Tag Archives: ICE

Latin Times: Latino Journalist Arrested While Covering Immigration Protest Faces Criminal Charges

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Mario Guevara has been charged for filming an ICE operation while driving

A Latino journalist arrested while covering an immigration protest in Georgia now faces criminal charges stemming from a different incident, local media reported.

Concretely, Mario Guevara has been charged with distracted driving, failure to obey a traffic control device and reckless driving, Fox 5 Atlanta noted. The charges are related to filming an ICE operation while driving and running a red light, his lawyer said.

Immigration officials then told the outlet that Guevara has overstayed his visa and was ordered to leave the country by an immigration judge in 2012. His lawyers contend that he is authorized to work in the country. Advocates are planning to hold a demonstration on Saturday demanding his release as his lawyers work to secure a bond hearing.

Guevara, who fled El Salvador almost two decades ago, was arrested last Saturday while streaming during a different protest in DeKalb county. Videos of the incident show that Guevara can be heard telling an agent that he is a journalist before being arrested. He was also wearing a vest with the word press on the chest.

The Associated Press detailed Guevara fled El Salvador along with his family in 2004 after being beat and threatened over his work as a political reported. In the U.S., he worked for the largest Spanish-speaking outlet, Mundo Hispanico, before launching his own outlet, MGNews.

“He’s been doing this kind of work for over 20 years and is being detained now,” said his lawyer, Giovanni Diaz, to the outlet. “It’s concerning. He’s a member of the press and didn’t seem to be committing any felonies,” he added.

Latino Journalist Arrested While Covering Immigration Protest Faces Criminal Charges
Latino journalist Mario Guevara, arrested while covering an immigration protest in Georgia, is now facing criminal charges

https://www.latintimes.com/latino-journalist-arrested-while-covering-immigration-protest-faces-criminal-charges-585342

Straight Arrow News: Lime starts geofencing restriction at Seattle court after anti-ICE blockade

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A scooter and e-bike rental company has reprogrammed its vehicles so they can’t be parked outside Seattle’s immigration court, where protesters used them to impede Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, Straight Arrow News has learned. Lime changed GPS settings on its scooters and bikes to create a no-parking zone outside the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building in downtown Seattle.

Lime says it acted to ensure its riders’ safety, not to assist ICE or other law enforcement agencies.

The change follows a June 10 protest against immigration raids carried out to fulfill President Donald Trump’s pledge of mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. 

Protesters used “dozens of e-bikes and scooters” to create a barricade at the federal building, KIRO-TV of Seattle reported. One such barricade, as seen in footage posted to social media, was used “to slow down an ICE bus from leaving,” KIRO said.

Lime starts geofencing restriction at Seattle court after anti-ICE blockade
A scooter and e-bike rental company has reprogrammed its vehicles so they can’t be parked outside Seattle’s immigration court.

https://san.com/cc/lime-starts-geofencing-restriction-at-seattle-court-after-anti-ice-blockade

Daily Beast: Florida Proposes ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ to House Illegal Migrants

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The state’s AG has pitched a dystopian Everglades detention camp surrounded by crocs and snakes as an “efficient” solution for holding “criminal aliens.”

ICE’s assault on illegal migrants could be about to take a dystopian twist—with the creation of a detention camp dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”

Florida’s Attorney General James Uthmeier has proposed building a center in the middle of the Everglades—surrounded by ‘gators, crocs and snakes—as a “low-cost” solution for detaining what he described as “criminal aliens.”

Speaking from the Miami-Dade Collier training facility, Uthmeier said in a video posted to his X account that the abandoned airfield site in a 30-square-mile patch of isolated swamp, could quickly be transformed into what he called “Alligator Alcatraz.”

“People [detained migrants] get out, there’s not much waiting for them other than alligators and pythons. Nowhere to go, nowhere to hide,” he declared. “It presents an efficient, low-cost opportunity… because you don’t need to invest that much in the perimeter.”

With ICE detention centers overflowing, Uthmeier claimed the site could be operational within 30 to 60 days of breaking ground and could house up to 1,000 people.

…

Uthmeier also did not provide any details about funding, oversight, and federal involvement…. The [DHS] department is tearing through its budget, which is already more than $1 billion in the red, according to a report in Axios on Monday.

Florida Proposes ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ to House Illegal Migrants
The state’s AG has pitched a dystopian Everglades detention camp surrounded by crocs and snakes as an “efficient” solution for holding “criminal aliens.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/florida-attorney-general-james-uthmeier-proposes-alligator-alcatraz-to-house-illegal-migrants

Associated Press: Many Americans are witnessing immigration arrests for the first time and reacting

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Adam Greenfield was home nursing a cold when his girlfriend raced in to tell him Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicles were pulling up in their trendy San Diego neighborhood.

The author and podcast producer grabbed his iPhone and bolted out the door barefoot, joining a handful of neighbors recording masked agents raiding a popular Italian restaurant nearby, as they yelled at the officers to leave. An hour later, the crowd had grown to nearly 75 people, with many in front of the agents’ vehicles.

“I couldn’t stay silent,” Greenfield said. “It was literally outside of my front door.”

More Americans are witnessing people being hauled off as they shop, exercise at the gym, dine out and otherwise go about their daily lives as President Donald Trump’s administration aggressively works to increase immigration arrests. As the raids touch the lives of people who aren’t immigrants themselves, many Americans who rarely, if ever, participated in civil disobedience are rushing out to record the actions on their phones and launch impromptu protests.

…

Many Americans are witnessing immigration arrests for the first time and reacting
With the Trump administration aggressively trying to increase the number of immigration arrests, raids are now being conducted at all hours and more Americans are witnessing people being hauled off.

https://apnews.com/article/immigration-raids-arrests-ice-los-angeles-0de11b5bc6ef962b79e084fb9e648a87

KREX: MCSO investigator placed on leave after ICE incident

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This is an update to the previous post about Caroline Dias Goncalves, whose traffic stop by Mesa County Sheriff’s Office “Investigator” Alexander Zwinck resulted in her being detained by ICE and jailed for two weeks.

Mesa County “Investigator” Alexander Zwinck, big, dumb, stupid, and at least temporarily unemployed, thanks to whose courage and bravery above and beyond the call of duty, an innocent nursing student was detained for two weeks.

On Thursday, the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) announced that Investigator Alexander Zwinck, the officer who pulled over a 19-year-old Utah student, has been placed on administrative leave after an investigation.

Zwinck was the deputy who pulled over Caroline Dias Goncalves for a traffic stop on June 5. She was later detained by ICE shortly after the interaction.

In the statement, MCSO said any further repercussions for Zwinck will be determined after the investigation has been completed.

MCSO’s investigation includes reviewing communication between members of the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office and local, state, and federal partners through a Signal communication group chat. The investigation aims to see if MCSO’s deputies acted within the sheriff’s office’s policies and Colorado law after it was discovered that details about Dias Goncalves’ birthplace, Brazil, were allegedly released in the group chat and given to ICE.

Further investigation is being conducted to see if MCSO employees were aware that the information in the group chat, originally for drug interdiction efforts, was being used for immigration enforcement.

MCSO investigator placed on leave after ICE incident
MESA COUNTY, Colo. (KREX) — On Thursday, the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) announced that Investigator Alexander Zwinck, the officer who pulled over a 19-year-old Utah student, has been…

https://www.westernslopenow.com/top-stories/mcso-investigator-placed-on-leave-after-ice-incident

MSNBC: The Latino pressure that preceded the Dodgers turning around ICE

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Before the Los Angeles Dodgers’ June 14 home game against the San Francisco Giants, Dominican American singer Nezza performed — defiantly, she said — “El Pendón Estrellado,” a Spanish-language rendition of the “Star-Spangled Banner.” She said a team official explicitly demanded that she perform the national anthem in English but that she refused. (The Dodgers did not release a statement regarding Nezza’s performance or confirm her story that she violated the team’s wishes.)

Nezza’s performance, a protest against what Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been doing in Los Angeles, arose out of her imagining her parents “being ripped away from me,” she said. Not surprisingly, Nezza’s performance was polarizing, with some cheering and others expressing outrage. Among the responses was an editorial from CALÓ News demanding that the Dodgers support a community under attack from the federal government.

“Dodgers, your silence speaks volumes,” CALÓ News wrote Tuesday. “The Latino community of Los Angeles has shown up for the Dodgers. Where are you now that we need you?”

That question seems to have been answered Thursday when the team announced that it had turned away ICE agents who had attempted to enter Dodger Stadium’s parking lot. “They were denied entry to the grounds by the organization,” the team wrote on X.

The Latino pressure that preceded the Dodgers turning around ICE

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/the-latino-pressure-that-preceded-the-dodgers-turning-around-ice/ar-AA1H7CXz

Sun Herald: Defiant Mayor’s Call to Resist ICE Raids Sparks Outrage

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Chicago officials reportedly expected a rise in workplace immigration raids as federal tactical teams prepared to deploy across several Democratic-led cities. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson urged residents to push back against the enforcement efforts linked to President Trump. Johnson encouraged peaceful protest and affirmed that police and city staff would protect First Amendment rights. Johnson’s call for “all of Chicago to resist in this moment” has drawn sharp criticism on social media.

Awesome response! Resist! And keep up the good work!

Critics argue that Johnson’s rhetoric incites violence against federal officers.

The pigs have only themselves to blame. They’ll get no tears or sympathy from me.

Johnson said, “I am counting on all of Chicago to resist in this moment. Because whatever particular vulnerable group is targeted today, another group will be next.”

Meanwhile, back at the ranch:

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul condemned federal actions as unlawful and undemocratic, stressing the importance of working with local leaders to protect community safety.

Defiant Mayor’s Call to Resist ICE Raids Sparks Outrage

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/defiant-mayor-s-call-to-resist-ice-raids-sparks-outrage/ss-AA1H7qHk

Washington Examiner: Judge blocks Trump administration from pulling states’ transportation funding over ICE cooperation

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A federal judge blocked the Trump administration on Thursday from requiring 20 mostly Democratic states to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement in order to receive billions of dollars in transportation funding.

Chief U.S. District Judge John McConnell issued a preliminary injunction that barred the administration from enforcing the new immigration rules for “the States and their governmental subdivisions” while the lawsuit plays out in court. He said that requiring the states to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to receive congressionally appropriated transportation funding violated the Constitution.

“Congress did not authorize or grant authority to the Secretary of Transportation to impose immigration enforcement conditions on federal dollars specifically appropriated for transportation purposes,” McConnell wrote.

Judge blocks Trump administration from pulling states’ transportation funding over ICE cooperation
The judge said requiring the states to cooperate with ICE to receive congressionally appropriated transportation funding violated the Constitution.
Judge blocks Trump administration from pulling states’ transportation funding over ICE cooperation

Newsweek: NYC mayoral candidate arrested by ICE says agents feel overworked

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New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander has told Newsweek that ICE agents expressed feeling “overworked” shortly after detaining him at a downtown court earlier this week.

“I talked to the ICE agents afterward, and it’s clear to me they are being overworked,” Lander said in an interview on June 19.

“I asked what their shifts were. And they say, we really don’t have shifts anymore,” he added.

Poor crybabies should get respectable jobs.

Lander and other critics called the arrest further evidence of what they described as a drift toward authoritarianism by the Trump administration.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Newsweek: “Like many Democrat politicians before him, Mayoral Candidate Brad Lander seems to think obstructing federal law enforcement is his ticket to fame. Unfortunately, it’s just his ticket to being arrested.”

More often than not, these bogus “obstructing” charges are dropped. They are nothing more than harassment.

In response for comment to the suggestion ICE agents are being overworked, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin: “Under Secretary [Bimbo #2] Noem, we are delivering on President Trump’s and the American people’s mandate to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens to make America safe.”

Repeating a lie doesn’t make it true. Arresting and deporting non-criminal aliens does nothing to make America safe.

NYC mayoral candidate arrested by ICE says agents feel overworked
Lander was detained by President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcers on June 17 at a downtown Manhattan immigration court.

https://www.newsweek.com/brad-lander-ice-agents-2088020

Wall Street Journal: Trump Is Losing Political Ground on Immigration

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The Trump administration’s aggressive deportation program is testing the political bounds of what Americans will tolerate, spurring a backlash from voters and some Republicans and testing the administration’s resolve.

Federal officials in recent weeks have stepped up raids on worksites and farms, seeking to fulfill President Trump’s pledge of mass deportations. The move has sparked alarm in immigrant communities and street protests in Los Angeles and other cities. Last weekend, Trump directed that arrests be paused at farms and hotels, only to reverse the directive days later.

…

Republican members of Congress from California, Texas and Florida have publicly urged the White House to give priority to deportations of criminals rather than migrants who have resided in the U.S. for long periods and have otherwise obeyed the law. The chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R., Pa.), called the farm raids “just wrong.” The co-founder of Latinas for Trump, Florida state Sen. Ileana Garcia, wrote on X that the administration’s actions were “unacceptable and inhumane” and “not what we voted for.”

“I may have voted for Trump, but I can’t stay silent about what’s happening with ICE in LA,” Ryan Garcia, a former interim lightweight boxing champion who endorsed Trump last year, wrote on X. “We can have borders without losing our humanity.”

Presidents of both parties have historically hesitated to pursue large-scale immigration enforcement in the country’s interior precisely because it tends to be politically unpopular. Trump’s push for deportations far from the border has begun to trigger a backlash in public opinion, with polls showing his approval rating on immigration and deportations—formerly one of his strongest issues—has now turned negative.

A Quinnipiac poll earlier this month found that just 43% approved of Trump’s performance on immigration while 54% disapproved. On deportations, 40% approved while 56% disapproved. In the polling average maintained by the analyst Nate Silver, Trump’s immigration policies were popular on a net basis until earlier this month—but are now more unpopular than popular by a 3-point margin. 

Trump Is Losing Political Ground on Immigration

https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-is-losing-political-ground-on-immigration-20de43bc

Also here:

Trump Is Losing Political Ground on Immigration
The administration’s aggressive deportation push has alarmed voters, including some of the president’s supporters.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-is-losing-political-ground-on-immigration/ar-AA1H5df5