The Jim Acosta Show — Episode Summary

Episode Title: Joaquin Castro visits five year old, Liam Conejo Ramos in ICE detention, and writer Don Winslow on America's slide into authoritarianism
Date: January 29, 2026
Host: Jim Acosta
Guests: Rep. Joaquin Castro (Texas), Author Don Winslow

Overview

This episode confronts the grim realities of the Trump administration’s renewed mass deportation initiatives, focusing on the detention of children like five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos. Jim Acosta speaks with Congressman Joaquin Castro, who recently visited Liam in ICE detention, and then pivots to a discussion with author Don Winslow about the pervasive rise of authoritarianism in America, centering on the Trump administration's punitive actions and election interference. The episode is urgent, outraged, hopeful—and unwavering in its message: Hold on to truth and hope, and fight for democracy.

Segment 1: Congressman Joaquin Castro on Liam Ramos and ICE Detention

Timestamps: 00:06 – 15:53

Liam’s Story and Conditions in Detention

• Acosta opens by highlighting the tragic story of Liam Conejo Ramos, a five-year-old arrested in Minnesota and detained in a Texas ICE facility.
• Rep. Joaquin Castro describes his visit:
  • Sat in a makeshift courtroom with Liam and his father, also joined by Rep. Jasmine Crockett.
  • Expresses deep concern for Liam's well-being, describing him as depressed, not eating, often asking about his mother and school, and missing his hat and backpack.
  • States:

    "I’m very concerned about his well being. I didn’t think he looked well… It’s just a tragedy all around and he needs to be released immediately." (01:00)

• Castro notes that other children, including a two-month-old, are detained and exhibiting signs of trauma. Parents are equally traumatized.

Policy Failures and Expansion of Detention

• Castro points out the family used the "proper" legal pathway (CBP1 app) and were admitted into the U.S. before being swept up in mass deportation efforts:

  "This was a family that had come the right way… And then Donald Trump goes in there with his mass deportation dragnet…and dumps him in the middle of rural Texas." (02:42)

• There is an expansion of detention centers planned nationwide despite local opposition.

Conditions in ICE Facilities

• Acosta:

  "It’s a jail. Little Liam is in jail, these other kids are in jail. What is going on in this country…?" (03:44)

• Castro:
  • Asserts no one at Dilley facility is a criminal, confirmed by ICE officials themselves.
  • Describes the medical unit as empty despite numerous health complaints from detainees.
  • ICE/ DHS are accused of "operating behind closed doors" and not taking medical concerns seriously.

Constitutional Rights, Accountability & Protest

• Worries about the erosion of First and Second Amendment rights:

  "They don’t want to respect Americans’ fundamental and constitutional rights, the First Amendment…[and are] even going after the Second Amendment." (05:56)

• On lack of government accountability, Castro encourages documentation for future legal action and prosecution, both federally and at the state level.

The Political Context

• Criticism of Trump administration removing officials (Greg Bovino, replaced by Tom Homan) after controversial killings (e.g., Alex Preddy), but without admitting fault.
• Worries about the chilling effect on protest and the dangerous expansion of state power.
• Growing secrecy from DHS/ICE makes Congressional oversight difficult.

Notable Quote

• Castro (regarding Stephen Miller):

  "If he’s going to be the architect of this kind of vicious and brutal system, then he ought to go into the Dilley Detention Center and sit down face to face with those kids and tell them why he believes they belong there…" (11:50)

Voting, Surveillance, and Election Integrity

• Discussion briefly touches on the federal government’s direct involvement in state-level election infrastructure, including a recent FBI raid in Fulton County, Georgia, and growing concerns over the impartiality and security of upcoming midterms.

Segment 2: Don Winslow on Authoritarianism and Truth in America

Timestamps: 15:53 – 28:49

Motivation and Historical Context

• Don Winslow explains his activism is motivated by the last decade of democratic erosion:

  "This is a man who launched an insurrection, an armed insurrection against the legitimately elected government of this country January 6th...I have not forgotten about that." (17:26)

The ‘Big Lie’ and Authoritarianism

• The recent FBI raid on Fulton County’s election office, with DNI Tulsi Gabbard present, signals the normalization of authoritarian tactics:

  "Having Tulsi Gabbard and intelligence in the same sentence is a bit difficult, isn’t it? But listen, it’s all part of the Big Lie. And the Big Lie is the classic authoritarian technique to control population..." (18:53)

• Acosta frames it as an existential threat in the critical run-up to midterms.

Suppression of Free Speech

• Winslow canceled his book tour due to credible death threats, illustrating direct attempts to silence government critics.
• Parallels drawn between present-day U.S. and footage from cartel-ruled Juarez, Mexico:

  "Masked men shooting people down in the streets. That’s not America. That’s not the America I think that you and I grew up in..." (22:53)

Messaging and Memory

• Both lament Americans’ "short memory" regarding recent political violence and suppression.
• Winslow’s new video campaign aims for bipartisan remembrance and unity, recalling post-9/11 solidarity:

  "We did come together after 9/11. We’ve come together…after so many historical events...particularly young people don’t have a sense of that. We’re not really teaching it anymore and…it’s a message that needs to get out there." (22:06)

Imperatives for Action

• Acosta and Winslow agree that combating authoritarianism and defending democracy requires cross-partisan action.
• Winslow calls out lack of Republican backbone, contrasting today’s party to that of John McCain and Ronald Reagan:

  "We need more Republicans to stand up. So far, this has been a collective of invertebrates, you know, and we need to see far more spine in Congress from both sides of the aisle." (26:49)

Final Segment: Acosta’s Closing Commentary

Timestamps: 28:52 – End

The Stakes for Democracy

• Acosta returns to the FBI raid in Georgia, denouncing the normalization of intelligence agencies’ direct involvement in election operations under Trump's orders.
• Emphasizes the danger:

  "The only world in which this is normal is in an authoritarian regime...It isn’t normal. It isn’t how we do things in this country. This is not America. It is Donald Trump’s America." (29:56)

• Urges vigilance for the upcoming midterms:

  "If Tulsi fucking Gabbard can show up at the front door at any given moment, when Cash Patel can send in his fucking goons…because Donald Trump, the mad king, is still obsessed over an election he lost six fucking years ago? In what world is that normal?" (31:51)

Call to Action

• Warns that loss of free and fair elections signals loss of American democracy:

  "If we are not allowed to...hold free and fair elections in this country, then we are lost." (32:54)

• Reiterates imperative for every American, not just "pro-democracy forces," to act—Republicans, Democrats, independents alike.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Castro on ICE’s brutality:

  "You shouldn’t be able to be the architect of this kind of viciousness without having to face the music." (11:50)

• Winslow on rising danger:

  "We have a traitor, a man who tried to overthrow the government, now in charge of that government and attempting to destroy our systems from within." (24:26)

  "So far this has been a collective of invertebrates…we need to see far more spine in Congress." (26:49)

• Acosta on the stakes:

  "If we are not allowed to stage…free and fair elections in this country, then we are lost." (32:54)

Key Takeaways

• The current administration’s mass deportation policy is sweeping up children and families who followed legal procedures.
• Detention centers are operating with secrecy and negligence; transparency and congressional access are limited.
• Constitutional rights—freedom of speech, right to protest, due process—are openly threatened; accountability measures are being debated, with hopes for future prosecutions.
• The normalization of federal agency intervention in election infrastructure is an alarming escalation toward authoritarian control.
• Suppression of dissent now includes threats to writers and critics, with chilling effects on public discourse.
• The erosion of memory of recent political violence and democratic norms is a risk—vigilance and truth-telling are vital.
• The burden falls on all Americans to safeguard the right to free and fair elections.

For Further Updates and Independent Journalism: jimacosta.substack.com