MFM Presents… Brief Recess

My Favorite Murder presents the premiere episode of our newest podcast, Brief Recess: A Legal Podcast with Michael Foote & Mélissa Malebranche, on the Exactly Right network. Brief Recess takes a sharp, funny, and deeply human look at the American legal system, breaking down the stories behind the headlines and showing how the law actually works in real life. In this episode, “ICE Abuses and Accountability… Finally,” hosts Michael and Mélissa talk about the Diddy trial, discuss special immigrant juvenile status, and sit down with Congressman Robert Garcia for a candid conversation about ICE, accountability, and what meaningful change might finally look like. Listen on the iHeartRadio App, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. For updates, behind-the-scenes content, and more, follow Michael on Instagram @dept_of_redundancy_dept and TikTok @Michael_Foote_, and follow Mélissa on both platforms @MelissaMalebranche. See omnystudio.com/listener https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Speaker 00

  This is Exactly Right.

• 0:06Speaker 00

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• 0:35Speaker 01

  In New Orleans, truckers kept getting sideswiped the exact same way. When a man is found murdered under questionable circumstances related to these accidents, the rubber hits the road. And what the feds uncover is a complex scheme of staged wrecks, financial fraud, and a pair of conspiring lovers behind it. This is a story about fake accidents that led to real consequences. Listen to Over My Dead Body: Operation Sideswipe wherever you get your podcasts. Audible subscribers can binge all episodes early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

• 1:12Georgia Hardstark?

  Between work, school, family obligations, and the endless Halloween hustle, it often feels like there's never a good time to slow down.

• 1:18Karen Kilgariff?

  No matter how busy life gets, even a small break can help us recharge, reset, and enjoy the moment.

• 1:23Georgia Hardstark?

  Breaks don't have to be the 15 minutes in your car while you wait for your kid to get out of school, or the two minutes while your little pumpkin is tying his shoes.

• 1:30Karen Kilgariff?

  Kit Kat gives people permission to take the break they've earned and make it a better break.

• 1:35Georgia Hardstark?

  While the world tells us to keep going, Kit Kat reminds us that the best time for a break is now.

• 1:40Karen Kilgariff?

  Break now. Have a Kit Kat.

• 1:42Georgia Hardstark?

  Goodbye. Hello.

• 1:45Karen Kilgariff?

  Big news, everybody. Exactly Right's newest podcast, Brief Recession, is finally here.

• 1:49Georgia Hardstark?

  Brief Recession is a smart, funny, and deeply insightful look at the American legal system, the real stories, the loopholes, and all the ways the law shapes everyday life.

• 1:58Karen Kilgariff?

  It's hosted by attorney and viral TikTok star, Michael Foot. And his best friend, Melissa Malbranche. They bring humor and clarity to the pressing legal questions that we all have.

• 2:07Georgia Hardstark?

  Today, we're so proud to bring you episode one titled ICE abuses and accountability. Finally, featuring a conversation with California Congressman Robert Garcia.

• 2:16Karen Kilgariff?

  So settle in and get ready to hear the very first episode of Brief Recession right here on Exactly Right.

• 2:21Georgia Hardstark?

  And when you're done, head over to the Brief Recession feed to follow the show and listen to more episodes.

• 2:25Karen Kilgariff?

  Listen to Brief Recession on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And make sure to rate and review because it really helps.

• 2:32Georgia Hardstark?

  And don't forget, you can watch new episodes every Thursday at youtube.com slash at Brief Recession.

• 2:38Karen Kilgariff?

  And now please enjoy Exactly Right's newest podcast, Brief Recession. Goodbye.

• 2:49Speaker 04

  Welcome to Brief Recession. I'm Michael Foot.

• 2:50Speaker 05

  I'm Melissa Malbranche.

• 2:51Speaker 04

  Today, we're going to be talking about the last time I was ever seen in public in a romper, Melissa's last time out on an estate sale, the Diddy trial, the time Melissa had to talk to her mother about water sports. Monica Lewinsky deep dives into cases about special immigration juvenile status and interview with Congressman Robert Garcia and all the questions you send me in my DMs.

• 3:12Speaker 04

  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 yourself?

• 3:24Speaker 05

  I can't believe you just said that. My name is Melissa Malbranche. I am absolutely, positively not a lawyer. I stand by that. I had been working in the nonprofit space for about 25 years now. And Michael and I met, I'd say about 10 years ago. We've been really good friends ever since.

• 3:42Speaker 04

  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 instead of your husband.

• 3:49Speaker 05

  I know. 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.

• 3:58Speaker 04

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

• 4:05Speaker 05

  In Brooklyn and eating Taco Bell.

• 4:08Speaker 04

  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 it's hard for me to answer all their questions. So you'll hear a lot on this 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.

• 4:50Speaker 04

  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 headlines, 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?

• 5:13Speaker 05

  Exactly.

• 5:16Speaker 04

  So I could never do like a full romper situation?

• 5:18Speaker 05

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

• 5:21Speaker 04

  Where'd you see me in a romper?

• 5:23Speaker 05

  You were out here on these streets in a romper. Oh, look at us. Um, this morning, Andre asked me if I was starting work at a garage.

• 5:34Speaker 04

  Okay, murder on the dance floor. Jesus Christ, Andre, that is.

• 5:39Speaker 05

  No, no, no. So Andre is, I mean, you know, Andre, a very conservative little man, like dresses like everybody's dad.

• 5:45Speaker 04

  Yes. Yeah.

• 5:46Speaker 05

  So like anything out of the ordinary.

• 5:48Speaker 04

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

• 5:53Speaker 05

  You have not.

• 5:54Speaker 04

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

• 5:56Speaker 05

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

• 5:59Speaker 04

  Okay, immediately, instantly racist?

• 6:02Speaker 05

  I mean, no, not racist.

• 6:04Speaker 04

  I guess like not.

• 6:05Speaker 05

  I feel like, I feel like there are black people who know what I'm talking about. Sometimes you are your white friend's only black friend. They have like two.

• 6:16Speaker 04

  Yeah. No, 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.

• 6:24Speaker 05

  Get that. He'll get the party started. You get what's. Can't know. We need someone who's looking cute at them or something nice. Something. Gotta get someone. Like a good dresser. What's his name again? Mark?

• 6:34Speaker 04

  It's never.

• 6:35Speaker 05

  Like you're not Mike?

• 6:37Speaker 04

  I.

• 6:39Speaker 05

  Like you're not Mike?

• 6:39Speaker 04

  I am Mike to a very specific group of people. One demographic calls me Mike. I'm gonna give you one chance to guess.

• 6:46Speaker 05

  Yeah. Is it somebody from like your childhood?

• 6:49Speaker 04

  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.

• 6:58Speaker 05

  Is it because they don't know you?

• 7:01Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 7:02Speaker 05

  They see the name is Michael.

• 7:03Speaker 04

  No, no, it's like my dad's friends. It's the people who know me. It's men of a certain, white, straight men of a certain age are like, Mike, how's it going? It's a very Long Island thing.

• 7:13Speaker 05

  Okay. People randomly call me Michelle for no good reason.

• 7:16Speaker 04

  I've called you way worse than Michelle.

• 7:18Speaker 05

  Yeah, there are worse things.

• 7:19Speaker 04

  Behind your back and to your face. What did you do this weekend? Well, you were working at the garage.

• 7:24Speaker 05

  I was, yeah, I I changed the carburetor.

• 7:27Speaker 04

  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, Jesus Christ, it's actually so diabolical. I don't catch strays in my house. I catch them straight to the face.

• 7:40Speaker 05

  What did I do this weekend? Um, so this is wardrobe changing time for me. So I do this biannually.

• 7:47Speaker 04

  Oh, Melissa loves a good.

• 7:49Speaker 05

  I do.

• 7:49Speaker 04

  A good closet clean out special.

• 7:51Speaker 05

  But I I like, I recorded something and I was gonna post to TikTok, but I'm not like you. I'm not a prolific poster.

• 7:58Speaker 04

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

• 8:06Speaker 05

  I am not precious at all.

• 8:07Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 8:07Speaker 05

  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.

• 8:17Speaker 04

  But those are the videos that everyone loves. Those are the videos of mine that blow up when I'm like,

• 8:21Speaker 05

  It's.

• 8:21Speaker 04

  Hey, I had to pick up a client and I'm wearing coochie cutters and a crop top that's mesh because it's Pride Month. And I ended up having to go to the precinct and it's always so mortifying for me, but those are the videos that usually blow up.

• 8:33Speaker 05

  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 become victim to over consuming, right?

• 8:47Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 8:48Speaker 05

  And to be fair, I do buy a lot of thrifted items. Like, you know, we know I love an estate sale, so it's not. But I do buy things also.

• 8:56Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 8:56Speaker 05

  Let me just be clear about that.

• 8:57Speaker 04

  Yeah, and no judgment here. I'm a violent consumer.

• 9:01Speaker 05

  I am judging myself.

• 9:02Speaker 04

  OK.

• 9:03Speaker 05

  I'm judging myself.

• 9:04Speaker 04

  I am where disposable income goes to meet its disposal.

• 9:07Speaker 05

  Oh, I don't want to be that person.

• 9:10Speaker 04

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

• 9:15Speaker 05

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

• 9:22Speaker 04

  And not enough space. Do you have storage?

• 9:25Speaker 05

  So that's the thing, right? Is that every year I pack up, twice a year, I pack up my shit and I take it to storage. A storage facility outside of my home.

• 9:35Speaker 04

  OK, so that is actually cry for help. Yeah, it is a little bit of a.

• 9:39Speaker 05

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

• 9:42Speaker 04

  I'll do it.

• 9:43Speaker 05

  No, not you.

• 9:45Speaker 05

  Sorry, I need somebody who's not Michael.

• 9:47Speaker 04

  I love that my friends don't want to fucking.

• 9:48Speaker 05

  No, no, no, no, no.

• 9:49Speaker 04

  They're like, I'm like, oh, I'd love to come over to you. They're like, get fucked.

• 9:52Speaker 05

  No, no, no, no, because you will, because you will enable me.

• 9:56Speaker 04

  No.

• 9:57Speaker 05

  Yes.

• 9:57Speaker 04

  I'm, 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 here.

• 10:09Speaker 05

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

• 10:12Speaker 04

  I feel like it would turn into a runway.

• 10:14Speaker 05

  It would.

• 10:14Speaker 04

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

• 10:17Speaker 05

  I don't want that.

• 10:18Speaker 04

  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 do different.

• 10:24Speaker 05

  Somebody out there who wants to help me take a good, long, hard look at my wardrobe and be like, bitch, you're never gonna wear this.

• 10:32Speaker 04

  And if you want to enable this dysfunction, please comment on this video that you want us to do.

• 10:39Speaker 05

  I am literally.

• 10:40Speaker 04

  A little fashion montage.

• 10:41Speaker 05

  This is actually a cry for help and you're not helping.

• 10:43Speaker 04

  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 a fashion montage.

• 10:50Speaker 05

  Anybody for money.

• 10:51Speaker 04

  I am.

• 10:52Speaker 05

  I'm not.

• 10:52Speaker 04

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

• 10:56Speaker 05

  Maybe.

• 10:57Speaker 04

  Actually, speaking of, I saw Alyssa this weekend.

• 10:59Speaker 05

  That messy bitch. We love her though.

• 11:01Speaker 04

  How do we, how do we describe Alyssa? Describe Alyssa for the viewers at home. Alyssa is our very, very close mutual friend.

• 11:08Speaker 05

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

• 11:12Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 11:13Speaker 05

  She's down for whatever. Hey Alyssa, let's go to Croatia. Yes.

• 11:17Speaker 04

  And I do, I get the sense that like her, um, her doorman like doesn't know what she looks like because she's never home. Like she's always out, like she's.

• 11:25Speaker 05

  She's never.

• 11:26Speaker 04

  Out in the streets.

• 11:26Speaker 05

  Yeah. Um, I have to tell you, I track Alyssa and.

• 11:30Speaker 04

  Yeah, I do too. I follow her. Yeah.

• 11:31Speaker 05

  Because.

• 11:32Speaker 04

  For her own safety.

• 11:33Speaker 05

  For 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?

• 11:42Speaker 04

  Melissa will text me in the middle of the night and she'll be like, I can't sleep. Just check in. Have you heard from Alyssa recently? I do feel like we should probably keep an eye on her. Alyssa 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, keys are 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.

• 12:10Speaker 05

  Right.

• 12:10Speaker 04

  I'd go into the apartment.

• 12:11Speaker 05

  And she had dropped something.

• 12:13Speaker 04

  I was like, there's so much broken glass. And she was like, oh yeah, I dropped like a whole bag of groceries out there earlier. That was me. Like a 200 person unit and it was her.

• 12:22Speaker 05

  Mm hmm. Yeah.

• 12:24Speaker 04

  Um, but I did see her. I took her to a drag queen's birthday party. We went to Miss Mamshi.

• 12:28Speaker 05

  Again, let me just one second. I was not invited.

• 12:32Speaker 04

  No, and, and for your own protection and safety, you would have not gone out at midnight on a Friday night.

• 12:38Speaker 05

  Oh, for sure. No, but, but, but, but ask me. Ask me.

• 12:44Speaker 04

  No, I don't want to be told no one more time. Get my hopes up. Get all excited.

• 12:47Speaker 05

  Well, you won't get your hopes up because you know better, right? Cause you know, I'm probably not coming, but I would like to be included.

• 12:54Speaker 04

  Okay, okay, okay. I'll just. It was also like deep in Brooklyn and you don't live anywhere near that.

• 12:59Speaker 05

  No, I don't.

• 13:00Speaker 04

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

• 13:04Speaker 05

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

• 13:10Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 13:10Speaker 05

  And it felt like a long distance relationship. It really, really did. And I mean, and it really wasn't that far in theory, but it felt.

• 13:19Speaker 04

  What do we say? It'd be like that.

• 13:21Speaker 05

  It'd be like that. And it felt like he was behind God's back.

• 13:24Speaker 04

  Brad lived in Hoboken.

• 13:26Speaker 05

  Oh, God.

• 13:27Speaker 04

  And when you have to transfer, when you have to cross state lines and interstate commerce like that, it really does. I was all the way in the East Village. There was like no like clear transit. It was, it was, it was actually really a pain in the ass.

• 13:39Speaker 05

  It's not a part of how Diddy got in trouble, just crossing the state line.

• 13:45Speaker 04

  We're three minutes into the episode and Diddy's already come over, talking about Diddy trafficking. Okay, we're gonna go right into sidebar.

• 13:53Speaker 05

  Okay.

• 13:54Speaker 04

  And I think we've got a nice, natural entree into the Diddy case because Melissa's mother, Magaly, throw up a photo of Magaly CJ. She is an icon. She is the moment. She is she. She is her. She is.

• 14:06Speaker 05

  Yes.

• 14:06Speaker 04

  All of.

• 14:08Speaker 05

  My mother is, we all, we, we often say that my mom is the queen of the kingdom in her mind.

• 14:14Speaker 04

  Yes, allegedly. She is every woman.

• 14:16Speaker 05

  Yeah, it's all in her.

• 14:18Speaker 04

  Yeah, it's all.

• 14:20Speaker 04

  And she will never listen to this show.

• 14:22Speaker 05

  She, she might. If I tell her that we give her a shout out. Oh, okay. Yeah.

• 14:27Speaker 04

  What is it? Department of Redundancy Department she calls me?

• 14:29Speaker 05

  Departement of Redundancy Department.

• 14:31Speaker 04

  I'm not gonna do the accent because I'll get canceled.

• 14:34Speaker 05

  Um, so my mom has always loved like a salacious legal case.

• 14:39Speaker 04

  Sure.

• 14:40Speaker 05

  Right? I mean, who doesn't?

• 14:41Speaker 04

  A lot of moms do.

• 14:42Speaker 05

  Right. So like, I remember back in the day, you were a child. However, the OJ Simpson case, my mother was living for this case.

• 14:51Speaker 04

  Oh.

• 14:52Speaker 05

  Living for this.

• 14:53Speaker 04

  Every mom in America.

• 14:54Speaker 05

  Cut to Diddy and my mom is just like.

• 14:57Speaker 04

  Cut through thirty years of history. We're straight to Diddy.

• 15:00Speaker 05

  Straight to Diddy. Um, she's also really into like the, what's his name? Uh, Johnny Depp one. Like she was into it.

• 15:06Speaker 04

  Yep.

• 15:07Speaker 05

  So now she's got nothing but time. So, um. I mean, we all strive to be retired.

• 15:12Speaker 04

  Yeah, we do. Yeah, I would love that.

• 15:13Speaker 05

  So she was like, have you been watching the Diddy 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.

• 15:23Speaker 04

  This was the one it was first really hitting the headlines.

• 15:26Speaker 05

  And I was just like, yeah, it's not looking very good for him. And her whole reason.

• 15:30Speaker 04

  It wasn't.

• 15:30Speaker 05

  I mean, it didn't end well for him. Not, I mean, it ended better than.

• 15:34Speaker 04

  Those, if someone drew a sketch of me, the way those court reporters drew sketches of Diddy.

• 15:42Speaker 05

  Just.

• 15:43Speaker 04

  I would be on the evening news. Michael Foot threw himself off a building in embarrassment. That is, that was so wicked, wild, diabolical. That was a crime in and of itself, drawing someone like that.

• 15:56Speaker 05

  I mean, you reap what you sow, Sean.

• 16:01Speaker 05

  What? And also, let me, let me.

• 16:04Speaker 04

  I just haven't heard someone say you reap what you sow in quite some time.

• 16:07Speaker 05

  I say that all the time.

• 16:08Speaker 04

  It's very Mel Gibson in Signs. Like, he's very much, it is very much like this bucolic imagery it evokes. So like, we're in the fields, growing corn. You reap what you sow.

• 16:22Speaker 05

  You do, you reap what you sow.

• 16:23Speaker 04

  That is 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.

• 16:31Speaker 05

  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?

• 16:37Speaker 04

  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.

• 16:45Speaker 05

  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.

• 17:00Speaker 04

  This was, in her mind, make it clear, this was the crime that he committed in her mind.

• 17:06Speaker 05

  This 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, sepa posse.

• 17:15Speaker 04

  She's, she's rewriting the legislation.

• 17:18Speaker 05

  Yeah, yeah, she was like, no, no, no.

• 17:19Speaker 04

  To collude water sports as a, as a federal crime.

• 17:21Speaker 05

  She's like, people don't like that. And I was just like, I, I mean, they might. And she was just like, no, he's going straight to jail for example. I should also.

• 17:33Speaker 04

  No due process, no jurisprudence.

• 17:36Speaker 05

  This is why he should go to jail. He deserves it. I mean, and again, back in the day, Monica Lewinsky, my mom 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 are on the same age, give or 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, ah, disgusting.

• 18:07Speaker 04

  Oh, no.

• 18:10Speaker 05

  And, and so I'm in the car with my mom and I'm driving and I am not making any.

• 18:15Speaker 04

  Yeah, maybe, well, you can't move. No, no, no, no, no.

• 18:18Speaker 05

  Oh, no.

• 18:19Speaker 04

  Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

• 18:20Speaker 05

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

• 18:23Speaker 04

  And I locked the door. I waited till she was.

• 18:25Speaker 05

  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.

• 18:36Speaker 04

  But for Diddy, we have to, well, first of all, I might, I think I'm gonna meet Monica Lewinsky next week.

• 18:42Speaker 05

  Can I come?

• 18:42Speaker 04

  I know. I'm, I'll, I'll text you the details.

• 18:44Speaker 05

  Okay, I really want to.

• 18:45Speaker 04

  It is like, it is like my friend, anyway, is 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 meet Monica Lewinsky.

• 18:55Speaker 05

  Like pick and choose, my friend.

• 18:56Speaker 04

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

• 19:00Speaker 05

  I think if I had to choose, I'd rather meet Monica Lewinsky.

• 19:03Speaker 04

  Okay, but let me explain the drag queen, Miss Mam. 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. We'll throw, we'll throw up a clip. We'll throw up a clip.

• 19:18Speaker 05

  Ding ding ding.

• 19:19Speaker 04

  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. It's so good. It's so, 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 she was being charged with.

• 19:47Speaker 05

  Right.

• 19:47Speaker 04

  People testifying.

• 19:48Speaker 05

  Sure.

• 19:48Speaker 04

  The awful testimony. I mean, it was really extreme.

• 19:52Speaker 05

  It was terrible. Yeah.

• 19:54Speaker 04

  Melissa's mother was like. But the water sports.

• 19:57Speaker 05

  The water sports.

• 19:57Speaker 04

  That was what was really good because she couldn't get over it.

• 20:00Speaker 05

  She couldn't. She refuses to believe that anybody could be into that. And I was trying to, and then finally I was like, you know what, mom?

• 20:10Speaker 04

  I'm just like acutely aware of how much water I'm drinking right now as we're talking about this.

• 20:14Speaker 05

  Listen, that's fine.

• 20:16Speaker 04

  I'm actually out. Let's take a brief recess.

• 20:18Speaker 05

  You're a grown ass man.

• 20:19Speaker 04

  Well, we're gonna take a break.

• 20:22Speaker 00

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• 23:44Speaker 04

  Welcome back to Brief Recession. I'm Michael Foot.

• 23:46Speaker 05

  I'm Melissa Malbranche.

• 23:47Speaker 04

  This is UnderEarth. We're going to take a deep dive into a case. This one is actually really near and dear to me and my heart. A lot of what my day to day life looks like. So I pictured, I thought it'd be cool to kind of talk to you about it. The name of the case is Sarmiento et al. v. Perry et al. So it's a class action lawsuit that the ACLU filed against ICE, effectively submitting a class action lawsuit of a group of minors who were seeking immigration status here in the US and were 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.

• 24:20Speaker 05

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

• 24:23Speaker 04

  Sure. Yeah. So anyone under the age of, actually, I think it might be 21 is for special immigration juvenile status. It's people under the age of 21.

• 24:31Speaker 05

  Okay.

• 24:32Speaker 04

  We call it SIG as a shorthand, but special immigration juvenile status is a protected status that minors can seek in the US. It's usually, you have to, 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 him and he's no part of your life.

• 24:56Speaker 05

  Okay.

• 24:57Speaker 04

  Or it can be that, you know, your parents abandoned you. Sometimes there are really extreme cases, which are, you know, 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.

• 25:12Speaker 05

  Okay.

• 25:12Speaker 04

  So it's usually just one parent that you sort of have to prove that there was something abnormal about the relationship.

• 25:19Speaker 05

  Okay.

• 25:20Speaker 04

  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 SIG cases. And that's because SIG 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,

• 25:53Speaker 05

  Okay.

• 25:53Speaker 04

  which is like in a different borough sometimes, or it takes a really long time to get that hearing date. I've worked SIG cases. It's taken years just to even get like a, a, a date for your application to be reviewed.

• 26:07Speaker 05

  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?

• 26:16Speaker 04

  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 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. So for S I G, 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, you're still below the requisite age. That is, that's like such an important question, because sometimes people are not sure about that, but.

• 26:53Speaker 05

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

• 27:02Speaker 04

  Exactly. 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 due process rights. 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 crossed the border illegally,

• 27:40Speaker 04

  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 I have people reaching 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.

• 28:10Speaker 05

  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 10 years old is sort of in this purgatory. What happens to them?

• 28:26Speaker 04

  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. Sure. Immigration law is like one of the most complicated Right. areas of law. Right, right, 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 gets 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. Right.

• 29:09Speaker 04

  And they're being detained for an indeterminate amount of time. I think, like, public perception, public advocacy, people's, uh, 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 detention centers, right? Like, how many lawsuits are there around sexual violence in detention centers? Right. So this is happening on US soil. It is, um, 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, 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.

• 29:55Speaker 04

  We are not going after. They're afraid, correct. Like, they are afraid that they're gonna 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 are 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 gonna hit our bottom line. We don't want to beef with the Trump administration. It's like,

• 30:41Speaker 04

  Well, then who the fuck are you? If you're not going to be doing that, then what are you doing?

• 30:46Speaker 05

  I I wonder.

• 30:48Speaker 04

  I'm excited. I'm going 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 um the Child Welfare Protections Courts take that really seriously. And there is sort of a a pretty big due process concern in this case. People not, I I'm gonna be watching this closely to see, 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 shit because I am a messy bitch and I do love

• 31:30Speaker 04

  a little bit of chaos every now and then. I was born and raised by Alyssa, our most chaotic friend.

• 31:37Speaker 05

  You're a Taurus.

• 31:38Speaker 04

  We're both Tauruses.

• 31:39Speaker 05

  No, I know.

• 31:40Speaker 04

  Yeah, I love that.

• 31:41Speaker 05

  Let me ask you a question.

• 31:42Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 31:43Speaker 05

  They're in these detention centers with.

• 31:45Speaker 04

  Are they like segregated from adults?

• 31:47Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 31:48Speaker 04

  That's actually a great question. I so.

• 31:50Speaker 05

  Is anybody like?

• 31:52Speaker 04

  I actually don't know.

• 31:53Speaker 05

  Okay.

• 31:53Speaker 04

  Because it is so impossible for attorneys to access clients who are being held at detention. It's actually such a pain in the ass for me to even have a call with a client who's 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 serious. And I basically like.

• 32:16Speaker 05

  You also had two broken feet.

• 32:17Speaker 04

  I broke both my feet jogging, yes. I 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 it all, I was one of the lawyers, all that information got fed into this lawsuit. And they sued and won. They were like, we like lawyers cannot access their clients. So it's really hard and um detention centers are intentionally outside of city limits. They're really far away from a metropolis to ensure that people cannot access legal counsel. They're they're usually in like a wasteland. I had to go to one

• 32:59Speaker 04

  and I think it was like in Alabama and I had to fly into a different state. I didn't want to drive, so.

• 33:07Speaker 04

  I'm wealthy enough. I hired a car to drive me there because I was like, I got, 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.

• 33:19Speaker 05

  Yeah, I'm, I, I just keep thinking the idea of a kid being alone.

• 33:26Speaker 04

  It's terrifying.

• 33:28Speaker 05

  And, you know, and somebody needs to be the voice for these kids, right?

• 33:32Speaker 04

  Absolutely. Yeah. I think that my mind, my clients who are kids, minors, are the ones that I end up being closest with as

• 33:41Speaker 05

  Well, because they need it.

• 33:42Speaker 04

  Like a social worker.

• 33:43Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 33:43Speaker 04

  More than, yeah, totally.

• 33:45Speaker 05

  Because they need the help more than any, I mean, obviously, anybody who's in

• 33:49Speaker 04

  And a lot of the times, like, the lawyer is like, the parent has trusted the lawyer to like, be there for that person.

• 33:54Speaker 05

  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.

• 34:11Speaker 04

  No, it's true. That is true.

• 34:12Speaker 05

  I'm gonna 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?

• 34:19Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 34:19Speaker 05

  I mean, I, I think it's wonderful that you're thinking about it that way. And, and Michael is not alone. I know there are a lot of attorneys.

• 34:26Speaker 04

  I'm also not perfect. Like, I mean,

• 34:28Speaker 05

  No, no, no, no.

• 34:30Speaker 04

  It's very easy to

• 34:33Speaker 04

  It's very easy to like, lose your way. Like, I have lost my way many times in life, like, as a lawyer, like, even after graduation, where, you know, you do sort of get dazzled by the dollars, or you don't want to take that pro bono case because you are too busy, or, like, life happens. Like, people have families, like, people get dogs, like,

• 34:55Speaker 04

  shit, shit 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 involved? How'd you get started? You know?

• 35:06Speaker 05

  Right.

• 35:06Speaker 04

  I get a lot of messages like that, where people are like, hey, like, how'd you get your first, like, pro bono case? How'd you learn how to do this stuff? Like, I wasn't always this psychopath that I am today.

• 35:17Speaker 05

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

• 35:22Speaker 04

  Bellevue knocks on the door.

• 35:24Speaker 05

  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?

• 35:43Speaker 04

  Right.

• 35:43Speaker 05

  That is helpful.

• 35:44Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 35:45Speaker 05

  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.

• 35:54Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 35:54Speaker 05

  You have this degree and you were like, you know what? I now have the time.

• 35:59Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 36:00Speaker 05

  And I'm now inclined to do something.

• 36:02Speaker 04

  When we talk to Congressman Garcia later, let's ask him. You should ask him, like what you can do, like what the differences are. 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 a situation.

• 36:19Speaker 05

  How can we be helpful?

• 36:20Speaker 04

  How do you help now? What do you, what do you do? 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.

• 36:33Speaker 04

  But I don't know. I think you're a wealth of advice and, and wisdom.

• 36:38Speaker 05

  I mean, I, 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.

• 37:08Speaker 04

  Yes, she does. It is.

• 37:09Speaker 05

  I can't help it. I can't help it.

• 37:12Speaker 04

  You had fucking skywriting I told you so for me one day. Who the fuck do you think you are in, on my show?

• 37:19Speaker 05

  Sorry. I think I might get a tattoo.

• 37:22Speaker 04

  Wait, oh, I would do that.

• 37:23Speaker 05

  I told you so.

• 37:24Speaker 04

  I've got a, yeah.

• 37:25Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 37:26Speaker 04

  Mine could just be, she told me so.

• 37:29Speaker 05

  I told him so. Um, in terms of helping, I, I will say that, yes, I go to protests and yes, I will, I'm, I'm big on like reaching out to my congressperson. I, you know, I've sent letters to my governor, my mayor. But I will tell you that I struggle often with not knowing exactly what to do because I, I feel like what I want to do is something that I think will push the needle, right?

• 37:57Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 37:57Speaker 05

  What can I do? Who can I help? Even if it's like one person, right? Who can I help?

• 38:02Speaker 04

  It's this feeling of helplessness that I think everyone is feeling right now.

• 38:05Speaker 05

  A hundred percent.

• 38:06Speaker 04

  Even like someone who I'm very much in a position to do something, right?

• 38:10Speaker 05

  But you do it.

• 38:11Speaker 04

  Yeah. I was out running. I was, uh, I was traveling and I was out jogging in my hometown. And the, 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, Nifwifwif. That is their name.

• 38:40Speaker 05

  Okay.

• 38:41Speaker 04

  I am not, I'm not having a stroke of Nifwifwif.

• 38:44Speaker 05

  Okay.

• 38:45Speaker 04

  And they were telling me that they, um, 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 describe? They were retired women.

• 38:58Speaker 05

  Okay.

• 38:59Speaker 04

  Of a certain age.

• 39:00Speaker 05

  Sure. That's how retirees.

• 39:02Speaker 04

  Yeah. Well, there were no like young startup retirees who retired at thirty.

• 39:06Speaker 05

  Right.

• 39:07Speaker 04

  But I feel like a lot of people, their age probably were, 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, oh, look at these baddies. Look at these icons.

• 39:19Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 39:20Speaker 04

  Anyway, this has been under oath. Uh, let's take a break.

• 39:25Speaker 06

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• 41:36Speaker 04

  So Melissa, I'm really excited because Congressman Garcia is joining us today.

• 41:39Speaker 05

  That's gonna be great. I can't wait.

• 41:41Speaker 04

  He's the former mayor of

• 41:43Speaker 05

  Long Beach.

• 41:44Speaker 04

  California. Yeah. And he's the US Representative from California's 42nd District. He's been there since 2023. 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 congressperson 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 civically engaged and have real next step action items?

• 42:29Speaker 04

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

• 42:36Speaker 05

  Nothing to do, just throw your hands up and give up. Yeah.

• 42:38Speaker 04

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

• 42:43Speaker 05

  Right. 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 out, you know, openly gay, like all those things, I think, sort of help put the information out, right?

• 43:00Speaker 04

  I also love a fierce diva who's like, I'm gonna 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 fierce diva in the courtroom as well as at home. I'm winning arguments in my kitchen.

• 43:18Speaker 05

  Are you though? Somebody call Brad. Get Brad on the phone.

• 43:21Speaker 04

  I'm getting impeached in my fucking kitchen.

• 43:22Speaker 05

  Get Brad on the phone.

• 43:23Speaker 04

  Oh, all right, Congressman. All right, shut up. Congressman's calling. I gotta stop talking. Welcome to Brief Recession, Congressman.

• 43:30Speaker 08

  Hey, guys. How are you?

• 43:31Speaker 04

  Hi, Congressman.

• 43:32Speaker 05

  Hi, Congressman.

• 43:33Speaker 04

  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.

• 43:43Speaker 08

  I mean, obviously, there's a lot going on, and the horrors of the Trump administration never end. Today, we're really focused on and trying to really zero in on just the horrific actions by the administration, certainly Secretary Noam, 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 170 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 their ID. And these

• 44:28Speaker 08

  are US citizens who are being targeted racially profiled because of the color of their skin. And we know that now if ISIS 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 Kristina Noem, into their actions across the country. But we're also especially partnering with the Senate, and the Senate's oversight team and Senator Blumenthal and us are specifically going to do a joint bicameral 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

• 45:11Speaker 08

  people that what's happening to non-citizens, they also have due process rights. And the Constitution is so clear.

• 45:17Speaker 05

  Correct.

• 45:18Speaker 08

  And so we have a lot of work to do, but we were in LA with Mayor Bass making that announcement today.

• 45:23Speaker 04

  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 bicameralism. 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 gonna 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

• 46:06Speaker 04

  it on like a granular, granular level from the courtroom. But I think it's important for people to hear really what that means for you.

• 46:13Speaker 08

  Absolutely. No, this is great. I also, I love explaining kind of how oversight.

• 46:17Speaker 04

  Yeah. So I think Process matters, right? Like, what's the process? I think it's so important.

• 46:22Speaker 08

  And 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, I've been the lead Democrat on the Oversight Committee. Oversight Committee in the US House is the lead investigations committee that exists under our constitution, under, in, in, 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 a, I'm a pretty newer member to the Congress. I was mayor of Long Beach, California for years. I got to Congress now a little over two years ago. And so I was not the most senior person to take

• 47:07Speaker 08

  on this job. And I think in my pitch to the Democratic Caucus, I said, look, we have to We have to do things differently. We gotta bring

• 47:16Speaker 04

  Right.

• 47:17Speaker 08

  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 a hundred years in the

• 47:31Speaker 04

  Wow.

• 47:32Speaker 08

  And I, I, I mention 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.

• 47:46Speaker 04

  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.

• 47:53Speaker 08

  It does. And, and that is not me first. Like I, first, I'm an immigrant myself. And so this is very personal to me. Uh, and it's something that, um, I know I've lived through the experience. I've been undocumented. I understand what the lived experience is. Uh, and then the second piece is, I think people just should take, you know, I've been, um, the lead, lead on investigations now for about maybe three or almost four months, three, four months in the Congress for Democrats. And I, I show people what we've just done on the Epstein files, for example, like we are

• 48:24Speaker 04

  Right.

• 48:24Speaker 08

  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 only have limited powers. We don't have subpoena power. Uh, we don't have powers to get undocumented. 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 in the majority to investigate. However, when we do win the majority in 2026, you can believe that we will be sending out subpoenas and getting information from Christine Nowell, from Stephen Miller, from folks that are caught in harm, from Holman, I mean, just a variety of folks that we are

• 49:05Speaker 08

  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

• 49:29Speaker 04

  Right.

• 49:30Speaker 08

  Partner with folks.

• 49:31Speaker 04

  That's just what I was gonna say, papering the record, documentation.

• 49:34Speaker 08

  Exactly.

• 49:34Speaker 04

  So that court cases can move forward with that.

• 49:36Speaker 08

  Documentation is so important to put out into the public record what's actually happening and 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

• 49:56Speaker 04

  Right.

• 49:56Speaker 08

  All very important work.

• 49:58Speaker 04

  I wanted to ask you, because on this 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 your advice be to me, an immigration attorney, or to

• 50:36Speaker 05

  To me.

• 50:37Speaker 04

  Melissa, who is a civically engaged

• 50:39Speaker 05

  Right.

• 50:39Speaker 04

  Democrat?

• 50:40Speaker 05

  Like, not, 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, what can I do?

• 50:47Speaker 04

  Where do you need us?

• 50:48Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 50:48Speaker 04

  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?

• 50:57Speaker 08

  So, um, so two things. So one is, obviously, there's some, I'm gonna talk specifically about what specifically you can do to help what we're doing on the investigation side. So that's one piece of it. Broadly speaking, there, and I was, I was just right now with maybe 50 kind of immigration community activists and leaders from different groups that are on the ground doing this work right now in Los Angeles. And what, what they're, they are modeling just the behavior. We're, 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, I talked to folks that were just donors that are donating to kind of these rapid response networks.

• 51:38Speaker 08

  I talked 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 defense space. There's a lot of ways to get involved broadly. Specifically, our Oversight Committee is doing two things where people can get directly engaged. One is, in the next few weeks, you're going to hear, we'll put this out, we're going to

• 52:19Speaker 08

  be launching a massive, kind of one-stop ICE and information tracker for the

• 52:27Speaker 04

  That's great. That's so great. We need it. I need it.

• 52:32Speaker 08

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

• 53:02Speaker 04

  That's so important. So, most, as someone who gets so many people reaching out to me for help, that is, 90% of the things are just info sharing. You don't actually need an immigration attorney half the time. But just, people are just trying to figure out what's going on. And I think that's really important.

• 53:19Speaker 08

  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 purposes of winning in the courtroom, we have to not just win, and obviously, public opinion, we have to win in the courtroom. And first of all, in the courtroom, and we have to document. And we need to build the case. It takes work, and it takes putting all this

• 53:50Speaker 04

  It does. It really does, for people who don't

• 53:54Speaker 08

  And so and for us in Congress, 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'll be announcing the date hopefully here in the next week.

• 54:13Speaker 04

  Yeah, that'd be great. Share with us. We can put it out on the channel.

• 54:16Speaker 08

  It's great. And the field 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 we're keeping their safety in mind as well.

• 54:35Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 54:35Speaker 08

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

• 54:50Speaker 04

  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.

• 55:02Speaker 05

  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, etc. 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?

• 55:20Speaker 04

  So, thank you so much for joining. 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?

• 55:34Speaker 08

  That's right.

• 55:35Speaker 04

  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.

• 55:44Speaker 08

  Thank you.

• 55:45Speaker 04

  Uh, I'm gonna Venmo her $100. What's her name?

• 55:47Speaker 08

  Oh, Jules Long. Actually, Jules Long Beach is my favorite drag queen in Long Beach.

• 55:51Speaker 04

  Jules Long Beach. Okay. I can't wait for Jules Long Beach to wake up at 4:00 PM and be like, who the hell is this guy who is sending me?

• 56:01Speaker 05

  $100, I'll take it.

• 56:02Speaker 04

  Congressman Garcia, send it under Congressman Garcia's name. So, Jules Long Beach, go find her on Venmo or Cash App and send her some money. Tip your drag queens. Thank you, Congressman, for joining us today.

• 56:15Speaker 05

  Thank you so much for joining us. Please come back.

• 56:16Speaker 04

  We appreciate your time.

• 56:16Speaker 08

  Will do. Thanks, guys.

• 56:18Speaker 05

  Thank you. Take good care. Bye bye.

• 56:21Speaker 05

  So Tales from the DM, friends, please remember while Michael is a lawyer, he is not your lawyer.

• 56:28Speaker 04

  Unless you want to hire me.

• 56:29Speaker 05

  I mean, that's a different.

• 56:30Speaker 04

  I am for everyone has a price and I'm actually pretty cheap. Just ask any of my ex-boyfriends.

• 56:37Speaker 05

  Ask me.

• 56:40Speaker 09

  This is Maggie from Ojai, 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.

• 56:53Speaker 09

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

• 57:00Speaker 04

  Okay, great question.

• 57:02Speaker 05

  Yeah, really good question.

• 57:03Speaker 04

  This is an interesting one because it's a, 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.

• 57:12Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 57:13Speaker 04

  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 it is very much these Republicans leap on the, any opportunity to sort of keep women.

• 57:32Speaker 05

  Down.

• 57:33Speaker 04

  Down, right?

• 57:34Speaker 05

  Yeah, for sure.

• 57:35Speaker 04

  And it always, anything we talk about it is always poor people who experience the worst, right? People who are experiencing poverty, who.

• 57:43Speaker 05

  Right, who don't have access.

• 57:45Speaker 04

  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 and Supreme Court precedent still protect the right to get contraceptives. There is a very famous Supreme Court precedent, Griswold versus Connecticut. It's from 1965, as well as Eisenstadt v. Baird, it's 1972. 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.

• 58:15Speaker 05

  Cause you don't have to.

• 58:16Speaker 04

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

• 58:21Speaker 05

  Never?

• 58:23Speaker 04

  We can, we can get into it.

• 58:26Speaker 04

  We'll do that in the off, we'll do that, the B sides.

• 58:29Speaker 05

  Okay.

• 58:30Speaker 04

  Brief recess after dark. Get into that.

• 58:35Speaker 04

  The end scene seventeen after eleven P M.

• 58:38Speaker 05

  I mean.

• 58:38Speaker 04

  Do you remember when V H one, V H one or M T V, it was like, it was like at night, it would become

• 58:44Speaker 05

  Yes.

• 58:45Speaker 04

  softcore porn.

• 58:45Speaker 05

  Yeah, it was blue.

• 58:46Speaker 04

  It was.

• 58:47Speaker 05

  It was a little, it was teal.

• 58:48Speaker 04

  Go blue. Yeah. Anyway.

• 58:51Speaker 05

  Moving on.

• 58:54Speaker 05

  Are you okay?

• 58:56Speaker 04

  We got, we really got, I love when I gag our producer. I hope when we get the producer going because they have to listen to me yap all day. So.

• 59:04Speaker 05

  Get a hold of yourself.

• 59:05Speaker 04

  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.

• 59:14Speaker 05

  Right.

• 59:14Speaker 04

  I would, 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

• 59:56Speaker 04

  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 here 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.

• 1:00:25Speaker 05

  It really is. I actually wonder what's going to happen, especially, you know, most of the sort of now the Republican Party and mega Republicans, they're very much on this, you know, we're doing this with God behind us.

• 1:00:39Speaker 04

  Yes.

• 1:00:39Speaker 05

  And there is this theory for a lot of religions sort of across the board, right? Like. Make lots of babies. Make lots of babies.

• 1:00:48Speaker 04

  The last thing, I am happily childless and maybe we'll add that to my next tattoo as well.

• 1:00:53Speaker 05

  That you're.

• 1:00:54Speaker 04

  Childless by choice. We, we come to this place to talk about, yes, exactly.

• 1:01:00Speaker 05

  You had the choice, right?

• 1:01:01Speaker 04

  I have all the choices. I'm a white man in a suit.

• 1:01:04Speaker 05

  Right.

• 1:01:04Speaker 04

  I can get away with pretty much anything.

• 1:01:06Speaker 05

  Just about.

• 1:01:07Speaker 04

  You have kids? You've got a family? Do you want to tell people about your life and your choices?

• 1:01:11Speaker 05

  Um, I do not have any biological children. 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.

• 1:01:23Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 1:01:23Speaker 05

  Datsimisa, AKA Auntie Misa. That's who I am. So.

• 1:01:28Speaker 04

  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.

• 1:01:39Speaker 05

  Mm hmm. Don't do that.

• 1:01:41Speaker 04

  Don't, you can't call me. I would never do that. I would absolutely never teach you how to roll a joint.

• 1:01:46Speaker 05

  Abide.

• 1:01:47Speaker 04

  I only roll ankles, not joints.

• 1:01:49Speaker 05

  He's rolled a couple ankles.

• 1:01:51Speaker 04

  Both.

• 1:01:51Speaker 05

  Both.

• 1:01:51Speaker 04

  At the same time.

• 1:01:53Speaker 05

  Hmm.

• 1:01:53Speaker 04

  No, you've never seen me wear pleasers.

• 1:01:56Speaker 05

  Hi, this is Daisy from Los Angeles. Hi Daisy.

• 1:02:00Speaker 04

  First of all, voiceover actress.

• 1:02:02Speaker 05

  Love, right? And Daisy's a really good name. Whether or not it's your real name or not, I don't know.

• 1:02:06Speaker 04

  I imagine Daisy, what do we think Daisy looks like?

• 1:02:10Speaker 05

  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.

• 1:02:20Speaker 04

  Oh, yes.

• 1:02:22Speaker 05

  Chola look.

• 1:02:23Speaker 04

  She's from the South Bronx. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 1:02:25Speaker 05

  I think, well, she said she's from LA.

• 1:02:27Speaker 04

  Oh.

• 1:02:27Speaker 05

  So I think she's from South LA.

• 1:02:29Speaker 04

  Okay, okay. Yeah, I don't know the neighborhoods in LA that well.

• 1:02:32Speaker 05

  Okay, but that's who I think. I think Daisy is fierce and I think she is got a hoop earring.

• 1:02:39Speaker 04

  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.

• 1:02:50Speaker 05

  Anyway, I feel like there's so much in the news about Trump trying to pardon P. Diddy or Ghislaine Maxwell.

• 1:03:00Speaker 04

  We not the Diddy shout out, not again, no.

• 1:03:04Speaker 05

  I also wonder why they keep on saying that Ghislaine Maxwell, I feel like everybody's mispronouncing her name. My, I had an aunt who's that was her name.

• 1:03:13Speaker 04

  Oh, you did?

• 1:03:13Speaker 05

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

• 1:03:15Speaker 04

  How do you say it?

• 1:03:16Speaker 05

  She's Lynn.

• 1:03:19Speaker 05

  I don't know who Ghislaine is.

• 1:03:20Speaker 04

  I'm speechless.

• 1:03:21Speaker 05

  Haitians all over are like, Ghislaine.

• 1:03:23Speaker 04

  Ghislaine.

• 1:03:23Speaker 05

  Ghislaine.

• 1:03:24Speaker 04

  Ghislaine is such like a clunky.

• 1:03:26Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 1:03:27Speaker 04

  Flat footed.

• 1:03:28Speaker 05

  Right.

• 1:03:29Speaker 04

  We've got, yeah, we've got a big ass, flat foot stomp in the street.

• 1:03:33Speaker 05

  It's Ghislaine. But go ahead. Sorry.

• 1:03:37Speaker 04

  Go ahead.

• 1:03:39Speaker 05

  And I'm wondering, is there any interesting cases that previous presidents have ever pardoned before or really controversial ones in the past?

• 1:03:48Speaker 04

  Oh, hell yeah.

• 1:03:48Speaker 05

  Or are these particularly insane?

• 1:03:50Speaker 04

  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 the different timeline.

• 1:04:04Speaker 05

  None of this is real. This is all a simulation.

• 1:04:06Speaker 04

  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 Spring. And like, there's always sort of like, the opposition is always saying, you know.

• 1:04:18Speaker 05

  And it's usually one of those things that a president does on their way out.

• 1:04:22Speaker 04

  Yes, yeah, like Roger Stone, Trump did that in 2020.

• 1:04:26Speaker 05

  Right.

• 1:04:27Speaker 04

  Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn was in 2020. There was a whole sort of like crop of controversial pardons.

• 1:04:34Speaker 05

  I mean, Biden pardoned his son.

• 1:04:37Speaker 04

  Yeah.

• 1:04:37Speaker 05

  Like, that was.

• 1:04:38Speaker 04

  Dad, if you're watching, you better pardon my ass if you're ever in office. I want a pardon.

• 1:04:43Speaker 05

  I might send my kids to the clink.

• 1:04:48Speaker 05

  Just out here sullying the family name.

• 1:04:50Speaker 04

  Tell the story of when your dad was on a jury.

• 1:04:55Speaker 04

  We might not have enough time for this. We'd have to wait for the next episode.

• 1:04:58Speaker 05

  We'll do it next time.

• 1:04:59Speaker 04

  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.

• 1:05:16Speaker 05

  Ghislaine Maxwell.

• 1:05:18Speaker 04

  Thank you so much.

• 1:05:19Speaker 05

  Uh huh.

• 1:05:19Speaker 04

  Um, 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 were 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.

• 1:05:36Speaker 05

  I always have a good time talking to you.

• 1:05:37Speaker 04

  I'm glad we got, we got it all on the record about Diddy trial. Maybe we'll do a whole Diddy episode.

• 1:05:42Speaker 05

  Maybe.

• 1:05:43Speaker 04

  Thank you for watching Brief Recession. I'm Michael Foot.

• 1:05:45Speaker 05

  And I'm Melissa Malbranche.

• 1:05:46Speaker 04

  I'll see your ass in court.

• 1:05:50Speaker 04

  This has been an Exactly Right Production, recorded at iHeart Studios, hosted by me, Michael Foot.

• 1:05:55Speaker 05

  And me, Melissa Malbranche. Our producer is CJ Ferroni.

• 1:05:58Speaker 04

  This episode was edited by Nicholas Calucci.

• 1:06:01Speaker 05

  Our associate producer is Christina Chamberlain and our guest booker is Patrick Kotner.

• 1:06:05Speaker 04

  Our theme song was composed by Tom Brieffogle with artwork from Charlotte Delaro and Vanessa Lilak, with photography by Brad Obono.

• 1:06:12Speaker 05

  Brief Recession is executive produced by Karen Kilgariff, Georgia Hardstark, and Danielle Kramer.

• 1:06:17Speaker 04

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

• 1:06:22Speaker 05

  And I'm on both Instagram and TikTok as Melissa Malbranche.

• 1:06:25Speaker 04

  Got legal questions? Reach out at [email protected]. Listen to Brief Recession on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And of course, we're a podcast with video. Search for Brief Recession on YouTube.

• 1:06:45Karen Kilgariff?

  Vacation planning should feel like a breeze, not a deep dive into countless travel sites searching for the best deal.

• 1:06:50Georgia Hardstark?

  With Cheap Caribbean's Budget Beach Finder, you can search every destination and every date, all in one search.

• 1:06:56Karen Kilgariff?

  You'll save time and money with the Budget Beach Finder.

• 1:06:59Georgia Hardstark?

  Say goodbye to endless scrolling and tab hopping and hello to Budget Beach Bliss at your fingertips.

• 1:07:04Karen Kilgariff?

  Go to cheapcaribbean.com to try out the Budget Beach Finder and see just how stress-free vacation planning should be.

• 1:07:10Georgia Hardstark?

  Goodbye.

• 1:07:12Georgia Hardstark?

  In the summer, healthy habits are easy to keep until you leave the house.

• 1:07:16Karen Kilgariff?

  You walk out the door and the next thing you know, you're barefoot and feral in a gas station candy aisle.

• 1:07:20Georgia Hardstark?

  That's why Kachava makes it easy to maintain your routines.

• 1:07:23Karen Kilgariff?

  Kachava is an all-in-one nutrition shake, and now it comes in new travel packs.

• 1:07:28Georgia Hardstark?

  Every packet gives you a simple shake with protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals, greens, probiotics, omegas, electrolytes, and more.

• 1:07:36Karen Kilgariff?

  They're easy to toss into a bag, easy to take on the road, and a simple way to stick with your normal wellness habits, even when your schedule changes.

• 1:07:43Georgia Hardstark?

  Man, that Kachava matcha in the individual packs is like my dream snack. It's exactly what I need and want in between the like, not great meals I'm eating for lunch and the snacks I would have had anyways that are terrible for me. Like this is something I feel like I'm treating myself when I take.

• 1:08:02Karen Kilgariff?

  You're treating yourself to vitamins, fiber, all these things that your body really wants and needs and kind of craves that it does seem like it takes a big effort to get. So now you're getting it all in one packet and in a little drink you like.

• 1:08:14Georgia Hardstark?

  Take your daily ritual with you.

• 1:08:15Karen Kilgariff?

  Go to kachava.com and use code MFM for 15% off your first order.

• 1:08:19Georgia Hardstark?

  That's Kachava, K-A-C-H-A-V-A dot com, code MFM.

• 1:08:24Karen Kilgariff?

  Goodbye.