has been a question for many years. IIRC sometime in 2015 when sfb became involved in politics in the open, there were reports of him using his own “security” instead of Secret Service or other federal agencies. It has been a background issue, some little reports of conflicts because he would not use Secret Service but his own people.

    There has not been a top of the fold front page article about his security. Some reporters guessing, others just skipping over the issue. There was one reporter, cannot remember if it was Guardian, who stated that the people surrounding sfb during the assassination attempt that killed two men, one to the side and back of sfb and one the alleged shooter, were not Secret Service but his own employees. His miracle ear, the only one ever to regrow in less than a week, was that event.

    It would be very nice if an investigative team would let the world known more about the private security that sfb uses for himself and his family, including actual relatives and his hangerons.

  33. https://www.newsweek.com/florida-sheriffs-ominous-warning-rioters-kill-you-graveyard-dead-2084799

    Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey had an ominous warning to violent protesters and rioters ahead of Saturday’s “No Kings” rallies against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.

    Ivey said in part at a Thursday press conference, “If you throw a brick, a firebomb, or point a gun at one of our deputies, we will be notifying your family where to collect your remains at. Because we will kill you, graveyard dead. We’re not going to play.”

  34. https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2025/06/12/california-federal-court-troops/7721749755860/

    A federal judge on Thursday might rule on whether or not the Trump administration lawfully deployed National Guard and Marine Corps troops to Los Angeles.

    “In light of these incidents and credible threats of continued violence, by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby call into Federal service members and units of the National Guard under 10 U.S.C. 12406 to temporarily protect ICE and other United States Government personnel who are performing Federal functions, including the enforcement of Federal law, and to protect Federal property, at locations where protests against these functions are occurring or are likely to occur based on current threat assessments and planned operations.”

    *Not just federalized for LA, just in general and as needed or even in advance of need.

  35. This is a country full of criminals, everybody’s up to something

    We have a predatory economic system and these ignorant white fools are worried about laborers

  36. that’s the problem when liberal messaging calls out the inequities of the system: half of the people in the economy make a living from those inequities

    For example, when people like us call insurance companies evil, we lose the tons of thousands of people who work for those companies. Should we lie to them?

    Anyway, if “illegal is illegal”, then get the fucking criminal in the Oval Office out of it

  37. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/pentagon-has-contingency-plans-to-invade-greenland-if-necessary-hegseth-says

    Hegseth says Pentagon has Greenland plans ‘for any number of contingencies’

    Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared to acknowledge that the Pentagon has developed plans to take over Greenland and Panama by force if necessary but refused to answer repeated questions during a hotly combative congressional hearing Thursday about his use of Signal chats to discuss military operations.

    *Thid has gone way too far and the world needs to shut down this administration in a way they should’ve shut down the yahtzees, instead of trying to appease monsters.

  39. Last evening’s historical message was decidedly pro-Teedy and anti-oligarch. Interpret as you will.

  40. Those honored on stage were active duty, veterans (including our nephew-in-law), and Gold Star Families.

  42. https://abc7.com/post/trump-says-changes-are-coming-ice-raid-policy-protect-farmers/16734951/

    “Our great farmers and people in the hotel and leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long-time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace,” Trump wrote. “…We must protect our farmers, but get criminals out of the U.S.A. Changes are coming!”

    *Well, Stephen Miller and the racist base and the for-profit prisons aren’t going to like that. Wait! Does “changes” mean they will stay but be prison labor?

  43. What about the business-owner in Omaha who had dozens of employees taken away, even though they had been e-verified? Why, it’s almost like bounty hunters don’t care about the legal status of brown folks if they can get a payout. I want every one of those MFers unmasked, ID’d and brought up on charges of kidnapping and false imprisonment…or something.

  46. Good job on putting some real talk on your ‘tube, Mr. C 🫡

    Speaking of ‘70s kids, let’s check if Olbermann has a new podcast up

    Yes, he does, leading with commentary on Senator Padilla being manhandled by trump goons

    That’s the kind of men football society got us btw- meatheads

  47. https://www.newsweek.com/ron-desantis-says-floridians-have-right-hit-protesters-cars-2084418

    Ron DeSantis Says Floridians Have Right to Hit Protesters With Cars

    DeSantis was speaking on The Rubin Report on Wednesday when he said: “We also have a policy that if you’re driving on one of those streets and a mob comes and surrounds your vehicle, and threatens you, you have a right to flee for your safety.

    “And so if you drive off and you hit one of these people, that’s their fault for impinging on you.”

    *Very click-baity headline, but still leaves some grey area in MAGAts minds that they could do this and get away with it.

  48. ‘Bout fucking time a court says “ Stop this shit, you’re out of your lane.” Frame it as Newsome wins, Dodo loses. (Precursor to 2028). Gotta piss his white ass off bigly.

  49. https://www.newsweek.com/hegseth-reacts-courts-los-angeles-protests-2084681

    Pete Hegseth Reacts to Following Court Orders Over Marines in LA

    Pressed by lawmakers, including Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California, during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday, Hegseth avoided directly answering whether he would follow a court’s decision.

    What I can say is we should not have local judges determining foreign policy or national security policy for the country,” Hegseth said.

    *Someone called DUI Pete “Kegseth,” and I not only like that nickname for him, but I hope there’s self-induced alcohol poisoning in his near future.

  50. The whole PR stunt did backfire on Taco Don. He made Gavin Newsom seem presidential. Oops. (I’m still Team Buttigieg, and I like JB Pritzker more than Newsom, but Adolf is giving JB more of a spotlight, too.)

    *Everyone is raining on his parade. Rain chances for DC are now up to 90% for Saturday.

  51. ARTICLE II, SECTION IV

    “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

    *So, there is a way to get rid of this entire clown car of n@zis. Does it mean that they each, individually have to be handled, or if the big domino falls can they all go down?

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