Tag Archives: deportation

Guardian: Judge blocks Trump administration from deporting Kilmar Ábrego García again

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Federal judge says man wrongfully deported to El Salvador cannot be expelled until October as asylum case proceeds

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Kilmar Ábrego García, who was already wrongfully deported once, cannot be deported again until at least early October, according to multiple reports.

CNN reported that the US district judge Paula Xinis, who is presiding over the case, scheduled an evidentiary hearing for 6 October, and said that she intends to have Trump administration officials testify about the government’s efforts to re-deport Ábrego.

At the same hearing, Ábrego’s lawyers informed the court that he plans to seek asylum in the United States, according to the Associated Press.

Ábrego’s case has drawn national attention since he was wrongfully deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador in March.

Following widespread pressure, including from the supreme court, the Trump administration returned him to the US in June. Upon his return, however, he immediately faced criminal charges related to human smuggling, allegations that his lawyers have rejected as “preposterous”.

Ábrego, who is 30 years old and a Salvadorian native, was released from criminal custody in Tennessee on Friday while awaiting trial.

But over the weekend, the Trump administration announced new plans to deport him to Uganda.

Then on Monday, Ábrego was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) during a scheduled immigration check-in in Baltimore, which was one of the conditions of his release.

He is currently being held in a detention center in Virginia.

Ábrego’s legal team swiftly filed a lawsuit on Monday, challenging both his current detention and his potential deportation to Uganda. In court filings, they argued that the government is retaliating against Ábrego for challenging his deportation to El Salvador.

“The only reason he was taken into detention was to punish him,” said Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, an attorney representing Ábrego, on Monday. “To punish him for exercising his constitutional rights.”

Later on Monday, Xinis issued a ruling temporarily barring the government from deporting Ábrego until at least Friday. On Wednesday, she extended her order until Ábrego’s current deportation challenge in court is resolved, according to ABC News.

It added that Xinis said she would issue a ruling within 30 days of the 6 October hearing, and also ordered that Ábrego must remain in custody within a 200-mile (320km) radius of the court in Maryland.

She also reportedly said she would not order Ábrego released from immigration custody, leaving that decision for an immigration judge.

Ábrego entered the US without authorization around 2011 as a teenager. According to court documents, he was fleeing gang violence.

In 2019, a federal court granted him protection from deportation to El Salvador. Despite that ruling, in March, he was mistakenly deported there by the Trump administration.

In court documents in April, the Trump administration admitted that Ábrego’s deportation had been due to an “administrative error”.

Since then, Trump administration officials have repeatedly accused him of being affiliated with the MS-13 gang, a claim Ábrego and his family have denied.

Judge blocks Trump administration from deporting Kilmar Ábrego García again
Federal judge says man wrongfully deported to El Salvador cannot be expelled until October as asylum case proceeds

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/27/kilmar-abrego-garcia-deportation-trump-asylum

Latin Times: Trump Admin Already Sending Migrants To African Country As Part Of Deportation Agreement

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Seven migrants from third countries were sent to Rwanda, the country confirmed

The Trump administration deported seven migrants from third countries to Rwanda in August as part of an agreement, the African nation confirmed on Thursday.

Rwandan government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo said in a statement that the group arrived to the country in mid-August, ABC News reported.

They were “accommodated by an international organization,” Makolo added, and are being visited both by members of the International Organization for Migration and the Rwandan social services.

“Three of the individuals have expressed a desire to return to their home countries, while four wish to stay and build lives in Rwanda,” the spokeswoman added. They are also set to receive workforce training and healthcare. She provided no information of the migrants sent to the country.

Rwanda will take up to 250 migrants following an agreement signed in June.

Four African countries accepted receiving migrants from third countries from the U.S., the other ones being Eswatini, South Sudan and Uganda.

Uganda is the latest one to do so, with CBS News reporting earlier this month that it agreed to the deal as long as deportees don’t have criminal records. It is not clear how many migrants the country is willing to accept.

Overall, at least a dozen countries have already accepted or agreed to accept deportees from third nations so far in the second Trump administration.

Earlier this month the Miami Herald reported that more than three in ten migrants deported to third countries are Venezuelan. The outlet scanned through data obtained by the University of California’s Deportation Data Project. It showed that Venezuelans make up the largest share of deportees sent to countries where they were neither born nor were citizens.

Overall, close to 3,000 Venezuelans were deported to third countries during the first six months of the year, although the outlet clarified that the dataset is likely incomplete. Over two hundreds were infamously sent to a mega-prison in El Salvador, where many claimed to be subjected to numerous abuses before being released as part of a three-part agreement involving the U.S., Venezuela and the Central American country.

Most have been sent to Spanish-speaking countries including Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Spain. However, two were sent to Austria, one to Italy, one to Syria and one to Vanuatu, in the Pacific.

Overall, 7,900 such deportations were recorded by then, with Venezuelans representing 36.71% of the total. They are followed by Guatemalans (20%) and Hondurans (7.8%).

Trump Admin Already Sending Migrants To African Country As Part Of Deportation Agreement
The Trump administration deported migrants from third countries to Rwanda in August, the African nation confirmed

https://www.latintimes.com/trump-admin-already-sending-migrants-african-country-part-deportation-agreement-588923

Associated Press: US deportation flights hit record highs as carriers try to hide the planes, advocates say

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Immigration advocates gather like clockwork outside Seattle’s King County International Airport to witness deportation flights and spread word of where they are going and how many people are aboard. Until recently, they could keep track of the flights using publicly accessible websites.

But the monitors and others say airlines are now using dummy call signs for deportation flights and are blocking the planes’ tail numbers from tracking websites, even as the number of deportation flights hits record highs under President Donald Trump. The changes forced them to find other ways to follow the flights, including by sharing information with other groups and using data from an open-source exchange that tracks aircraft transmissions.

Their work helps people locate loved ones who are deported in the absence of information from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which rarely discloses flights. News organizations have used such flight tracking in reporting.

Tom Cartwright, a retired J.P. Morgan financial officer turned immigration advocate, tracked 1,214 deportation-related flights in July — the highest level since he started watching in January 2020. About 80% are operated by three airlines: GlobalX, Eastern Air Express and Avelo Airlines. They carry immigrants to other airports to be transferred to overseas flights or take them across the border, mostly to Central American countries and Mexico.

Cartwright tracked 5,962 flights from the start of Trump’s second term through July, a 41% increase of 1,721 over the same period in 2024. Those figures including information from major deportation airports but not smaller ones like King County International Airport, also known as Boeing Field. Cartwright’s figures include 68 military deportation flights since January — 18 in July alone. Most have gone to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

The work became so demanding that Cartwright, 71, and his group, Witness at the Border, turned over the job this month to Human Rights First, which dubbed its project “ICE Flight Monitor.”

“His work brings essential transparency to U.S. government actions impacting thousands of lives and stands as a powerful example of citizen-driven accountability in defense of human rights and democracy,” Uzrz Zeya, Human Rights First’s chief executive officer, said.

The airlines did not respond to multiple email requests for comment. ICE is part of the Department of Homeland Security, which would not confirm any security measures it has taken.

La Resistencia, a Seattle-area nonprofit immigration rights group, has monitored 59 flights at Boeing Field and five at the Yakima airport in 2025, surpassing its 2024 total of 42.

Not all are deportation flights. Many are headed to or from immigration detention centers or to airports near the border. La Resistencia counted 1,023 immigrants brought in to go to the ICE detention center in Tacoma, Washington, and 2,279 flown out, often to states on the U.S.-Mexico border.

“ICE is doing everything in its power to make it as hard as possible to differentiate their contractors’ government activities from other commercial endeavors,” organizer Guadalupe Gonzalez told The Associated Press.

Airlines can legally block data

The Federal Aviation Administration allows carriers to block data like tail numbers from public flight tracking websites under the Limiting Aircraft Data Displayed program, or LADD, said Ian Petchenik, a spokesman for FlightRadar24.

“Tail numbers are like VIN numbers on cars,” Gonzalez said.

Planes with blocked tail numbers no longer appear on websites like FlightRadar24 or FlightAware. The tracker page identifies these them as “N/A – Not Available” as they move across the map and when they are on the tarmac. Destinations and arrival times aren’t listed.

Carriers have occasionally used LADD for things like presidential campaigns, but in March, FlightRadar24 received LADD notices for more than a dozen aircraft, Petchenik said. It was unusual to see that many aircraft across multiple airlines added to the blocking list, he said. The blocked planes were often used for ICE deportations and transfers, he said.

Of the 94 ICE Air contractor planes that La Resistencia was tracking nationwide, 40 have been unlisted, Gonzalez said.

Similar things happened with the call signs airlines use to identify flights in the air, Gonzalez said.

Airlines use a combination of letters in their company name and numbers to identify their planes. GlobalX uses GXA, for example. But in the past few months, the ICE carriers have changed their regular call signs, making it more difficult to locate their immigration activates, he said.

US deportation flights hit record highs as carriers try to hide the planes, advocates say
As Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation flights reach record highs, the airlines running the trips have taken steps to make it more difficult to track the planes used to carry shackled people across the country and around the world.

https://apnews.com/article/ice-deportation-immigration-flights-f61941d31adf43a6a01cccc720f3bb01

ABC News: Inside the facility where ICE officers train as Trump administration ramps up hiring

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As U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ramps up hiring, one of the first stops new officers make is to a training center just outside of Savannah, Georgia.

The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) is preparing to train up to 10,000 new ICE officers, as part of the Department of Homeland Security’s deportation efforts, and members of the media were given access to see the “lifecycle of a recruit.”

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, a graduate of the FLETC training course in 2007, told ABC News the agency is confident they’ll be able to staff up 10,000 new officers by the end of the year.

“We are taking a whole of government approach,” he told ABC News. “We have to be cognizant of who we are hiring, but I think it is an achievable goal.”

The process starts with a security screening and background check, once that passes, the entire time can take as little as eight weeks from training to an officer is on the street, according to ICE.

Only 8 weeks of training are need to become an ICE goon with gun & badge. That is pathetic.

The training center is run by former ICE Acting Director Caleb Vitello, who said the agency cut the Spanish language portion of the training to speed up the hiring timeline.

Instead, ICE uses Spanish language software in the field which is faster, according to Vitello.

We’ve already seen videos of detainees being abused as ICE pigs refuse to use their translation software.

“The recruits here know the staff training them are professionals, and experts in the job they do,” Lyons said while standing outside of the recruit obstacle course.

Both Lyons and Vitello stressed that they did not want to compromise the quality of officers for quantity. The training academy runs more classes and goes six days a week, according to ICE, and they have four different sites around the country in which they run training.

Lyons said ICE can be picky about who is recruited because of the more than 121,000 applications the agency has received.

Picky? As in (1) big, (2) dumb, (3) stupid, (4) ill-trained, and (5) ill-disciplined?

ABC News observed the Special Operations Team, a 12-person elite tactical training team, clear a house that is used for training purposes. That team is deployed when the threat levels are high and when they need to serve a warrant. There is one in every field office around the country, according to ICE.

Other law enforcement agencies, such as the Bureau of Prisons, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), also train at the center.

Lyons was also asked by ABC News about the masks worn by ICE officers. He said they are necessary because of the doxxing — the malicious sharing of personal information — he says agents are facing.

“I wish our officers didn’t have to wear them,” Lyons said. “You have this crazy rhetoric where people are calling for threats against ICE officers and threats to agents.”

During the Biden administration and at the beginning of the Trump administration, Lyons said ICE officers weren’t wearing masks, but he said now the threat has increased.

“People are trying to identify them and post their photos online, dox them, threaten their families, it’s totally unacceptable,” Lyons said. “What we need is elected officials to work with us to hold these people accountable that dox ICE agents.”

Inside the facility where ICE officers train as the Trump administration ramps up hiring
The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center is preparing to train up to 10,000 new ICE officers.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/inside-facility-ice-officers-train-trump-administration-ramps/story?id=124919839

Newsweek: ICE pushes to deport double amputee in US since age 2 after over 40 years

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Rodney Taylor, 46, who came to the United States from Liberia at age 2 for medical treatment, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in January and is awaiting a judge’s decision on whether he will be deported.

Newsweek confirmed in the ICE detainee tracker that Taylor is currently held at the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia.

Newsweek reached out to ICE for comment via email on Thursday.

Why It Matters

Taylor’s detention and potential deportation come amid an immigration crackdown under the Trump administration, with the president having pledged to launch the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history. However, Taylor was arrested by ICE days before President Donald Trump‘s second term began.

Immigrants residing in the country both illegally and legally, with valid documentation such as green cards and visas, as well as those with criminal histories, have been detained. Many with past convictions, even from decades ago, have found themselves in ICE custody despite spending years without facing serious immigration problems. Some detainees have reported being held in inhumane and harsh conditions.

What To Know

Taylor came to the United States from Liberia as a child on a medical visa after losing both legs, according to Atlanta news station 11Alive. He has never returned to Liberia and was never granted U.S. citizenship.

On January 15, just five days before Trump took office, ICE agents, with guns reportedly drawn, arrested Taylor, his fiancée, Mildred Pierre told Fox 5 Atlanta. Taylor worked as a barber in Gwinnett County and is the father of seven children.

Taylor was arrested for burglary when he was 16, although he was later pardoned by the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole in 2010.

“I thought I had a pardon from the state. It was all behind me in the past. They brought it up, and it was shocking to me,” Taylor told Fox 5 from his Stewart Detention Center cell in June. The center is owned by CoreCivic.

11Alive reported that state pardons don’t necessarily apply under federal immigration law, and this one did not meet the necessary thresholds for relief from deportation.

The news station said that Taylor applied for legal permanent status three times, but due to his juvenile conviction, the applications were denied. His family members are U.S. citizens living in America, according to 11Alive.

Pierre told 11Alive this month that Taylor’s August 12 hearing would be his final immigration hearing. Fox 5 reported that earlier this year, Taylor was held without proper medical care, with his prosthetics rubbing against him constantly.

What People Are Saying

Taylor’s fiancée, Mildred Pierre, told Fox 5 Atlanta: “There’s a truck that blocked me from the back, two cars come in the front, guns drawn, ‘Get out the car, get out the car.’ My kids were in the back crying. We didn’t know what was going on. It was like a scene from a movie.”

Sarah Owings, Taylor’s attorney, told Fox 5 Atlanta: “Mr. Taylor has a conviction, that’s true, but it was pardoned. It was pardoned, and moreover, he was only sentenced to probation and time served. He should not be subject to this type of detention. ICE has the ability to release all of them at their discretion.”

Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a previous statement shared with Newsweek: “Under Secretary 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. Secretary Noem unleashed ICE to target the worst of the worst and carry out the largest deportation operation of criminal aliens in American history.”

What Happens Next

A judge has less than a month to decide whether Taylor will remain in the United States or be deported. His fiancée fears he could die if sent back to Liberia, citing his medical condition and the lack of resources there.

ICE pushes to deport double amputee in US since age 2 after over 40 years
Rodney Taylor has been in ICE detention since the beginning of this year.

https://www.newsweek.com/ice-pushes-deport-double-amputee-us-over-40-years-2117336

Slingshot News: ‘A Lack Of Cooperation’: Secretary Kristi Noem Blames Local American Police For Her Department’s Own Failures In House Hearing

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‘A Lack Of Cooperation’: Secretary Kristi Noem Blames Local American Police For Her Department’s Own Failures In House Hearing
Secretary Kristi Noem blamed local American police her Department’s own failures during a recent House hearing. Noem claimed that a ‘lack of cooperation’ was the reason for her department’s failures.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/a-lack-of-cooperation-secretary-kristi-noem-blames-local-american-police-for-her-department-s-own-failures-in-house-hearing/vi-AA1KRC27

Latin Times: New Zealand Woman Held By ICE For Weeks Along With Six-Year-Old Son: ‘Treated Like a Criminal’

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Sarah Shaw has lived in the U.S. for more than three year

A New Zealand woman claims she is being unfairly held by ICE with her six-year-old son after being detained while attempting to re-enter the U.S. from Canada.

The woman in question is Sarah Shaw, who has lived in Washington state for more than three years. Speaking to The Guardian, she said she crossed to Canada to drop off her two eldest children at the Vancouver airport so they could take a flight to New Zealand to stay with their grandparents.

When attempting to enter the U.S. again she was detained with her son. Victoria Besancon, a friend of Shaw’s who is helping raise money for her legal fight, described the incident as “terrifying.”

“They didn’t really explain anything to her at first, they just kind of quietly took her and her son and immediately put them in like an unmarked white van,” she said. Shaw’s phone was confiscated and both she and her son were taken to a processing center in South Texas.

The outlet explained that Shaw was living in the U.S. on what is described as a “combo card” visa: one obtained through employment and another one, the I-360, which grants immigration status to survivors of domestic violence. She only realized that the latter part had not been fully approved. Her son’s was, and because of that Besancon said he is being held “illegally.”

“She gives therapy and counselling to some of our most at risk youth … and to be treated like a criminal herself has just been absolutely devastating,” Besancon said.

Shaw’s case is among many others that have made headlines throughout the Trump administration. In mid-July, an Irish tourist who overstayed his visa three days as a result of a health issue was prevented from leaving the country by ICE and detained for roughly 100 days.

Another high-profile case involved Canadian actress Jasmine Mooney, who was detained over an incomplete visa in March.

New Zealand Woman Held By ICE For Weeks Along With Six-Year-Old Son: ‘Treated Like a Criminal’
A woman from New Zealand is reportedly being held at an ICE center with her six-year-old son after being detained attempting to cross the border with Canada

https://www.latintimes.com/new-zealand-woman-held-ice-weeks-along-six-year-old-son-treated-like-criminal-588396

Latin Times: Florida Republicans Remove ‘Deportation Depot’ Merchandise Over Complaints From Home Depot

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A Home Depot spokesperson said the company had reached out to the party because it had not approved the use of its branding or logo

Florida Republicans have removed merchandise related to a new migrant detention center dubbed “Deportation Depot” after Home Depot complained about being linked to it.

“The Deport Depot” merchandise had a logo that was similar to The Home Depot, including the recognizable orange box and stenciled font, according to the Miami Herald.

Home Depot spokeswoman Beth Marlowe said the company had not approved the use of its branding or logo and “reached out to the Republican Party of Florida to resolve this issue,” she said.

The outlet noted that items were still for sale as of Saturday afternoon, with items ranging from $15 to $28 and sales going as political contributions to the party. However, they were removed hours after it published a story on the matter.

Governor Ron DeSantis said last week his administration is taking steps towards holding migrants at the North Florida detention center. “It is not going to take forever, but we are also not rushing to do this right this day,” he said.

The prison is located in a rural area between Tallahassee and Jacksonville. Officials intend to hold up to 1,300 migrants at the Baker Correctional Institution, which has been closed since 2021 due to staff shortages.

The decision comes as a federal judge in Florida judge is considering whether to order the shutdown of the immigrant detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz” over claims that it could cause “irreparable” harm to the Everglades area in which it is set up.

The Miami Herald noted that the groups are seeking a preliminary injunction to stop operations at the site. They are Friends of the Everglades, the Center for Biological Diversity, Earthjustice and the Miccosukee Tribe.

They sued the Trump and DeSantis administrations, accusing them of dodging a federal law requiring an environmental review of the site before pursuing the initiative. The injunction would stop all operations and further halt construction until there is a verdict. Florida authorities have also sought to fundraise with merchandise related to the center.

Florida Republicans Remove ‘Deportation Depot’ Merchandise Over Complaints From Home Depot
The Republican Party of Florida removed deportation-themed merchandise following complaints from Home Depot

https://www.latintimes.com/florida-republicans-remove-deportation-depot-merchandise-over-complaints-home-depot-588508

Scary Mommy: Researchers Sound Alarm On Immigration Policy’s Effect On Kids’ Mental Health

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Every now and then, there’s a study done whose results are so obvious some may wonder “Why did we need someone to take the time to research something we already know?” But the truth is, as intuitive as something may be, we don’t officially know until we look into it. As such, researchers from the School of Medicine at University of California Riverside recently looked into the effect of U.S. immigration policy and practice on the mental health of children. Their work, published in Psychiatric News in July, found children who have been separated from their parents, or who simply live with the possibility of such separation, can experience “profound emotional harm.”

“Immigration policy in the United States is a source of chronic fear, instability, and trauma for millions of immigrants, with the expansion of enforcement mechanisms transforming daily life for families and children,” the report reads. “Psychiatry cannot remain on the periphery.”

Examining previous research on the topic along with clinical experiences of the UC researchers and others, study authors found a rise in pediatric depression, chronic anxiety, and even PTSD among children whose families have experienced separation from Trump administration immigration policies. Notably, this was not just among children who experienced deportation or detention — either themselves or their parents — but those who had even one parent who might be deported or detained. “The mental health of immigrant children is inseparable from the conditions in which they live, grow, and imagine their futures,” the study observes in its conclusion.

Uncertainty, researchers said — including inconsistent enforcement actions, lack of transparency, and the ubiquity of raids, including at locations once held as safe such as schools, health care facilities, and immigration court — has intensified fear within immigrant communities and among children. Even those who enjoy some legal status have been swept up in immigration enforcement action, adding to the sense within communities that anyone can be detained or deported.

This has resulted not only in worsened mental health outcomes, but withdrawal from public life (including school), sleep and appetite disturbances, emotional dysregulation, and developmental regression.

Researchers also note that while daily deportations are down by double digit percentages (nearly 11% overall), prolonged and indefinite detentions are on the rise, which can be just as traumatizing — leading to increased instances of suicidal ideation and alcohol use — for the children left to cope with separation from a parent.

“Both real and threatened separations can undermine attachment, derail developmental processes, and contribute to persistent traumatic stress,” the study says, continuing. “Immigration enforcement becomes a formative, often traumatic, force in children’s lives.”

Researchers Sound Alarm On Immigration Policy’s Effect On Kids’ Mental Health
U.S. immigration policies profoundly impact children’s mental health, leading to anxiety, PTSD, and emotional distress, say University of California researchers.

https://www.scarymommy.com/lifestyle/researchers-sound-alarm-on-how-immigration-policy-is-affecting-childrens-mental-health

San Francisco Chronicle: ICE arrests of people with no criminal convictions have surged in Northern California

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As it has nationwide, ICE is arresting far more suspected immigration violators this summer than before

ICE arrests in Northern California have surged this summer, a Chronicle analysis of deportation data shows. That’s in keeping with national trends.

The Department of Homeland Security, in coordination with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), claimed on Friday that they are “cleaning up the streets,” targeting what they continued to call the “WORST OF THE WORST” — including “illegal alien pedophiles, sex offenders, and violent thugs.”

But the numbers tell a more complicated story.

Since the beginning of 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested roughly 2,640 people in its San Francisco “area of responsibility” — a 123% increase compared to the final seven months of the Biden administration. The pace picked up dramatically in June and July.

That area spans a large portion of California, from Kern County northward, and also includes Hawaii, Guam, and Saipan. The Chronicle’s analysis focused only on arrests made within California.

Notably, under the Trump administration, arrests of people without criminal convictions have risen sharply. Many of those taken into custody have only pending criminal charges — or none at all. In June, about 58% of arrests involved individuals with no prior convictions. That figure dipped slightly to 56% in July, but just a few months earlier, the numbers were far lower: In December, before President Donald Trump took office, only 10% of arrests involved people without a criminal conviction.

Among those without a conviction, ICE has arrested a large number of individuals whose only suspected violation is entering the country illegally or overstaying their visa. Although administration officials often call these undocumented immigrants “criminals,” being in the U.S. without legal status is a civil violation, not a crime. 

Arrests of convicted criminals are also up, though not as sharply. Those convictions varied widely — from serious and violent crimes like child sexual assault, homicide, and drug trafficking, to lesser charges such as traffic violations and low-level misdemeanors.

ICE officers raided a home in East Oakland on Tuesday and detained at least six people, including a minor and a person with a severe disability, according to an immigration attorney. In June, Oakland police confirmed to the Chronicle that ICE alerted them of its activity, but ICE did not provide additional details. 

Also, for the first time in the Bay Area, ICE detained two U.S. citizens during a protest on Aug. 8, outside the agency’s San Francisco field office at 630 Sansome St. Aliya Karmali, an Oakland immigration attorney, told Mission Local that she hasn’t seen “ICE arresting [U.S. citizen] protestors in the Bay since entering the legal field nearly 20 years ago.”

The picture is similar nationwide. National data from the Transaction Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University indicates that the number of people detained by ICE — excluding those arrested by Customs and Border Protection — saw a 178% increase between Jan. 26 and July 13. 

Since the beginning of 2025, ICE arrests of people with no criminal convictions has skyrocketed, with a 370% increase from the end of January to mid-July. In June, ICE held more people for immigration violations than for pending charges for the first time — a trend that continued into July.  

Reports indicate that ICE has been targeting workers in mostly Latino neighborhoods and on jobsites — sometimes based on vague tips from people claiming they saw undocumented immigrants, but often with no clear reason at all. It has also arrested thousands of people in public places. 

Though the administration views the increased immigration enforcement as necessary for public safety or border security, many believe the arrests are fueling fear, separating families, disrupting labor markets and local economies, and doing little to actually solve the country’s broader immigration problems.

“It seems like they’re just arresting people they think might be in the country without status and amenable to deportation,” said Julia Gelatt, associate director of the U.S. immigration policy program at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute, in a June Reuters story.

ICE arrests of people with no criminal convictions have surged in Northern California
As it has nationwide, ICE is arresting far more suspected immigration violators this summer than before.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/ice-arrests-deport-data-20818148.php