Latest news with #ICE
Wall Street Journal
an hour ago
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
New ICE Policy Blocks Detained Migrants From Seeking Bond
WASHINGTON—The Trump administration is attempting to make millions of immigrants living in the country illegally ineligible to be released from detention on bond as they fight their deportation cases, according to an administration official familiar with the matter. The policy shift, issued under what's known as interim guidance by acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons last week, will apply to all immigrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, no matter when. Lyons told officers in a memo that such immigrants should remain in detention throughout their deportation proceedings, which can stretch for months or even years, according to the official, who had been briefed on the memo.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
US launches new bid to keep migrants detained by denying hearings, memo shows
Find out what's new on ST website and app. FILE PHOTO: Handcuffs are carried after being removed from detained migrants who boarded a plane after being transferred from an ICE detention facility, at Gary/Chicago International Airport, in Gary, Indiana, U.S., June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez/File photo WASHINGTON - The Trump administration is launching a new effort to keep immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally detained by denying them bond hearings, an internal memo showed, a change that could further swell the numbers of those held. The guidance by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a portion of which Reuters reviewed, could be applied to millions of people who crossed the border illegally and are contesting their deportation. President Donald Trump has vowed mass deportations, which he says are needed after high levels of illegal immigration under his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden. Congress passed a spending law this month that provides funding to detain at least 100,000 people, a steep increase over the record 58,000 in custody by late June. The Washington Post first reported the new ICE policy limiting bond hearing eligibility, citing a July 8 memo by its acting director, Todd Lyons. The guidance shared with Reuters called for ICE to interpret several immigration law provisions as "prohibitions on release" after an arrest, adding the shift in policy was "likely to be litigated." It encouraged ICE prosecutors "to make alternative arguments in support of continued detention" during immigration court hearings. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Business 'Some cannot source outside China': S'pore firms' challenges and support needed amid US tariffs Multimedia From local to global: What made top news in Singapore over the last 180 years? World Trump arms Ukraine and threatens sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil Singapore Turning tragedy into advocacy: Woman finds new purpose after paralysis Opinion Sumiko at 61: Everything goes south when you age, changing your face from a triangle to a rectangle Sport World Aquatics C'ship women's 10km open water swimming event delayed by a day due to water quality Singapore HSA intensifies crackdown on vapes; young suspected Kpod peddlers nabbed in Bishan, Yishun Singapore Ex-cop charged after he allegedly went on MHA portal, unlawfully shared info with man The new policy appeared to reverse legal standards governing detention for decades, said Tom Jawetz, a former homeland security official in the Biden administration, calling it "a radical departure that could explode the detention population." The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE did not immediately respond to requests for comment. REUTERS
New York Times
2 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Judge Orders Release of Iranian Arrested in Louisiana After U.S. Bombed Iran
A magistrate judge in Louisiana on Monday ordered the release of an Iranian doctoral student arrested in the immediate aftermath of the U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities last month and barred officials from attempting to deport him, citing a 'grave risk' of irreparable harm. The student, Pouria Pourhosseinhendabad, 29, appeared to be the first Iranian national that the Trump administration sought to deport while Iran was engulfed in a 12-day war with Israel that the United States briefly joined. Mr. Pourhosseinhendabad, a student of mechanical engineering at Louisiana State University, was arrested along with his wife, Parisa Firouzabadi, on June 22, a day after President Trump announced that the United States had bombed three Iranian nuclear sites, thrusting the country directly into the war. He has since been held at the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center, one of the agency's largest detention centers in the South. Ms. Firouzabadi appears to have been released; the petition mentioned her only briefly, and she is not listed in public records as an ICE detainee. His lawyers said that the couple's arrest involved an 'unconstitutional ruse.' The couple had recently reported a hit-and-run collision that damaged their car, and state police officers knocked on the door of their Baton Rouge apartment, claiming they were investigating the collision. Instead, Mr. Pourhosseinhendabad's lawyers said, the police led the couple to a large group of masked ICE agents in tactical gear waiting downstairs. Mr. Pourhosseinhendabad has an active F-1 student visa scheduled to expire in December 2030, according to his lawyers, and there was no warrant for his arrest. They argued in their petition for his release that 'a ruse is deemed unconstitutional where ICE tricks an individual to open their front door when they have not yet obtained a judicial warrant for arrest and no exigent circumstances exist.' An assistant U.S. attorney representing the government in the case did not submit any evidence or counternarrative disputing the allegations before Magistrate Judge Joseph H.L. Perez-Montes of the Western District of Louisiana ruled in the case. The attorney did not respond to a request for additional details in the case. Judge Perez-Montes granted the emergency petition for Mr. Pourhosseinhendabad's release and also enjoined the government from moving him to another jurisdiction. The Trump administration has previously moved people it is seeking to deport to more amenable legal jurisdictions. 'In these verified allegations,' the judge wrote 'petitioner has established that there is a grave risk he will suffer irreparable harm — specifically to include his possible continued detention and deprivation of liberty.'
Fox News
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Progressive Dem rep faces backlash for calling ICE 'Nazi thugs' while defending MS-13 gang member
A progressive Democratic state representative sparked controversy after referring to ICE agents as "Nazi Gestapo thugs" following an ICE operation in Providence, Rhode Island, that resulted in the arrest of a known MS-13 gang member. "The Nazi Gestapo ICE thugs kidnapped another of our neighbors in Providence this morning. This time on Alverson St.," wrote Rep. Enrique Sanchez in social media posts. "The ICE thugs damaged a couple of residents' cars as well. They think they are above the law. I strongly condemn this act of terror and will be demanding answers and seeking action tomorrow. I am tired of this s**t. Providence doesn't want ICE thugs in our city." The arrest in question was of Ivan Rene Mendoza Meza, a 27-year-old Honduran national illegally present in the U.S. and a self-admitted member of the violent MS-13 gang. ICE sources told Fox News that during the operation, Mendoza attempted to flee, causing a crash by striking ICE vehicles before running into his apartment. He was eventually surrounded and surrendered to agents. Mendoza was seen smirking in his arrest photo, seeming to be unfazed by his capture. Mendoza has a history of criminal activity, including fentanyl trafficking charges in Rhode Island. ICE Boston had previously lodged an immigration detainer against him following those charges in August 2023. However, the 6th District Court of Rhode Island declined to honor the detainer, releasing Mendoza without notifying ICE, forcing agents to locate and arrest him in the community. According to ICE Boston spokesperson James Covington, "Mendoza is a self-admitted member of MS-13 in Honduras and states he has committed crimes on behalf of the gang." ICE spokesperson Emily Covington criticized Sanchez's remarks: "Mr. Sanchez thinks so little of his community that he refers to ruthless MS-13 as his 'neighbors'? What say you, Providence? The only 'thugs' we see are the illegal terrorist gangbangers we are trying to remove from the neighborhoods of Providence." Mendoza originally entered the U.S. illegally near San Ysidro, California, in May 2019 and was quickly returned to Mexico. However, officials say he later re-entered the country unlawfully at an unknown time and place. Sanchez, who has strongly opposed immigration enforcement, taunted ICE agents on Sunday after a farmworker died from injuries sustained from a fall during an immigration enforcement raid on a California cannabis farm. "F*** ICE," Sanchez wrote. "Vallanse a la chingada ICE." "State Representative Enrique Sanchez (D), who was arrested for DUI earlier this year, calls ICE agents "Nazi Gestapo thugs" in an online rant after an MS-13 gang member facing fentanyl charges was arrested with a smile across his face," Libs of TikTok commented on Sanchez's statements. "Just Democrats supporting criminal alien gangs over American citizens." In 2023, Sanchez filed RI H5461, a bill to give illegal immigrants the right to vote in the state. However, the bill was tabled for further study a month after it was introduced.
Fox News
2 hours ago
- Fox News
FBI seeking military vet suspected in ICE ambush at Texas detention facility
The FBI is searching for a military veteran suspected of being involved in what authorities are calling an ambush on officers at an ICE detention facility in Texas on the Fourth of July. Benjamin Hanil Song, 32, of Dallas, is now the 12th suspect believed to be involved in last Friday's ambush at Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas. Song, a former U.S. Marine Corps reservist, is accused of firing two AR-15 style rifles at two correctional officers and one Alvarado police officer, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Fox News Digital. Song is charged with three counts of attempted murder of a federal officer and three counts of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. A Blue Alert was sent out to Texas phones Wednesday evening, alerting residents that Song is "wanted for involvement in the serious injury of a law enforcement officer." The criminal complaint alleges that Song joined a group of 10 to 12 others in an organized attack on officers at the Prairieland Detention Center just after 10:30 p.m. on Friday. The group, dressed in black military-style clothing, began shooting fireworks toward the detention center, while others sprayed graffiti on vehicles and a guard structure in the parking lot at the facility, the complaint alleges. Correctional officers called 911 to report suspicious activity. An Alvarado police officer arrived on scene and was shot in the neck by a suspect in the woods. Another assailant across the street fired dozens of rounds at unarmed correctional officers who had stepped outside the facility, the complaint alleges. Federal prosecutors said Song purchased four of the guns that were found in connection with the shooting. Two of those – AR-style rifles – were found at the scene. One of them had a binary trigger, which allows the shooter to fire more rapidly than a standard semiautomatic gun. Investigators recovered additional firearms – including another AR-15 style rifle – while searching residences and vehicles. Ten assailants are accused of fleeing from the detention center but were apprehended by additional responding law enforcement officers. Song was not located by law enforcement officers, according to the complaint. The complaint alleges that a white Mercedes-Benz registered to a relative of Song was found two days later in the same block as one of the other assailant's residences. Song is now wanted by the FBI and is considered armed and dangerous. The FBI is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction. The ten others charged in the attack are: Cameron Arnold, Savanna Batten, Nathan Baumann, Zachary Evetts, Joy Gibson, Bradford Morris, Maricela Rueda, Seth Sikes, Elizabeth Soto and Ines Soto. Another person has been charged with obstruction of justice and conspiracy for attempting to conceal and destroy evidence, prosecutors said.
