He is one of the millions of immigrants who make up greater Los Angeles’s Hispanic community, one of the nation’s largest and oldest. Some crossed the border illegally, overstayed visas or were brought here illegally as children and are stuck in legal limbo. They assumed President Trump wouldn’t target them for deportation and that he would instead focus on criminals and more recent arrivals.
The raids that unfolded here this past week, triggering protests and Trump’s deployment of National Guard and active duty troops, shattered that belief and altered life for a community that underpins the economy of the nation’s second-largest metropolis.
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Experts estimate the number of immigrants who entered illegally or are living illegally in Los Angeles County at close to one million people, or roughly 10% of the population.
Tag Archives: Mexico
MSNBC: Elon Musk’s bad-faith response to the Minnesota shootings risks encouraging political violence
In the wake of the attacks, prominent right-wing social media commentators and conspiracy theorists were quick to falsely lay blame at the feet of Democrats.
The shootings of two Minnesota state legislators and their spouses this weekend — resulting in the assassination of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband and grievous injury to Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, who were shot multiple times — is the latest horrific episode of political violence across the country.
It won’t be the last.
In the wake of the attacks, prominent right-wing social media commentators and conspiracy theorists were quick to falsely lay blame at the feet of victims and Democrats. After reports surfaced that Gov. Tim Walz had appointed the Minnesota shooting suspect, who was taken into custody Sunday, to a state workforce development board, right-wing social media personality Mike Cernovich asked on X whether Walz had unleashed an “assassin” and “ordered the political hit against a rival who voted against Walz’s plan to give free healthcare to illegals.” Elon Musk was swiftly mocked online after he blamed the “far left” for the killings in a post on X.
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These conspiracy theories are patently wrong. The suspect in custody for Saturday’s killings has reportedly voted for Trump and is a supporter of the president, according to a close friend of his who spoke with NBC affiliate KARE of Minneapolis, and he appears to have deliberately targeted progressive and liberal candidates and causes. Police discovered a list of other targets, including Democrats who support abortion rights and Planned Parenthood clinics. He was an ordained Christian minister who had taken several trips to proselytize overseas.
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When political leaders use rhetoric that demonizes their opponents, declaring them enemies who are worthy of revenge or pledging retribution, their supporters may feel emboldened or empowered to take violent action.
Latin Times: Mexico Confronts ICE Over Denied Access After Death of Detained Mexican Citizen in Georgia
Jesús Molina-Veya was discovered unresponsive in his cell [with a ligature around his neck] on June 7 and died shortly after being taken to a local hospital
Mexico is pursuing legal options after a Mexican citizen died earlier this month while in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody at the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia. According to Mexican media reports, ICE is now preventing officials from the Mexican Consulate in Atlanta from entering the facility to speak with other detainees.
On June 7, 45-year-old Jesús Molina-Veya was found unconscious in his cell with a ligature around his neck, according to ICE. Despite CPR efforts, medical staff transferred him to Phoebe Sumter Hospital in Americus, where he was pronounced dead later that evening.
As the investigation into his death continues, Proceso reports that Mexico’s Secretariat of Foreign Affairs (SRE) has raised concerns that consular staff were “not notified for interviews” during recent visits to the ICE facility and has requested an explanation from officials at the detention center.
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Molina-Veya’s death marks the second time a Mexican national has died while in ICE custody at the Stewart Detention Center, a facility that has recently come under scrutiny for poor living conditions, reports of abuse and allegations of medical negligence.
Just last month, another Mexican national, Abelardo Avellaneda-Delgado, died while being transferred to the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin.
And more generally:
According to ICE’s detainee death reporting data, Molina-Veya is the eighth person to die in ICE custody so far in 2025. The number of deaths reported in the first six months of this year represents 72% of all ICE custody deaths reported in 2024, raising alarm among immigrant rights advocates.

ESPN: Mexico President Sheinbaum calls for no ICE action at Gold Cup
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Friday urged U.S. authorities not to conduct immigration enforcement targeting attendees of a Gold Cup soccer match in Los Angeles on Saturday, where Mexico‘s team is due to play the Dominican Republic.
Her comments followed recent raids by immigration authorities in Los Angeles targeting undocumented migrants, under policies associated with the President Donald Trump’s administration, which have sparked protests across major cities.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in a now-deleted post to social media, had also promised to be “suited and booted” at the first round of Club World Cup soccer matches, the curtain-raiser event for next year’s World Cup.
“We don’t believe that at any soccer match there will be any [immigration] action … we call for none to be taken by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” Sheinbaum said in her morning press conference.
Hope she’s not disappointed. I’d never trust either CBP or ICE to keep their word.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/45508088/mexico-president-sheinbaum-ice-gold-cup-los-angles
Latin Times: Mexico Confronts ICE Over Denied Access After Death of Detained Mexican Citizen in Georgia
Jesús Molina-Veya was discovered unresponsive in his cell on June 7 and died shortly after being taken to a local hospital
Mexico is pursuing legal options after a Mexican citizen died earlier this month while in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody at the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia. According to Mexican media reports, ICE is now preventing officials from the Mexican Consulate in Atlanta from entering the facility to speak with other detainees.
On June 7, 45-year-old Jesús Molina-Veya was found unconscious in his cell with a ligature around his neck, according to ICE. Despite CPR efforts, medical staff transferred him to Phoebe Sumter Hospital in Americus, where he was pronounced dead later that evening.
As the investigation into his death continues, Proceso reports that Mexico’s Secretariat of Foreign Affairs (SRE) has raised concerns that consular staff were “not notified for interviews” during recent visits to the ICE facility and has requested an explanation from officials at the detention center.
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Esquire: Somehow Republicans Are Defending Kristi Noem After the Forceful Removal of Senator Alex Padilla
I thought assaulting someone holding federal office was a crime. Not anymore, apparently.
So, apparently we’re bum-rushing US senators now. From The Guardian:
In video taken of the incident that has since gone viral on social media, Padilla is seen being restrained and removed from the room by Secret Service agents.“I’m Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,” Padilla shouts, as he struggles to move past the men removing him from the premises. “Hands off!” he says at one point.Emerging afterward, Padilla, who is the ranking member of the judiciary subcommittee on immigration, citizenship and border safety, said he and his colleagues had repeatedly asked DHS for more information on its “increasingly extreme immigration enforcement actions” but had not received a response to his inquiries.
This tinhorn governor of a state where nobody lives, this puppy-murdering hack whose political career outside of MAGA World was as dead as Custer, now gets to sic her black-shirted thugs on the senior senator of a state that she and her criminal boss and all their attendant lords have been lying about, and about which she had flown to Los Angeles to lie about some more.
Dumbass in a ballcap says what? She just admitted they’re blowing up the town to get rid of the mayor and governor. If the courts ever get their teeth back, this gaffe will figure prominently in many filings.
Meanwhile, Padilla is hauled into a backroom and driven to the floor and handcuffed.
And not for nothing, but threatening and/or assaulting the holder of any federal office is a felony and could draw you five to ten in the pokey. And these goons are pretty identifiable.
And, of course, the administration’s prevarication mill went into full operation almost instantly. From The New Republic via Yahoo:
In posts on X, the official DHS account and Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin released a statement attempting to justify wrestling Padilla to the ground and handcuffing him. “Senator Padilla chose disrespectful political theatre and interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged toward Secretary Noem,” the statement read.
Tricia learned to lie like this at the AEI’s Leadership Institute.
But in a video of the altercation from Padilla’s office, the senator could be heard clearly identifying himself. “Hands off! I’m Senator Alex Padilla, and I have questions for the secretary,” said the California Democrat as a security guard pushed him out of the room.
It’s clear that the goons looked at him and just saw another angry brown face. And by their reactions, Tricia and her boss are similarly afflicted.
This is also all my bollocks. Noem knows who Padilla is and, if she doesn’t, she should, and he did identify himself. Third-rate hack with a fourth-rate alibi.
And what about Speaker Moses? What did you expect?
That sanctimonious sumbitch wants Padilla censured. And he spent the afternoon hiding. If he’s a Christian, I’m an Ostrogoth.
The day was not without its burlesque, however. In a House Oversight Committee hearing, Rep. Maxwell Frost asked Chairman James (Jughead) Comer to issue a subpoena for Noem regarding the events of the day. Comer, of course, refused, probably because Padilla was not carrying Hunter Biden’s laptop at the time. And then we were off.
Bloomberg: Trump Administration Orders 500,000 Immigrants to Leave US
Immigrants admitted to the US from a Biden-era parole program for Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela have begun receiving notices of termination urging them to depart the US.
Participants in the “CHNV” parole program were also told that their employment authorization is revoked effective immediately in email messages from the Department of Homeland Security, the agency said Thursday.
The notices follow a US Supreme Court decision last month allowing DHS to move forward with revocation of parole benefits for half a million immigrants after a lower court preserved the protections. A legal challenge to the Trump administration’s dismantling of parole programs including the CHNV process is still ongoing.
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Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Global Refuge, said the immigrants receiving termination notices this week had played by the rules and already passed security screenings and secured legal work authorization.
“Instead of rewarding responsible migration through orderly legal pathways, this action punishes those who jumped through every hoop asked of them,” she said in a statement.
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“Instead of rewarding responsible migration through orderly legal pathways, this action punishes those who jumped through every hoop asked of them,” she said in a statement.
“There is no question that the Trump administration is needlessly and flagrantly flouting U.S. law, and we will continue to fight in the courts to ensure justice for our communities,” she said in a statement.
This is unconscionable! The Trump regime is manufacturing illegal immigrants and thriving on the misery of thousands.
Also here:
Newsweek: LA Taco chain closes 15 locations amid ICE crackdown
In a message shared Thursday night on Instagram, Angel’s Tijuana Tacos announced that its Anaheim restaurant will remain open, while its other 15 locations—primarily taco trucks and stands—are closed until further notice.
Though the statement did not explicitly cite U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity as the reason for the closures, the post appeared to reference ongoing enforcement actions across Southern California.
They probably don’t want to expose their staff and customers to abusive ICE thugs grabbing anyone who looks brown. Meanwhile, employees at 15 locations are out of work.

https://www.newsweek.com/los-angeles-taco-chain-closed-ice-crackdown-2085076
Associated Press: 4 detainees have escaped from an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, DHS says
Four detainees have escaped from a federal immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, amid reports of disorder breaking out there, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
More “law enforcement partners” have been brought in to find the detainees missing from Delaney Hall, according to an emailed statement attributed to a senior DHS official whom the department did not identify. The statement also didn’t specify which law enforcement agencies are involved.
Newark’s mayor had cited reports of a possible uprising and escape after disorder broke out at the facility Thursday night, and protesters outside the center had locked arms and pushed against barricades as vehicles passed through gates. Much is still unclear about what unfolded there.
New York Times: Mexican Flags Have Become Republican Fodder, but Protesters Keep Waving Them
Images of Los Angeles protesters waving Mexican flags have gone viral in conservative circles this week. Many protesters say they are aware of the political reaction but won’t put their flags away.
But protesters said this week that they see the Mexican flag as a symbol of defiance against Mr. Trump’s immigration policies or of solidarity with other Mexican Americans. The flag has become so ubiquitous in recent decades that it is a part of the Southern California landscape, adorning pickup trucks and flapping from bridges. Few mass gatherings occur in the region without a Mexican flag or two, from weekend soccer matches to Los Angeles Dodgers championship parades.
This week, those who kept waving them said that it was important to honor their heritage and not acquiesce to Mr. Trump, even while they recognized the potential political cost. They said that the flag to them was not un-American, that it represented their Chicano roots rather than a national allegiance.
