BOSTON (AP) — Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton didn't have to wait long to test his body during his season debut against the Boston Celtics.
Within two minutes of checking into his first game since having offseason offseason surgeries on both of his ankles, Middleton was bodychecked to the floor on a foul by Boston's Sam Hauser.
“I love it. Get it out of the way,” said Middleton who had 11 points, five assists and three rebounds in 23 minutes of the Bucks' 111-105 loss on Friday night. “That's something that's been happening to me in play groups, 1-on-1 sessions, workouts. Just feeling that contact. Of course the contact was a little bit more during the game, but I needed to feel that and feel like what it is to be hit, fall down on the floor and not really worry about anything.”
Bucks coach Doc Rivers said the three-time All-Star would be on a minutes restriction, but Middleton wound up finishing the game after an illness sidelined Taurean Prince in the second half. Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is dealing with right patella tendinopathy, also played on his 30th birthday.
Though he acknowledged being winded multiple times, Middleton said he came through well physically.
“Everybody wants to start and everybody wants to finish games,” Middleton said. “I didn't get to start tonight, but I definitely was happy I got to finish the game. Just wish I could have executed a little better. I thougth I missed one shot that I normally hit. ... It was a ball game the whole time up until maybe the last two or three possessions.”
Middleton missed the Bucks' first 21 games this season. The 33-year-old appeared in 55 games last season and just 33 in 2022-23 because of injuries. Also, a knee injury forced him to miss the Bucks’ final 10 playoff games in 2022.
It was just the ninth time that Rivers, who took over as the Bucks' coach for the final 36 games last season, had the All-Star trio of Antetokounmpo, Middleton and Damian Lillard on the floor together. It was the 43rd time overall the trio shared the court.
“Every coach, you want your key guys, and the more games you have them the better,” Rivers said. “Every time we can get them on the floor in a practice. Every time we can get them on the floor in a game and it’s him, Giannis and Dame — it’s going to help our team grow. That’s where we’re behind with other teams who have had their key guys play together. It will come. It’s just going to take a minute.”
Rivers acknowledged it would be tough working Middleton back into the rotation. The Bucks opened the season 2-8, but entered Friday having won nine of 11 since a 113-107 loss at Boston on Nov. 10.
“It's not easy, obviously," Rivers said. “It's whatever amount of games into the season, but I still want him back. Whatever the minutes are, we're going to use them all up.”
Though the Bucks lost for the third time to Boston, Middleton said the game was something to build on.
“They’re a great team. We want to get back to where they were last year," Middleton said. "It’s just about putting our best foot forward and trying to be the best team. We’re not worried about anything else really.”
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton (22) drives to the basket past Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)
Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton (22) reacts to a call during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)
Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton, center, sits next to guard Damian Lillard, left, during the first half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game against the Miami Heat, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has ordered federal prosecutors to investigate state or local officials who they believe are interfering with the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration, saying they could face criminal charges, in an apparent warning to the dozens of so-called sanctuary jurisdictions across America.
The memo, from acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, signals a sharp turnabout in priorities from President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration, with the Justice Department’s civil division told to identify state and local laws and policies that “threaten to impede” the Trump administration’s immigration efforts and potentially challenge them in court.
It also tells prosecutors in no uncertain terms that they will be on the front lines of an administration-wide effort to crack down on illegal immigration and border crime and that they are expected to carry out the policy vision of President Donald Trump’s Republican White House when it comes to violent crimes, the threat of international gangs and drug trafficking.
“Indeed, it is the responsibility of the Justice Department to defend the Constitution, and accordingly, to lawfully execute the policies that the American people elected President Trump to implement,” wrote Bove, who prior to joining the administration was part of the legal team that defended Trump against two criminal cases brought by the Justice Department.
“Sanctuary” has no legal definition, but the term encompasses a range of protection for immigrants, particularly those living in the U.S. illegally. Most often, the laws put legal limits on how law enforcement in those jurisdictions can cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
Courts have repeatedly upheld most sanctuary laws, and legal experts said that while prosecutions are possible, they doubted the charges would have any traction in court.
“What would you charge these people with?" asked Robert J. McWhirter, a constitutional scholar and longtime Arizona-based immigration lawyer. “Nothing obligates local law enforcement to cooperate with federal law enforcement on any issue. Not even bank robbery.”
In Chicago, which has some of the strongest sanctuary protections nationwide, city leaders brushed off word of potential investigations. The nation’s third-largest city has been a sanctuary city for decades, limiting cooperation between police and federal immigration agents.
“If the federal government is going to investigate, that is their prerogative,” said Alderman Andre Vasqez, who is Mayor Brandon Johnson’s handpicked chair of the City Council immigration committee.
Vasquez, the son of two Guatemalan immigrants, noted a 2016 campaign rally at the University of Illinois Chicago that Trump abruptly scrapped as crowds of boisterous protesters grew. The cancellation remains a badge of honor for many young activists in the Democratic stronghold.
“There will always be that kind of relationship between Chicago, President Trump and the Republican Party,” said Vasquez. “I was born and raised in Chicago, in an immigrant family. It will take more than that to make me feel a little scared.”
Bove's memo says federal prosecutors must “take all steps necessary to protect the public and secure the American border by removing illegal aliens from the country and prosecuting illegal aliens for crimes committed in U.S. jurisdiction."
It also directs prosecutors to investigate for potential criminal charges against state and local officials who obstruct or impede federal functions. As potential avenues for prosecution, the memo cites a conspiracy offense as well as a law prohibiting the harboring of people in the country illegally.
“Federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands and requests,” the memo says. “The U.S. Attorney’s Offices and litigating components of the Department of Justice shall investigate incidents involving any such misconduct for potential prosecution.”
But in Colorado, where state law bars local law enforcement from helping federal immigration agents without a court order, the attorney general’s office said it knew of no state or local officials obstructing immigration enforcement.
“The federal government—not local law enforcement—is responsible for enforcing federal immigration laws," the office of Phil Weiser, a Democrat, said in a statement.
The memo includes a series of directives beyond those related to sanctuary jurisdictions. It suggests there will be a spike in immigration cases under the new administration, instructing U.S. attorney’s offices across the country to inform courts of its policy “and develop processes for handling the increased number of prosecutions that will result.” Any decisions by federal prosecutors to decline to prosecute immigration violations must be disclosed to Justice Department headquarters in so-called urgent reports, which are used to update leadership on law enforcement emergencies or significant matters of national interest.
The memo also says the department will return to the principle of charging defendants with the most serious crime it can prove, a staple position of Republican-led departments meant to remove a prosecutor’s discretion to charge a lower-level offense. And it rescinds policies implemented by Biden Attorney General Merrick Garland, including one designed to end sentencing disparities that have imposed harsher penalties for different forms of cocaine.
“The most serious charges are those punishable by death where applicable, and offenses with the most significant mandatory minimum sentences,” Bove wrote.
It is common for Justice Departments to shift enforcement priorities under a new presidential administration in compliance with White House policy ambitions. The memo reflects the constant push-and-pull between Democratic and Republican administrations over how best to commit resources to what officials regard as the most urgent threat of the time.
The edict to charge the most readily provable offense, for instance, is consistent with directives from prior Republican attorneys general including John Ashcroft and Jeff Sessions, while Democratic attorneys general including Eric Holder and Garland have replaced the policy and instead encouraged prosecutorial discretion.
Associated Press writers Sophia Tareen in Chicago and Colleen Slevin in Denver contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
FILE - The logo for the Justice Department is seen before a news conference at the Department of Justice, Aug. 23, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
