US lawsuit seeks to stop arresting migrants
The lawsuit filed in US District Court for the District of Columbia against the Department of Homeland Security, Justice Department and ICE says the arrests of thousands of people at court have stripped them of rights afforded to them under US immigration law and the Fifth Amendment.
The large-scale immigration court arrests that began in May have unleashed fear among asylum-seekers and immigrants. In what has become a familiar scene, a judge will grant a government lawyer's request to dismiss deportation proceedings against an immigrant while ICE officers wait in the hallway to take them into custody.
Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, one of the groups that filed the lawsuit, said the Trump administration is 'weaponizing' immigration courts and chilling participation in the legal process.
'People seeking refuge, safety, or relief should not be arrested, detained, and deported without a chance to be heard and given due process," Perryman said in a statement.
Messages seeking comment from ICE, Homeland Security and the Justice Department were not immediately returned. The Executive Office for Immigration Review, which oversees the courts, declined to comment.
President Donald Trump has pledged to deport the most dangerous criminals in the largest deportation program in American history to protect law-abiding citizens, but government data on the detentions show that the majority of people detained by ICE have no criminal convictions.
The lawsuit represents 12 people who have been arrested at court hearings, along with the Immigrant Advocates Response Collaborative and American Gateways, which provide legal services to people who face potential arrest and deportation when they comply with their immigration proceedings by attending a court hearing.
Some of the immigrants have lived in the US for years and were separated from family members, some who were US citizens, without notice, the lawsuit said. Others fled persecution in their home countries and requested asylum. But those requests were quashed when the government lawyer dismissed their case.
Priyanka Gandhi-Abriano, interim CEO for Immigrant Advocates Response Collaborative, said the arrests are a deliberate attempt to intimidate people.
'Our friends, neighbors, and families are told to 'do it the right way' — to follow the legal process," Gandhi-Abriano said in a statement. 'They're doing just that — showing up to court, complying with the law. Despite this, they're being arrested and detained.'
Homeland Security officials have defended the practice, saying the Trump administration is implementing the rule of law after former President Joe Biden's 'catch and release policy that allowed millions of unvetted illegal aliens to be let loose on American streets.'
They said if a person has a credible fear claim, they can continue in the immigration proceedings, but if not claim is found, they'll be subject to swift deportation.
Keren Zwick, director of litigation at the National Immigrant Justice Center said, 'We are witnessing an authoritarian takeover of the US immigration court system by the Trump administration.'
The people attending the hearings to seek permission to stay in the US, but they're being rounded up and 'abruptly ripped from their families, homes and livelihoods.'
'Meanwhile, the administration is issuing directives telling immigration judges to violate those same immigration laws and strip people of fundamental due process rights,' Zwick said.
"We must continue fighting to overcome the administration's escalating attacks on the US Constitution and rule of law.' (AP)
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Armed with extensive government funding, a vast research infrastructure, and a clear national strategy, China has been aggressively courting global experts. Many China-born scientists and engineers, educated and employed in the US, are returning home, driven partly by growing anti-China sentiment in the US. However, China's ambitions face a critical limitation: a lack of academic freedom. For many international scholars, concerns about censorship and political interference make China a less appealing destination. Hong Kong once offered an alternative, but increasing control from Beijing has narrowed that window as well. In this global context, South Korea stands out as a country with both the motivation and the means to benefit from the US brain drain. Although it is still an emerging power in basic sciences, Korea has made impressive strides. Its universities may not yet be counted among the global elite, but their quality has improved dramatically. 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