Tag Archives: John Sandweg

Alternet: Busted: Major investigation catches Trump administration in a massive lie

Posted on by
Reply

The Trump administration knew that the vast majority of the 238 Venezuelan immigrants it sent to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador in mid-March had not been convicted of crimes in the United States before it labeled them as terrorists and deported them, according to U.S. Department of Homeland Security data that has not been previously reported.’

President Donald Trump and his aides have branded the Venezuelans as “rapists,” “savages,” “monsters” and “the worst of the worst.” When multiple news organizations disputed those assertions with reporting that showed many of the deportees did not have criminal records, the administration doubled down. It said that its assessment of the deportees was based on a thorough vetting process that included looking at crimes committed both inside and outside the United States. But the government’s own data, which was obtained by ProPublica, The Texas Tribune and a team of journalists from Venezuela, showed that officials knew that only 32 of the deportees had been convicted of U.S. crimes and that most were nonviolent offenses, such as retail theft or traffic violations.

The data indicates that the government knew that only six of the immigrants were convicted of violent crimes: four for assault, one for kidnapping and one for a weapons offense. And it shows that officials were aware that more than half, or 130, of the deportees were not labeled as having any criminal convictions or pending charges; they were labeled as only having violated immigration laws.

As for foreign offenses, our own review of court and police records from around the United States and in Latin American countries where the deportees had lived found evidence of arrests or convictions for 20 of the 238 men. Of those, 11 involved violent crimes such as armed robbery, assault or murder, including one man who the Chilean government had asked the U.S. to extradite to face kidnapping and drug charges there. Another four had been accused of illegal gun possession.

Busted: Major investigation catches Trump administration in a massive lie

https://www.alternet.org/venezuelan-deportees

Gay Venezuelan stylist sent to Salvadoran prison after a disgraced cop’s report

Posted on by
Reply

The imprisoned man sought shelter in the U.S. after he told authorities he was persecuted as a gay man, one of the “particular social groups” allowed to claim asylum.

  • A former Milwaukee police officer with credibility issues played a key role in the deportation of a Venezuelan migrant to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center.
  • Charles Cross, Jr., a CoreCivic employee, signed a report alleging the migrant’s affiliation with the Tren de Aragua gang based on his tattoos.

A disgraced former Milwaukee cop with credibility issues helped seal the fate of a gay Venezuelan makeup artist sent to El Salvador’s notorious prison, according to documents reviewed by USA TODAY. 

A report approved by the police-officer-turned-prison-contractor claimed the Venezuelan man was a member of the notorious gang Tren de Aragua. 

But the credibility of Charles Cross Jr., who signed the report, was so bad, prosecutors flagged him on a list of police who had been accused of lying, breaking the law or acting in a way that erodes their credibility to testify in Milwaukee County.

Cross was fired from his position as a Milwaukee police sergeant in 2012 after driving his car into a family’s home while intoxicated. He appealed the decision and resigned in the process, according to the department.

…

Earlier misdeeds had landed him on the Milwaukee County Brady List, a compilation of law enforcement officers deemed by county prosecutors to have credibility problems. 

Being on a Brady List is a kiss of death for most cops. Apparently immigration judges, ICE, and King Donald think that habitual liars are just fine.

Gay Venezuelan stylist sent to Salvadoran prison after a disgraced cop’s report
Now a contractor for ICE, the officer was on a list of disgraced cops in Milwaukee. His report helped send a man to a notorious prison in El Salvador.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2025/04/10/fired-milwaukee-police-officer-report-gay-stylist-salvadoran-prison/83005721007

Washington Post: Khalil ruling to test Trump deportation tactic of sending detainees to Louisiana

Posted on by
Reply

Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil’s attorneys were stunned when an immigration judge in Jena, Louisiana, announced this week that she would rule on whether he should be deported on Friday — three days after his initial court appearance.

“That is, in my opinion, contrary to every notion of due process,” Marc Van Der Hout, one of his attorneys, told reporters Thursday.

…

Though they remain detained in Louisiana as their immigration court proceedings move forward, Khalil and Ozturk successfully blocked the Trump administration’s attempts to establish federal court jurisdiction in that state. Their attorneys argued that the government secretly arrested the scholars and shuttled them between locations without public disclosure to make it more difficult for them to file habeas corpus petitions in courts closer to home.

A federal judge in New York ruled last month that Khalil’s lawsuit alleging the government violated his constitutional rights to free speech should take place in New Jersey, where he was briefly held before being transferred. His attorneys said that even if the immigration judge in Louisiana rules he can be deported, his federal court challenge could stop his removal if they are victorious.

…

The administration’s strategy “is to isolate the individuals from their communities, their legal support, their families, in hopes that media attention and mobilization around their cases dies down,” said Ramzi Kassem, co-director at CLEAR, a legal nonprofit and clinic at City University of New York that is representing Khalil and Ozturk.

…

The unusual aspect of the Trump administration’s approach, Sandweg said, is how quickly federal authorities relocated the university scholars. Detainee transfers can take up to two weeks, he said, but the Trump administration moved them within days.

Pointing to Khalil’s case, Sandweg said it raises “very complicated questions of the First Amendment. If you know this case is headed to the courts well in advance, the speed in which he was taken to Louisiana so quickly is unusual. That means they were thinking about those legal issues before the operation and had a plan to get him on the plane to Louisiana.”

Khalil ruling tests Trump deportation tactic of sending detainees to Louisiana
Attorneys have contended the Trump administration is purposely holding detained students in ICE facilities in conservative judicial districts.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/khalil-ruling-to-test-trump-deportation-tactic-of-sending-detainees-to-louisiana/ar-AA1CJ2QI