Page 6 - Us Immigration Law

Palestinian activist expecting US citizenship interview arrested by ICE

A Palestinian man who led protests against the war in Gaza as a student at Columbia University was arrested Monday at a Vermont immigration office where he expected to be interviewed about finalising his US citizenship, his attorneys said. Mohsen Mahdawi, a legal permanent resident who has held a green card since 2015, was detained at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Colchester by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, his lawyers said. The attorneys said they do not know where he is. They filed a petition in federal court seeking an order barring the government from removing him from the state or country. "The Trump administration detained Mohsen Mahdawi in direct retaliation for his advocacy on behalf of Palestinians and because of his identity as a Palestinian. His detention is an attempt to silence those who speak out against the atrocities in Gaza. It is also unconstitutional," attorney Luna Droubi said in an email. According to the court filing, Mahd

Immigration judge rules Columbia activist Mahmoud Khalil can be deported

Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil can be kicked out of the US as a national security risk, an immigration judge in Louisiana has found during a hearing over the legality of deporting the activist who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. The government's contention that Khalil's presence in the United States posed potentially serious foreign policy consequences was enough to satisfy requirements for his deportation, Immigration Judge Jamee E Comans said at the conclusion of a hearing in Jena on Friday. Comans said the government had established by clear and convincing evidence that he is removable. Lawyers for Khalil said they plan to keep fighting and will seek a waiver. And a federal judge in New Jersey has temporarily barred Khalil's deportation. Khalil, a legal US resident, was detained by federal immigration agents on March 8 in the lobby of his university-owned apartment, the first arrest under President Donald Trump's promised crackdown on student

Canadians travelling to US: Your phones, laptops may be checked, beware!

Countries including the UK, Germany and France have already issued similar warnings to their citizens

NIA arrests key accused in human trafficking case via 'dunki' route

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday arrested a key accused involved in sending a man illegally to the US via 'dunki' route. Gagandeep Singh alias Goldie of west Delhi's Tilak Nagar was nabbed here. The victim, who hail from Tarn Taran district of Punjab, was deported back to India earlier this month, NIA said in a statement. He was sent to US via the infamous dunki route in December 2024, it said. The term 'dunki,' which is believed to have originated from the word "donkey," refers to an illegal pathway that immigrants take to enter countries like the US without proper documentation. Their risky and arduous travel is usually facilitated by human trafficking syndicate. The victim in this case had paid around Rs 45 Lakh to the accused agent for the illegal immigration, as per his complaint. The victim was deported to India by the US authorities on February 15. He filed a complaint against the agent after the deportation. The case was originally registered by the Punja

MEA says no IAF aircraft used for immigrants' repatriation since 2020

The Ministry of External Affairs has not hired any IAF, chartered or commercial civilian aircraft for Indian immigrants' repatriation from any country since 2020, the government informed Parliament on Thursday. Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita said this in a written response to a query in Rajya Sabha by TMC MP Saket Gokhale. The MEA was asked the details of all instances when the ministry has used Indian Air Force aircraft or chartered or commercial civilian aircraft for repatriation of Indian immigrants being deported from other countries between 2020 till date. It also asked the details of countries that have used military aircraft for deporting Indian immigrants since 2020. "The Ministry of External Affairs has not hired any Indian Air Force or Chartered/Commercial Civilian aircraft for the purposes of repatriation of Indian immigrants being deported from any country since 2020. However, in a few exceptional cases, Indian immigrants facing deportation we

Trump administration to strip legal status from 532K migrants living in US

The Trump administration will revoke temporary legal status from potentially more than half a million migrants who entered the US legally under a Biden-era programme

388 Indians deported from US since Jan, concerns raised on treatment: Govt

India has "strongly registered" its concerns with the US authorities on the treatment meted out to deportees on a flight that landed on February 5, particularly with respect to use of shackles, especially on women, the Centre informed Parliament on Friday. Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh in a written response to a query in the Lok Sabha also said the "US side has conveyed" to the MEA that detainees on the three deportation flights (that landed on February 5, 15 and 16 respectively) were "not instructed to remove any religious head coverings and that the detainees did not request any religious accommodations during the flights aside from requesting for vegetarian meals". The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in its response said that it had also registered its concerns regarding the need to accommodate the religious sensitivities and food preferences of the deportees. The MEA was asked whether the government has taken cognisance of reports regarding the ..

No women or children shackled during deportation from US, says central govt

The Ministry of External Affairs stated that it had shared its concerns with US authorities over the treatment of deported Indian nationals

Immigrants in marriage fraud in US will face deportation, Rs 2 crore fine

The US government told citizens they can help protect the immigration system by reporting fraud online - including marriage and other visa scams

Judge calls Trump admin's response on deportations 'woefully insufficient'

A federal judge instructed the Trump administration to explain why its failure to turn around flights carrying deportees to El Salvador did not violate his court order in a growing showdown between the judicial and executive branches. US District Judge Jeb Boasberg demanded answers after flights carrying Venezuelan immigrants alleged by the Trump administration to be gang members landed in El Salvador after the judge temporarily blocked deportations under an 18th century wartime law. Boasberg had directed the administration to return to the US planes that were already in the air when he ordered the halt. Boasberg had given the administration until noon Thursday to either provide more details about the flights or make a claim that it must be withheld because it would harm state secrets. The administration resisted the judge's request, calling it an unnecessary judicial fishing expedition. In a written order, Boasberg called Trump officials' latest response woefully insufficient. The

Trump admin deports hundreds of immigrants despite judge's orders to pause

The Trump administration has transferred hundreds of immigrants to El Salvador even as a federal judge issued an order temporarily barring the deportations under an 18th century wartime declaration targeting Venezuelan gang members, officials said Sunday. Flights were in the air at the time of the ruling. US District Judge James E Boasberg issued an order Saturday blocking the deportations but lawyers told him there were already two planes with immigrants in the air one headed for El Salvador, the other for Honduras. Boasberg verbally ordered the planes be turned around, but they apparently were not and he did not include the directive in his written order. OopsieToo late, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, a Trump ally who agreed to house about 300 immigrants for a year at a cost of $6 million in his country's prisons, wrote on the social media site X above an article about Boasberg's ruling. That post was recirculated by White House communications director Steven Cheung. Secretar

Explained: Why H-1B is the most restrictive visa in US immigration

For fiscal year 2025, U.S. employers filed a staggering 423,028 eligible H-1B registrations, hoping to secure one of just 85,000 available visas for foreign workers-an approval rate of only 20%

US judge to hear arguments over blocking immigration arrests in US schools

A federal judge is set to hear arguments Friday over whether he should block immigration agents from conducting arrests at schools under a Trump administration policy that has yet to be acted upon. Denver Public Schools is asking US District Judge Daniel Domenico to block immigration enforcement in schools across the country while its lawsuit challenging the new policy plays out in court. The suit says the possibility of routine immigration arrests in its schools has led to a drop in attendance. It also says the district has had to divert resources to respond to fear among students and families over the lifting of longtime rules restricting immigration enforcement near schools, churches and other sensitive locations. This includes providing mental health support to students, diverting administrator attention from academics to immigration issues, and assisting students who miss school to catch up, lawyers for the school district said in their request to block the new policy. Under t

Panama, Costa Rica turning into 'black hole' for migrants, warn observers

Officials in Costa Rica and Panama are confiscating migrants' passports and cellphones, denying them access to legal services and moving them between remote outposts as they wrestle with the logistics of a suddenly reversed migration flow. The restrictions and lack of transparency are drawing criticism from human rights observers and generating increasingly testy responses from officials, who say their actions are aimed at protecting the migrants from human traffickers. Both countries have received hundreds of deportees from various nations sent by the United States as President Donald Trump's administration tries to accelerate deportations. At the same time, thousands of migrants shut out of the US have started moving south through Central America Panama recorded 2,200 so far in February. We're a reflection of current United States immigration policy, said Harold Villegas-Romn, a political science professor and refugee expert at the University of Costa Rica. There is no focus on .

Trump admin reverses decision, reinstates legal aid for migrant children

Days after telling legal groups who help migrant children who arrive in America alone some so young they are in diapers or their feet dangle from their chairs in court that they must stop their work, the federal government Friday reversed itself. The Trump administration told the groups that they can resume providing legal services to tens of thousands of unaccompanied children. The Acacia Centre for Justice said that they received notice from the government of the reversal. The notice came after the government on Tuesday suspended the program that provides legal representation to children who have arrived in the United States across the border with Mexico without parents or legal guardians. Several organisations that offer assistance to migrant children had criticised the measure and said at the time that the minors were at risk. The USD 200 million contract allows Acacia and its subcontractors to provide legal representation to about 26,000 children and legal education to anothe

Top immigration official reassigned amid frustration over deportations

The top official in charge of carrying out President Donald Trump's mass deportations agenda has been reassigned amid concerns that the deportation effort isn't moving fast enough. Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement Friday that Caleb Vitello, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was "no longer in an administrative role, but is instead overseeing all field and enforcement operations: finding, arresting, and deporting illegal aliens, which is a major priority of the President and Secretary (Kristi) Noem". The statement made no mention of why Vitello, a career ICE official with more than two decades on the job, was reassigned or who his replacement will be. But White House officials have expressed frustration with the pace of deportations of people in the country illegally. The decision comes a little over one month into the new administration, showing how important immigration and carrying out mass deportations are to the Trump .

Stopped by immigration officers? What Indians in US can do explained

Recent data shows a rise in detainees in the US with no criminal convictions or pending charges

Nearly 200 Venezuelan migrants deported from Guantanamo Bay via Honduras

Nearly 200 Venezuelan immigrants to the US were returned to their home country after being detained at Guantanamo Bay, in a flurry of flights that forged an unprecedented pathway for US deportations. US and Venezuelan authorities confirmed the deportations that relied on a stopover in Honduras, where 177 Venezuelans exited a US Customs and Immigration Enforcement flight and boarded a Venezuelan plane bound for Caracas. The government of President Nicols Maduro said it had requested the repatriation of a group of Venezuelans who were unjustly taken to the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. With the request accepted, an aircraft with the state-owned airline Conviasa picked up the migrants from Honduras. ICE confirmed the transfer of 177 Venezuelan illegal aliens. The administration of President Donald Trump has placed a high priority on deporting people who have exhausted all legal appeals to stay in the U.S. Nearly 1.5 million had final removal orders as of Nov. 24, according to

US deports Indian immigrants to Panama, Opposition asks 'What's going on'?

US President Donald Trump's deportation efforts have sparked numerous controversies, especially over allegations of inhumane treatment of migrants by US military officials

Court blocks Trump's controversial order of ending birthright citizenship

The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco refused the Trump administration's request to temporarily halt a previous lower court ruling