Page 2 - Trump’s Immigration Agenda

Trump admin launches immigration crackdown in Massachusetts: Report

DHS and its US Immigration and Customs Enforcement arm are calling the operation Patriot 2.0, modifying the name of a May deportation surge that led to the arrest of 1,500 people in the state

Chicago is in Trump admin's sights for its next immigration crackdown

President Donald Trump's administration plans to surge officers to Chicago for an immigration crackdown in its latest move to expand the federal law enforcement presence in major Democratic-run cities, according to two US officials. The operation in the country's third-largest city is expected to last about 30 days and could start as early as September 5, a Department of Homeland Security official told The Associated Press on Friday. Another US official said the timing for what could be a sustained immigration enforcement effort resembling this summer's operations in Los Angeles is awaiting final approval. Both officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss plans that had not been made public. Chicago is home to a large immigrant population, and both the city and the state of Illinois have some of the country's strongest rules against cooperating with federal government immigration enforcement efforts. That has often put the city and the state at odds with Trump's ...

Alligator Alcatraz must wind down operations, says US federal judge

US District Court Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami on Thursday barred immigration authorities from bringing more detainees to the makeshift facility in the Florida Everglades

US to screen immigrants for 'anti-Americanism' in process to get green card

Immigrants seeking a legal pathway to live and work in the United States will now be subject to screening for anti-Americanism', authorities said Tuesday, raising concerns among critics that it gives officers too much leeway in rejecting foreigners based on a subjective judgment. US Citizenship and Immigration Services said officers will now consider whether an applicant for benefits, such as a green card, endorsed, promoted, supported, or otherwise espoused" anti-American, terrorist or antisemitic views. America's benefits should not be given to those who despise the country and promote anti-American ideologies, Matthew Tragesser, USCIS spokesman, said in a statement. Immigration benefits including to live and work in the United States remain a privilege, not a right. It isn't specified what constitutes anti-Americanism and it isn't clear how and when the directive would be applied. The message is that the US and immigration agencies are going to be less tolerant of ...

Trump's birthright order barred nationally, fourth ruling since SC decision

A federal judge in Maryland late on Thursday ruled that President Donald Trump's administration cannot withhold citizenship from children born to people in the country illegally or temporarily, issuing the fourth court decision blocking the president's birthright citizenship order nationwide since a key US Supreme Court ruling in June. US District Judge Deborah Boardman's preliminary injunction was expected after the judge said last month she would issue such an order if the case were returned to her by an appeals court. The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals sent the case back to her later in July. Since June, two other district courts, as well as an appellate panel of judges, have also blocked the birthright order nationwide. An email to the White House for comment was not immediately returned. Trump's January order would deny citizenship to children born to parents living in the US illegally or temporarily. Boardman in February issued a preliminary injunction blocking it nationwid

Trump admin asks SC to lift curbs on Southern California immigration stops

The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to halt a court order restricting immigration stops that swept up at least two US citizens in Southern California. The emergency petition comes after an appeals court refused to lift a temporary restraining order barring authorities from stopping or arresting people based solely on factors like what language speak or where they work. The move is the latest in a string of emergency appeals from the Trump administration to the high court, which has recently sided with the Republican president in a number of high-profile cases. The Justice Department argued that federal agents are allowed to consider those factors when ramping up enforcement of immigration laws in Los Angeles, an area it considers a top enforcement priority." Trump officials asked the justices to immediately halt the order from US District Judge Maame E Frimpong in Los Angeles. She found a mountain of evidence that enforcement tactics were violating the US .

Judge orders brief halt to construction at Florida's 'Alligator Alcatraz'

A federal judge on Thursday ordered a temporary halt to construction at an immigration detention centre built in the middle of the Florida Everglades and dubbed Alligator Alcatraz as attorneys argue whether it violates environmental laws. The facility can continue to operate and hold detainees for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but workers will be barred from adding any new filling, paving or infrastructure for the next 14 days. US District Judge Kathleen Williams issued the ruling during a hearing and said she will issue a written order later Thursday. Environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe have asked Williams to issue a preliminary injunction to halt operations and further construction. The suit claims the project threatens environmentally sensitive wetlands that are home to protected plants and animals and would reverse billions of dollars' worth of environmental restoration. Plaintiffs presented witnesses Wednesday and Thursday in support of the injunction, wh

Judge pauses Trump admin's push to expand fast-track deportations

A federal judge agreed on Friday to temporarily block the Trump administration's efforts to expand fast-track deportations of immigrants who legally entered the US under a process known as humanitarian parole a ruling that could benefit hundreds of thousands of people. US District Judge Jia Cobb in Washington, DC, ruled that the Department of Homeland Security exceeded its statutory authority in its effort to expand expedited removal for many immigrants. The judge said those immigrants are facing perils that outweigh any harm from pressing pause on the administration's plans. The case presents a question of fair play for people fleeing oppression and violence in their home countries, Cobb said in her 84-page order. In a world of bad options, they played by the rules, she wrote. Now, the Government has not only closed off those pathways for new arrivals but changed the game for parolees already here, restricting their ability to seek immigration relief and subjecting them to summary

Trump's immigration overhaul: What it means for H-1B and citizenship tests

US to prioritise high-wage roles in visa lottery; tougher naturalisation standards planned

Judge bars ICE from taking Garcia into custody if he's released from jail

A federal judge in Maryland has prohibited the Trump administration from taking Kilmar Abrego Garcia into immediate immigration custody if he's released from jail in Tennessee while awaiting trial on human smuggling charges, according to an order issued Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the U.S. government to provide notice of three business days if Immigration and Customs Enforcement intends to initiate deportation proceedings against the Maryland construction worker. The judge also ordered the government to restore the federal supervision that Abrego Garcia was under before he was wrongfully deported to his native El Salvador in March. That supervision had allowed Abrego Garcia to live and work in Maryland for years, while he periodically checked in with ICE. Abrego Garcia became a prominent face in the debate over President Donald Trump's immigration policies following his wrongful explusion to El Salvador in March. Trump's administration violated a U.S. ...

Trump deploys more immigration agents to NYC after migrant shoots officer

The shooting occurred Saturday night near the George Washington Bridge, where an off-duty US Customs and Border Protection officer was sitting with a friend along the Hudson River

Lawyers seek to delay Abrego Garcia's release over deportation fears

Lawyers for Kilmar Abrego Garcia have asked a federal judge in Tennessee to delay releasing him from jail in order to prevent the Trump administration from trying to swiftly deport the Maryland construction worker. US District Judge Waverly Crenshaw Jr in Nashville is expected to rule soon on whether to free Abrego Garcia while he awaits trial on human smuggling charges. If the Salvadoran national is released, US officials have said he would be immediately detained by immigration authorities and targeted for deportation. Abrego Garcia became a prominent face in the debate over President Donald Trump's immigration policies when he was wrongfully deported to his native El Salvador in March. That expulsion violated a US immigration judge's order in 2019 that shields Abrego Garcia from deportation to El Salvador because he likely faces threats of gang violence there. The administration claimed that Abrego Garcia was in the MS-13 gang, although he wasn't charged and has repeatedly denied

Trump lashes out after illegal immigrant shoots off-duty officer in NY

Trump alleged that the shooter was apprehended earlier in April 2023 but was released instead of being deported

At least 13 held, including journalists, in Cincinnati immigration protest

Police in Cincinnati arrested at least 13 people, including two journalists, after demonstrators protesting the immigration detention of a former hospital chaplain blocked a two-lane bridge carrying traffic over the Ohio River. A reporter and a photography intern who were arrested while covering the protest for CityBeat, a Cincinnati news and entertainment outlet, were among those arraigned Friday morning in a Kentucky court. Other journalists reporting on protests around the US have been have arrested and injured this year. More than two dozen were hurt or roughed up while covering protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles. A Spanish-language journalist was arrested in June while covering a No Kings protest near Atlanta. Police initially charged Mario Guevara, a native of El Salvador, with unlawful assembly, obstruction of police and being a pedestrian on or along the roadway. A prosecutor dropped the charges, but Guevara had already been turned over to U.S. Immigration an

Theft, assault in US may lead to visa cancellation, entry ban: US Embassy

The US Embassy warns that crimes like theft or assault can lead to visa loss and re-entry ban; over 142,000 people were deported from the US between January 20 and April 29

Judge blocks racial profiling by immigration officials in LA crackdown

The judge barred agents in the Los Angeles area from stopping and questioning individuals without reasonable suspicion that they're in the US illegally

US may deport El Salvador native to Mexico or South Sudan: ICE official

The Trump administration hasn't decided where it would deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia if he is freed from a Tennessee jail, but a US immigration official said Thursday that Mexico and South Sudan could be willing to accept the El Salvador native. Thomas Giles, an assistant director for US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, testified in a Maryland federal court that ICE would detain Abrego Garcia as soon as he's released to await trial on human smuggling charges. US District Judge Paula Xinis is considering Abrego Garcia's request to order the US government to send him to Maryland instead, a bid aimed at preventing the Trump administration from trying to deport him again. Abrego Garcia became a flashpoint over Republican President Donald Trump's immigration policies when the Salvadoran national was wrongfully deported to his native country in March. Facing mounting pressure and a US Supreme Court order, the administration returned him last month to face the smuggling charges. The ..

Head Start will be cut off for immigrants without legal status: Trump govt

The Trump administration will restrict immigrants in the country illegally from enrolling in Head Start, a federally funded preschool program, the Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday. The move is part of a broad effort to limit access to federal benefits for immigrants who lack legal status. People in the country illegally are largely ineligible for federal public benefits such as food stamps, student loans and financial aid for higher education. But for decades they have been able to access some community-level programs such as Head Start and community health centers. HHS said it will reclassify those programs as federal public benefits, excluding immigrants in the country illegally from accessing them. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the changes were part of a larger effort to protect American citizens' interests. For too long, the government has diverted hardworking Americans' tax dollars to incentivize illegal immigration, Kennedy said in a ...

Migrants deported from US to Salvadoran prison under US control: Officials

The government of El Salvador has acknowledged to United Nations investigators that the Trump administration maintains control of the Venezuelan men who were deported from the US to a notorious Salvadoran prison, contradicting public statements by officials in both countries. The revelation was contained in court filings Monday by lawyers for more than 100 migrants who are seeking to challenge their deportations to El Salvador's mega-prison known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT. The case is among several challenging President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. In this context, the jurisdiction and legal responsibility for these persons lie exclusively with the competent foreign authorities, Salvadoran officials wrote in response to queries from the unit of the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The UN group has been looking into the fate of the men who were sent to El Salvador from the United States in mid-March, even after a US judge had ordered

Trial starts over Trump admin crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus activists

Plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration campaign of arresting and deporting faculty and students who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations argued on Monday it was an orchestrated effort that has stifled free speech at universities around the country. The lawsuit, filed by several university associations against President Donald Trump and members of his administration, is one of the first to go to trial. Plaintiffs want US District Judge William Young to rule the policy violates the First Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act, a law that governs the process by which federal agencies develop and issue regulations. Not since the McCarthy era have immigrants been the target of such intense repression for lawful political speech, Ramya Krishnan, senior staff attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute, told the court. The policy creates a cloud of fear over university communities, and it is at war with the First Amendment. The First Amendment ..