Latest news with #U.S.ImmigrationandCustoms
Newsweek
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Green-Card Holder Who Came to US as Young Child Detained Returning to US
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Immigration officers detained a green-card holder who came to the United States as a child upon his return to the country after a vacation, his family said. Newsweek reached out to his family and Department of Homeland Security for comment via Facebook message and email. Why It Matters Maximo Londonio, who is from Washington state, is the latest green-card holder to be detained amid President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration. The detention of green-card holders—especially those with long-standing legal status in the United States—has raised alarms among immigrant communities and legal advocates, who warn that lawful residents with non-violent criminal records may be vulnerable to detention when returning to the U.S. after international travel as enforcement policies become more rigorous. A U.S. Immigration and Customs enforcement agent monitors asylum seekers in New York City on June 6, 2023. A U.S. Immigration and Customs enforcement agent monitors asylum seekers in New York City on June 6, 2023. DavidWhat To Know Londonio, a 42-year-old Olympia resident who was born in the Philippines and came to the U.S. when he was 12, was detained at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on May 15. The detainment came as he was returning home from a family trip to the Philippines, according to the Seattle Times. His family said he has not been convicted of any violent crimes. He was convicted on a felony charge of grand theft in 2002 and served a seven-month sentence in county jail in California, according to the report. Since then, his family has made several trips to the Philippines and has never faced more than 20 minutes of questioning by officers when returning to the U.S., according to the report. A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesperson told Newsweek that anyone entering the U.S. is "subject to inspection" and that officers "routinely determine admissibility of foreign nationals using long-standing U.S. immigration law." "Lawful permanent residency for foreign citizens in the United States is a privilege," the spokesperson said. "Under federal immigration law, lawful permanent residents convicted of offenses considered to be crimes involving moral turpitude, including aggravated felonies, can legally lose their status and be removed. Crimes involving moral turpitude include crimes such as grand theft and use and/or distribution of controlled substances." Londonio told his family on Monday that he was being transferred to the Northwest Detention Center, but the date of his next hearing remained unclear, the Seattle Times reported. This is at least the second case of a green-card holder being detained at the airport in Seattle. Lewelyn Dixon, a University of Washington lab technician and Filipino green-card holder, was stopped at the airport in February and remains in ICE custody. Dixon had a non-violent embezzlement conviction but did not serve any time, instead spending 30 days in a halfway house and paying a $6,400 fine. The Trump administration has warned that green-card holders must behave like a guest while in the country or risk removal. The Justice Department has argued in court that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has the authority to reconsider and potentially revoke green-card holders' lawful permanent residency at any time. What People Are Saying Crystal Londonio, Maximo's wife, during a press conference this week, per NBC News: "Four days is too long. The lack of accountability by the United States Customs and Border Protection is failing him right now. ... I'm a U.S. citizen, you failed me." International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) President Brian Bryant, in a statement: "Like so many across our country, our IAM Union Brother Maximo is simply trying to be the best husband and father he can be and provide for his family. To our knowledge, there has been no evidence to support the U.S. government's continued detention of Maximo. We call for his immediate release." What Happens Next Londonio was reportedly scheduled for transfer to the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma and awaits a hearing to determine his status and the next steps of his case. Advocacy organizations and his family members continue to press for his immediate release.
L'Orient-Le Jour
07-05-2025
- Politics
- L'Orient-Le Jour
The Ultra-Zionist group Betar is resurfacing in the US
One of the most vocal allies of the Trump administration in efforts to erase the word 'genocide' from U.S. university campuses is making a comeback. Betar, the historic movement of Israel's revisionist far right, had remained largely out of the headlines for decades. But amid the Gaza war, the group is reemerging, ramping up provocative actions aimed at intimidating pro-Palestinian protesters and silencing voices calling for an end to U.S. military aid to organization, which identifies as both Jewish and Zionist, frequently shares videos on social media showing its members burning Palestinian flags or provoking confrontations with demonstrators — at times escalating into physical March 8, after Mahmoud Khalil, an activist and Columbia University graduate, was arrested at his home by U.S. Immigration and Customs...
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
As Alireza Doroudi faces deportation, his soon-to-be-wife clings to their life together, with or without the ‘American Dream'
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WIAT) — On Saturday, Sama Ebrahimi Bajgani will celebrate her birthday in Jena, Louisiana. It's not what she and her fiancé, Alireza Doroudi, had wanted. In fact, it wasn't that long ago the couple were in the middle of planning their wedding, which would've likely happened sometime in the next month or two, followed by a second wedding with their families in Iran. But that all changed with a knock on their door outside their apartment in Tuscaloosa in the early morning hours of March 25, when U.S. Immigration and Customs agents detained Doroudi, taking him into custody and sending him over 300 miles away to the little Louisiana town where the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center is located. It's where the 32-year-old doctorate student who had been studying mechanical engineering at the University of Alabama has stayed for nearly a month with few answers as to why. At the time of his arrest, Doroudi had been living in the United States on a revoked visa, which was inexplicably done just months after arriving in the country at the beginning of 2023. However, he had been assured that his student visa was valid–something his attorney, David Rozas, confirmed– and that he would be fine as long as he remained a student at UA. Before being detained by ICE, Doroudi was in the process of applying for permanent residency and was set to graduate next year. Now, all the plans that Doroudi and Bajgani had for their life together are in question. 'I feel like I've shattered,' Bajgani said during a Zoom call as she was getting ready to leave with a friend for Louisiana Friday morning. 'I've broken into pieces.' The last month has been hard on the couple, made even harder by an immigration judge's recent decision not to grant bond to Doroudi, considering him a flight risk. In their argument for his deportation, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security claimed he posed 'significant national security concerns,' despite failing to elaborate on what those concerns were. Bajgani and Doroudi cried together as they spoke on the phone after his hearing, where they continued to talk about the life they still want to build together. The only difference this time is whether it would involve 'the American dream' or something else entirely. The couple first met in 2022 at the U.S. Embassy in Oman, where they were both applying for student visas to the United States. She said that while Doroudi waited seven months to be approved for a visa, she had to wait nearly a year. Before long, they two were in America, he a doctoral student at UA and she studying educational psychology at Mississippi State University. Seeing as they were only an hour and a half away from each other, they decided to meet. 'He came with friends to Starkville, where I was studying at Mississippi State and we started dating right after,' she said. 'I think I was the one who initiated everything.' Describing their quiet life in Tuscaloosa, Bajgani didn't speak about their respective workloads as students at the University of Alabama, but of cooking Persian food together in their apartment, hiking in north Alabama, white water rafting with her in West Virginia, and slowly building a life together. Maybe that would include a pet, maybe that would include children, but it would be done together. 'His aspiration is to be a good person, a virtuous person,' she said. 'He's the kindest and most generous person I have ever met.' In their phone calls to one another, Bajgani spoke about how despite his dilemma, Doroudi is staying focused on his future, asking her to send him his school books, as well as his English and vocabulary books. This weekend, she hopes she can give him more by being there with him. 'I just want to go there and say 'I love you Alireza. Everything is going to be fine' and give him some encouraging words,' she said. 'I wish I could hold his hand but they don't let me hold his hand because it's over that glass door, but that's just how it is.' Going through the emotion turmoil of Doroudi's detainment, Bajgani said she feels like she is in a prison herself, unable to focus on her work and constantly worried for his safety. At times, it has made both of them despondent about what could be in store for them. 'We were thinking that if the court or the people who are deciding for Alireza don't consider true information and what he really is, preferring to come up with something to portray him as a threat, what is the worth of fighting in this court,' she said. 'What is the worth of paying lots of money and fighting in this court and staying apart from one another.' If Doroudi is ultimately deported and sent back to Iran, Bajgani is not afraid of going back. For her, she's afraid of what could happen if they continued to stay. It was made all the more clear after his bond was denied, despite no evidence that he is dangerous or would flee the country. 'When we saw that, we kind of lost our hope for America, for both of us,' she said. Even if they let us stay, we would've completed our degrees and we would've left in the earliest time. This is not a place to live. This is not a place to live the happy life and dream. This is not the freedom and American dream that they always talk about. It's just something that is just for a group of people, not for everyone.' Bajgani hopes she and Doroudi can find that home where they can both thrive, if not in the US. 'I wish we could have that happy dream somewhere in this universe,' she said. 'I believe there is somewhere for both of us that they will understand how good we are, how good and pure of people we are. We are kind and are considerate of other people and we are nothing like a threat to the community.' With many questions that remain unanswered, Bajgani hopes that those who hold Doroudi's fate in the balance do the right thing. 'I want to say that you can always choose the right, even though you have chosen the wrong,' she said. 'Please choose the right.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
08-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
31 U.S. Senators demand return of Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador
In a letter to U.S. Immigration and Customs, 31 U.S. senators, including Maryland Senator Van Hollen, demanded the return of a Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador. Kilmar Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported to El Salvador on March 15, despite having a protective order granted in 2019 that prohibited his removal to the country due to risks of persecution. Abrego Garcia was sent to the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a notorious supermax prison. The deportation occurred after ICE agents apprehended him without due process while he was leaving work in Baltimore and picking up his special needs child. Although Albrego Garcia has no criminal record in the U.S. or El Salvador, Trump administration officials claim he is an MS-13 gang member and a "danger to the community." A federal judge ruled on April 4 that Abrego Garcia must be returned to the U.S. by April 7. However, the Trump administration appealed the decision, and Chief Justice Roberts temporarily paused the lower court's order on April 7. In the five-page letter, the senators argue challenge the Trump administration's resistance to bringing Abrego Garcia home. While the Trump administration admitted that Abrego Garcia's deportation was ultimately the result of an "administrative error" , the administration says jurisdictional and diplomatic limitations prevent the U.S. from compelling him to be released. "Your unwillingness to immediately rectify this "administrative error" is unacceptable. Under multiple Democratic and Republican administrations, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE followed the rule of law and worked to quickly return people who were wrongfully deported, in the rare instances where such "administrative errors" occurred," the senators wrote in the letter. "The Administration's mass deportation agenda does not transcend immigration law or the need for due process." In the letter, the senators also requested that the Department of Homeland Security and ICE respond to several questions regarding immigration enforcement. The questions included: The senators asked the department to respond to the questions by April 22. The list of senators included Chris Van Hollen, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Cory Booker.
Fox News
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Blue state sheriffs combine forces to fight back against sanctuary laws
A group of five Minnesota sheriff's offices inked cooperation agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE), bringing an opposite approach to immigration enforcement in a state with widespread sanctuary policies. Minnesota's Cass, Crow Wing, Freeborn, Itasca and Jackson counties sheriffs' offices have all entered 287g agreements with ICE since President Donald Trump took office, allowing the federal immigration agency to delegate some authority to the offices to perform immigration enforcement functions, according to a report by the Sahan Journal. The agreements allow for increased cooperation between the local law enforcement agencies and ICE, including programs that focus on identifying and processing illegal immigrants that are already in custody and are eligible for deportation. Another program allows for a "task force model," which brings the local agencies in to serve as a "force multiplier" for ICE, the report said. Some local law enforcement officers will also have the opportunity to participate in 40-hour ICE training sessions under the agreements, the report notes, while agencies participating in the program are required to keep in regular contact with their nearest ICE field office when carrying out any immigration enforcement. The agreements come in a state that has seen widespread use of so-called "sanctuary" policies that limit or prohibit a local jurisdiction's ability to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, with the latest Center for Immigration Studies data showing 12 Minnesota counties that have passed rules limiting cooperation with ICE. The five sheriff's offices inking agreements with ICE over the last few months brings the total number of offices participating in 287g in the state to seven, the Sahan Journal report notes, with the five new counties joining Sherburne and Kandiyohi counties, which have long had cooperation agreements with ICE. The agreements have already led to a growth in immigrant detentions, with a Freeborn County jail deputy telling the Sahan Journal that there has "definitely" been an "uptick" in immigration inmates since the county entered the agreement. However, the program is not without critics, with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison's office cautioning local agencies to consider potential drawbacks. "While 287g agreements are sometimes touted as a tool for getting violent offenders off the street, studies have shown that large numbers of people detained through 287g-related enforcement have committed only misdemeanors or traffic violations," a spokesperson for Ellison's office told the Sahan Journal. Fox News Digital has reached out to Walz's office for comment.
