Man arrested during Palestine rally at Roundhouse
Elliot Shawn Vigil Pending, 22, of Albuquerque, is charged with criminal trespass and concealing his identity.
Pending was one of dozens of people at Tuesday's Freedom for Palestine Day at the Roundhouse, an event that included music, poetry readings, and speakers who advocated for a stop to political and financial support for Israel.
At about 1 p.m., "a group of people were engaged in a 'free Palestine' demonstration, leading to three individuals being trespassed," including Pending, who was arrested after trying to re-enter the property, New Mexico State Police spokesperson Amanda Richards said.
Pending was released on personal recognizance, according to court records. A pretrial hearing has been scheduled for April 21, court records state.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
30 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Trump's claim of fighting antisemitism at UCLA is a dangerous charade
Days after UCLA settled a lawsuit brought by three Jewish students and a Jewish professor alleging antisemitism, the Trump administration announced that it would suspend $584 million in federal research grants to the institution, alleging failure to 'promote a research environment free of antisemitism.' Pressing that case, the administration demanded $1 billion from UCLA as part of a settlement, far exceeding the $221 million that Columbia agreed to pay over similar claims. We do not know what the outcome of the negotiations between the government and UCLA will be. The options do not look promising. In all likelihood, a settlement would entail not only a huge financial price tag but also deep concessions in terms of the institutional autonomy and academic freedom. Alternatively, if a deal is not struck, those values could be upheld at the cost of devastating losses to vital medical research, public health, thousands of jobs and the overall economic well-being of the region. It is a true Faustian bargain, with strong traces of a Mafia-style shakedown. And all in the professed name of combating antisemitism and protecting Jews. This is subterfuge. What's actually happening is a shallow and disingenuous plot to destroy the university and the values of free inquiry and debate in the name of a dangerous, illiberal ideology that has been against higher education for years. What this destructive path will not do is make the campus safer for Jews — or anyone else, for that matter. Sadly, in recent years antisemitism has reared its head at UCLA, as at other universities in the United States. And according to evidence presented in a recent lawsuit, Jewish students have been targeted with deeply wounding slurs such as 'Hitler missed one' and 'go back to Poland,' prevented from accessing public spaces and subjected to harassment because of their perceived pro-Israel stances. This is completely unacceptable, and the university must do everything within its power, especially through continued training and education, to create an environment in which such language and behavior are recognized as unacceptable. At the same time, we recognize that Jewish students, faculty and staff are not the only ones who have felt at risk on campus. Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students — and their supporters, including Jewish supporters — also faced harassment, discrimination and physical violence. On April 30, 2024, off-campus counterprotesters descended on the Palestinian solidarity encampment — even though Jewish students publicly pleaded with outsiders to stay away. Fifteen people were injured and dozens arrested. A separate lawsuit, filed by encampment participants who say the university failed to protect them, is working its way through the courts. The situation in Gaza has grown much worse since April 2024 — including a massive death toll and starvation of residents that has been widely condemned. And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced plans to occupy Gaza City that are opposed by the Israeli military itself. Will the Trump administration continue to brand activism calling for an end to this horrible conflict as antisemitic? No good will come to Jewish students — or Jews in general — by providing political or moral cover to the current Israeli government. Moreover, the insinuation that the Trump administration is acting on behalf of Jews threatens to awaken further the antisemitic trope of the manipulative Jew playing puppeteer, with the government as its marionette. UCLA is worth fighting for. And Jews, who have a long, proud history at the school and a huge stake in the well-being of universities, must be part of the fight to defend UCLA. And they have begun to join the fight: Jewish leaders and the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California have publicly opposed the cuts. The old strategy of aligning with whoever holds state power to preserve Jewish interests — known as the royal or vertical alliance — is no longer practicable or justifiable. Rather, we must commit to horizontal alliances with other groups that share a sense of grave apprehension over the dismantling of one of the great institutions of higher learning in the United States. In the past, we may not always have found ourselves in sync with the tone and tactics of these groups. But at this critical moment in our nation's history, we must join together with allies old and new to rescue UCLA, the estimable American system of higher education and the best version of democracy that the U.S. represents. David N. Myers teaches Jewish history at UCLA and is a member of Jewish Partnership for Los Angeles. Aaron Greenberg and Kate Pynoos are founding board members of Jewish Partnership for Los Angeles.
Time Magazine
an hour ago
- Time Magazine
Trump Admin Expands ‘Good Moral Character' Test to Become U.S. Citizen
The Trump Administration is introducing more stringent criteria for assessing 'good moral character' in U.S. citizenship applications. The policy, issued in a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) memo on Friday, directs the agency to conduct a more comprehensive and 'holistic' assessment of applicants' 'good moral character,' including by accounting for applicants' 'positive attributes and not simply the absence of misconduct.' 'U.S. citizenship is the gold standard of citizenship—it should only be offered to the world's best of the best,' USCIS chief spokesperson Matthew Tragesser said in a statement to news outlets. 'USCIS is adding a new element to the naturalization process that ensures America's newest citizens not only embrace America's culture, history, and language but who also demonstrate Good Moral Character.' It's the latest move by the Trump Administration to restrict immigration to the U.S. by some, while expanding it to others. On his first day in office, President Donald Trump sought to effectively end birthright citizenship—which has resulted in ongoing litigation across the country. Trump has also attempted to bar international students from the nation's top university, restrict Chinese international students, and increase scrutiny of student visa applicants' social media accounts. The Administration has also deployed troops to help with immigration enforcement, detained and deported tens of thousands of people including some legally in the U.S., terminated Biden-era programs for asylum seekers, detained visitors to the U.S., revived a travel ban for dozens of nations, and raised visa fees for tourists and other travelers to the U.S.. At the same time, he's introduced a 'Trump Card' paid path to citizenship and accepted white South Africans as refugees while shutting out refugees more broadly. This latest change might ring alarm bells for critics who have raised concerns about the Trump Administration appearing to inject more subjectivity and political bias into U.S. immigration. Stanford University's student newspaper filed a lawsuit against the Administration last week alleging that the targeting for immigration action of non-citizens who have expressed pro-Palestinian views, including those lawfully in the U.S, is stifling free speech. The American Association of University Professors is also suing Secretary of State Marco Rubio over the Administration's alleged 'ideological deportation policy.' 'Anyone who has any position that is against what the American government says they should think, they're immediately [labeled] 'anti-American,'' David Rozas, an immigration attorney who represented Alireza Doroudi, an Iranian student who was detained for weeks and ultimately chose to self-deport, told TIME in May. 'They're trying to increase the grounds for denial of U.S. citizenship by kind of torturing the definition of good moral character to encompass extremely harmless behavior,' Doug Rand, a former senior USCIS official who worked under the Biden Administration, told CBS. Redefining 'good moral character' The 'good moral character' has long been satisfied by the absence of certain criminal offenses or disqualifying conduct. These include 'permanent bars' like murders, aggravated felonies, and genocide, as well as 'conditional bars' like having multiple convictions of driving under the influence, for which an applicant must show that they have rehabilitated themselves. Evaluating 'good moral character' will now involve 'more than a cursory mechanical review focused on the absence of wrongdoing,' according to the memo. Instead, an applicant must demonstrate that their character is 'commensurate with the standards of average citizens of the community in which the alien resides.' Officers are instructed to take a 'holistic approach' and consider positive attributes such as: sustained community involvement and contributions in the U.S.; family caregiving and ties in the U.S.; educational attainment; stable and legal employment history and achievements; length of lawful residence in the U.S.; and compliance with tax obligations in the U.S. USCIS officers are also instructed to consider disqualifying applicants on the basis of not just the permanent and conditional bars but also 'Any other acts that are contrary to the average behavior of citizens in the jurisdiction where aliens reside,' even if those acts are 'technically lawful.' The memo also places more emphasis on applicants' demonstration of rehabilitation if they have 'engaged in wrongdoing,' such as by showing full payment of overdue taxes or compliance with court orders. 'In assessing conditional bars,' the memo reads, 'officers have authority—and now explicit directive—to weigh all relevant evidence, both adverse and favorable, before granting or denying naturalization.' Test impacts naturalization applicants The test is typically taken by green card holders who seek naturalized American citizenship after residing in the U.S. for at least 3 or 5 years. In addition to showing 'good moral character,' applicants must pass English and civics tests. Between 600,000 and 1 million immigrants have been naturalized as citizens every year since 2015, according to USCIS. Around 25 million people in the U.S. are naturalized citizens, accounting for more than half of all foreign-born people in the U.S. in 2023. Trump could also use the policy change to denaturalize U.S. citizens, which he has threatened to do to his former ally, tech billionaire Elon Musk, as well as New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. A Justice Department memo in June instructed the department's civil division to 'prioritize and maximally pursue denaturalization proceedings in all cases permitted by law and supported by the evidence.' The law allows for naturalized citizens to be denaturalized if they are found to have violated their eligibility conditions, which include being of 'good moral character.'
NBC News
2 hours ago
- NBC News
Trump administration revoked more than 6,000 student visas, State Department says
WASHINGTON — The administration of President Donald Trump has revoked more than 6,000 student visas for overstays and breaking the law, including a small minority for 'support for terrorism,' a State Department official said Monday. The move, first reported by Fox Digital, comes as the Trump administration has adopted a particularly hard-line approach toward student visas as part of its immigration crackdown, tightening social media vetting and expanding screening. Directives from the State Department this year have ordered U.S. diplomats abroad to be vigilant against any applicants whom Washington may see as hostile to the United States and with a history of political activism. Around 4,000 visas were canceled because the visitors broke the law, with the vast majority being assault, the official said. Driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs and burglary were other offenses, the official added. About 200 to 300 visas were revoked for terrorism, the official said, citing a rule about visa ineligibility under the State Department's Foreign Affairs Manual. The rule identifies ineligibility grounds generally as 'engaging in terrorist activities' and 'having certain links to terrorist organizations.' The official did not say which groups the students whose visas have been revoked were in support of. Trump has clashed with several top-level U.S. universities, accusing them of becoming bastions of antisemitism following large-scale student protests advocating Palestinian rights amid the Gaza war. In his clash with Harvard, Trump has frozen funding for investigations and threatened to remove the university's tax-exempt status, prompting several European nations to increase research grants to attract talent. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said he has revoked the visas of hundreds, perhaps thousands of people, including students, because they got involved in activities that he said went against U.S. foreign policy priorities. Trump administration officials have said that student visa and green card holders are subject to deportation over their support for Palestinians and criticism of Israel's conduct in the war in Gaza, calling their actions a threat to U.S. foreign policy and accusing them of being pro-Hamas. A Tufts University student from Turkey was held for over six weeks in an immigration detention center in Louisiana after co-writing an opinion piece criticizing her school's response to Israel's war in Gaza. She was released from custody after a federal judge granted her bail.
