News Dive: The Great De-Legalization, H-1B Follies, and Midterm Predictions

We plunge beneath the latest immigration headlines to make sense of the senseless. What is the human cost of revoking deportation protections from over a million people? Why is the newly proposed H-1B fee precisely $103,265? Why are your taxpayer dollars giving ICE electric-shock gloves and robot dogs? Plus planning for a Democratic House majority to rein in these abuses (and a likely Constitutional crisis in the meantime).

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Amanda, Claire, and Doug express their own personal opinions on The Melting Pod. This episode was produced by Michael Palmer (⁠palmer.media⁠). Read more about the topics in this episode:

* Democrats found their border message. ICE is another story. - Politico (August 2026)

* American support for abolishing ICE hits record 50% in new poll - Axios (March 2026)

* ICE plans to give officers gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks - Associated Press (August 2026)

* Dying in Detention: Rising Deaths in an Expanding US Immigration Detention System - Human Rights Watch (June 2026)

* The Great Delegalization - New Yorker (August 2026)

* Pierre Damas Bel died in an apparent suicide. His family says he felt 'humiliated' by his ICE ankle monitor - CNN (September 2026)

* Years of Trump Support Came Undone in 15 Minutes in an Airport - New York Times (August 2026)

* Actually, Democracy Dies in H.R. - New York Times (May 2026)

* Milo Yiannopoulos says he was 'terrified' by the 'brutality' of his ICE deportation - CNN (September 2026)