The Majority Report with Sam Seder

Episode 3584 – Kimmel Silenced; Tracking ICE Abuses; Trump The Mafia Don
Host: Emma Vigeland (in for Sam Seder)
Date: September 18, 2025
Guests: Austin Kocher, Dan O’Sullivan

Overview

This episode of The Majority Report tackles several pressing topics:

1. The silencing of Jimmy Kimmel and the Trump administration's authoritarian media crackdown.
2. A deep dive into the expanding abuses and data obfuscation of ICE under Trump, with guest Austin Kocher.
3. An analysis of Trump’s “mafia don” tactics, both historically and in the present, with Dan O’Sullivan from The Outfit podcast.

The program alternates its signature blend of sharp political commentary, humor, and award-winning interviews, offering both analysis and original reporting.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Media Consolidation, Kimmel’s Removal & Authoritarian Censorship

(06:05–22:21)

• Kimmel Pulled from the Air
  Local TV conglomerate Nexstar, aiming for a lucrative merger, pulls Jimmy Kimmel’s show from ABC stations, widely seen as caving to Trump’s free speech crackdown.

  • Tied to efforts for FCC deregulation under Trump ally Brendan Carr.
  • Quote (Emma Vigeland, 08:14):
    “You are a billion dollar monopoly media organization run by fascists.”
  • This move, panelists agree, is transparent political payback to curry favor and facilitate Nexstar’s $6.2 billion merger, made possible by Trump’s appointees.
  • Quote (Matt Binder, 13:20):
    “Right now, you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. The executives... they're not doing this unwillingly.”

• Analysis of Media Monopoly Moves

  • Key regulatory caps (previously, companies could only reach 39% of US households) set to be obliterated.
  • Quote (Emma Vigeland, 10:54):
    “That’s not just like a raising of the rule slightly. You're just obliterating it and allowing for complete consolidation...”

• Brendan Carr’s On-Air Justification

  • FCC's Brendan Carr threatens non-compliant stations with license revocation, urging them not to air content Trump dislikes.
  • Quote (Brendan Carr, 11:26):
    “It’s really sort of past time that ... we are not going to run Kimmel anymore until you straighten this out ... we’re running the possibility of fines or license revocation from the FCC...”

• Kimmel’s “Offending” Joke

  • The joke referenced right-wing efforts to spin a shooting incident, satirizing the White House’s response.
  • Quote (Emma Vigeland, 15:15): “That was a really good joke.”
  • Panel analysis: The “distortion” charge is a thinly veiled attempt to silence dissent and left-leaning criticism.

• Broader Implications

  • The right weaponizes “free speech” while moving to cancel dissent (double standards, direct attacks on First Amendment).
  • Quote (Emma Vigeland, 21:12):
    “When the right talks about free speech, it’s because they want to say the R word ... but everybody else, you make a light joke about Charlie Kirk, we’re canceling your show. ... They were jealous. And now they’re trying to use state power to do it. And that’s fascism.”

  Timestamps:

  • Kimmel removal context: 06:05–14:20
  • Nexstar merger & FCC discussion: 08:52–12:29
  • Brendan Carr on enforcement: 11:26–12:26
  • Analysis of “news distortion”: 15:15–18:34
  • Free speech hypocrisy: 21:12–22:21

2. Rampant ICE Abuses & Erosion of Oversight

Interview with Austin Kocher | (28:50–52:11)

• ICE Deportation Data Dashboard

  • Kocher, a political/legal geographer from Syracuse University, details his new immigration enforcement dashboard (enforcementdashboard.com), which compiles publicly forced data to expose ICE arrests and trends obscured by the Trump administration.
  • Quote (Austin Kocher, 29:52):
    “The Trump administration has choked off crucial data sources... putting pressure on civil society and researchers ... to make it more public so that everybody has access to the same objective data.”

• Historic Highs in Arrests

  • ICE arrests spiked (>30,000/month), especially in Texas and Florida, targeting people with no criminal charges or convictions.
  • Quote (Austin Kocher, 32:07):
    “The spike in arrests ... was driven entirely by arrests of people with no criminal charges or convictions, which runs counter to the administration’s message.”

• Proliferation of 287(g) Agreements

  • Police across the U.S. deputized for immigration enforcement—over 1,000 current agreements (up from 140–150 in the Obama era), with 500+ “task force” models (officers enforce immigration law on the street, not just in jails).
  • Quote (Austin Kocher, 37:32):
    “[A] 287 agreement is a policy where local law enforcement agencies ... get the authority to do certain kinds of immigration enforcement. ... We now have today ... a thousand.”

• Extensive Collusion in Red States

  • Most cooperation in Texas and Florida, facilitating mass detentions and deportations.

• Pregnant Women in ICE Detention

  • Many reports of pregnant women suffering miscarriages in custody, without required care or reporting to Congress on their status (as mandated by law).
  • Quote (Austin Kocher, 41:05):
    “It’s a consequence of this rapid escalation ... combined with the total evisceration of oversight and accountability.”

• Personal Stories Underscore the Human Cost

  • Example: Iris, a woman who miscarried in ICE custody after pleas for help were ignored. Her husband, a U.S. citizen, forced to leave the country.
  • Quote (Austin Kocher, 44:16):
    “We don’t listen to women when they raise concerns about their bodies and their pregnancies, especially if they’re not white women.”

• Implications of Increased Funding

  • ICE’s budget now dwarfing the FBI’s—used to expand privatized detention, convert military bases/prisons, or contract existing facilities.
  • Quote (Austin Kocher, 49:42):
    “They may well start putting people into prisons designed for people with criminal convictions ... and probably finding creative new agreements with county sheriffs.”

• The Deportation Machine Targets Not Only Immigrants but U.S. Citizens

  • Family separation leads to citizens forced to emigrate to keep families together, destroying lives far beyond statistics.

  Timestamps:

  • Kocher interview start: 28:50
  • Data dashboard explained: 29:09–31:47
  • Arrest trends and lack of transparency: 31:47–34:19
  • 287(g) proliferation: 36:53–39:37
  • ICE abuses of pregnant women: 40:30–44:16
  • Family/citizenship impact: 44:16–46:57
  • Facility expansion & funding: 46:57–51:50

3. Trump as Mafia Don: Organized Crime Tactics in Government

Interview with Dan O’Sullivan | (53:45–79:42)

• Historical Parallels: Trump, the Mob, and the Deep State

  • Trump’s rise through the New York construction industry linked directly with Mafia figures (via his father), using concrete controlled by crime syndicates and lawyer Roy Cohn’s underworld connections.
  • Quote (Dan O’Sullivan, 58:46):
    “Much has been made of the fact that Donald Trump built Trump Tower entirely out of concrete without a steel frame ... except for the fact that concrete at that time in New York was controlled ... by the five families...”

• Contemporary Mob Tactics in Politics

  • Trump's methods—intimidation, protection rackets, buying favors (e.g., via deregulation or tariffs)—are indistinguishable from classic organized crime.
  • Quote (Dan O’Sullivan, 66:00):
    “He’s often doing it in that way. He’s not using the full power of the state. He’s almost using his own personal power to do this. It’s interesting, considering he’s the president, that he wouldn’t appeal to that rather than his own sort of loyalty and acolytes.”

• University and Corporate Rackets

  • Trump’s pressure on universities and corporations (for donations, support, etc.) compared to Mafia-style extortion: “Once you pay, you’re never getting out.”
  • Quote (Dan O’Sullivan, 67:55):
    “He’s doing it with corporations in the United States, too. ... a tribute to the mafia don president, a show of faith. And in turn... they are rewarding them ... by reportedly changing ... FCC anti-monopoly guidelines.”

• Global Money Laundering and Financial Schemes

  • Trump’s entanglements with Deutsche Bank and international money flows connect him to criminal networks akin to a modern global crime boss.
  • Quote (Dan O’Sullivan, 60:07):
    “There was a great investigation on WNYC about this. ... Deutsche Bank ... was aiding Russian gangsters and oligarchs in getting their money out of Russia... While that is happening, you also have Donald Trump relying on Deutsche Bank for these really mind boggling loans...”

• On Tech Billionaires as the “New Mafia”

  • Tech titans are seen as a new breed of less flashy, but more insulated organized criminals enabled by deregulation, unchecked power, and lack of risk of prosecution.
  • Quote (Dan O’Sullivan, 71:33):
    “What’s really scary about these guys to me is I think that they think that there will never be any repercussions for anything they do...”

• Criminal Economies and American History

  • O’Sullivan draws connections between historic immigrant mafias (Italian, Irish, Jewish) and forms of marginalization, showing how denial of legitimate power breeds organized crime structures—an analogy with contemporary American oligarchy.

• Calls for Prosecution & Accountability

  • The Trump era’s impunity is seen as rooted in the failure to prosecute “small” white-collar crimes—arguing the need for aggressive legal action to restore democratic norms.

  Timestamps:

  • O’Sullivan interview start: 53:45
  • Trump & Roy Cohn/Mafia history: 54:27–58:46
  • Trump/Deutsche Bank/Russian money: 59:32–62:18
  • Trump as informant/FBI discussion: 62:51–65:25
  • Protection rackets/university & media extortion: 66:00–69:51
  • Tech as modern Mafia: 71:17–73:34
  • Historical context—mob origins & system connections: 75:01–79:19

Notable Quotes

• “You are a billion dollar monopoly media organization run by fascists.”
  — Emma Vigeland (08:14)

• “They were jealous and now they're trying to use state power to do it. And that's fascism.”
  — Emma Vigeland (21:12)

• “The spike in arrests ... was driven entirely by arrests of people with no criminal charges or convictions, which runs counter to the administration’s message.”
  — Austin Kocher (32:07)

• “We don't listen to women when they raise concerns about their bodies and pregnancies, especially if they’re not white women.”
  — Austin Kocher (44:16)

• “There is no line between legitimate and illegitimate business. ... The kind of countries mafias thrive best in are partial democracies … Sure seems like we're in one of those.”
  — Dan O’Sullivan (68:43)

• “What’s really scary about these guys to me is I think that they think that there will never be any repercussions for anything they do and that they're close to getting it to a place where they're running everything.”
  — Dan O’Sullivan (71:33)

Memorable Moments

• Brendan Carr (FCC) openly advocates for political retribution via media licensing.
  (11:26–12:26)

• Panel’s disbelief and humor at the fabricated outrage over Kimmel’s joke.
  (15:15–18:34)

• Kocher explains the exponential rise in 287(g) “task force” agreements:
  “...now half of them, 500 of these, are the most aggressive type, which is called a task force model.” (37:32)

• Dan O’Sullivan drawing direct, well-documented lines from Trump’s New York mob ties to his present-day political tactics.
  (58:46–59:56)

• Sharp analysis linking tech billionaires and corporate consolidation to a “new mafia”—insulated, global, untouchable.
  (71:17–73:34)

Conclusion

This packed episode weaves together critical breaking news, historical context, and original research/interviews to illustrate both the unique dangers of Trump-era authoritarianism and its deep, systemic American roots. The panel lays bare how media consolidation and state power are used to silence critics, how ICE’s unchecked expansion devastates families, and how Trump’s mode of “governance” is indistinguishable from organized crime.

Listen for: sharp wit, deep dives into policy & history, and relentless advocacy against creeping authoritarianism—backed by robust data and expert voices.

Full episode and resources:

• enforcementdashboard.com (Kocher’s ICE tracking tool)
• The Outfit Podcast (with Dan O’Sullivan)

[Timestamps marked as (MM:SS)]