Tag Archives: Immigration

CNN: DHS issues new guidance for lawmakers visiting ICE facilities after tense confrontations

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After a spate of tense encounters involving lawmakers at Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities, the Department of Homeland Security is asking members of Congress to provide 72 hours of notice before visiting detention centers, according to new guidance.

Under the annual appropriations act, lawmakers are allowed to enter any DHS facilities “used to detain or otherwise house aliens” to inspect them as part of their oversight duties. The act outlines that they are not required “to provide prior notice of the intent to enter a facility.”

The agency’s new memo also seeks to differentiate ICE field offices from detention facilities, noting that “ICE Field Offices are not detention facilities” and therefore do not fall under the appropriations act provision.  

Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the top Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee, called the move “unprecedented” and an “affront to the Constitution and Federal law.”

DHS issues new guidance for lawmakers visiting ICE facilities after tense confrontations | CNN Politics
The agency’s new memo seeks to differentiate ICE field offices from detention facilities, noting that “ICE Field Offices are not detention facilities” and therefore do not fall under the appropriations act provision.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/19/politics/dhs-ice-visits-congress-lawmakers

Alternet: ‘Embarrassing boondoggle’: Trump’s ‘big beautiful wall’ is now on life support in Texas

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Long before President Donald Trump pushed the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, he called for a “big, beautiful wall” on the U.S./Mexico border. And of the four U.S. states that shared a border with Mexico, GOP-leaning Texas had the loudest and most vocal support for the wall.

But MSNBC’s Ja’han Jones, in his June 19 column, stresses that Trump’s “big, beautiful wall” now seems to be on life support in the Lone Star State.

“Texas appears to have quietly stopped funding its plans to construct its own border wall with Mexico, which could mark the end of an embarrassing boondoggle designed to bolster one of President Donald Trump’s early campaign slogans,” Jones explains. “For years, conservatives have framed the idea of a border wall as essential to immigration enforcement, despite a chorus of critics denouncing it as costly and ineffective. And Texas Republicans’ decision to defund the project seems like a tacit acknowledgment of that reality.”

‘Embarrassing boondoggle’: Trump’s ‘big beautiful wall’ is now on life support in Texas

https://www.alternet.org/trump-border-wall-texas-msnbc

LA Times: Letters to the Editor: More needs to be done to keep ICE agents accountable to the law

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I read the article about Sen. Scott Wiener’s (D-San Francisco) proposed legislation to ban Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other law enforcement officials from wearing masks (“Proposed bill would ban ICE agents, law enforcement from wearing masks in California,” June 16). While he’s at it, Wiener should also broaden his legislation to include significant penalties for officers who violate the law by failing to tell people why they are being arrested and by failing to provide them with copies of legal arrest warrants, signed by a judge. There are scores of videos on social media documenting these illegal practices by ICE agents and whoever accompanies them in these arrests. There should be serious penalties for law enforcement officers (and their contractors) who violate the law in California. No one is above the law, including ICE.

Letters to the Editor: More needs to be done to keep ICE agents accountable to the law
‘There should be serious penalties for law enforcement officers (and their contractors) who violate the law in California,’ writes an L.A. Times reader. ‘No one is above the law, including ICE.’

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/story/2025-06-19/more-needs-to-be-done-to-keep-ice-agents-accountable-to-the-law

Guardian: Ice’s ‘inhumane’ arrest of well-known vineyard manager shakes Oregon wine industry

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Friends and family of Moises Sotelo ‘disappointed and disgusted’ after respected fixture detained outside church

In the early morning hours of 12 June, Moises Sotelo woke up to go to work in the rolling hills of Oregon’s Willamette Valley wine country, a place he has called home for decades.

But this morning was not business as usual. A car tailed Sotelo as soon as he left his driveway, according to an account from his co-worker. Trucks surrounded him just outside of St Michael’s Episcopal church, where he was detained by federal immigration agents. By the end of the day, Sotelo was in an Ice detention facility.

“He was in chains at his feet,” Alondra Sotelo-Garcia told a local news outlet about seeing her father arrested. “Shoelaces were taken off, his belt was off, he didn’t have his ring, he didn’t have his watch. Everything was taken from him.”

His detention has sent shockwaves through the tight-knit Oregon wine community. Sotelo is a fixture of local industry – in 2020 he was awarded with the Vineyard Excellence Award from the Oregon Wine Board and in 2024 he established his own small business maintaining vineyards.

Left in the lurch is Sotelo’s family, the church he attends, the employees of his small business, the vineyards he works with and friends made along the way. Requests to Ice from family or attorneys regarding next steps in Sotelo’s detention are hitting dead ends.

Ice’s ‘inhumane’ arrest of well-known vineyard manager shakes Oregon wine industry
Friends and family of Moises Sotelo ‘disappointed and disgusted’ after respected fixture detained outside church

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/19/oregon-vineyard-manager-arrest-ice

Style on Main: LA Fashion Industry Loses $7.23B In One Week Over ICE Raids

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On June 6, 2025, the LA Fashion District, a fabric of 4,000 businesses and over 15,000 workers, was left reeling from a sweeping ICE raid at Ambiance Apparel, taking some 40 workers into custody and sparking protests citywide. 

The response was quick and sharp: stores shuttered, pedestrian traffic froze, and an area teeming with activity just hours before turned into a ghost town. 

It was more than news of another bankruptcy; it was a trauma to Los Angeles’s social and economic core, exposing vulnerabilities that few had been willing to acknowledge. How deep does the damage run?

The LA fashion industry generates an estimated $72.3 billion annually, with the Fashion District accounting for about 20%, or about $14.5 billion annually. 

The news is families torn apart and neighborhoods living in fear, behind the news. While the workers who were

Notes: Sales plummeted by half in the weeks after the ICE raids, leading to a theoretical $7.23 billion loss in business, if we calculate the same loss rate weekly for an entire year.

LA Fashion Industry Loses $7.23B In One Week Over ICE Raids
Michael Jordan – Linkedin On June 6, 2025, the LA Fashion District, a fabric of 4,000 businesses and over 15,000 workers, was left reeling from a sweeping ICE raid at Ambiance Apparel, taking some 40
LA Fashion Industry Loses $7.23B In One Week Over ICE Raids

Robert Reich: The Dogs of War

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What’s really going on.

As a result, he’s probably getting decent advice about what’s good for Trump but not about what’s good for America or the world. It’s an inevitable consequence of purging from the government anyone more loyal to the United States than to him. Besides, Trump only listens to information he wants to hear.

1. Why is Trump taking us into war with Iran?

2. Is (or was) Iran building a nuclear weapon?

3. Is Trump getting good information and advice?

4. Will Iran now cave and agree to destroy its remaining stockpile of enriched uranium and allow inspectors to confirm that the stockpile is gone?

5. Have the bombings wiped out Iran’s capacity to enrich uranium to produce fissile material for nuclear weapons?

6. What’s the worst Iran can now do to the United States in retaliation?

7. Will the American public “rally ‘round the flag” and support Trump in this war

8. Will he send in American ground troops?

9. What’s Congress likely to do now?

10. Bonus question: Where does the phrase “dogs of war” come from?

The Dogs of War
What’s really going on

https://robertreich.substack.com/p/the-dogs-of-war

NBC News: A teen with no criminal background was deported by ICE, leaving his community aghast

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Emerson Colindres’ soccer coach says his case is an example of how those getting taken by ICE “are your friends and neighbors … and then one day they’re just gone.”

For 19-year-old Emerson Colindres, it was supposed to be a routine check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It turned out to be a trap. He never returned home.

Colindres, who came to the United States with his family more than a decade ago to escape the violence in their native Honduras, was detained by ICE on June 4, just days after the talented student and soccer player graduated high school in Cincinnati. Colindres, whose teammates said was one of the greatest players they met on the field, dreamed of continuing his sports career and hoped to attend a university. He did not have a criminal record, according to the Butler County Sheriff’s Office.

In the span of two weeks, Colindres went from celebrating his graduation to being detained by ICE to then being deported to a country where he has not lived since he was 8 years old.

So much for the American dream — f*ck*ng ICE *ssh*l*s!

A teen with no criminal background was deported by ICE, leaving his community aghast
Emerson Colindres’ soccer coach says his case is an example of how those getting taken by ICE “are your friends and neighbors … and then one day they’re just gone.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ice-deports-teen-soccer-star-graduation-rcna212566

Latin Times: Border Czar Announces New Change Of Course In Immigration Enforcement, Says ‘Criminals’ Will Be Prioritized

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Immigration

Border Czar Announces New Change Of Course In Immigration Enforcement, Says ‘Criminals’ Will Be Prioritized

“We’re going to continue doing worksite enforcement operations, even on farms and hotels, but based on a prioritized basis,” said Tom Homan

White House border czar Tom Homan said immigration enforcement raids will continue at places like hotels and farms, two industries with a significant percentage of migrant workers, but claimed people with criminal records will be prioritized.

It is the latest announcement related to the industries following several comings and goings over the past weeks. President Donald Trump initially suggested migrants would be exempted given the disproportionate impact that enforcement operations could have, but authorities later claimed they would continue. Now, Homan said they will indeed continue targeting the industries but prioritize people with criminal records.

Prioritizing criminals doesn’t mean shit if you’re still busting anyone & everyone. This is just the latest lying bullshit from a colossal failure of a human being masquerading as Acting DIrector of ICE.

There will be special place in Hell for pondscum like Tom Homan.

Border Czar Announces New Change Of Course In Immigration Enforcement, Says ‘Criminals’ Will Be Prioritized
White House border czar Tom Homan said the Trump administration will continue conducting immigration raids at places like farms and hotels, but criminals will be prioritized

https://www.latintimes.com/border-czar-announces-new-change-course-immigration-enforcement-says-criminals-will-585329

Law & Crime: ‘Out of a job right now’: Judge accused of helping immigrant evade ICE ‘wants a trial date,’ but it’s been delayed, lawyers say

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Lawyers for Hannah Dugan, the Wisconsin judge indicted on federal charges for allegedly impeding government agents during an immigration bust, says she “wants a trial date” as soon as possible — revealing Wednesday that her obstruction case is reportedly “hanging over her head” — as she’s continues to be “out of a job right now.”

Dugan’s cries apparently fell on deaf ears as U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman chose to delay the Milwaukee County judge’s July 21 jury trial date indefinitely at a hearing Wednesday, while Dugan’s lawyers had argued for keeping things on schedule. Adelman wants to first weigh a motion to dismiss filed by Dugan’s legal team last month before setting an official trial date, according to court records.

Adelman said he sees where the judge is coming from, but he also wants to make sure the case is “done right,” according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

‘Out of a job’: Judge accused of ICE obstruction says case ‘hanging over her,’ now delayed
Lawyers for Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan say she “wants a trial date” as soon as possible, revealing Wednesday that her ICE obstruction case is “hanging over her” as she’s “out of a job.”
‘Out of a job right now’: Judge accused of helping immigrant evade ICE ‘wants a trial date’ as case is ‘hanging over her head’ — and is now delayed, her lawyers say

SFGate: From San Diego to the Bay Area, California restaurants are on edge over immigration raids

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Brandon Mejia usually spends his weekends conducting a symphony of vendors serving pupusas, huaraches and an array of tacos at his two weekly 909Tacolandia pop-up events.

…

But in the past week, that’s all come to a screeching halt. As the Trump administration ramps up immigration raids in California, some restaurants, worried about their workers or finding that customers are staying home more, are closing temporarily. Many street vendors are going into hiding, and some food festivals and farmers markets have been canceled.

Mejia called off all Tacolandia events last week. His mind raced about whether agents would come for his vendors as videos surfaced on social media of taqueros, farm workers and fruit vendors vanishing in immigration raids around LA and neighboring Ventura County.

“A lot of these vendors, their goal is to have restaurants. They want to follow the rules,” said Mejia, who was born and raised in San Bernardino in a family from Mexico City. But after conferring with vendors, they decided the risk was too high: “Some people have told me that their relatives have got taken, so I don’t want to be responsible for that.”

After a week of mass protests and more raids at farms, grocery stores and at least one swap meet, Mejia and many others remain on edge. Mejia said some small food businesses are getting desperate, trying to decide whether to risk reopening or stay closed while their own families grow hungry.

…

From San Diego to the Bay Area, California restaurants are on edge over immigration raids

https://www.sfgate.com/news/bayarea/article/from-san-diego-to-the-bay-area-california-20385093.php