Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Twelve Democrats Join Anti-ICE Lawsuit

Democratic lawmakers have sued the Trump administration for a rule that requires a seven-day notice before visiting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers. They argued that the policy has violated federal law, which allows unannounced oversight visits.

Lawmakers argued the new rule blocks their constitutional right to inspect detention centers.

The lawsuit emphasized ongoing concerns regarding blocked congressional access to detention facilities. Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) currently faces federal charges linked to an oversight visit at a New Jersey facility.

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[Rep. Joe] Neguse said, Blocking Members of Congress from oversight visits to ICE facilities that house or otherwise detain immigrants clearly violates Federal law—and the Trump administration knows it. Such blatant disregard for both the law and the constitutional order by the Trump administration warrants a serious and decisive response, which is why I’m proud to lead the lawsuit we proceeded with earlier today.

[Rep Bennie] Thompson stated, By blocking Members of Congress from visiting ICE detention facilities, the Trump administration is not only preventing us from conducting meaningful oversight of its facilities, it is clearly violating the law. This unprecedented action is just their latest effort to stonewall Congress and the American people. If DHS has nothing to hide, it must follow the law and make its facilities available.

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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/twelve-democrats-join-anti-ice-lawsuit/ss-AA1N0V3j

The Hill: Mass deportation effort sweeps up U.S. citizen children with deported parents

The Trump administration is coming under scrutiny for deporting several U.S. citizen children along with their foreign-born parents.

Trump officials have defended the move, saying the minors were not deported, rather the parents have elected to take them along rather than be separated from their children.

But attorneys for the families involved in such cases say their clients were given little notice and forced to make split-second decisions about what to do with children born in the United States.

Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), has been in contact with attorneys for several families, including a Honduran woman with two U.S. citizen children, including a 4-year-old with stage 4 cancer.

“At no time did the mother offer any consent. At no time did the mother sign anything. Also, the mother was not given the opportunity to speak with legal counsel, even though the lawyer was in the same building at the time,” Magaziner told The Hill.

And then there’s the case of two Mexican parents living in Texas who were deported along with five of their six children after being stopped at a border checkpoint.

The family was en route to Houston for emergency treatment for their 10-year-old, U.S. citizen daughter who had recently had a brain tumor removed.

The Hernandez family, using a pseudonym to protect their privacy, pleaded while in custody for staff to look at documentation from the hospital requesting permission to travel.

Instead, they spent the night in custody before being taken to a bridge and turned over to Mexican authorities in an area rife with kidnappings. The family has since gone into hiding in rural Mexico.

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5326444-trump-administration-deporting-us-citizen-children