Tag Archives: Colombia

Washington Post: As Trump shuts out migrants, Spain opens its doors and fuels economic growth

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As the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigrants and asylum seekers brings tear gas, protests and raids to the streets of the United States, Spain is positioning itself as a counterpoint: a new land of opportunity.

In this nation of 48 million with long colonial links to the New World, an influx of predominantly Latin American immigrants is helping fuel one of the fastest-growing economies in Europe. The Spanish economic transformation is unfolding as the center-left government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has streamlined immigration rules while offering legal status to roughly 700,000 irregular migrants since 2021.

A landmark bill now being negotiated in the Congress of Deputies could grant legal amnesty to hundreds of thousands more — most of them Spanish-speakers from predominantly Catholic countries in Latin America. Those newcomers often enjoy visa-free travel to Spain, even as Madrid controversially works with Morocco, Mauritania and other countries to block irregular arrivals from the African coast, though Sánchez has also called for tolerance toward migrants fleeing poverty and violence in Africa.

Spain’s approach is attracting at least some migrants rejected or barred from the United States, including Venezuelans who are now subject to President Donald Trump’s travel ban.

…

Yet the legislative amnesty push came not from a government plan but a grassroots effort backed by civil actors including small-town mayors, companies, migrant advocates and the Catholic church. Spain also has a history of normalizing irregular migrants who can prove steady work, with the last large-scale amnesty under the center-left government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in 2005.

Should Sánchez survive the corruption crisis — and Spain’s economy continue to thrive — his policies could set up this nation as the antithesis of Trump’s America: a migrant-friendly progressive paradise.

As Trump shuts out migrants, Spain opens its doors and fuels economic growth
Defying the anti-immigrant trend in the U.S., Spain is reaping economic benefits by granting citizenship to tens of thousands of newly-arrived workers.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/as-trump-shuts-out-migrants-spain-opens-its-doors-and-fuels-economic-growth/ar-AA1H5Kjo

Alternet: ‘Ineffective security theater’: Lawmaker blasts Kristi Noem ahead of Michigan visit

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Michigan state senator Mallory McMorrow (D) strongly criticized Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem Thursday ahead of Noem’s visit to Michigan.

“Kristi Noem is headed to Michigan to fearmonger about border security with… Canada,” Mallory said on the social platform X.

“The Trump administration’s mass deportation boondoggle is nothing but security theater that actually make us LESS safe,” she added.

McMorrow continued: “All to the tune of an additional $1 TRILLION in your taxpayer dollars.”

In a video attached to her X post, the Michigan lawmaker said immigrants are being arrested even when they show up to their court hearings and try to follow the legal pathway to immigration. She called Noem’s immigration actions “ineffective security theater.”

McMorrow accused the Trump administration of going after people “who have committed no egregious crimes” “Like an 18-year-old student just three credits away from high school graduation here in Michigan,” she added.

On Wednesday, NBC reported that seven Senate Democrats who supported Noem’s confirmation as DHS secretary in January are now expressing regret and disillusionment with her performance.

https://www.alternet.org/kristi-noem-michigan

New York Times: ‘I’m an American, Bro!’: Latinos Report Raids in Which U.S. Citizenship Is Questioned

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A raid in Montebello, Calif., has stirred fears that federal agents are detaining and racially profiling U.S. citizens of Hispanic descent.

They swept into the Southern California car lot last Thursday at 4:32 p.m. — masked and armed Border Patrol agents in an unmarked white S.U.V.

One agent soon twisted Jason Brian Gavidia’s arm and pressed him against a black metal fence outside the lot where he runs an auto body shop in Montebello, a working-class suburb east of the Los Angeles city limits. Another officer then asked him an unusual question to prove whether he was a U.S. citizen or an undocumented immigrant.

“What hospital were you born at?” the Border Patrol agent asked.

Mr. Gavidia, 29, was born only a short drive from where they were standing, in East Los Angeles. He did not know the hospital’s name. “I was born here,” he shouted at the agent, adding, “I’m an American, bro!”

Mr. Gavidia was eventually released as he stood on the sidewalk. But another U.S. citizen, Javier Ramirez, 32 — Mr. Gavidia’s friend and co-worker — had been forced facedown to the ground by two agents in the car lot. Mr. Ramirez was put inside a van and driven to a federal detention center, where he remains in custody. Mr. Ramirez’s lawyer said that officials at the detention center had denied his request to speak to his client.

“I know enough to know this is not right at all,” Mr. Gavidia said in an interview. “Latinos in general are getting attacked. We’re all getting attacked.”

The episode on Thursday was captured on video by Mr. Gavidia’s friend and the car lot’s security cameras, and described in interviews with Mr. Gavidia, Mr. Ramirez’s lawyer and another man who was at the shop during the raid.

This is America? Sooner or later one of their victims will kill some of these thugs in self defense.

The spokesperson said one person had attempted to flee the scene, had assaulted an agent in the process and was arrested for having assaulted and interfered with agents. Another person was detained on the street for investigation for interference but was released after being confirmed to be a U.S. citizen. And a third person, the official said, was determined to be “an illegal alien” and was taken into custody without incident.

Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Homeland Security Department, which oversees the Border Patrol as well as Customs and Border Protection, said in a statement that Kristi [Bimbo #2] Noem, the homeland security secretary, “has been clear: If you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Payback is coming. It’s only a matter of time before the victims start responding with force of their own. The ICE thugs will get no sympathy from me.

As agents questioned Mr. Gavidia on the sidewalk, they pressed him against the fence and he repeatedly and loudly told them he could show identification to prove his citizenship. They dropped his arms and he reached for his California driver’s license.

The agents then confiscated both his license and his cellphone, Mr. Gavidia said. He pleaded with them for several minutes and the officer eventually returned his phone but never gave his license back, Mr. Gavidia said.

F*ck*ng ICE pigs stole his ID.

“That’s the new gang of L.A. right there,” he said on the video, adding: “This is not fair at all, bro. We’re all American here, man.”

hispanic-americans-raids-citizenship.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/15/us/hispanic-americans-raids-citizenship.html

Alternet: Busted: Major investigation catches Trump administration in a massive lie

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The Trump administration knew that the vast majority of the 238 Venezuelan immigrants it sent to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador in mid-March had not been convicted of crimes in the United States before it labeled them as terrorists and deported them, according to U.S. Department of Homeland Security data that has not been previously reported.’

President Donald Trump and his aides have branded the Venezuelans as “rapists,” “savages,” “monsters” and “the worst of the worst.” When multiple news organizations disputed those assertions with reporting that showed many of the deportees did not have criminal records, the administration doubled down. It said that its assessment of the deportees was based on a thorough vetting process that included looking at crimes committed both inside and outside the United States. But the government’s own data, which was obtained by ProPublica, The Texas Tribune and a team of journalists from Venezuela, showed that officials knew that only 32 of the deportees had been convicted of U.S. crimes and that most were nonviolent offenses, such as retail theft or traffic violations.

The data indicates that the government knew that only six of the immigrants were convicted of violent crimes: four for assault, one for kidnapping and one for a weapons offense. And it shows that officials were aware that more than half, or 130, of the deportees were not labeled as having any criminal convictions or pending charges; they were labeled as only having violated immigration laws.

As for foreign offenses, our own review of court and police records from around the United States and in Latin American countries where the deportees had lived found evidence of arrests or convictions for 20 of the 238 men. Of those, 11 involved violent crimes such as armed robbery, assault or murder, including one man who the Chilean government had asked the U.S. to extradite to face kidnapping and drug charges there. Another four had been accused of illegal gun possession.

Busted: Major investigation catches Trump administration in a massive lie

https://www.alternet.org/venezuelan-deportees

India Today: First flight departs US under Trump’s $1,000 ‘self-deport’ deal

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  • DHS launched first charter flight for migrants opting self-deport with USD 1,000 stipend
  • Flight carried 64 people from Honduras and Colombia, departing Houston
  • Participants received travel aid, stipend and chance to return legally later

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has conducted its first charter flight for migrants who agreed to “self-deport” under a new program that offers a USD 1,000 stipend to those voluntarily leaving the United States.

The self-deportation program was announced in March. Since then, the administration has paid for some migrants’ tickets to return to their home countries via commercial airlines. Monday’s flight departed Houston at about 9:30 a.m., carrying 64 people from Honduras and Colombia, according to a DHS official.

A “chance to return legally later”? Unlikely as long as King Donald reigns.

First flight departs US under Trump’s $1,000 ‘self-deport’ deal
The Trump administration launched a self-deportation program offering USD 1,000 to migrants who leave voluntarily. DHS conducted the first charter flight Monday, returning 64 people to Colombia and Honduras.

https://www.indiatoday.in/world/us-news/story/first-flight-departs-us-under-trumps-1000-self-deport-deal-glbs-2727328-2025-05-20

USA Today: How will Trump’s tariffs affect grocery store prices? We explain.

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“The short answer is yes, prices are going to go up,” said David Ortega, a food economist and professor at Michigan State University. “They may not skyrocket for all imported products, but they will go up. Tariffs are a tax on imports, so by definition, they are inflationary.”

While higher tariffs could still be coming after a 90-day-pause, the baseline 10% tariff on all goods, plus higher duties on Chinese products already in effect are a big increase in food costs for American’s budgets, said Thomas Gremillion, director of food policy at The Consumer Federation of America.

“The 10% ‘default’ tariffs alone represent a truly historic federal tax increase, maybe the largest in my lifetime, with a highly regressive impact,” Gremillion said.

How will Trump’s tariffs affect grocery store prices? We explain.
How will Trump’s tariffs or the threat of more tariffs affect grocery store prices?

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/how-will-trump-s-tariffs-affect-grocery-store-prices-we-explain/ar-AA1Eco8Y

Daily Mail: ICE Barbie Kristi Noem [Bimbo #2] and Homeland Security advisor Corey Lewandowski’s cozy DC living arrangement revealed

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‘Don’t forget DC is a small town and people talk. It is an open secret that they are together.

‘It has always been joked about that Navy Yard is a dorm for Hill Republicans and Trump staffers – now it’s even higher up, with married cabinet secretaries bunking their volunteer chiefs.

‘Keeping the Homeland “secure”, or at least pretending to, is now 24/7 I suppose.’

Mom-of-three Noem [Bimbo #2], 53, invited her kids and grandchildren to DC over the Easter weekend when she made international headlines for having her purse snatched as they ate at a burger bar.

Only days later, DailyMail.com spotted former Trump campaign manager Lewandowski walking back and forth between their two residences, set among artisan coffee shops, bars, and chic waterfront restaurants.

On one occasion the veteran lobbyist emerged from Noem’s [Bimbo #2] apartment complex in his trademark suit, necktie and US flag pin and climbed into an Uber.

The next evening Lewandowski walked out clutching a duffel bag, crossed the street where a Secret Service detail is parked up 24/7 and headed inside his own building.

Noem [Bimbo #2] was the Republican Governor of South Dakota and a rising MAGA star when DailyMail.com first disclosed details of their years-long, clandestine affair in September 2023.

Dad-of-four Lewandowski wouldn’t comment while Noem [Bimbo #2] – married to her insurance exec husband Bryon for the past 33 years – denied the fling.

A DailyMail.com source insisted this week, however: ‘There’s no question the relationship is ongoing.

‘They continue to travel together, they continue to socialize together. Very clearly, they’re still having an extra-marital relationship.’

Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski’s cozy DC living setup REVEALED
The Homeland Security Secretary and her top advisor are known to enjoy the closest of professional relationships.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14664625/Kristi-Noem-Corey-Lewandowski-DC-living-arrangement-affair.html

New York Times: A Venezuelan Is Missing. The U.S. Deported Him. But to Where?

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The immigrant does not appear on a list of people sent to a prison in El Salvador, and his family and friends have no idea of his whereabouts. He has essentially disappeared.

Ricardo Prada Vásquez, disappeared Venezuelan immigrant

In late January, Ricardo Prada Vásquez, a Venezuelan immigrant working in a delivery job in Detroit, picked up an order at a McDonald’s. He was heading to the address when he erroneously turned onto the Ambassador Bridge, which leads to Canada. It is a common mistake even for those who live in the Michigan border city. But for Mr. Prada, 32, it proved fateful.

The U.S. authorities took Mr. Prada into custody when he attempted to re-enter the country; he was put in detention and ordered deported. On March 15, he told a friend in Chicago that he was among a number of detainees housed in Texas who expected to be repatriated to Venezuela.

That evening, the Trump administration flew three planes carrying Venezuelan migrants from the Texas facility to El Salvador, where they have been ever since, locked up in a maximum-security prison and denied contact with the outside world.

But Mr. Prada has not been heard from or seen. He is not on the list of 238 people who were deported to El Salvador that day. He does not appear in the photos and videos released by the authorities of shackled men with shaved heads.

https://archive.is/5WSq8

Los Angeles Magazine: Orange County Couple Deported to Colombia After 35 Years in U.S.

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Laguna Niguel residents with no criminal record were detained during routine immigration check-in

The American dream ended abruptly last month for Gladys and Nelson Gonzalez, a Laguna Niguel couple deported to Colombia after 35 years of building their lives in Southern California. The pair, who raised three U.S.-born daughters, were detained during what should have been a routine check-in with immigration officials on February 21, according to Fox 11.

Their oldest daughter, Jessica, 33, described the confusion that day. Her mother called after initially receiving an extension, only to be arrested moments later when a different agent intervened. “This official was cruel,” said Stephanie, one of their three daughters. “They arrested my dad first and then called my mom in and arrested her too.”

They were put into handcuffs by their wrists and ankles and treated as criminals before getting to these detention centers,” Stephanie Gonzalez told KTLA. “All they said is they extended their stay, even though every year they’ve had permission to be here, and they’re law-abiding citizens who show up and are doing their duty to check in with immigration and say, ‘Hey, I’m here. I’m not hiding or doing anything wrong.’ Then they just arrested them like that.

The deportation left three adult daughters—Jessica, Stephanie, and 23-year-old Gabby—plus a young grandson behind in the United States.

For decades, the Gonzalezes had diligently followed immigration protocols. Nelson worked as a phlebotomist; Gladys maintained their household. Their daughters insist their parents never missed appointments and continually pursued legal pathways to remain in the country they called home since 1989 when they fled Colombia seeking asylum from violence and drugs.

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson provided a different perspective, telling The Orange County Register the couple had “exhausted all legal options to remain in the U.S. between March 2000 and August 2021,” despite numerous appeals through various immigration channels.

After their initial detention, the couple spent weeks moving through the system—first to a San Bernardino facility, then Arizona, and finally Louisiana before being deported. The experience left them traumatized but grateful to reconnect with family in Colombia who are helping them restart their lives.

“We are thankful this nightmare is over, while at the same time grieving the reality that our parents will not be coming home anytime soon,” the daughters wrote in a GoFundMe update on March 20, confirming their parents had arrived in Colombia together.

The Gonzalez family’s story reflects the broader shift in immigration enforcement priorities that now target anyone living in the country without authorization rather than focusing primarily on those with criminal records.

Orange County Couple Deported to Colombia After 35 Years in U.S. – LAmag

The Independent: California couple deported after 35 years in the US. Three daughters stunned

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Worked and paid taxes for 35 years, no criminal records, 3 children born in the U.S., arrested when they reported for their interview with ICE, gone, *poof*.

Aren’t these the type of people we want to KEEP in the U.S.A.?

California couple deported after 35 years in the US. Three daughters stunned

California couple deported after 35 years in the US. Three daughters stunned