Tag Archives: deportation

Washington Examiner: Judge blocks ICE deportation strategy for paroled immigrants

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A federal judge on Friday blocked Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s “expedited removal” deportation strategy to detain paroled immigrants as quickly as possible.

U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb of the District of Columbia ruled that the Trump administration’s use of expedited removal exceeded the Department of Homeland Security’s legal authority, in addition to being arbitrary and capricious. The order temporarily halts the federal government’s efforts to deport immigrants previously paroled into the United States at a port of entry.

Cobb specifically blocked three actions: a DHS memo dated Jan. 23 directing immigration officials to apply expedited removal as broadly as possible; an ICE directive dated Feb. 18 authorizing officers to consider expedited removal for “paroled arriving aliens”; and a DHS notice dated March 25 terminating the Biden-era parole programs for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans.

The court took issue with the administration’s actions to dismiss parole immigrants’ pending proceedings in immigration court and proceed to arrest them outside the courtroom afterward.

“This case’s underlying question, then, asks whether parolees who escaped oppression will have the chance to plead their case within a system of rules,” Cobb wrote in the 84-page ruling. “Or, alternatively, will they be summarily removed from a country that, as they are swept up at checkpoints and outside courtrooms, often by plainclothes officers without explanation or charges, may look to them more and more like the countries from which they tried to escape?”

Such an incident occurred in June, when New York City Comptroller Brad Lander was arrested for refusing to leave an immigrant whose case was dismissed moments earlier. Lander and his companion were both restrained by masked plainclothes officers as seen in a viral video.

A growing number of Democratic lawmakers have since crafted legislation to bar ICE officers from wearing masks, which the agency says are used to protect its officers from getting doxxed.

Friday’s order is estimated to affect “hundreds of thousands of paroled aliens,” Cobb wrote.

The Trump administration criticized the ruling, saying it defies a Supreme Court ruling from May that upheld the termination of parole status for more than 530,000 illegal immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

“Judge Cobb is flagrantly ignoring the United States Supreme Court, which upheld expedited removals of illegal aliens by a 7-2 majority,” DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “This ruling is lawless and won’t stand.”

Whine, bitch, whine!

Judge blocks ICE deportation strategy for paroled immigrants
“This ruling is lawless and won’t stand,” the Department of Homeland Security said in response.
Judge blocks ICE deportation strategy for paroled immigrants

LA Times: Ohio city whose Haitian migrants were disparaged by Trump braces to defend them against deportation

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An Ohio city whose Haitian migrants were disparaged by a Donald Trump falsehood last year as he pitched voters on his plans for an immigration crackdown is now bracing to defend the community against possible deportation.

A group of about 100 community members, clergy and Haitian leaders in Springfield gathered this week for several days of training sessions as they prepare to defend potential deportees and provide them refuge.

“We feel that this is something that our faith requires, that people of faith are typically law-abiding people — that’s who we want to be — but if there are laws that are unjust, if there are laws that don’t respect human dignity, we feel that our commitment to Christ requires that we put ourselves in places where we may face some of the same threats,” said Carl Ruby, senior pastor of Central Christian Church.

Ruby said the ultimate goal of the group is to persuade the Trump administration to reverse its decision to terminate legal protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitians in the U.S. under Temporary Protected Status, or TPS.

“One way of standing with the Haitians is getting out the message of how much value they bring to the city of Springfield,” he said. “It would be an absolute disaster if we lost 10,000 of our best workers overnight because their TPS ends and they can no longer work.”

In lieu of that, Ruby said, participants in the effort are learning how to help Haitians in other ways. That includes building relationships, accompanying migrants to appointments with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and providing their families with physical shelter.

A city in the crosshairs

Springfield found itself in an unwelcome spotlight last year after Trump amplified false rumors during a presidential debate that members of the mid-size city’s burgeoning Haitian population were abducting and eating cats and dogs. It was the type of inflammatory and anti-immigrant rhetoric he promoted throughout his campaign.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced in June that it would terminate TPS as soon as Sept. 2 for about 500,000 Haitians who are already in the United States, some of whom have lived here for more than a decade. The department said conditions in the island nation have improved adequately to allow their safe return. The United Nations contradicts that assertion, saying that the economic and humanitarian crisis in Haiti has only worsened with the Trump administration’s cuts in foreign aid.

The announcement came three months after the administration revoked legal protections for thousands of Haitians who arrived legally in the United States under a humanitarian parole program as part of a series of measures implemented to curb immigration. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned a federal judge’s order preventing the administration from revoking the parole program.

Last month, a federal judge in New York blocked the administration from accelerating an end to Haitians’ TPS protections, which the Biden administration had extended through at least Feb. 3, 2026, citing gang violence, political unrest, a major earthquake in 2021 and other factors.

Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said at the time that the Trump administration would eventually prevail and that its predecessors treated TPS like a “de facto asylum program.” In the meantime, the government has set the expiration date back to early February.

TPS allows people already in the United States to stay and work legally if their homelands are deemed unsafe. Immigrants from 17 countries, including Haiti, Afghanistan, Sudan and Lebanon, were receiving those protections before Trump took office for his second term in January.

Residents ponder next steps

Charla Weiss, a founding member of Undivided, the group that hosted the Springfield workshop, said participants were asked the question of how far they would go to help Haitian residents avoid deportation.

“The question that I know was before me is, how far am I willing to go to support my passion about the unlawful detainment and deportation of Haitians, in particular here in Springfield?” she said.

Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a longtime supporter of the Haitian community, was briefed by Springfield leaders during a visit to the city Friday. He told reporters that the state is bracing for the potential of mass layoffs in the region as a result of the TPS policy change, a negative for the workers and the companies that employ them.

“It’s not going to be good,” he said.

Ohio city whose Haitian migrants were disparaged by Trump braces to defend them against deportation
Springfield, Ohio, whose Haitian migrants were vilified by a Trump falsehood during last year’s campaign, is now bracing to defend them against possible deportation.

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2025-08-02/ohio-city-whose-haitian-migrants-were-disparaged-by-trump-braces-to-defend-them-against-deportation

Ohio city whose Haitian migrants were disparaged by Trump braces to defend them against deportation

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ohio-city-whose-haitian-migrants-were-disparaged-by-trump-braces-to-defend-them-against-deportation/ar-AA1JNjlg

This U.S. Citizen Recorded an Immigration Arrest. Officers Told Him To Delete It or Face Charges.

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The peaceful traffic stop in Florida turned violent after immigration officers arrived and used chokeholds and a stun gun to make arrests.

Immigration officers were caught on video celebrating proudly after using chokeholds and a stun gun to arrest two undocumented immigrants in Florida. The owner of the video, an 18-year-old American citizen, was threatened and charged after he refused to delete the footage revealing the harsh tactics used by immigration authorities to meet the Trump administration’s mass deportation goals.

Kenny Laynez-Ambrosio was on his way to work on the morning of May 2 with his mother and two other men in North Palm Beach, Florida, when the vehicle was pulled over by a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) officer, reported The Guardian. The initial reason for the stop is unclear, but after the FHP called in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, the peaceful traffic stop quickly turned violent.

Laynez-Ambrosio began recording when CBP agents arrived, and a female officer can be heard asking if anyone in the car is an undocumented immigrant. One of Laynez-Ambrosio’s friends answered that he was. “That’s when they said, ‘OK, let’s go,'” Laynez-Ambrosio told The Guardian. Before anyone was able to exit the vehicle, CBP officers became aggressive. “[One officer] put his hand inside the window,” he said, “popped the door open, grabbed my friend by the neck and had him in a chokehold.”

In the video, he can be heard telling the officers, “You can’t grab me like that,” while three officers pull the second man from the van, and tell him to “get your fucking head down, on the ground.” When the man lands on his feet while being pulled from the vehicle, officers push him to the ground and then pull him back to his feet while one officer keeps him in a headlock. Laynez-Ambrosio, who was also forced to the ground, can be heard yelling, “That’s not how you arrest people. If y’all going to arrest people, y’all have to arrest people regular.” He then tells his friend, in Spanish, “Don’t resist. Don’t resist.” The commotion ends when an officer uses his stun gun on Laynez-Ambrosio’s friend, who falls to the ground, crying out in pain. 

“You’re scaring the dude,” Laynez-Ambrosio says to an officer shortly after. “That’s not how you arrest people.” “Why?” an officer callously responds. After asserting his “rights to talk,” an officer tells Laynez-Ambrosio, “You’ve got no rights here. You’re a migo, brother.” 

The recording continues after the three men are in custody and captures the officers’ candid remarks. A couple of officers can be heard cracking jokes about how one man smells and bragging about the stun gun use. One officer remarks on how “they’re starting to resist more now.” Another responds, “We’re going to end up shooting some of them… because they’re going to start fighting.” 

“Just remember, you can smell that [inaudible] with a $30,000 bonus,” one officer says amidst post-arrest celebrations. 

After his arrest and six-hour detention at a CBP station, Laynez-Ambrosio told The Guardian he was threatened with charges if he didn’t delete the exposing video. When he refused, he was charged with obstruction without violence for having allegedly interfered with CBP officers’ arrest—a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and one year of incarceration. He was ultimately sentenced to 10 hours of community service and a four-hour anger management course. The two undocumented men were transferred to the Krome detention center in Miami. Laynez-Ambrosio “believes they were released on bail and are awaiting a court hearing, but said it has been difficult to stay in touch with them.”

Florida has led the nation in cooperation with federal immigration authorities, sparking privacy and civil liberty concerns for both undocumented immigrants and American citizens alike. But rather than change course, the Trump administration has doubled down on mass deportation goals and recently appropriated nearly $75 billion to dramatically increase immigration detention capacity and immigration arrests to reach 3,000 arrests per day. The appropriation includes funding for hiring, retention, and performance bonuses for federal immigration officers.

“The federal government has imposed quotas for the arrest of immigrants,” Laynez-Ambrosio’s attorney, Jack Scarola, told The Guardian. “Any time law enforcement is compelled to work towards a quota, it poses a significant risk to other rights.” 

Scarola’s warning appears to be right. The Department of Homeland Security posted on Monday that it will “stop at nothing to hunt [undocumented immigrants] down.” The brutal tactics used by federal officers under the Trump administration, against mostly nonviolent immigrants—including people on their way to work and who pose no threat to public safety—will only serve to degrade constitutional protections and subject more people to the government’s abuse of power.

https://reason.com/2025/07/29/this-u-s-citizen-recorded-an-immigration-arrest-officers-told-him-to-delete-it-or-face-charges

MSNBC: Pam [Bimbo #3] Bondi’s cynical, misleading attack on Judge Boasberg

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Another crack in the foundation of American democracy.

Earlier this week, the Justice Department escalated its fight with the judiciary by filing an ethics complaint against Judge James Boasberg, the chief U.S. district judge in Washington, D.C. Boasberg is overseeing the case challenging the Trump administration’s deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members to a Salvadoran prison without due process. The new complaint, signed by Attorney General Pam [Bimbo #3] Bondi’s chief of staff, accuses Boasberg of making improper comments about President Donald Trump.

Only those wearing MAGA-tinted glasses could fail to see this complaint for what it is: another brazen attack on the rule of law and the constitutional separation of powers, and another crack in the foundation of American democracy.

The controversy began March 15, when five Venezuelans sued Trump and other administration officials to block their imminent deportation under a 2025 presidential proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act. That 1798 law allows the removal of foreign citizens when there is a “declared war … or any invasion or predatory incursion” by a foreign nation against the United States. The plaintiffs were among hundreds being deported to a country other than their homeland. They were not given an opportunity to challenge the legality of their deportation, or even to contest the government’s allegations that they were gang members. Comparing the situation to a Kafka-esque nightmare, Boasberg ordered the administration to stop the deportations.

In April, the case went to the Supreme Court, which ruled for the administration on a legal technicality regarding the proper mechanism and jurisdiction for the suit. At the same time, the court unanimously affirmed that those facing deportation must be allowed to bring a legal challenge before removal. The case was sent back to Boasberg and remains ongoing.

Shortly after the Supreme Court’s ruling, Boasberg also found that the government had likely committed criminal contempt of court by willfully disobeying his order to stop deportations. He offered the government a chance to correct its contempt before referring the case for prosecution, but in April a three-judge panel from the D.C. appellate court paused the contempt proceedings without addressing the merits. Curiously, the pause has lasted for months, leaving the contempt action in limbo.

Then came Monday. The Justice Department formally accused Boasberg of committing misconduct during a national judicial conference held March 11 — before the deportation case began. The complaint alleges Boasberg “attempted to improperly influence Chief Justice [John] Roberts and roughly two dozen other federal judges” by expressing “his belief that the Trump Administration would ‘disregard rulings of federal courts’ and trigger ‘a constitutional crisis.’” In the AEA case, then, Boasberg “began acting on his preconceived belief that the Trump Administration would not follow court orders.” The DOJ argues that Boasberg’s “words and deeds” harmed “public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.”

To begin with, the DOJ’s complaint is misleading: The memo it cites, summarizing the conference, says Boasberg “raised his colleagues’ concerns,” not his own. But no matter who raised the concerns, they would be right on the mark. Trump’s record of contempt for the judiciary is well established. Throughout his first term, he repeatedly criticized judges who ruled against the administration. While out of office, Trump repeatedly leveled personal attacks against not only the judges presiding over his criminal and civil cases, but even court staff and their family members. And Trump specifically called for Boasberg’s impeachment in March after the judge ordered a temporary pause in deportations.

Although Trump has publicly said that he would follow court orders, his administration’s track record on respecting judicial authority suggests otherwise. For example, in early July, the Justice Department filed an unprecedented lawsuit against the entire bench of federal judges in Maryland, challenging an administrative order issued by their chief judge regarding deportation cases. Disturbingly, there is also evidence that Emil Bove, whom the Senate confirmed Tuesday to an appellate judgeship, told DOJ prosecutors that, if necessary, they should ignore court orders that stop deportations.

Given this track record, for the Trump administration to accuse Boasberg of undermining public confidence in the judiciary is the pinnacle of hypocrisy. In truth, the complaint against Boasberg is an obvious stunt. The administration is following the old legal adage: When the facts and the law are against you, “pound the table and yell like hell.”

No matter where this complaint goes from here, it is likely to have a chilling effect on judicial independence. Judges routinely discuss their constitutional approach or emerging legal trends in public, including during Senate confirmation hearings. This complaint puts a target on the backs of judges who speak out against executive overreach or comment on other broad legal issues that could be perceived as contrary to administration policy.

It will threaten judicial independence, undermine judicial legitimacy, and ultimately show that, for this administration, legal authority depends on political loyalty rather than adherence to the rule of law.

The justices of the Supreme Court appear to at least understand this in principle. Speaking at a judicial ceremony in May, Chief Justice John Roberts emphasized judicial independence is “crucial” to “check the excesses of the Congress or the executive.” Against the backdrop of Trump’s attacks on the federal judiciary, Roberts reiterated the familiar simile that judges are like umpires, responsible for calling balls and strikes fairly and impartially.

It’s less clear whether Roberts and his colleagues are prepared to fight for that ideal. After all, when a manager’s antics — like kicking dirt at the umpire’s feet or screaming in his face — begin to undermine the integrity of the game itself, eventually even the most restrained umpire must be prepared to eject him. Without that implicit threat, the game will collapse under the bullying of any manager who is unwilling to follow the rules everyone else plays by.

No one should tolerate that: not in a sporting event and certainly not in an arena when our nation and democracy are at stake.

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/justice-department-pam-bondi-judge-boasberg-rcna222067

Newsweek: Trump admin warns DACA recipients to self-deport

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The Trump administration advised Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients to self-deport and warned that they are “not automatically protected from deportation.”

Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of Homeland Security, told Newsweek the warning is “not new or news.”

“Illegal aliens who claim to be recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals [DACA] are not automatically protected from deportations,” she said. “DACA does not confer any form of legal status in this country. Any illegal alien who is a DACA recipient may be subject to arrest and deportation for a number of reasons, including if they’ve committed a crime.”

Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a spokesperson for California Governor Gavin Newsom, whose state contains the highest number of DACA recipients, told Newsweek the move “highlights the Trump administration’s hypocrisy” and shows that “they do not want to detain and deport the worst of the worst.”

“Their chaos campaign is all about detaining and deporting as many people as possible without a regard to people’s legal rights, including intercepting Americans, Dreamers, kids, people with legal protections and those following immigration rules and even U.S.-born citizens into their indiscriminate dragnet.,” she said. “It’s dangerous precedent when deportations matter more than basic rights or a functional U.S. immigration system.”

Why It Matters

President Donald Trump pledged to undertake the largest mass deportation effort in U.S. history on the campaign trail and quickly moved to increase immigration enforcement upon his return to the White House. However, he has offered mixed signals on DACA.

Although Trump sought to end DACA during his first term, he told NBC News’ Meet the Press last December that he wanted to find a way to allow DACA recipients to stay in the United States.

Former President Barack Obama introduced the DACA program in 2012. It offered protections and work authorization for undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children. But its legal status has remained in limbo for years, and the latest comments from the administration reflect the challenges faced by DACA recipients, commonly referred to as “Dreamers.”

What To Know

McLaughlin first warned that DACA recipients should self-deport in a statement provided to NPR earlier this week.

She told Newsweek on Thursday that undocumented migrants can “take control of their departure with the CBP Home App.”

“The United States is offering illegal aliens $1,000 and a free flight to self-deport now,” she said. “We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S. the right legal way to live American dream.”

The administration has not outright ended DACA, but the statement reflects a shift in policy toward these migrants from President Joe Biden‘s administration, which was more supportive of protections for Dreamers.

Reports have emerged of DACA recipients being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

Erick Hernandez Rodriguez, 34, is among the DACA recipients facing deportation. DHS said he was arrested for allegedly trying to illegally cross the southern border after allegedly self-deporting. His attorney, Valerie Sigamani, said he did not self-deport and made a wrong turn while completing a ride-share trip in San Ysidro, just north of the U.S.-Mexico border.

He has been in the U.S. for 20 years. His wife, Nancy Rivera, is a U.S. citizen, and the couple has a daughter together and is expecting a son. He had begun the process for permanent legal resident status.

DACA recipients are required to receive advance parole before leaving the U.S. to avoid loss of protection and deportation risk. There are more than 500,000 DACA recipients living in the U.S., according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

What People Are Saying

President Donald Trump told Meet the Press in December: “The Democrats have made it very, very difficult to do anything. Republicans are very open to the dreamers. The dreamers, we’re talking many years ago, they were brought into this country. Many years ago. Some of them are no longer young people. And in many cases, they’ve become successful. They have great jobs. In some cases, they have small businesses. Some cases they might have large businesses. And we’re going to have to do something with them.”

Anabel Mendoza, communications director for United We Dream, told NPR: “We’ve known that DACA remains a program that has been temporary. We’ve sounded the alarms over that. What we are seeing now is that DACA is being chipped away at.”

What Happens Next

DACA’s future remains in limbo, with legal challenges ongoing in federal courts and the administration continuing to enforce strict immigration statutes.

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-admin-daca-recipients-self-deport-2106991

Inquisitr:Disabled Man Detained by ICE Allegedly Locked Up in Isolation Without Water and Food—And The Reason is Heartbreaking

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Rodney Taylor is a Liberian-born who was detained by ICE as part of Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. He was at Georgia‘s Stewart immigration detention center, where he recently spent three days in a “restrictive housing unit,” or so termed by CoerCivic. However, you would be surprised to know why he ended up there. It is because of a very simple complaint.

According to The Guardian, Rodney refused to enter his cell because it was flooded with above an inch of water due to a leak. It is important to note, he didn’t just complain needlessly. The Liberian-born man had battery-powered microprocessor-controlled prosthetic legs, which could have been damaged if they got wet.

“They don’t see you as an individual, but as someone being deported,” Taylor lamented, taking a jab at the Trump administration’s mass deportation policies. His incident shows how ill-prepared the President and his minions are. Even his fiancée, Mildred Pierre, commented on how the administration’s action made his mental health worse during the last six months, calling it “receiving blow after blow.”

Not only the flood incident on April 25, but he has continued to face various incidents over his stay at the detention center, which included the screws of his prosthetic legs coming out. This made him fall several times and caused injury to his hand.

Although he was sent to a clinic, he couldn’t fit new legs as those were delivered without a charger for the battery. His fiancé, Pierre, bought a charger for those. However, at that time, they were asked to wait two months for the clinic appointment, as they were not adept with Taylor’s model of prosthetics.

Pierre, concerned for her fiancé, spent months “trying to figure out – who do I call? who’s going to listen?”

“I am afraid for Rodent,” she wrote to Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff’s office on Saturday, following the flooding incident. However, ultimately, nothing changed, as the guards at the detention center handcuffed him and placed him in solitary confinement. On Tuesday, Stewart’s assistant warden released him.

However, when he was locked up, he was denied any water to drink and was not allowed to charge the battery in his prosthetic legs. The representative for CoerCivic is now saying that Rodney “is being regularly monitored by facility medical staff, with all known medical issues are being addressed, and our staff continuing to accommodate his needs.”

He also denied that the detention center had any solitary confinement, saying it “does not exist.” 

Disabled Man Detained by ICE Allegedly Locked Up in Isolation Without Water and Food—And The Reason is Heartbreaking
Rodney Taylor, a Liberian-born man, became the victim of the immigration crackdown. However, when he complained about flooding in his cell, which could have potentially damaged his prosthetic legs, things turned really harsh for him. He has since criticized the Trump administration’s policy.

ABC News: ICE recruitment efforts upset some local law enforcement leaders

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ICE is making an effort to recruit new agents from local partners, sources say.

Leadership at some local and state law enforcement agencies across the country — including agencies that have been supportive of federal immigration enforcement efforts — grew frustrated this week with efforts by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to recruit new deportation officers and investigators from their ranks, according to several sources familiar with the matter.

Earlier this week, ICE sent a recruiting email blast directly to officers at sheriffs’ offices and other agencies who were trained by ICE to support the federal 287(g) program that allows local officers to perform certain law enforcement functions related to federal immigration enforcement.

The email left some local law enforcement leaders upset that after agreeing to have their officers help ICE, the agency was now trying to pull those officers away, sources said.MORE: Millions of undocumented immigrants will no longer be eligible for bond hearings, according to ICE memo

In the email addressed to the “287(g) community,” ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan said that this is a “critical time for our nation,” and “we hope to welcome you to the ICE team soon.”

“As someone who is currently supporting ICE through the 287(g) program, you understand the unique responsibility we carry in protecting our communities and upholding federal law. Your experience in state or local law enforcement brings invaluable insight and skills to this mission — qualities we need now more than ever,” said the email, which was reviewed by ABC News.

“ICE is actively recruiting officers like you who are committed to serving with integrity, professionalism, and a deep sense of duty. This is more than a job; it’s a continuation of your service to our country,” the email said.

The email said that new recruits can receive a signing bonus of $50,000, paid over five years.

In Florida, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri told ABC News that the outreach from ICE was “wrong.”

“The State of Florida and Florida law enforcement agencies have expended significant resources and invested in our personnel to ensure that we are properly staffed so that we can provide the best law enforcement services to our residents and visitors,” Gualtieri said in a statement to ABC News.

“We have partnered with ICE like no other state to help ICE do its job of illegal immigration enforcement,” Gualtieri said. “ICE actively trying to use our partnership to recruit our personnel is wrong and we have expressed our concern to ICE leadership.”

One Trump administration official told ABC News that the administration understands the frustration and values its partners, and that ICE would love to attract quality law enforcement officers who wouldn’t need to be trained for as long as a new hire off the street.

Not everyone was upset by ICE’s latest recruitment effort.

In Texas, Terrell County Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland, a Border Patrol veteran, said that while all of his deputies received a recruitment email from ICE, he is supportive of it.MORE: Trump doubles down on expanding deportations in America’s biggest cities

“I have a deputy who is interested and I’m supportive. I want to see my employees succeed at whatever their plans may be,” Cleveland said in a statement to ABC News. “I’m retired Border Patrol and I’ve received an email to come back as well.”

“Both agencies are beginning to recruit.” Cleveland said. “In the past, Border Patrol loses a lot of agents to ICE, due to there being more desirable locations in the interior of the U.S. as opposed to border towns.”

ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

ICE recruitment efforts upset some local law enforcement leaders
Leadership at some local and state law enforcement agencies grew frustrated this week with efforts by ICE to recruit new agents from their ranks, according to sources.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/ice-recruitment-efforts-upset-local-law-enforcement-leaders/story?id=124259508

Newsweek: Trump admin identifies gang immigration “loophole”

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A new report from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has raised concerns over the Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) program, citing instances of identity fraud and gang affiliations among applicants approved for lawful permanent residency.

“The scale of criminality, gang involvement, and fraud described in this report is more extensive than in earlier public discussions of the Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) program,” Morgan Bailey, a partner at Mayer Brown and a former senior official at the Department of Homeland Security, told Newsweek.

… which is followed by a lot of continuing fearmongering not worth quoting.

How hard is it to base each individual’s decision on his or her personal criminal history?

If they have no criminal history, let them be permanent residents.

If they commit crimes, deport them.

After 5 years of permanent residence, they can apply for citizenship, at which point their criminal history will be considered.

If they don’t apply for citizenship, they’ll have to apply to renew their permanent residence after another 5 years, at which point their criminal history will still be reviewed.

Focus on the INDIVIDUALS, not on superficial associations and characteristics.

Trump admin identifies gang immigration “loophole”
Criminal groups have exploited a program giving children legal status, USCIS said.

https://www.newsweek.com/special-immigrant-juvenile-visa-gang-exploitation-uscis-report-2104231

News Nation: Man in ICE custody 6 months was a ‘collateral arrest,’ lawyer says

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  • More than 56,000 migrants are in ICE detention
  • 47% of ICE detainees are being held on immigration-related offenses 
  • Trump administration officials have cited sanctuary cities as part of the problem

A man who’s lived in suburban Chicago for 30 years and owns a tree-cutting business has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for nearly six months, despite his lawyer stating he has no criminal record.   

Abel Orozco, 47, was arrested by ICE in late January as he was driving back to his home from picking up tamales for his family. Orosco, who, according to his attorney, the government has conceded has no criminal record, was apprehended by federal officers, who were searching for Orozco’s oldest son, also an immigrant with an order for removal, who shares the same name. 

Orozco arrived in the U.S. in the late 1990s under a petition that gave him the right to work and live legally in the United States. He was given an order of removal in 2004 after going to visit his father, who suffered a stroke in Mexico. 

His lawyer, Mark Fleming, says his client is part of a collection of undocumented migrants considered “collateral arrests” facing deportation under the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. 

ICE did not have a warrant at the time of the encounter, Fleming said. Orozco is in ICE custody in Kentucky, where he now faces expedited deportation. 

When asked for comment surrounding the details of Orozco’s January arrest, an ICE spokesperson told NewsNation that ICE arrested Orozco, “an illegally present resident of Mexico,” on Jan. 26. “He is in ICE custody pending immigration proceedings.”

Orozco’s family has since missed months of mortgage payments despite Orozco’s younger son, Eduardo, doing his best to keep his father’s business afloat, while his wife fights breast cancer, Fleming told NewsNation.   

Orozco’s situation has migrant advocates concerned about how ICE is carrying out its business. 

“(ICE) has made a conscious choice to destroy this family even though they have other options,” said Fleming, who works with the National Immigrant Justice Center. “What our position to the government has been is, ‘Look, you have the right to seek removal for him, but you have choices as to how you do that.’” 

“And they’ve chosen the most aggressive and the one that strips him of the most due process possible.” 

Abel Orozco part of class action lawsuit against ICE 

Orozco is one of 25 plaintiffs who are part of a class-action lawsuit against ICE, the Department of Homeland Security and federal officials. The suit claims ICE violated a 2022 Castañon Nava settlement that expired in May, which prevents the agency from making arrests without a prior warrant or proof that a person represents a flight risk. 

ICE has declined to comment on the suit. 

Fleming insists ICE officials have refused to acknowledge they took the wrong person into custody despite the elder Orozco providing officers with his driver’s license when he was asked. 

After being pulled out of his vehicle, Orozco was handcuffed for more than an hour, his attorney said.  

Before officers drove away with Orozco in custody, Fleming said that ICE officers were on the family’s property without a warrant.  Ex-National Guard member convicted of conspiring to smuggle migrants 

“What’s so troubling is the permissiveness that they believe they have to do immigration enforcement in a way that you really don’t see other law enforcement do,” Fleming said.  

How many non-criminals is ICE holding? 

Of the more than 56,000 migrants being detained by ICE, 28% have criminal convictions, while 24% have pending criminal charges, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. ICE data shows that 47% of detainees have “other immigration violations.” 

A Chicago Tribune analysis of data provided by the research group Deportation Data Project showed that 600 Chicago-area migrants with no known criminal background were booked by ICE in the first 150 days of the Trump administration. That number compares to just 66 in the final 150 days of the Biden administration. 

White House border czar Tom Homan has repeatedly warned that “no one is off the table” if they are in the country illegally and says that in some cases, ICE officers searching for the “worst of the worst” may be forced to take non-criminals into custody.  

He said that is especially true in sanctuary cities like Chicago, where he says policies are forcing ICE to go into communities to search for migrant criminals. 

“There’s going to be more collateral arrests in sanctuary cities because they forced us to go into the community and find the guy we’re looking for,” Homan said in a televised interview earlier this year.

Sam Olson, the enforcement and removal operations director in ICE’s Chicago field office, agreed, telling NBC News that the agency’s job is to enforce immigration laws. 

“If somebody is here illegally, whether or not they’re committed crimes, there is a possibility they could be arrested,” Olson said. 

Olson did not respond to requests for comment for this story from NewsNation. 

Why is ICE holding Abel Orozco? 

Despite the order of removal, Fleming said he had not been on ICE’s radar until now, as he continued to operate his business that employs eight people.

But after his arrest by ICE in late January, government officials sought to have his 2004 order to leave the country reinstated, stating that he is among those who broke the law by entering the U.S. illegally. 

Orozco’s relative petitioned for him before 2001, which allowed him to remain in the United States and work pending that application. Fleming said that Orozco was living in the United States when that application was submitted, but then everything changed when he went to see his ailing father back in Mexico.

Despite ICE’s stated mission and warnings, Orozco’s family does not agree they are doing their job the right way. Sinaloa cartel quickly losing territories, influence, Mexico says 

“(ICE) is arresting people who they’re not supposed to be,” Eduardo Orozco told reporters in March. “They’re stating that they’re arresting thousands and thousands of hardcore criminals. My father is not a criminal.” 

“But we’re not just fighting him anymore.  We’re fighting for everyone who was taken like this.” 

Meanwhile, Orozco’s wife, Yolanda, has pleaded for her husband’s release from federal custody, echoing her son’s sentiments. 

“Is it a crime to get up early every day and work hard to support your family? I just don’t know,” she told reporters through an interpreter. 

Orozco has an upcoming merits hearing in which he is seeking protection from being forced to return to Mexico. Fleming expects that a ruling may be coming in Orozco’s case by the end of July, after months of him and his family living in limbo.

Fleming believes that as they struggle to comprehend what is happening, Orozco’s loved ones know their journey is similar to those of other migrant families across the United States. 

“Mr. Orozco’s story really kind of highlights that this is the collateral consequences,” Fleming told NewsNation, adding, “he is someone who has embraced the United States, embraced how he can contribute to it and really just wants to be here to be here with his family.”

Man in ICE custody 6 months was a ‘collateral arrest,’ lawyer says

https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/immigration/abel-orozco-ice-arrest-collateral