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The Hill
06-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Trump's treatment of immigrants is harmful, immoral, un-American
In May, an 18-year-old named Marcelo Gomez, who has lived in the U.S. on an expired visa since he was 7, was arrested on his way to a volleyball game in Milford, Mass. During his six days in detention, Marcelo was unable to change his clothes. He slept on a concrete floor and shared a toilet with 35 to 40 other men. In June, 48-year-old Narcisco Barranco, an undocumented immigrant with no criminal record who was working as a gardener in Santa Ana, Calif., was pinned to the pavement and repeatedly hit in the head by four masked Customs and Border Patrol agents. After a formal request by the Mexican Consulate General in Los Angeles, Barranco received medical attention for his wounds and a heart condition. One of his three sons — all of whom served in the U.S. Marines — rebutted Trump administration claims that Barranco had attempted to assault officers with his weed trimmer, and said that if he had treated someone in this way when he was in uniform, 'it would have been a war crime.' Around the same time, Sayed Naser was detained by ICE agents following a hearing on his Special Immigrant Visa application and placed in an expedited removal facility in San Diego. A civilian interpreter who had worked with U.S. troops in Afghanistan, Naser fled to Brazil after the Taliban had killed his brother and abducted his father during a family wedding. Naser subsequently traveled 6,000 miles to Mexico on foot and was granted parole into the U.S. while seeking asylum. In May, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem terminated Temporary Protected Status for Afghans, putting 11,000 of them at risk of deportation. If Naser, who does not have a criminal record, fails to pass his 'credible threat' interview, which will be conducted over the telephone without his lawyer, he will almost certainly be deported. His wife and children remain in hiding. A few days ago, Kilmar Abrego Garcia stated in a legal filing that he had been beaten and tortured in the notoriously brutal Salvadoran prison which the Department of Justice deported him to by mistake. These cases provide compelling evidence that the Trump administration's detention and deportation polices conflict with the traditions, values and 'do unto others' sense of fairness and decency of a nation of immigrants. Of the 59,000 immigrants now in detention, over 70 percent were arrested in the interior of the U.S., not at or near the border. Forty-seven percent have no criminal convictions; of those who do, the most common crimes are violations of immigration and traffic laws. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has so far apprehended only 6 percent of known immigrant murderers and 11 percent of immigrants convicted of sexual assault. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt — apparently unaware that living in the U.S. as an undocumented immigrant is a civil, not a criminal offense (except for those apprehended while crossing the border) — told reporters that everyone arrested by ICE is a criminal 'because they illegally broke our nation's laws.' In fact, the immigrant population, both documented and undocumented, commit crimes at a lower rate than native-born citizens. In Texas, undocumented immigrants are 47 percent less likely to be convicted of a crime than those who were born here. Facilities housing detainees are often grotesquely overcrowded. Medication is not always provided, detainees can spend a week between showers, and family members are not always told where their loved ones are. According to Paul Chavez, director at Americans for Immigrant Justice in Florida, 'conditions were never great, but this is horrendous.' Between Jan. 1, 2025 and late June, 10 immigrants died while in ICE custody, two of them by suicide, almost three times the rate while Joe Biden was president. Last week, two detainees were added to the list. One of them, Isidro Perez, was a 75-year-old Cuban immigrant, who came to America 59 years ago and was convicted of possession of a controlled substance in 1984. Law enforcement officials are required to identify themselves when making an arrest 'as soon as it is practical and safe to do so,' indicate their authority to detain the suspect and obey restrictions on searches and seizures. But federal laws don't stipulate the circumstances under which government officials can wear masks. Although President Trump has called for the immediate arrest of masked protesters, Homeland Security officials defend masks as necessary to protect ICE agents from retaliation. Critics point out that masks and plain clothes increase the likelihood that suspects will mistake law enforcement officers for criminals and make it more difficult to hold agents accountable for using excessive force. 'What other definition of secret police is there,' Boston Mayor Michelle Wu asked, 'when people are getting snatched off the streets by masked individuals, not being told where they're going, disappeared until somehow someone finds some information?' Although Americans continue to support secure borders, a recent poll revealed that 57 percent of them do not approve of Trump's handling of immigration and ICE tactics. Perhaps for this reason, Trump has tried to have it both ways on immigration. During his 2024 campaign, he promised to arrest 'the worst first.' Last month, Trump declared, 'all of them [i.e. '21 million Illegal Aliens'] have to go home, as do countless other Illegals and Criminals, who will turn us into a bankrupt Third World Nation.' Yet Trump also said that employers feared that 'our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long-time workers away from them, with their jobs being almost impossible to replace.' Vowing to 'get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA,' Trump indicated he would pause ICE raids on farms, meatpacking plants, hotels and restaurants. But Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of public affairs at DHS, quickly declared, 'The president has been incredibly clear. There will be no safe spaces for industries who harbor violent criminals or purposely try to undermine ICE's efforts.' It remains unclear at this writing whether Trump will order a pause. Meanwhile, the number of detainees and deportees keeps growing — as do reports of denials of due process and access to legal representation. Rep. Tony Gonzalez (R-Texas) and five other congressional Republicans have called on the administration to prioritize enforcement: 'Every minute that we spend pursuing an individual with a clean record is a minute less that we dedicate to apprehending terrorists or cartel operatives.' How low do poll numbers have to sink, and how many more employers will have to pressure the White House, before the president decides his approach to immigration is bad policy and bad politics? Glenn C. Altschuler is the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Emeritus Professor of American Studies at Cornell University.
The Hill
02-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Trump's ‘big beautiful bill' will make the immigration court mess even worse
Recently, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Sayed Naser, an Afghan man who had spent years translating for the U.S. military, as he left an immigration court hearing in San Diego. Naser had done everything we ask of those seeking safe harbor in the U.S. When Taliban fighters killed his brother and abducted his father from a family wedding for working with the U.S., Naser and his family fled to Brazil, then made the long and dangerous trek here on foot. In 2024, he made an appointment with U.S. Customs and Border Protection as he entered the country. There, government officials paroled Naser into the U.S., where he applied for asylum and a Special Immigrant Visa created for foreign nationals who work with the U.S. in a war zone. On June 11, 2025, Naser went to his first hearing before an immigration judge, as was required for his asylum application. When he arrived, however, a lawyer for the Department of Homeland Security claimed that his case had been 'improvidently issued.' Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents waiting outside the courtroom handcuffed him. He is now in immigration detention, and his wife and children are in hiding. Although shocking, Naser's case is sadly no longer unusual. Since May, as part of their effort to meet a 3,000 person per day quota, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents across the country have been arresting hundreds of people as they leave their immigration hearings. Arresting people in and around courthouses used to be largely off limits — and for good reason. Such practices mean that immigrants face an impossible choice: go to court to follow the law and apply for immigration or asylum status legally — and face possible arrest there and then, or fail to appear, give up your legal claims to asylum or a green card, and have the judge order deportation in your absence. There is another, much less visible way that immigrants' access to the courts is now in peril as well. If Trump's budget reconciliation bill passes as written, immigrants and asylum seekers like Naser will face exorbitant fees that will prevent almost everyone from having their day in court. Under the bill, people paroled into the United States would have to pay a $1,000 fee upon entering plus a $550 work authorization fee. To renew or extend parole — which people would have to do at least every six months — there would be an additional $550 fee. Then, to apply for asylum, there would be another $1,000 fee. And if an applicant needed more time to find a lawyer or to collect documents, the court would charge another $100 for each continuance the person requested in court. Similar fees would apply for people applying for other kinds of status, including for youth traveling alone and for people fleeing countries decimated by war or natural disasters. Naser — who walked to the U.S. on foot from Brazil — almost certainly does not have thousands of dollars to apply for asylum. Neither most other immigrants and asylum seekers. These fees would effectively deny access to the courts for all but the very wealthy. Arresting people as they try to do the right thing by going through our legal system — and charging them such high fees that no one can afford to go to court — undermines the rule of law that is the bedrock of our country. Due process, which is enshrined in the Fifth and 14th amendments to the Constitution, requires that the government prove its case in court and give individuals the right to be heard before it can deprive them of life, liberty or property. Due process protects not only the rights of immigrants (or citizens mistaken as immigrants) from unfair deportation, but it also requires the government to prove its case against someone before imprisoning them, to go to court before taking someone's property or benefits, and to hold a hearing before removing a person's child. Courts play an essential role in our society. Their purpose is to ensure that everyone is treated fairly under the law and insist that the government follows fair procedures. They place a critical check on abuses of power by the executive and legislative branches. When due process breaks down and people can no longer access immigration courts — whether for fear of what will happen when they appear or simply because the price tag to access justice is too high — that will further stoke fear in immigrant communities and dissuade people from asserting their rights in court. But it should also strike fear in all of us because when access to justice is threatened for some, it is a threat to our entire system of justice, which is a grave threat to us all. Lauren Jones is the Legal and Policy Director at the National Center for Access to Justice at Fordham Law School
Los Angeles Times
23-06-2025
- Los Angeles Times
Afghan national who entered the U.S. legally detained during an immigration hearing in San Diego
An Afghan national who served as a translator for the U.S. military and entered the U.S. legally was arrested during his immigration hearing in San Diego and is now being detained. On June 12, Sayed Naser, whose full name is being withheld because of safety reasons, was at a courthouse in San Diego for a routine immigration hearing and was detained by ICE agents wearing neck gaiters over their faces, according to video of the incident. 'I came here to make a better life,' Naser said in the video clip. 'I worked with the U.S. military. I worked in a very dangerous part of Afghanistan with the U.S. military.' Naser worked as a translator and logistics contractor for the U.S. forces at military bases in Afghanistan, according to a press release from AfghanEvac, a nonprofit created to support the safe relocation of Afghan allies. Naser's brother was killed by the Taliban in September 2023 during a wedding, forcing him and his family to go into hiding in Iran. A representative for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could not immediately be reached for comment on this case. He got a humanitarian visa to Brazil and entered the U.S. legally in July 2024 through Mexico, according to the release. He was granted humanitarian parole, applied for a Special Immigrant Visa and was in the process of scheduling an asylum hearing when he was arrested by ICE. Naser has no criminal record, has an active asylum case and has another brother who was granted asylum weeks before Naser was detained, according to the release. During the hearing, the U.S. government tried to dismiss his asylum case, saying that Naser's notice to appear was 'improvidently issued' without giving any other explanation, according to the release. The judge didn't dismiss the case and gave Naser and his attorney time to respond to the motion. 'We were one hearing away from having his asylum hearing and we're dismayed that we're so close to him being granted asylum and this administration just has this 3,000-a-day policy and is blindly grabbing what looks like low hanging fruit,' said Naser's attorney, Brian McGoldrick. McGoldrick was referring to White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller who said last month that ICE should arrest at least 3,000 undocumented migrants a day. As of early June, around 51,000 undocumented migrants were in ICE custody, the highest number since September 2019. Naser is being held at the Otay Mesa Detention Center, McGoldrick said. He said Naser is dismayed about being arrested and is also concerned because he hasn't been able to contact his family, who is still in hiding in Iran during an internet blackout. McGoldrick said that Naser thought he would have gotten better treatment after he helped out with the U.S. forces in the Middle East. 'Now they want to short circuit the whole process,' McGoldrick added.
The Hill
18-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Abandoning our Afghan allies is a moral and strategic mistake
It is a bad time for thousands of Afghans who risked their lives helping the U.S. over the past two decades. On June 2, it was announced that the office that helps with relocation of Afghans who helped America will close on July 1. Last month, the Department of Homeland Security formally ended Temporary Protected Status for roughly 10,000 Afghans who fled their country after the Taliban's return to power in 2021. Under the new directive, Afghan nationals currently residing in the U.S. under Temporary Protected Status have just under six weeks to leave, setting a deadline of July 14. Most of these Afghans are waiting for the backlog to clear to get the Special Immigrant Visa that was promised to them because of the help they provided the U.S. since its 2001 invasion. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated that 'Afghanistan has had an improved security situation, and its stabilizing economy no longer prevent them from returning to their home country.' Yet, only days later, the State Department included Afghan citizens on a new 'travel ban' list due to deteriorating security situation and threat of terrorism from that country, contradicting what Noem and her department had claimed. Anyone paying attention to Afghanistan since the Taliban's return knows that it is not safe. The country has collapsed into an economic and humanitarian crisis. Al Qaeda has reestablished its position, operating training camps and safe houses across the country. According to a recent U.N. report, Afghanistan is now a 'permissive environment' for al Qaeda consolidation. Meanwhile, the Afghan branch of the so-called Islamic State has never been stronger. Girls cannot attend school beyond grade six. Women cannot work or even leave their homes without permission from a male relative. Ethnic and religious minorities continue to face persecution. The Taliban are hunting down Afghans who worked with the U.S. and its allies — often with deadly consequences. The claim that Afghanistan is now 'safe' is false. This issue is tricky for the Trump administration. In February 2020, President Trump reached a deal with the Taliban that planted the seed for the withdrawal of U.S. forces by May 2021. That agreement set in motion the Taliban's return to power. When President Joe Biden took office in 2021, he had the chance to cancel the deal, but he did not. By July, most U.S. and allied troops had left. On August 15, the Taliban seized Kabul. By Sept. 11, 2021 — the 20th anniversary of 9/11 — they controlled more of Afghanistan than they had on that tragic day in 2001. Both presidents share the blame. In the chaotic withdrawal, the U.S. left behind an estimated $7 billion in military equipment — most of which is now in Taliban hands or circulating on the regional black market. But the greater cost has been moral: the abandonment of tens of thousands of Afghans who served alongside American forces. Many of these men and women risked their lives for U.S. forces as interpreters, engineers, medics and contractors. For them, the Taliban's return is not just a change of government — it's a death sentence. Given the chaos the Biden administration allowed at America's southern border, it might be tempting to fold the Afghan resettlement issue into the broader immigration debate. But that approach would be both lazy and strategically short-sighted. Afghanistan and the broader regions of Central and South Asia will remain central to U.S. counterterrorism and foreign policy for the foreseeable future, and pretending otherwise is naive. There are four clear strategic reasons why helping Afghans who aided the U.S. is not only just but smart. First, honoring our commitment to Afghan partners sends a powerful message to future allies. In every modern conflict, American forces have relied on local partners for on-the-ground support. That pattern will almost certainly continue. If local partners believe the U.S. won't protect them when the fight is over, they will be far less willing to take that risk, which would weaken America's global reach and credibility. Second, Afghans already in the U.S. represent a critical talent pool. Many are trained linguists and cultural experts. During the two-decade U.S. mission in Afghanistan, they filled roles that no one else could. Yet in November 2023, Defense Language Institute ceased instruction in Pashto, one of Afghanistan's national languages. Should the U.S. again need Pashto speakers or regional experts, the Afghan American community will be indispensable. Third, these Afghans could help shape a post-Taliban Afghanistan. After 2001, the Afghan American diaspora was key to rebuilding the country. The current Taliban regime is fractured and unlikely to maintain control indefinitely. Offering refuge to educated, professionally trained Afghans bolsters U.S. capacity now and supports future stabilization efforts. Fourth, Afghan immigrants provide indirect humanitarian aid via remittances. In 2019, remittances made up 4.4 percent of Afghanistan's GDP. Since late 2021, the U.S. Treasury has allowed Afghans here to send money home despite sanctions. These remittances reduce the burden on American taxpayers and support Afghan families in crisis. Beyond these strategic benefits, there is the moral argument. Doing right by those who stood with America is a matter of national honor. The way a nation treats its allies — especially when they are vulnerable — says everything about its values. These Afghans risked everything for us. Abandoning them now is a betrayal. Trump began the withdrawal process. Biden finished it. Now, Trump has a rare second chance to do the right thing. His administration can correct a serious moral and strategic failure by reversing the decision to revoke Temporary Protected Status for Afghan nationals and instead prioritizing their protection. Rather than forcing them to leave, the U.S. should expedite visa processing and safe relocation for Afghan allies. This isn't just about compassion — it's about keeping our word, protecting our interests and preparing for the future. Luke Coffey is a senior fellow at Hudson Institute.
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Afghan ally detained by ICE after immigration court hearing
An Afghan man who worked alongside U.S. troops in Afghanistan was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers last week in San Diego. In a video obtained by CBS News, two unidentified ICE agents put Sayed Naser in handcuffs and escorted him from the federal courthouse in downtown San Diego after he attended a mandatory immigration hearing on Wednesday, June 11. "For more than three years I worked for the U.S. military back in my home country," Naser said in the video as the masked officers took him into custody. "I came here to make a better life. I didn't know this was going to happen like this for me." Naser was legally paroled into the U.S in 2024, according to his lawyer, Brian McGoldrick. In addition to an active asylum case, he has a pending Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) case because of his long history supporting the U.S. military. SIVs are provided to foreign nationals who worked with U.S. military forces in war zones including Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. Naser has no criminal record in the U.S. or Afghanistan, according to court records reviewed by CBS News. "This man served with our troops. He came through the front door. He followed every rule. And we locked him up anyway," said Shawn VanDiver, executive director for #AfghanEvac, a nonprofit that advocates for U.S. wartime allies. He said it's unknown how many Afghan allies have been detained by ICE officials. The Department for Homeland Security and ICE did not respond to a request for comment. Naser served as a civilian interpreter for the U.S. military in Afghanistan from 2015 to 2018. He and his brothers also co-owned a logistics company that provided anti-mining support to American troops, according to employment records viewed by CBS News. "This individual was an important part of our Company commitment to provide the best possible service for our clients, who were the United States Military in Afghanistan," says one employment document submitted as part of Naser's SIV application. But after the U.S. withdrew from the country in August 2021, his partnership with American forces put targets on the backs of Naser and his family. In 2023, Taliban fighters killed his brother and abducted his father at a family wedding. The attack drove Naser out of the country and forced his wife and children to flee their home. "I cannot return to Afghanistan under any circumstances because I am accused of collaborating with U.S. forces. From the Taliban's perspective, anyone who worked with foreign forces during the past 20 years is a spy, an infidel, and must be killed," Naser wrote in his asylum declaration. His family remains in hiding outside of Afghanistan. After his brother was killed, Naser fled to Brazil, where he was granted a humanitarian visa. He then made the more than 6,000 mile journey on foot through the Darién Gap before reaching Mexico. In 2024, he set up an appointment with U.S. Customs and Border Protection through the app formerly known as CBP One — which allowed migrants to schedule appointments at legal ports of entry — where he was granted lawful parole into the U.S. As part of his asylum process, Naser was required to attend an in-person hearing last week in front of a judge and a lawyer from the Department of Homeland Security. But when Naser showed up to court, the DHS lawyer said that his case was "'improvidently issued." "Nobody knows what that means," said McGoldrick, who tried to dispute the ruling. When pressed, the DHS lawyer refused to clarify further. "'Improvidently issued' is becoming ICE's new catch-all — a vague, unchallengeable justification being used to clear dockets and meet removal and detention quotas," said VanDiver. "It's being weaponized to put lawful, parole-compliant asylum-seekers in cells." When Naser left the courtroom after his hearing ended, he was immediately detained by ICE agents. Naser is now being held in the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego. According to McGoldrick, he could be kept there for up to three months while his asylum case is adjudicated. If he is denied asylum, Naser will be put on an expedited removal list and likely deported. His lawyer does not know where he would be deported to, and DHS did not respond to our request for more information. "He's still in shock. He cannot believe this is happening to him," McGoldrick said. Naser's wife, who remains in hiding with their children, found out about her husband's detention when she saw the video of his detainment on social media. Increase in arrests in courthouses The last few weeks have seen an increase in ICE arrests outside of immigration hearings in courthouses around major American cities. In May, CBS News reported that the Trump administration was launching an operation to expedite the deportation of certain migrants by dismissing their cases and subsequently arresting them at courthouses around the country. The move shocked immigration advocates, as their clients are legally required to show up at their hearings. Public arrests outside courts in Los Angeles led to more than a week of demonstrations as protesters faced off against thousands of law enforcement officials, including the National Guard. On Sunday, Mr. Trump called on ICE to increase arrests in order to achieve his goal of the "largest Mass Deportation Operation of Illegal Aliens in History," according to a post on Truth Social, the social media platforms he owns. Reports from within the administration say that White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem have been pushing agencies since late May to meet a higher quota of deportations — including as much as 3,000 immigration-related arrests per day. Typically, ICE agents need probable cause in order to detain someone to check their immigration status. This requires a higher standard of evidence pointing to an individual's alleged violation of immigration law. It's not clear in Naser's case what evidence there is that he was violating the law, his lawyer said. ICE provided a warrant for Naser's arrest to his attorney outside the courtroom after he was detained. "It's really shocking what's happening in courthouses in San Diego and around the country," said McGoldrick. "You walk down the hall and it's like you're walking down executioner's row. There's all these armed personnel just eyeballing everybody as we come down. It's just so intimidating that our clients are terrorized." Uncertain future for thousands of Afghans The Trump administration has demonstrated a sharp turn away from supporting Afghans who worked with the U.S. government in the military's two-decade-long conflict with the Taliban. In May, Noem announced that the administration was terminating Temporary Protected Status for Afghans. TPS is an immigration designation that allows people from countries deemed dangerous by the U.S. to live and work in the United States without being detained by DHS. Nearly 11,000 Afghans who are in the U.S. under TPS will be at risk of deportation when the change in policy comes into effect in mid-July, said VanDiver. Earlier this month, the Trump administration also instituted a travel ban on nationals from Afghanistan and 11 other countries, citing a need to address security concerns. Ahead of this announcement, over 100,000 Afghan wartime allies and their families had been vetted and cleared to enter the U.S., says #AfghanEvac. They are now unable to travel to the U.S. unless they are granted an SIV visa and can fund their own travel, without government support. Many live in danger of retribution from the Taliban. "Afghanistan remains under the control of the Taliban. There are still assassinations, arbitrary arrests, and ongoing human rights abuses, especially against women and ethnic minorities," said VanDiver. "The United States cannot abandon its allies and call that immigration policy." Teen questioned after family's quadruple murder Pentagon sends more U.S. forces to Middle East amid Israel-Iran conflict Charleston church marks 10 years since deadly shooting
