Latest news with #DistrictOfColumbia
Washington Post
an hour ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Pirro clears Senate Judiciary Committee vote for D.C. U.S. attorney
Jeanine Pirro came one step closer to becoming the District of Columbia's full-time U.S. attorney on Thursday after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to send her nomination to the Senate floor for a final vote. The committee previously blocked President Donald Trump's first choice for the role, Ed Martin, a right-wing podcaster and 'Stop the Steal' organizer with no experience as a prosecutor and a history of controversial statements.
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Health
- Reuters
US health department hands over Medicaid personal data to ICE
WASHINGTON, July 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. health department is giving Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials access to the personal data of 79 million Medicaid enrollees to help them track down immigrants who may not be living legally in the country, it said on Thursday. Giving ICE access to the personal data of Medicaid enrollees marks an escalation in President Donald Trump's hardline immigration policies. It may also raise privacy concerns under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, known as HIPAA. A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said sharing data between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, fell within the department's legal authority. "With respect to the recent data sharing between CMS and DHS, HHS acted entirely within its legal authority – and in full compliance with all applicable laws – to ensure that Medicaid benefits are reserved for individuals who are lawfully entitled to receive them," the spokesperson said. The agreement was first reported earlier on Thursday by the Associated Press, which said it was signed on Monday. The Medicaid health program for low income people is jointly funded by the federal government and states. Immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally are not eligible for Medicaid under federal law, but 14 states and the District of Columbia provide coverage for eligible children regardless of immigration status, and seven states and DC do so for adults. "CMS is aggressively cracking down on states that may be misusing federal Medicaid funds to subsidize care for illegal immigrants. This oversight effort – supported by lawful interagency data sharing with DHS – is focused on identifying waste, fraud, and systemic abuse," the HHS spokesperson said. The spokesperson did not address questions from Reuters on the type of data being shared or on how HHS would ensure HIPAA protections are upheld. The AP, citing a copy of the data sharing agreement, said the data included home addresses and ethnicities. The agreement is the latest in a series of moves by the health department in support of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown and comes a week after it widened its interpretation of a law banning most immigrants from receiving federal public benefits.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Homeland security officials defend immigration court arrests after being sued
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Thursday defended its policy of having Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrest people at their immigration court hearings after a class-action lawsuit was filed that seeks to stop the practice. The lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the agency and ICE says the arrests of thousands of people at court have stripped them of rights afforded to them under immigration law and the U.S. Constitution. Tricia McLaughlin, Homeland Security assistant secretary for public affairs, told The Associated Press on Thursday that arresting people at immigration court is safer for law enforcement officers because the immigration have gone through security and were screened for weapons. It also conserves law enforcement resources 'because they already know where a target will be," she said. 'We aren't some medieval kingdom, there are no legal sanctuaries where you can hide and avoid the consequences for breaking the law,' McLaughlin said in an email. 'Nothing in the constitution prohibits arresting a lawbreaker where you find them.' 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. They're then moved to an expedited removal process. Keren Zwick, director of the National Immigrant Justice Center, one of the organizations that filed the lawsuit, said the immigrants who are being arrested at courts are following the law by appearing at their required hearings. Instead, they face detention for abiding by the rules. If a person fails to show up for their court hearing, the judge will issue an order for them to be removed in absentia. 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 attending court. The immigrants, identified in the lawsuit by their initials, came to the U.S. from Venezuela, the Chechen Republic, Cuba, Ecuador, Liberia and the Republic of Guinea. Many faced persecution, political retaliation, or were kidnapped and assaulted. They had sought asylum through the legal process, but their requests were quashed when the government lawyer dismissed their case and they were placed on expeditated removal. Homeland Security officials say if a person has a credible fear claim, they can continue their immigration proceedings in detention, but if the claim is found uncredible, they'll be subject to swift deportation. Edna Yang, co-executive director of American Gateways, said the lawsuit seeks to challenge the unconstitutional practice of arresting these immigrants and defend their right to be heard in a court of law.
Al Arabiya
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Homeland security officials defend immigration court arrests after being sued
The US Department of Homeland Security on Thursday defended its policy of having Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrest people at their immigration court hearings after a class-action lawsuit was filed that seeks to stop the practice. The lawsuit filed Wednesday in US District Court for the District of Columbia against the agency and ICE says the arrests of thousands of people at court have stripped them of rights afforded to them under immigration law and the US Constitution. Tricia McLaughlin, Homeland Security assistant secretary for public affairs, told The Associated Press on Thursday that arresting people at immigration court is safer for law enforcement officers because the immigrants have gone through security and were screened for weapons. It also conserves law enforcement resources because they already know where a target will be, she said. 'We aren't some medieval kingdom; there are no legal sanctuaries where you can hide and avoid the consequences for breaking the law,' McLaughlin said in an email. 'Nothing in the constitution prohibits arresting a lawbreaker where you find them.' 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. They're then moved to an expedited removal process. Keren Zwick, director of the National Immigrant Justice Center, one of the organizations that filed the lawsuit, said the immigrants who are being arrested at courts are following the law by appearing at their required hearings. Instead, they face detention for abiding by the rules. If a person fails to show up for their court hearing, the judge will issue an order for them to be removed in absentia. 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 attending court. The immigrants identified in the lawsuit by their initials came to the US from Venezuela, the Chechen Republic, Cuba, Ecuador, Liberia, and the Republic of Guinea. Many faced persecution, political retaliation, or were kidnapped and assaulted. They had sought asylum through the legal process, but their requests were quashed when the government lawyer dismissed their case and they were placed on expedited removal. Homeland Security officials say if a person has a credible fear claim, they can continue their immigration proceedings in detention, but if the claim is found uncredible, they'll be subject to swift deportation. Edna Yang, co-executive director of American Gateways, said the lawsuit seeks to challenge the unconstitutional practice of arresting these immigrants and defend their right to be heard in a court of law.
The Independent
5 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Homeland security officials defend immigration court arrests after being sued
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Thursday defended its policy of having Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrest people at their immigration court hearings after a class-action lawsuit was filed that seeks to stop the practice. The lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the agency and ICE says the arrests of thousands of people at court have stripped them of rights afforded to them under immigration law and the U.S. Constitution. Tricia McLaughlin, Homeland Security assistant secretary for public affairs, told The Associated Press on Thursday that arresting people at immigration court is safer for law enforcement officers because the immigrants have gone through security and were screened for weapons. It also conserves law enforcement resources 'because they already know where a target will be," she said. 'We aren't some medieval kingdom, there are no legal sanctuaries where you can hide and avoid the consequences for breaking the law,' McLaughlin said in an email. 'Nothing in the constitution prohibits arresting a lawbreaker where you find them.' 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. They're then moved to an expedited removal process. Keren Zwick, director of the National Immigrant Justice Center, one of the organizations that filed the lawsuit, said the immigrants who are being arrested at courts are following the law by appearing at their required hearings. Instead, they face detention for abiding by the rules. If a person fails to show up for their court hearing, the judge will issue an order for them to be removed in absentia. 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 attending court. The immigrants, identified in the lawsuit by their initials, came to the U.S. from Venezuela, the Chechen Republic, Cuba, Ecuador, Liberia and the Republic of Guinea. Many faced persecution, political retaliation, or were kidnapped and assaulted. They had sought asylum through the legal process, but their requests were quashed when the government lawyer dismissed their case and they were placed on expeditated removal. Homeland Security officials say if a person has a credible fear claim, they can continue their immigration proceedings in detention, but if the claim is found uncredible, they'll be subject to swift deportation. Edna Yang, co-executive director of American Gateways, said the lawsuit seeks to challenge the unconstitutional practice of arresting these immigrants and defend their right to be heard in a court of law.
