Latest news with #ImmigrationandNationalityActof1965
Express Tribune
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Palestinian student Mohsen Mahdawi detained by ICE on day of citizenship interview
Listen to article A Palestinian student leader at Columbia University was arrested by US immigration officials while attending what was meant to be the final step in his US citizenship process, sparking condemnation from lawmakers and rights groups. Mohsen Mahdawi, a long-time US resident and senior at Columbia, was taken into custody at a US Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Colchester, Vermont. Mahdawi, who had lived in the United States for a decade, was applying for naturalisation after holding a green card since arriving from the West Bank as a child. His legal team says he was detained in retaliation for his pro-Palestinian advocacy, including his role in organising campus protests last year during the Gaza war. 'The Trump administration detained Mohsen Mahdawi in direct retaliation for his advocacy and his identity as a Palestinian,' attorney Luna Droubi said in a statement. 'His detention is an attempt to silence dissent. It is also unconstitutional.' A federal judge in Vermont, William Sessions, issued a temporary restraining order Monday evening preventing the Trump administration from deporting Mahdawi or moving him out of Vermont. Mahdawi had stepped back from active organising in early 2024 and planned to begin a master's programme at Columbia in the autumn. He is the second Columbia student with permanent residency detained under Trump's post-Gaza protest crackdown, following Mahmoud Khalil, who was arrested in March and is currently in detention in Louisiana pending deportation proceedings. The Trump administration has cited a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, allowing green card revocation if an individual is deemed a threat to US foreign policy. Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week linked pro-Palestinian campus protest leaders to a broader rise in antisemitism and national security concerns. Mahdawi, who was born in a refugee camp in the West Bank, has not been charged with any crime. A video circulated online shows him flashing peace signs as he was led out of the USCIS office by plainclothes agents, hands cuffed in front. Vermont's congressional delegation, including Senators Bernie Sanders and Peter Welch and Representative Becca Balint, condemned the arrest as 'immoral, inhumane and illegal.' In a joint statement, they said Mahdawi must be released and afforded due process. 'He was arrested and removed in handcuffs by plainclothes, armed individuals with their faces covered,' they said. Legal experts warned that the Trump administration's actions may violate First Amendment protections and judicial orders. 'You can't disappear people for exercising their First Amendment rights,' said Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland. The Trump administration has previously resisted court orders in immigration cases, including one last week involving Kilmar Ábrego García, a Venezuelan mistakenly deported to El Salvador. Despite a Supreme Court ruling directing his return, the administration said it would not seek to bring him back. Mahdawi's attorneys have filed a habeas petition seeking his release, and say ICE may attempt to transfer him out of state despite the judge's restraining order. 'He remains in Vermont, and we've confirmed that with ICE,' attorney Luna Droubi told CNN. 'Any move now would be a deliberate violation of the court's order.' Mahdawi co-founded the Palestinian Student Union at Columbia in 2023. He previously spoke to 60 Minutes about his experience as a Palestinian and said, 'The fight for freedom of Palestine and the fight against antisemitism go hand in hand because injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.'
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Virginia gov promises 'full cooperation' with ICE to deport illegal immigrants
Virginia became the latest in a handful of mostly GOP states that are compelling their law enforcement officers to work with federal authorities to deport illegal immigrants. Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin issued Executive Order 47 on Tuesday afternoon, mandating that state law enforcement and correctional agencies enter into formal agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), pledging "full cooperation" when it comes to helping them identify and deport undocumented illegal immigrants. The governor cited federal law under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which allows state and local law enforcement officials to enter into agreements that "federally deputize" them to perform certain actions in support of federal immigration enforcement. "Dangerous criminal illegal immigrants should not be let back into our communities to assault, rape and murder," Youngkin said in an announcement about the new mandate. "They should be sent back where they came from." Trump's 'Gold Card' Visa Plan A Boon For American Economy, Expert Says: 'Mutually Beneficial' While Virginia is just the latest among a handful of mostly GOP states to compel its law enforcement to work with ICE, the scope of these new cooperation requirements varies slightly from state to state. Some states, like Tennessee, have implemented compelled cooperation to focus specifically on pursuing criminal undocumented immigrants. Others, like Virginia, are instructing their police to assist with apprehending and deporting any undocumented immigrants living illegally in their state. Read On The Fox News App Under Youngkin's new order, Virginia State Police will enter into a "287(g) Task Force Model Memorandum of Understanding" with ICE, creating a "State Police Task Force" to help with identifying and apprehending "criminal illegal immigrants" who pose a risk to the public. The agreement gives these federally deputized officers special authority to perform immigration enforcement functions under ICE's supervision that they typically would not otherwise engage in. In addition to mandating compliance from state law enforcement officials, Youngkin's Executive Order tasks the state's secretary of public safety and homeland security, Terrance Cole, to request "certification" from local and regional jail authorities that they will provide full cooperation with ICE and the newly deputized state task force. This agreement will allow Virginia Department of Corrections facilities to be used for immigration matters, such as processing and detention. Six-time Deported Gang Member Wanted For Murder Busted In Texas Illegal Immigration Sting Cole is also required under the new order to contact every director, sheriff or other official in charge of a local or regional jail in Virginia to certify that they will fully cooperate with ICE and the newly deputized Virginia State Police task force supporting them. "I am a legal immigrant and now a naturalized citizen. Working together, the Governor, Attorney General, and I have made Virginia safer. We supported more funding for law enforcement and tackled violent crimes in our cities. Now, working with President Trump, we can take on the scourge of dangerous and violent illegal immigrants," said Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, who is running for governor to succeed Youngkin, who is term-limited. "We've seen too many tragic stories after dangerous criminals in this country illegally were put back on the streets, and this executive order will make sure we send them back to where they came from," Earle-Sears article source: Virginia gov promises 'full cooperation' with ICE to deport illegal immigrants
Fox News
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Virginia gov promises 'full cooperation' with ICE to deport illegal immigrants
Virginia became the latest in a handful of mostly GOP states that are compelling their law enforcement officers to work with federal authorities to deport illegal immigrants. Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin issued Executive Order 47 on Tuesday afternoon, mandating that state law enforcement and correctional agencies enter into formal agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), pledging "full cooperation" when it comes to helping them identify and deport undocumented illegal immigrants. The governor cited federal law under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which allows state and local law enforcement officials to enter into agreements that "federally deputize" them to perform certain actions in support of federal immigration enforcement. "Dangerous criminal illegal immigrants should not be let back into our communities to assault, rape and murder," Youngkin said in an announcement about the new mandate. "They should be sent back where they came from." While Virginia is just the latest among a handful of mostly GOP states to compel its law enforcement to work with ICE, the scope of these new cooperation requirements varies slightly from state to state. Some states, like Tennessee, have implemented compelled cooperation to focus specifically on pursuing criminal undocumented immigrants. Others, like Virginia, are instructing their police to assist with apprehending and deporting any undocumented immigrants living illegally in their state. Under Youngkin's new order, Virginia State Police will enter into a "287(g) Task Force Model Memorandum of Understanding" with ICE, creating a "State Police Task Force" to help with identifying and apprehending "criminal illegal immigrants" who pose a risk to the public. The agreement gives these federally deputized officers special authority to perform immigration enforcement functions under ICE's supervision that they typically would not otherwise engage in. In addition to mandating compliance from state law enforcement officials, Youngkin's Executive Order tasks the state's secretary of public safety and homeland security, Terrance Cole, to request "certification" from local and regional jail authorities that they will provide full cooperation with ICE and the newly deputized state task force. This agreement will allow Virginia Department of Corrections facilities to be used for immigration matters, such as processing and detention. Cole is also required under the new order to contact every director, sheriff or other official in charge of a local or regional jail in Virginia to certify that they will fully cooperate with ICE and the newly deputized Virginia State Police task force supporting them. "I am a legal immigrant and now a naturalized citizen. Working together, the Governor, Attorney General, and I have made Virginia safer. We supported more funding for law enforcement and tackled violent crimes in our cities. Now, working with President Trump, we can take on the scourge of dangerous and violent illegal immigrants," said Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, who is running for governor to succeed Youngkin, who is term-limited. "We've seen too many tragic stories after dangerous criminals in this country illegally were put back on the streets, and this executive order will make sure we send them back to where they came from," Earle-Sears concluded.
