Still Happening:
ICE Abuse and Overreach
Every day, the Trump administration is using its already unprecedented DHS funding to terrorize communities, tear-gas schools, and abduct and kill our neighbors. The harm being inflicted hasn't stopped. Below is a snapshot of how ICE and CBP continue to hurt our communities with the billions CBP and ICE have already provided, how deeply unpopular these actions are with the public, and how voters are demanding Congress not send additional funding to the agency.
DHS has already received $191 billion in reconciliation funding, including $75 billion for ICE, $64 billion for CBP and $22 billion in a slush fund to be used for immigration enforcement.
Here is a sampling of big stories from the last few days that continue to show the Trump Administration is pushing ahead on its wrong and deeply unpopular immigration actions:
ICE Deports Pregnant Woman Despite Medical Concerns
Congressman Joaquin Castro said he believes ICE is hiding pregnant mothers during oversight inspections.
Last weekend, ICE deported a woman who was 36 weeks pregnant after holding her for three months at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley alongside her two young children, and allegedly had to search for a doctor who would sign off on clearing her for travel so close to her due date.
ICE Whistleblower Warns Recruits Aren't Receiving Adequate Training
Testimony claims the training program is "deficient, defective, and broken."
In a Monday forum, a former USCIS instructor responsible for educating new ICE officers on proper use of force told House Democrats that rapid recruitment efforts have led to dangerously inadequate instruction and new agents lack the knowledge and skills needed to lawfully carry out immigration enforcement. Lawmakers also heard testimony from a Minneapolis woman whose husband was detained after officers allegedly entered her home without a warrant.
ICE Detains Pennsylvania Father as Daughter Begins Cancer Treatment
Congressman Chris DeLuzio says the man has valid immigration documents and no criminal record.
Sewickley father Bruno Guedes da Silva was detained by ICE over the weekend in front of his daughter's elementary school, just two days before the 6-year-old was set to begin treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma, despite his having no criminal history and valid immigration documentation.
Atlanta Mother Detained After Husband Pulled Over
The family says they are afraid to send their kids to school and fear their father may be next.
An Atlanta family is looking for answers after their mother was detained by ICE when she arrived to assist her husband who was pulled over during a traffic stop with their children in the vehicle, despite both parents holding valid work permits.
DHS Accused of Using Surveillance Tech to Track Legal Observers in Maine
A new lawsuit alleges DHS violated the First Amendment by using surveillance technology to intimidate observers.
POLITICO reports that activists in Maine have filed a class-action lawsuit against DHS after agents allegedly used facial recognition and license plate readers to surveil legal observers watching officers and threatened to place them in a domestic terrorist database.
Three Minnesota Refugees Describe Shocking ICE Detentions
Somali asylum seekers recount weeks spent in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions at Texas detention centers.
In the Sahan Journal, three Somali asylum seekers living in Minnesota describe abrupt and confusing apprehensions when they showed up for their monthly check-ins, followed by weeks spent in unlawful detention, even though they have complied with all legal requirements.
California DACA Recipient Deported Less Than 24 Hours After Green Card Appointment
Lawyers called the process highly unusual and potentially challengeable.
The Miami Herald reports that a 42-year-old Sacramento resident and DACA recipient with no criminal history was arrested inside the USCIS Sacramento field office less than an hour after arriving for a green card appointment and deported to Mexico by the next morning.
