Tag Archives: Mexico

Newsweek: LA Taco chain closes 15 locations amid ICE crackdown

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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.

LA Taco chain closes 15 locations amid ICE crackdown
Angel’s Tijuana Tacos said its Anaheim restaurant will remain open, while its other 15 locations are closed until further notice.

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

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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.

4 detainees have escaped from an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, DHS says

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/disorder-breaks-out-at-new-jersey-immigration-detention-center/ar-AA1GEFFG

New York Times: Mexican Flags Have Become Republican Fodder, but Protesters Keep Waving Them

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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.

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.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/11/us/la-protests-mexican-flags-republican-reaction.html?unlocked_article_code=1.OE8.g1hA.vlsUVEmrDjkH

Huffington Post: Kristi [Bimbo #2] Noem Said An Immigrant Threatened To Kill Trump. The Story Quickly Fell Apart.

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Investigators actually believe the man may have been framed so that he would get arrested and be deported from the U.S., a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

A claim by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi [Bimbo #2] Noem that an immigrant threatened the life of President Donald Trump has begun to unravel.

[Bimbo #2] Noem announced an arrest of a 54-year-old man who was living in the U.S. illegally, saying he had written a letter threatening to kill Trump and would then return to Mexico. The story received a flood of media attention and was highlighted by the White House and Trump’s allies.

But investigators actually believe the man may have been framed so that he would get arrested and be deported from the U.S. before he got a chance to testify in a trial as a victim of assault, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. The person could not publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

Let’s just say that Kristi [Bimbo #2] Noem is one of the dimmest bulbs ever to hold a cabinet-level office.

Kristi Noem Said An Immigrant Threatened To Kill Trump. The Story Quickly Fell Apart.
Investigators actually believe the man may have been framed so that he would get arrested and be deported from the U.S., a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ap-us-trump-threat-ice-arrest_n_683a1761e4b06a21c073aacd

New York Times: The Mexican Flag Becomes a Potent L.A. Protest Symbol

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Trump officials have cast demonstrators waving the Mexican flag as insurrectionists, but for many protesters who are Mexican American, the flag represents pride in their heritage.

Elizabeth Torres, 36, held a Mexican flag outside the detention center in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday morning.

“I am a very proud American,” said Ms. Torres, whose grandparents immigrated to the United States. “But I have to show support also for our Mexican brothers and sisters.”

Throughout this weekend’s protests, Mexican and other Latin American flags have emerged as protest emblems, angering the Trump administration and its supporters. Trump officials have cast flag wavers as insurrectionists and implied that they are not U.S. citizens.

Stephen Miller, a top White House adviser, called out “foreign nationals, waving foreign flags, rioting and obstructing federal law enforcement attempting to expel illegal foreign invaders” in a social media post on Sunday afternoon.

But for many protesters who are American citizens, the flag signifies pride in their roots, as well as solidarity with immigrants who are being targeted for deportation.

“They’re the children and grandchildren of immigrants,” said Chris Zepeda-Millán, a professor of Chicano studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, who has studied the immigrants rights movement in California. “They have no doubt in their own citizenship or their own belonging here, but they understand the racial undertones of the attacks on immigrants,” he said.

“So you’re getting this reaction of ‘We’re not going to let you make us be ashamed of where our parents and grandparents came from,’” Mr. Zepeda-Millán added.

The Mexican Flag Becomes a Potent L.A. Protest Symbol
Trump officials have cast demonstrators waving the Mexican flag as insurrectionists, but for many protesters who are Mexican American, the flag represents pride in their heritage.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/08/us/mexican-flag-protest-los-angeles.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Nk8.XSvh.dQHlQ_pMcu80&smid=url-share

New York Times: Agents Use Military-Style Force Against Protesters at L.A. Immigration Raid

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Armed agents in tactical gear threw flash-bang grenades to disperse a crowd in Los Angeles’s Fashion District. Later, agents fired less-than-lethal ammunition at protesters outside a detention center.

Federal agents in tactical gear armed with military-style rifles threw flash-bang grenades to disperse an angry crowd near downtown Los Angeles on Friday as they conducted an immigration raid on a clothing wholesaler, the latest sign of tensions between protesters and law enforcement over raids carried out at stores, restaurants and court buildings.

The operation was one of at least three immigration sweeps conducted in Los Angeles on Friday. In another one, federal agents converged at a Home Depot where day laborers regularly gather in search of work.

The raid at the clothing wholesaler began about 9:15 a.m. in the Fashion District, less than two miles from Los Angeles City Hall.

It was an extraordinary show of force. Dozens of federal agents wearing helmets and green camouflage arrived in two hulking armored trucks and other unmarked vehicles, and were soon approached by a crowd of immigrant activists and supporters. Some agents carried riot shields and others held rifles, as well as shotguns that appeared to be loaded with less-than-lethal ammunition.

Agents cleared a path for two white passenger vans that exited the area. A short time later, as officers boarded their vehicles to leave, a few agents lobbed flash-bang grenades at groups of people who chased alongside the slow-moving convoy. Some protesters had thrown eggs and other objects at the vehicles. At one point, the vehicles snagged and crushed at least two electric scooters that protesters had used.

Agents Use Military-Style Force Against Protesters at L.A. Immigration Raid
Armed agents in tactical gear threw flash-bang grenades to disperse a crowd in Los Angeles’s Fashion District. Later, agents fired less-than-lethal ammunition at protesters outside a detention center.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/06/us/los-angeles-immigration-raid.html?unlocked_article_code=1.NE8.NsYh.Ex_rWREZ8Ksq&smid=url-share

Independent: Outrage after California fourth grader is detained by ICE agents during immigration hearing

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Parents and teachers in southern California are urgently asking for help to find a fourth grader who is being “held captive” by immigration authorities in Texas.

Torrance Elementary School student Martir Garcia Lara attended an immigration court appointment with his father in Houston on May 29 “when suddenly they were detained and separated from each other,” according to a message from the school’s Parent Teacher Association.

The boy and his father are reportedly in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.

“He’s alone and he’s not able to return home,” PTA president Jasmin King told KTLA.

“We have not received any information on why they were detained,” she said. “All we know is that Martir is just a fourth grader who’s by himself, without his dad, without a parent, and just in a place that he probably doesn’t know, so we can only imagine what he might be feeling.”

A fourth-grader! What a catch!

Homan’s bully boys must be really proud of themselves today!

Outrage after California fourth grader is detained by ICE during immigration hearing
Martir Garcia Lara was ordered into custody in Houston as federal agents target courthouses nationwide

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/california-ice-arrest-elementary-school-b2763614.html

The Hill: Mass deportation effort sweeps up U.S. citizen children with deported parents

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The Trump administration is coming under scrutiny for deporting several U.S. citizen children along with their foreign-born parents.

Trump officials have defended the move, saying the minors were not deported, rather the parents have elected to take them along rather than be separated from their children.

But attorneys for the families involved in such cases say their clients were given little notice and forced to make split-second decisions about what to do with children born in the United States.

Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), has been in contact with attorneys for several families, including a Honduran woman with two U.S. citizen children, including a 4-year-old with stage 4 cancer.

“At no time did the mother offer any consent. At no time did the mother sign anything. Also, the mother was not given the opportunity to speak with legal counsel, even though the lawyer was in the same building at the time,” Magaziner told The Hill.

…

And then there’s the case of two Mexican parents living in Texas who were deported along with five of their six children after being stopped at a border checkpoint.

The family was en route to Houston for emergency treatment for their 10-year-old, U.S. citizen daughter who had recently had a brain tumor removed.

The Hernandez family, using a pseudonym to protect their privacy, pleaded while in custody for staff to look at documentation from the hospital requesting permission to travel.

Instead, they spent the night in custody before being taken to a bridge and turned over to Mexican authorities in an area rife with kidnappings. The family has since gone into hiding in rural Mexico.

Mass deportation effort sweeps up U.S. citizen children with deported parents

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5326444-trump-administration-deporting-us-citizen-children

The Conversation: Surge of ICE agreements with local police aim to increase deportations, but many police forces have found they undermine public safety

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Part of that operation includes what’s known as the federal 287(g) program. Established in 1996, it allows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, whose work is normally carried out by federal officials, to train state and local authorities to function as federal immigration officers.

Under 287(g), for example, local police officers can interview people to determine their immigration status. They can also issue immigration detainers to jail people until agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement take custody.

…

Since Trump began his second term in January, ICE has increased 287(g) agreements from 135 in 25 states in December 2024 to 628 in 40 states as of May 28, 2025.

As a criminal justice scholar, I believe the surge of 287(g) agreements sets a dangerous precedent for local policing, where forging relationships and building the trust of immigrants is a proven and effective tactic in combating crime. In my view, the expansion of 287(g) will erode that trust and makes entire communities – not just immigrants – less safe.

Surge of ICE agreements with local police aim to increase deportations, but many police forces have found they undermine public safety
History shows that building the trust of immigrants is an effective tactic in combating local crime and making entire communities safer.

https://theconversation.com/surge-of-ice-agreements-with-local-police-aim-to-increase-deportations-but-many-police-forces-have-found-they-undermine-public-safety-255937

Reason: ‘Banal Horror’: Asylum Case Deals Trump Yet Another Loss on Due Process

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President Trump is entitled to try to execute his immigration policy. He is not entitled, however, to violate the Constitution.

The Trump administration this week formally agreed to comply with a ruling that ordered it to facilitate the return of a migrant who was unlawfully deported—in what was another loss for the government as it attempts to subvert basic due process rights in immigration proceedings.

The migrant—named in court documents as O.C.G., who has no criminal history—arrived in the U.S. in May 2024 and sought asylum. An officer agreed he had a credible fear of persecution and torture if returned to Guatemala; a judge assented as well and granted him withholding of removal to that country.

During his proceedings, when he asked if he might be sent to Mexico, a judge replied: “We cannot send you back to Mexico, sir, because you’re a native of Guatemala.” Deportations to a nonnative country legally require, at a minimum, additional steps in the process.

That was particularly relevant to O.C.G.’s case, because, as he testified in court, he claims to have been held for ransom and raped while passing through Mexico, securing release only after a family member paid the sum. Yet two days after his withholding of removal was granted, the government unlawfully deported him—without a chance to contest it—to Mexico, after which he returned to Guatemala, where his attorneys say he lives in hiding and in fear of serious harm.

‘Banal horror’: Asylum case deals Trump yet another loss on due process
The Trump administration this week formally agreed to comply with a ruling that ordered it to facilitate the return of a migrant who was unlawfully

https://reason.com/2025/05/29/banal-horror-asylum-case-deals-trump-yet-another-loss-on-due-process