Tag Archives: deportation

Daily Caller: ‘Another Win For The American People’: Appeals Court Hands Trump Admin Deportation Victory

Posted on by
Reply

An appellate court ruled the Trump administration can move forward with ending temporary deportation protections for thousands of Afghan and Cameroonian nationals.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is allowed to end the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for roughly 10,000 Afghans and Cameroonians while a court challenge against the move continues to play out in court, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday. The court determined that while CASA — an immigration advocacy group suing DHS — has a plausible case, there is not enough evidence to block the TPS phaseout while the court challenge continues.

“We agree with the district court that CASA, Inc. has stated a plausible claim for relief with regard to the alleged ‘preordained’ decision to terminate temporary protected status (TPS) for Afghanistan and Cameroon, and that the balance of the equities and the public interest weigh in favor of CASA, Inc,” the court stated, according to court documents.

“At this procedural posture, however, there is insufficient evidence to warrant the extraordinary remedy of a postponement of agency action pending appeal,” the ruling continued.

The Monday court ruling marks the latest victory in the Trump administration’s ongoing effort to keep TPS designations temporary.

A federal authority first established in the Immigration Act of 1990, TPS bestows sweeping deportation protections and work eligibility to certain foreign nationals living in the U.S., including illegal migrants, whose home countries are experiencing any number of conflicts or devastating natural disasters, making it potentially unsafe for them to go back, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

The authority does not grant permanent legal status, according to USCIS. Those who lose TPS become amenable to removal unless they obtain another form of immigration status.

Despite its purpose as a temporary form of deportation protection, the authority has served as a more permanent measure in practice.

Honduras and Nicaragua, for example, were initially designated for TPS roughly 25 years ago based on an environmental disaster that resulted in “substantial, but temporary” disruption of living conditions, according to a DHS memo issued earlier in July. Since that time, however, both Central American countries have seen their TPS designations “continuously extended” over the years, with Nicaragua’s designation being extended a total of 13 consecutive times.

The Trump administration is moving to finally end TPS for Nicaragua and Honduras, arguing that conditions in both countries no longer support the deportation protection designation. Earlier this year, the administration also announced it would nix the Biden White House’s TPS extension for Haiti, a designation the country has enjoyed since 2010, and revoke an 18-month TPS extension granted to roughly 600,000 Venezuelan nationals by Biden officials.

“This is another win for the American people and the safety of our communities,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated Tuesday to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “TPS was never intended to be a de facto asylum program, yet it has been abused as one for decades.”

No, you ignorant bitch, this isn’t a “win” for anyone except our deranged King Donald and his entourage of blind sycophants.

This is a stain on America. We provided shelter for 10,000 Afghans and Cameroonians who were at risk in their home countries; you and your cronies are pulling the rug out from under them. If you actually succeed in deporting them, many, perhaps thousands, will end up injured and murdered.

“DHS records indicate that there are Afghan nationals who are TPS recipients who have been the subject of administrative investigations for fraud, public safety, and national security,” McLaughlin continued. “This decision restores integrity in our immigration system and ensures that Temporary Protective Status is actually temporary.”

In May, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem declared TPS for Afghan nationals would end within 60 days, according to a release. The number of Afghans on TPS is relatively small compared to the number of Afghans who arrived to the U.S. en masse amid President Joe Biden’s chaotic withdrawal from the country and obtained other forms of immigration benefits.

Roughly 9,600 Afghans and nearly 3,500 Cameroonians currently have TPS, according to The National Immigration Forum. The deportation protections for Afghan nationals were slated to end earlier in July and protections for Cameroonian nationals are set to expire on Aug. 4.

What’s needed now is a direct appeal to the Supreme Court, if they will hear the case, or a conflicting opinion in another circuit, which normally would force the issue to the Supreme Court.

‘Another Win For The American People’: Appeals Court Hands Trump Admin Deportation Victory
An appellate court is allowing the Trump admin to move forward with ending temporary deportation protections for thousands of Afghan and Cameroonian nationals.

https://dailycaller.com/2025/07/22/court-ruling-hands-trump-admin-tps-win

Mirror: CNN halts show for ‘breaking news’ as poll delivers harsh blow to Donald Trump

Posted on by
Reply

CNN’s regular broadcast was interrupted for a breaking news segment, revealing that a significant number of Americans were against Donald Trump’s latest immigration move.

Trump, who was brutally blasted over his new $250 visa fee for travelers, has often boasted about his poll numbers on immigration but the reality is very different.

I’ve separated the poll results into bullet points for readability:

  • As a poll appeared on screen, the news anchor shared, “Just 42% of Americans now approve of how he’s handled immigration,
  • with only 40% approving of his policies on deportation specifically.
  • When it comes to deportations, 55% think Trump has gone too far and that’s up sharply by 10 points since February.”
  • Another poll dissecting the different aspects of deportation showed that 53% of people were against Trump’s plan to increase the ICE Budget by billions.
  • 59% also opposed his move to end the effort to end birthright citizenship.
  • Another 57% Americans opposed the President’s hopes to build new detention centers.
  • A staggering 59% of people were against Trump’s plan to detain undocumented immigrants with no criminal record.
  • When asked if they believed “Trump’s immigration policies are making the US safer,” 53% of Americans said no.

CNN halts show for ‘breaking news’ as poll delivers harsh blow to Trump
President Donald Trump has come under fire from a new poll by CNN, which says 55% of Americans believe that he has gone ‘too far’ with his latest immigration plans

https://www.themirror.com/entertainment/donald-trump-immigration-cnn-poll-1280319

Charlotte Observer: Stephen Miller’s Migrant Claim Sparks Outrage

Posted on by
Reply

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has claimed that removing undocumented immigrants would enhance public services in cities like Los Angeles. However, critics have noted that over 70% of the more than 57,000 individuals detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have no criminal convictions. They added that a fear of deportation and restrictive policies have driven an avoidance of healthcare.

Miller said, “What would Los Angeles look like without illegal aliens? Here’s what it would look like: You would be able to see a doctor in the emergency room right away, no wait time, no problems. Your kids would go to a public school that had more money than they know what to do with. Classrooms would be half the size. Students who have special needs would get all the attention that they needed. … There would be no fentanyl, there would be no drug deaths.”

Bullshit!!!

Federal Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong ruled, “During their ‘roving patrols’ in Los Angeles, ICE agents detained individuals principally because of their race, that they were overheard speaking Spanish or accented English, that they were doing work associated with undocumented immigrants, or were in locations frequented by undocumented immigrants seeking day work.”

Meanwhile, back on Planet Earth:

Cato Institute data shows 65% of over 204,000 ICE detainees in fiscal year 2025 had no criminal record. While some committed serious crimes, most do not fit the violent image portrayed by the Trump administration.

A 2014 UCLA study found only 10% of undocumented adults use emergency rooms annually, compared to 20% of U.S.-born adults. Trump-era changes to the “public charge” rule have further reduced healthcare use.

Brennan Center for Justice senior director Lauren-Brooke Eisen stated, “Trump has justified this immigration agenda in part by making false claims that migrants are driving violent crime in the United States, and that’s just simply not true. There’s no research and evidence that supports his claims.”

Critics have argued that claims linking undocumented immigrants to the fentanyl crisis are misleading. Nearly 90% of fentanyl-related convictions involve U.S. citizens.

Stephen Miller’s Migrant Claim Sparks Outrage

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/stephen-miller-s-migrant-claim-sparks-outrage/ss-AA1J0dy7

USA Today: Lawyer details ‘horrendous conditions’ faced by 11th grader detained by ICE

Posted on by
Reply

“This kid has been sleeping on a cement floor for five days, no access to a shower; he’s brushed his teeth twice,” said Marcelo Gomes da Silva’s immigration attorney.

Sleeping on a cement floor in a windowless room. Only brushing your teeth twice in five days and never getting to shower. Being mocked by a guard.

These are among the “horrendous conditions” that Massachusetts high school junior Marcelo Gomes da Silva endured while being held by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, according to his lawyer Robin Nice.

Gomes Da Silva, 18, was arrested by ICE agents on May 31 when he was stopped on his way to volleyball practice with friends in his hometown of Milford. Federal officials said they targeted da Silva’s father, Joao Paulo Gomes-Pereira, who they say is an undocumented immigrant from Brazil, but they detained Gomes da Silva − who came to the United States at the age of 7 with his parents − when they realized he had overstayed his visa.

According to Nice, Gomes Da Silva was subsequently detained for five nights in cells that are intended to hold detainees for hours before being transferred. The cells lack access to basic amenities like beds and showers.

“The Burlington (Massachusetts) facility is not a detention center, it’s a holding cell,” Nice told USA TODAY after a June 5 hearing in Gomes da Silva’s case, which has drawn nationwide attention and fervent local opposition to his detention and possible deportation.

“It’s deplorable,” she added.

Nice first raised the issue in a federal immigration court hearing on whether he would be granted bail.

“He’s being held in just awful conditions no one should be subjected to: sleeping on a cement floor for just a few hours per night,” Nice began, before she was cut off by Immigration Judge Jenny Beverly, who noted the hearing was not the proper venue to raise the issue.

Shackles, teasing, and solitary confinement

Nice provided more details on her client’s confinement in a press conference after the hearing, in which the judge set a $2,000 bond for Gomes da Silva’s release, and in a subsequent interview with USA TODAY.

“This kid has been sleeping on a cement floor for five days, no access to a shower, he’s brushed his teeth twice. He’s sharing a room with men twice his age,” Nice said at the press conference outside the Chelmsford, Massachusetts federal immigration court.

At one point, Gomes da Silva was taken to a hospital emergency room because he was suffering severe headaches and vision loss stemming from a high school volleyball injury days earlier. When he was transferred to and from the hospital, he was handcuffed and kept in leg shackles and then moved to a different room, Nice said.

“He got back to the holding facility at 4 am and then was put in what I would refer to as solitary confinement: it was a room without anyone else, and all of these rooms that people are held in, there is no window,” Nice said. “There is no yard time, because it’s not set up for that.”

“If you are detained in the Burlington ICE facility, you do not see the light of day,” she said. “You don’t know what time it is.”

The isolation that da Silva subsequently endured made him so “desperately lonely” that he took to banging on the walls of his cell to get someone to come talk to him, Nice told USA TODAY. The guards, who he said mostly ignored him, nicknamed him “the knocker” in response.

When Gomes da Silva was held in the room with a larger group, one of the guards played a cruel practical joke on the detainees, Nice said:

“He said when ICE opens the door it means either someone’s coming in or someone’s getting released, so everyone perks up when they open the door. So he sees in a little slit in the door window, one ICE officer motion to another and says ‘watch this,’ and so one ICE officer opens the door to the cell and just stands their for a minute and then says, ‘psych!’ And closes the door. And everyone had just perked up,” Nice recounted.

The isolation in the ICE holding facility extended beyond its walls, Nice said. There was no way for her to call her client there, and he could only make one call for two minutes per day − and not even every day.

Nice wasn’t able to get in to see Gomes da Silva until the fifth day of his confinement. He was so shut off from the outside world that he didn’t know his varsity volleyball team had lost in the semi-finals of the state tournament, even though the match drew media coverage.

ICE did not respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment on Nice’s allegations.

In a statement on June 2, Patricia Hyde, acting field director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations’ in Boston defended Gomes da Silva’s detention and said the agency intends to pursue deportation proceedings.

“When we go into the community and find others who are unlawfully here, we’re going to arrest them,” Hyde said. “He’s 18 years old and he’s illegally in this country. We had to go to Milford looking for someone else and if we come across someone else who is here illegally, we’re going to arrest them.”

‘Nobody deserves to be down there’

Later on June 5, Gomes da Silva himself addressed reporters after posting the $2,000 bond and being released.

“Nobody deserves to be down there,” da Silva told reporters. “You sleep on concrete floors. The bathroom — I have to use the bathroom in the open with like 35-year-old men. It’s humiliating.”

Gomes da Silva also said they were given only crackers for lunch and dinner. Nice told USA TODAY he was also fed what he described as an undefined “mush” that was “like oatmeal, but not oatmeal.”

A twice-weekly churchgoer, Gomes da Silva asked the guards for a bible but was not provided with one.

Beside him were U.S. Reps. Seth Moulton and Jake Auchincloss, both Democrats from Massachusetts, who said they returned from Washington, D.C., on Thursday to speak with da Silva and to inspect the detention center.

Consequences of an immigration crackdown

The Trump administration has sought to ramp up deportations of undocumented immigrants, including those like da Silva who were brought here as children and have no criminal record. ICE reported holding 46,269 people in custody in mid-March, well above the agency’s detention capacity of 41,500 beds.

USA TODAY has previously reported on allegations of conditions in ICE detention similar to what Gomes da Silva and Nice described.

In March, four women held at the Krome North Processing Center in Miami said they were chained for hours on a prison bus without access to food, water or a toilet. They also alleged they were told by guards to urinate on the floor, slept on a concrete floor, and only got one three-minute shower over the course of three or four days in custody.

The allegations come after two men at Krome died in custody on Jan. 23 and Feb. 20.

Lawyer details ‘horrendous conditions’ faced by 11th grader detained by ICE
“This kid has been sleeping on a cement floor for five days, no access to a shower; he’s brushed his teeth twice,” said the teenager’s attorney.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/06/05/marcelo-gomes-da-silva-ice-conditions/84057203007

WCCO Radio Minneapolis: Civil rights advocates are condemning ICE courtroom arrests in Minneapolis

Posted on by
Reply

Members of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, gathered in protest outside Minneapolis’s Whipple Federal Building, claiming ICE agents have detained at least four people after they showed up for their scheduled immigration court hearings.

Leaders like Ward 9 Minneapolis Councilmember Jason Chavez are demanding an end to these practices.

“We’re going to be strengthening our separation ordinance,” says Chavez, “we’ll do that by working with community members that are leading the work on the ground because the folks on the grounds are the ones that are protecting our community.”

Member of The Interfaith Coalition on Migration John Benda describes what volunteers with his organization have seen.

“Our volunteers who do court watch here, are telling us the stories of agents waiting outside the court hearing rooms, and people think they’re free to go outside and they are apprehended.”

Advocates argue these arrests are a part of an aggressive, nationwide deportation agenda under the current administration.

You do what they tell you to do, and then they arrest you and deport you anyway.

Civil rights advocates are condemning ICE courtroom arrests in Minneapolis
Immigrant rights advocates are speaking out against alleged actions by plain-clothes ICE officers who reportedly detained at least four individuals outside immigration court hearings at the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/civil-rights-advocates-are-condemning-ice-courtroom-arrests-in-minneapolis/ar-AA1IAVRI

Independent: ICE secretly deported Pennsylvania grandfather, 82, after he lost his Green Card

Posted on by
Reply

‘I can see all my family is in pain right now,’ Luis Leon granddaughter said

The family of an 82-year-old Chilean national feared he was dead for weeks before discovering that he had been detained by ICE after he misplaced his green card, according to a report.

Relatives last saw Luis Leon, who lives in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on June 20, when he and his wife visited the Philadelphia immigration office to replace his lost green card, The Morning Call first reported.

There, officers handcuffed him and took him away without explanation, relatives told the outlet. His family was left scrambling, contacting immigration offices, hospitals and even a morgue for more information on Leon’s whereabouts.

Then, on July 9, Leon’s wife received a call that seemed to confirm the family’s worst fears; the caller claimed the 82-year-old had died.

Thankfully, this week, his family members learned that Leon had been moved from a detention facility in Minnesota to Guatemala. He’s now in a hospital in Guatemala City, the outlet reported. The Independent has reached out to ICE for more information.

It’s not immediately clear why he was sent to Guatemala. But last month, the Supreme Court left the door open for the Trump administration to deport immigrants to countries they have never called home.

“I can see all my family is in pain right now,” his granddaughter Nataly told The Morning Call. She’s planning to fly to Guatemala to see her grandfather, who suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure and other conditions.

She told the outlet she hopes to amplify Leon’s experience to show how he was treated by the immigration system.

If the multi-location ordeal wasn’t enough, the unknown caller contacted the family another time. Days after immigration authorities arrested Leon, a woman claiming to be an immigration attorney called Leon’s wife and claimed she could help get Leon out on bail. However, she didn’t mention how she learned about the case or where he was at the time.

Leon was granted political asylum in 1987 after surviving Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet’s regime, the outlet reported. He has a clean record — and hasn’t even been given so much as a parking ticket, the family claimed.

He’s not alone, figures from the data distribution organization Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse show. As of this week, there are more than 56,800 people in ICE detention; 72 percent of them have no criminal convictions.

The Independent is the world’s most free-thinking news brand, providing global news, commentary and analysis for the independently-minded. We have grown a huge, global readership of independently minded individuals, who value our trusted voice and commitment to positive change. Our mission, making change happen, has never been as important as it is today.

ICE secretly deported Pennsylvania grandfather, 82, after he lost his Green Card
‘I can see all my family is in pain right now,’ Luis Leon granddaughter said

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/ice-deported-grandpa-green-card-b2792290.html

Fox News: Democrats fume over new plan to house illegal migrants in New Jersey, Indiana military bases

Posted on by
Reply

Democrats said that move is ‘inhumane’ and would ‘jeopardizes military preparedness’

Military bases in both New Jersey and Indiana will soon be used by Homeland Security to house illegal immigrants, drawing a furious response from Democratic lawmakers.

Parts of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey and Camp Atterbury in Indiana will be repurposed and used as “temporary soft-sided holding facilities,” the Defense Department told Fox News Digital, citing a decision by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

New Jersey Democrats blasted the decision, warning it would harm military readiness and urging Republicans to join them in helping reverse it. Both bases were previously used to house thousands of Afghan refugees following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

“This is an inappropriate use of our national defense system and militarizes a radical immigration policy that has resulted in the inhumane treatment of undocumented immigrants and unlawful deportation of U.S. citizens, including children, across the country,” the group of Democrats said in a joint statement.

“Using our country’s military to detain and hold undocumented immigrants jeopardizes military preparedness and paves the way for ICE immigration raids in every New Jersey community. We have the greatest military in the world and using it as a domestic political tool is unacceptable and shameful.”

The statement was made by Reps. Herb Conaway, LaMonica McIver, Donald Norcross, Rob Menendez, Frank Pallone, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Josh Gottheimer and Nellie Pou as well as Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim. 

It is unclear when either site will open and a decision will depend on operational requirements and coordination with Homeland Security, the Defense Department said. 

Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst is a joint military base operated by U.S. Air Force, Army and Navy — the only tri-service base in the country. Spanning 42,00 acres, it’s home to 45,000 military and civilian personnel, making it one of the largest and most strategically important on the East Coast.

Camp Atterbury is an Army and Air National Guard base near Edinburgh that spans 34,000 acres and has been used for training brigades and hosting large-scale operations. 

Under the Trump administration, Homeland Security has been using detention facilities to house migrants while they await asylum hearings or deportation. 

The lawmakers said that Hegseth wrote to Conoway informing him of the decision. Hegseth wrote in the letter that the move would not negatively affect military training, operations, readiness, or any other military requirements, per NJ Spotlight News. 

New Jersey is already home to Delaney Hall and the Elizabeth Detention Center which are being used as immigration detention facilities, although they are privately operated. Delaney Hall was the scene where Democrat Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested and charged with trespassing in a clash with federal immigration officials in May. Rep. LaMonica McIver, D‑N.J., was later federally charged for allegedly interfering with federal officers during the same incident.

The news comes two weeks after President Donald Trump signed the Big Beautiful Bill into law, which allocated between $150 billion and $170 billion towards immigration enforcement over the next several years, $45 billion of which was carved out to expand immigration detention facilities. The funds are part of the Trump administration’s efforts to carry out the largest deportation operation in the nation’s history. 

Earlier this month, the Trump administration opened an immigration detention camp in Florida’s Everglades that is surrounded by alligators dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”

Democrats fume over new plan to house illegal migrants in New Jersey, Indiana military bases
Military bases in both New Jersey and Indiana will soon be used by Homeland Security to house illegal immigrants, furious Democrat lawmakers who oppose the move have announced.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/democrats-fume-over-new-plan-house-illegal-migrants-new-jersey-indiana-military-bases

Latin Times: U.S. Food System in Peril as Deportation Policies Spark Exodus of Undocumented Workers From Industry: Report

Posted on by
Reply

Immigrants make up about 20% of the entire food sector workforce—some 14 million people—including 27% of agricultural workers and 33% of meatpackers

A growing labor shortage triggered by increased immigration enforcement is threatening the stability of the U.S. food system, according to a report by The Guardian. As undocumented workers leave jobs or avoid public life out of fear of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, disruptions are mounting from farms to restaurants nationwide.

In Texas, farmers contacted by the news outlet report that longtime laborers are staying home, fearing arrest and deportation, while in Los Angeles, restaurants and food trucks are shutting down as kitchen and service staff disappear.

“They are scared, there are fewer opportunities, and they are no longer prospering here,” said Elizabeth Rodriguez, director of farm worker advocacy at the National Farm Worker Ministry to The Guardian. “Their fear will soon be seen in the harvest, when the quantities of produce are depleted.”

Immigrants make up about 20% of the entire food sector workforce—some 14 million people—including 27% of agricultural workers and 33% of meatpackers. In restaurants, nearly half of all chefs and nearly a third of cooks are foreign-born, most commonly from Mexico, China, Guatemala, and El Salvador.

“These workers are the backbone of the food chain,” said Mark Lauritsen, a vice president at the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. “Without a stable, skilled workforce, safety and quality can decline, shelves can sit empty and grocery prices could rise even more.”

These jobs are often low-paid and physically demanding. Farmworkers are frequently paid per box of produce, working long hours in extreme heat with limited protections. Nearly half of the most strenuous food industry jobs are filled by undocumented workers.

Amid mounting criticism, officials have suggested the administration is considering exceptions for certain sectors. Tom Homan, White House border advisor, recently confirmed that discussions are underway about policy adjustments for farm and hospitality workers.

President Trump, on his part, has proposed allowing farmers to vouch for migrant workers to avoid deportation.”If a farmer is willing to vouch for these people… I think we’re going to have to just say that’s going to be good,” he recently said at an event at the Iowa State Fairgrounds

U.S. Food System in Peril as Deportation Policies Spark Exodus of Undocumented Workers From Industry: Report
Immigrants make up about 20% of the entire food sector workforce—some 14 million people—including 27% of agricultural workers and 33% of meatpackers

https://www.latintimes.com/us-food-system-peril-deportation-policies-spark-exodus-undocumented-workers-industry-report-587105

Latin Times: ICE Pushes Landlords for Tenant Records as Trump Admin Ramps Up Deportation Efforts

Posted on by
Reply

Homeland Security’s Tricia McLaughlin defended the practice, stating that ICE has authority to issue administrative subpoenas and warned of potential legal penalties for noncompliance

Federal immigration authorities are requesting tenant information from landlords as part of a broader enforcement strategy under President Donald Trump‘s immigration crackdown.

Real estate attorney Eric Teusink, based in Atlanta and consulted by The Associated Press, said several of his clients have recently received administrative subpoenas seeking complete rental files for specific tenants.

The two-page forms, reviewed by the outlet and issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) fraud detection unit, request lease agreements, rental applications, identification documents, forwarding addresses, and information on cohabitants. These subpoenas are not signed by a judge, raising legal concerns among landlords and attorneys.

“It seemed like they were on a fishing expedition,” Teusink told the Associated Press. After consulting with immigration attorneys, he concluded that without judicial authorization, compliance is voluntary.

Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin defended the practice, saying that ICE and other immigration agencies have authority to issue administrative subpoenas and warned of potential legal penalties for noncompliance:

“We are not going to comment on law enforcement’s tactics surrounding ongoing investigations. However, it is false to say that subpoenas from ICE can simply be ignored. ICE is authorized to obtain records or testimony through specific administrative subpoena authorities. Failure to comply with an ICE-issued administrative subpoena may result in serious legal penalties. The media needs to stop spreading these lies”

Legal experts warn that landlords who respond to such requests may be violating federal housing laws. Stacy Seicshnaydre, a housing law professor at Tulane University, cautioned against what she called “overcompliance,” especially since many tenants are unaware their information may be turned over to federal authorities. “Just because a landlord gets a subpoena, doesn’t mean it’s a legitimate request,” she added.

This development comes as the Trump administration accelerates immigration enforcement efforts across multiple fronts. Earlier this week, acting ICE Director Todd M. Lyons issued a directive requiring the detention of undocumented immigrants for the entirety of their removal proceedings, eliminating bond hearings in most cases. Release will be allowed only under exceptional circumstances at the discretion of ICE officers.

ICE is under internal pressure to dramatically increase arrest numbers. Trump’s border czar Tom Homan last week called for 7,000 arrests per day — more than double the already elevated goal set by top White House officials:

“We have to arrest 7,000 every single day for the remainder of this administration just to catch the ones Biden released into the nation. And for those that say 3,000 a day is too much, I want to remind them: do the math.”

No landlord in his right mind would honor such request. If it’s not signed by a judge, chuck it in the trash!!!

Compliance may result in your tenants being snatched, detained, and deported, causing not only loss of rents but perhaps also resulting in evictions of remaining family members and roommates who can’t afford the rent on their own.

There is no “win” for the landlords here.

ICE Pushes Landlords for Tenant Records as Trump Admin Ramps Up Deportation Efforts
Homeland Security’s Tricia McLaughlin defended requesting tenant records, stating that ICE has authority to issue administrative subpoenas and warned of potential legal penalties for noncompliance

https://www.latintimes.com/ice-pushes-landlords-tenant-records-trump-admin-ramps-deportation-efforts-586867

NBC News: Abused and abandoned immigrant youth on special visas fear the future after Trump changes

Posted on by
Reply

Beneficiaries of the Special Immigrant Juveniles program no longer automatically get work permits and protection against deportation while they wait for the green card process.

Rodrigo Sandoval, 17, just graduated from high school in South Carolina. He gets excited when he talks about what he’d like to do — he’s interested in business administration, graphic design or joining the Navy — but his face becomes solemn when he talks about the future.

“I’ve noticed a lot of changes, especially in the Hispanic community. We live in constant fear of being deported, arrested and all that,” said Sandoval, who came to the U.S. at age 12, fleeing El Salvador due to gang violence that threatened his and his family’s life.

One of his earliest memories is when he was 5.

“It’s one of my traumas because they put a gun to my head. All I remember is crying out of fear,” said Sandoval, who is a beneficiary of the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status classification.

The SIJS classification, created by Congress in 1990 as part of the Immigration and Nationality Act, protects immigrant minors who have been victims of abuse, abandonment or neglect in their countries and gives them a path to permanent residency in the U.S. They must be under 21 or under 18 in some states, including South Carolina, where Sandoval lives.

Last month, the Trump administration ended a measure in place since 2022 that automatically issued the young immigrants work permits and protection from deportation as they waited for their green card applications, which can take years.

“Once they’re approved for special immigrant juvenile status, they’re put on a waiting list, which is currently very, very long. We typically tell clients it’ll probably take more than four or five years,” Jennifer Bade, an immigration attorney based in Boston said in an interview with Noticias Telemundo.

Now after changes under the Trump administration, work permit and Social Security applications must be processed separately, complicating the process for many young people because, in many cases, granting the applications depends on visa availability.

“It’s very strange that they’re in that category because SIJS is about humanitarian protection for young immigrants. There shouldn’t be visa limits for these young people,” said Rachel Davidson, director of the End SIJS Backlog Coalition, a nonprofit organization that advises SIJS recipients and proposes solutions to tackle the backlog in their green card applications.

Verónica Tobar Thronson, a professor at Michigan State University’s School of Law, said many of these young immigrants may not be able to get work permits or renew current ones. “If they don’t have a work permit or an ID, they can’t travel, they can’t enter a federal building, they can’t apply for a Social Security number — they also don’t qualify for student loans if they enroll in college, and in some states, they can’t apply for assistance with medical or social services because they don’t qualify for anything at all.”

In information sent to Noticias Telemundo, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services stated that foreign nationals from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras currently make up the majority of SIJS applicants, “and collectively represent more than 70% of all SIJS applications,” although they did not specify the total number.

USCIS stated to Noticias Telemundo that while it’s not rescinding protection from deportation from those who already have it, it has the “right to rescind the grant of deferred action and revoke the related employment authorization at any time, at its discretion.”

More than 107,000 young SIJS beneficiaries from 151 countries were on the waiting list to apply for a green card as of March 2023, according to data collected by groups such as the End SIJS Backlog Coalition and Tulane Law School’s Immigrant Rights Clinic.

Of the approximately 280,000 SIJS applications approved in the last 12 fiscal years, “more than 139,000 have been filed or approved for adjustment of status,” according to USCIS.

The current processing time for applications for the program (the SIJ I-360 form) is less than five months, according to USCIS. However, the annual visa cap creates a bottleneck because, regardless of the speed of SIJS processing, the number of visas issued remains the same.

Both Rodrigo Sandoval and his 20-year-old sister, Alexandra, have already been approved for SIJS but are on the waiting list to apply for permanent residency. Both Alexandra’s and her brother Rodrigo’s work permits expire in 2026, and according to their lawyer, they still have three to five years to wait before adjusting their status.

Though they currently have protections under SIJS, Alexandra is still worried about what could happen. “If the police stop us and ask for our documents, it’s all over because we risk being deported.”

Hiromi Gómez, a 17-year-old student with SIJS, said it took her nine years to get to apply for a green card, “and I still haven’t received it.” She worries about more recent young immigrants who will have a harder time securing protections due to recent changes.

Khristina Siletskaya is a South Carolina-based immigration attorney who, among other things, handles cases involving SIJS beneficiaries, including the Sandoval siblings. The Ukrainian-born attorney said that despite changes in U.S. immigration policies, “all hope is not lost.”

“This new change that everyone is talking about eliminated the automatic granting of deferred action (from deportation). However, the United States continues to approve cases of special immigrant juvenile status; that continues to operate normally,” the lawyer explained.

Siletskaya and other experts emphasize that the recent changes are a return to the past, because the automatic granting of deferred action and work permits was implemented in May 2022 but did not exist before. Attorneys for young people with SIJS are exploring other legal avenues to assist them in their search for protection.

“Does this mean young people can’t get Social Security? First, you can try the Department of Social Services. Often, you may be able to get Social Security, but it will indicate that you’re not eligible for work purposes,” Siletskaya said. “So young people could at least get emergency Medicaid, but that will depend on each state.”

Regarding work permits, the attorney said there are ways to try to obtain one. The first is to apply for one separately and ask USCIS to grant it. Siletskaya said she has several cases where they’ve initiated this process, but warns that she has not yet received a response in those cases.

Another option explored by attorneys is to obtain a work permit based on parole, since a young person with SIJS is often granted parole as they work to adjust their status and obtain a green card.

Following the recent changes to SIJS, a group of 19 lawmakers led by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem expressing concern about the changes. The letter said it “leaves abused and abandoned youth in legal limbo while heightening their vulnerability to exploitation.”

In the letter, the members of Congress said they had received reports “of an increase in the number of detentions and deportations of SIJS beneficiaries.”

Cortez Masto and other Democrats introduced the Vulnerable Immigrant Youth Protection Act in Congress, seeking to change visa categories for SIJS beneficiaries and prevent delays in adjusting their status, among other things. But the lack of Republican lawmakers supporting it could hamper its passage.

The bill is still in its early stages of discussion in the Senate, according to Cortez Masto’s office, and members of Congress have not yet received an official response to the letter sent to Noem.

Both Siletskaya and other attorneys consulted by Noticias Telemundo recommend that young people with SIJS avoid taking risks and remain cautious.

“Don’t get into trouble. If you don’t have a driver’s license, let your friends drive. Stay discreet, respect the law, stay out of situations where you might be exposed, and wait until you receive your green card,” she said.

Despite immigration changes and other challenges, Rodrigo Sandoval said he wanted to make the most of every minute of his work permit, which expires next year. That’s why he has two jobs: He’s a barber and also works on construction sites to help his family.

“My message to people is to keep fighting and keep dreaming big. I don’t think there are limits because we as Hispanics are fighters. And this comes from other generations,” he said, getting emotional. “The truth is, what we have to do is not give up.”

Abused and abandoned immigrant youth sue Trump administration over deportation fears
Beneficiaries of the Special Immigrant Juveniles program no longer automatically get work permits and protection against deportation while they wait for the green card process.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/abused-immigrant-youth-fear-deportation-trump-rcna219060