Last December, Steven Tendo stood on the steps of the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington, Vermont, speaking to a crowd holding a candlelight vigil for immigrant justice. “I believe that when we gather like this,” said Tendo, an ordained minister and asylum seeker from Uganda who fled torture and political persecution, “we are not […]
Shock YouTuber turned professional boxer Jake Paul did some Olympic-level backpedaling after he was dragged through the digital trenches for writing online that Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny was a “fake American.”“Guys i love bad bunny idk what happened on my twitter last night ?? wtf,” Paul posted on X Monday morning in a post that mustered fewer than 5,000 likes. Paul also changed his X bio to read: “Benito #1 fan,” referring to the Spanish-speaking global superstar by his first name.The previous evening, Paul sparked enormous backlash after he put out a statement claiming he was going to be “turning off” Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show.“Let’s rally together and show big corporations they can’t just do whatever they want without consequences,” Paul wrote. “Turn off this halftime. A fake American citizen performing who publicly hates America. I cannot support that.”Ultimately, the Boricua’s performance was an ode to love and unity, rhapsodizing about the significance of family and cultural heritage while elevating the myriad talents of the island’s inhabitants to the national stage.X users were quick to vilify Paul for his insulting take on the heartwarming set, reminding him that Puerto Rico is a part of America, a detail he should be well aware of considering that he lives there.Even Paul’s brother Jake, who infamously trekked to Japan’s “suicide forest” to make content with dead bodies, had more class than his younger sibling.“I love my brother but I don’t agree with this,” the elder Paul brother wrote. “Puerto Ricans are Americans & I’m happy they were given the opportunity to showcase the talent that comes from the island.”Both Paul brothers have admitted in interviews that they relocated to Puerto Rico in 2021 in order to avoid paying U.S. taxes.Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—a New Yorker of Puerto Rican descent—also condemned Paul’s comments, arguing that Bad Bunny’s profound success makes Paul “look small.”“Benito actually funds low income kids’ access to arts and sports programs, while you defund them,” she posted on X Monday morning.Jake Paul attempted to clarify his stance on the issue in a follow-up tweet Monday, writing that he “wasn’t calling anyone a ‘fake citizen’ because they’re from Puerto Rico.” “I live in Puerto Rico, and I love Puerto Rico,” he wrote. “But if you’re publicly criticizing ICE who are doing their job and openly hating on America, I’m going to speak on it. Period.“If you benefit from a country and the platform it gives you, but publicly disrespect it at the same time, that’s what I mean by being a fake citizen,” Paul added.
Drop Site Daily: February 9, 2026
A legal immigrant with a valid work permit who has lived in the U.S. for over 20 years has been held in ICE custody since September.Seamus Culleton has no criminal record, “not even a parking ticket,” is married to a U.S. citizen, and owns a plastering business near Boston. Culleton said he was pulled over by ICE agents while driving home from work five months ago, and had his Massachusetts driver’s license and work permit with him.He was then detained and held in a cell with several other immigrants before being flown to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Buffalo, New York, where he was asked to sign papers agreeing to his deportation. Culleton said he refused and checked a box that he was contesting his deportation on the grounds that his wife is a U.S. citizen and that he has a valid work permit, thanks to his pending application for permanent resident status filed last April.But from there, he was taken to another ICE detention center in El Paso, Texas. Culleton said conditions there are “like a concentration camp, absolute hell,” in a phone interview with The Irish Times, as he shares a large, cold, and damp room with over 70 men. Meals are small child-size portions served in the center of the room, and detainees often fight over the food.Culleton said that he has only left the room for fresh air and exercise less than 12 times in his nearly five-month detention, and is stuck lying on a bed most days. His wife paid a $4,000 bond for his release in November, but nothing happened, and days later, they found that Culleton’s bond had been denied, unlike in most other cases.Culleton’s attorney appealed the case to federal court, where ICE agents claimed that he had signed documents agreeing to his own deportation, which he adamantly denies, saying that the signatures can’t be his.“My whole life is here [in the U.S.]. I worked so hard to build my business. My wife is here,” Culleton said. A federal judge noted irregularities in the documents but still sided with ICE.Legally, Culleton can’t appeal further, but believes that video of his interview with ICE in Buffalo would show that he refused to agree to his own deportation in writing. Any signatures, he said, would not match his. He added that ICE agents tried again to get him to sign a deportation order.“You have one section of the government trying to deport me, and another trying to give me a green card,” Culleton said.