Latest news with #LindsayToczylowski
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Father ripped from family as agents target immigration courts, arresting people after cases dismissed
The man just had his immigration case dismissed and his wife and 8-year-old son were trailing behind him when agents surrounded, then handcuffed him outside the downtown Los Angeles courtroom. Erick Eduardo Fonseca Solorzano stood speechless. His wife trembled in panic. The federal agents explained in Spanish that he would be put into expedited removal proceedings. Just moments earlier on Friday, Judge Peter A. Kim had issued a dismissal of his deportation case. Now his son watched in wide-eyed disbelief as agents quickly shuffled him to a service elevator — and he was gone. The boy was silent, sticking close by his mother, tears welling. 'This kid will be traumatized for life,' said Lindsay Toczylowski, chief executive and co-founder of Immigrant Defenders Law Center, who reached out to the family to help them with their case. Similar scenes are taking place across the country as government lawyers dismiss immigrants' deportation cases only to have them immediately arrested by agents as they leave the courtroom to be removed on a fast track that does not involve a judicial review. The courthouse arrests escalate the administration's efforts to speed up deportations. Migrants who can't prove they have been in the U.S. for more than two years are eligible to be deported without a hearing before a judge. Historically, these expedited removals were done only at the border, but the Trump administration has sought to expand their use. The policies are being challenged in court. 'Secretary [Kristi] Noem is reversing Biden's catch-and-release policy that allowed millions of unvetted illegal aliens to be let loose on American streets," said a senior official from the Department of Homeland Security. The official said most immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally within the last two years "are subject to expedited removals." But he noted that if they have a valid credible fear claim, as required by law, they will continue in immigration proceedings. Toczylowski said it was Fonseca Solorzano's first appearance in court. Like many of those apprehended this week, Fonseca Solorzano arrived in the United States from Honduras via CPB One, an application set up during the Biden administration that provided asylum seekers a way to enter the country legally after going through a background check. More than 900,000 people were allowed in the country on immigration parole under the app, starting in January 2023. The Trump administration has turned the tool into a self-deportation app. "We are punishing the people who are following the rules, who are doing what the government asks them to do," Toczylowski said. "I think that this practice certainly seemed to have shaken up some of the court staff, because it's so unusual and because it's such bad policy to be doing this, considering who it targets and the ripple effects that it will have, it'll cause people to be afraid to come to court." A Times reporter witnessed three arrests on Friday in the windowless court hallways on the eighth floor of the Federal Building downtown. An agent in plain clothes in the courtroom came out to signal to agents in the hallway, one wearing a red flannel shirt, when an immigrant subject to detainment was about to exit. "No, please," cried Gabby Gaitan, as half a dozen agents swarmed her boyfriend and handcuffed him. His manila folder of documents spilled onto the floor. She crumpled to the ground in tears. 'Where are they taking him?' Richard Pulido, a 25-year-old Venezuelan, had arrived at the border last fall and was appearing for the first time, she said. He had been scared about attending the court hearing, but she told him missing it would make his situation worse. Gaitan said Pulido came to the U.S. last September after fleeing violence in his home country. An immigrant from Kazakhstan, who asked the judge not to dismiss his case without success, walked out of the courtroom. On a bench across from the doors, two immigration agents nodded at each other and one mouthed, 'Let's go.' They stood quickly and called out to the man. They directed him off to the side and behind doors that led to a service elevator. He looked defeated, head bowed, as they searched him, handcuffed him and shuffled him into the service elevator. Lawyers, who were at courthouses in Santa Ana and Los Angeles this week, say it appears that the effort was highly coordinated between Homeland Security lawyers and federal agents. Families and lawyers have described similar accounts in Miami, Seattle, New York, San Diego, Chicago and elsewhere. During the hearing for Pulido, Homeland Security lawyer Carolyn Marie Thompkins explicitly stated that the case would be dismissed because the government planned on deporting Pulido. 'The government intends to pursue expedited removal in this case,' she said. Pulido appeared confused as to what a dismissal would mean and asked the judge for clarity. Pulido opposed having his case dropped. 'I feel that I can contribute a lot to this country,' he said. Kim said it was not enough and dismissed the case. The courthouse arrests have frustrated immigrant rights advocates who say the rules of the game are changing daily for migrants trying to work within the system. "Immigration court should be a place where people go to present their claims for relief, have them assessed, get an up or down on whether they can stay and have that done in a way that affords them due process," said Talia Inlender, deputy director at the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA School of Law School. "That is being ripped away sort of at every turn. "It's another attempt by the Trump administration to stoke fear in the community. And it specifically appears to be targeting people who are doing the right thing, following exactly what the government has asked them to do," she said. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The Guardian
22-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Ice arrests at immigration courts across the US stirring panic: ‘It's terrifying'
Federal authorities have arrested people at US immigration courts from New York to Arizona to Washington state in what appears to be a coordinated operation, as the Trump administration ramps up the president's mass deportation campaign. On Tuesday, agents who identified themselves only as federal officers arrested multiple people at an immigration court in Phoenix, taking people into custody outside the facility, according to immigrant advocates. In Miami on Wednesday, Juan Serrano, a 28-year-old who immigrated from Colombia, went to court for a quick check-in where a judge soon told him he was free to go. When he left the courtroom, federal agents waiting outside cuffed him and placed him in a van with several other immigrants detained that day. Journalists, advocates and attorneys reported seeing Ice agents poised to make arrests this week at immigration courthouses in Los Angeles, Phoenix, New York, Seattle, Chicago and Texas. Arrests near or in the immigration courts, which are part of the US Department of Justice, are typically rare – in part due to concerns that the fear of being detained by Ice officers could discourage people from appearing. 'It's bad policy,' said Lindsay Toczylowski, president of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef). 'By putting immigration officers in the courtrooms, they're discouraging people from following the processes, punishing people for following the rules.' Toczylowski noted several Ice officers both inside and outside an immigration courtroom in Los Angles this week, but said she did not see any arrests made there. She said that immigrants without lawyers are especially vulnerable, as they may not understand the exact information and context they need to provide in order to advance their case for asylum or other pathways to permanent residency in the US. ImmDef and other legal groups are sending attorneys to courtrooms they believe may be targeted by Ice officials, to try to provide basic legal education and aid to people appearing at required appointments. The presence of agents is stirring panic, she said. 'People are being detained and handcuffed in the hallway,' she said. 'Can you imagine what you would be thinking, if you're waiting there with your family and children, about to see a judge? It's terrifying.' The agents' targeting of immigrants at court comes as the Trump administration faces multiple lawsuits and the president attempts to enact the large-scale deportations he promised during his campaign. 'All this is to accelerate detentions and expedite removals,' said Wilfredo Allen, an immigration attorney with decades of experience representing immigrants at the Miami immigration court. The Trump administration has revived a 2019 policy that allows for 'expedited removals' – fast-tracked deportation proceedings for people who have been in the US for less than two years. Immigrants who cannot prove that they have been in the US for longer than two years are subject to having their cases dismissed and being immediately expelled from the country. Under the Biden administration, expedited removals were limited to people apprehended within 100 miles (160km) of the US border, and who had been in the US for less than two weeks. In Phoenix, immigrant advocates gathered outside immigration court to protest the presence of Ice agents. 'We witnessed parents and children being detained and abducted into unmarked vans immediately after attending their scheduled immigration proceedings,' said Monica Sandschafer, the Arizona state director for the advocacy group Mi Familia Vota. 'We demand an immediate stop to these hateful tactics.' Three US immigration officials told the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity that government attorneys were given the order to start dismissing cases when they showed up for work Monday, and were aware that federal agents would then be able to arrest those individuals when they left the courtroom. In the case of Serrano in Miami, the request for dismissal was delivered by a government attorney who spoke without identifying herself on the record, the Associated Press reported. She refused to provide her name to the AP and quickly exited the courtroom. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement this week that it was detaining people who are subject to fast-track deportation authority. Advocates and lawyers are advising immigrants with upcoming hearings or court appearances to bring a trusted family member or friend who is a US citizen and ideally, a lawyer, to their appointments. The Associated Press contributed
CBS News
06-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
U.S. sent 238 migrants to Salvadoran mega-prison; documents indicate most have no apparent criminal records
Three weeks ago, 238 Venezuelan migrants were flown from Texas to a maximum security prison in El Salvador. That country's president offered to take them and the Trump administration used a law not invoked since World War II to send them -- claiming they are all terrorists and violent gang members. The government has released very little information about the men. But through internal government documents, we have obtained a list of their identities and found that an overwhelming majority have no apparent criminal convictions or even criminal charges. They are now prisoners. Among them: a makeup artist, a soccer player and a food delivery driver, being held in a place so harsh that El Salvador's justice minister once said the only way out is in a coffin. The shackled men were forced to lower their heads and bodies as they were unloaded from buses and taken to El Salvador's mega prison, known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT. Andry Hernandez Romero was among them. Lindsay Toczylowski: Andry is a 31-year-old Venezuelan. He's a makeup artist. He is a gay man. He loves to do theatre. He was part of a theatre troupe in his hometown. Lindsay Toczylowski, Andry's attorney, says he does not have a criminal record in the United States or Venezuela. She says he left his home country last year because he was targeted for being gay and for his political views. Last May, Andry made the long trek north through the Darien Gap to Mexico, where he eventually got an appointment to seek asylum in the United States. At a legal border crossing near San Diego, he was taken into custody while his case was processed. Cecilia Vega: Did he have a strong asylum case? Lindsay Toczylowski: We believe he did have a strong asylum case. He had also done a credible fear interview, which is the very first part of seeking asylum in the United States. And the government had found that his threats against him were credible, and that he had a real probability of winning an asylum claim. But last month Andry did not appear for a court hearing. Lindsay Toczylowski: Our client, who was in the middle of seeking asylum, just disappeared. One day he was there, and the next day we're supposed to have court, and he wasn't brought to court. Cecilia Vega: You use the word "disappeared." Lindsay Toczylowski: Yeah, I use that word because that's what happened. But Andry did appear in photos taken by Time magazine photographer Philip Holsinger , who was there when the Venezuelans arrived at CECOT. Holsinger told us he heard a young man say: "I'm not a gang member. I'm gay. I'm a stylist." And that he cried for his mother as he was slapped and had his head shaved. By comparing Holsinger's photographs to photos of Andry's tattoos taken by the government, we were able to confirm that this is Andry. His lawyer, who is representing him pro bono, had never seen these photos before. Lindsay Toczylowski: It's horrifying to see someone who we've met and know as a sweet, funny artist, in the most horrible conditions I could imagine. Cecilia Vega: You fear for Andry's safety in there? Lindsay Toczylowski: Absolutely. We have grave concerns about whether he can survive. In October, Tom Homan , who is now the White House border czar, told 60 Minutes the Trump administration's mass deportation plan would start by removing the worst of the worst. Tom Homan: We're gonna prioritize those with convictions. We're gonna prioritize national security threats. We have to do that. You gotta get the worst first. But are they the worst? The Trump administration has yet to release the identities of the Venezuelan men it sent to El Salvador last month. We obtained internal government documents listing their names and any known criminal information. We cross referenced that with domestic and international court filings, news reports and arrest records whenever we could find them. At least 22% of the men on the list have criminal records here in the United States or abroad. The vast majority are for non-violent offenses like theft, shoplifting and trespassing. About a dozen are accused of murder, rape, assault and kidnapping. For 3% of those deported, it is unclear whether a criminal record exists. But we could not find criminal records for 75% of the Venezuelans - 179 men- now sitting in prison. In response to our findings, a Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman said many of those without criminal records, quote "are actually terrorists, human rights abusers, gangsters, and more. They just don't have a rap sheet in the u.s." Border Czar Tom Homan said immigration agents spent hours conducting rigorous checks on each of the men to confirm they are members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang president Trump campaigned on eradicating. Donald Trump: To expedite removals of the Tren de Aragua savage gangs, I will invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to target and dismantle every migrant criminal network operating on American soil But in Andry's case, the only evidence the government presented in immigration court were these pictures of his tattoos, crowns, which immigration authorities say can be a symbol of Tren de Aragua Lindsay Toczylowski: These are tattoos that not only have a plausible explanation because he is someone who worked in the beauty pageant industry. But also the crowns themself were on top of the names of his parents. The most plausible explanation for that are that his mom and dad are his king and queen. Cecilia Vega: Could it be possible that there is something that perhaps the government knows that you don't? Lindsay Toczylowski: I don't think that that is possible. But if it was possible that they had some information, they should follow the Constitution, present that information, give us the ability to reply to it. A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman said on social media that its intelligence assessments "go well beyond just gang affiliate tattoos." She said Andry's "own social media indicates he is a member of Tren de Aragua." We went back a decade and could only find photos like these. Tattoos and social media were also used to link another Venezuelan migrant— Jerce Reyes Barrios — to the Tren de Aragua gang. Immigration court documents include this Facebook post from 14 years ago showing him flashing what officers said was a gang sign. His girlfriend told us it was all about rock n' roll. Immigration agents also flagged Jerce's crown tattoo as a gang symbol. But they did not mention the crown is above a soccer ball. Jerce was a soccer player in Venezuela. His lawyer says the tattoo honors his favorite team, Real Madrid, whose logo includes a crown. Organized crime analysts told us members of the Salvadoran MS-13 gang can often be identified by signature tattoos. But Tren de Aragua is different. Cecilia Vega: Are tattoos a reliable indicator of membership in Tren de Aragua? Lee Gelernt: No. Expert after expert tells us tattoos are not a reliable indicator of whether you're part of this particular gang. Lee Gelernt, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, is leading the legal challenge against the Trump administration's efforts to send migrants to CECOT. Cecilia Vega: There are a lot of people who might hear what you're saying and say, "These people don't have papers. They should be deported." To that, you say what? Lee Gelernt: If they are here illegally and don't have a right to stay, they can be deported back to their home country. If they've committed crimes, they can be prosecuted and perhaps spend many, many years in a U.S. prison. It's not a matter of, "Can these individuals be punished?" It's a matter of how the government is gonna go about doing it. Once we start using wartime authority with no oversight, anything is possible. Anybody can be picked up. Last month, President Trump did what he had promised on the campaign trail. He invoked a 1798 law called the Alien Enemies Act, which allows the president to remove non-citizens without immigration hearings during times of war or invasion. Lee Gelernt: Every administration back to 1798 has understood this is wartime authority to be used when the United States is at war with a foreign government. The administration is saying, "Not only are we gonna use it against a criminal organization, but you the courts have no role. You cannot tell us that we're violating the law or stop us." Cecilia Vega: Does the U.S. even have the legal right to send someone who's been deported from its country to a foreign prison? Lee Gelernt: The United States does not have that right. You know, I wanna go back to World War II, the last time that any president used this authority. We sent people back to their home country. We didn't send them to a foreign prison. Even during World War II, Germans had the right to contest their designation under the Alien Enemies Act. As one of the judges pointed out in the Appeals Court, Nazis had more process than we're giving to these Venezuelan men. Before the three planes arrived in El Salvador, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered the Trump administration to turn them around. Flight tracking data shows two planes were in the air at the time and one was about to take off from Texas. Instead of turning around, all the planes made a stop at a military base in Honduras. And then, despite Judge Boasberg's verbal and written orders, the planes all flew to El Salvador. Since then, the U.S. government has disclosed very few details about the operation. CBS News published the only list of all 238 deportees . Lee Gelernt: The government is refusing to answer almost every question from the court. Cecilia Vega: Based on what grounds? Lee Gelernt: Well, now they've invoked what's called the State Secrets Privilege. They are saying they can't even confirm details about the planes. We asked a Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman what evidence the government has – besides tattoos and social media posts – linking people like Andry and Jerce to Tren de Aragua. She cited " state secrets " and "ongoing litigation" as the reasons "DHS cannot comment on these individual allegations." Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who visited CECOT last month, declined our request for an interview. At the prison she recorded this video. She was standing in front of a cell packed with Salvadoran gang members - not Venezuelans. Kristi Noem: Know that this facility is one of the tools in our toolkit that we will use if you commit crimes against the American people. The Trump administration is paying El Salvador President Nayib Bukele's government $6 million to house prisoners it sends to CECOT. Lawyers and family members of the Venezuelans told us they've had no contact with the men since they arrived. Cecilia Vega: Do you have any idea how long he might be there? Alirio Antonio Fuenmayor (in Spanish/English translation): We have no idea. Alirio Antonio Fuenmayor's younger brother, Alirio Guillermo, was picked up by immigration agents while working as a food delivery driver in Utah. Though he had no criminal record, he was sent to El Salvador last month. Alirio Antonio Fuenmayor (in Spanish/English translation): He is an innocent person, he has not committed any crime, and he's in a maximum-security prison. The ACLU's Lee Gelernt has spent decades challenging immigration policies of democratic and republican administrations. But on the fate of the Venezuelan men… Cecilia Vega: What would you say to these families who are terrified right now about their relatives currently sitting in this prison in El Salvador? Will they ever see them again? Lee Gelernt: I hope so, but, you know, there's a real danger that they remain there. Cecilia Vega: You're saying that there are Venezuelans who very well may have no gang ties that are right now in one of the hardest of hardcore prisons in the world that may never get out, they may never see the light of day again. Lee Gelernt: That's what I'm saying. Produced by Andy Court, Annabelle Hanflig, Camilo Montoya-Galvez. Associate producers, Katie Jahns Mary Cunningham. Edited by Joe Schanzer.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
LGBTQ+ Venezuelan deported and 'disappeared' over mischaracterized tattoos, lawyer says
An LGBTQ+ Venezuelan seeking asylum in the U.S. was deported and 'disappeared' after immigration officials reportedly misinterpreted his tattoos as symbols for the violent Tren de Aragua gang, a person from the man's legal team posted to X. 'Our client worked in the arts in Venezuela. He is LGBTQ. His tattoos are benign,' Lindsay Toczylowski, the president, CEO, and co-founder of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, posted to X on Friday. 'But ICE submitted photos of his tattoos as evidence he is Tren de Aragua. His attorney planned to present evidence he is not. But never got the chance because our client has been disappeared.' The lawyer used the term "disappeared" which is synonymous with what the UN calls 'enforced disappearance.' The body defines that as "the arrest, detention, abduction or any other form of deprivation of liberty by agents of the State or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization, support or acquiescence of the State, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person, which place such a person outside the protection of the law." The unnamed Venezuelan asylum-seeker arrived in the country last year, but was reportedly detained upon entry by immigration officials who saw the man's tattoos as signifying his affiliation with the Venezuelan crime group. Toczylowski said their client was due for a court appearance on Thursday. Officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) did not bring the asylum-seeker to the hearing, however, and provided no details about why their client was not made available. The judge rescheduled the hearing for Monday while attorneys attempted to locate the missing man. By Monday, the man was again not made available for his court appearance, and his name no longer appeared in the online system for locating detainees. Toczylowski posted she fears the worst for the man. 'Our client came to the US seeking protection but has spent months in ICE prisons, been falsely accused of being a gang member and today he has been forcibly transferred, we believe, to El Salvador,' Toczylowski reported. 'We are horrified tonight thinking what might happen to him now.' The Alien Enemies Act of 1798, part of the broader Alien and Sedition Acts, gives the president broad powers to deport non-citizens in the country under certain conditions. 'Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That whenever there shall be a declared war between the United States and any foreign nation or government, or any invasion or predatory incursion shall be perpetrated, attempted, or threatened against the territory of the United States, by any foreign nation or government, and the President of the United States shall make public proclamation of the event, all natives, citizens, denizens, or subjects of the hostile nation or government, being males of the age of fourteen years and upwards, who shall be within the United States, and not actually naturalized, shall be liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured and removed, as alien enemies,' the text of the act reads. In his executive order announcing the use of the Alien Enemies Act, Pres. Trump declared that the criteria existed for him to act. The act has been used only three previous times in U.S. history: during the War of 1812, World War I, and World War II. More than 30,000 people were interned in camps during World War II over the act. 'I find and declare that TdA is perpetrating, attempting, and threatening an invasion or predatory incursion against the territory of the United States,' Trump declared in the executive order. 'TdA is undertaking hostile actions and conducting irregular warfare against the territory of the United States both directly and at the direction, clandestine or otherwise, of the Maduro regime in Venezuela. I make these findings using the full extent of my authority to conduct the Nation's foreign affairs under the Constitution.' Trump's deportation orders hit a snag when U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg tried to halt the deportations and order planes already in flight to turn around. Since the planes were over international waters, however, Trump noted the judge no longer had jurisdiction, and the planes did not turn around. Additionally, Trump is disputing that the case is justiciable, claiming the president has plenary powers over national security, and the act gives the president broad authority in such matters. As a result, the administration has refused to provide additional information to the courts regarding the case and others, claiming the judge has stepped outside the powers granted to the courts under Article III of the U.S. Constitution. Regardless of the outcome of the case, Toczylowski lamented the current situation for immigrants and asylum seekers. 'What happened today is a dark moment in our history,' Toczylowki wrote. 'One bright spot in this madness that I see are the many lawyers and advocates across the country who spent their Saturday fighting like hell to preserve justice in the face of horrific cruelty. And we will keep fighting.'
