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Immigrant Rights

ICE’s Plan To Monitor Social Media 24/7 Threatens Privacy And Participation

When most people think about immigration enforcement, they picture border crossings and airport checkpoints. But the new front line may be your social media feed. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has published a request for information for private-sector contractors to launch a round-the-clock social media monitoring program. The request states that private contractors will be paid to comb through “Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, VK, Flickr, Myspace, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, Reddit, WhatsApp, YouTube, etc.,” turning public posts into enforcement leads that feed directly into ICE’s databases.

Legal Groups Sue Administration Over Use Of Israeli Spyware

Civil rights attorneys are suing the Trump administration to force the release of records detailing whether federal immigration agencies are using sophisticated Israeli spyware to track, monitor, and target immigrants and activists across the country. The lawsuit, filed on Oct. 30 in federal court by Just Futures Law and the Center for Constitutional Rights, demands that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) comply with Freedom of Information Act requests related to their contracts with tech companies Cellebrite and Paragon Solutions. Both companies have been linked to government surveillance of journalists, human rights defenders, and protesters around the world. 

Home Depot Raid Proves ICE Targets Workers And Little Kids

Lincoln Heights, CA — In the early hours on November 4, an ICE raid took place at the Cypress Park Home Depot in Lincoln Heights. After the first sweep, more agents returned to do another. Only this time, Centro CSO members and other members and organizations with the Community Self Defense Coalition had arrived to protest the ICE presence. “ICE knows time is not on their side when conducting kidnappings,” said Centro CSO member and Teamster Sam Carrera. “Within minutes there were around 50 rapid responders at the Home Depot. Some folks posted at every parking lot entrance, equipped with whistles and walkie talkie radios.

Sit-In At Mayor’s Office To Demand Stronger Sanctuary Policy

Minneapolis, MN – On October 28, members of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) held a rally outside Minneapolis City Hall, demanding stronger protections for immigrant communities. The demonstration culminated in a sit-in at Mayor Jacob Frey’s office, where 11 MIRAC members and supporters refused to leave until the mayor publicly committed to supporting their Real Sanctuary Now campaign. The campaign calls for a significant overhaul of Minneapolis’s current “separation ordinance” – a law meant to prohibit collaboration between city employees and federal immigration enforcement agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Washington, DC Protesters Demand No Cooperation With ICE

Washington, D.C. – On Thursday evening, October 17, a group of activists disrupted Mayor Muriel Bowser at a speaking event in which she sought to control the narrative regarding her coordination with the Trump administration and federal immigration authorities. Families Not Feds, a campaign led by Colectivo Familias Migrantes DC, called the direct action to hold Bowser accountable for conceding to Trump and stop ICE kidnapping operations. DC Against the Trump Agenda (DCATA), Metro DSA, and the Sunrise movement DC supported the action.

Portlanders Mobilize To The ICE Facility For Fourth Weekend In A Row

Portland, OR – Despite a rainstorm, hundreds of Portlanders mobilized on Saturday, October 25 to the Portland ICE Facility to protest the deployment of the National Guard and increased ICE attacks, and to demand the city revoke the land use permit for the ICE Facility. One protester was arrested during the event. In less than a month the city can begin the process of revoking the permit for the ICE facility. “It is not [the Portland city council] that lends its permission to operate the ICE facility, but ours. As such, the decision is ours to end permissive behaviors to rogue groups [such as ICE] that seek solely to break our common bonds,” Jason Ohmann, a protester and member of the safety team at the protest stated, adding, “It is important to protest ICE to protect all the members of our community – we are not asking them to heed our wishes and stand down.

Chicago Day Laborer, In ICE Detention, Facing Retaliation

Willian Giménez González, a known advocate for the rights of day laborers who was abducted by federal agents on September 12, is speaking out from ICE detention. He says that federal authorities transferred him from the Broadview, Ill., ICE facility, to a detention center in Michigan, to move him away from his supporters. “I believe I was moved to Michigan at the last minute because I had the support of the community, and because my lawyer and politicians were protesting outside the jail,” he said, referring to the Broadview ICE facility. “I believe that because I had people fighting for me, I was targeted for transfer to prevent my supporters from helping me.”

Thousands Protest Outside Portland ICE Facility

Portland, OR – On October 12, thousands of protesters convened in front of the Portland ICE Facility in the pouring rain to stand against the deployment of the National Guard and demanding the permit of the ICE Facility to be revoked. A protest was called by Portland Contra Las Deportaciones (PDXCD) in collaboration with Portland for Palestine (P4P), the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), Revoke the ICE Permit (RIP) and Tesla Takedown PDX. Organizers like Cass Cano, detained last week by ICE and DHS while protesting, spoke out against the repression faced by protesters, as well as ICE’s continued terrorization of immigrants, stating, “They detained my comrades and are hoping we would be scared and stop fighting, but we won’t stop until the facility is shut down and ICE is out of Portland.”

Iced Out

An Indigenous nation of fewer than 1,000 people in South Florida, the Miccosukee Tribe doesn’t often get involved in local politics. But then private contractors showed up to an abandoned airport and started erecting a detention center in the middle of the Everglades. The Miccosukee leapt into action, realizing that the behemoth structure would drastically change the fragile wetlands that they call home. It didn’t take long for the so-called Alligator Alcatraz to also develop a reputation for egregious human rights abuses. Billed as an immigration detention center for the “most dangerous criminals,” reports started quickly circulating that detainees were experiencing medical neglect and didn’t have access to basic hygiene.

Chicagoans Mobilize To Demand An End To The Federal Occupation

Chicago, IL – On October 8, 7000 Chicagoans mobilized in the Loop to demand an end to the occupation of the city by ICE and the National Guard. The thousands of people coming out on a Wednesday evening shows that the momentum of the resistance against Trump’s occupation is not slowing down. Chicago is in the center of this country’s fight back against Trump’s reactionary agenda, alongside LA and DC. “We must build the largest united front against the invasion of our city and state. We need to escalate our defense and go on the offensive! To block the movement of the National Guard and shut down ICE operations,” opened Husam Marajda of the United States Palestinian Community Network (USPCN). He urged people to join the movement and get involved with an organization.

Following Mass Protests, Trump Deploys National Guard To Chicago

After months of threats from the Trump administration, on October 8, hundreds of National Guard troops arrived in Chicago from Texas and Illinois. The US Northern Command announced on October 8 that around 200 soldiers from the Texas National Guard and around 300 from the Illinois National Guard had arrived in the greater Chicago area. Troops are set to “protect” ICE and other federal agents, as well as federal property, according to the Northern Command. The deployment of troops comes after waves of mass protest against US President Donald Trump’s ramped up immigration enforcement operation – labeled as “Operation Midway Blitz.”

Charges Against Kilmar Abrego Garcia Appear ‘Vindictive,’ Judge Rules

A federal judge ruled last week that the U.S. government likely engaged in retaliatory prosecution against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an immigrant who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration earlier this year. Waverly Crenshaw Jr., a federal judge based in Nashville, Tennessee, said in a 16-page order issued on Friday that there is a “realistic likelihood” that the human trafficking charges against Abrego Garcia were a “vindictive” action by the administration after he filed a successful lawsuit challenging his illegal deportation to El Salvador. For several weeks after Abrego Garcia was initially deported in March, the White House insisted that he was sent to a “super-prison” in El Salvador because of alleged ties to the MS-13 gang, bizarrely citing his tattoos and the types of hats he wore as supposed evidence.

Portland Continues To Resist Trump’s National Guard Deployment

Portland, OR – On Saturday, September 4, 400 people rallied at Elizabeth Caruthers Park and marched to the ICE detention center in Southwest Portland. The event was organized by Portland Contra las Deportaciones (PDXCD), Portland for Palestine (P4P), Tesla Takedown, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) to protest against the imminent deployment of National Guard troops into the streets of Portland. The troops are supposed to protect the Portland ICE facility. The rally at Elizabeth Caruthers Park began at noon and speakers from each organization talked about the need to be out in the streets resisting ICE, as opposed to the cowardly “don’t take the bait” rhetoric peddled by city and state officials such as Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and Governor Tina Kotek.

Portland Stands Against Trump’s Threat To Deploy Troops To City

Portland, OR – On September 28, hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the Portland ICE facility to stand against Trump’s deployment of federal troops to Portland. The protest was called by Portland Contra Las Deportaciones (PDXCD) in collaboration with other groups such as Portland for Palestine, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization and PDX ICE Watch. The protest came a day after city officials convened a press conference at the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Northeast Portland to reject the federal occupation, but they also called for a hands-off approach in resisting. “We are not going to take the bait,” said U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley during the press conference, “This is the ‘don’t take the bait’ press conference. Our responsibility is to yes, express our views, yes protest. But best done at a distance from these federal troops.”

Chicagoland Under Attack, Residents Fight Back With Rapid Response Teams

On September 8, the Trump Administration launched 'Operation Midway Blitz to increase the number ICE raids on immigrant communities in Chicagoland. As director of the Casa DuPage Workers Center, Cristobal Cavazos, explains to Clearing the FOG, this initially led to widespread feelings of fear by residents, but organizers turned that into power by creating rapid response teams throughout the region to alert people when ICE comes to their neighborhoods and confront the ICE agents. The teams also do outreach and hand out Know Your Rights information to community members. A growing coalition of immigrants' rights, faith, and other groups is holding protests daily, including at the Broadview detention center, despite the officers attacking demonstrators with tear gas and rubber bullets. Cavazos describes how activists throughout the country are sharing information and resources and why it is critical to be in the streets right now.

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