Tag Archives: Billal Rahman

Newsweek: Green card holder put in solitary confinement leaves family wanting answers

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AFilipino green card holder who has lived in the United States since childhood was detained and placed in solitary confinement after returning from a family trip to the Philippines, before later being released—a sequence of events that has left his family outraged.

On May 15, Customs and Border Protection officers stopped Maximo Londonio, a 42-year-old Olympia, Washington, resident, at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport while he was returning from a trip to the Philippines with his wife, Crystal Londonio.

The couple had traveled overseas to mark their 20th wedding anniversary, but instead of a routine entry process, Londonio was taken into custody and held in what the family described as harsh conditions.

“A lack of compassion, a lack of care when it comes to, you know, necessities, basic needs, you know, good water, quality water,” Crystal Londonio told KING 5 Seattle at an anti-ICE protest in Seattle on Labor Day.

Newsweek has contacted the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) via email and the family through a GoFundMe page for comment outside office hours.

Why It Matters

President Donald Trump‘s administration has ramped up immigration enforcement operations in a bid to conduct widespread deportations.

Immigrants residing in the country illegally and legally, with valid documentation such as green cards and visas, have been detained under hard-line mass deportation plans. Newsweek has documented dozens of cases involving green card holders and applicants who were swept up in the immigration raids and various arrests, as well as several who have been released from detention.

What To Know

Born in the Philippines, Londonio came to the United States when he was 12 and has lived here since 1997, according to the immigrant advocacy group Tanggol Migrante Network WA. He and his wife have three daughters, all U.S. citizens.

Londonio works as a lead forklift operator and is a dues-paying member of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 695. His supporters cite his long-term residence, steady work and family ties as reasons he should not be deported.

Federal immigration law allows lawful permanent residents to be placed in removal proceedings if they have certain criminal convictions. Londonio’s record includes prior convictions for grand theft and drug possession, according to DHS.

After being detained at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma for two months under conditions his family described as inhumane, Londonio was released from ICE custody. Tanggol Migrante Network WA told Newsweek in July that Londonio had spent “nearly a month in solitary confinement.”

KING 5 Seattle reported that 800 people attended the Labor Day anti-ICE protest.

What People Are Saying

Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek in May: “Maximo Londono has a criminal record, including convictions for grand theft and the use of a controlled substance. Under federal immigration law, lawful permanent residents convicted of these types of crimes can lose their legal status and be removed. If you are an alien, being in the United States is a privilege—not a right. When you break our laws that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country.”

Maximo Londonio’s family wrote on GoFundMe: “Maximo is not a threat—he is a devoted father, loving husband, community member, and worker. He has rebuilt his life with dignity and purpose, and now his family’s future is being torn apart by a broken immigration system that’s targeting long-settled immigrants like him.”

What Happens Next

Londonio’s long-term immigration status remains in question. It is unknown whether his green card has been revoked or if immigration authorities will begin removal proceedings.

Green card holder put in solitary confinement leaves family wanting answers
“A lack of compassion, a lack of care when it comes to, you know, necessities, basic needs,” Crystal Londonio told KING 5 Seattle.

https://www.newsweek.com/green-card-holder-solitary-confinement-immigration-2122990

Newsweek: Florida denies uprising at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

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The operator of immigration detention facility “Alligator Alcatraz” has denied reports of an uprising at the site.

Stephanie Hartman, spokesperson for Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM), which runs the facility for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), told the Guardian: “These reports are manufactured. There is no uprising happening at Alligator Alcatraz. Detainees are given clean, safe living conditions and guards are properly trained on all state and federal protocols.”

Newsweek has contacted the FDEM for comment via email.

Why It Matters

The reports emerged amid ongoing protests outside the facility, where demonstrators have maintained a near-constant presence over concerns about detainee treatment and living conditions. Protesters argue that conditions at the facility are harsh and have called for increased oversight.

What To Know

According to at least three detainees who spoke with Miami’s Spanish-language news channel Noticias 23, guards at Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ immigration facility reportedly used tear gas and physical force during a disturbance.

The outlet also reported that a fire alarm was sounding continuously and that a helicopter was circling overhead. The incident occurred as authorities worked to vacate the remote Everglades facility in compliance with a federal judge’s order to close the camp.

A federal judge in Miami last week ordered the facility to close within 60 days for violating environmental laws. The ruling cited improper waste disposal and construction that had affected protected wetlands near the site. On Wednesday, the same judge refused a motion by attorneys representing the state of Florida and the Trump administration to stay her order, meaning the closure timeline remains in effect.

The state of Florida is committed to $245 million toward the construction of ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ the Everglades immigration detention facility, which is set to close in the coming days.

According to the FDEM, the state has signed contracts totaling at least $245 million for work at the facility, which was developed by repurposing the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee.

The largest contract, valued at $78.5 million, was awarded to Jacksonville-based Critical Response Strategies for staffing, including corrections officers, camp managers, and IT personnel. Longview Solutions Group received $25.6 million for site preparation and construction, while IT company Gothams secured a $21.1 million contract to provide services such as access badges and detainee wristbands, according to FDEM.

What People Are Saying

A DHS official in a statement to Newsweek: “This activist judge’s order is yet another attempt to prevent the President from fulfilling the American people’s mandate to remove the worst of the worst—including gang members, murderers, pedophiles, terrorists, and rapists from our country. Not to mention this ruling ignores the fact that this land has already been developed for a decade.

What Happens Next

Florida officials will continue efforts to empty the camp in line with a federal judge’s order to close the remote Everglades facility.

Lies, lies, lies — I wouldn’t believe a single word from these people. For starters, if everything were above board, they’d welcome inspections from Congress and others.

This disgraceful travesty called Alligator Alcatraz can’t be shut down fast enough!

Florida denies uprising at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
The Florida Division of Emergency Management rejected claims that any uprising had occurred.

https://www.newsweek.com/florida-denies-uprising-alligator-alcatraz-2122577

Newsweek: McDonald’s manager detained by ICE agents before company picnic

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A manager at a McDonald’s outlet in New York was detained by immigration authorities earlier this week, despite reportedly holding a valid U.S. work visa and just before the restaurant’s annual company picnic.

Christian Rodriguez, who has worked at the branch in Oceanside, Long Island, for several years, reportedly possesses a Social Security number, according to Newsday.

A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson told Newsweek: “Christian Emmanuel Rodriguez Torrealba, a criminal illegal alien from Venezuela, entered the U.S. on a B-2 tourist visa that required him to leave the U.S. by June 3, 2016. Nearly 10 years later, he is still illegally in the U.S. Rodriguez’s criminal history includes convictions for battery and property damage crimes. ICE arrested this illegal alien on August 21, 2025.

“President [Donald] Trump and Secretary [of Homeland Security Kristi] Noem have been clear: criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the United States.”

Newsweek has contacted McDonald’s for comment.

Why It Matters

President Donald Trump has directed his administration to remove millions of migrants without legal status to fulfill his campaign pledge of mass deportation. The White House has maintained that anyone living in the country unlawfully is considered to be a criminal by the incumbent administration.

What To Know

A co-worker who requested anonymity told Newsday that Rodriguez taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents after attending a hearing regarding his immigration application, in Bethpage, New York, on August 21, according to the outlet.

He had previously appeared at another hearing on August 7, which colleagues believed went favorably, the outlet reported.

On the day of the second hearing, at around 2 p.m.—the time he was expected at a company picnic—Rodriguez sent a text to a co-worker saying his application had been denied and that ICE had arrested him, per the outlet.

Rodriguez was transported to Central Islip, where ICE appears to be taking detainees to the federal courthouse, according to Newsday.

A resident of the neighboring town of Baldwin, Rodriguez came to the United States in December 2015 on a tourist visa, per the outlet, which reported that Rodriguez’s immigration “notice to appear” stated that he faced possible removal from the United States for staying past the period permitted on his tourist visa.

Concerns have been raised over the economic impacts of the president’s mass removal policy. Immigrants, documented or undocumented, made up 20 percent of U.S. workers at the beginning of the year, but by June that share had fallen to 19 percent, a decrease of more than 750,000 workers, according to the nonpartisan Pew Research Center.

What Happens Next

Rodriguez will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.

McDonald’s manager detained by ICE agents before company picnic
The man was arrested after attending a hearing regarding his immigration application at a U.S. immigration office in Bethpage, New York.

https://www.newsweek.com/manager-arrested-ice-immigration-agents-company-picnic-2120819

Newsweek: Green card holder detained by ICE says food not fit for his dog

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Agreen card holder detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has told Newsweek that conditions at the Houston Detention Center are harsh, saying the food served is so poor that he wouldn’t even give it to his dog.

Deon Lewis, who has lived in the United States since 1993, was taken into ICE custody on June 17. He has criminal convictions for cocaine possession, firearm offenses, multiple drug-related charges and driving without a license, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

He has faced serious medical challenges, including sickle cell disease and two lung surgeries due to pneumothorax. Lewis requested to be deported after struggling to live inside the ICE-run facility.

“The conditions in the Houston Detention Center are terrible. From the health care to the food they feed us. This food my dog wouldn’t even eat,” he told Newsweek from inside ICE custody.

The Department of Homeland Security has denied the allegations.

“There is black mold growing in the showers and bathroom floors. The air quality is horrible,” Lewis said.

“Some guards treat us like animals. Not all of them, but I think they try their best to keep us as uncomfortable as they possibly can,” he said.

“These facilities they are holding these people in are not set up correctly for humans to be held in. The conditions are not humane,” he added.

His wife, Roxanne Lewis, told Newsweek, “I have had many nights not being able to sleep from the worry about his health.”

She said that during transfers between detention centers—from Baltimore to New Jersey, Boston, Louisiana and finally Houston—he was denied proper medical attention. She recounted one incident in Louisiana when a nurse allegedly laughed while he vomited on the floor.

President Donald Trump has directed his administration to remove millions of migrants without legal status as he seeks to fulfill his campaign pledge of widespread mass deportations. In addition to people living in the country without legal status, immigrants with valid documentation, including green cards and visas, have been detained.

Lewis has a criminal record dating back to 2002, when he was arrested for cocaine possession, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to probation, according to the Houston Chronicle. In 2020, he faced additional charges, including possession of marijuana and cocaine and carrying a firearm, the outlet reported.

DHS has defended Lewis’ detention, emphasizing his criminal history and ICE’s commitment to providing medical care and maintaining humane conditions for detainees.

“The fake news refuses to report on Americans raped, murdered, and molested by criminal illegal aliens but maintain their 24-7 news cycle peddling false sob stories for dangerous lawbreakers—like Deon Kevon Lewis,” said Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for DHS.

She continued: “Lewis is a 43-year-old convicted DRUG TRAFFICKER from Trinidad and Tobago, with multiple convictions including for cocaine trafficking, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and driving without a license and carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle.

“ICE provides all detainees access to comprehensive medical, dental and mental health care to include conducting an intake screening within 12 hours of their arrival at each detention facility. DHS takes its commitment to promote safe, secure, humane environments for those in our custody very seriously.”

Despite DHS’s assurances, Lewis said his experience in detention had been painful and disheartening.

“I am still here being detained, praying to be deported back to my birth country. I am paying for a crime I committed 23 years ago. I paid my dues to society, for the wrong I had done & don’t deserve this,” he said.

His wife described the toll the detention has had on the family, saying: “We are all feeling as a family very depressed. Being without Deon has been extremely difficult. He is a loving Father, Husband, Son, & Friend to many. He isn’t the ‘public safety threat’ as they are trying to portray him as. He is always willing to help someone in need.”

Green card holder detained by ICE says food not fit for his dog
“This food my dog wouldn’t even eat,” Deon Lewis told Newsweek from inside ICE custody.

https://www.newsweek.com/green-card-holder-detained-ice-food-2114892

Newsweek: Trump supporter detained by ICE Agents regrets vote: “Were all brainwashed”

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A California man who voted for President Donald Trump has spoken out after being detained by immigration agents.

Brian Gavidia, a 29-year-old American citizen from Montebello, joined a lawsuit challenging immigration enforcement tactics after federal agents detained him on June 12, NBC 4 Los Angeles reported.

“I truly believe I was targeted because of my race,” Gavidia told the outlet, adding elsewhere in the interview, “We were all brainwashed.”

“While conducting a lawful immigration enforcement operation in Montebello, CA, Brian Gavidia was arrested for assaulting a law enforcement officer and interfering with agents during their duties,” Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek.

“Javier Ramirez was detained on the street for investigation for interference and released after being confirmed to be a U.S. citizen with no outstanding warrants,” she added.

Why It Matters

Millions of Americans voted for Trump in support of his promise to carry out widespread deportations of migrants living in the U.S. illegally, particularly those with criminal records. As immigration enforcement efforts ramp up across the country, concerns are mounting that the Trump administration is not, as it pledged, targeting the “worst first.”

Newsweek has documented several cases of Trump supporters being affected by the immigration raids.

What To Know

Gavidia voted for Trump, believing that his administration’s immigration agenda would target criminals, not everyday citizens, NBC 4 Los Angeles reported.

He told the outlet that during an immigration enforcement operation in the San Gabriel Valley, a federal agent pushed him against a wall and demanded proof of citizenship, asking him the name of the hospital where he was born.

Footage circulating on social media shows Gavidia shouting, “I was born here in the states, East LA bro!”

The video shows agents, who are wearing vests with “Border Patrol Federal Agent” on them, holding Gavidia’s hands behind his back.

Agents allegedly confiscated his Real ID and phone. Gavidia was later released and recovered his phone, but he said he never received his ID.

Convinced he was targeted because of his Latino heritage, Gavidia now rejects his prior support for the president.

“I believe it was a mistake because he ran on lies,” Gavidia said. “He said criminals.”

“If this was going to happen, do you think we would have voted? We’re humans. We’re not going to destroy our community. We’re not going to destroy our people,” he continued.

“We were all manipulated. We were all brainwashed,” Gavidia told NBC 4 Los Angeles. “And now look at us. We are all suffering because of it, and I feel guilty 100 percent.”

Gavidia is among seven plaintiffs in an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit that resulted in a court order limiting when federal agents can initiate immigration enforcement.

The filing requested that the court prohibit raids conducted without reasonable suspicion or probable cause. It also said agents concentrated operations in places where Latino workers were often found, such as local car washes and outside Home Depot locations.

California has been a key battleground state for immigration enforcement operations after Trump ordered federal agents to ramp up arrests in Democratic cities.

On August 1, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a temporary restraining order, originally issued by a federal judge, that placed limits on how the federal government could carry out immigration enforcement operations in Southern California.

An attorney for the Trump administration argued before a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, seeking a stay of the temporary restraining order while the case was appealed. The panel denied the request.

The decision upholds a July 11 ruling granting a restraining order sought by immigrant rights advocates to limit federal immigration enforcement in Los Angeles and other areas of Southern California. Under Judge Maame E. Frimpong’s directive, officers and agents may not detain individuals unless they have reasonable suspicion that the person is in the United States in violation of immigration law.

What People Are Saying

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek: “Any allegations that individuals have been ‘targeted’ by law enforcement because of their skin color are FALSE. What makes someone a target is if they are in the United States illegally. These types of disgusting smears are designed to demonize and villainize our brave ICE law enforcement. This kind of garbage has led to a more than 1,000 percent increase in the assaults on ICE officers. Politicians and activists must turn the temperature down and tone down their rhetoric.

“DHS enforcement operations are highly targeted, and officers do their due diligence. We know who we are targeting ahead of time. If and when we do encounter individuals subject to arrest, our law enforcement is trained to ask a series of well-determined questions to determine status and removability.

“We will follow the President’s direction and continue to work to get the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens off of America’s streets.”

Brian Gavidia told NBC 4 Los Angeles: “I believe I was racially profiled. I believe I was attacked because I was walking while brown. Where is the freedom? Where is the justice? We live in America. This is why I’m fighting today. This is why I’m protecting the Constitution.”

What Happens Next

Despite the legal restrictions, immigration raids continue. The Trump administration has appealed the Ninth Circuit’s decision that upheld the temporary restraining order. The case is now before the U.S. Supreme Court, which will decide whether to lift or uphold the restrictions limiting broad-based immigration enforcement in Los Angeles.

Trump supporter detained by ICE Agents regrets vote: “Were all brainwashed”
“I truly believe I was targeted because of my race,” Brian Gavidia of Montebello, California, told NBC 4 Los Angeles.

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-supporter-detained-ice-agents-immigration-2112676

Newsweek: Green card applicant arrested by ICE while driving to grocery store

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A Los Angeles doctor has told how she watched on FaceTime as her husband, a Tunisian musician with a pending green card application, was arrested by federal immigration agents on what she called “probably the worst day of my life.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents pulled over Rami Othmane while he was driving to a grocery store in Pasadena on July 13, the Associated Press (AP) reported, before he pulled out paperwork he was carrying.

His wife, Dr. Wafaa Alrashid, who is a U.S. citizen and chief medical officer at Huntington Hospital, told the AP she watched events unfold over the video call, “They didn’t care, they said, ‘Please step out of the car,” she recalled.

Confirming the arrest, Department of Homeland Secuity’s (DHS) assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek via email on Monday that Othmane’s “B-2 tourist visa expired more than nine years ago. He will remain in custody at ICE’s Eloy Detention Center pending his removal proceedings.”

Alrashid said her husband has since been subjected to “inhumane treatment.” The DHS told California news station KABC in a statement that detainees recieve “proper meals, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with lawyers and their family members.”

Newsweek contacted the family via GoFundMe for comment on Monday.

Why It Matters

The administration is pushing forward with plans to carry out widespread deportations as part of President Donald Trump‘s immigration crackdown.

In addition to people living in the country without legal status, immigrants with valid documentation, including green cards and visas, have been detained. Newsweek has documented dozens of cases involving green card holders and applicants who were swept up in the ICE raids.

What To Know

Alrashid told the AP her husband has lived in the U.S. since 2015, and though he overstayed his initial visa, a deportation order against him was dismissed in 2020. They married in March 2025 and Othmane promptly filed for his green card, Alrashid said.

On learning her husband had been stopped, Alrashid got into her car and tracked his location on her phone, the AP reported. She reached the scene just in time to catch a glimpse of the outline of his head through the back window of a vehicle as it drove away, the agency said.

“Agents blocked his car, did not show a warrant and did not identify themselves,” Othmane’s family said in a GoFundMe set up to raise financial support.

The family said Othmane suffers from chronic pain and has an untreated tumor.

Othmane remains in federal custody at an immigration detention facility in Arizona.

“When they took him, he was wearing shorts and a t-shirt and flip-flops,” Alrashid told a rally of fellow musicians, immigration advocates and activists outside the facility more than a week after his arrest.

“So he was freezing. Also, there are no beds, no pillows, no blankets, no soap, No toothbrushes and toothpaste. And when you’re in a room with people, bathrooms open, there’s no door. So it’s very dehumanizing, it’s undignifying, the food is not great either.”

What People Are Saying

Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek in an emailed statement on Monday: “Rami Jilani Othmane, an illegal alien from Tunisia, was arrested by CBP on July 13. His B-2 tourist visa expired more than nine years ago. He will remain in custody at ICE’s Eloy Detention Center pending his removal proceedings.

“President Trump and Secretary Noem are committed to restoring integrity to the visa program and ensuring it is not abused to allow aliens a permanent one-way ticket to remain in the U.S.

“The fact of the matter is those who are in our country illegally have a choice—they can leave the country voluntarily or be arrested and deported. The United States taxpayer is generously offering free flights and a $1,000 to illegal aliens who self-deport using the CBP Home app. If they leave now, they preserve the potential opportunity to come back the legal, right way. The choice is theirs.”

Dr. Wafaa Alrashid wrote in a post on GoFundMe: “This is not just an immigration issue—this is a human rights crisis happening in downtown Los Angeles. My husband has been subjected to 12 days of inhumane treatment in a federal building. He is not a criminal. He is a kind, peaceful man with an open immigration petition. He should be with his family, not sleeping on a concrete floor without medical care.”

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement to KABC: “Any allegations that detainees are not receiving medical care or conditions are “inhumane” are FALSE. All detainees are provided with proper meals, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with lawyers and their family members.”

What Happens Next

Othmane will remain in ICE custody, pending further removal proceedings.

Green card applicant arrested by ICE while driving to grocery store
Rami Othmane’s wife, a California doctor, told how she watched it happen over FaceTime.

https://www.newsweek.com/green-card-applicant-arrested-ice-grocery-store-california-2108413

Newsweek: Kids of Afghan translator taken at green-card check living in fear—brother

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The children of an Afghan man who served with U.S. troops and entered the U.S legally are terrified to play outside after their father was detained at a green-card appointment, the man’s brother said.

Zia S., a 35-year-old father of five and former interpreter for the U.S. military, was apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents outside a United States Citizenship and Immigration Services office in East Hartford, Connecticut, on July 16, his lawyer told reporters on a press call.

The brothers requested that their names be withheld over safety concerns.

“His kids don’t even go out to play because they’re scared. And I didn’t even go out to work because I’m watching his kids,” Zia’s brother, who also served as interpreter, told Newsweek in an exclusive interview on July 30.

Why It Matters

Following the end of the U.S. military’s 20-year presence in Afghanistan in 2021, many Afghans who had assisted American forces were allowed entry into the United States through refugee programs, Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) or Temporary Protected Status (TPS). However, policy changes under the Trump administration resulted in the termination of TPS for some people, raising concerns about potential deportations.

The U.S. ended TPS for Afghans effective July 14, 2025, according to a Department of Homeland Security notice published in May. President Donald Trump has vowed to remove millions of migrants without legal status. The White House said in January that anyone living in the country unlawfully is considered to be a “criminal.”

What To Know

Zia arrived in the U.S. on humanitarian parole in October 2024 and had been living in Connecticut, his lawyer told reporters during a press call.

He assisted U.S. troops in Afghanistan for about five years and fled the country with his family in 2021. Although they had received Special Immigrant Visa approvals and were pursuing permanent residency, Zia was placed in expedited removal proceedings.

A federal judge has issued a temporary stay on his deportation. After his initial detention in Connecticut, Zia was transferred to an immigration detention center in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

A senior Department of Homeland Security official told Newsweek on July 23 that the Zia “is currently under investigation for a serious criminal allegation.” Newsweek has requested more details from DHS surrounding the alleged wrongdoing.

Zia’s brother denied that he was involved in any criminality and said the allegations are “baseless.”

Both brothers served the U.S. military as interpreters. Zia’s brother came to the U.S. more than a decade ago through the same SIV program and eventually obtained U.S. citizenship, he said.

The detention has taken a toll on his wife, Zia’s brother said.

“His wife is suffering anxiety since he’s been detained,” he said. “And nobody sleeps. The family is awake all night.”

In a message to Trump, Zia’s brother said the family followed all legal procedures and expected the U.S. to honor commitments to its Afghan allies.

“We were promised wartime allies,” he said. “For our job, like when we have served with the U.S. and we helped the U.S. Army and our home country, and we were promised that you all would be going to the U.S. on legal pathways.

“They should stand on their promise. They should not betray us. They should not betray those who put their lives at risk and their families’ lives at risk for them.”

What People Are Saying

Senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, previously told Newsweek: “The Trump administration’s decision to turn its back on our Afghan allies who risked their lives and the lives of their families to support American troops in Afghanistan is unconscionable.”

A senior DHS Official told Newsweek: Zia is “a national of Afghanistan, entered the U.S. on October 8, 2024, and paroled by the Biden administration into our country.”

Zia’s attorney, Lauren Cundick Petersen, told reporters on a press call on July 22: “Following the rules are supposed to protect you. It’s not supposed to land you in detention. If he is deported, as so many of the people have articulated today, he faces death.”

What Happens Next

Zia is being held in a Massachusetts detention center and will remain in ICE custody, pending further investigation by DHS.

Kids of Afghan translator taken at green-card check living in fear—brother
“His kids don’t even go out to play because they’re scared,” the man’s brother told Newsweek.

https://www.newsweek.com/afghan-translator-ice-immigration-green-card-2107104

Newsweek: Trump admin identifies gang immigration “loophole”

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A new report from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has raised concerns over the Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) program, citing instances of identity fraud and gang affiliations among applicants approved for lawful permanent residency.

“The scale of criminality, gang involvement, and fraud described in this report is more extensive than in earlier public discussions of the Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) program,” Morgan Bailey, a partner at Mayer Brown and a former senior official at the Department of Homeland Security, told Newsweek.

… which is followed by a lot of continuing fearmongering not worth quoting.

How hard is it to base each individual’s decision on his or her personal criminal history?

If they have no criminal history, let them be permanent residents.

If they commit crimes, deport them.

After 5 years of permanent residence, they can apply for citizenship, at which point their criminal history will be considered.

If they don’t apply for citizenship, they’ll have to apply to renew their permanent residence after another 5 years, at which point their criminal history will still be reviewed.

Focus on the INDIVIDUALS, not on superficial associations and characteristics.

Trump admin identifies gang immigration “loophole”
Criminal groups have exploited a program giving children legal status, USCIS said.

https://www.newsweek.com/special-immigrant-juvenile-visa-gang-exploitation-uscis-report-2104231

Newsweek: Trump admin shares meme of ICE alligators outside Florida prison

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The Trump regime’s Carnival of Cruelty continues!

The Department of Homeland Security has shared an apparently AI-generated meme depicting alligators as ICE agents outside of a Florida detention center.

“Alligator Alcatraz” is a new migrant detention center being developed on a remote airstrip in the Everglades. The facility aims to house up to 5,000 detainees and uses the area’s natural isolation and wildlife as part of its security measures.

“Coming soon!” DHS said in a post on X.

…

The remote facility is expected to cost Florida approximately $450 million annually to operate. The proposal comes as President Donald Trump‘s administration looks to conduct what it describes as the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history.

Critics say that the center’s remote location and rapid deployment raise ethical and legal questions about the treatment of migrants, transparency, and due process. Supporters say the project is a cost-efficient step to handle increased immigration enforcement.

The image shared by DHS shows alligators wearing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) baseball caps outside the fences of the detention center.

The meme and plans have sparked outrage from critics over inhumane conditions and concerns from environmental groups.

“A horrendous lack of humanity,” Georgetown lecturer Brett Bruen, who served as director of global engagement during the Obama administration, said in a post on X.

Former CIA officer Christopher Burgess described the post as “Disgusting.”

Trump admin shares meme of ICE alligators outside Florida prison
The image depicted the security of “Alligator Alcatraz,” which has become a flashpoint in the immigration debate.

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-admin-meme-ice-alligator-alcatraz-florida-2092148

Newsweek: Workers flee taco truck in California amid ICE raids

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A popular taco truck in Southern California was temporarily abandoned after employees fled the business over fears federal immigration agents were close by, according to NBC4 Los Angeles.

…

An employee told NBC 4 Los Angeles that the workers ran off on Saturday after noticing what they described as a suspicious vehicle and receiving a tip about federal immigration agents within the area.

“We only saw the car and that’s all. Before we could see them, we left,” Miguel Romero, a chef at the business, told the outlet.

The business was left deserted, with warm plates of food, untouched drinks, and cash still sitting in the register. The name of the business is not known.

Four employees were in the truck at the time of the incident before they all ran away.

Just hours earlier, the truck had been busy with customers until reports emerged of ICE agents conducting enforcement operations in the area.

The business closed for the day following the incident, per NBC4 Los Angeles. None of the employees were detained by ICE agents.

“It’s getting complicated because we can’t work properly,” Romero told the outlet.

Workers flee taco truck in California amid ICE raids
Four employees were in the truck at the time of the incident before they all ran away.

https://www.newsweek.com/workers-flee-taco-truck-california-ice-immigration-2092156