Tag Archives: US immigration

Newsweek: ICE arrests multiple migrants outside Arizona court: “Mayhem”

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Federal immigration authorities apprehended several individuals at the Phoenix immigration court on Tuesday.

During the incident, one attorney described the scene as “mayhem,” adding that people who believed their cases had been dismissed were taken into custody, the Tucson Sentinel reported.

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Isaac Ortega, an immigration attorney in Phoenix, reported that agents arrested his client shortly after a court hearing on Tuesday morning.

According to Ortega, the officials wore masks and did not disclose which agency they represented, identifying themselves only as federal officers.

Gestapo! If they won’t identify themselves and their agency, they shouldn’t be policing.

ICE arrests multiple migrants outside Arizona court: “Mayhem”
An attorney described the scene as “mayhem,” saying people who believed their cases had been dismissed were taken into custody.

https://www.newsweek.com/ice-arrests-migrant-arizona-court-mayhem-2075134

The Atlantic: The Rushed, Blundering Effort to Send Deportees to Third Countries

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Many of those sent to countries that aren’t their own are at heightened risk for abuse.

The Trump administration has acknowledged a new error in a case challenging its attempts to send deportees to any country that will take them. Another immigrant who had earned protected status was rushed out of the country and put in danger—and U.S. officials have offered little more than a shrug.

This time, the immigrant is a gay man from Guatemala who fled death threats and twice tried to seek refuge in the United States. First, he was denied and deported home. He tried again last year and says that while traveling through Mexico, he was held for ransom and sexually assaulted.

The man, identified in court documents as O.C.G., won his case in February when a U.S. immigration judge granted him withholding of removal, shielding him from deportation to Guatemala because of the risk of harm he faced there. The Trump administration promptly sent him to Mexico instead. Threatened with prolonged detention, O.C.G. left Mexico and went back to Guatemala—the country the judge had said he shouldn’t be sent to—and is now in hiding there.

The Trump administration originally claimed that O.C.G. did not express fear of being sent to Mexico, which would have potentially stopped his deportation. But on Friday, the government acknowledged that its claim was based on an erroneous data entry, and that it has no record to support the assertion. Then, over the weekend, the government compounded its mistake by briefly disclosing the man’s full name in court documents, violating confidentiality rules. The Atlantic is not publishing his name, because his lawyers argued in court that identifying him could put his life in danger, especially while he is in hiding.

It’s a long read but interesting.

Frankly, deporting people to third countries where they have no roots, no family, and don’t know the language is an abomination. So many of these people came to the U.S. looking for a better life for themselves and their families, and now we’re kicking them around the world like a bunch soccer balls.

The Rushed, Blundering Effort to Send Deportees to Third Countries
Many of those sent to countries that aren’t their own are at heightened risk for abuse.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/05/third-country-deportations/682857

Inquirer: Filipino green card holder detained at Seattle airport after PH vacation

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Maximo ‘Max’ Londonio has been held by Customs and Border Protection since May 15

Maximo “Max” Londonio, a Filipino green card holder and father of three, has been detained at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after returning from a family vacation in the Philippines, sparking protests and renewed calls for government accountability.

Londonio, 42, who immigrated to the US at age 12 and now lives in Olympia, Washington, was taken into custody by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on May 15.

Londonio, his wife and their 12-year-old daughter were returning from their vacation in the Philippines, according to migrant rights advocacy group Tanggol Migrante. 

CBP agents reportedly detained Londonio over nonviolent offenses from his youth, despite previous uneventful travel between the US and the Philippines.

His wife, Crystal – a US citizen – described him as “dedicated,” “family-focused” and “affectionate,” and said she received little information about his whereabouts or the reasons for his detention. 

She was finally able to contact him on Tuesday and learned he had received a notice to appear before an immigration judge and would be transferred to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center, where thousands of migrants await deportation hearings.

Filipino green card holder detained at Seattle airport after PH vacation
Maximo “Max” Londonio, a Filipino green card holder and father of three, has been detained at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

https://usa.inquirer.net/172271/filipino-green-card-holder-detained-at-seattle-airport-after-ph-vacation

Guardian: Trump officials ‘created confrontation’ that led to arrest of Newark mayor

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Democratic Congress members who visited detention center with mayor say Ice officials ‘created the chaos’

Trump administration homeland security officials were responsible for starting the confrontation on Friday at a New Jersey immigration jail that led to the arrest of Newark’s mayor as well as threats to detain three members of Congress, the representatives said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union.

The Democratic representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman, LaMonica McIver and Rob Menendez – all of New Jersey – visited the controversial Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) detention center known as Delaney Hall on Friday to inspect the facility. As they waited to enter Delaney Hall, Newark’s mayor, Ras Baraka, arrived – and as he left the property, he was arrested outside by Ice officials accusing him of trespassing, leading to a commotion at the entrance of the jail.

There evidently was shoving and pushing between federal immigration officials and the members of Congress, which Watson Coleman, McIver and Menendez blamed on the immigration officials.

On CNN’s State of the Union, the Congress members said immigration officials had ample opportunity to deescalate the situation before someone called in and instructed masked agents to arrest Baraka.

“They created that confrontation, they created that chaos,” McIver said.

Since the ordeal on Friday at Delaney Hall, homeland security officials have accused the Congress members of staging a “bizarre political stunt” there while also accusing McIver of “bodyslamming” authorities at the scene.

McIver rejected those allegations.

“I honestly do not know how to bodyslam anyone,” McIver said. “There’s no video that supports me bodyslamming anyone.

“We were simply there to do our job – there for an oversight visit.”

Trump officials ‘created confrontation’ that led to arrest of Newark mayor
Democratic Congress members who visited detention center with mayor say Ice officials ‘created the chaos’

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/11/trump-officials-newark-mayor-arrest

BBC: New Jersey mayor arrested for protesting at migrant centre

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The mayor of New Jersey’s largest city has been arrested after allegedly trying to force his way into a migrant detention facility.

Newark Mayor Ras Barak, who is running for New Jersey governor, “committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings”, to leave Delaney Hall, a detention facility being run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to acting US attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba.

Barak was accompanied by three Democratic members of Congress, who were not arrested. They say they were there to conduct “oversight” to ensure that the facility is not violating any building safety ordinances.

It is unclear whether Barak faces criminal charges.

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New Jersey’s Democratic Governor Phil Murphy said he was “outraged” by Baraka’s arrest and called for him to be immediately released.

New Jersey Democratic lawmakers Rob Menendez Jr, Bonnie Watson Coleman and LaMonica McIver were also present during the protest.

City officials allege the private firm that signed a contract with ICE did not obtain proper permits and blocked necessary inspections. The firm has told media they haver the proper permits.

Earlier on Friday, Congresswoman Watson Coleman posted on social media: “We’re at Delaney Hall, an ICE prison in Newark that opened without permission from the city & in violation of local ordinances.

New Jersey mayor arrested for protesting at migrant centre
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was part of a group of Democratic officials seeking to enter the facility housing detained migrants.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy904elvxj3o

Guardian: Irish woman detained by US immigration released after 17 days in custody

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An Irish woman who was detained by US immigration authorities because of a criminal record dating back almost 20 years has been released after 17 days in custody.

Cliona Ward, 54, who has lived legally in the US for decades, emerged on Wednesday from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) facility at Tacoma in Washington.

After visiting her sick father in Ireland she had been detained at San Francisco airport on 21 April, causing an outcry in Ireland and the US and a campaign for her release.

Last week a California judge agreed to an application for the original convictions to be formally overturned in a manner that would be recognised at a federal level, paving the way for her release, according to Ward’s lawyers.

The incarceration left Ward traumatised but she was thankful for the support and is now recuperating, her sister, Orla Holladay, wrote on a GoFundMe page. “Cliona is finally in her own bed and we are all ready for some quiet and reflection.”

Irish woman detained by US immigration released after 17 days in custody
An Irish woman who was detained by US immigration authorities because of a criminal record dating back almost 20 years has been released after 17 days in custody. Cliona Ward, 54, who has lived legally in the US for decades, emerged on Wednesday from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) facility at Tacomain Washington. After visiting her sick father in Ireland she had been detained at San Francisco airport on 21 April, causing an outcry…

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/irish-woman-detained-by-us-immigration-released-after-17-days-in-custody/ar-AA1EoD48

Reuters: Tufts student detained by US immigration authorities must be released, judge rules

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  • Rumeysa Ozturk ordered released immediately from Louisiana detention center
  • Ozturk was detained after pro-Palestinian campus advocacy
  • Judge said her detention chills free speech of non-citizens

A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Friday to immediately release a Tufts University student from Turkey who has been held for over six weeks in a Louisiana immigration detention facility after she co-wrote an opinion piece criticizing her school’s response to Israel’s war in Gaza.

U.S. District Judge William Sessions during a hearing in Burlington, Vermont, granted bail to Rumeysa Ozturk, who is at the center of one of the highest-profile cases to emerge from Republican President Donald Trump’s campaign to deport pro-Palestinian activists on American campuses.

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Massachusetts-based Tufts has said it plans to help provide Ozturk housing upon her release. In a statement, a university spokesperson said it hoped she would be able to rejoin its community as soon as possible to resume her doctoral studies.

F*ck y** and rot in Hell, unAmerican *ssh*l* Stephen “Goebbels” Miller:

White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller called the judge’s ruling another sign of what he considers a “judicial coup” in the United States. Several parts of the president’s hardline immigration agenda have been blocked by judges.

“We cannot individually litigate every single visa that we want to revoke,” Miller told reporters.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/tufts-student-detained-by-us-immigration-authorities-must-be-released-judge-2025-05-09