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Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Families impacted by ICE raids denounce Trump administration's arrests, file emergency motion
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement unlawfully arrested and violated the rights of 21 immigrants and a U.S. citizen during raids in the Chicago area and other Midwestern states during the first days of the second Trump administration, advocates and attorneys said Monday. The National Immigrant Justice Center and the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois filed a motion in Chicago's U.S. District Court Thursday seeking the release of two people still detained and the enforcement of remedies to prevent unlawful arrests by ICE. According to the motion, Abel Orozco, a 47-year-old father from southwest suburban Lyons with no criminal record, and Julio Corona, from Liberty, Missouri, are still detained. 'Most of the people that were arrested were leaving for work in the morning,' said Mark Fleming, the associate director of NIJC's Federal Litigation Project. 'I ask that every time you hear from this administration about how they're rounding up gangbangers, terrorists, you need to take a dose of reality and realize that you need to dig deeper to understand who exactly they are.' According to the plaintiffs' legal team, ICE agents made warrantless arrests, often using violence and intimidation in the Chicago area and across the Midwest, including on Julio Noriega, a U.S. citizen who ICE officers detained for more than 10 hours in late January and then released without documenting the arrest. According to the court filing, ICE carried out practices that violated a 2022 federal court settlement that aimed to protect immigrant rights and curb aggressive enforcement tactics in Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri and Wisconsin. The motion calls for the release of Orozco, a father who has remained detained despite the alleged settlement violations. Along with Orozco, nine others were arrested under similar circumstances — often with no warrants and little to no probable cause, according to the attorneys representing the plaintiffs. They also highlight a single incident in Liberty, Missouri, in which 12 people were arrested at a restaurant without proper documentation. A spokesperson for ICE said the agency 'does not provide comments on litigation proceedings or outcomes.' The court filing demands the immediate return of bonds and the lifting of any conditions of release that have been placed on the 19 people who have been released. In addition, the group is asking for training and remedial measures against ICE agents who the plaintiffs argue violated the settlement. NIJC and the ACLU of Illinois are also seeking a report from the court detailing all immigration arrests made since Jan. 20 and weekly updates moving forward to monitor ICE's practices in the Chicago area. Orozco's wife, Yolanda Orozco, stood behind a crowd. She repeatedly said her husband is not a criminal and called for his release. Yolanda Orozco, a mother, is battling breast cancer and is behind on mortgage payments, she said. 'Is it a crime to wake up early and go to work every day?' Yolanda Orozco asked. On Jan. 26, Orozco was on his way home from buying tamales for the family when ICE agents encountered him in his truck. According to the complaint, ICE was looking for one of his sons who is in his 20s and has the same name. Upon seeing Orozco's driver's license, the officer reached inside Orozco's car and unlocked and opened the door. He then grabbed Orozco's arm and told him he was under arrest, according to the complaint. Another one of their sons, Eduardo Orozco, captured his father's arrest on a video that went viral. In the video, he followed the agents around his yard and demanded a warrant for his father's arrest. Instead, they drove away. 'He just goes to work and comes back to his family. He is loving, he is caring, he is responsible, and he should not have been arrested,' Eduardo Orozco said. 'I just want to ask the government to please look into who he is so they can do what's right.' Orozco has been in the country for over 27 years, mostly dedicated to his family and his business, according to his son. Like most of the 22 people represented, Orozco has no criminal record, Fleming said. Some have traffic violations and one has a DUI, but no one has other convictions, he added. According to the 2022 settlement, ICE is not allowed to make a warrantless arrest unless it has probable cause both to believe that immigrant is unlawfully in the United States and to believe the immigrant is likely to flee before a warrant can be obtained. The settlement also says that to pull over a vehicle, ICE officers must have a reasonable suspicion that a person in the vehicle is unlawfully present, and they must not pretend to enforce traffic laws. If a person is arrested in violation of the settlement agreement, they must in most circumstances be released from detention without having to pay bond and without conditions of release, according to Rebecca Glenberg, chief supervising litigation counsel at the ACLU of Illinois. Orozco remains detained in Clay County, Indiana. The ongoing legal battle over ICE practices comes as immigrant communities brace for more uncertainty under the Trump administration. Community organizers and legal advocates expressed their outrage at ICE's alleged disregard for legal processes and constitutional protections. Xanat Sobrevilla, an organizer with Organized Communities Against Deportations, urged the community to stay alert and report any arrests. 'It's clear that ICE policies have little effect in preventing harm in our communities. We cannot trust internal ICE procedures to uphold people's rights,' Sobrevilla said. Fred Tsao, senior policy counsel at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, said, 'Whenever this administration violates these basic rights, we must call them to account.' As the court case unfolds, immigrant communities and their allies said they are determined to fight for justice, holding the Trump administration accountable for what they describe as unlawful and inhumane enforcement actions. 'Based on the dozens of cases we've reviewed, most of these individuals are hard-working people who have built lives in the U.S. and contribute to their communities. They're not threats to public safety,' Fleming said. larodriguez@
Chicago Tribune
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Families impacted by ICE raids denounce Trump administration's arrests, file emergency motion
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement unlawfully arrested and violated the rights of 21 immigrants and a U.S. citizen during raids in the Chicago area and other Midwestern states during the first days of the second Trump administration, advocates and attorneys said Monday. The National Immigrant Justice Center and the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois filed a motion in Chicago's U.S. District Court Thursday seeking the release of two people still detained and the enforcement of remedies to prevent unlawful arrests by ICE. According to the motion, Abel Orozco, a 47-year-old father from southwest suburban Lyons with no criminal record, and Julio Corona, from Liberty, Missouri, are still detained. 'Most of the people that were arrested were leaving for work in the morning,' said Mark Fleming, the associate director of NIJC's Federal Litigation Project. 'I ask that every time you hear from this administration about how they're rounding up gangbangers, terrorists, you need to take a dose of reality and realize that you need to dig deeper to understand who exactly they are.' According to the plaintiffs' legal team, ICE agents made warrantless arrests, often using violence and intimidation in the Chicago area and across the Midwest, including on Julio Noriega, a U.S. citizen who ICE officers detained for more than 10 hours in late January and then released without documenting the arrest. According to the court filing, ICE carried out practices that violated a 2022 federal court settlement that aimed to protect immigrant rights and curb aggressive enforcement tactics in Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri and Wisconsin. The motion calls for the release of Orozco, a father who has remained detained despite the alleged settlement violations. Along with Orozco, nine others were arrested under similar circumstances — often with no warrants and little to no probable cause, according to the attorneys representing the plaintiffs. They also highlight a single incident in Liberty, Missouri, in which 12 people were arrested at a restaurant without proper documentation. A spokesperson for ICE said the agency 'does not provide comments on litigation proceedings or outcomes.' The court filing demands the immediate return of bonds and the lifting of any conditions of release that have been placed on the 19 people who have been released. In addition, the group is asking for training and remedial measures against ICE agents who the plaintiffs argue violated the settlement. NIJC and the ACLU of Illinois are also seeking a report from the court detailing all immigration arrests made since Jan. 20 and weekly updates moving forward to monitor ICE's practices in the Chicago area. Orozco's wife, Yolanda Orozco, stood behind a crowd. She repeatedly said her husband is not a criminal and called for his release. Yolanda Orozco, a mother, is battling breast cancer and is behind on mortgage payments, she said. 'Is it a crime to wake up early and go to work every day?' Yolanda Orozco asked. On Jan. 26, Orozco was on his way home from buying tamales for the family when ICE agents encountered him in his truck. According to the complaint, ICE was looking for one of his sons who is in his 20s and has the same name. Upon seeing Orozco's driver's license, the officer reached inside Orozco's car and unlocked and opened the door. He then grabbed Orozco's arm and told him he was under arrest, according to the complaint. Another one of their sons, Eduardo Orozco, captured his father's arrest on a video that went viral. In the video, he followed the agents around his yard and demanded a warrant for his father's arrest. Instead, they drove away. 'He just goes to work and comes back to his family. He is loving, he is caring, he is responsible, and he should not have been arrested,' Eduardo Orozco said. 'I just want to ask the government to please look into who he is so they can do what's right.' Orozco has been in the country for over 27 years, mostly dedicated to his family and his business, according to his son. Like most of the 22 people represented, Orozco has no criminal record, Fleming said. Some have traffic violations and one has a DUI, but no one has other convictions, he added. According to the 2022 settlement, ICE is not allowed to make a warrantless arrest unless it has probable cause both to believe that immigrant is unlawfully in the United States and to believe the immigrant is likely to flee before a warrant can be obtained. The settlement also says that to pull over a vehicle, ICE officers must have a reasonable suspicion that a person in the vehicle is unlawfully present, and they must not pretend to enforce traffic laws. If a person is arrested in violation of the settlement agreement, they must in most circumstances be released from detention without having to pay bond and without conditions of release, according to Rebecca Glenberg, chief supervising litigation counsel at the ACLU of Illinois. Orozco remains detained in Clay County, Indiana. The ongoing legal battle over ICE practices comes as immigrant communities brace for more uncertainty under the Trump administration. Community organizers and legal advocates expressed their outrage at ICE's alleged disregard for legal processes and constitutional protections. Xanat Sobrevilla, an organizer with Organized Communities Against Deportations, urged the community to stay alert and report any arrests. 'It's clear that ICE policies have little effect in preventing harm in our communities. We cannot trust internal ICE procedures to uphold people's rights,' Sobrevilla said. Fred Tsao, senior policy counsel at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, said, 'Whenever this administration violates these basic rights, we must call them to account.' As the court case unfolds, immigrant communities and their allies said they are determined to fight for justice, holding the Trump administration accountable for what they describe as unlawful and inhumane enforcement actions. 'Based on the dozens of cases we've reviewed, most of these individuals are hard-working people who have built lives in the U.S. and contribute to their communities. They're not threats to public safety,' Fleming said.
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Yahoo
One worker deported, another still detained a month after ICE raided Liberty restaurant
In February, more than 10 agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a branch of ICE, showed up at El Potro Mexican restaurant in Liberty just before lunchtime, claiming they were looking for someone who was a registered child sex offender, according to a motion filed in federal court this week. By the end of the operation, they apprehended 12 employees and took documents from the restaurant. While 10 employees received and posted a minimum bond since they were arrested, one individual was deported and one remains detained, according to the motion filed by immigrant legal services and advocacy nonprofit National Immigrant Justice Center. The motion follows an ongoing settlement with ICE that's been in effect since May 2022 with the agency's Chicago area of operations, which includes Illinois, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Indiana, Missouri and Kansas. The settlement resulted from a lawsuit that challenged the legality of sweeping arrests made during the first Trump Administration in 2018, At the time, ICE conducted large-scale immigration enforcement actions that involved arresting bystanders in addition to specific individuals that officers had warrants to arrest. According to the motion, ICE agents held the 12 Liberty employees in four booths for nearly two hours before arresting them and escorting them out of the restaurant. Beyond requesting identification, agents did not question the employees at that time. In a past statement to The Star, an ICE spokesperson said that agents had conducted a 'worksite enforcement action' at the restaurant to ensure 'compliance with federal employment eligibility requirements.' After initial processing, 11 of the 12 employees were detained by ICE in Chase County, Kansas, about three hours from Liberty, and one person was taken to Kentucky and then Indiana. Rekha Sharma-Crawford, a partner at Sharma-Crawford Attorneys at Law who represents several individuals who were detained, told The Star that her team should have a disposition on the last person in custody soon. She said the rest have motions pending in immigration court. 'I think our first priority, of course, is to get everybody released,' she said. NIJC Associate Director of Litigation Mark Fleming told The Star that the individual deported had a 'very old removal order,' which means she had been ordered to be deported in the past. 'Unlike say in the criminal context where there's a statute of limitations on all crimes except serious violent crimes… in the immigration context, they stay on your record forever,' he said. 'To be clear in her case she received what is called an expedited order of removal. She was stopped at the border decades ago — pre-2000 — she had barely entered the country, ordered removed, and at some point she came back in.' Part of the NIJC's motion asks that she be returned to the U.S., where she would likely get to go in front of a judge. 'As to the Liberty 12 as I like to call it, very few of them had any criminal record at all,' Fleming said. 'Most of them had been here a long time, long-standing roots in the community as far as we can tell, and obviously gainfully employed and law-abiding.' Helen Ortiz, a board member of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City, who has been in touch with the workers and their families told The Star last month that the woman transferred to a detention facility in Indiana is a 60-year-old grandmother with high blood pressure conditions. A GoFundMe fundraiser for legal costs for arrested Liberty workers has raised about $4,500 as of Friday afternoon.
The Guardian
27-02-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
US deportees in ‘black box' in Panama with no access to counsel, lawyers say
Lawyers for immigrants from around the world who were deported from the United States and moved to a remote jungle camp in Panama say they have been unable to communicate with their clients since they arrived there. About 112 deported migrants are being held in the 'San Vicente' immigration center deep in the dense jungle that separates Panama from Colombia, according to Panamanian authorities. Their future is uncertain as they wait to see if they will be granted asylum in Panama or elsewhere. 'Individuals, including families like our clients, are being sent to Panama without any screening for asylum and despite not having any connection to Panama,' said Lee Gelernt, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). 'And when they get there, they are disappearing into a black box without access to counsel,' he said. Gelernt is one of several lawyers challenging a 20 January executive order from Donald Trump that broadly blocked migrants from claiming asylum at the Mexico border. In recent weeks, the US has deported some 300 people to Panama, including people from Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. These flights are part of the Trump administration's efforts to sidestep the fact that some countries refuse US deportation flights due to strained diplomatic relations or other reasons. The arrangement with Panama allows the US to deport these nationalities and makes it Panama's responsibility to organize their repatriation. But the process, which in this case included an interim stop at a hotel in Panama City where the group was detained by armed guards, has been widely criticized by human rights groups that worry migrants could be mistreated and fear for their safety if they are ultimately returned to their countries of origin. When asked at a press conference on Thursday why the migrants at the camp had been denied access to legal counsel, Panamana's president José Raúl Mulino replied that he 'didn't know'. The US state department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) attorney Keren Zwick said she was 'gravely concerned' about the safety of a Turkish woman and her daughter who were deported from the US to Panama and have since been sent back to Turkey, according to her husband. A copy of the legal complaint against the US government from the ACLU, NIJC, and other rights groups said the Turkish woman and her daughter told US immigration officials they had come to seek asylum. They arrived to the US on 3 February, after the 20 January executive order, before being deported on a military plane to Panama nine days later. Neither Gelernt nor Zwick has spoken with them since they were in the hotel in Panama City. According to the complaint, the woman and her husband had been involved in a religious non-violence movement in Turkey before the government issued a warrant for his arrest , causing him to flee the country. The woman then fled Turkey with her daughter after repeated incidents of harassment. The woman's husband told Zwick that his wife and her daughter had been deported to Turkey on Wednesday. Analysts say such arrangements are part of Trump's effort to 'outsource' deportation to countries in Central America. Costa Rica and Honduras have also received deportees from the US. The 112 migrants being held in the jungle camp initially refused repatriation, Panamanian authorities say. President Mulino said that 113 migrants have already returned to their countries of origin, 16 were traveling on Thursday and another 58 were awaiting tickets for flights home. Susana Sabalza, a Panamanian lawyer representing a family from Taiwan that is being held in the jungle camp, said she had been asking the government for over a week for access to her clients. 'This isn't normal, we have never seen this in Panama before,' she said. 'I should be able to talk to my clients.' Ali Herischi, a lawyer in Washington DC representing 11 Iranians in the camp, said his clients were each given a three-minute phone call by the Red Cross in Panama on Tuesday to speak with their families, but were barred from calling their lawyer. Two other lawyers seeking to offer representation to the deported migrants said they were barred access first to the hotel and now to the jungle camp, where they said authorities have also taken away cell phones from several migrants.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Migrants in limbo in Panama jungle camp after being deported from US
By Sarah Kinosian PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Lawyers for migrants from around the world who were deported from the United States and moved to a remote Panamanian jungle camp in recent weeks say they have been unable to communicate with their clients since they arrived there. Some 100 deported migrants are being held in the "San Vincente" immigration center deep in the dense jungle that separates Panama from Colombia, according to Panamanian authorities. Their future is uncertain as they wait to see if they will be granted asylum in Panama or elsewhere. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. "Individuals, including families like our clients, are being sent to Panama without any screening for asylum and despite not having any connection to Panama," said Lee Gelernt, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). "And when they get there they are disappearing into a black box without access to counsel," he said. Gelernt is one of several lawyers challenging a January 20 executive order from U.S. President Donald Trump that broadly blocked migrants from claiming asylum at the Mexico border. In recent weeks, the U.S. has deported some 300 people to Panama, including people from Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. These flights are part of the Trump administration's efforts to sidestep that some countries refuse U.S. deportation flights due to strained diplomatic relations or other reasons. The arrangement with Panama allows the U.S. to deport these nationalities and makes it Panama's responsibility to organize their repatriation. But the process, which in this case included an interim stop at a hotel in Panama City where the group was detained by armed guards, has been widely criticized by human rights groups that worry migrants could be mistreated and fear for their safety if they are ultimately returned to their countries of origin. National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) attorney Keren Zwick said she was "gravely concerned" about the safety of a Turkish woman and her daughter who were deported from the U.S. to Panama and have since been sent back to Turkey, according to her husband. A copy of the legal complaint against the U.S. government from the ACLU, NIJC, and other rights groups reviewed by Reuters said the Turkish woman and her daughter told U.S. immigration officials they had come to seek asylum. They arrived to the U.S. on February 3, after the January 20 executive order, before being deported on a military plane to Panama nine days later. Neither Galernt nor Zwick has spoken with them since they were in the hotel in Panama City. The woman and her husband had been involved in a religious non-violence movement in Turkey before the government issued a warrant for his arrest because of his involvement, causing him to flee the country, the complaint said. The woman then fled Turkey with her daughter after repeated incidences of harassment, said the complaint. The woman's husband told Zwick that his wife and her daughter had been deported to Turkey on Wednesday. Analysts say such arrangements are part of the Trump administration's effort to "outsource" its deportation plans to countries in Central America. Costa Rica has also received migrants from various nationalities that were deported from the U.S. in recent weeks. The 103 migrants being held in the jungle camp initially refused repatriation, Panamanian authorities say, while 113 have returned to their countries of origin and another 83 are in the hotel, awaiting flights home. JUNGLE CAMPS Susana Sabalza, a Panamanian lawyer representing a family from Taiwan that is being held in the jungle camp, told Reuters she had been asking the government for over a week to have access her clients. "This isn't normal, we have never seen this in Panama before," she said. "I should be able to talk to my clients." Ali Herischi, a lawyer in Washington, D.C. representing 11 Iranians in the camp said his clients were each given a three-minute phone call by the Red Cross in Panama on Tuesday to speak with their families, but were barred from calling their lawyer. The Red Cross in Panama told Reuters its immediate role at the camp was recent and that its personnel were authorized by authorities to provide health services and to re-establish contact between migrants and their families. "Our services, which include telephone calls, have the exclusively humanitarian purpose of preventing disappearance or loss of family contact, so they are not intended for audiences other than family relatives," a spokesperson for the Red Cross told Reuters. Two other lawyers seeking to offer representation to the deported migrants say they were barred access first to the hotel and now to the jungle camp, where they said authorities have also taken away cell phones from several migrants. Vincente Tedesco, one of the two lawyers, said he attempted to offer the migrants legal assistance at the Panama City hotel but was barred entry. A week later he sent a formal request, seen by Reuters, to Panamanian Security Minister Frank Abrego asking to clarify the migrants' legal status and why they had been barred from receiving legal counsel. Tedesco said that he had not received a formal response. "They are violating these peoples' right to due process and international conventions," he added. Panama's security minister did not respond to a request for comment.
