Latest news with #BhutaneseNepali
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Dauphin County Commissioner calls on Trump administration to end deportations to Bhutan
In this handout photo provided by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, two federal law enforcement officers coordinate with other officials on the ground during an enhanced immigration enforcement operation on February 4, 2025 near Washington, D.C. (Photo by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement via Getty Images) Dauphin County Board Chairman Justin Douglas says the Trump administration Wednesday should end the deportation of Bhutanese residents. Since President Donald Trump took office, Dauphin County officials say as many as 18 Bhutanese residents who legally immigrated to the U.S. as refugees may have been deported back to the country where many fled ethnic cleansing. Alyson Wert, a spokesperson for Douglas, said three lived in the county. 'We owe it to these individuals and to the promise we've made as a nation committed to protecting the vulnerable,' Douglas said at a Dauphin County Commission meeting on Wednesday. 'We have a moral and legal obligation not to return refugees to a country that once ethnically cleansed them. … Some may say this is political, but for me it's about people. It's about my constituents. ' As of April 1, at least four of the deportees appear to have been arrested in Nepal while attempting to contact family members in refugee camps there. Fourteen were unaccounted for, at this point. Douglas said at least nine other Bhutanese Pennsylvanians have been detained. Central Pennsylvania is home to the largest population of Bhutanese Nepali refugees in the country. In the last decades, tens of thousands of them were welcomed into the U.S. as refugees following ethnic cleansing of Nepalese-speaking minorities in Bhutan. Many settled around Harrisburg which has a Bhutanese Nepali population estimated in the tens of thousands. All of the Bhutanese residents detained or deported by ICE appear to be men, and at least some had criminal charges that Douglas and family members describe as 'minor.' He said the impact of the arrests has reverberated across the Bhutanese community. 'The community right now is living in uncertainty, unsure of who might be targeted next,' Douglas said. 'Yes, these individuals may have minor criminal histories, which enabled ICE to attempt to remove them from the United States. But that is no reason to rip them away from their wives, children, brothers, sisters and community.' The detentions have caught the attention of Pennsylvania lawmakers at both the state and federal level. Democratic state lawmakers representing Dauphin County in Harrisburg have spoken out against the arrests. On March 29, U.S. Congressman Scott Perry (R-Dauphin), a supporter of Trump's hardline immigration policies generally, said on social media that he met with Bhutanese community members in Harrisburg. A spokesperson for ICE did not immediately respond to a request for more details on the deportations and arrests.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Four Harrisburg-area Bhutanese Nepali men deported; in India now, in transit to Bhutan
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — A day after the families of six Bhutanese were notified they would be on flights to unconfirmed destinations within 72 hours, four of the men have already been deported, a community spokesperson confirmed Thursday. 'As of now, four out of the six individuals have already left the United States,' said Tilak Niroula, chairperson of Harrisburg's Bhutanese community. 'This morning, I received a call from New Delhi [India] informing me that they are currently in transit there and have been told they will soon be departing for Paro, Bhutan.' An ICE spokesperson couldn't be immediately reached for comment Thursday evening. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now A week earlier, Niroula joined local Democratic lawmakers alarmed at the detention of — at that time — five men, who they said were among tens of thousands of Bhutanese Nepali people in central Pennsylvania because they refugees unwelcome then — and still now — in Bhutan. A program introduced under former President George W. Bush, a Republican, and continued under former President Barack Obama, a Democrat. All the men, Niroula said, were in the United States legally. The sister of one man detained said he had served prison time, beginning more than a decade ago, after getting into a fight. 'Recent statements made regarding the Bhutanese aliens detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] have incorrectly indicated they are lawful permanent residents,' an ICE spokesman said at the time. 'Those claims are not true.' Since late January, ICE — under President Trump — has been more aggressively pursuing deportation of not only undocumented immigrants, but in some cases people who were in the United States legally but had legal issues ICE has considered justification for deportation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Elected leaders seek answers following ICE detention of five men in Dauphin County
An ICE agent monitors hundreds of asylum seekers being processed upon entering the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building on June 6, 2023 in New York City. (David) Community members and elected leaders gathered at the Capitol in Harrisburg Tuesday to speak about the detention of five Dauphin County men by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Dauphin County Commission chair Justin Douglas said the Bhutanese Nepali residents were green card holders and legal permanent residents. He added it's unknown if any are being charged with crimes. Four of them, he said, have children. 'Five men – fathers, husbands, neighbors – are being taken from our community,' Douglas said. 'All of them have families. They work here, they pay taxes here, they raise their kids here. They are part of the fabric of this region, and now they are being detained and ripped away from everything and everyone they know. These are people our country made a promise to.' A spokesperson for ICE did not respond to questions about why the arrests were made or whether there would be criminal charges filed. Since the start of the Trump administration, the agency has detained and begun deportation proceedings for multiple visa and green card holders, including those accused of no crimes or of non-violent ones years earlier. ABC27, a Harrisburg television station reported one of the detainee's sisters said he came to America legally through a refugee program in 2012, and had had previous charges related to a fight in 2013. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE 'Five individuals who have their family, who have their children, wives, parents here, [were] just picked up without reason,' said Tilak Niroula, chairperson of the Bhutanese Community in Harrisburg. 'These are permanent residents. We were forcefully evicted from Bhutan. We do not have a country. Deportation is not an option for Bhutanese Americans.' The Dauphin County Bhutanese Nepali population is estimated around 47,000. Many are refugees or immigrants who fled ethnic cleansing and violence in their home country. Former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama both facilitated the legal resettlement of Bhutanese refugees into the country. Democratic lawmakers raised concerns about both the ethics and legality of the arrests. 'It is an affront when we learn that folks with legal status were picked up by ICE and federal officials think that they can just send them back to Bhutan,' said Dauphin County state Sen. Patty Kim. 'They left because of ethnic cleansing. I'm embarrassed by the lack of knowledge and understanding by our federal officials.' State Rep. Dave Madsen, a Democrat who also represents Dauphin County, agreed. 'This country, when we get scared or we get hard times, we often blame it on immigrants,' he said. 'Often when that happens, inhumane policies follow, like we just experienced in Dauphin County.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Rep. Justin Flemming (D-Dauphin) urged concerned Pennsylvanians to contact their elected federal officials. State government has little if any power over immigration laws and proceedings. 'Do not go overboard, but we need to make federal officials uncomfortable,' Fleming said. 'There is a process to go through, and this administration, this White House clearly has no respect for the rule of law.' A spokesperson for Republican Rep. Scott Perry, who represents Dauphin County in the U.S. House, pointed to a Facebook post on the Congressman's page. 'I've contacted ICE about the details of these arrests over the weekend,' Perry wrote. 'When I receive more information, I'll provide an update as I'm able.' Perry, who voted against certifying Pennsylvania's electoral votes for Joe Biden hours after a violent mob of supporters of then-President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has been a strong supporter of Trump's stance on immigration in his second term. Philadelphia Reps. Danilo Burgos and Joseph Hohenstein were also on hand for the press conference. 'The five people who sit in ICE detention right now are lawful permanent residents,' Hohenstein said. 'By definition, they did it the right way. And no one has said what, if anything, they did wrong.'
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Yahoo
ICE detains multiple Dauphin County Bhutanese Nepali residents; officials say
(WHTM) – U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement recently detained five members of Dauphin County's Bhutanese Nepali community, according to Dauphin County officials. According to the county, the individuals 'are long-time members of the Bhutanese refugee community' who resettled in Dauphin County and are 'legal permanent residents.' Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now The residents were 'transferred to out-of-state detention centers,' according to the county. According to a study conducted in 2023, Pennsylvania is among the top 10 states with Bhutanese Nepali refugees, with the Harrisburg-Carlisle area 'containing a dense population' with an estimated population of 47,000. County officials and state leaders are expected to release more information on the detention during a Tuesday press conference. This is a developing story. Stay with abc27 News as more information becomes available Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
