'Egregious' ICE raid targeted US citizen and military vet: Newark mayor
Newark, New Jersey Mayor Ras J. Baraka in 2017 (Wikimedia Commons)
When Donald Trump promised mass deportations on the campaign trail in 2024, some of his critics feared that people who are living in the United States legally could be wrongly deported — including U.S. citizens. Now, during the first week of Trump's second presidency, Newark, New Jersey Mayor Ras J. Baraka is alleging that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers wrongly arrested a U.S. citizen who served in the military.
The Daily Beast's Janna Brancolini reports that on Thursday, January 23, "about 10 or 12 ICE agents raided a seafood wholesaler and restaurant" in Newark. Baraka alleges that the agents didn't have a warrant and were in violation of the U.S. Constitution's 4th Amendment, which protects against unlawful search and seizure.
Ocean Food Depot owner Luis Janota told New York City's PIX11 News, "I asked (the agents) what documentation they were looking for, and they said it was a license or a passport. I thought, who walks around with a passport…. One of the guys was a military veteran…. He is Puerto Rican and the manager of our warehouse."
READ MORE: GOP rep proposes 'third term' constitutional amendment for Trump: report
Janota added, "It looked to me like they were specifically going after certain kinds of people — not every kind, because they did not ask me for documentation or my American workers, Portuguese workers, or white workers."
Although Puerto Rico does not have statehood, it is a U.S. territory — and Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens.
Baraka, in an official statement, attacked the January 23 ICE raid as "egregious" and said, "One of the detainees is a U.S. military veteran who suffered the indignity of having the legitimacy of his military documentation questioned. Newark will not stand by idly while people are being unlawfully terrorized."
Brancolini notes that Trump declared a state of emergency after returning to the White House on January 20.
"On Thursday night," according to Brancolini, "the acting head of the Department of Homeland Security signed a memo giving ICE officials the power to deport about 1.4 million people who were allowed to enter the country temporarily and thought they were in the U.S. legally, the New York Times reported. The move shows Trump isn’t just targeting people who snuck across the border, but who came to the U.S. via official, authorized pathways, according to the Times. "
Newark, New Jersey Mayor Ras J. Baraka in 2017 (Wikimedia Commons)
January 24, 2025
ALTERNET
ALTERNET
When Donald Trump promised mass deportations on the campaign trail in 2024, some of his critics feared that people who are living in the United States legally could be wrongly deported — including U.S. citizens. Now, during the first week of Trump's second presidency, Newark, New Jersey Mayor Ras J. Baraka is alleging that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers wrongly arrested a U.S. citizen who served in the military.
The Daily Beast's Janna Brancolini reports that on Thursday, January 23, "about 10 or 12 ICE agents raided a seafood wholesaler and restaurant" in Newark. Baraka alleges that the agents didn't have a warrant and were in violation of the U.S. Constitution's 4th Amendment, which protects against unlawful search and seizure.
Ocean Food Depot owner Luis Janota told New York City's PIX11 News, "I asked (the agents) what documentation they were looking for, and they said it was a license or a passport. I thought, who walks around with a passport…. One of the guys was a military veteran…. He is Puerto Rican and the manager of our warehouse."
READ MORE: GOP rep proposes 'third term' constitutional amendment for Trump: report
Janota added, "It looked to me like they were specifically going after certain kinds of people — not every kind, because they did not ask me for documentation or my American workers, Portuguese workers, or white workers."
Although Puerto Rico does not have statehood, it is a U.S. territory — and Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens.
Baraka, in an official statement, attacked the January 23 ICE raid as "egregious" and said, "One of the detainees is a U.S. military veteran who suffered the indignity of having the legitimacy of his military documentation questioned. Newark will not stand by idly while people are being unlawfully terrorized."
Brancolini notes that Trump declared a state of emergency after returning to the White House on January 20.
"On Thursday night," according to Brancolini, "the acting head of the Department of Homeland Security signed a memo giving ICE officials the power to deport about 1.4 million people who were allowed to enter the country temporarily and thought they were in the U.S. legally, the New York Times reported. The move shows Trump isn’t just targeting people who snuck across the border, but who came to the U.S. via official, authorized pathways, according to the Times. "
Newark mayor decries 'egregious' warrantless ICE raid
David McBrayer
January 24, 2025
David McBrayer
January 24, 2025
RAW STORY
An ICE agent (Screenshot)
Federal agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement carried out a warrantless raid on Thursday targeting a local establishment in Newark, New Jersey, according to Newark Mayor Ras Baraka—who decried the move as an "an egregious act" in violation of the of the U.S. constitution
Federal agents detained both undocumented residents and citizens, including a U.S. military veteran, Baraka said in a statement Thursday.
The local outlet PIX11 reported that ICE agents targeted the Ocean Seafood Depot, a wholesale seafood distributor. Store owner Luis Janota told the outlet that three people were taken into custody, including a Puerto Rican employee who is a military veteran. People from Puerto Rico have U.S. citizenship.
"We don't fret, we fight," wrote the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, which is distributing materials to inform community members about their rights.
Immigration raids on so-called "sanctuary cities"—a list that includes Newark—were expected. On Monday, Trump issued executive orders ramping up immigration enforcement via executive orders, including attempting to end birthright citizenship, reinstating his "Remain in Mexico" policy, suspending refugee resettlement, and moving to restrict federal funds for sanctuary cities.
Trump's deputy acting attorney general sent a memo to Justice Department staff this week indicating that state and local officials could potentially be criminally prosecuted for failing to cooperate with Trump's ramped up immigration enforcement, and the Trump administration has also revoked a directive barring arrests in "sensitive" locations, such as schools.
The changes to immigration enforcement have already been met with hurdles. On Thursday a federal judge temporarily blocked his challenge to birthright citizenship, calling it "blatantly unconstitutional."
"Newark will not stand by idly while people are being unlawfully terrorized. I will be holding a press conference in alliance with partners ready and willing to defend and protect civil and human rights," Baraka said Thursday.
U.S. Sens. Andy Kim and Cory Booker, both New Jersey Democrats, said they were concerned about the news and that their offices had reached out to the Department of Homeland Security "to demand answers."
Following the incident, ICE issued the following statement to multiple news outlets: "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement may encounter U.S. citizens while conducting field work and may request identification to establish an individual's identity as was the case during a targeted enforcement operation at a worksite today in Newark, New Jersey."
On X, ICE posted on Thursday that it had arrested 538 people and detained 373 others, though it's not clear from the post where those arrests and detentions took place.
"A reminder these raids and attacks on the Constitution are an attack on all of us—not just immigrants, not just their families, everyone. You, your neighbors, your colleagues—you're not safe just because you're a citizen, a legal resident, a veteran," wrote Peter Chen, an analyst at the think tank New Jersey Policy Perspective.
ICE officers whine that everyone hates them now: 'Even the cops don’t like us anymore'
An ICE agent (Screenshot)
Federal agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement carried out a warrantless raid on Thursday targeting a local establishment in Newark, New Jersey, according to Newark Mayor Ras Baraka—who decried the move as an "an egregious act" in violation of the of the U.S. constitution
Federal agents detained both undocumented residents and citizens, including a U.S. military veteran, Baraka said in a statement Thursday.
The local outlet PIX11 reported that ICE agents targeted the Ocean Seafood Depot, a wholesale seafood distributor. Store owner Luis Janota told the outlet that three people were taken into custody, including a Puerto Rican employee who is a military veteran. People from Puerto Rico have U.S. citizenship.
"We don't fret, we fight," wrote the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, which is distributing materials to inform community members about their rights.
Immigration raids on so-called "sanctuary cities"—a list that includes Newark—were expected. On Monday, Trump issued executive orders ramping up immigration enforcement via executive orders, including attempting to end birthright citizenship, reinstating his "Remain in Mexico" policy, suspending refugee resettlement, and moving to restrict federal funds for sanctuary cities.
Trump's deputy acting attorney general sent a memo to Justice Department staff this week indicating that state and local officials could potentially be criminally prosecuted for failing to cooperate with Trump's ramped up immigration enforcement, and the Trump administration has also revoked a directive barring arrests in "sensitive" locations, such as schools.
The changes to immigration enforcement have already been met with hurdles. On Thursday a federal judge temporarily blocked his challenge to birthright citizenship, calling it "blatantly unconstitutional."
"Newark will not stand by idly while people are being unlawfully terrorized. I will be holding a press conference in alliance with partners ready and willing to defend and protect civil and human rights," Baraka said Thursday.
U.S. Sens. Andy Kim and Cory Booker, both New Jersey Democrats, said they were concerned about the news and that their offices had reached out to the Department of Homeland Security "to demand answers."
Following the incident, ICE issued the following statement to multiple news outlets: "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement may encounter U.S. citizens while conducting field work and may request identification to establish an individual's identity as was the case during a targeted enforcement operation at a worksite today in Newark, New Jersey."
On X, ICE posted on Thursday that it had arrested 538 people and detained 373 others, though it's not clear from the post where those arrests and detentions took place.
"A reminder these raids and attacks on the Constitution are an attack on all of us—not just immigrants, not just their families, everyone. You, your neighbors, your colleagues—you're not safe just because you're a citizen, a legal resident, a veteran," wrote Peter Chen, an analyst at the think tank New Jersey Policy Perspective.
ICE officers whine that everyone hates them now: 'Even the cops don’t like us anymore'
Migrants held in US sanctuary city as Trump moves army to border
By AFP
January 24, 2025
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said a US Army veteran was among those detained in an overnight raid by immigration officers on Ocean Seafood Depot - Copyright AFP Kena Betancur
The mayor of a major US city said Friday immigration officers raided a seafood business, detaining undocumented migrants alongside an American citizen as President Donald Trump pressed actions against undocumented people and deployed troops to the Mexican border.
Trump has pledged a crackdown on migrants with the White House reporting that agents arrested 538 undocumented people on Thursday, with hundreds removed from the country on military aircraft.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said that a US Army veteran was among those detained in an overnight raid on Ocean Seafood Depot that marked a resumption of workplace raids, suspended under former president Joe Biden.
“Some ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents raided a business in our city without a warrant,” Baraka told a briefing, adding that a military veteran who held US citizenship was questioned during the operation.
“The problem with this is that none of these people were rapists or murderers or criminals — the problem is that ICE went in without a warrant.”
Newark, New Jersey, like other major cities including New York, is a sanctuary city meaning local officials and law enforcement do not typically cooperate with federal immigration agents as a matter of policy.
Trump has threatened to curb federal funding for cities that uphold sanctuary policies.
Immigration enforcement agents used raids on businesses and workplaces during Trump’s first term, with the newly-inaugurated president vowing to resume them, and to conduct operations at schools, churches and hospitals — also off-limits under Biden.
“They caught three guys… everybody is afraid, I don’t know if this is normal. They were from Ecuador I think,” a witness to the Newark raid who declined to be named told NBC News.
Last year under Biden there were 270,000 deportations in total, which was a 10-year high alongside 113,400 arrests.
On his first day in office, Trump signed orders declaring a “national emergency” at the southern border and announced the deployment of more troops to the area, vowing to deport “criminal aliens.”
Active service troops began arriving on the US-Mexico border Friday, images showed, with soldiers working to build structures and barracks.
There are an estimated 11 million undocumented migrants in the United States, according to the Office of Homeland Security Statistics.
Amy Torres, executive director of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, said “people are scared.”
“We knew this was going to happen, and what we learned from folks that stayed behind was that ICE walked in like it was their empire’s own conquered land,” she said.
“They were heavily armed, there was no prior announcement. They were blocking off entrances and exits.”
By AFP
January 24, 2025
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said a US Army veteran was among those detained in an overnight raid by immigration officers on Ocean Seafood Depot - Copyright AFP Kena Betancur
The mayor of a major US city said Friday immigration officers raided a seafood business, detaining undocumented migrants alongside an American citizen as President Donald Trump pressed actions against undocumented people and deployed troops to the Mexican border.
Trump has pledged a crackdown on migrants with the White House reporting that agents arrested 538 undocumented people on Thursday, with hundreds removed from the country on military aircraft.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said that a US Army veteran was among those detained in an overnight raid on Ocean Seafood Depot that marked a resumption of workplace raids, suspended under former president Joe Biden.
“Some ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents raided a business in our city without a warrant,” Baraka told a briefing, adding that a military veteran who held US citizenship was questioned during the operation.
“The problem with this is that none of these people were rapists or murderers or criminals — the problem is that ICE went in without a warrant.”
Newark, New Jersey, like other major cities including New York, is a sanctuary city meaning local officials and law enforcement do not typically cooperate with federal immigration agents as a matter of policy.
Trump has threatened to curb federal funding for cities that uphold sanctuary policies.
Immigration enforcement agents used raids on businesses and workplaces during Trump’s first term, with the newly-inaugurated president vowing to resume them, and to conduct operations at schools, churches and hospitals — also off-limits under Biden.
“They caught three guys… everybody is afraid, I don’t know if this is normal. They were from Ecuador I think,” a witness to the Newark raid who declined to be named told NBC News.
Last year under Biden there were 270,000 deportations in total, which was a 10-year high alongside 113,400 arrests.
On his first day in office, Trump signed orders declaring a “national emergency” at the southern border and announced the deployment of more troops to the area, vowing to deport “criminal aliens.”
Active service troops began arriving on the US-Mexico border Friday, images showed, with soldiers working to build structures and barracks.
There are an estimated 11 million undocumented migrants in the United States, according to the Office of Homeland Security Statistics.
Amy Torres, executive director of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, said “people are scared.”
“We knew this was going to happen, and what we learned from folks that stayed behind was that ICE walked in like it was their empire’s own conquered land,” she said.
“They were heavily armed, there was no prior announcement. They were blocking off entrances and exits.”
By HT News Desk
Jan 24, 2025
US authorities arrested 538 illegal migrants and deported hundreds in a large operation following Trump’s second inauguration.
US authorities have arrested 538 illegal migrants and deported hundreds in a mass operation after President Donald Trump took office for the second time this week, according to his press secretary.
Immigrants prepare to be transported by the US Border Patrol after crossing the US-Mexico border on January 20, 2025 near Sasabe, Arizona. (Getty Images via AFP)
In a post on social media platform X, Karoline Leavitt, Trump's press secretary said, “The Trump Administration arrested 538 illegal immigrant criminals including a suspected terrorist, four members of the Tren de Aragua gang, and several illegals convicted of sex crimes against minors.”
In a post on social media platform X, Karoline Leavitt, Trump's press secretary said, “The Trump Administration arrested 538 illegal immigrant criminals including a suspected terrorist, four members of the Tren de Aragua gang, and several illegals convicted of sex crimes against minors.”
Also Read: US House passes Laken Riley Act as Donald Trump begins crackdown on immigrants
She added that hundreds of “illegal immigrant criminals” had been deported via military aircraft.
“The largest massive deportation operation in history is well underway. Promises made. Promises kept,” she said in another post.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) also confirmed the arrests and said that 373 detainers (criminal non-citizens) had been lodged in jail.
Also Read: Indian parents denied entry at US airport as Donald Trump's immigration rules tighten
The move comes after Donald Trump signed a slew of executive orders on his first day of office that were aimed to tightening border security and facilitating the deportation of undocumented immigrants in the country
Also Read: Birthright citizenship panic: Indian expectant mothers in US rush to beat Trump's deadline
Raids were also conducted in Newark, New Jersey, which is designated as a ‘sanctuary city’, where not only undocumented immigrants but legal residents were also detained.
The city's mayor Ras Baraka condemned the action and said, “Newark will not stand by idly while people are being unlawfully terrorized.”
Trump's anti-immigration orders
President Trump brought an end to a policy that restricts ICE agents from arresting undocumented people in houses of worship, schools and hospitals, among many others orders passed on his first day in office.
Trump said that his cabinet “shall take appropriate action to repel, repatriate or remove any alien engaged in the invasion," referring to migrants crossing borders illegally.
Framing illegal immigration as a national security crisis, Trump has also allowed for military service members to act as immigration and border enforcement officers as part of his mass deportation program.
Trump toughens crackdown on immigration and diversity
By AFP
January 22, 2025
US President Donald Trump has launched a crackdown on diversity programs - Copyright AFP Jim WATSON
He has also ordered the suspension of the US Refugee Admission Program from January 27, 2025.
By AFP
January 22, 2025
US President Donald Trump has launched a crackdown on diversity programs - Copyright AFP Jim WATSON
Danny KEMP
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday deployment of an extra 1,500 US troops to the Mexican border, as he stepped up a crackdown against illegal immigration and diversity programs in a whirlwind start to his second term.
The 78-year-old Republican — who has pledged a “golden age” for America — halted refugee arrivals and threatened to prosecute local authorities that fail to deport migrants.
As part of his blitz of right-wing measures on returning to office, the billionaire also ordered that US government employees in diversity programs — conceived as ways to combat racism and sexism — be put on paid leave immediately.
Trump held what was reportedly his first phone call with a foreign leader since taking office Monday, talking with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who promised increased trade to the United States, according to the kingdom’s foreign ministry.
And in the latest round of appointments, Trump announced that fast food executive Andrew Puzder — who has previously faced questions over his business and private conduct — will be the new US ambassador to the European Union.
He named his longtime Secret Service bodyguard Sean Curran — who was at his side when an assassin opened fire and grazed his ear during a presidential campaign rally last July — as director of the security agency, which protects the president and other top officials.
But while Trump is steamrolling through Washington, there have been surprise speedbumps.
Close advisor and world’s richest man Elon Musk revealed budding tensions when he bashed an AI investment mega project that Trump himself publicly touted at a televised White House event, flanked by top Silicon Valley tycoons.
And Trump prompted questions when he threatened Russia with sanctions if it doesn’t accept an unspecified Ukraine peace deal — something he previously had claimed he would broker within 24 hours.
His predecessor Joe Biden had left him a “lot of work,” Trump told Fox News’s Sean Hannity in his first television interview since taking office.
As Los Angeles continues to be scorched by wildfires, he also floated the idea of ending federal disaster aid and disbanding FEMA, the government agency that manages disasters.
“I’d rather see the states take care of their own problems,” he told Hannity.
– Migrants and diversity fight –
Trump, who has more than a dozen ex-Fox News employees in his adminstration, discussed his barrage of executive orders and his plans for the first 100 days.
But it was a typically divisive conversation, with Trump — investigated for leading unprecedented efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss — calling Democrats “stupid” and claiming that “the only thing they’re good at, really, is cheating.”
Since reentering the White House, Trump has focused heavily on harsh migration measures.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Trump was dispatching 1,500 troops to add to the 2,000-plus contingent already at the Mexican border.
He likewise halted arrivals of refugees already cleared to enter the United States as part of the crackdown, according to a State Department memo.
Trump’s other main target has been on anything related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.
He ordered related government websites and social media accounts to go offline and federal workers involved to put on paid leave.
Trump also ended what he called “radical” affirmative action in awarding federal contracts, revoking an order crafted to combat racism that dates back to the civil rights era of the 1960s.
One of Trump’s first acts as president on Monday was to pardon more than 1,000 supporters who stormed the US Capitol, attacking police and vandalizing the seat of US democracy, after he lost in 2020.
A row between Trump and the bishop at the National Cathedral, who asked him during her sermon at a service he attended Tuesday to show “mercy” to “scared” migrants and LGBTQ people, simmered on.
Trump called Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde “nasty” and she later told The New York Times that she felt compelled to speak up.
“Was anyone going to say anything about the turn the country’s taking?”
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday deployment of an extra 1,500 US troops to the Mexican border, as he stepped up a crackdown against illegal immigration and diversity programs in a whirlwind start to his second term.
The 78-year-old Republican — who has pledged a “golden age” for America — halted refugee arrivals and threatened to prosecute local authorities that fail to deport migrants.
As part of his blitz of right-wing measures on returning to office, the billionaire also ordered that US government employees in diversity programs — conceived as ways to combat racism and sexism — be put on paid leave immediately.
Trump held what was reportedly his first phone call with a foreign leader since taking office Monday, talking with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who promised increased trade to the United States, according to the kingdom’s foreign ministry.
And in the latest round of appointments, Trump announced that fast food executive Andrew Puzder — who has previously faced questions over his business and private conduct — will be the new US ambassador to the European Union.
He named his longtime Secret Service bodyguard Sean Curran — who was at his side when an assassin opened fire and grazed his ear during a presidential campaign rally last July — as director of the security agency, which protects the president and other top officials.
But while Trump is steamrolling through Washington, there have been surprise speedbumps.
Close advisor and world’s richest man Elon Musk revealed budding tensions when he bashed an AI investment mega project that Trump himself publicly touted at a televised White House event, flanked by top Silicon Valley tycoons.
And Trump prompted questions when he threatened Russia with sanctions if it doesn’t accept an unspecified Ukraine peace deal — something he previously had claimed he would broker within 24 hours.
His predecessor Joe Biden had left him a “lot of work,” Trump told Fox News’s Sean Hannity in his first television interview since taking office.
As Los Angeles continues to be scorched by wildfires, he also floated the idea of ending federal disaster aid and disbanding FEMA, the government agency that manages disasters.
“I’d rather see the states take care of their own problems,” he told Hannity.
– Migrants and diversity fight –
Trump, who has more than a dozen ex-Fox News employees in his adminstration, discussed his barrage of executive orders and his plans for the first 100 days.
But it was a typically divisive conversation, with Trump — investigated for leading unprecedented efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss — calling Democrats “stupid” and claiming that “the only thing they’re good at, really, is cheating.”
Since reentering the White House, Trump has focused heavily on harsh migration measures.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Trump was dispatching 1,500 troops to add to the 2,000-plus contingent already at the Mexican border.
He likewise halted arrivals of refugees already cleared to enter the United States as part of the crackdown, according to a State Department memo.
Trump’s other main target has been on anything related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.
He ordered related government websites and social media accounts to go offline and federal workers involved to put on paid leave.
Trump also ended what he called “radical” affirmative action in awarding federal contracts, revoking an order crafted to combat racism that dates back to the civil rights era of the 1960s.
One of Trump’s first acts as president on Monday was to pardon more than 1,000 supporters who stormed the US Capitol, attacking police and vandalizing the seat of US democracy, after he lost in 2020.
A row between Trump and the bishop at the National Cathedral, who asked him during her sermon at a service he attended Tuesday to show “mercy” to “scared” migrants and LGBTQ people, simmered on.
Trump called Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde “nasty” and she later told The New York Times that she felt compelled to speak up.
“Was anyone going to say anything about the turn the country’s taking?”
He has also ordered the suspension of the US Refugee Admission Program from January 27, 2025.
‘Hunting grounds’: Trump cancels ban on ICE arrests at schools, churches, hospitals
David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement
January 21, 2025
FILE PHOTO: A United States flag is seen near the El Paso airport as Guatemalan migrants, mostly shackled, are being transported to a plane to be expelled from the United States to their country of origin by agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol agents, at the El Paso airport, Texas, U.S., June 13, 2024. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez/File Photo
The Trump administration has canceled President Joe Biden’s ban on federal immigration agents arresting suspects inside schools, churches, houses of worship, hospitals, shelters, and at events such as weddings, funerals, and public demonstrations and protests.
“This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens— including murders [sic] and rapists—who have illegally come into our country. Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” an unnamed DHS spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday, posted by CBS News’s Camilo Montoya-Galvez. “The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense.”
“The Biden-Harris Administration abused the humanitarian parole program to indiscriminately allow 1.5 million migrants to enter our country. This was all stopped on day one of the Trump Administration,” the spokesperson alleged. “This action will return the humanitarian parole program to its original purpose of looking at migrants on a case-by-case basis.”
CBS’s Montoya-Galvez also reports that the “new DHS team has also instructed officials to begin the process of phasing out programs that allowed certain immigrants to stay in the U.S. under the immigration parole authority.”
“Pro-immigrant advocates had feared the rescission of the Biden-era rules, warning that it would allow the Trump administration to bring its mass deportations plans to churches and schools,” Montoya-Galvez wrote at CBS News.
CNN calls the move “a departure from long-standing policy to avoid so-called sensitive areas.”
Attorney Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, formerly the Policy Director for First Lady Michelle Obama, responded to the news: “Churches, hospitals, and schools all appear to now be hunting grounds for ICE enforcement operations.”
Immigration law attorney Allen Orr Jr. remarked, “It’s never been about safety or national security. It’s about fear—weaponized to isolate and divide.”
In an interview with Fox Business (video below), Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan was asked on Tuesday, “If and when ICE went into a school to arrest someone, that would be highly contentious, wouldn’t it?”
Homan quickly turned the hypothetical example from a “school,” which could be an elementary school, to a “college campus.”
“Absolutely. But then again, you know, what’s our national security worth?” he replied. “If we have a national security vulnerability that we know is a national security risk, and we have to walk on a college campus to get him, that’s something we have to do.”
Indeed, various Homeland Security officials prior to Trump’s administration have issued similar bans on arrests in sensitive areas. Among them, John Morton, the Assistant Secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from 2009 to 2013, under President Barack Obama.
In 2021, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued a new memo, focused on how “we impact people’s lives and advance our country’s well-being.”
Mayorkas wrote, “When we conduct an enforcement action – whether it is an arrest, search, service of a subpoena, or other action – we need to consider many factors, including the location in which we are conducting the action and its impact on other people and broader societal interests. For example, if we take an action at an emergency shelter, it is possible that noncitizens, including children, will be hesitant to visit the shelter and receive needed food and water, urgent medical attention, or other humanitarian care.”
“To the fullest extent possible, we should not take an enforcement action in or near a location that would restrain people’s access to essential services or engagement in essential activities. Such a location is referred to as a ‘protected area.’ This principle is fundamental. We can accomplish our enforcement mission without denying or limiting individuals’ access to needed medical care, children access to their schools, the displaced access to food and shelter, people of faith access to their places of worship, and more. Adherence to this principle is one bedrock of our stature as public servants.”
Mayorkas had expanded the list of “protected” or “sensitive” areas to include doctor’s offices, vaccination or testing sites, playgrounds, recreation centers, foster care facilities, and school bus stops, to name a few.
Watch the video below or at this link.
David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement
January 21, 2025
FILE PHOTO: A United States flag is seen near the El Paso airport as Guatemalan migrants, mostly shackled, are being transported to a plane to be expelled from the United States to their country of origin by agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol agents, at the El Paso airport, Texas, U.S., June 13, 2024. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez/File Photo
The Trump administration has canceled President Joe Biden’s ban on federal immigration agents arresting suspects inside schools, churches, houses of worship, hospitals, shelters, and at events such as weddings, funerals, and public demonstrations and protests.
“This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens— including murders [sic] and rapists—who have illegally come into our country. Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” an unnamed DHS spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday, posted by CBS News’s Camilo Montoya-Galvez. “The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense.”
“The Biden-Harris Administration abused the humanitarian parole program to indiscriminately allow 1.5 million migrants to enter our country. This was all stopped on day one of the Trump Administration,” the spokesperson alleged. “This action will return the humanitarian parole program to its original purpose of looking at migrants on a case-by-case basis.”
CBS’s Montoya-Galvez also reports that the “new DHS team has also instructed officials to begin the process of phasing out programs that allowed certain immigrants to stay in the U.S. under the immigration parole authority.”
“Pro-immigrant advocates had feared the rescission of the Biden-era rules, warning that it would allow the Trump administration to bring its mass deportations plans to churches and schools,” Montoya-Galvez wrote at CBS News.
CNN calls the move “a departure from long-standing policy to avoid so-called sensitive areas.”
Attorney Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, formerly the Policy Director for First Lady Michelle Obama, responded to the news: “Churches, hospitals, and schools all appear to now be hunting grounds for ICE enforcement operations.”
Immigration law attorney Allen Orr Jr. remarked, “It’s never been about safety or national security. It’s about fear—weaponized to isolate and divide.”
In an interview with Fox Business (video below), Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan was asked on Tuesday, “If and when ICE went into a school to arrest someone, that would be highly contentious, wouldn’t it?”
Homan quickly turned the hypothetical example from a “school,” which could be an elementary school, to a “college campus.”
“Absolutely. But then again, you know, what’s our national security worth?” he replied. “If we have a national security vulnerability that we know is a national security risk, and we have to walk on a college campus to get him, that’s something we have to do.”
Indeed, various Homeland Security officials prior to Trump’s administration have issued similar bans on arrests in sensitive areas. Among them, John Morton, the Assistant Secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from 2009 to 2013, under President Barack Obama.
In 2021, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued a new memo, focused on how “we impact people’s lives and advance our country’s well-being.”
Mayorkas wrote, “When we conduct an enforcement action – whether it is an arrest, search, service of a subpoena, or other action – we need to consider many factors, including the location in which we are conducting the action and its impact on other people and broader societal interests. For example, if we take an action at an emergency shelter, it is possible that noncitizens, including children, will be hesitant to visit the shelter and receive needed food and water, urgent medical attention, or other humanitarian care.”
“To the fullest extent possible, we should not take an enforcement action in or near a location that would restrain people’s access to essential services or engagement in essential activities. Such a location is referred to as a ‘protected area.’ This principle is fundamental. We can accomplish our enforcement mission without denying or limiting individuals’ access to needed medical care, children access to their schools, the displaced access to food and shelter, people of faith access to their places of worship, and more. Adherence to this principle is one bedrock of our stature as public servants.”
Mayorkas had expanded the list of “protected” or “sensitive” areas to include doctor’s offices, vaccination or testing sites, playgrounds, recreation centers, foster care facilities, and school bus stops, to name a few.
Watch the video below or at this link.
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