**GOOD NEWS** Jan . 31- Feb. 6
Your weekly reminder that the system IS HOLDING and good people in powerful places are very much on our side.
TWO QUICK EVENT REMINDERS BEFORE WE GO INTO THIS WEEK’S GOOD NEWS
Tomorrow, Sunday the 8th, is the ONE-DAY SUPPLY DROP — SUPPORT FOR IMMIGRANT FAMILIES (KNOXVILLE) at TVUUC.
Not charity but solidarity.
We are collecting specific requested household and food items to support immigrant families who are struggling right now. Needs are coming directly from community contacts working with families.
*Please see attached graphic for donation needs.
Drop-off location: Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church
Time: Sunday, 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Please bring ONLY items from the attached needs list. This allows us to match supplies to real family needs and avoid waste.
THIS TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10TH IS OUR FIRST PUBLIC MEET & GREET!
We will be doing a SHORT (but exciting!) interactive intro on what Indivisible Knoxville has coming up this year and new initiatives.
Oh yes… and pizza & finger foods. 😋
Because the largest portion is all about the ‘meet & greet’ – to mingle with like minded Knoxvillians and discover what opportunities there are to contribute in a way that best suits your lifestyle and availability.
The biggest question we are hearing from people is, “What can I do??” There will be numerous local volunteer organizations joining us with information about who they are, what they do, and how to get involved. We hope you are able to leave Tuesday night feeling a little more assured in your own abilities to do your ‘something’.
Where: Saint James Episcopal
Time: February 10th 5:30 PM
Register here (so we know how much pizza to bring!):
https://www.mobilize.us/indivisibleknoxville/event/881475/
NOW – THIS WEEK’S **GOOD NEWS**
Jan 31:
JUDGES ORDER RELEASE OF LIAM AND OTHERS
A federal judge ordered the release of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father from federal detention after their arrest drew national attention. The judge described the detention of the child as cruel and ordered the family released pending further proceedings.
Alberto Castañeda Mondragón was hospitalized with severe head injuries after an arrest. Medical staff and outside experts publicly disputed ICE’s initial account of how the injuries occurred. A judge later ordered his release from custody while he recovers.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/5-year-minneapolis-boy-liam-conejo-ramos-father/story?id=129738949
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES AGAINST ICE
A man showed up to a recent Santa Clara City Council meeting in a Batman costume. He roasted local leaders for failing to protect residents from ICE ahead of the Super Bowl, which will be hosted in the city. He said: “You have had months to prepare. I don’t give a damn if this is out of decorum.”
“Look me in the eye,” he said, demanding the council put in writing that no city resources would be diverted to ICE. He then asked: “Can any one of you go home to your children and tell them that you did everything you could to protect their classmates? … Their grandparents? … Them? I don’t think you can.”
Batman continued: “Right now, I stand in front of a council of cowards.” He said they would be “traitors” if they refused to act. The crowd erupted in applause, and thanks to his powerful testimony, they scheduled another meeting to determine what actions they’ll take. Sometimes, superheroes do wear capes.
Feb. 1:
REPUBLICAN SEAT FLIPPED!
Democratic candidate Taylor Rehmet has won a special election for Texas (!!) State Senate District 9 in Tarrant County — a seat Donald Trump carried by 17 points in November 2024. Rehmet carried the seat 57.2% vs his Republican challenger, Leigh Wambsganss, at 42.8%. That’s a 14.4-point margin, and a 31.4-point swing vs Harris’s margin in 2024.
https://www.gelliottmorris.com/p/blue-wave-watch-democrat-flips-trump
A SLIMMER GOP MAJORITY IN THE HOUSE
Also in Texas, Democrat Christian Menefee won a US House seat, cutting down the already slim majority for Trump’s puppet, Mike Johnson. Once he’s sworn in, Democrats will only need two Republican defections to stop any bill in its tracks.
At his victory party, Rep.-elect Menefee said this to Trump: “The results here tonight are a mandate for me to work as hard as I can to oppose your agenda, to fight back against where you’re taking this country, and to investigate your crimes.”
Feb. 2:
A coalition of immigration advocates and U.S. citizens sued Marco Rubio and the United States Department of State to overturn an order suspending immigrant visa approvals for nationals of 75 countries, arguing the policy—justified by disputed “public charge” claims—amounts to an unlawful, discriminatory nationality-based ban that violates the Constitution and the Immigration and Nationality Act.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/02/marco-rubio-state-department-lawsuit-visa-ban
PRITZKER CALLS FOR PROSECUTIONS
While in Nevada, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker delivered a blistering speech calling for Stephen Miller and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to be fired.
“The monsters responsible for unleashing this havoc on American cities,” Pritzker said, “whether they were firing at civilians in the streets or calling the shots from their cushy offices in Washington, need to be investigated and prosecuted.”
He added that the regime’s inhumane abuse of power is backfiring: “The horrors inflicted by MAGA, they aren’t dividing us anymore. They’re uniting us. They’re uniting Americans against the tyranny of Donald Trump.”
FEDERAL JUDGE AGAIN BLOCKS NOEM’S ATTEMPT TO LIMIT CONGRESS’ ACCESS TO ICE FACILITIES
A federal judge blocked Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s attempt to require members of Congress to provide seven days notice before conducting in-person oversight visits to ICE detention facilities. The ruling marks the second time in the past few months that Noem’s mandate has been temporarily halted.
TOP DEMS: GOP’s MONSTER VOTER SUPPRESSION BILL IS ‘DEAD ON ARRIVAL’
Pro-voting advocates are furious over Republicans’ newly unveiled MEGA Act, a sweeping proposal to dramatically restrict voting access. Top Democratic lawmakers swore that the bill, which is rooted in conspiracy theories over facts, would be “dead-on-arrival.”
Feb. 3:
JUDGE TEMPORARILY STOPS TPS TERMINATION FOR HAITIANS
“There is an old adage among lawyers,” Judge Reyes wrote as she decided against the Trump administration. “If you have the facts on your side, pound the facts. If you have the law on your side, pound the law. If you have neither, pound the table. Secretary Noem, the record to-date shows, does not have the facts on her side—or at least has ignored them. Does not have the law on her side—or at least has ignored it. Having neither…, she pounds X ([formerly known as] Twitter). Kristi Noem has a First Amendment right to call immigrants killers, leeches, entitlement junkies, and any other inapt name she wants. Secretary Noem, however, is constrained by both our Constitution and the [Administrative Procedure Act] to apply faithfully the facts to the law in implementing the TPS program. The record to-date shows she has yet to do that.”
Feb. 4:
DOJ LAWYER BREAKS DOWN IN COURT – “THIS JOB SUCKS!”
A federal judge convened a show-cause hearing after finding multiple habeas orders were being ignored, leaving people detained longer than courts had ordered.
A Department of Justice attorney representing the government told the judge the system was overwhelmed, saying “the system sucks” and “this job sucks!”
FRANCE SHOWS US HOW IT’S DONE
French authorities raided Elon Musk’s X/Twitter offices in Paris this week as part of a criminal investigation into the platform’s role in the spread of child abuse material, Holocaust denial, and deepfake videos. The probe, led by the Paris prosecutor’s cybercrime unit, has been ongoing for over a year and is examining whether any executives have been complicit in the spread of illegal content.
In similar moves, the European Union has already fined the platform 120 million euros for “deceptive” practices, and the United Kingdom has opened investigations into potential violations of privacy laws.
https://time.com/7366216/x-grok-offices-raided-france-united-kingdom-probe/
Feb. 5:
CALIFORNIA DEFEATS TRUMP
Yesterday, the Supreme Court gave California Governor Gavin Newsom and Democrats a massive victory, rejecting the Trump regime’s desperate attempt to block the state’s new voter-approved congressional map. The map could flip as many as five House seats in favor of Democrats in the midterms.
“Donald Trump said he was ‘entitled’ to five more Congressional seats in Texas,” Newsom said after the win. “He started this redistricting war. He lost, and he’ll lose again in November.”
Feb. 6:
KHANNA: HAUL THEM ALL IN
Dem Rep. Ro Khanna is refusing to let the Trump regime bury the Epstein files. Just this week Khanna made a demand that should have everyone named in the files terrified: “I am calling for Congress to haul in every person who emailed Epstein about visiting his island.” Khanna added: “I will not rest until those who committed these crimes are held accountable.”
While the Trump regime is too busy trying to bury millions of files, Khanna refuses to back down. He wants them all subpoenaed, prosecuted, and sent to prison—exactly where they belong.
[The good news is Khanna is fighting back. The bad news, in the link below, is that the files contain some horrible and depressing stuff.]
https://www.democracynow.org/2026/2/5/ro_khanna_epstein_congress_investigation_survivors
ARIZONA RESISTANCE AGAINST ICE
Protesters packed a city council meeting in Surprise, Arizona this week, in what turned into a five-hour showdown over the DHS purchase of a warehouse that will be converted into an ICE detention center.
One participant made a great point when speaking to the council members: “I just cannot stand for this. We do not warehouse people in our country. This isn’t the United States I grew up in.”
Mayor Kevin Sartor said they didn’t even know about the purchase by DHS, but residents aren’t buying it. Another attendee said: “We know you weren’t given a seat at the table when this project was planned, but you have the power to pull up a chair right now.”
As member Jason Colby posted in our Facebook group earlier today, “Light does not wait for the darkness to pass. It is the reason darkness ends.”
We ARE that light. Our actions. Our words. And our refusal to just sit back and let them destroy everything we love.
So onward with love, Indivisibles.