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Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
2 Mass. sanctuary cities ask court to block Trump from defunding them while lawsuit proceeds
A pair of Boston-area cities asked a federal judge Tuesday to block the Trump administration from revoking their federal funding as it cracks down on 'sanctuary cities' over their immigration enforcement policies. The cities of Somerville and Chelsea sued the administration in February as they faced the loss of millions of dollars in federal aid for their police departments, schools, street repairs and public services. On Tuesday, the cities filed a preliminary injunction in U.S. District Court in Boston, seeking a judge's intervention after the Department of Homeland Security on Friday placed both cities on a list of communities it said are violating federal law by providing sanctuary to undocumented immigrants. The department said the cities — along with 10 other Massachusetts cities and hundreds more across the country — must change their local policies to match the Trump administration's stance on immigration issues, or risk losing federal funding or contracts. Somerville and Chelsea asked the judge to pause any attempted withdrawal of their funding while the ongoing lawsuit plays out. Read more: Sanctuary or not, immigrant fears transcend borders in Chelsea, Revere Somerville first identified itself as a sanctuary city in 1987, followed by Chelsea in 2007. Like other proponents of sanctuary laws, they've argued that their policies are not only legal but beneficial to public safety as well. 'Victims and witnesses are less likely to report crimes if they know that local police are working in concert with federal immigration authorities. By avoiding that entanglement, sanctuary cities improve public safety and quality of life not just for immigrant residents, but for all residents and community members,' Lawyers for Civil Rights, the nonprofit legal group representing the cities, said in a statement Tuesday. Or as Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne put it: 'Our residents know that our community is safer when police focus on preventing crime rather than raiding the local sandwich shop.' In many sanctuary cities, the local laws don't prevent police from assisting with serious criminal matters, such as guns, drugs and human trafficking. Still, the Trump administration has accused the cities of providing safe harbor to dangerous offenders. 'These sanctuary city politicians are endangering Americans and our law enforcement in order to protect violent criminal illegal aliens,' U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement Thursday accompanying the list's publication. Somerville received roughly $19.4 million in federal funding last fiscal year to support roadway safety initiatives, homelessness prevention services, and efforts to reduce youth tobacco and alcohol consumption. Chelsea's $14.5 million in federal funding last year went toward police equipment such as bulletproof vests, programs for drug treatment and enforcement, programs supporting crime victims and witnesses, the city's largest downtown reconstruction project in decades, and the school system, the city said in legal filings. 'Chelsea is a city built by immigrants, sustained by their contributions, and strengthened by our shared values of inclusion, justice, and resilience,' Chelsea City Manager Fidel Maltez said in statement Tuesday, 'The President cannot use federal funding as a weapon to force local governments to undermine public safety and participate in his mass deportation efforts,' Oren Sellstrom, the litigation director for Lawyers for Civil Rights and one of the cities' attorneys, said in a statement. The future of Homeland Security's sanctuary cities list remains unclear. On Sunday, the list appeared to have been taken down after strong pushback from a national sheriffs organization that said some members were angered and confused to find their towns or counties included on an 'arbitrary' list. 'The list is being constantly reviewed and can be changed at any time and will be updated regularly,' a senior Homeland Security official said in response to a request for comment Monday. Why do ICE agents wear masks? How is ICE getting tipped off so fast? A post-9/11 program is one way This is what it's like on Martha's Vineyard after ICE raids ICE defends arrest of Milford High School student, though teen was 'not the target' ICE detained nearly 1,500 people in Mass. in one month Read the original article on MassLive.
CBS News
01-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Venezuelans in Massachusetts get reprieve from crackdown on immigration
Some Massachusetts families are experiencing a reprieve from the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration while others are left in limbo. A federal judge in California is leaving in place deportation protections for people from Venezuela, but the uncertainty is taking a toll. "Venezuela was going through a very bad situation. There was no money. There was no food. There was no work," said Venezuelan immigrant Ana through a translator. Ana fled an unstable Venezuela two years ago to start a new life in the United States with her 19-year-old daughter, who goes to college in Massachusetts. Earlier this year, the Trump administration announced the end of Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans and Haitians. This status protects those from countries plagued by war or crisis to work in the U.S. and temporarily avoid deportation. The removal of this special status has caused many immigrants protected under this order to lose their employment, including Ana. "I got extremely stressed and depressed. I didn't want to leave my house," said Ana of life after losing her job. On Monday, some relief came for Venezuelans like Ana. A California judge ordered the Trump administration to pause its efforts to revoke special status. The judge did not address Haitians who are scheduled to lose their protected status in August. "We are gratified that the Northern District of California court entered the nationwide injunction," said Oren Sellstrom, the litigation director of Lawyers for Civil Rights. On Tuesday, a federal judge in Boston declined to rule on the matter, stating that the ruling from the California judge can stand on its own. Attorneys for local Venezuelan and Haitian advocacy groups say they're ready if the circumstances change. "If there's anything unexpected that comes out of California or the appellate court, we are now prepared to go immediately back to this court to seek the relief that our clients deserve," Sellstrom said. Ana says the pause takes some of the stress off her community. "I am extremely happy because this means a lot, not only for myself but for my entire family and my entire community. And it is more of us who are doing the good for the country. And it's only a little bit who are doing the bad," she said.
Boston Globe
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Federal judge in Boston says prior ruling preserves Venezuelan deportation protections
The Boston case is among four suits filed across the country by immigrant advocates who allege the Trump administration lacked the authority to revoke Advertisement Although Stearns declined to issue a stay of Noem's order ending TPS, he allowed the Boston lawsuit to go forward. On Monday, California US District Judge Edward Chen ruled that Noem's plan to end TPS for Venezuelans on April 7 threatens to 'inflict irreparable harm on hundreds of thousands of persons whose lives, families, and livelihoods will be severely disrupted' and cost the United States billions in economic activity.' Advertisement He found the government failed to identify any real, countervailing harm in continuing TPS for Venezuelans. 'Plaintiffs have also shown they will likely succeed in demonstrating that the actions taken by the secretary are unauthorized by law, arbitrary and capricious, and motivated by unconstitutional animus,' Chen wrote in a 78-page opinion. He issued a nationwide stay that prevents Noem from ending TPS for Venezuelans while legal challenges are pending. Immigration advocates are preparing to seek a similar court order preventing Noem from ending TPS for Haitians in August. Lawyers for Civil Rights filed the suit in Boston last month on behalf of Haitian Americans United Inc., the Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts, and the UndocuBlack Network, arguing that the administration's plan to revoke TPS is driven by racial and ethnic bias. Outside the federal courthouse in Boston on Tuesday, Oren Sellstrom of Lawyers for Civil Rightssaid the impact of the California ruling is 'dramatic' and means that Venezuelans who were about to lose deportation protections may continue to legally live and work in the United States. A couple of dozen demonstrators from various immigrant groups gathered on the sidewalk with signs supporting deportation protections for Venezuelans and Haitians. 'Regardless of who you are in this country you have rights,' said Patrice Lawrence, executive director of the UndocuBlack Network, vowing to continue fighting for TPS as the legal challenges unfold in Boston, San Francisco, Maryland and New York. 'Justice prevailed,' said Ciro Valiente, a spokesperson for the Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts, referring to the California ruling. Advertisement However, he said as the government continues to aggressively move on deportations, 'The fear is still there.' TPS, which was created in 1990, is a humanitarian program that gives immigrants from 17 countries facing violence, political upheaval or natural disasters legal authority to temporarily stay and work in the United States. TPS was first granted to Haiti in 2010 following a devastating earthquake and has been repeatedly extended since then. Last year, the Biden administration extended TPS until Feb. 3, 2026 for Haitians in the program. The Biden administration first granted TPS to Venezuelans in 2021, citing political and economic instability in the country under President Nicolas Maduro. In January, it extended the protections to Oct. 2, 2026. Days after Noem's appointment in February, she announced that she was ending TPS for roughly 350,000 Venezuelan immigrants in April and another 250,000 in September, and for all Haitians by Aug. 3. Those actions will impact 600,000 Venezuelan immigrants and 521,000 Haitians who will no longer be able to work and may face deportation. The Justice Department argued in a court filing that Noem has 'clear authority' and discretion to terminate TPS for Haiti and Venezuela and that the statute creating the program 'broadly prohibits judicial review' of the secretary's decision. Noem vacated TPS extensions granted by the previous administration after reviewing conditions in Haiti and Venezuela, and conculding it was 'contrary to the national interest' to permit immigrants from those countries to remain temporarily in the United States, the government wrote. 'Plaintiffs' analysis fails to acknowledge that the secretary's determinations are rooted in foreign policy considerations,' the government wrote in its opposition to the request for a stay of Noem's termination of TPS. Advertisement The Boston lawsuit describes TPS as 'a critical lifeline in the United States for immigrants who have fled their home countries due to extreme violence, political upheaval, and natural disasters.' The suit says there is overwhelming evidence, based on remarks made by Trump and Noem, that the action was racially motivated. 'The list of dehumanizing and disparaging statements that Defendant Trump has made against Haitian and Venezuelan immigrants is unfortunately long: ranging from racist tropes that Haitians 'all have AIDS' and eat dogs and cats, to routinely describing Venezuelans and other Latino immigrants as sub-human 'animals,'' the suit says. . Shelley Murphy can be reached at
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Why we sued to protect Temporary Protected Status immigrants
A Haitian mother holds her baby inside a tent in the large migrant camp near an international bridge at the U.S.-Mexico border on Sept. 21, 2021, in Del Rio, Texas. (Photo by) This article first appeared on CommonWealth Beacon and is republished here under a Creative Commons license. Imagine waking up one day to find that the life you have built over many years is suddenly in jeopardy. This reality now affects approximately 900,000 people living in the U.S. with humanitarian immigration protection known as Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The Trump administration has begun rescinding TPS — starting with Venezuelans and Haitians — stripping them of their humanitarian status and rendering them vulnerable to deportation. Uprooting lives, the administration is unnecessarily and recklessly tearing at the fabric of entire communities that are here legally and playing by the rules. In response, on Monday, Lawyers for Civil Rights filed the first lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's rollback of TPS for both Venezuelans and Haitians. The federal court case was filed in Boston, home to the country's third-largest Haitian-American population. TPS protects about 500,000 Haitians and 300,000 Venezuelans. With TPS, they have rights and responsibilities: They can live safely and work legally in the U.S., but they must pay taxes, follow the rules, and remain law-abiding. Getting into criminal trouble disqualifies them under strict TPS conditions. They don't threaten public safety because they are vetted by the federal government each time they renew their humanitarian status. Unlike undocumented people who are pushed into the shadows to avoid detection and deportation, TPS recipients are fully known to immigration officials. Collectively, they are model community members. TPS recipients reside in blue and red states across the U.S., with significant populations in Florida, Texas, New York, California, and New Jersey. In Massachusetts, over 17,000 people live and work with TPS, including at least 10,000 Salvadorans, 4,500 Haitians, and 1,300 Hondurans. TPS recipients are essential workers, small business owners, homeowners, and community members who help drive the economy. Deporting nearly 900,000 TPS holders would be economically catastrophic. It would exacerbate labor shortages in key industries like health care, construction, and food services, driving up already high costs. The loss of workers would destabilize businesses and hurt local economies, making services and products even scarcer. At least 380,000 TPS recipients are in the workforce, filling jobs in industries with chronic labor shortages. For example, more than 100,000 work in food services and accommodations, helping to keep restaurants, hotels, and other businesses running. About 50,000 work in health care, with TPS recipients well-represented in hospitals, nursing homes, and home health aide providers—all critical services, especially for the aging baby boomers. Another 50,000 play other vital roles in service industries. Altogether, the economic contributions of TPS workers are an astounding $31 billion annually. TPS rescission will deprive the economy of this massive and much-needed boost. It will also burden taxpayers with the unnecessary costs of deporting hundreds of thousands of people who are already here lawfully and working for America. Over the years, with the stability afforded by humanitarian protection, many TPS holders have been able to save and invest. TPS entrepreneurs have launched their own businesses and created work opportunities for other Americans. People with TPS have started shops and restaurants, injecting new life into Main Street. This fuels the revitalization of neighborhoods that would otherwise struggle with stagnation. The elimination of TPS would harm everyone in these communities. TPS recipients are also taxpayers. In 2021, they paid nearly $1.3 billion in taxes, helping to sustain and support federal programs. They even pay taxes to support services they typically can't access because many federal public assistance programs are reserved for U.S. citizens. Yet, even after decades of living and working here, TPS recipients have no pathway to American citizenship. They are economically valuable and immensely productive, but the Trump administration has unfairly painted them as an undesirable nuisance. In the past, Republican and Democrat administrations — from Bush to Biden — have recognized the importance of TPS by renewing it in response to crises abroad. Ending TPS now exacerbates the conditions that triggered humanitarian protection in the first place. If TPS is revoked, TPS recipients will be deported to indisputably unstable countries. TPS-designated countries like Haiti, El Salvador, Honduras, Venezuela, and Ukraine are already grappling with conflict, natural disasters, and other hardships. They cannot guarantee the safety of deported TPS recipients. None of these countries have the infrastructure or capacity to safely or sustainably absorb thousands of people. By destabilizing vulnerable countries, TPS rescission will backfire, leading to even more migrants in the long run. The unsafe conditions that deported TPS recipients would face underscore that the Trump administration's actions are discriminatory and arbitrary. Terminating TPS raises serious legal and practical concerns: How can the government justify rescission, especially when conditions abroad have, in many cases, worsened? Ending TPS is also problematic from a policy perspective because it's the only immigration program that provides relief for people affected by climate change, including those fleeing storms and other environmental disasters. Many countries designated for TPS — like Haiti — have experienced hurricanes and other extreme weather events. As climate change intensifies, ending TPS would be devastating. During the first Trump administration, organizations like Lawyers for Civil Rights sued to prevent TPS termination, arguing that rescission was motivated by discriminatory animus. Once again, legal action is needed to stop the latest attempts to revoke TPS. In times like these, the availability of free legal support from organizations like Lawyers for Civil Rights is among the most critical interventions to protect families and communities. Make no mistake—this is a manufactured crisis, and the upheaval effectively condemns TPS recipients to undocumented status. This cannot be allowed to happen. Employers and business leaders must speak out against ending TPS. Congress must also take action to create a permanent solution for TPS holders, ensuring they are no longer in jeopardy. We must stand with our neighbors and co-workers who depend on TPS. This fight isn't just about TPS — it's about the rule of law, the economic fallout, and fairness. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Haitians sue to stop Trump administration from revoking temporary protection
Three organizations filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to block the Trump administration's attempt to put an early end to Temporary Protected Status for people from Haiti and Venezuela living in the U.S. Last month, President Donald Trump's administration rescinded the TPS extension until February 2026 that was granted under President Joe Biden, requiring Haitians to return to their country by Aug. 3 and Venezuelans by April 2. Lawyers for Civil Rights, which is representing the groups and four people who are in the country under TPS, said the suit was the first filed on behalf of Haitians in the U.S. under TPS. Two lawsuits were quickly filed to challenge the administration's decision on behalf of Venezuelans last month. 'TPS is a critical lifeline for immigrants who have fled extreme violence, political upheaval, and natural disasters in their home countries,' LCR senior attorney Mirian Albert said in a statement. The White House did not respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit. The Boston area is home to almost 50,000 Haitian people, according to The Immigrant Learning Center, making it one of the largest Haitian communities in the U.S. Paul Simon, a Haitian American in Boston, said he voted for Trump three times but did not believe Trump had the power to deport those under TPS before its allotted time. 'I think he's going to fail at this,' Simon, 52, said. 'I'm a pro-Trump guy. But I disagree with that. If someone's TPS is not going to expire till 2026, he shouldn't be able to boot them out until 2026.' He added, 'He can't pre-emptively end something that has been granted to them.' Three immigrant advocacy organizations — Haitian-Americans United Inc., Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts and UndocuBlack Network — and four affected individuals are challenging Trump's directive through the lawsuit. 'The decision to undermine TPS for Haiti and Venezuela is driven by racial bias and has no basis in the realities these communities face,' Albert said in the statement. The complaint refers to an incident during Trump's first term in which he was reported to have called Haiti and African nations 's—hole countries' during a meeting with senators. Trump denied making such remarks but did say his talk about those countries was 'tough.' Last year on the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly pushed the unfounded idea that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were 'eating the pets of the people that live there.' The lawsuit contends that the administration does not have the authority to 'revoke an extension that has already been granted.' Two plaintiffs, who are going by the pseudonyms Sydney and Marlene Doe, made Massachusetts their home in 2018. Sydney Doe is a real estate broker and business owner and Marlene Doe is a nurse, according to LCR. Dieufort J. Fleurissaint, executive director of Haitian-Americans United Inc., said in a statement that 'the community is anxious about the sudden loss of legal status, the possibility of facing deportation to unstable conditions in Haiti, and potential difficulties in finding alternative legal pathways in the U.S.' This article was originally published on
