Welcome to brief Ress.

I'm Michael Foot, I'm Melissa Albrand.

Today we're going to be talking about the last time I was ever seen in public and a romper, Melissa's last time out in the state sale, the Ditty Trial, the time Melissa had to talk to her mother about water sports.

Monica Lewinsky deep dives into cases about special immigration juvenile status, an interview with Congressman Robert Garcia, and all the questions you send me in my DMS.

I'm Michael Foot.

I'm a criminal defense lawyer and an immigration attorney here in New York City.

I am the first thing you see in the morning and the last thing you see before your husband disappears.

Melissa, would you like to introduce herself.

I can't believe you just said that.

My name is Melissa Malbrand.

I am absolutely positively not a lawyer.

I stand by that.

I had been working in the nonprofit space for about twenty five years now, and Michael and I met, i'd say about ten years ago.

We've been really good friends ever since.

You called me when your cat died, and that's how I knew we were close friends.

Your cat was dying and you called me and your husband.

I did because I knew that you would understand what I was going through, but you wouldn't be as emotional about it as my husband.

People often come to me when they want a direct, emotionless answer, unless it's like a Saturday night and I've been drinking.

In Brooklyn and eating taco bell.

We're going to be talking about all sorts of legal things that come up in the headlines.

I've really wanted to start this show with my best from Melissa because there are so many long form things I can't talk about on social media, and people love coming to like my feeds to learn a little something about what's happening with immigration law, what's going on in court.

But I can't like really expand or they can.

It's hard for me to answer all their questions, So you'll hear a lot on the show.

We constantly are going to be returning to this notion of like, what can we be doing right?

Like I hate the concept of doom scrolling.

I hate the notion that people aren't like supporting each other.

I hate this idea that like, oh, we're descending into fascism and like that's it.

It was like a think piece.

I hate that idea.

I want people to feel empowered to sort of like flex their democratic muscles to affect some sort of change in their community, even if it's going to a small protest, even if it's like working and volunteering at like your food bank, and sort of like looking at the headline, seeing what's happening and then explaining what's going on and then exactly what you can do about it, rather than it just being like, well that sucks, onto the next article, right exactly.

So I could never do like a full romper situation.

I feel like I've seen you in a romper, and I don't think that's true at all.

You were out here on these streets, and this morning Andre asked.

Me if I was starting working at a garage.

Okay, murder on the dance floor, Jesus Christ, Andre, that is no.

No, no, So Andre is?

I mean, you know, Andre, very conservative, little man, like dresses like everybody's dad, so like anything out of the ordinary.

I feel like I've given him some things that don't fit me, like they're too small, so I give him to him.

You have not.

I feel like I've given him a sweater over the years.

I feel like that might be your other black friend that you've given things.

Okay, immediately instantly racist.

I mean, no, not racist, but I mean I feel like I feel like they're black people who know what I'm talking about.

Sometimes you are your white friend's only black friend.

They have like two Yeah.

Now I understand.

I'm the only gay friend for a lot of people, and I'm treated like a mascot.

Sometimes they're like, get the gay one.

At the wedding, get that, you get the party started.

Get No, we need someone who's looking cute at.

N something like a good dress.

What's his name again?

Mark?

It's like you're not Mike.

Like you're not Mike.

I am Mike to a very specific group of people.

One demo graphic calls me, Mike.

I'm going to give you one chance to guess.

Yeah, is it somebody from like your childhood.

It's the guy fixing my dishwasher.

It's like the guy fixing the like put the plumbing in my apartment.

It's always like a man over a certain age.

They don't know you.

Yeah, they say the name is Michael.

Now it's like my dad's friends.

People who know me.

It's men of a certain white straight man of a certain age.

Are like Mike has a going It's a very long island thing.

Okay, people randomly call me Michelle for no good reason.

I've called you way worse than Michelle.

Yeah, the worse thing behind your back, into your face.

What did you do this weekend?

Well, you were working at the garage.

I was, Yeah, I changed the carburetor.

Brad will look me right in the eye and be like, oh, professor Plum is joining us if I'm wearing like a sweater and a time just Christ, it's actually so diabolical.

I don't catch strays in my house.

I catch them straight to the face.

What I do this weekend?

So this is wardrobe changing time for me?

So I do this by annual.

Oh, Melissa loves a good I do a good closet cleanout special.

But I like, I recorded something and I was going to post the TikTok.

But I'm not like you.

I am not a prolific poster.

If you're thinking about posting something to TikTok, my number one rule, don't be precious with it.

Post it.

I'm not edited broke in.

I am not precious at all.

Yeah, no, no, no, no, that's not it.

It's just a mess, but I was just like, I am actually embarrassed at the amount of shit that I own.

It is, but those are the videos that everyone loves.

Those are the videos of mine that blow up when I'm like, it's hey, I had to pick up a client and I'm wearing cooochie cutters and a crop top that's mesh because it's Pride month and I ended up having to go to the precinct and and it's always so mortifying for me.

But those are the videos that usually blow up.

I mean, I don't I actually don't care if the video blows up or not.

I mean, maybe I should, but I don't care.

But I care that I feel like I have come victim to over consuming right, and to be fair, I do buy a lot of thrifted items.

You know, we know I love in the States sales, so it's not but I do buy things.

Also, let me just be clear about that.

Yeah, and no judgment here.

I'm a consumer.

I am judging myself, Okay, I'm judging my line.

I am where disposable income goes to meet its disposal.

I don't want to be that person.

But there's a difference between not wanting to be someone and accepting who you are.

Know thyself.

I know myself, and I am a bitch with too much shit.

And not enough space.

You do have storage, So.

That's the thing, right, is that every year I pack up twice a year, I rack up my shop and I take it to storage, a storage facility outside.

Okay, Okay, so that is actually cry for help.

Yeah, it is a little bit of a.

I need someone to come in and tell me what to do.

I'll do it.

No, not you, Sorry, I need somebody who's not Mike.

My friends don't want to They're like, because I love to come up for dinner.

They're like, get fuck you.

Will because you will enable me.

No, yes, I throw everything out.

I'm like, Brad, this has been here for a week.

It is a it's our tax return.

I think we should either you know, post it online or throw it out.

Like, I'm like, this can't be sitting.

I feel like you would come over and we just wouldn't get anything done.

I feel like it would turn into a runway.

I do think that we would probably do some sort of fashion show.

I don't want that actually.

Comment below if you do want to see me go to Melissa's house.

We do a full wardrobe.

I could, Yeah, we could.

There's somebody out there who wants to help me.

Take a good long heart, look at my wardrobe and be like, bitch, you're never gonna wear this.

And if you want to enable this dysfunction, police comment on this video that you want us to do a little fashion montage, this is actually.

A cry for helping you.

No.

I think we do a link and people then can then donate to our and then we see how much money people give us to do it.

I am not asking anybody for money work.

I'm not.

This is and this is this is how you get a head life.

Maybe actually speaking of I saw Alyssa this.

Weekend, that messy bitch.

We love her.

I love her.

So how do we describe Alissa?

Describe Alyssa For the viewers at home?

Alyssa is our very very close mutual friend.

She's like a really good friend if you want to do something because Alyssa is down for whatever.

Yes, she's down for whatever.

Hey Alissa, let's go to croat show.

Yes?

And I do I get the sense that like her, her dorman like doesn't know what she looks like because she's never home, like she's always out, like she's never out in these streets.

Yeah, I have to tell you I track Alyssa and yeah, because.

For her own safety, her own and I'm not even kidding.

For her own safety, I am oftentimes worried about where she is.

Has anybody seen her?

Where is she?

She?

Melissa will text me in the middle of the night and she'll be like, I can't sleep just checking.

Have you heard from Alyssa recently?

I do feel like we should probably keep an eye on her.

Is Alyssa taught me how to be chaotic.

That is who she is in my life.

She's sort of like, uh, like the personification of like the Winchester Mystery Home.

Like she's just sort of like stove is on Keyser Out.

I went to her apartment once and there was like all this broken glass in front of the building and I was like, ooh, rough neighborhood.

It was like the West Village, right.

I go into the apartment and she had dropped something.

I was like, there's so much broken glass and she was like, oh, yeah, I dropped like a whole back of groceries there earlier.

That was me like a two hundred person unit and it was her.

H Yeah, but I did see her.

I took her to a drag Queen's birthday party.

We went to Miss Mam.

She again let me just one second, I was not invited.

No, and then for your own protection and safety, you would have kno, gone out at midnight on a Friday night.

Oh for sure?

No.

But yeah, but but ask me, ask me no.

I don't want to be told no one more time.

Get my hopes up, get all excited.

But you won't get your hopes up because you know better, right, because you know I'm probably not coming.

But I would like to be included.

Ok, Okay, I'll just it was also like deep in Brooklyn and you don't live anywhere near that, No, I don't.

You would have been like this is this is a four hour flight for me to get there from where.

When I first started dating my now husband, I was living in Brooklyn and he was not.

And it felt like a long distance relationship.

It really really did.

And I mean and it really wasn't that far, but.

It felt what did we say it'd be like that?

It'd be like that, and it felt like behind God's back.

Brad lived in Hoboken.

Oh God, And when you have to transfer, when you have to cross state lines in interstate commerce like that.

It really does.

I was all the way in these village.

There was like no like clear transit.

It was it was.

It was actually really him in as any part of.

How did he got in trouble?

Just cross the stay line.

We're three minutes into the episode and already come talking about ditty trafficking.

Okay, we're gonna go right into sidebars.

Okay, and I think we've got a nice natural entree into the ditty case speakcause Melissa's mother, Magalie, throw up a photo of Magalie c J.

She is an icon, She is the moment.

She is she, she is her, she is.

Yes, all of Yes, my mother is we we We often say that my mom is the Queen of the Kingdom.

In her mind.

Yes, she is every woman.

Yeah, it's all in her.

Yeah, it's all.

And she will never listen to this show.

She is.

She might if I tell her that we give her a shadow.

Okay, yeah, what has the department ever done?

Tocy department?

She calls.

But I'm not going to do that.

I'll get canceled.

So my mom has always loved like a salacious legal case.

Sure, right, I mean, who does it?

A lot of moms do so, like I remember back in the day you were a child.

However, the O.

J.

Simpson case, my mother was living for this, oh.

Living for every mom in America.

Cut to Didty and my mom is just like cut.

Straight to straight to Diddy.

She's also really into like the what's his name Johnny depp one, Like she was into it.

So now she's got nothing but time.

So I mean, we all strive to be retired.

So she was like, have you been watching the Ditty case?

And I was like, to be honest, not really like I'm in and I'm out or whatever.

And she's like, well, he's definitely going to go to jail.

This is before this was when it was first really hitting the headline, and I was just like, yeah.

It's not looking very good for him, and her home was it wasn't.

I mean, it didn't end well for him.

I mean it ended better than.

Those could those If someone drew a sketch of me the way those court reporters drew sketches of Diddy, just I would.

On the Evening News, Michael Foot threw himself off a building and embarrassment that is that was so wicked, wild, diabolical.

That was a crime in and of itself.

Drunk, I mean, you read what you saw?

Sean what And also let me let.

Me heard someone say you reap what you so?

And sometimes I say that all the time.

It's very mel Gibson and signs like he's very much.

It is very much like this Bucolic imageriat of folks like in the fields growing corn.

You what your saw?

You do?

You read what you said?

That was such a that's an American farmer subsidy.

Shout out right there, Shout out to you all the American farmers working hard here in these in this country, in the Midwest.

So her whole thing was he's definitely going to jail.

And I was like, Okay, it's not looking good for him.

Why do you right?

Agreed, And Melissa called me and told me this, and I walked straight into the street with my dog, didn't look either direction.

I had the most uncomfortable conversation with my mother about water sports.

My mother was convinced that this man was going.

To go to jail because he had engaged in water sports.

This was in her mind, make it clear, this was.

The crime, was the crime.

And I was trying to explain to my mom.

I'm like, well, it's not some people like that.

No, Melissa, she's she's rewriting the legislation.

She was like sports as a federal.

People don't like that.

And I was just like, I mean they might, and she was just like, no, he's going straight to jail for.

I should also process.

This is why he should go to jail.

She deserves it, I mean.

And again, back in the day Monica Lewinsky, I was in the car with my mom.

I will never forget this.

Listen to some NPR show or something where they were talking about Monica Lewinsky's sexual past and Monica Lewinsky and I around the same age, give her take a year or two.

And I think it came out that before Bill, Monica had had like maybe two or three sexual partners beforehand, and my mom was like a disgusting And so I'm in the car with my mom and I'm driving and I am not making anything.

You can't move no no, no, oh no, no no no no, no, no no.

And I went home and I called a friend of mine the door.

My mom was upset that Monica Lewinsky has had like one or two guys, and she was like, did you keep your mouth shut?

I was like firmly, So this is who my mom is.

Well, first of all, I might I think I'm going to meet Monica Lewinsky next week?

Can I know?

I'm all, I'll text you the details I really want.

It's like it is like my friend anyway.

It's getting me into me with her.

So I don't know if I can like sneak someone in.

But I won't bring you to the Drag Queen's birthday.

I will bring you to me Monica.

Yeah, like pick and choose.

Yeah, I feel like that's equally you know, I think.

If I have to choose, i'd rather meet Monica.

Okay, but let me explain the Drag Queen, Miss ma'am.

She she does deadpan drag to like very hilarious songs like Ding Ding Ding Went the Trolley, but her face is like the whole time and let me we'll throw off a clip and oh clang clang clang right right right.

We can't sing on the show because we'll get sued.

But she always has like a tag.

We can speak lyrics, that's copyright law.

She always has like the tag on her outfit.

Still, it's like, still on this so good, it's so great.

You have a couple of drinks, it's great.

Anyway, I'll bring you to meet Monica.

But Diddy, the thing about that I was just so incredulous was Melissa's mother each time she brought up one of the horrific things he was being charged with, right testifying the awful testimony.

I mean, it was really it was terrible.

Yeah, Melissa's mother was like, but that was what was really good.

She couldn't get.

She could She refuses to believe that anybody could be into that, and I was trying to and then finally I.

Was like, you know, I'm just like acutely aware of how much water I'm drinking right now as we're talking.

About let's listen.

That's fine.

I'm actually out.

Let's take a brief recess.

We're going to take a break.

Welcome back to brief Recess.

I'm Michael Foot, I'm Melissa Albrand.

This is under Earth.

We're going to take a deep dive into a case.

This one is actually really near and dear to me and my heart and a lot of what my day to day life looks like.

So I pictured it.

I thought it'd be cool to kind of talk to you about it.

The name of the case is Sarmiento, I tell the Perry et al.

So it's a class action lawsuit that the sale you filed against ICE effectively submitting a class action lawsuit of a group of miners who were seeking immigration status here in the US.

And we're not being given the opportunity to be bonded out of detention centers.

So they were being held for long periods of time in detention centers.

Okay, And when you say minors, give me an idea.

Sure, Yeah, So anyone under the age of it, actually I think it might be twenty one is for Special Immigration Juvenile status.

It's people under the age of twenty one.

We call it SiGe as a shorthand.

But Special Immigration Juvenile status is a protected status that miners can seek in the US.

It's usually you have to prove certain things.

So one of them is that you were neglected, abandoned, or abused by a parent in your home country.

So that can be you never had a relationship with your father and you don't know how man, it's no part of your life.

Or it can be that you know your parents have pandoned you.

Sometimes there are really extreme cases which are a lot easier to kind of prove, and then there are others where it's like I don't know who my father is and I'm going to be establishing custody in the US with a relative, Okay, So it's usually just one parent that you could sort of have to prove that there was something abnormal about the relationship.

But the interesting thing that sort of came up in this case that I thought I could weigh in on was how important it is that people are bonded out hard stop, but especially in SIDGE cases.

And that's because SIDGE is one of these things where you and your lawyer are running around the city to all sorts of different courts to get documentation, to get judgments, to get rulings from judges so that you can bring it back to immigration court and show them that like you're doing your due diligence.

For example, you usually have to go to family court, which is like in a different burrough sometimes where it takes a really long time to get that hearing date.

I've worked SiGe cases.

It's taken years just to even get like a a date for your application to be reviewed.

Let me ask you this, what happens if somebody because if you said it takes years, sometimes what happens if the person ages out while this is going on?

That's a great question.

We're often dealing with, like hard deadlines.

I made a video recently about appeals and how we sort of the deadline is when the application is received, not when you submit it for certain things.

So deadlines are insane in any industry, but especially in immigration law.

The stakes are so high.

Right, So for SIDGE, it is when it's filed.

So even if there is a backlog in the government agency that you're working with, as long as it's the date that your attorney files it, okay're still below the requisite age?

Okay?

That is that's like such an important question because sometimes people are not sure about that.

But sure, so as long as the date that it was submitted is before you've aged out, then your should be okay in terms of moving forward with the case exactly.

Ok.

And so in this case, the plaintiffs are suing Ice stating that they're being held without a bond hearing and that it violates their Fifth Amendment do process rates, So they're not even given the opportunity to argue whether they should be bonded out of a detention center.

It is developing law.

By the time this episode airs, the law might have changed.

So the thing about this specifically is that there was a recent ruling in September where if you were not inspected so upon arrival in the US, so let's say you arrived undocumented, you cross the border illegally, you don't have standing to seek bond in court if you are detained.

So that is like a new thing.

It's still being hammered out, it's being appealed, like it's going to work its way up through the courts.

But right now a lot of people are trying to get bonded out who crossed the border illegally, and this new ruling, this new case law that came down in September, has sort of messed with that.

So people reading out to me for bond and I'm like, I honestly couldn't even file something for you if I wanted to, or if I had time to.

So I mean, I just wonder what, especially, you know, what happens to these people.

I mean, especially talking about kids.

Somebody who's the idea of somebody who's ten years old, is sort of in this purgatory.

What happens to them?

It's a great question, and it's something that I think needs more attention, especially in the media.

I think oftentimes immigration law is like, ooh, that's so complicated.

Even lawyers will call me, Like this woman called me and she was like, the lady who does my nails just got arrested.

I'm a lawyer, but I don't know how to do this stuff.

Like sure, immigration law is like one of the most complicated areas of law, right, and it's because of the decentralized nature of the government agencies that we're working with.

I mean, when I'm having someone fingerprinted, it get sent to North Dakota.

When I file their BIA appeals, it goes to Church Falls, Virginia, Like it makes absolutely no sense.

Yeah, I think what sort of happens is especially in these cases, like we're talking about child welfare here, like these are children being locked up and they're being detained for an indeterminate amount of time.

I think like public perception, public advocacy, people's people giving this any sort of energy or attention, I think they'll sort of start to see, like how many awful things happen in attention centers, right, Like how many lawsuits are there around sexual violence attention centers?

So this is happening on us soil is I'm so glad to see that there is a lawsuit because I have to say, as an attorney, I'm really remiss reading the headlines that there aren't a lot of people talking about this.

There aren't a lot of law firms taking up cases and filing lawsuits like this.

There's been a chilling effect with the Trump administration where law firms are like, we are not going to be suing, We're not going after like they are afraid that they're going to be And what does it come down to.

It comes down to people's wallets.

It comes down to the pocketbooks of these big firms, and they're not going after the government agencies and really having some sort of like stand right.

And it's awful because it's like, I don't know, it kind of gets to the heart of like being an attorney.

For me, it's like why the fuck did you do this?

Then?

Like there's so many like faster ways to make money than being a lawyer, and you got into this to not help people, to not do the right thing, Like we're supposed to be officers of the court where people who are supposed to be like ensuring justices served or seeking out justice or accountability is held somewhere right And to then be like, well, it's going to hit our bottom line.

We don't want to be for the Trump administration, It's like, well, then who the fuck are you?

If you're not going to be doing that, then what are you doing?

I wonder?

I'm excited.

I mean to be following this closely.

I do think there's a strong chance that there will be some sort of at least partial relief for the plaintiffs, mostly because the child welfare protections courts take that really seriously and there is sort of a pretty big do process in this case.

People not I'm gonna be watching this close to the deceased, mostly because once there's a decision made, my day to day job as an attorney who handles bond hearings will change overnight.

It will be one of those rulings where I get to the courthouse and what I'm doing that day is something different than what I thought it was going to be, And I'd live for that ship because I am a messy bitch and I do love a little bit of chaos every now and then.

I was born and raised by Alisa, our most chaotic friend.

And you're a Taurus.

We're both tourism.

Yeah, I love that.

Let me ask you a question.

Yeah, they're in these detention centers with.

Are they like segregated from adults.

Yeah, that's actually a great question.

Is anybody like I actually don't know because it is so impossible for attorneys to access clients who are being held at attention.

It's actually such a pain in the ass for me to even have a call with a client detained, and I sue.

I was part of a lawsuit with the ACLU a couple of years ago where we sued because I was like bored one summer during COVID, so I like worked with them.

I'm and I basically.

Like two broken feet.

I broke both my feet jogging.

Yes, it was laid up in casts just and what I would do is I would take a group of cases in different detention centers around the country, and I would attempt to get in contact with my client and then document how difficult it was.

And all I was one of the lawers.

All that information got fed into this lawsuit and they sued and one they were like, we, like lawyers cannot access their clients, so it's really hard.

And detention centers are intentionally outside of city limits.

They're really far away from a metropolis to ensure that people cannot access legal council.

They're they're usually in like a wasteland.

I had to go to one in I think it was like an Alabama and I had to fly into a different state.

I didn't want to drive, so I'm wealthy enough.

I hired a car to drive me there because I was like, God, I'm not going to be driving in the middle of northern Georgia, Alabama.

I had someone drive me just to just for one hearing.

It was crazy.

Yeah, I just.

Keep thinking the idea of a kid being alone.

It's terrifying, and you know.

And somebody needs to be the voice for these kids.

Right, Absolutely.

Yeah.

I think that my clients who are kids miners are the ones that I end up being closest with as well, because they need like a social worker more than Yeah, totally, because.

They need the help more than any I mean, obviously anybody who's anytimes the.

Lawyer is like the parent has trusted the lawyer to be there for that person.

I don't know that there are enough people who are going to law school who get into it because they really have this deep down desire to push the idea of like social justice or just justice in general.

Like I'm going to go to law school and I am going to be a real estate lawyer because I want to make a ton of money, you know what I mean.

I mean, I think it's wonderful that you're thinking about it that way.

And Michael is not alone.

I know there are a lot of it.

I'm also not perfect, like no, no, no, no, no, nobody.

It's it's very easy to like lose your way, like I have lost my way many times in life, like as a lawyer, even after graduation, where you know, you do sort of get dazzled by the dollars or you don't want to take that probonum case because you are too busy, or like life happens, like people have families, like people get dogs, like uh sha goes down right, And so I just feel like, I don't know, I want other lawyers to feel like it's cool for me to be like, hey, Michael, how do I get to how'd you get started?

You know, I get a lot of messages like that.

We're like, hey, like how did you get your first like pro bone?

Okay, so how do you learn how to do this stuff?

Like I wasn't always this psychopath that I am today?

No, I think you probably were always a psychopath, maybe not the one that you are today, however.

I think knocks on the tour.

I think that to your point.

I think sometimes there comes a point in everybody's life where you're like, you know what, I've done the thing that I'm going to do, right, Like I went to college or not or whatever, and now I have a job and I'm just sort of like plugging away.

I think about this a lot, right, What is going to be my other thing that I do that is helpful?

I think there comes a moment in your life where you're like, oh, you know what, I'm going to sit down.

I'm going to think about how I can help.

And for you as an attorney, you have this skill, you have this degree, and you were like, you know what, I now have the time and I'm now inclined.

When we talk to Congressman Garcia later, let's ask him.

You should ask him like what you can do, Like what the difference is because I think that could be cool to hear from someone in a position of power in the government of like what they think their constituents or just like civically engaged democrats can be doing to help.

What can we do?

How can we be help?

How do you help?

Now?

What do you what do you do to I mean, I know, like you volunteer, you go to protests, like you get involved.

You are like someone that I look to, like you've helped me find my way many times.

But I don't know.

I think you're a wealth of advice and wisdom.

I mean I think so, not speaking about sort of like helping people who need but in terms of like wealth of advice and wisdom.

I'm going to tell you what I think no matter what, whether you want to hear it or not.

Right, Like, and I am a big I told you so person, which is not my best quality, but it is we are who we are, right And what's really funny is that, like I don't tell people I told them so nearly as often as I want to.

I like, keep it, I tamp it down.

Yeah it is, can't help it.

I can't help it.

You had fucking skywriting.

I told you so.

For me one day.

Who the fuck do you think you are in on my show?

Sorry because I get a tattoo.

Wait, oh, I would do that.

I told you so.

I've got it.

Yeah, mine could just be she told me so.

I told him so.

In terms of helping, I will say that, yes, I go to protest, and yes I will.

I'm I'm big on like reaching out to my congress person.

I you know, I've sent letters to my governor and my mayor.

But I will tell you that I struggle often with not knowing exactly what to do because I feel like what I want to do is something that I think will push the needle right, Like what can I do?

Who can I help?

Even if it's like one person, right, who can I help?

It's everyone is feeling right, even like someone who I'm very much in a position to do something.

Right, But you do it.

Yeah.

I was out running.

I was I was traveling, and I was out jogging in my hometown and on the corner of like the little main street and it's like this like little tiny little town on Long Island.

There were all these retirees who had like no kings posters and they were protesting, and I was talking to them.

It's the North Fork Women for Women Fund whips.

That is their name.

I am not I'm not having a stroke.

Whips, okay.

And they were telling me that they they take shifts every day.

They're on that corner working shifts protesting.

I was like, this is amazing.

I love this so much.

And they were how do I like nicely described they were retired women of a certain age.

There were no like young startup retirees who retired at thirty.

But I feel like a lot of people their age probably are feeling like they can't do anything or they cannot get involved in it.

It was just like such a cool example where I was like, look at these batties, look at these icons.

Anyway, this has been under oath.

Let's take a break.

So meliss I'm really excited because Congressman Garcia is joining us today to be great.

I can't wait.

He's the former mayor of California.

Yeah, and he's the US representative from California's forty second district.

He's been there since twenty twenty three.

He's actually immigrant himself from Peru, so it'll be really interesting to talk to him about ice.

What's happening there what he's doing as a congress person to sort of advocate for immigrant communities.

Also the first openly gay immigrant in Congress, which is very cool.

He I think he was undocumented at one point when he first emigrated, So it's a very cool, interesting sort of entree into American politics.

What he's sort of working on, I think will inform how Americans really engage with the news cycle, right I mean, we're always talking about how can we ensure that people are typically engaged and have real next step action items.

I feel like a lot of what's happening in American democracy right now is like, well, it's just terrible.

And nothing to do, just throw your hands up and give up.

Yeah.

Yeah, And I think it'll be cool to kind of talk to him and be able to really say like, hey.

And I love the fact that, you know, I think it also helps when people can see themselves in their elected officials.

So the fact that he is.

An immigrant, the fact that he's you know, openly gay, like all those things I think sort of help put the information out.

I also love a fair steva who's like, I'm going to let my identity govern like how I entered the workplace, how I enter like use my work.

I'm sick of this whole.

Like my life is separate from my job.

It ain't.

I'm a fair stepha in the courtroom as well as at home.

I'm winning arguments in my kitchen.

Are you though?

Somebody called get bread on the.

Phone, getting impeached in my phone?

Yeah, I can get bread on the phone.

Oh all right, Congressman, All right, shut up, Congressman's college, I got to stop talking.

Welcome to brief resess, Congressman.

Hey, guys, are hi congressman.

Congressman, thank you for joining us.

I know that we actually just got the press release of what you've been working on of the new legislation, So why don't you take us in of what you've sort of been focused on today.

It sounds like, I mean, obviously.

There's a lot going on, and I'm the horrors of the Tarp administration never end.

Today we're really focused on and trying to really zero in just the horrific actions by the administration, certainly Secretary now I'm Stephen Miller, and what's happening with ice across the country.

There are two things that we're looking at right now.

One is we've all been reading the reports of the now upwards of one hundred and seventy US citizens that have now been detained, in many cases sent to these facilities by ICE and by other federal agents, and who essentially have stories of being in the centers for days and days without any access to lawyers or family because they didn't have the idea.

And these are US.

Citizens who are being targeted racially profile because of the color of their skin.

And we know that now if ICES is doing this to US citizens, you can imagine how others are being treated at these centers and facilities.

And so we have a broad investigation going right now through oversight into Christineum into their actions across the country.

But we're also especially partnering with the Senate and the Senate's oversight team and Cenator Blumenthal and US are specifically going to do a joint bi cameral investigation into what's happening to United States citizens across this country as well.

You know, what I've told folks is, look, what's happening to citizens is horrific, but also reminding people that what's happening to non citizens they also have d process rights, and the Constitution is so clearer correctly, and so we have a lot of work to do.

But we were in LA with Mayor Bass making that announcement today.

And it's interesting you bring this up.

I really wanted to talk to you about what specifically does that mean?

Right?

I think we oftentimes hear in the news like we're investigating this, we're looking into this bi cameraalism.

Could you get specific about, like what does that literal to do list look like when you get to the office, right, Like walk us through it, because I think it's important for people to hear these words have almost become pointless to a lot of Americans.

Oh, we're investigating, Oh there's an oversight committee.

Oh, we're going to be looking into it.

I think we've been used and abused in so many ways as Americans that these words have sort of like lost value.

So I want people to hear, like exactly what you're doing because I know you, I know your team, I know you've been working on this, and I understand it on like a granular level from the courtroom.

But I think it's important for people to hear really what that means for you.

No, this is great because I also I love explaining kind of how over said yeah, so I.

Think process matters, right, Like, what's the process?

I think it's so important.

Let me so, there's two pieces of this I think are important, and that is how and who is leading the investigations and then what we're actually trying to accomplish and do.

So let me let me start by saying, Look, I've been the lead Democrat on the Oversight Committee.

Oversight Committee in the US House is the lead investigations committee that exists under a constitution under it in the US Congress, and so obviously the job of Congress is oversight, and oversight is where most of the major investigations end up.

Now, I'm I'm a pretty newer member to the Congress.

I was mayor of Lung Beach, California for eight years.

I got to Congress now a little over two years ago, and so I was not the most senior person to take on this job.

And I think in my pitch to the Democratic Caucus, I said, look, we have the we have to do things differently.

We got to bring brands, we need people to be more aggressive, we need to bring that fight that Republicans bring to these investigations.

And you know the pitched work.

I'm the first sophomore to lead a committee in one hundred years in the WOWS and I mentioned that because I think what you said is really true that oftentimes we will launch an investigation or folks will say they're going to hold folks accountable, and then it just gets lost in kind of Washington speak.

Right, or we hear about it like two years later that they kind of found something but they weren't really, and it just it does get kind of lost in the wash there.

It does.

And that is not me first, Like I first, I am an imprint myself, and so this is very personal to me, and it's something that I know.

I've lived through the experience, I've been undocumented.

I understand what the lived experiences.

And then the second piece is I think people just should take you know, I've been the lead lead on investigation now for about maybe three or almost four months, three four months in the Congress for Democrats, and I show people what we've just done on the Epstein files, for example, we are getting so much information out on the Epstein files because we're being aggressive and we're not waiting to be in the majority.

And so the way oversight works is when you are in the minority.

So Democrats are in the minority in Congress, we always have limited powers.

We don't have subpoena power, we don't have powers to get new document we want or anyone from the committee.

But we still can't investigate on our own, and so that's what we're doing now.

We're not waiting to be the majority to investigate.

However, when we do win the majority in twenty twenty six, you can believe that we will be sending out subpoenis and getting information from Christinello, I'm from Stephen Miller, from folks that are from home, and just a variety of folks that we are interested in.

But the work has to start now.

So that's a little bit about kind of why we have to bring new people into the party and at the table and leading these committees is because a new approach is also needed.

And then at the second piece is it is still in the minority.

These investigations have enormous the enormous ability to also help in many of the court cases that are happening.

So we partner with folks.

That's just what I was going to say, papering the record documentation so that core cases can move forward with.

That documentation is so important to put out into the public record what's actually happening in what we know.

And so many of the successful cases that are happening right now in the courts actually reference or use many of the investigations or the documents that we are requesting of agencies to build the case.

And so it's all very important work.

I wanted to ask you because on the show, we really like to focus on ways that everyday Americans or other attorneys can get involved to do something.

I think so much of the internet, so much of the news cycle is doom scrolling, It is getting lost in the weeds.

It is, you know, articles about literally how America is headed towards fascism, with no actual action, items on what people can do, how they can get involved, things that they can do to flex their democratic muscles.

What would you where do you need me an immigration attorney?

Right?

Like?

What would do your advice be to me an immigration attorney?

Or to me Melissa who is a civically engaged a democrat like, not.

An attorney, But you know, I care very much about what's happening in my community.

I also come from an immigrant family.

What can I do?

Where do you need us like, and I think it's so important that people really hear from leadership right like, what can we be doing boots on the ground to support these efforts.

So so two things.

So one is obviously there's some I'm gonna talk to difficultly about what specifically you can do to help we're doing on the investigation side.

So that's one piece of it broadly speaking there.

And I was just right now with maybe fifty kind of immigration community act to this and leaders from different groups that are on the ground doing this work right now in Los Angeles, and they are modeling just the behavior.

We're talking about attorneys that are working with immigration groups.

We're talking about immigration advocates that are trying to visit these detention centers.

We're talking about folks that are doing rapid response on the ground.

We're talked to folks that are just donors that are donating to kind of these rapid response networks.

I talk to faith leaders who are bringing in parishioners who are out communicating and working with families that are oftentimes even too scared to leave their home.

And so I have found that in every community there is a group or people that are actually doing this work.

Whether it's a local church, whether it's a local immigration organization, whether it's a group of lawyers that are doing some pro bono work or working within the legal space.

There's a lot of ways to get involved broadly.

Specifically, our Oversight Committee is doing two things where people can get directly in.

Aged.

One is in in the next few weeks, you're going to hear we'll put this and put this out.

We're going to be launching the a massive kind of one stop ICE and information tracker.

For that's great.

Okay, that's so great.

That is going.

We need it, absolutely, I need it, and it.

Doesn't exist right now.

And so we want to make sure that we are tracking every instance of abuse and terror that is being right now put out and being done every day by ICE and.

By critical moment folks.

And so we're working and building that right now, and we have some groups that are that are assisting us with that as well, so folks will be able to submit video information to this track or so that we can keep all of the information also, and from a national perspective in.

That's so important.

So most as someone who gets so many people reaching out to me for help, that is ninety percent of the things are just info sharing.

You don't actually need an immigration herney half the time, but just people are just trying to figure out what's going on.

And I think that's really important exactly.

So that's going to be a way for people to be able to communicate with us directly and send us information so that we have it on and able to share it into the public record.

The second piece, and I know this sounds so but you said it earlier, just for for purposes of winning in the courtroom, we have to not just win obviously public opinion.

We have win in the courtroom need and first of all in the courtroom, and we have to document, and we need to build the case.

And it takes work, and it takes putting all this.

It does it really does for people who don't and so and for us.

In Congress that it's it's critical for us to have all this information.

The second piece, which we announced today is we're going to be launching some field hearings that will be happening in communities across the country.

Our very first one is going to be in Los Angeles.

We will be announcing the date hopefully here in the.

Next Okay, Yeah, that be great, share it with us so we can put it out on the channel.

It's great, and what the fuel hearing is going to be an opportunity for members of Congress in the community to come together and listen to testimony from people in the community.

And we're going to also provide ways where folks can do it in a way that thinks that that we're keeping their safety in mind as well.

But it's going to be an opportunity for there to be actual the stories and actions that are happening and information needs to be shared with us.

We're going to go into the community as well, and so the very first one will be in Los Angeles.

It'll be I think it's quite exciting and so that's something also.

Yeah, that's incredible.

Yeah, definitely going into the communities is so important.

I mean, so much of what happens in immigrant communities from my experience just as a guest, right is word of mouth.

Yeah, oh for sure.

That is the biggest way.

I mean is family.

Coming from Haiti, that's how we learned about everything.

You heard it from someone's aunt, someone's cousin, a friend, church, et cetera.

So that's how you really get the word out and I think when it comes from your own community, you tend to trust that information.

Right, So, thank you so much for joining us.

I know you're the mayor of Long Beach.

We've got a long Beach here in Long Island.

It's a little bit different.

But to say thank you and the first openly gay immigrant congressman, is that right?

Right?

That's all correct?

Okay, all right?

So who's your favorite drag queen in Long Beach, California.

We're gonna actually we're gonna venmo Her in your honor.

Thank you.

I'm gonna vemo Her one hundred dollars.

What's her name?

Jules Jewels Long Beach is my favorite drag queen in Long Beach.

Jewels, Long Beach.

I got wait for Jewels Long Beach to wake up at four pm and be like, who the hell is this guy is sending me al Congressman Garcia, send under Carson Garcia's name.

So Jewels, Long Beach, go find her on venmo or cat shop and send her some money.

Tip your drag queens.

Thank you, Congressman for joining me so.

Much, for joining us.

Thank you, takeing care, bye bye, So tails from the DM friends, Please remember While Michael is a lawyer, he is not.

Your lawyer unless you want to hire me.

I mean that's a difference.

Everyone has a price, and I'm actually pretty cheap.

Just ask any of my ex boyfriends ask me.

This is Maggie from O Hi, and I was wondering if you could explain to me what's happening with banning of birth control pills in this country from a legal perspective.

I keep reading about it, but I would love to know in a simple way, what is actually happening and how likely this is?

Okay, great question?

Is This is an interesting one because it's I always feel bad when I have to answer these, because it really is it depends half the time, Like it really does depend on the state you're in.

Yeah, so right now birth control is not being banned in the US.

I think there is.

It's always like the threat of restricting contraceptives for women is always sort of a topic that continues to come up and is very much these Republicans leap on any opportunity to sort of keep women down, down right, And always anything we talk about it is always poor people who experience the worst, right, people who are experiencing poverty, who.

Who don't have access, who.

Don't have access are It's a way to ensure that poor people remain poor and that the rich poor gap grows.

So federal law on Supreme Court precedent still protect the right to get contraceptives.

There is a very famous Supreme Court president Griswold versus Connecticut.

It's from nineteen sixty five, as well as Eisenstadt be Baired it's nineteen seventy two.

So these are the Supreme Court precedents that protect a woman's right to contraceptives.

I don't know why I can't say that.

Word because you don't have to.

I guess because I've never gotten Oneman pregnant and never even would be in a situation where that would happen.

Never.

We can get into it.

We'll do that in the We'll do the b sides, the brief recess after dark.

We'll get into that the end scene seventeen after eleven PM.

Do you remember when v VH one or MTV, it was like it was like at night it would become soft core porn.

It was blue, it.

Was it was a little it go blue.

Yeah, anyway, moving.

On, are you okay?

We got?

We really got I love when I dag our producer where we got the going because they have to listen to me app all day.

So your basically, if contraceptives were under fire, it would get worked up through the court system and eventually go to the Supreme Court, and those precedents would be argued against.

I would hope that in a situation like this there would be extreme public outrage, like this really would be even right now with the ways in which Republicans are restricting access to abortion, it's going to be different.

And that's right.

A man went on the record and said the word abortion.

I know it doesn't happen that often, but you know, they have to be really creative with how they do it, right they say, oh, like the fire code, or oh it's going to be a certain number are still within the state even though they're like eight hours apart.

Like, they still have to be kind of creative thinkers when they're trying to do evil.

So the same would sort of happen with contraceptives.

And also, like the sort of expansive nature of America, we think about this a lot with the commerce clause, right, like interstate commerce, the transportation of contraceptives across state lines.

I know of people who after the election were like stocking up on Plan B in New York and like mailing it to southern states, so it will be something interesting to watch.

I haven't really seen it come up that much, but it is a very curious question, Thank you, Maggie.

It really is.

I actually wonder what's going to happen, especially you know most of the sort of now the Republican Party and Maga Republicans, they're very much on this.

You know, we're doing this with God behind us.

And there is this theory for a lot of religion sort of across the board, right, like make lots of babies, make lots of babies.

The last thing I am happily childless, And maybe we'll add that to my next tattoo as well, that you are childless by choice, but you had the choice to talk about.

Yes, exactly, you had the choice.

I have all the choices in a suit.

I can get away with pretty much anything.

Just about you have kids, You've got a family.

Do you want to tell people about your life and your choices.

I do not have any biological chi I do have a stepdaughter who is lovely, and she and I get along really well, and I love other people's kids.

That's who I am.

I am perpetually aka Auntie Lisa.

That's who I am.

I am the uncle.

Well, my husband Brad is like the fun uncle with the kids, but I'm the uncle where you know, if you are beefing at school or you need someone to help you buy beer, don't you can't call me.

I would never do that.

Absolutely, never teach you how to work.

We do not abide iles, not joints.

He's rolled a couple of ankles.

Both both at the same time.

No, you've never seen me wear pleasers.

Hi, this is Daisy from Los Angeles.

I'm Daisy first of all, voiceover actress.

Love right, and Daisy's a really good name.

Whether or not it's your real name or not.

I don't I imagine Daisy.

What do we think Daisy looks like?

Immediately in my head, Daisy for me is a Latina, right, I think?

And I think she's got her Chola makeup down.

I love, I love.

She's from the South Bronx, yeah, I think.

Well, she says she's from lah so I think she's from South.

La Okay, right, Yeah, I don't know the neighborhoods in La that well, okay, but.

That's who I think.

I think Davy Daisy is fierce, and I think she has got a hoopier.

No, I think that's right.

I think we could open like a whole like booth at a state fair of us, just like based on people's voices, guessing what they look like.

So maybe submit a question and we'll guess what you look like.

Anyway.

I feel like there's so much in the news about Trump trying to pardon p Ditty or Gallaine.

Maxwell, not the ditty, shout out not again.

No.

I also wonder why they keep on saying that Glayne Maxwell.

I feel like everybody's mispronouncing her name.

I had an aunt, who's that was her name?

Yeah, and that's not how you say it?

How do you say it?

I don't know who Gallaine is is all over like Gallaine Glaine.

Galline Glaine is such like a clunky flat footage, right, We've got yeah, we've got a big that flat foot stomp in the street.

It's Glaine.

But go ahead.

Sorry.

And I'm wondering is there any interesting cases that previous presidents have ever pardoned before?

Are really controversial ones in the past, or are these particularly insane.

I mean to try and compare American history to what's happening right now is impossible.

This is not really We are sort of living in like, uh, the different timeline.

None of this is real.

This is all a simulation.

There have been a lot of pardons in the past that were like, I mean, pardons are always a little bit controversial.

I remember Chelsea Manning's pardoning.

People were like, oh my god, but the Arab springing, like there's always sort of like the opposition is always.

Saying, you know, it's usually one of those things that our president does on their way out.

Yes, yeah, like Roger Stone trumped about in twenty twenty, right, Paul Maniford, Michael flann was in twenty twenty.

There was a whole sort of like crop of controversial pardons.

I mean, Biden pardoned his son like.

That was dad.

If you're watching, you better pardon my ass.

If you're ever in office, I want a pardon.

I might send my kids to the clink.

You do just out here selling the family name.

Tell the story of when your dad on a jury.

We might not have enough time for this, enough to wait for the next eves.

We'll do it next time.

Okay, well, yes, there are a lot of examples of this happening throughout history.

None of them are as insane as none of them have anything to do with human trafficking of minors, So that is sort of a wild thing.

If Trump does decide to pardon say her name.

Just Lenn Maxwell, thank you so much.

Uh huh, So that would be unprecedented in such a way that we would probably need a new word that is a synonym for unprecedented that hasn't been invented yet.

Anyway, those are the weirdest things people sent me today.

Thank you so much, Congressman Garcia for coming on the show today.

I had a great time talking to you.

I always have a good time talking.

I'm glad we got we got it all on the record about ditty trial.

Maybe we'll do a whole didty episode maybe.

Thank you for watching brief Recess.

I'm Michael Foot now, Melissa malbranch I'll see you're ass in court.

This has been an exactly right production recorded at iHeart Studios, hosted by me Michael Foot.

And Me Melissa malbranch Our.

Producer is CJ.

Ferroni.

This episode was edited by Nicholas Galucci.

Our associate producer is Christina Chamberlain and our guest booker is Patria Kuttner.

Our theme song was composed by Tom Bridfogel with artwork from Charlotte Delarue Manessa Lilac with photography by Brad Obono.

Brief Recess is executived by Karen Kilgareth Georgia hart Stark and Danielle Kramer.

You can find me on Instagram at Department of Redundancy Department or on TikTok at Michael foot.

And I'm on both Instagram and TikTok as.

Melissa Albranch.

Got legal questions, reach out at brief Recess at exactlyrightmedia dot com.

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