ICE

Conditions Worsen For ICE Detainees Following Hunger Strike

September 6, 2017 Robin Urevich, www.capitalandmain.com Resist! Detention Centers, Hunger Strikes, ICE, Immigration, Undocumented

By Robin Urevich for Capital and Main - Conditions at Adelanto Detention Center, a privately operated prison currently used to detain undocumented immigrants, are said to be grim. Nine detainees, all of whom came to the U.S. seeking asylum, were so fed up that they staged a hunger strike. Guards responded with violence and pepper spray. Adelanto, Calif. – Nine Central American immigrants sat at a table in their dormitory at the troubled Adelanto Detention Center and asked an officer to deliver a list of their demands to higher-ups. The officer at the for-profit facility in the high desert, north of San Bernardino, refused and ordered them to return to their bunks for an inmate count. Instead, the men linked arms and refused to budge. “We wanted to be heard,” said Josue Lemus Campos, 24, from El Salvador. He said he and his fellow protesters had been quiet and peaceful during their June protest. But when the men refused to move, the officer immediately called for reinforcements who rushed in armed with pepper spray. They began shouting orders in English, a language the men don’t fully understand. Minutes later, the guards doused the nine with pepper spray, aiming at their faces.

ICE Plans To Start Destroying Records Detailing Immigrant Sexual Abuse And Deaths In Its Custody

September 1, 2017 Kali Holloway, www.truthdig.com Educate! Deportations, ICE, Immigration, Undocumented

By Kali Holloway for AlterNet - The openly anti-immigrant agenda of the Trump administration has led to a drastic increase in deportations of undocumented immigrants, and a looming threat of removal for Dreamers who have spent most of their lives in the U.S. Those policies promise only to further tax the country's immigration detention centers, where watchdog groups and detainees frequently report unsafe conditions. The dangers these detainees face are often revealed through careful reviews of records that document violations of immigrants' human and civil rights. Now the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, better known as ICE, wants permission to destroy those records, which detail immigrant abuses ranging from sexual assaults to wrongful deaths. A press release from the ACLU indicates that ICE has submitted the new request on recordkeeping to the National Archives and Record Administration, which oversees the handling of federal records. Under the new terms, ICE would be allowed to destroy 11 types of records, "including those related to sexual assaults, solitary confinement and even deaths of people in its custody," as well as "regular detention monitoring reports, logs about the people detained in ICE facilities and communications from the public reporting detention abuses."

SJC Rules Against ICE In Blockbuster Massachusetts Immigration Case

July 26, 2017 Chris Villani, www.bostonherald.com Resist! ICE, Immigration, Massachusetts

By Chris Villani for Boston Herald - Massachusetts court officers cannot hold a suspected illegal immigrant in custody at the request of federal immigration agents if there is no criminal warrant or criminal detainer, the state’s highest court today found today in a blockbuster ruling sure to send shockwaves through the Bay State's immigration enforcement system. "Massachusetts law provides no authority for Massachusetts court officers to arrest and hold an individual solely on the basis of a Federal civil immigration detainer beyond the time that individual would otherwise be entitled to a release from State custody,” the unanimous Supreme Judicial Court ruling states. The case was brought to the SJC by a Cambodian national named Sreynuon Lunn who was in custody on a case out of Boston Municipal Court. Unable to post a $1,500 bail, Lunn was held until his trial date, Feb. 6 of this year, at which time the charges were dismissed when Suffolk prosecutors could not move forward with a trial. However, Judge Michael Coyne refused to release Lunn due to a request from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to court documents.

ICE Officers Told To Take Action Against All Undocumented Immigrants

July 10, 2017 Marcelo Rochabrun, www.propublica.org Educate! ICE, Immigration, Undocumented

By Marcelo Rochabrun for Pro Publica - A directive from the head of ICE’s enforcement unit appears to push for tougher action than the Trump administration has publicly promised. The head of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement unit in charge of deportations has directed his officers to take action against all undocumented immigrants they may cross paths with, regardless of criminal histories. The guidance appears to go beyond the Trump administration’s publicly stated aims, and some advocates say may explain a marked increase in immigration arrests. In a February memo, Matthew Albence, a career official who heads the Enforcement and Removal Operations division of ICE, informed his 5,700 deportation officers that, “effective immediately, ERO officers will take enforcement action against all removable aliens encountered in the course of their duties.” The Trump administration, including Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, has been clear in promising to ramp up immigration enforcement, but has so far emphasized that its priority was deporting immigrants who posed a public safety threat. Indeed, Kelly, to whom Albence ultimately reports, had seemed to suggest a degree of discretion when he told the agencies under his command earlier this year that immigration officers “may” initiate enforcement actions against any undocumented person they encountered.

‘Reign Of Terror’: ICE Chief Says Immigrants Should Be Looking Over Their Shoulders

June 15, 2017 Jake Johnson, www.huffingtonpost.com Educate! Deportations, ICE, Immigration

By Jake Johnson for Common Dreams - The remarks came during a House Appropriations Committee hearing, in which Homan asked for more than a billion dollars to expand ICE's capacity to detain and deport undocumented immigrants. Immigration arrests are "already up sharply since President Trump took office," the Washington Post noted, and they "could rise dramatically next year" if Homan's requests are fulfilled. "Part of that increase," added Buzzfeed's Salvador Hernandez, "is due...to what many have seen as a shift in the agency to not just focus on immigrants with violent criminal histories, but minor crimes as well. Attorneys have also pointed to undocumented immigrants who have been detained without any criminal history, or minor convictions." Last week, Reuters reported that not only is the Trump administration rounding up undocumented immigrants at a staggering clip, it is also "reopen[ing] the cases of hundreds of illegal immigrants who...had been given a reprieve from deportation" by the Obama administration.

Fire And ICE: The Return Of Workplace Immigration Raids

June 9, 2017 David Bacon, www.prospect.org Educate! Deportations, ICE, Immigration

By David Bacon for The American Prospect - Capital & Main is an award-winning publication that reports from California on economic, political, and social issues. The American Prospect is co-publishing this piece. At the end of February immigration agents descended on a handful of Japanese and Chinese restaurants in the suburbs of Jackson, Mississippi, and in nearby Meridian. Fifty-five immigrant cooks, dishwashers, servers and bussers were loaded into vans and taken to a detention center about 160 miles away in Jena, Louisiana. Their arrests and subsequent treatment did more than provoke outrage among Jackson's immigrant rights activists. Labor advocates in California also took note of the incident, fearing that it marked the beginning of a new wave of immigrant raids and enforcement actions in workplaces. In response, California legislators have written a bill providing legal protections for workers, to keep the Mississippi experience from being duplicated in the Golden State. Once the Mississippi restaurant workers had been arrested, they essentially fell off the radar screen for several days. Jackson lawyer Jeremy Litton, who represented three Guatemalan workers picked up in the raid, could not get the government to schedule hearing dates for them.

Texas Lawmaker Calls ICE To Report Immigration Protesters

May 31, 2017 Matthew Watkins, Alexi Ura And Julian Aguilar, www.texastribune.org Resist! ICE, Immigration, Texas

By Matthew Watkins, Alexi Ura And Julian Aguilar for The Texas Tribune - The normally ceremonial last day of the legislative session briefly descended into chaos on Monday, as proceedings in the House were disrupted by large protests and at least one Republican lawmaker called immigration authorities on the protesters. State Rep. Matt Rinaldi, R-Irving, said he called U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement while hundreds of people dressed in red T-shirts unfurled banners and chanted in opposition to the state’s new sanctuary cities law. His action enraged Hispanic legislators nearby, leading to a tussle in which each side accused the other of threats and violence. In a statement, Rinaldi said state Rep. Poncho Nevárez, D-Eagle Pass, "threatened my life on the House floor," and that Rinaldi is currently under the protection of the Department of Public Safety as a result. The Texas Tribune thanks its sponsors. Become one. “I was pushed, jostled and someone threatened to kill me,” Rinaldi said. “It was basically just bullying.” Nevárez said in an interview with the Tribune that he put his hands on Rinaldi and told him to take his argument outside the House chamber. "But was I going to shoot the guy? No," he said.

We Asked ICE About Prank Calls To Their Anti-Immigrant Hotline

May 1, 2017 Rafi Schwartz, www.fusion.net Resist! ICE, Immigration, Undocumented

By Rafi Schwartz for Fusion - Adding to the frenzy was the fact that VOICE’s launch date of April 26 was also “Alien Day”—a reference to the moon featured in James Cameron’s 1986 classic, Aliens (LV-426. Get it?). Marine veteran Alexander McCoy told Buzzfeed News that he was inspired to call VOICE’s hotline after seeing #AlienDay trending on Twitter. “I told them I’d been abducted by a UFO,” he told the site. “There was a long pause. I heard them do a big sigh. And they closed out the conversation saying that they’d make a note of it and I should wait for the DHS to investigate my report.” As VOICE itself notes on its website, and in a recorded message to hotline callers, the line is not meant as a tip-line to report crimes. And the influx of hoax callers appears to have already taken its toll.

“Show Up For Immigrants With Love”: Communities Fight Back Against ICE Raids

February 27, 2017 Kerry Cardoza, www.truth-out.org Resist! Deportations, ICE, Immigration

By Kerry Cardoza for Truth Out - "Everybody who is here illegally is subject to removal at any time," White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Tuesday, confirming the assault that the Trump administration is waging against undocumented people in the US. Earlier that day, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had shed light on how immigration laws might be enforced under Trump by issuing two new memos on the topic. Immigrant communities have been on high alert since Monday, February 6, when US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began what they called a "national targeted fugitive operation enforcement effort." By week's end, 680 immigrants across the country had been rounded up for deportation. Grassroots organizations across the country were quick to react, providing legal support and community education, and taking to the streets to call out the government's targeted attacks.

Immigrant Organizer: ‘Walk With Me’

February 26, 2017 Renee Feltz, www.indypendent.org Resist! ICE, Immigrant Rights, Immigration, Sanctuary Cities

By Renee Feltz for The indypendent. On March 9, Trinidadian immigrant Ravi Ragbir is scheduled to appear for his annual check-in with a deportation officer at the federal building in lower Manhattan. “I will go in,” he says. “Even though I suspect this may be the day I won’t be coming out.” No matter what happens, he will not go alone. “You can easily disappear,” he notes.” So it’s best to have people witness.” Ragbir knows the power of accompaniment. As executive director of the New Sanctuary Coalition of NYC, he has worked to connect members of 30 congregations, faith communities and other groups with hundreds of undocumented immigrants seeking refuge and support.

Privatization Of Prisons Gets New Life Under Sessions Order

February 25, 2017 Kevin Zeese, www.PopularResistance.org Educate! Criminal Justice and Prisons, ICE, Immigration, Prisons, Private Prisons

By Kevin Zeese for Popular Resistance. One of the ugliest policies in the move to privatize public services has been the private prison industry. We have reported on the abuses of private prisons, riots at them and how they put profit ahead of prisoners as these shocking photos show. The private prison industry is a corrupting influence in US politics. We have reported on how "Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is striking deals with private prison companies to lock up a “guaranteed minimum” of mothers with their children in euphemistically-termed family detention centers" and how they are getting wealthy abusing immigrants. Corporations are turning the US justice system into a profit making venture at every step in the process. This decision to continue to use private prisons by the Trump administration ensures that the profit of private prisons will come before treating prisoners humanely. The trend toward corporate profiteering from what is becoming a prison-industrial complex will continue. Injustice will thrive while justice is diminished.

FSU Students Create Sanctuary Campus

February 23, 2017 SDS Tally, www.popularresistance.org Create! Education, ICE, Immigration, Sanctuary Cities

By Students for a Democratic Society Tallahassee. “We are very glad to see our efforts were rewarded tonight, after weeks collecting over 700 petition signatures and campaigning on campus. However, the fight is not over. We need the FSU administration and President John Thrasher to acknowledge our referendum and declare FSU a sanctuary campus. Immigrants on campus are uncertain about their futures and worried about how Trump’s policies will affect them. Declaring our campus a sanctuary is the first step to showing that immigrants are cared for and will be protected here” said Katherine Draken, President of the FSU chapter of Students for a Democratic Society.

Trump Targets Millions For Deportation, Bans Millions Of Refugees

February 22, 2017 Nikhil Agarwal, www.AP.org, www.AP.org Educate! Deportations, ICE, Immigration

By Nikhil Agarwal for AP - Millions of people living in the United States illegally could be targeted for deportation - including people simply arrested for traffic violations - under a sweeping rewrite of immigration enforcement policies announced Tuesday by the Trump administration. Any immigrant who is in the country illegally and is charged or convicted of any offense, or even suspected of a crime, will now be an enforcement priority, according to Homeland Security Department memos signed by Secretary John Kelly. That could include people arrested for shoplifting or minor offenses - or simply having crossed the border illegally. The Trump administration memos replace more narrow guidance focusing on immigrants who have been convicted of serious crimes, are considered threats to national security or are recent border crossers.

Deportation Resistance Builds Across Borders

February 14, 2017 Deirdre Fulton, www.commondreams.org Resist! Deportation, ICE, Immigration, Strike

By Deirdre Fulton for CommonDreams. More than 120 businesses are closed in Wisconsin on Monday to protest Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke's immigration crackdown. From work strikes to legal campaigns, multiple efforts have been mounted to resist the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, which has instilled fear and panic in communities across the United States. Recent raids have impacted "nearly 200 people in the Carolinas and Georgia, more than 150 in and around Los Angeles, and around 40 in New York," according to the Associated Press on Sunday. Raids also reportedly took place in Arizona and Chicago. President Donald Trump on Saturday said the raids were "merely the keeping of my campaign promise."

Immigrants, Allies Denounce First Round Of Deportations

February 12, 2017 Mark Hand, www.dcmediagroup.us Resist! Deportations, ICE, Immigrant Rights, Immigration, Trump

By Mark Hand for DC Media Group. Hundreds of people showed up at the White House on Feb. 11 to denounce the Trump administration’s series of raids in recent days that targeted undocumented immigrants across the country, including in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. Among the hundreds of people arrested in the raids were many with no criminal records. As part of President Donald Trump’s shock-and-awe policy strategy during his first three weeks in office, the raids by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are creating uncertainty and fear in immigrant communities. Through traffic checkpoints and raids on people’s homes and workplaces, ICE agents, in collaboration with local police forces in some cases, have detained hundreds of people, including 200 immigrants in Georgia, 160 in Los Angeles and 44 in Austin, Texas.

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