Tag Archives: Mexico

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

Independent: ‘Taco Thursday’: Social media users taunt Trump after he extends Mexico trade deadline

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The president once again backed down from increasing import taxes on Mexican goods

Donald Trump’s pausing of higher import taxes on a wide range of Mexican products a day before they were set to start saw the president mocked on social media with the now-familiar “TACO” taunt.

The nickname TACO, short for “Trump Always Chickens Out,” stems from the president’s habit of making tariff threats, resulting in a drop in the markets, only for him to change course and see the markets rebound.

Trump announced the move in a Truth Social post following a phone call with Mexican President Gloria Sheinbaum on Thursday.

He said the conversation had been “very successful in that, more and more, we are getting to know and understand each other” and suggested that the American trade relationship with Mexico is different from other countries because of the complexity of the border situation.

“We have agreed to extend, for a 90 Day period, the exact same Deal as we had for the last short period of time, namely, that Mexico will continue to pay a 25% Fentanyl Tariff, 25% Tariff on Cars, and 50% Tariff on Steel, Aluminum, and Copper,” he added.

The reaction from some of Trump’s most fervent critics was swift, predictable, and Mexican food-themed, invoking the TACO nickname investors have bestowed on the president for his economic flip-flopping.

California Governor Gavin Newsom’s press team was quick to pounce after Trump’s announcement hit Truth Social, writing that it was “TACO Thursday.”

Another critic, writer Paul Rudnick, posted a dual screen grab noting headlines stating that Trump had said he wouldn’t extend his tariff deadlines just a day before he announced yet another extension.

And a Democratic congressman, Rep. Chuy Garcia of Texas, twisted the knife a bit further, pointing out on X that consumers — not the Mexican government — pay the tariffs at issue.

Another X user, added:” SHE OWNS tRUMP …TACO THURSDAY.”

Never forget that at the end of the day it’s the consumer — you and I — who pay the tariffs, and that means INFLATION.

‘Taco Thursday’: Critics taunt Trump after he extends Mexico trade deadline
The president once again backed down from increasing import taxes on Mexican goods

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-mexico-trade-deadline-taco-thursday-b2800002.html

Irish Star: Trump gives himself gloating new nickname…before immediately contradicting himself

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Donald Trump gave himself a new namesake on his Truth Social platform, but just three minutes later he backtracked over a country’s pledge to recognize Palestine as a state

President Donald Trump declared he was a dealmaker on Truth Social today before immediately contradicting himself by saying he would find it hard to make a trade tariff deal with Canada.

Thursday morning saw Trump share an image of himself with a fist in the air that had the words “Donald Trump dealmaker in-chief” emblazoned across it. Then, just three minutes later, he wrote in another post that it will be “very hard” to make a trade deal with Canada in light of its Prime Minister Mark Carney announcing plans to recognise a Palestinian state.

Trump’s trade threat comes a day before higher tariffs are slapped on countries without a US trade deal. Canada is set to face a 35% tariffs on most goods it sells to the US from Friday, if a deal is not reached today. It comes as Trump makes ‘disturbing remarks’ about his 1-year-old daughter in resurfaced clip.

On the trade deals, Trump wrote, “Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine. That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them. Oh’ Canada!!!”

Canada’s move to recognize a Palestinian state comes after UK and France made similar announcements. Their pledge comes as a hunger in Gaza continues. On Wednesday, the Hamas-run health ministry reported seven more deaths from malnutrition.

Earlier this week, Trump said there was “real starvation” in Gaza. He also told how he was working with Israel to “get things straightened out”..

Earlier this month, Trump posted an angry letter to Carney on Truth Social, in which he accused him of having “financially retaliated against the United States.” Canada, the second-largest trading partner of the U.S. behind Mexico, failed to deal adequately with fentanyl crossing into the northern U.S. border, Trump claimed, “Instead of working with the United States, Canada retaliated with its own Tariffs.”

Fentanyl seizures by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol at the Canada-U.S. border reportedly representing less than 0.1% of U.S. fentanyl seizures between 2022 and 2024.

Carney responded to Trump’s post on X, saying that he would continue his country’s commitment to cooperating with Washington, including battling the fentanyl crisis.

“Throughout the current trade negotiations with the United States, the Canadian government has steadfastly defended our workers and businesses,” Carney wrote on X in reply to Trump. “We will continue to do so as we work towards the revised deadline of August 1. Canada has made vital progress to stop the scourge of fentanyl in North America.”

“We are building Canada strong,” he continued. “The federal government, provinces and territories are making significant progress in building one Canadian economy. We are poised to build a series of major new projects in the national interest. We are strengthening our trading partnerships throughout the world.”

It comes after a Trump family member revealed his body is “rotting inside” as she delivered a terrifying update on the president’s health.

As the U.S.A. insults and abuses one former friend after another, we are slowly being left behind as the rest of the world moves on, asking, “Is the U.S.A. really necessary?”

Trump gives himself gloating nickname…before immediately contradicting himself
Donald Trump gave himself a new namesake on his Truth Social platform, but just three minutes later he backtracked over a country’s pledge to recognize Palestine as a state

https://www.irishstar.com/news/us-news/donald-trump-nickname-canada-35650698?int_source=nba

Irish Star: United States denies entire team visas for Little League World Series

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A Venezuelan baseball team will not be able to compete in this year’s Little League Senior Baseball World Series after it was denied visas into the United States.

Last month, President Donald Trump unveiled a travel ban to the U.S. on 12 other countries — with athletes slated to compete in the 2026 FIFA World Cup expected to be exempt from the restrictions.

Unfortunately for the Cacique Mara team based in Maracaibo, Venezuela, they were not given the same preferential treatment. And they are not the only team to miss out on a major international competition as a result of United States border policy.

According to the Little League International, the club was unable to secure the required documents needed to enter the United States.

“The Cacique Mara Little League team from Venezuela was unfortunately unable to obtain the appropriate visas to travel to the Senior League Baseball World Series,” an official statement read.

The Cacique Mara team punched their ticket to the tournament after emerging victorious in the Latin American championship in Mexico. In their absence, Santa Maria de Aguayo — the runner-ups in the event — will take their place.

“While this is extremely disappointing, especially to these young athletes, the Little League International Tournament Committee has made the decision to advance the second place team, Santa Maria de Aguayo Little League (Victoria, Mexico), to participate in the Senior League Baseball World Series and ensure the Latin America Region is represented in the tournament and that the players, coaches, and families from Mexico are able to have a memorable World Series experience,” the statement continued.

Two weeks ago, the Cacique Mara team traveled to Bogota, Colombia to apply for visas at the U.S. embassy.

“It is a mockery on the part of Little League to keep us here in Bogota with the hope that our children can fulfill their dreams of participating in a world championship,” the team said in a statement.

“What do we do with so much injustice, what do we do with the pain that was caused to our children?”

Kendrick Gutierrez, the Venezuelan league’s president, did little to hide his frustration upon learning that Cacique Mara team had been ruled out of the Senior League Baseball World Series — a tournament for 13-16 year old players held annually in Easley, South Carolina.

“They told us that Venezuela is on a list because Trump says Venezuelans are a threat to the security of his state, of his country,” Gutierrez said. “It hasn’t been easy, the situation. We earned the right to represent Latin America in the world championship.

“I think this is the first time this has happened, but it shouldn’t end this way. They’re going to replace us with another team because relations have been severed. It’s not fair. I don’t understand why they put Mexico in at the last minute and left Venezuela out.”

Overseas teams should say “Screw Trump’s Amerika” and set up their own Little League International Tournament — make it truly international and leave the U.S. behind.

Little League World Series finds replacement after entire team denied visas
A Venezuelan baseball team was denied visas into the United States, not being allowed to compete in its World Series tournament, with the country being replaced despite earning its spot

https://www.irishstar.com/sport/other-sports/little-league-baseball-venezuela-mexico-35630049

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

Business Insider: Automakers are starting to reveal how much Trump’s tariffs are costing them

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  • Carmakers are tallying up an eye-watering bill from Trump’s tariffs.
  • Jeep and Ram owner Stellantis said it expected the levies on imported vehicles to cost it around $1.4 billion this year.
  • General Motors, Tesla, and VW have also reported big tariff hits in earnings in the past few weeks.

The auto industry is still trying to unravel a tangled tariff web, and the bill just keeps getting bigger.

Jeep and Ram owner Stellantis became the latest automaker to forecast a heavy hit from Trump’s tariffs on imported vehicles on Tuesday.

The Chrysler maker said that it expected tariffs to cost it around €1.2 billion ($1.4 billion) in the second half of this year, after a €300 million impact in the first half of 2025.

Stellantis, which builds Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep models in its factories in Canada and Mexico, has been hit hard by the Trump administration’s 25% tariff on vehicles and car parts imported into the US.

Other automakers are also feeling the pain. General Motors, which builds models for the US market in Korea, Mexico, and Canada, said last week that the tariffs had cut $1.1 billion off its profits in the last quarter.

CEO Mary Barra said that GM was working to reduce its tariff exposure and build up its US manufacturing presence, but the company warned that the worst was still to come. GM estimated that the tariffs could cost it between $4 and $5 billion this year.

Trump’s recent trade deals have slashed the tariffs on importing cars from Japan and Europe to the US from 25% to 15%, but manufacturers still have to deal with a hodgepodge of import restrictions and fees.

The 25% tax on automobile parts means that even carmakers who build their cars in the US face a serious tariff headache.

Tesla, which has factories in California and Texas but still uses some imported components, told investors last week it incurred a tariff-related cost of $300 million in the previous quarter, with CFO Vaibhav Taneja warning that costs are likely to increase in the coming months.

European manufacturer VW also said last week it had suffered a $1.1 billion tariff-related hit in the first half of this year, while Swedish carmaker Volvo took a $1.2 billion impairment charge in part due to the escalating cost of the levies.

Experts and analysts have warned that many of the costs facing automakers will be passed on to US consumers in the form of higher car prices and fewer models.

A study by the Center for Automotive Research published in April found that the 25% tariffs on imported cars and auto parts would hike the cost of vehicles produced in the US by over $4,000 and imported vehicles by nearly $9,000.

Automakers are starting to reveal how much Trump’s tariffs are costing them
Jeep and Ram owner Stellantis became the latest automaker to forecast a heavy hit from Trump’s tariffs on imported vehicles on Tuesday.

https://www.businessinsider.com/automakers-are-revealing-how-much-trumps-tariffs-are-costing-them-2025-7

CNN: A Marine veteran’s wife, detained by ICE while still breastfeeding, has been released

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A Marine Corps veteran’s wife has been released from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention following advocacy from Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican who backs President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration crackdown.

Until this week, Mexican national Paola Clouatre had been one of tens of thousands of people in ICE custody as the Trump administration continues to press immigration officers to arrest 3,000 people a day suspected of being in the US illegally.

Emails reviewed by The Associated Press show that Kennedy’s office put in a request Friday for the Department of Homeland Security to release her after a judge halted her deportation order earlier that week. By Monday, she was out of a remote ICE detention center in north Louisiana and home in Baton Rouge with her veteran husband, Adrian Clouatre, and their two young children.

Kennedy’s constituent services representative, Christy Tate, congratulated Adrian Clouatre on his wife’s release and thanked him for his military service. “I am so happy for you and your family,” Tate wrote in an email to Adrian Clouatre. “God is truly great!”

Kennedy’s office proved “instrumental” in engaging with the Department of Homeland Security, according to Carey Holliday, the family’s attorney. Kennedy’s office did not provide further comment.

Another Louisiana Republican, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, also intervened recently with the Department of Homeland Security to secure the release of an Iranian mother from ICE detention following widespread outcry. The woman has lived for decades in New Orleans.

Kennedy has generally been a staunch supporter of Trump’s immigration policies.

“Illegal immigration is illegal – duh,” Kennedy posted on his Facebook page on July 17, amid a series of recent media appearances decrying efforts to prevent ICE officers from making arrests. In April, however, he criticized the Trump administration for mistakenly deporting a Maryland man.

Senator’s office requests mother’s release from ICE custody

The Department of Homeland Security previously told The AP it considered Clouatre to be “illegally” in the country.

An email chain shared by Adrian Clouatre shows that the family’s attorney reached out to Kennedy’s office in early June after Paola Clouatre was detained in late May.

Tate received Paola Clouatre’s court documents by early July and said she then contacted ICE, according to the email exchange.

On July 23, an immigration judge halted Paola Clouatre’s deportation order. After Adrian Clouatre notified Kennedy’s office, Tate said she “sent the request to release” Paola Clouatre to DHS and shared a copy of the judge’s motion with the agency, emails show.

In an email several days later, Tate said that ICE told her it “continues to make custody determinations on a case-by-case basis based on the specific circumstances of each case” and had received the judge’s decision from Kennedy’s office “for consideration.”

The next working day, Paola Clouatre was released from custody.

“We will continue to keep you, your family and others that are experiencing the same issues in our prayers,” Tate said in an email to Adrian Clouatre. “If you need our assistance in the future, please contact us.”

Back with her children

Paola Clouatre had been detained by ICE officers on May 27 during an appointment related to her green card application.

She had entered the country as a minor with her mother from Mexico more than a decade ago and was legally processed while seeking asylum, she, her husband and her attorney say. But Clouatre’s mother later failed to show up for a court date, leading a judge to issue a deportation order against Paola Clouatre in 2018, though by then she had become estranged from her mother and was homeless.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Clouatre’s release.

Adrian Clouatre said he wished the agency would “actually look at the circumstances” before detaining people like his wife. “It shouldn’t just be like a blanket ‘Oh, they’re illegal, throw them in ICE detention.’”

Reunited with her breastfeeding infant daughter and able to snuggle with her toddler son, Paola Clouatre told AP she feels like a mother again.

“I was feeling bad,” she said of detention. “I was feeling like I failed my kids.”

It will likely be a multiyear court process before Paola Clouatre’s immigration court proceedings are formally closed, but things look promising, and she should be able to obtain her green card eventually, her attorney said.

For now, she’s wearing an ankle monitor, but still able to pick up life where she left off, her husband says. The day of her arrest in New Orleans, the couple had planned to sample some of the city’s famed French pastries known as beignets and her husband says they’ll finally get that chance again: “We’re going to make that day up.”

A Marine veteran’s wife, detained by ICE while still breastfeeding, has been released | CNN
A Marine Corps veteran’s wife has been released from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention following advocacy from Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican who backs President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration crackdown.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/29/us/mother-released-ice-marine-veteran-husband

Straight Arrow News: CBP officers admit to drug smuggling conspiracy using emojis to talk to runners

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Two U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers pleaded guilty this month to working with members of a Mexican drug trafficking organization to smuggle multiple types of drugs into the country, federal prosecutors announced Monday. Jesse Clark Garcia, 37, and Diego Bonillo, 30, conspired to let vehicles carrying illegal drugs cross into the United States without being inspected, helping the drug traffickers bypass border security.

The Department of Justice said the two officers secretly used emojis to communicate with the drug smugglers about their location or assignment at the border.

Guilty Pleas in Major Trafficking Case

On July 8, Garcia pleaded guilty to nine criminal charges listed in an indictment, including conspiracy to import controlled substances and importation of cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl through the Tecate, California, port of entry.

On July 28, right before his trial was about to begin, Bonillo admitted guilt to three charges, including conspiracy to import controlled substances and importation of fentanyl and heroin through the Otay Mesa port of entry.

Prosecutors: Officers Profited From Smuggling

“The United States has alleged that both defendants profited handsomely, funding both domestic and international trips as well as purchases of luxury items and attempts to purchase real estate in Mexico,” a press release from federal prosecutors reads.

Garcia and Bonillo both face life in prison with a minimum of 10 years. Federal prosecutors say Garcia will be sentenced on Sept. 26, and Bonillo on Nov. 7.

Multi-Agency Investigation

The case was investigated through a coordinated effort by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility, U.S. Border Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The dirtbags should be detaining and deporting their own and leave the honest day workers at Home Depots alone!

CBP officers admit to drug smuggling conspiracy using emojis to talk to runners
Two CBP officers pleaded guilty to working with members of a Mexican drug trafficking organization to smuggle drugs into the U.S.

https://san.com/cc/cbp-officers-admit-to-drug-smuggling-conspiracy-using-emojis-to-talk-to-runners

Guardian: Men freed from El Salvador mega-prison endured ‘state-sanctioned torture’, lawyers say

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Venezuelans back home under Maduro-Trump deal tell of isolation, beatings and dirty water – ‘a living nightmare’

On 14 March, [Ramos Bastidas] shared with his family that maybe he would be able to come back to Venezuela after all …. The next day, he was flown to Cecot.

“They could have deported him to Venezuela,” Alvarez-Jones. “Instead, the US government made a determination to send him to be tortured in Cecot.”

Venezuelans that the Trump administration expelled to El Salvador’s most notorious megaprison endured “state-sanctioned torture”, lawyers for some of the men have said, as more stories emerge about the horrors they faced during capacity.

When José Manuel Ramos Bastidas – one of 252 Venezuelan men that the US sent to El Salvador’s most notorious mega-prison – finally made it back home to El Tocuyo on Tuesday, the first thing he did was stretch his arms around his family.

His wife, son and mother were wearing the bright blue shirts they had printed with a photo of him, posed in a yellow and black moto jacket and camo-print jeans. It was the first time they had hugged him since he left Venezuela last year. And it was the first time they could be sure – truly sure – that he was alive and well since he disappeared into the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (Cecot) in March.

“We have been waiting for this moment for months, and I feel like I can finally breathe,” said Roynerliz Rodríguez, Ramos Bastidas’s partner. “These last months have been a living nightmare, not knowing anything about José Manuel and only imagining what he must be suffering. I am happy he is free from Cecot, but I also know that we will never be free of the shadow of this experience. There must be justice for all those who suffered this torture.”

The Venezuelan deportees were repatriated last week following a deal between the US and Venezuelan governments. Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan president, negotiated a prisoner swap that released 10 American citizens in his custody and dozens of Venezuelan political prisoners in exchange for the release of his citizens from Cecot.

This week, after undergoing medical and background checks, they are finally reuniting with their families. Their testimonies of what they experienced inside Cecot are providing the first, most detailed pictures of the conditions inside Cecot, a mega-prison that human rights groups say is designed to disappear people.

Ramos Bastidas and other US deportees were told that they were condemned to spend 30 to 90 years in Cecot unless the US president ordered otherwise, he told his lawyers. They were shot with rubber bullets on repeated occasions – including on Friday, during their last day of detention.

In interviews with the media and in testimony provided to their lawyers, other detainees described lengthy beatings and humiliation by guards. After some detainees tried to break the locks on their cell, prisoners were beaten for six consecutive days, the Atlantic reports. Male guards reportedly brought in female colleagues, who beat the naked prisoners and recorded videos.

Edicson David Quintero Chacón, a US deportee, said that he was placed in isolation for stretches of time, during which he thought he would die, his lawyer told the Guardian. Quintero Chacón, who has scars from daily beatings, also said that he and other inmates were only provided soap and an opportunity to bathe on days when visitors were touring the prison – forcing them to choose between hygiene and public humiliation.

Food was limited, and the drinking water was dirty, Quintero Chacón and other detainees have said. Lights were on all night, so detainees could never fully rest. “And the guards would also come in at night and beat them at night,” said his lawyer Stephanie M Alvarez-Jones, the south-east regional attorney at the National Immigration Project.

In a filing asking for a dismissal of her months-long petition on behalf of her clients’ release, Alvarez-Jones wrote: “He will likely carry the psychological impact of this torture his whole life. The courts must never look away when those who wield the power of the US government, at the highest levels, engage in such state-sanctioned violence.”

Ramos Bastidas has never been convicted of any crimes in the US (or in any country). In fact, he had never really set foot in the US as a free man.

In El Tocuyo, in the Venezuelan state of Lara, and had been working since he was a teenager to support his family. Last year, he decided to leave his country – which has yet to recover from an economic collapse – to seek better income, so he could pay for medical care for his infant with severe asthma.

In March 2024, he arrived at the US-Mexico border and presented himself at a port of entry. He made an appointment using the now-defunct CBP One phone application to apply for asylum – but immigration officials and a judge determined that he did not qualify.

But Customs and Border Protection agents had flagged Ramos Bastidas as a possible member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, based on an unsubstantiated report from Panamanian officials and his tattoos. So they transferred him to a detention facility, where he was to remain until he could be deported.

Despite agreeing to return to Venezuela, he remained for months in detention. “I think what is particularly enraging for José is that he had accepted his deportation,” said Alvarez-Jones. “He was asking for his deportation for a long time, and he just wanted to go back home.”

In December, Venezuela wasn’t accepting deportees – so Ramos Bastidas asked if he could be released and make his own way home. A month later, Donald Trump was sworn in as president. Everything changed.

Ramos Bastidas began to see other Venezuelans were being sent to the military base in Guantánamo Bay in Cuba – and he feared the same would happen to him. On 14 March, he shared with his family that maybe he would be able to come back to Venezuela after all, after officials began prepping him for deportation.

The next day, he was flown to Cecot.

“They could have deported him to Venezuela,” Alvarez-Jones. “Instead, the US government made a determination to send him to be tortured in Cecot.”

Men freed from El Salvador mega-prison endured ‘state-sanctioned torture’, lawyers say
Venezuelans back home under Maduro-Trump deal tell of isolation, beatings and dirty water – ‘a living nightmare’

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/26/venezuela-el-salvador-prison

Fox News: ‘Lawless and insane’: Trump admin readies for fight after judges block Abrego Garcia removal for now

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In Nashville, U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw on Wednesday ordered Abrego Garcia’s release from criminal custody pending trial, writing in a 37-page ruling that the federal government “fails to provide any evidence that there is something in Abrego’s history, or his exhibited characteristics, that warrants detention.” 

He also poured cold water on the dozens of allegations made by Trump officials, including by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in Nashville last week, that Abrego Garcia is an MS-13 gang member.

“Based on the record before it, for the court to find that Abrego is member of or in affiliation with MS13, it would have to make so many inferences from the government’s proffered evidence in its favor that such conclusion would border on fanciful,” he said. 

King Donald’s pathetic band of idiots, suck-ups, and sycophants really needs to learn to quit when they’re behind, way behind in this case.

‘Lawless and insane’: Trump admin readies for fight after judges block Abrego Garcia removal for now
The Trump administration faces setbacks as judges in Tennessee and Maryland block the deportation of Salvadorian migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, with officials suggesting they may violate court orders.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/lawless-insane-trump-admin-readies-fight-after-judges-block-abrego-garcia-removal-now