new video loaded: A Simple Fix to Curb Federal Power
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transcript
A Simple Fix to Curb Federal Power
On “The Opinions,” the columnist David French explains how federal immunity makes it nearly impossible to sue over civil rights violations — and why a simple change to the law could finally hold agencies like ICE accountable.
We have a world where, right now, if you want to sue the federal government for violation of your civil rights, Good luck. Good luck. You have an unbelievable immunity barrier that doesn’t exist for state and local governments. So there’s a very simple law. It’s called the Bivens Act. It adds five words, just five words to Section 1983. And what it will do is it will mean that you can sue the government, the federal government, the exact same way that you can sue state and local governments. And guess what. Here’s the magical thing about that. Civil liability cannot be pardoned by the president. So the president can keep somebody out of prison. He cannot keep somebody out of bankruptcy court. We have these 17-point plans and all of these things you want to do with ICE. I’ve got a one-point plan. Strip their immunity, and then you apply the Constitution.
February 7, 2026
