Excellent Meidas interview with Illinois SOS on what they're doing to stop ICE snatching people

[Amaryllis]

https://www.meidasplus.com/p/the-dem-secretary-of-state-fighting

The Dem Secretary of State Fighting Authoritarianism
In my latest interview, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias joins me to expose Trump’s terrifying crackdown on migrants and the bold actions Illinois is taking to resist.
Ben Meiselas
and MeidasTouch Network
Jun 22, 2025

I want you to picture this: masked ICE agents roaming the streets of Chicago, pulling hardworking migrants from restaurants, parking lots, and even court hearings. People showing up to renew work permits or attend legal check-ins are being ambushed, separated from their families, and shoved into unmarked vans. It’s not just happening in Chicago. iI’s happening in Los Angeles, New York, and cities across America. This isn’t some dystopian nightmare. This is Donald Trump’s America in 2025.

So I brought on Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias to talk about it. Because while Trump acts like he’s at war with American cities, Alexi and leaders in Illinois are actually fighting back.

We talked about the Gestapo-style raids taking place in broad daylight. We talked about Trump standing on the international stage at the G7—next to actual world leaders—and ranting about cities like Chicago as if they were enemy territory. And we talked about the deeply chilling way law enforcement agencies outside Illinois are using license plate readers to stalk women seeking legal abortions and to track undocumented immigrants—acts that Illinois law now prohibits, thanks to Alexi’s leadership.

Giannoulias didn’t hold back. He called it what it is: authoritarianism. But he also laid out the resistance—how Illinois became the first state in the nation to block the misuse of surveillance technology, how they’re cutting off information access to ICE, and how other states can follow suit.

We even got into what it means to be “cool” in this moment. Not the fake machismo Trump tries to sell with orange makeup and fascist cosplay. Real courage. Real leadership. Real backbone. As Alexi said, the tough guys are the ones who stand up for the voiceless—not the ones who knock them down.

I left this conversation both fired up and furious. Fired up because there are fighters in this country who are holding the line. Furious because not a single damn Republican is willing to stand up and say enough is enough. Not one.