Tag Archives: Billal Rahman

Newsweek: Trump admin shares meme of ICE alligators outside Florida prison

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The Trump regime’s Carnival of Cruelty continues!

The Department of Homeland Security has shared an apparently AI-generated meme depicting alligators as ICE agents outside of a Florida detention center.

“Alligator Alcatraz” is a new migrant detention center being developed on a remote airstrip in the Everglades. The facility aims to house up to 5,000 detainees and uses the area’s natural isolation and wildlife as part of its security measures.

“Coming soon!” DHS said in a post on X.

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The remote facility is expected to cost Florida approximately $450 million annually to operate. The proposal comes as President Donald Trump‘s administration looks to conduct what it describes as the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history.

Critics say that the center’s remote location and rapid deployment raise ethical and legal questions about the treatment of migrants, transparency, and due process. Supporters say the project is a cost-efficient step to handle increased immigration enforcement.

The image shared by DHS shows alligators wearing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) baseball caps outside the fences of the detention center.

The meme and plans have sparked outrage from critics over inhumane conditions and concerns from environmental groups.

“A horrendous lack of humanity,” Georgetown lecturer Brett Bruen, who served as director of global engagement during the Obama administration, said in a post on X.

Former CIA officer Christopher Burgess described the post as “Disgusting.”

Trump admin shares meme of ICE alligators outside Florida prison
The image depicted the security of “Alligator Alcatraz,” which has become a flashpoint in the immigration debate.

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-admin-meme-ice-alligator-alcatraz-florida-2092148

Newsweek: Workers flee taco truck in California amid ICE raids

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A popular taco truck in Southern California was temporarily abandoned after employees fled the business over fears federal immigration agents were close by, according to NBC4 Los Angeles.

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An employee told NBC 4 Los Angeles that the workers ran off on Saturday after noticing what they described as a suspicious vehicle and receiving a tip about federal immigration agents within the area.

“We only saw the car and that’s all. Before we could see them, we left,” Miguel Romero, a chef at the business, told the outlet.

The business was left deserted, with warm plates of food, untouched drinks, and cash still sitting in the register. The name of the business is not known.

Four employees were in the truck at the time of the incident before they all ran away.

Just hours earlier, the truck had been busy with customers until reports emerged of ICE agents conducting enforcement operations in the area.

The business closed for the day following the incident, per NBC4 Los Angeles. None of the employees were detained by ICE agents.

“It’s getting complicated because we can’t work properly,” Romero told the outlet.

Workers flee taco truck in California amid ICE raids
Four employees were in the truck at the time of the incident before they all ran away.

https://www.newsweek.com/workers-flee-taco-truck-california-ice-immigration-2092156

Newsweek: Are ICE agents using facial recognition phone app? What we know

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Immigration agents have been given access to a facial recognition app to identify people in the field, according to leaked emails.

The emails, exchanged between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) staff and contractors, allow officers to instantly compare biometrics like faces and fingerprints against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) databases, according to 404 Media.

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The emails say that the biometric tool is best used “to identify unknown subjects in the field,” which, along with the contributions from staff at Enforcement and Removal Operations, suggests that it is being used in the Trump administration’s attempts to ramp up the removal of migrants without legal status.

Are ICE agents using facial recognition phone app? What we know
One former ICE agent, who requested anonymity due to concerns about repercussions, told Newsweek ICE has always had that tech.

https://www.newsweek.com/ice-face-recognition-app-deportations-phone-immigration-2091619

Newsweek: Families face $2,150 bill from Trump’s immigration policies—Study

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Families could see their annual expenses rise by $2,150 due to President Donald Trump‘s hardline deportation policies, according to a new report by FWD.us.

The additional costs stem from stricter rules, including work permit cancellations, mass deportations, and reduced legal immigration, which are expected to drive up prices for everyday goods and services nationwide.

Families face $2,150 bill from Trump’s immigration policies—Study
An expert told Newsweek that removing immigrant workers leads to shortages in goods and services, which pushes prices higher.

https://www.newsweek.com/prices-rising-trump-immigration-policies-2091532

Newsweek: Trump administration terminates legal status for more than 500K immigrants

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The Trump administration has announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti, impacting over 520,000 Haitian nationals residing in the United States.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated that the designation will expire on August 3, 2025, with the termination taking effect on September 2, 2025. This decision reverses an 18-month extension granted under former President Joe Biden‘s administration, which would have extended protections until February 2026.

Trump administration terminates legal status for more than 500K immigrants
For more than a decade, Haitian TPS holders have been legally living and working in the U.S. following the 2010 earthquake.

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-admin-haiti-dhs-legal-status-tps-noem-2091814

Newsweek: Utah college student says ICE agent who detained her “knew it wasn’t right”

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A 19-year-old student at the University of Utah says the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent who detained her repeatedly apologized and “knew it wasn’t right,” but his “hands were tied.”

Caroline Dias Goncalves was pulled over by police in Fruita, Colorado, on June 5 on the way to Denver. Shortly after being let go by the officer, Dias Goncalves was stopped again a few miles away in Grand Junction—this time by immigration agents.

“He kept apologizing and told me he wanted to let me go, but his ‘hands were tied.’ There was nothing he could do, even though he knew it wasn’t right. I want you to know—I forgive you,” Dias Goncalves said in a statement.

Utah college student says ICE agent who detained her “knew it wasn’t right”
A 19-year-old student at the University of Utah says the agent who detained her repeatedly apologized and “knew it wasn’t right.”

https://www.newsweek.com/caroline-dias-goncalves-utah-college-student-ice-agent-2089824

Newsweek: Amazon worker fears deportation after humanitarian parole revoked

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An Amazon employee in Indiana fears she will be deported to a war-torn country after her humanitarian parole was revoked by the Trump administration.

Now, her husband believes that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will come for her.

Daphnee S. Poteau, 33, originally from Haiti, had been working at an Amazon customer returns center in Speedway since entering the United States on July 4, 2023, under the Biden-era CHVN humanitarian parole program. On June 14, she was sent home mid-way through her shift after she lost her right to work.

The CHNV parole program was launched in early 2023 by the Biden administration to provide a lawful pathway for individuals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to enter the U.S. temporarily under humanitarian parole. Participants with U.S.-based sponsors could live and work in the country for up to two years.

Though Poteau has not been arrested or detained by immigration authorities, Poteau’s husband, Kristopher D. Vincent, 45, an Amazon associate and U.S. citizen, says the family is feeling “frustrated and scared.”

“I am afraid they will come looking for her eventually. We’ve seen it in the news a lot lately. People in black masks snatching—or attempting to snatch—migrants up, even at immigration hearings,” Vincent told Newsweek. “When judges, and even U.S. representatives, are facing arrests and indictments, how are the little people like us supposed to feel? Her only ‘crime’ seems to be coming from the ‘wrong’ country.”

Amazon worker fears deportation after humanitarian parole revoked
Now, her husband believes that ICE agents will come for her.

https://www.newsweek.com/amazon-worker-deportation-humanitarian-parole-revoked-2089333

Newsweek: ICE responds after beloved bagel house boss’ arrest sparks protests

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A manager of a New York bagel house was detained by federal immigration agents earlier this month, sparking outrage across the community.

Fernando Mejia, 41, who runs Port Washington’s Schmear Bagel & Cafe, was apprehended by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents outside the business on June 12, the Long Island Press reported.

When contacted for comment by Newsweek, a spokesperson for ICE said: “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement encountered Fernando Alberto Mejia-Flores, a Salvadorian national, during a daily routine law enforcement action in the vicinity of Port Washington, New York, June 12. Mejia-Flores was identified as a fugitive alien with a Final Order of Removal. ICE arrested him and transported him to an ICE processing facility in Central Islip, New York.”

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The American Immigration Council estimates that the president’s mass deportation policy could slap a one-time cost of $315 billion on the country.

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“Fernando was also recently hospitalized for medical issues, which make his sudden detention all the more dangerous to his well-being,” a post on GoFundMe reads. “His sudden detention has also left his family, including his 14-year-old daughter, emotionally devastated and facing immediate legal battles.”

ICE responds after beloved bagel house boss’ arrest sparks protests
Fernando Mejia who runs Port Washington’s Schmear Bagel & Cafe, was apprehended by ICE agents outside the business earlier this month.

https://www.newsweek.com/fernando-mejia-bagel-house-ice-immigration-2089381

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

Newsweek: ICE deports Army sergeant’s wife—”They’re taking Shirly”

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The wife of a U.S. Army sergeant was detained in March by federal immigration agents outside her workplace in Texas before being deported to Honduras last month.

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This case, first highlighted by the nonprofit military news outlet The War Horse, highlights the impact of immigration enforcement on U.S. military families, which lack guaranteed protection from detention or deportation. According to the advocacy group Fwd.us, as many as 80,000 undocumented spouses or parents of military personnel may currently reside in the United States.

Military Parole in Place is a discretionary program that allows undocumented spouses, parents, or children of U.S. military members—including active-duty, Selected Reserve, or honorably discharged veterans—to remain in the country temporarily and avoid deportation. It also provides a lawful entry record (“parole”) that can help eligible individuals apply for a green card without leaving the U.S.

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Guardado entered the U.S. without authorization in 2014 at age 16. She was apprehended at the border and issued an expedited removal order. After later marrying Correa, she sought legal residency through a process available to immediate relatives of active-duty service members.

According to Mother Jones and FOX 26 Houston, Correa’s petition was approved in 2023 by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), but the existing removal order complicated the case.

On March 13, 2025, Guardado was asked to step outside her office by individuals identifying themselves as Department of Public Safety officers. She was instead detained by ICE and transported to a detention facility in Conroe, Texas. Correa was not immediately notified and only learned her location after three days, when Guardado contacted him from detention.

https://www.newsweek.com/ice-deports-army-sergeant-wife-shirly-guardado-2086564