Tag Archives: Immigration

Sun Herald: Lawsuit Targets ICE Arrests at Court Hearings

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A coalition of immigrants and advocates has filed a class-action lawsuit in D.C. to stop Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from arresting migrants at immigration court hearings. They argued these arrests, which have increased significantly in 2025, instill fear in asylum seekers and violate U.S. immigration law and the Fifth Amendment. Their complaint cites surprise arrests leading to family separations and heightened fear of persecution.

Democracy Forward President Skye Perryman said, “The Trump administration is weaponizing immigration courts and chilling participation in the legal process.”

Immigrant Advocates Response Collaborative Interim CEO Priyanka Gandhi-Abriano said, “The arrests are a deliberate attempt to intimidate people.”

ICE often arrests individuals after deportation cases have been dismissed, enabling expedited deportations. Advocates alleged that the administration has used courts to intimidate participants in legal processes.

Gandhi-Abriano said, “Our friends, neighbors, and families are told to ‘do it the right way’ — to follow the legal process. They’re doing just that — showing up to court, complying with the law. Despite this, they’re being arrested and detained.”

National Immigrant Justice Center Director of Litigation Keren Zwick said, “We are witnessing an authoritarian takeover of the U.S. immigration court system by the Trump administration.”

Immigration officials have defended the actions as lawful, claiming those with credible fear have still been able to pursue their cases and that targeting court attendees has improved enforcement. Critics warned that the practices risk undermining due process rights.

Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said, “We aren’t some medieval kingdom; there are no legal sanctuaries where you can hide and avoid the consequences for breaking the law.” She added, “The ability of law enforcement to make arrests of criminal illegal aliens in courthouses is common sense. It conserves valuable law enforcement resources because they already know where a target will be. It is also safer for our officers and the community.”

Lawsuit Targets ICE Arrests at Court Hearings

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/lawsuit-targets-ice-arrests-at-court-hearings/ar-AA1KEhLx

MSN: Government agency’s social media post under fire for using unlicensed music and media

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Government agency’s social media post under fire for using unlicensed music and media
America’s Department of Homeland Security isn’t just enforcing immigration law—it’s also making memes on X and Instagram, posting migrant mugshots, ICE recruitment ads, and “humorous” content. Many of these posts borrow images, music, and clips from artists, TV shows, and airlines without permission, including a South Park still and a use of Jess Glynne’s song “Hold My Hand.” Both the show’s creators and Glynne publicly criticized DHS, highlighting the misuse of content meant for satire or positivity. DHS hasn’t directly addressed copyright concerns, instead claiming it’s “bypassing the mainstream media to give Americans the facts.” Experts say claiming fair use is difficult when promoting a government agenda, and licenses on social platforms often don’t cover organizational use, meaning DHS would still need permission. So far, a few videos have had music muted, but no formal lawsuits have been filed, though other agencies have faced similar pushback for unlicensed use of music.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/peopleandplaces/government-agency-s-social-media-post-under-fire-for-using-unlicensed-music-and-media/vi-AA1KBXSO

Salon: Mom and child detained over visa error released from US facility

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Legal US resident and 6-year-old son detained for weeks after visa paperwork issue, now released from ICE custody

A New Zealand woman and her six-year-old son have finally been released from U.S. custody after spending nearly four weeks in immigration detention over a visa paperwork issue.

Sarah Shaw, who has lived in Washington state for three years, was stopped by border officials on July 24 while re-entering the country from Canada. She had dropped off her older children at Vancouver airport to visit their grandparents in New Zealand, when officers flagged her “combo card” visa. The document allowed her to work legally in the U.S., but another portion of her petition, filed under the Violence Against Women Act, was still pending.

Her son’s paperwork was approved, but because of the anti-family separation policies, he remained in custody as well, despite her request for his father or a friend to pick him up and take him home.

Instead of permitting her to return home, Immigration and Customs Enforcement transferred Shaw and her son to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, about 2,000 miles from her residence. Advocates say conditions were harsh. Shaw’s phone was confiscated. She was locked into a room each night with her son, and she was denied access to her own clothing.

Her case drew swift criticism from supporters, including the Washington Federation of State Employees, the union she belongs to. They argued that detention was unnecessary and harmful, especially since her son’s visa had already been approved. Immigration attorneys also noted that ICE had the discretion to release Shaw on parole while her paperwork was finalized.

Shaw’s family in New Zealand and friends in the U.S. spoke out during her detention, raising concerns about the impact on her child and calling the ordeal “traumatizing.”

On August 16, Shaw and her son were released and returned to Washington. Their experience has fueled broader debate over immigration enforcement and the risks families face when caught in administrative gaps.

Mom and child detained over visa error released from US facility – Salon.com
Legal US resident and 6-year-old son detained for weeks after visa paperwork issue, now released from ICE custody

https://www.salon.com/2025/08/16/mom-and-child-detained-over-visa-error-released-from-us-facility

The Hill: [“Bimbo #3”] Bondi ramps up pressure on 32 ‘sanctuary jurisdictions’: Who’s on the list?

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Attorney General Pam [“Bimbo #3”] Bondi said Thursday she was ramping up pressure on 32 “sanctuary jurisdictions,” urging them to comply with federal immigration enforcement efforts.

“I just sent Sanctuary City letters to 32 mayors around the country and multiple governors saying, you better be abiding by our federal policies and with our federal law enforcement, because if you aren’t, we’re going to come after you,” she told a Fox News reporter. 

“And they have, I think, a week to respond to me, so let’s see who responds and how they respond. It starts at the top, and our leaders have to support our law enforcement,” she added. 

The measure comes after an Aug. 5 release from the Justice Department highlighting various states, cities and counties deemed noncompliant with regulations that impede enforcement of federal immigration laws.

“For too long, so-called sanctuary jurisdiction policies have undermined this necessary cooperation and obstructed federal immigration enforcement, giving aliens cover to perpetrate crimes in our communities and evade the immigration consequences that federal law requires,” [“Bimbo #3”] Bondi wrote in the letter to officials across the country. 

“Any sanctuary jurisdiction that continues to put illegal aliens ahead of American citizens can either come to the table or see us in court,” [“Bimbo #3”] Bondi wrote in a post announcing the move. 

She cited a late April executive order from President Trump as legal grounds for the push. 

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for the 32 jurisdictions that received letters from [“Bimbo #3”] Bondi. 

The below jurisdictions received a letter from the Department of Justice on Aug. 5:

States:

  • California
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Illinois
  • Minnesota
  • Nevada
  • New York
  • Oregon
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont
  • Washington

Counties:

  • Baltimore County, Md.
  • Cook County, Ill.
  • San Diego County, Calif.
  • San Francisco County, Calif.

Cities:

  • Albuquerque, N.M.
  • Berkeley, Calif.
  • Boston
  • Chicago
  • Denver
  • District of Columbia
  • East Lansing, Mich.
  • Hoboken, N.J.
  • Jersey City, N.J.
  • Los Angeles
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Newark, N.J.
  • Paterson, N.J.
  • Philadelphia
  • Portland, Ore.
  • Rochester, N.Y.
  • Seattle
  • San Francisco City

Pam Bimbo #3 Bondi is one of the stupidest women on Earth. Despite already losing a couple such cases on well-established Tenth Amendment grounds, she is now threatening to replicate her failures in 12 states, 4 counties, and 19 cities. When God passed out brains, Pam Bimbo #3 Bondi must have been hanging out near the manure spreader.

The bottom line is that the federal government can’t compel state and local governments to do its bidding. If the state and local governments don’t wish to comply or assist, the federal government must do its own dirty work.

Bondi ramps up pressure on 32 ‘sanctuary jurisdictions’: Who’s on the list?

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5454204-bondi-immigration-enforcement-urge

Guardian: ‘Petri dish for disease’: attorney raises alarm of possible Covid outbreak at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

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A respiratory disease is running rampant through Florida immigration jail, according to attorney of a detained person

An outbreak of a respiratory disease, possibly Covid-19, is running rampant through the remote Florida immigration jail known as “Alligator Alcatraz”, according to the attorney of an infected detainee removed from the camp last week.

Eric Lee said he was told by his client Luis Manuel Rivas Velásquez that conditions at the facility had deteriorated significantly since Thursday as more migrants held there by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agency experienced symptoms.

Lee said authorities removed Rivas Velásquez, a 38-year-old Venezuelan man, from the camp after he was diagnosed in a hospital visit last week, then secretly taken to a similar facility in Texas.

Protesters at the gates of the jail in the heart of the Florida Everglades have recorded a number of instances of ambulances arriving and leaving.

Lee said the hastily erected tented camp, which Democratic lawmakers have decried for holding thousands of undocumented detainees in cages as they await deportation, is a “petri dish for disease”.

He added: “Based on what multiple detainees have told me, in the last 72 to 100 hours, there is some respiratory disease which has made the majority, or I would even say vast majority of detainees, sick in some form.

“There are people who are losing breath. There are people who are walking around coughing on one another. Their requests for masks from the guards are denied, and they only are allowed to shower once or maybe twice a week.

“I said to Luis, ‘pass the phone. Let me hear it from somebody else. I just want to make sure that people’s stories are straight.’ And unfortunately they very much are.”

The development follows a claim by a woman, a state licensed corrections officer, who said she contracted Covid-19 after working at the camp in unsanitary conditions for about a week last month, and was subsequently fired.

“We had to use the porta-johns. We didn’t have hot water half the time. Our bathrooms were backed up,” the woman told NBC6 News after being granted anonymity to discuss conditions there.

“[The detainees] have no sunlight. There’s no clock in there. They don’t even know what time of the day it is. The bathrooms are backed up because so many people [are] using them.”

The Florida department of emergency management, which is responsible for operations at the jail, did not immediately respond to a request from the Guardian for comment.

In a statement to the Miami New Times, Stephanie Hartman, a department spokesperson, did not answer questions about a possible outbreak, but insisted: “Detainees have access to a 24/7, fully staffed medical facility with a pharmacy on site.”

Lee said Rivas Velásquez told him in a phone call that he pleaded for medical attention for 48 hours after contracting breathing difficulties, and eventually collapsed inside the metal cage in which he and dozens of other inmates were being held.

He said his client was taken to Miami’s Kendall regional medical center, where he was diagnosed with a respiratory infection, then returned only briefly to the Everglades camp before disappearing for three days. Lee said Rivas Velásquez called on Sunday from a new detention camp in El Paso, Texas.

“He said when he was returned to the Alcatraz facility he asked the guards to provide his medical records and they said they would not do that,” Lee said.

“The guards came to his bed, opened his pillow, took all the poetry and letters he’d been writing, and all the notes he’d been taking about his experiences, and told him he’s no longer allowed to write.”

Apart from the brief call from Texas, Lee said he had no further information about his client’s wellbeing.

“I haven’t heard from him for two days now. I have no idea how he’s doing or frankly whether he’s alive or not. It’s hard to wage a legal fight when you don’t even have access to your client,” he said.

If the outbreak is Covid, Lee added, it would have consequences beyond Alligator Alcatraz.

“The disease doesn’t recognize the prison walls and guards are going to get sick. They’ll give it to their kids, it’s going to get into the Miami school system, people are going to get sick and die as a result of the conditions that are in this facility,” he said.

‘Petri dish for disease’: attorney raises alarm of possible Covid outbreak at ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
A respiratory disease is running rampant through Florida immigration jail, according to attorney of a detained person

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/12/attorney-covid-outbreak-alligator-alcatraz

Newsweek: Trump supporter detained by ICE Agents regrets vote: “Were all brainwashed”

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A California man who voted for President Donald Trump has spoken out after being detained by immigration agents.

Brian Gavidia, a 29-year-old American citizen from Montebello, joined a lawsuit challenging immigration enforcement tactics after federal agents detained him on June 12, NBC 4 Los Angeles reported.

“I truly believe I was targeted because of my race,” Gavidia told the outlet, adding elsewhere in the interview, “We were all brainwashed.”

“While conducting a lawful immigration enforcement operation in Montebello, CA, Brian Gavidia was arrested for assaulting a law enforcement officer and interfering with agents during their duties,” Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek.

“Javier Ramirez was detained on the street for investigation for interference and released after being confirmed to be a U.S. citizen with no outstanding warrants,” she added.

Why It Matters

Millions of Americans voted for Trump in support of his promise to carry out widespread deportations of migrants living in the U.S. illegally, particularly those with criminal records. As immigration enforcement efforts ramp up across the country, concerns are mounting that the Trump administration is not, as it pledged, targeting the “worst first.”

Newsweek has documented several cases of Trump supporters being affected by the immigration raids.

What To Know

Gavidia voted for Trump, believing that his administration’s immigration agenda would target criminals, not everyday citizens, NBC 4 Los Angeles reported.

He told the outlet that during an immigration enforcement operation in the San Gabriel Valley, a federal agent pushed him against a wall and demanded proof of citizenship, asking him the name of the hospital where he was born.

Footage circulating on social media shows Gavidia shouting, “I was born here in the states, East LA bro!”

The video shows agents, who are wearing vests with “Border Patrol Federal Agent” on them, holding Gavidia’s hands behind his back.

Agents allegedly confiscated his Real ID and phone. Gavidia was later released and recovered his phone, but he said he never received his ID.

Convinced he was targeted because of his Latino heritage, Gavidia now rejects his prior support for the president.

“I believe it was a mistake because he ran on lies,” Gavidia said. “He said criminals.”

“If this was going to happen, do you think we would have voted? We’re humans. We’re not going to destroy our community. We’re not going to destroy our people,” he continued.

“We were all manipulated. We were all brainwashed,” Gavidia told NBC 4 Los Angeles. “And now look at us. We are all suffering because of it, and I feel guilty 100 percent.”

Gavidia is among seven plaintiffs in an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit that resulted in a court order limiting when federal agents can initiate immigration enforcement.

The filing requested that the court prohibit raids conducted without reasonable suspicion or probable cause. It also said agents concentrated operations in places where Latino workers were often found, such as local car washes and outside Home Depot locations.

California has been a key battleground state for immigration enforcement operations after Trump ordered federal agents to ramp up arrests in Democratic cities.

On August 1, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a temporary restraining order, originally issued by a federal judge, that placed limits on how the federal government could carry out immigration enforcement operations in Southern California.

An attorney for the Trump administration argued before a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, seeking a stay of the temporary restraining order while the case was appealed. The panel denied the request.

The decision upholds a July 11 ruling granting a restraining order sought by immigrant rights advocates to limit federal immigration enforcement in Los Angeles and other areas of Southern California. Under Judge Maame E. Frimpong’s directive, officers and agents may not detain individuals unless they have reasonable suspicion that the person is in the United States in violation of immigration law.

What People Are Saying

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek: “Any allegations that individuals have been ‘targeted’ by law enforcement because of their skin color are FALSE. What makes someone a target is if they are in the United States illegally. These types of disgusting smears are designed to demonize and villainize our brave ICE law enforcement. This kind of garbage has led to a more than 1,000 percent increase in the assaults on ICE officers. Politicians and activists must turn the temperature down and tone down their rhetoric.

“DHS enforcement operations are highly targeted, and officers do their due diligence. We know who we are targeting ahead of time. If and when we do encounter individuals subject to arrest, our law enforcement is trained to ask a series of well-determined questions to determine status and removability.

“We will follow the President’s direction and continue to work to get the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens off of America’s streets.”

Brian Gavidia told NBC 4 Los Angeles: “I believe I was racially profiled. I believe I was attacked because I was walking while brown. Where is the freedom? Where is the justice? We live in America. This is why I’m fighting today. This is why I’m protecting the Constitution.”

What Happens Next

Despite the legal restrictions, immigration raids continue. The Trump administration has appealed the Ninth Circuit’s decision that upheld the temporary restraining order. The case is now before the U.S. Supreme Court, which will decide whether to lift or uphold the restrictions limiting broad-based immigration enforcement in Los Angeles.

Trump supporter detained by ICE Agents regrets vote: “Were all brainwashed”
“I truly believe I was targeted because of my race,” Brian Gavidia of Montebello, California, told NBC 4 Los Angeles.

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-supporter-detained-ice-agents-immigration-2112676

KTLA: 2 Los Angeles protesters charged with assaulting federal officers at immigration rally

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Resist ICE!

Support the resistance!

A federal grand jury has indicted two Southern California residents on charges that they allegedly assaulted federal officers during an anti-immigration enforcement protest last month outside a federal building in downtown Los Angeles, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday.

Erin Petra Escobar, 34, of the Palms neighborhood of Los Angeles, is charged with one felony count of assault on a federal officer or employee and one misdemeanor count of depredation of government property. Nick Elias Gutierrez, 20, of Hawthorne, faces two felony counts: one for assault on a federal officer or employee, and another for assault on a federal officer or employee resulting in bodily injury.

The indictment alleges that on July 17, a small group of protesters gathered outside the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and United States Courthouse to protest recent immigration enforcement operations. Court documents allege that Escobar was seen using a permanent marker to write on and damage federal property. When officers approached to detain her, Gutierrez allegedly grabbed an officer’s bulletproof vest straps and shook him. During the struggle to detain Gutierrez, one officer dislocated his left ring finger.

Escobar and Gutierrez were eventually arrested. While being transported to a nearby holding cell, Escobar allegedly spat into the face of one of the officers, according to prosecutors.

Both defendants are scheduled to be arraigned on August 15 in United States District Court in Los Angeles. They are currently free on a $5,000 bond.

If convicted, Escobar faces a statutory maximum sentence of eight years in federal prison for the assault charge and up to one year for the depredation charge. Gutierrez faces up to 20 years for the assault resulting in injury count and a maximum of eight years for the assault charge.

The United States Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Protective Service is investigating the case, which is being prosecuted by the Justice Department’s General Crimes Section.

An indictment contains allegations, and both defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

2 Los Angeles protesters charged with assaulting federal officers at immigration rally
A federal grand jury has indicted two Southern California residents on charges that they allegedly assaulted federal officers during an anti-immigration enforcement protest last month outside a fed…

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/protesters-charged-assaulting-federal-officers-immigration-rally

KTLA: Los Angeles nurse released from ICE custody without charges

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A Los Angeles nurse and community activist whose arrest drew protests and sharp criticism from local officials and advocacy groups was released from federal custody Saturday without criminal charges, according to National Nurses United.

Amanda Trebach, a registered nurse and member of the community group Unión del Barrio, had been detained Friday morning while monitoring immigration enforcement operations in San Pedro. Her release came after more than a day of demonstrations in downtown Los Angeles and calls from elected leaders who described the arrest as illegal and politically motivated.

Unión del Barrio said Trebach was taken into custody around 6 a.m. Aug. 8 while participating in a Harbor Area Peace Patrol outside the Terminal Island staging area, a Coast Guard base used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection to prepare for raids across Southern California. The patrol, run by community volunteers, documents and monitors immigration enforcement activity.

Witnesses and video from the scene show masked individuals, identified by organizers as federal agents, pinning Trebach face down on the street, handcuffing her and placing her in an unmarked black van. The group said agents falsely claimed she assaulted a federal vehicle and alleged she was targeted for her political activism.

A spokesperson for Customs and Border Protection offered a different account, saying that “as Border Patrol Agents departed Terminal Island to conduct immigration enforcement operations, Amanda Trebach jumped in front of moving vehicles, causing drivers to swerve out of the way. She continued to hit the car with her signs and fists while yelling obscenities at agents. After vehicles evaded her, she again physically blocked and impeded CBP from completing their duties. Agents arrested her for impeding and obstructing federal law enforcement.”

“Secretary Noem has been clear: Anyone who seeks to harm law enforcement officers will be found and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” the spokesperson added.

“They charged at her and she dropped the poster,” said Cynthia Avina with Unión del Barrio. “The agents are claiming that she attacked them with that poster, and we know that that is not true. They are making false claims to try to intimidate us, to try to stop us from doing the work that we’re doing.”

Councilmember Tim McOsker called the incident “apparently illegal and unconstitutional” and said it violated a Ninth Circuit–upheld temporary restraining order restricting certain immigration raids. He reported the arrest to the Port Police, noting that Terminal Island falls under their jurisdiction.

Trebach, a U.S. citizen, works as a nurse in Watts, Compton and South Central Los Angeles. “She did not break ANY laws” and was exercising her constitutional rights, Unión del Barrio said in a statement. The group credited members of the Harbor Area Peace Patrol for recording video of the arrest, saying the footage helped secure her release.

News of her detention quickly spread, prompting a rally outside the federal detention center in downtown Los Angeles on Friday evening. The protest escalated when Los Angeles police declared an unlawful assembly, citing “the aggressive nature of a few demonstrators,” and shut down Alameda Street between Temple and Aliso streets. Police said officers attempting to contact an organizer were surrounded, and items were thrown at vehicles. By 11 p.m., a small group remained, lining the bridge over the 101 Freeway.

Her arrest occurred amid a new wave of federal immigration raids across the region, which critics say violate the court-ordered restrictions. Several cities, including Long Beach, have joined lawsuits filed by Los Angeles County and the city of Los Angeles challenging the federal government’s enforcement actions.

National Nurses United, which had urged members to rally for Trebach’s release, called her freedom “a testament to the power of organizing resistance and solidarity against the ongoing attacks by the Trump administration on our lives and livelihoods.”

Los Angeles nurse released from ICE custody without charges
A Los Angeles nurse and community activist whose arrest drew protests and sharp criticism from local officials and advocacy groups was released from federal custody Saturday without criminal charge…

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/nurse-released-from-ice-custody-without-charges

KTLA: ICE officers barred from using deceptive tactics in Southern California home raids

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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are no longer allowed to identify themselves as local police or use deceptive tactics during home arrests in Southern California, following a court-approved settlement reached in a class action lawsuit.

The settlement, approved Monday by U.S. District Court Judge Otis D. Wright II in Kidd v. Noem, prohibits ICE officers in the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office from falsely claiming to be state or local law enforcement or misrepresenting the nature of their visit in order to enter a home or persuade a resident to come outside.

The case was filed in 2020 by Osny Sorto-Vazquez Kidd and two immigrant advocacy organizations, the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA). The lawsuit challenged the constitutionality of ICE’s home arrest practices in Los Angeles and surrounding counties.

Under the agreement, ICE officers may not claim to be conducting criminal investigations, probation or parole checks, or other public safety inquiries unless those claims are accurate. Officers are also prohibited from using pretexts, such as suggesting a problem with a resident’s vehicle, to lure individuals outside.

“This settlement makes clear immigration officers are not above the Constitution and will be held accountable for their deceptive practices,” said Diana Sanchez, a staff attorney at the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, which represented the plaintiffs. “We’ll be monitoring to ensure ICE does not violate the rights of our community members.”

As part of the settlement, ICE officers in the Los Angeles Field Office must wear visible identifiers clearly labeling them as “ICE” whenever they display the word “POLICE” on their uniforms. The measure aims to prevent confusion among residents and reduce the possibility that individuals might mistake federal immigration agents for local law enforcement.

“For far too long, ICE disrespected the privacy of community members by taking shortcuts around the Constitution’s requirement that law enforcement have a warrant signed by a judge to enter a home,” said Annie Lai, director of the Immigrant and Racial Justice Solidarity Clinic at the UC Irvine School of Law. “Thanks to this settlement, ICE must now be transparent about who they are if they don’t have a warrant and want to speak with someone at their home.”

The settlement also mandates new training protocols. ICE must inform all Los Angeles Field Office officers of the new policies through broadcast messages and regular trainings. Officers will be required to document certain details when conducting home arrests, and ICE must share those records with class counsel to ensure compliance. This oversight will remain in place for three years.

The Los Angeles Field Office covers seven counties: Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo.

The settlement follows a related court ruling issued in May 2024, which found that ICE officers and Homeland Security Investigations agents may not enter the private area around a home, known legally as the “curtilage,” without a judicial warrant or consent if their intent is to make a warrantless arrest. The combined effect of the two rulings significantly limits ICE’s authority to carry out home arrests without judicial oversight.

Angelica Salas, executive director of CHIRLA, said the decision brings meaningful safeguards. “By prohibiting ICE agents from using trickery, for example, falsely claiming that there is an issue with a resident’s vehicle, to lure people out of their homes, this settlement protects all its occupants and creates a safer community.”

Lizbeth Abeln, deputy director at the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice, called the agreement a long overdue victory.

“For years, we’ve heard the testimonies: ICE agents impersonating local police, showing up at people’s doors, lying about their purpose, and using fear to tear families apart,” she said. “ICE can no longer use deception to target our communities.”

Giovanni Saarman González, a partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP and counsel for the plaintiffs, said the settlement, combined with the earlier ruling, offers meaningful relief to the classes and the broader Southern California community.

ICE officers barred from using deceptive tactics in Southern California home raids
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are no longer allowed to identify themselves as local police or use deceptive tactics during home arrests in Southern California, following a court…

https://ktla.com/news/california/ice-officers-barred-deceptive-tactics-home-raids

KTLA: Teen with disabilities reportedly detained by ICE outside L.A. school

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Los Angeles Unified School District leaders are calling for limits on immigration enforcement near campuses after a 15-year-old boy with disabilities was pulled from a car, handcuffed, and briefly detained outside Arleta High School on Monday in what officials describe as a case of mistaken identity.

The incident happened around 9:30 a.m. on Monday, just days before more than half a million LAUSD students return to classrooms. According to Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, the student — who attends San Fernando High School — had gone to Arleta High with his grandmother to accompany a relative registering for classes.

While the family member was inside, several officers approached their vehicle, telling them they were not with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). However, Carvalho said district-reviewed video appeared to show both police and Border Patrol personnel.

The boy was removed from the car and placed in handcuffs.

“As our students return to school, we are calling on every community partner to help ensure that classrooms remain places of learning and belonging,” Carvalho said. “Children have been through enough — from the pandemic to natural disasters. They should not have to carry the added weight of fear when walking through their school gates.”

The teen was eventually released after school staff and Los Angeles police Intervened. 

“The release will not release him from what he experienced,” Carvalho said during a news conference. “The trauma will linger. It will not cease. It is unacceptable, not only in our community, but anywhere in America.”

Parents like Yvonne, whose child attends school in the district, said the incident has left them shaken. “I was upset because our kids shouldn’t have to be going through this and being scared of coming to school, parents dropping them off. We shouldn’t be going through this,” she told KTLA. 

Soon after the incident, parents received a recorded voice message from the principal, saying: “We are aware of reports of immigration enforcement activity in the area, near our campus. Our school has not been contacted by any federal agency.” 

Many parents KTLA spoke with called the presence of federal agents near public school campuses shameful. “Our government, the administration had stated they were going to go after criminals. At a school, what criminals are you going to find? Kids trying to enroll — today’s orientation day,” parent Dorian Martinez said.

Board of Education President Kelly Gonez condemned the actions on social media, calling them “absolutely reprehensible” and part of the “continued unconstitutional targeting of our Latino community.”

The district says the detention underscores the need for strong protections as students return to school. In a statement Monday, LAUSD reaffirmed that “schools are safe spaces” and said immigration enforcement near campuses “disrupts learning and creates anxiety that can last far beyond the school day.”

Some parents fear that their children will be targeted simply because of the color of their skin, regardless of immigration status. “He fits that category,” Yvonne said of her child. “Where he’s on the darker side, and I feel like that’s who they’re attacking… that’s the main reason I tell him you better be careful and you don’t go with anybody.”

Ahead of the start of the school year, the district said it has contacted 10,000 families potentially impacted by immigration enforcement efforts, rerouted bus stops, deployed 1,000 central office staff to assist in school zones, and expanded virtual options for those too afraid to leave their homes.

Teen with disabilities reportedly detained by ICE outside L.A. school
Los Angeles Unified School District leaders are calling for limits on immigration enforcement near campuses after a 15-year-old boy with disabilities was pulled from a car, handcuffed, and briefly …

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/disabled-teen-detained-ice-outside-school