Latest news with #ImmigrationAndCustomsEnforcement
Reuters
01-08-2025
- Reuters
Sig Sauer must face ICE officer's lawsuit over accidental gun firing
Aug 1 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday revived a lawsuit seeking to hold firearms maker Sig Sauer liable to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who was injured when his P320 gun went off accidentally during a training drill. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia said a trial judge erred by dismissing Keith Slatowski's lawsuit after excluding testimony from two experts about whether the gun's design could cause injury. Sig Sauer and its lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The company has faced several lawsuits over alleged unintentional P320 firings. Slatowski's gun discharged from within its holster after his hand hit the grip in September 2020 at a New Castle, Delaware firing range. A bullet went through his upper right hip and out his thigh. While unsure whether debris or the holster itself caused the trigger to depress, the former Marine said the lack of an external safety to prevent unexpected firings made his gun unsafe. Slatowski sought $10 million in damages. Writing for a three-judge appeals court panel, Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas said the trial judge properly excluded testimony from the two experts about whether Slatowski's gun caused his injury, because they hadn't done testing. But the appeals court said testimony about possible design flaws should have been admitted. It returned the case to U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick in Philadelphia for a possible trial. "The P320's design is technical and probably needs explaining," Bibas wrote. "From there, ... Slatowski must rely on his lay eyewitness testimony. It may not prove persuasive. But that is up to the jury, not the judge." Slatowski's wife is also a plaintiff. Their lawyer Robert Zimmerman said in an email: "Our clients are thankful for the opportunity to present their case to a jury." The case is Slatowski et al v Sig Sauer Inc, 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 24-1639.
New York Times
30-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Democrats, This Is Our Moment to Lead. We Can't Blow It.
After months of hand-wringing and finger-pointing, Democrats are still learning how to navigate a political landscape dominated by Donald Trump's Republican Party. With Democrats locked out of power in Washington, the burden has shifted to the state and local levels to prove that we can govern. Republicans have given us an opportunity to do just that. This month, Republicans in Washington — including every Republican representative from New York — voted for a morally bankrupt piece of legislation that slashes social safety net programs, cuts taxes for the ultrawealthy and provides $75 billion in new funding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. President Trump pushed these policies simultaneously for a reason: so that he can scapegoat immigrants for the economic pain his agenda will bring to everyone. The problem isn't scarcity — it's greed. This is the moment Democrats have been talking about for years: a chance to prove we're more than a party of outrage and opposition. If we can't deliver now, when the stakes are highest, we don't deserve the trust of the people we claim to represent. It's time to offer Americans more than sternly worded social media posts and podcast interviews. So far, we're failing that test. Our leaders are falling into the same trap Democrats have routinely found themselves in since 2016. These crises need to be taken on in a way that is bold and unafraid and that delivers for the working and middle classes without fear of reprisal from concentrated wealth or corporate power. First, let's be clear about how Mr. Trump's law will affect New York: 1.5 million New Yorkers could lose health insurance, while over a million could lose access to nutrition assistance. Many will lose access to both. By some estimates, these cuts will cost the state $10 billion per year. Hospitals will almost certainly close, especially in rural areas, and emergency rooms will be flooded. People, including children, will go hungry. New York has one of the largest immigrant populations in the country. Too many of our friends and neighbors are afraid to take their children to school, buy groceries or go to pray. New funding will only expand Mr. Trump's sprawling deportation machine that rips parents from their children, locks asylum seekers in for-profit detention centers and stalks immigrant communities with impunity. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Bloomberg
24-07-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
ICE Is Redefining Detention as an Open-Ended Threat
Mandatory detention is the newest and potentially most powerful weapon in the White House's arsenal for turbo-charging deportations. Once arrested, immigrants without legal status will, with few exceptions, be held in custody until they are deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. That means they are no longer eligible, as in the past, to post bond at a hearing and have an immigration judge decide their fate. ICE alone will be the decider. That threatens to transform temporary detention centers into long-term prisons — and to strip immigrants of the constitutional rights that are due to every person in the US, regardless of legal status.
The National
21-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
ICEBlock developer's wife sacked from US government job
The wife of a developer who created ICEBlock, an app that allows people to report sightings of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials, has been fired from her US government job. Joshua Aaron, developer of ICEBlock told The National that his wife, who is an auditor, had nothing to do with the app that's, which has become a source of anger at the Trump White House. She was fired nonetheless. He told The National that Laura Loomer, a far-right activist well known for her controversial and xenophobic comments, posted information about his wife on X last week. 'I reviewed Carolyn's LinkedIn page, and she has been working for the DOJ (Department of Justice) since January 2021 when Joe Biden assumed office,' read just some of Ms Loomer's post. Mr Aaron said that Ms Loomer then passed along information about his wife, Carolyn Feinstein, to White House Border Czar Tom Homan, who told the right-wing news outlet Newsmax that he flagged the information to US Attorney General Pam Bondi. 'On Friday, my wife was fired from her position with the DOJ, Office of US Trustee,' he explained, adding that his wife was a forensic auditor in one of the DOJ's offices in Austin, Texas 'who loved her job and always had stellar annual performance reviews'. Mr Aaron said he's certain she was fired because of his development of ICEBlock, along with his activism related to undocumented immigrants. In a statement to The National, a DOJ spokesperson defended its actions in terminating Ms Feinstein. 'For several weeks, the Department of Justice inquired into this former employee's activities and discovered she has a sizable interest in All U Chart, Incorperated, the company that holds the IP for ICEBlock,' the spokesperson said. 'ICEBlock is an app that illegal aliens use to evade capture while endangering the lives of ICE officers by disclosing their location ... this DOJ will not tolerate threats against law enforcement or law enforcement officers.' In an interview with the blogger and podcaster Allison Gill, host of The Daily Beans, Ms Feinstein said that she was fired via email with no explanation. Mr Aaron said that contrary to speculation, his wife's job had absolutely nothing to do with immigration policy. 'She handled bankruptcy fraud and had nothing to do with ICEblock,' he reiterated. During an interview last week with Newsmax, the White House Border Czar acknowledged that he received information about the developer's wife. 'Laura Loomer sent that to me and I sent it to the DOJ, so we'll see where it goes,' Mr Homan said, adding that ICEBlock was also under investigation by the Justice Department as well. 'What he's doing is giving a heads up to criminals,' claimed Mr Homan, saying that the app puts ICE agents in danger. 'If it's not illegal, it should be,' he added. Meanwhile, ICEBlock has been downloaded more than a million times from Apple's iOS App Store. It continues to attract attention and a methodical rise in popularity as President Trump increases funding for ICE, whose mandate includes detaining and deporting undocumented immigrants. Critics say the agents arrest and deport people with little concern for their legal rights, including due process. 'When I saw what was happening in this country I knew I had to do something to fight back,' said Mr Aaron, who spoke with The National last week about the app. Mr Aaron lives in Texas, a state with a large undocumented immigrant population. Mr Aaron, who is Jewish, told The National that he had decided to create the app after meeting Holocaust survivors and learning about Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Nazi Germany. The app aims to alert users to the presence of ICE officials in an 8km radius. It is powered by crowdsourced data, relying on people to report ICE agents wherever they might be. The app also allows for users to describe the vehicles ICE might be using and their attire. When a sighting is reported, push notifications are sent to other users nearby. Mr Aaron acknowledges criticism that the software could be misused, as the Trump administration has claimed violence against ICE agents is on the rise. 'Please note that the use of this app is for information and notification purposes only,' reads a disclaimer appearing throughout ICEBlock, with an added warning that the app should not be used 'for the purposes of inciting violence or interfering with law enforcement'. Despite the disclaimers, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has suggested that those promoting the app should face prosecution. 'We're working with the Department of Justice to see if we can prosecute them because what they're doing is actually encouraging people to avoid law enforcement activity operations,' she recently told a reporter. As for Mr Aaron, US Attorney General Pam Bondi recently told Fox News that the Justice Department was 'looking into him'. Various legal precedents, however, have tended to protect those who report the potentially illegal actions of law enforcement. Mr Aaron is continuing to stand by the app, saying that there is nothing illegal about it. 'This app is to inform, not obstruct,' he said last week. Mr Aaron also accused ICE of having complete disregard for individual circumstances with their arrests, referring to college students being targeted for their decision to protest, mothers being separated from their children, or detainees not being given access to legal representation. 'That is not something I can abide and is the reason ICEBlock was created,' he continued, referring back to the rise of Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany. 'We are literally watching history repeat itself.'
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
ICE data shows less than 1% of deportees had murder convictions
President Trump campaigned on a vow to round up the "worst of the worst" offenders among the criminals who were living illegally inside the United States. But CBS News has obtained deportation data that indicates the Trump administration's deportation push has ensnared many undocumented immigrants without violent criminal records. Of the estimated 100,000 people who were deported between January 1 and June 24 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 70,583 were convicted criminals, according to an ICE document obtained by CBS News. However, the data also shows that most of the documented infractions were traffic or immigration offenses. The ICE document listed out raw data that was broken down by conviction, not by deportee. Some 2,355 of the convictions had to do with sex offenses, making up 1.8% of the total number of criminals who were deported. Another 1,628, or 1.2%, were for sexual assault. The number of homicide convictions totaled 729, or 0.58% of deportees, and the number of convicted kidnappers was 536, or 0.42%. About 10,738 convictions were for assault, or 15.2% of deportees, the data showed. ICE's public messaging about its deportation push has focused on undocumented immigrants with serious criminal records, highlighting deportees who were convicted of murder, sex offenses and other violent crimes. Another stated goal of the Trump administration was to remove those with ties to criminal organizations. The CBS News-obtained document shows that 3,256 of the more than 100,000 people removed, or 3.26%, were known or suspected gang members or terrorists. In response to a CBS News inquiry, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said ICE has now deported about 140,000 undocumented immigrants since Mr. Trump took office. She also added that 70% of those arrested by ICE were of "illegal aliens with criminal convictions or have pending criminal charges." McLaughlin declined to detail the nature of the convictions or criminal charges, or offer further specifics. Back on June 11, six Republican lawmakers who are members of the Congressional Hispanic Conference wrote to ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons to urge the Trump administration to prioritize the detention of violent offenders, convicted criminals and national security threats. ICE has now responded to that inquiry for the first time with figures of those deported since Jan. 1. The Republicans who signed the letter include the conference's chair, Rep. Tony Gonzalez of Texas, along with Reps. Monica De La Cruz of Texas, Nicole Malliotakis of New York, David Valadao of California, Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida and Gabe Evans of Colorado. ICE arrests have soared since Mr. Trump took office, averaging 1,200 per day in the first three weeks of June, according to internal figures previously reported by CBS News. White House adviser Stephen Miller has pushed the agency to aim for 3,000 arrests per day, a more-than-twofold increase that has led to pressure on ICE leadership. An increasingly large share of people held in ICE deteintion do not have criminal records, CBS News has previously reported. Around 40% of the agency's detainees since Mr. Trump took office had criminal convictions of some kind with 8% of them convicted of violent crimes. Mr. Trump and top administration officials have said their focus is on arresting and deporting people with serious criminal records. "The violent criminals in our country are the priority now," Attorney General Pam Bondi told reporters last month. White House "border czar" Tom Homan says the administration's primary focus is on the "worst" offenders, but he has long said any undocumented immigrant could be subject to arrest. "If you're in the country illegally, you are not off the table," Homan said at an event in Texas this week. "We prioritize the worst, first. That makes sense. But it doesn't mean you prioritize this group and everybody else is good to go." Son of man who was violently detained by ICE reacts after release Mike Johnson breaks from Trump, calls on DOJ to release Epstein files 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits southern Alaska
