Liset Fernandez spent most of the summer worried about her dad, Luis, but a few weeks ago she got some good news. After Luis was held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) custody for weeks, an immigration judge in Texas granted him release on a $5,000 bond.
Luis, who came to the US from Ecuador in 1994, had been held in detention at a facility in Livingston, Texas, thousands of miles away from his home in Queens. Liset, 17, had taken on extra shifts working a retail job to support her mom and nine-year-old brother. Luis’s co-workers at the Square Diner, a railcar-style greasy spoon in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood for more than 100 years, had raised more than $20,000 to support him and his family.
But when Liset logged on to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) website to pay the bond, she got a message telling her that her dad was ineligible for release. It fell to her to tell her dad that instead of coming home that day, he would remain detained. “It was upsetting for everyone,” Liset said. “His voice sounded completely disappointed.”
Luis was being detained because of a new DHS policy arguing that all people who enter the US illegally are ineligible for bond, regardless of how long they have been here and whether or not they pose a flight risk. In Fernandez’s case, DHS went even further, deploying a rarely used maneuver to pause the immigration judge’s bond ruling while it appealed his ruling. Federal regulations allow the agency to automatically stay an immigration judge’s bond decision while they appeal the case to the board of immigration appeals.
The maneuver means Fernandez will remain detained while his case is pending before the board of immigration appeals. Since the board is being bogged down with appeals, it’s unclear how long it could take to resolve the case, said Craig Relles, an immigration attorney representing Fernandez.
Fernandez’s case shows how the Trump administration is “ratcheting up every aspect of the immigration system” for people who are in the US illegally no matter how long they’ve been in the US, said Suchita Mathur, a lawyer at the American Immigration Council.
“At every step of the way, they’re inflicting the maximum punishment on people,” she said. “It’s all part and parcel of the administration’s effort to make this process so punitive and unbearable that people give up.”
The justice department, which oversees immigration courts, adopted the procedure for automatically pausing an immigration judge’s bond ruling in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks amid concerns about national security. At the time, there were concerns about how it could be used to unjustly detain people. Both Mathur and Relles said they had rarely seen the appeal-and-stay practice used until this summer. Now, they said, the practice is widespread.
Lawyers representing the Department of Homeland Security have been instructed to appeal every decision in which someone is granted bond and immediately pause the judge’s ruling while the appeal is pending, according to an agency official familiar with the matter. They have also been told they will be fired if they do not take such action, the person said.
Asked whether lawyers were being told to automatically appeal in all cases where bond was granted, the Department of Homeland Security said: “Every decision to appeal is based on the facts of the case. No one has been fired for not appealing a case.”
In recent months, federal judges across the country, including in Minnesota, Nebraska and Maryland, have ruled in favor of detained immigrants who have challenged the practice. Appealing the bond ruling and automatically staying an immigration judge’s decision to grant bond, the judges have said, puts the due process rights of detainees at risk.
“The government’s discretion in matters of immigration is deep and wide, but surely its chop does not overcome the banks of due process enshrined in the constitution,” Julie Rubin, a US district judge in Maryland, wrote this month in a ruling granting release of an immigrant who was detained even though an immigration judge had ordered bond. “Invocation of the automatic stay renders the [immigration judge’s] custody redetermination order an ‘empty gesture’ absent demonstration of a compelling interest or special circumstance left unanswered by [the immigration judge].”
“It seems like there’s a nationwide policy from headquarters instructing them to file these automatic stays,” Mathur said. Such a policy “would raise even more questions about due process. Because if they’re not even conducting individualized analyses before filing these, that’s even more shocking.”
The Department of Homeland Security said Fernandez had entered the country illegally and had two prior convictions for driving while intoxicated. The agency did not provide more information on the cases, but told Tribeca Citizen, a local news site, the charges were from 2003 and 2014.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, if you break the law, you will face the consequences. Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the US,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.
But that is not what Fernandez’s co-workers knew of him. At the Square Diner, he was known as a hard worker who would work overtime to support Liset and his nine-year-old son. He was the person who would welcome new employees into the fold, always quick with a joke, and who would cover for someone who needed to step out for an emergency and then give them the earnings they missed. He would FaceTime his kids during long shifts and never say a bad word about customers who were stingy with tips. The only thing he would ever eat at work – sometimes with some teasing – were big salad bowls filled with soup. Usually chicken, but occasionally different types mixed together.
The fact that Luis had been in the United States for so long, was working and paying taxes, and had two children who are US citizens made him someone who was clearly eligible for bond, Relles said.
“The Department of Homeland Security had the opportunity to present any and all evidence indicating that he was a danger, that there were serious infractions in the past. And he was able to meet his burden, establishing that he was not a danger and is not a flight risk,” Relles said.
“He’s human. He has heart,” said one co-worker who asked to remain anonymous because they feared for their safety. “He’s [an] extremely honest person. With money, with food, with anything, you just name it. And the most important thing is the best father.” The co-worker said they had spoken to Luis recently and he was working in the kitchen of the detention center where he is being held. Recently he volunteered to give the other detainees haircuts.
The last time Liset saw her dad in person was early in the morning on 24 June when he came to her bedroom to say goodbye. He had been summoned to appear that morning for a check-in on his asylum application in Long Island. The day before he was set to leave, Luis became suspicious that something might happen to him. He shared the location on his phone with Liset. Still, Liset didn’t think there was much to worry about and said goodbye.
It was a scorching hot day in New York and Liset went to the beach with her cousin to celebrate the end of the school year and the start of summer vacation. While she was there, Luis called her. She could tell from the tone of his voice that something was wrong. He told her not to worry, but that he was going to be arrested. “They’re going to take me, Ice is here, and I’m not coming home anytime soon,” he told her. “If anything happens, make sure you take care of yourself.”
Fernandez is one of thousands of immigrants arrested by the Trump administration as part of its effort to ramp up deportations. Half of the immigrants arrested in the New York City area this year have been arrested, like Fernandez was, at routine check-ins at immigration offices, according to federal data analyzed by the New York Times.
Liset didn’t hear from her dad for a few days. But when she eventually got hold of him, he had been transferred to a facility in Texas. Since he’s been detained, Liset has talked to her dad almost every day, usually for just a few minutes. He’s told her that there are about 20 people in his room and that it’s extremely cold because air conditioners are running 24/7. The first few weeks in detention, Liset said, Luis would share a cup of ramen noodles with two other men for meals.
Liset described her dad as a hard worker who wanted to make sure his family was taken care of financially while also making sure he could spend time with them. Since her mom only speaks limited English, it’s fallen on Liset to take the lead on her dad’s legal case while also taking on more shifts at work.
“This is incredibly draining,” she said.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/30/immigration-custody-bail-trump
The Department of Justice is asking people to report illegal visa practices that could come at the expense of American workers.
Citizens are being urged to flag “discriminatory” advertisements for jobs, especially ones that state that the employer prefers people on a seasonal or H-1B visa.
“Are you an American citizen who has been harmed by inappropriate preferences for foreign workers, eg H1-B or other? Follow the link. It’s also a place to report human trafficking of immigrant workers, and Title VII employment discrimination,” Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights at the DOJ, posted to X on Friday.
The DOJ is also allowing people to send in tips for possible human trafficking violations related to temporary visa programs.
H-1B visas were the subject of debate earlier this year, as many opponents argued they hinder American talent in key sectors like technology, whereas others believe it bolsters the economy.
“The main function of the H-1B visa program and other guest worker initiatives is not to hire ‘the best and the brightest,’ but rather to replace good-paying American jobs with low-wage indentured servants from abroad,” Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, posted to X in January. “The cheaper the labor they hire, the more money the billionaires make.”
H-1B visas for fiscal year 2026 have already hit the legal petition limit with 65,000 that are standard, and an additional 20,000 for those with advanced degrees, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The visas are primarily meant for skilled workers, including “architecture, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences, medicine and health, education, business specialties, accounting, law, theology, and the arts,” according to the agency’s website.
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said the program has “become a total scam” in an interview with Fox News Channel’s Laura Ingraham on Tuesday.
“These companies game the system. You have some of these companies that are laying off large numbers of Americans while they’re also getting new H-1 Bs and renewing existing H-1 Bs,” DeSantis said.
“A lot of times people used to say, ‘Well, you know, we’re getting the cream of the crop from all around the world.’ The reality is that’s not actually what H1Bs are. Most of them are from one country, India. There’s a cottage industry about how all those people make money off this system,” he continued.
Major visa reform is already underway in the U.S., as the Trump administration is reviewing all 55 million visas to make sure people who are in the country are following the law.
“The department’s continuous vetting includes all of the more than 55 million foreigners who currently hold valid U.S. visas,” a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital last week.
A visa could potentially be nixed by the department if there have been “overstays, criminal activity, threats to public safety, engaging in any form of terrorist activity or providing support to a terrorist organization.”
“The message that ICE is sending to immigrants and their communities by changing the phrasing is that they are going to treat such persons not as human beings but as criminals.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has maintained its use of the term “alien” when referring to noncitizens, pointing to statutory requirements. The decision has sparked backlash over the Trump administration’s language regarding immigration policy, with critics claiming that such terminology dehumanizes individuals. DHS officials have defended the usage as consistent with existing laws. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) guidance directs staff to use “alien” and “alienage,” replacing Biden-era “noncitizen” terminology.
DHS stated, “‘Undocumented immigrant’ is the immigration equivalent of ‘they/them.’ DHS has no interest in the left’s open borders pronouns. ‘Alien’ is the technical legal term, and that is what DHS will use.”
DHS added, “‘Illegal’ is the only way to correctly describe lawbreakers. Next thing you know you will be calling burglars ‘undocumented houseguests.’ ‘Alien’ is the technical legal term, and that is what DHS will use.”
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) updated its policy manual to match the terminology, reflecting statutes that use “aliens” for admissibility, deportation, crimes, and public benefits eligibility.
Critics said the change stigmatizes immigrants and hints at harsher treatment, while supporters have argued it aligns with U.S. Code and clarifies program language. Immigration advocates have continued advocating for “noncitizen” or “undocumented” terminology, despite the changes.
Immigration Lawyer Hector Díaz said, “The message that ICE is sending to immigrants and their communities by changing the phrasing is that they are going to treat such persons not as human beings but as criminals.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/dhs-uses-terms-alien-and-illegal-despite-backlash/ss-AA1LwCtG
Border czar Tom Homan told reporters that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations will expand after Labor Day in sanctuary cities nationwide, including Seattle, Wash., and Portland, Ore.
“You’re going to see a ramp up of operations in New York. You’re going to see a ramp up of operations continue in L.A. and, you know, Portland, Seattle,” Homan told reporters gathered near the White House. “I mean, all these sanctuary cities refuse to work with ICE … we’re going to address that.”
Homan said some other states are complying and working with ICE.
“We don’t have that problem in Texas and Florida, where all the sheriffs are working with us and they’re actually holding people for us and letting us know when someone’s being released,” he said. “So, we’re going to take the assets we have and move them to problem areas like sanctuary cities, where we know for a fact they’re releasing public safety threat illegal aliens to the streets every day. That’s where we need to send the majority of the resources, and that’s where they’re going.”
Homan was in Portland on Aug. 21 to meet with ICE personnel. After the visit, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson reaffirmed the city’s sanctuary status and said city employees, including police officers, will not assist in ICE operations.
“I was in San Diego and Portland in the last week meeting with the men and women of ICE to understand the hate that’s being pushed against them and letting them know the President has their six,” Homan said. “I have their six.”
The Center Square contacted Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell’s office on Friday for comment on what the nation’s border czar had to say.
“Seattle will not be intimidated by the Trump administration’s threats. Suggesting that federal immigration raids or deployments of federal agents could soon target our city is not about public safety – it’s about political theater and an overreach of federal authority,” said Harrell in a statement emailed to The Center Square. “Seattle is a welcoming city, and our policies comply with both federal and state law. Immigration enforcement is the federal government’s responsibility, not the city’s, and we will not allow our police resources to be commandeered for political purposes.
“We are already working closely with Gov. [Bob] Ferguson and Attorney General [Nick] Brown, and have asked the City Attorney’s Office to review every legal option available to protect our residents. We have successfully taken this administration to court before … over its attempts to punish sanctuary cities, and we are prepared to do so again. We will stand firm, protect our communities, and preserve local control over our public safety resources. Seattle’s values are not up for negotiation.”
Homan said enforcement operations across the country are improving public safety for Americans.
“I look at the numbers every morning,” he said. “There’s about 22 pages of data; 70% of everybody arrested is a criminal,” he said. “But the left says, ‘Well, not criminal enough. It’s just a DUI.’ DUIs kill over 10,000 people a year. That’s a public safety threat. I don’t care what anybody thinks.”
As for the other 30% of arrestees, Homan explained, “We arrested thousands of national security threats. Many of them don’t have a criminal history because their whole goal is to lay low ‘til they do their dirty deed. Gang members. A lot of gang members don’t have a criminal history.”
He concluded, “And finally, final deportation orders. People who had due process at great taxpayer expense. They were ordered removed by a federal judge, and they didn’t leave. And we’re looking for them, too, because we’re sending a message to the whole world. It’s not okay to enter this country illegally. It’s a crime.”
The Trump administration is planning to remove nearly 700 Guatemalan children who had come to the U.S. without their parents, according to a letter sent Friday by Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, and the Central American country said it was ready to take them in.
The removals would violate the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s “child welfare mandate and this country’s long-established obligation to these children,” Wyden told Angie Salazar, acting director of the office within the Department of Health and Human Services that is responsible for migrant children who arrive in the U.S. alone.
“This move threatens to separate children from their families, lawyers, and support systems, to thrust them back into the very conditions they are seeking refuge from, and to disappear vulnerable children beyond the reach of American law and oversight,” the Democratic senator wrote, asking for the deportation plans to be terminated.
It is another step in the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration enforcement efforts, which include plans to surge officers to Chicago for an immigration crackdown, ramping up deportations and ending protections for people who have had permission to live and work in the United States.
Guatemalan Foreign Affairs Minister Carlos Martínez said Friday that the government has told the U.S. it is willing to receive hundreds of Guatemalan minors who arrived unaccompanied to the United States and are being held in U.S. facilities.
Guatemala is particularly concerned about minors who could age out of the facilities for children and be sent to adult detention centers, he said. The exact number of children to be returned remains in flux, but they are currently discussing a little over 600. He said no date has been set yet for their return.
That would be almost double what Guatemala previously agreed to. The head of the country’s immigration service said last month that the government was looking to repatriate 341 unaccompanied minors who were being held in U.S. facilities.
“The idea is to bring them back before they reach 18 years old so that they are not taken to an adult detention center,” Guatemala Immigration Institute Director Danilo Rivera said at the time. He said it would be done at Guatemala’s expense and would be a form of voluntary return.
The plan was announced by President Bernardo Arévalo, who said then that the government had a moral and legal obligation to advocate for the children. His comments came days after U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited Guatemala.
The White House and the Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the latest move, which was first reported by CNN.
Quoting unidentified whistleblowers, Wyden’s letter said children who do not have a parent or legal guardian as a sponsor or who don’t have an asylum case already underway “will be forcibly removed from the country.”
The idea of repatriating such a large number of children to their home country also raised concerns with activists who work with children navigating the immigration process.
“We are outraged by the Trump administration’s renewed assault on the rights of immigrant children,” said Lindsay Toczylowski, president and CEO of Immigrant Defenders Law Center. “We are not fooled by their attempt to mask these efforts as mere ‘repatriations.’ This is yet another calculated attempt to sever what little due process remains in the immigration system.”
Santana, Seitz and Gonzalez write for the Associated Press. Gonzalez reported from McAllen, Texas. AP writers Sonia Pérez D. in Guatemala City and Tim Sullivan in Minneapolis contributed to this report.
Federal prosecutors in D.C. filed criminal charges against a man who burned an American flag outside of the White House earlier this week, after President Trump signed an executive order ordering the Justice Department to investigate flag burning.
Jan Carey, 54, of North Carolina, is facing two misdemeanor criminal counts in Washington, D.C., federal court. Neither charge focuses on the fact that he burned a flag, specifically: one of the counts was for lighting a fire “not in a designated area and receptacle,” and another was for lighting a fire “in a manner that threatened, caused damage to, and resulted in the burning of property, real property, and park resources.”
Both charges are punishable by a fine or no more than six months in custody.
In a video of the flag burning captured by WUSA9 on Monday, Carey identified himself as a military veteran and said he was protesting the executive order.
In an interview with WUSA9, Carey said he “immediately thought I need to go burn a flag in front of the White House and let’s put this to the test.”
On Monday, Mr. Trump signed an executive order directing the Justice Department to investigate people who burn the American flag, even though the Supreme Court in 1989 ruled that the First Amendment protected symbolic speech, including flag burning.
Mr. Trump’s order attempts to navigate around the Supreme Court ruling. It said federal prosecutors should prioritize bringing cases against instances of flag burning that violate other “content-neutral laws,” and said the high court didn’t rule out charges if burning a flag “is likely to incite imminent lawless action” or amounts to “fighting words.”
The president has long pushed for criminal prosecutions for burning an American flag, suggesting in 2016 that it should be punished by “loss of citizenship or year in jail.”
“You burn a flag, you get one year in jail. You don’t get 10 years, you don’t get one month,” Mr. Trump said Monday. “You get one year in jail, and it goes on your record, and you will see flag burning stopping immediately.”
Mr. Trump’s order also calls for Attorney General Pam Bondi to litigate a challenge to the 1989 ruling, potentially getting the issue in front of a Supreme Court bench that is far more conservative than the high court was at the time of the original decision. And it suggests alleged flag burners could be charged with inciting a riot.
Carey, however, was not charged with incitement.
