Latest news with #Miller-like
The Herald Scotland
6 hours ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Latinas for Trump founder blasts 'inhumane' immigration arrests
The Trump administration's crackdown on immigration enforcement spurred protests in Los Angeles, in which some demonstrators hurled large chunks of broken concrete at officers, slashed tires and defaced buildings, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. On June 7, Trump ordered 2,000 National Guard troops deployed to the region over the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. "I understand the importance of deporting criminal aliens," Garcia, who served as the deputy press secretary for the Department of Homeland Security during Trump's first term, wrote in a tweet on June 7. "But what we are witnessing are arbitrary measures to hunt down people who are complying with their immigration hearings - in many cases, with credible fear of persecution claims - all driven by a Miller-like desire to satisfy a self-fabricated deportation goal," she said, referring to White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. "This undermines the sense of fairness and justice that the American people value." She added that she stood with Florida Republican Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, who also denounced Trump's actions. "I remain clear in my position: anyone with a pending asylum case, status-adjustment petition, or similar claim deserves to go through the legal process." Salazar wrote in a statement on June 6. Salazar said she would meet with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem this week, along with Florida Republican Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart and Carlos Gimenez, to "personally explain the dire situation unfolding in South Florida." Contributing: Reuters
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump Just Lost an Important Backer
The founder of Latinas for Trump is now denouncing President Trump. Florida State Senator Ileana Garcia, whose organization played a key role in expanding Trump's popularity among Latinos, thinks that the agenda that she rallied hundreds of people to vote for has gone too far in its indiscriminate crackdown on immigration. 'As the state senator who represents her district and the daughter of Cuban refugees, who are now just as American, if not more so than Stephen Miller, I am deeply disappointed by these actions. And I will not stand down,' Garcia wrote on X last weekend. 'I want to put myself on record: 'This is not what we voted for. I have always supported Trump, @realDonaldTrump, through thick and thin. However, this is unacceptable and inhumane. I understand the importance of deporting criminal aliens, but what we are witnessing are arbitrary measures to hunt down people who are complying with their immigration hearings—in many cases, with credible fear of persecution claims—all driven by a Miller-like desire to satisfy a self-fabricated deportation goal. This undermines the sense of fairness and justice that the American people value.'' Florida congresswoman and Trump supporter María Elvira Salazar felt similarly. 'I am fully aware, and heartbroken, about the uncertainty now gripping Florida's 27th District because of the recent immigration actions of the Administration. Arrests in immigration courts, including people with I-220A and pending asylum cases, the termination of the CHNV program, which has left thousands exposed to deportation, and other similar measures, all jeopardize our duty to due process that every democracy must guarantee,' she wrote. 'I remain clear in my position: anyone with a pending asylum case, status-adjustment petition, or similar claim deserves to go through the legal process.' While Garcia and Salazar are certainly correct and courageous in their rebukes, this vicious immigration campaign does indeed seem to be what they voted for. Trump promised the largest deportation campaign in U.S. history, and he's trying his hardest to fulfill it, pushing to arrest 3,000 people a day. Now many of the Latinos who voted for him are recoiling at his agenda in action. Only time will tell how this development will impact both 2026 and the GOP's long-term dream of a robust multiracial conservative coalition.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Latinas for Trump founder now condemns White House deportation agenda: ‘Not what we voted for'
A Republican state lawmaker in Florida who founded Latinas for Trump condemned the administration's sweeping immigration arrests across the state despite the president's months-long campaign that promised the largest 'mass deportation operation' in American history. 'This is not what we voted for,' state Sen. Ileana Garcia said in a statement Saturday. 'I have always supported Trump, through thick and thin. However, this is unacceptable and inhumane.' She said her Cuban-refugee parents 'are now just as American, if not more so, than Stephen Miller,' among the architects of Trump's anti-immigration agenda demanding 3,000 daily immigration arrests. 'I understand the importance of deporting criminal aliens, but what we are witnessing are arbitrary measures to hunt down people who are complying with their immigration hearings — in many cases, with credible fear of persecution claims — all driven by a Miller-like desire to satisfy a self-fabricated deportation goal,' she wrote. 'This undermines the sense of fairness and justice that the American people value,' Garcia added. Her remarks follow arrests across the country targeting immigrants at work sites and inside courthouses, sparking widespread outrage and protests accusing the administration of targeting immigrants who were following the law. But her statements — coming from the Miami-area lawmaker with a years-long history with the president — seemingly ignore Trump's countless campaign promises of a 'mass deportation operation' and years of warnings from immigrant advocates who cautioned against these exact scenarios playing out across the country. Garcia has supported Trump since his first campaign in 2016 and created Latinas for Trump to rally Hispanic women behind the president. She also served as a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security during Trump's first term. Throughout his 2024 campaign, Trump promised to combat what he called an 'invasion' of undocumented immigrants who are 'poisoning the blood of our country,' relying on stories of violent crime to support a brutal crackdown that could impact millions of families. Trump repeatedly promised to arrest, detain and deport people living in the country without legal permission as part of his 'day one' agenda. He first pledged to 'carry out the largest domestic deportation operation in American history' nearly two years ago. 'Lawless mobs of unscreened unvetted illegal alien migrants are stampeding across our border by the millions and millions, including hordes of criminals, terrorists, human traffickers, child smugglers, gang members and inmates emptied out of their prisons and insane asylums and mental institutions,' Trump said in Iowa in September 2023. 'It's actually worse than that,' he added. 'This is an invasion and I'm one candidate who from day one knows exactly how to stop it.' In office, the president rescinded immigration enforcement policy limiting arrests in sensitive locations like courthouses, workplaces, schools, hospitals and places of worship, or at events like funerals, weddings and public demonstrations. Homeland Security officials have also revoked humanitarian protections for roughly 1 million people with temporary legal status — including thousands of people from Venezuela and Cuba, which have large populations in Florida, whose support for the president helped deliver him the state in 2024 elections. Now, thousands of people in those communities have lost protected status, making them vulnerable to immediate removal from the United States. In a recent survey of hundreds of Florida Venezuelans, Florida International University's Latino Public Opinion Forum found roughly 80 percent of respondents — half of whom are U.S. citizen voters — said the administration's rescission of temporary protected status for Venezuelans is unjust. Public criticism from one of Trump's longtime supporters arrived one day after another Republican lawmaker in Florida spoke out against the administration's immigration enforcement. Republican state Rep. Elvira Salazar said people navigating the nation's byzantine immigration system — including their pending asylum claims or green card petitions — deserve to 'go through the legal process.' The Cuban-American state lawmaker said she is 'heartbroken' about the 'uncertainty' gripping her district. Courthouse arrests and the termination of temporary protected status for tens of thousands of immigrants 'all jeopardize our duty to due process that every democracy must guarantee,' Salazar said. After taking office, the president issued an executive order that greenlights fast-track deportation proceedings for immigrants who cannot prove that they have continuously lived in the United States for more than two years. That 'expedited removal' process — historically used at the U.S.-Mexico border — is now being expanded across the country, with masked federal agents standing outside courtrooms to arrest immigrants moments after their immigration cases are dismissed. The American Immigration Lawyers Association says courthouse arrests are a 'flagrant betrayal of basic fairness and due process' for people who are simply following the rules. 'Immigration courts are being weaponized, judges are coordinating with ICE to dismiss cases and immediately funnel individuals into the fast-track deportation pipeline known as expedited removal,' the group said in a statement. 'These are not fugitives. They are individuals, many who are seeking protection from torture in their countries, complying with the law.'
USA Today
19 hours ago
- Politics
- USA Today
'Unacceptable and inhumane': Latinas for Trump founder blasts immigration arrests
'Unacceptable and inhumane': Latinas for Trump founder blasts immigration arrests Former deputy press secretary for the Department of Homeland Security during Trump's first term and co-founder of Latinas for Trump criticizes recent immigration actions. Show Caption Hide Caption National Guard and protesters clash over ICE raids Hundreds of demonstrators fought back with the National Guard and local authorities as ICE protests escalated. WASHINGTON – Florida state Sen. Ileana Garcia, who co-founded the group Latinas for Trump, criticized President Donald Trump's recent immigration enforcement actions as 'unacceptable and inhumane' in a social media post. Her remarks come as federal agents have arrested immigrants in courthouses across the United States, including in Florida, stripping them of due process protections, as NBC News reported. Family members and pro-immigration advocates have said that in some of the arrests, immigration judges dropped active cases against migrants, potentially expediting the deportation process. The Trump administration's crackdown on immigration enforcement spurred protests in Los Angeles, in which some demonstrators hurled large chunks of broken concrete at officers, slashed tires and defaced buildings, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. On June 7, Trump ordered 2,000 National Guard troops deployed to the region over the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. 'I understand the importance of deporting criminal aliens," Garcia, who served as the deputy press secretary for the Department of Homeland Security during Trump's first term, wrote in a tweet on June 7. "But what we are witnessing are arbitrary measures to hunt down people who are complying with their immigration hearings – in many cases, with credible fear of persecution claims – all driven by a Miller-like desire to satisfy a self-fabricated deportation goal,' she said, referring to White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. "This undermines the sense of fairness and justice that the American people value." She added that she stood with Florida Republican Rep. María Elvira Salazar, who also denounced Trump's actions. 'I remain clear in my position: anyone with a pending asylum case, status-adjustment petition, or similar claim deserves to go through the legal process.' Salazar wrote in a statement on June 6. Salazar said she would meet with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem this week, along with Florida Republican Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart and Carlos Giménez, to "personally explain the dire situation unfolding in South Florida." Contributing: Reuters
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Latinas for Trump co-founder criticizes president's immigration arrests: ‘Unacceptable and inhumane'
A co-founder of a group for Latinas who support Donald Trump has excoriated the president on some of the immigration-related arrests being carried out by his administration, which she called 'unacceptable and inhumane'. In a statement posted on X over the weekend, Ileana Garcia wrote: 'This is not what we voted for.' The post from the Florida state senator asserted that she had supported Trump, her fellow Republican, 'through thick and thin' and understood the need to remove from the US undocumented people who had committed crimes. But she criticized how federal authorities had arrested people at immigration courts across the country despite 'credible fear of persecution claims' as the Trump White House ramped up his mass deportation campaign after his second presidency began in January. Referring to Stephen Miller, Trump's homeland security adviser and deputy chief of staff, Garcia said: 'What we are witnessing are arbitrary measures to hunt down people who are complying with their immigration hearings … all driven by a Miller-like desire to satisfy a self-fabricated deportation goal. 'This undermines the sense of fairness and justice that the American people value.' Garcia's statement expressed solidarity with comments issued Friday by another Florida Republican: US House member Maria Elvira Salazar. In a statement, Salazar said the Trump administration's policies had exposed thousands to deportation and seemed to disregard for the 'duty to due process that every democracy must guarantee'. Salazar's statement added that those with pending asylum claims deserved 'to go through the legal process' while urging the Trump administration to stay focused on removing 'every criminal here illegally'. Garcia alluded to how she represents Salazar's congressional district in Florida's state senate and said her Cuban refugee parents are 'now just as American, if not more so, than Stephen Miller'. 'I am deeply disappointed by these actions,' Garcia's statement said. 'And I will not stand down.' Garcia's remarks are not the first time she has gotten cross with the Trump administration. She served as a deputy press secretary for the US homeland security department during Trump's first presidency before leaving the post in March 2019, ahead of his defeat in the 2020 election to Joe Biden and her joining the Florida state senate. During his unsuccessful 2020 run, Trump's campaign launched its own official Hispanic outreach coalition and delivered multiple cease and desist letters threatening legal action against the Latinos for Trump organization who had supported his victorious first presidential run, as ABC News reported at the time. The Latinas for Trump organization that Garcia helped establish was affiliated with that group, and she said she was stunned to learn of the cease and desist letters in question. Garcia accused the Trump administration of having 'refused to embrace surrogates from the Latino community who did the real groundwork, took the bullets, took the insults and lost their jobs' as he ascended to the presidency. 'It's actually quite disappointing,' she said then. Trump won the Florida vote in each of his three presidential campaigns. His Mar-a-Lago resort is in the state as well.
