Tag Archives: Immigration

Law & Crime: ‘Disingenuous’: Judge orders Trump admin to reveal its deal with El Salvador after immigrant objects to his jailing in notorious CECOT prison

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A request for jurisdictional discovery from a Venezuelan immigrant locked up in a notorious Salvadoran prison has been granted, opening the door for the release of revelatory details into the Trump administration’s detainment deal with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.

In a wide-ranging immigration case that intersects with others that have captured national interest, a petitioner referred to as E.D.Q.C. — reportedly previously identified as Edicson David Quintero Chacon, 28, argued he was not given prior notice of his planned deportation to El Salvador, a country with which he has no affiliation, and thus unable to raise concerns of being tortured at the country’s Terrorism Confinement Center, otherwise known as CECOT, which is accused of ill-treatment.

Middle District of Georgia U.S. Magistrate Judge Amelia Helmick ruled that if such allegations of a lack of notice are true, E.D.Q.C.’s transfer to and imprisonment in CECOT is “likely unlawful.” She also firmly rejected arguments by the Trump administration that certain “privileges” exist barring them from releasing information into their deal with the Salvadoran government, saying that “the only reason El Salvador has even entered the conversation in this case” is because the U.S. government sent the petitioner there.

Trump admin ordered to reveal deal with Bukele after man objects to El Salvador jailing
Revelatory details into the Trump administration’s prison deal with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele could be forthcoming after a judge ruled such information is relevant to a deportation case.
‘Sufficient facts to warrant discovery’: Judge orders Trump admin to reveal its deal with El Salvador after immigrant objects to his jailing in notorious CECOT prison

Daily Beast: Stephen [“Goebbels”] Miller Threatened ICE Leaders With a Furious Ultimatum Over Arrest Targets

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An irate Stephen [“Goebbels”] Miller threatened senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials with termination unless their offices upped their game and started detaining at least 3,000 migrants a day.

The White House deputy chief of staff also warned that leaders of field offices ranking in the bottom 10 percent for migrant arrests were at risk of being fired, NBC News reports, citing unnamed sources.

The little Hitler works hard to alienate everyone!

Stephen Miller Threatened ICE Leaders With a Furious Ultimatum Over Arrest Targets
The White House deputy chief of staff is demanding more detentions, even if it means reshaping federal agencies.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/stephen-miller-threatened-ice-leaders-with-a-furious-ultimatum-over-arrest-targets

Guardian: US immigration officers ordered to arrest more people even without warrants

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Exclusive: Ice officers told to get ‘creative’ with arrests, including of undocumented people encountered by chance

Senior US immigration officials over the weekend instructed rank-and-file officers to “turn the creative knob up to 11” when it comes to enforcement, including by interviewing and potentially arresting people they called “collaterals”, according to internal agency emails viewed by the Guardian.

Officers were also urged to increase apprehensions and think up tactics to “push the envelope” one email said, with staff encouraged to come up with new ways of increasing arrests and suggesting them to superiors.

“If it involves handcuffs on wrists, it’s probably worth pursuing,” another message said.

This will greatly increase the harassment and “accidental” deportations of legal residents and U.S. citizens.

US immigration officers ordered to arrest more people even without warrants
Exclusive: Ice officers told to get ‘creative’ with arrests, including of undocumented people encountered by chance

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/04/immigration-officials-increased-detentions-collateral-arrests

Newsweek: ICE director responds to agents being labeled “terrorists”

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The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) acting chief has denied heavy-handedness on the part of his agents, who he says have been forced to wear masks after being “doxed” and branded “terrorists.”

Doxing is an online attack that involves publishing someone’s personal information and details online, often with the intent to intimidate or frighten the victim.

If you can’t handle the heat, get out of the fire, fool.

Real cops don’t wear masks. They are identifiable by badge numbers or blazers with agency names & unique identifying numbers.

Only wannabe Gestapo thugs wear masks!

ICE director responds to agents being labeled “terrorists”
Acting Director Todd Lyons says teams have to wear masks for their own safety after being “doxed” and branded “terrorists.”

https://www.newsweek.com/ice-raids-immigration-masks-terrorists-safety-2080248

El País: The head of ICE defends his agents’ heavy-handed approach during raids: ‘They and their families have received death threats on social media’

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Lyons has advocated for the agents, who operate in plain clothes with their faces covered and, often, in unmarked cars. “I’m sorry if people are offended by them wearing masks, but I’m not going to let my officers and agents go out there and put their lives on the line, their family on the line because people don’t like what immigration enforcement is,” the official stated at a news conference in Boston, Massachusetts.

F*ck*ng liar! It has nothing to do with safety, everything to do with fear and intimidation. These Gestapo tactics must end! At the very least, any legitimate police officer should be identified by a badge or blazer with their agency name and a unique identifying number.

The head of ICE defends his agents’ heavy-handed approach during raids: ‘They and their families have received death threats on social media’
Todd Lyons, the head of immigration enforcement, boasts about an operation in Boston that took nearly 1,500 people into custody in May

https://english.elpais.com/usa/2025-06-03/the-head-of-ice-defends-his-agents-heavy-handed-approach-during-raids-they-and-their-families-have-received-death-threats-on-social-media.html

El Paso Matters: Migrants arrested outside El Paso federal building after immigration hearings under new Trump expedited deportation strategy

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Two young men emerged from the Richard C. White Federal Building in Downtown El Paso on Thursday, laughing together as they turned left onto San Antonio Avenue. It was 1:50 p.m. and 99 degrees.

As they reached the corner of South Florence Street just a few steps away, a group of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents converged on them and grabbed Yasmir Marquez by the elbow. The two men were quickly surrounded by more federal law enforcement agents, one of whom showed Marquez a document. He turned to give his friend a hug before he was hustled into a waiting white van. Once inside, he was handcuffed.

Within three minutes, the other man stood alone on the sidewalk under the blazing sun watching in disbelief as the van drove away with his friend inside. “What the f— just happened?” asked the man, who was not arrested.

The courthouse arrests are a new tactic under the Trump administration’s efforts to scale up deportations, targeting migrants at immigration courts immediately after their court-ordered hearings. The migrants are ordered deported or have their cases dismissed and are then arrested by immigration agents as they leave the courtroom or the buildings, which allows for swift removal, the New York Times reported last week. 

The Times obtained an internal ICE memo circulated on May 20 that the news organization reported instructed government prosecutors to help deportation officers with the operation to identify people whose pending immigration court case could be dismissed. Without their case pending in court, the migrants could be subject to expedited removal that doesn’t require a hearing before a judge. 

Migrants arrested outside El Paso federal building after immigration hearings under new Trump expedited deportation strategy
DHS announced last month it was making “common sense courthouse arrests” months after President Trump lifted restrictions that had previously put courthouses, schools and churches largely off limits for immigration enforcement.
Migrants arrested outside El Paso federal building after immigration hearings under new Trump expedited deportation strategy

Independent: New video shows Judge Hannah Dugan with federal agents in moment that led to her arrest

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Attorneys for Wisconsin county judge call the case against her ‘entirely unconstitutional’

Newly obtained surveillance footage from inside a Wisconsin courthouse shows a county judge speaking with federal law enforcement officers before they arrested an undocumented immigrant moments after his hearing in the judge’s courtroom.

A week later, Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan was placed in handcuffs and accused of obstructing his arrest.

Footage from April 18 provided to The Independent from a public records request shows at least six plain-clothes agents in ball caps and hooded sweatshirts arriving on Dugan’s floor. At one point, one agent sits directly across from Dugan’s courtroom.

Minutes after Dugan’s arrival, agents see Eduardo Flores-Ruiz and his attorney entering the courtroom. Flores-Ruiz faces domestic abuse charges stemming from an argument with his roommates, according to a criminal complaint.

Dugan can be seen speaking to a pair of agents sitting on a bench in the courthouse hallway, and then appears to direct them down the hall. According to the criminal complaint, the agents told the judge they had an administrative warrant, which is typically issued by immigration authorities without a judge.

The judge allegedly told the agents to see the chief judge about their plans to make an arrest inside the courthouse. The complaint accuses Dugan of exhibiting “confrontational, angry demeanor” when speaking with federal agents. The surveillance footage does not include any audio.

Dugan is standing still in the video while speaking with two agents, who appear relaxed and slouched on the benches. One agent begins to walk down the hall while Dugan continues speaking with the other agent. Dugan then gestures towards the other end of the hall. She walks the opposite direction when the agents walk away.

None of the videos show the inside of her courtroom. A hearing for Flores-Ruiz lasted only a few minutes. Federal prosecutors allege Dugan directed Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out of her courtroom through a non-public door.

But video footage shows the door was just a few feet from the main entrance. Flores-Ruiz and his attorney walk past federal agents as they head towards the elevator. One agent follows them to the elevator. According to a criminal complaint, the agent shared an elevator to the lobby with the both of them.

Looks like ICE’s Gestapo thugs have no evidence worth mentioning.

Video shows Judge Hannah Dugan with federal agents in moment leading to her arrest
Attorneys for Wisconsin county judge call the case against her ‘entirely unconstitutional’

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/judge-hannah-dugan-video-ice-arrrest-b2762081.html

NBC News: ICE arrest of H.S. student sends shockwaves through a Massachusetts town

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The 18-year-old is in immigration detention after being arrested on graduation weekend in Milford, southwest of Boston, where he has attended school since he was 6, friends said.

An athlete, a musician, an exceptional high school student with an infectious smile.

This is how community members in Milford, Massachusetts, described Marcelo Gomes Da Silva, an 18-year-old high school junior who was arrested by immigration authorities and sent to a detention center this weekend.

Gomes Da Silva was driving his father’s car on his way to volleyball practice with some of his teammates Saturday morning when immigration authorities stopped him.

Immigration authorities made the traffic stop because they were looking for Gomes Da Silva’s father, who is unlawfully present

ICE arrest of H.S. student sends shock waves through a Massachusetts town
The 18-year-old is in immigration detention after being arrested on graduation weekend in Milford, southwest of Boston, where he has attended school since he was 6, friends said.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/ice-arrest-high-school-milford-massachusetts-immigration-rcna210324

Associated Press: Immigration official defends tactics against criticism of a heavy hand as arrests rise nationwide

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Todd Lyons, ICE’s acting director, turned emotional when asked to explain why officials wear masks. He said some have received death threats and been harassed online.

“I’m sorry if people are offended by them wearing masks, but I’m not going to let my officers and agents go out there and put their lives on the line, their family on the line because people don’t like what immigration enforcement is,” he said at a news conference in Boston to announce nearly 1,500 arrests in the region as part of a month-long “surge operation.”

Lyons was leaving the room when a reporter asked him about the masks. He returned to the podium.

“Is that the issue here that we’re just upset about the masks?” he asked. “Or is anyone upset about the fact that ICE officers’ families were labeled terrorists?”

Lyons may have been referring to comments by San Diego Councilman Sean Elo-Rivera, who called ICE officers “terrorists” after Friday’s restaurant raid. “This isn’t safety. It’s state-sponsored terrorism,” Elo-Rivera wrote on Instagram.

Gestapo? Terrorists? Thugs? ICE is receiving the reputation it has earned. And I could care less if the poor bully boys are harassed, either online or in public — they’ve earned it.

Immigration official defends tactics against criticism of a heavy hand as arrests rise nationwide
The head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is defending himself against criticism that authorities are being too heavy-handed as they ramp up arrests toward President Donald Trump’s promises of mass deportations.

https://apnews.com/article/ice-agents-masked-boston-deportations-todd-lyons-4fa874908a64b12f1b1ee0be3825fb39

Reuters:Top US immigration officials defend arrest of Massachusetts high school student

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The head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement [Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE] defended on Monday his agency’s decision to arrest a Massachusetts high school student on his way to volleyball practice, saying “he’s in this country illegally and we’re not going to walk away from anybody.”

He’s a child who has been here since the age of five. He knows no other country.

And people wonder why ICE is so reviled?

Lyons and Patricia Hyde, the acting field director of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in Boston, said Gomes was not the target of the investigation that led to his arrest and that authorities instead were seeking his father, who remains at large.

…

A federal judge issued an emergency order on Sunday preventing authorities from transferring Gomes out of Massachusetts for at least 72 hours in response to a lawsuit arguing he was unlawfully detained.

The lawsuit said that Gomes entered the United States on a student visa. While his student visa status has lapsed, the lawsuit said he is eligible for and intends to apply for asylum.

Top US immigration officials defend arrest of Massachusetts high school student
The head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement defended on Monday his agency’s decision to arrest a Massachusetts high school student on his way to volleyball practice, saying “he’s in this country illegally and we’re not going to walk away from anybody.”

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/top-us-immigration-officials-defend-arrest-massachusetts-high-school-student-2025-06-02