Latest news with #criminalaliens
South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
5 men deported to eSwatini from US spark public outcry, protests
In the small African kingdom of eSwatini, the arrival of five men deported from the United States under Washington's aggressive anti-immigrant measures has sparked a rare wave of public dissent. The five nationals of Vietnam, Laos, Yemen, Cuba and Jamaica, were flown to Eswatini's administrative capital of Mbabane on July 16 on a US military plane and incarcerated after US authorities labelled them 'criminal illegal aliens'. The US Department of Homeland Security said the men were convicted of violent crimes 'so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back.' The government of eSwatini, formerly known as Swaziland, has confirmed their presence. But spokesman Thabile Mdluli said they would not stay permanently and 'will be repatriated in due course to their different countries.' That assurance, though, has not quelled a tide of questions and concerns that have risen within the kingdom about the operation.
Fox News
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
'Worst of the worst' arrested in nationwide criminal illegal-alien crackdown: DHS
NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles! The Department of Homeland Security released a statement Tuesday highlighting some of the "worst of the worst" offenders who have been arrested in the agency's nationwide crackdown on criminal illegal aliens. According to the statement, 70% of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's arrests have been of illegal aliens convicted or charged with crimes. This comes as the agency is facing intense criticism for its enforcement of immigration laws and officers are dealing with an 830% increase in assaults. Some Democrats have accused ICE of targeting innocent, everyday immigrants. In the midst of anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles in June, Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., accused President Donald Trump and the administration of targeting anyone they consider "undesirable." She also pushed a theory that the president will target U.S. citizens the same way he has deported criminal migrants. "Trump, Homan, Miller and this whole regime has waged a campaign of terror against our neighbors, against our families, our loved ones, as they advance their fascist agenda and try to cast immigrants as a public enemy," Ramirez said. ERIC ADAMS RESPONDS TO TOM HOMAN PLEDGE TO 'FLOOD THE ZONE' WITH ICE AGENTS AFTER CBP SHOOTING While the agency has said it will not back down from arresting any immigrants who are in the country illegally, the new DHS statement says that the vast majority of those arrested thus far have criminal charges or convictions. The illegals highlighted in the DHS statement include criminals charged with hit-and-run, aggravated assault, felony menacing, grand theft and drug possession. Olinda Micaela Gonzalez-Ortiz, a 21-year-old illegal alien from Guatemala, was arrested by ICE Baltimore and has a criminal history, including a conviction for hit-and-run in Salisbury, Maryland. Another, Federico Fong-Nunez, a 53-year-old Mexican illegal arrested by ICE Denver in Boulder, has 21 criminal convictions, including burglary, aggravated assault, and felony menacing. ICE TORCHES 'DEAFENING' SILENCE FROM MAMDANI ON CBP OFFICER SHOOTING Jhon Jervis Chavez-De La Rosa, a 21-year-old illegal immigrant from Venezuela, has a criminal history including a conviction of assault causing bodily injury. He was arrested by ICE in Houston. Two others, Luis Alberto Leonardo Cortes-Rivera, a 34-year-old from from Mexico, and Rureiro Falkao, a 46-year-old illegal from Honduras, were arrested by ICE in Los Angeles and Oklahoma City, respectively. Cortes-Rivera has a criminal history that includes nine criminal convictions, including grand theft, burglary, and tampering with a vehicle. Falkao's criminal background includes conviction for possession of methamphetamine. ICE has also arrested scores of illegal immigrants either charged with or convicted of child sex offenses. In June, ICE arrested 1,361 illegal immigrants in the Houston area alone, including individuals previously convicted of hijacking an airplane, homicide, sexual assault and more. Of those arrested, 32 were previously convicted of child sex offenses, nine for homicide-related offenses, and 16 believed to be gang or drug cartel members. One person arrested by ICE was convicted of hijacking an airplane headed to Key West, Florida, from Cuba. ILLEGAL ALIEN WHO RAPED, IMPREGNATED HIS OWN DAUGHTER AT GOVERNMENT-RUN SHELTER LEARNS PRISON SENTENCE An ICE Homeland Security Investigations probe in Maryland led to the sentencing of Mark Rice, 38, to 30 years in federal prison and a lifetime of supervised release for having "used his position of authority" to sexually abuse a 2-year-old and produce and distribute child sex abuse material online. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP In the Tuesday statement, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin commended President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for having "unleashed ICE to target the worst of the worst." "Our brave law enforcement is facing an 830% increase in assaults against them and yet they continue to arrest violent criminals and drug traffickers every single day," said McLaughlin. "We will not allow sanctuary politicians, activist hacks, or rioters stand in our way of protecting the American people. Our message is clear: criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the United States." Fox News Digital reached out to Ramirez's office for comment but did not immediately receive a response. Fox News Digital's Adam Sabes and Brooke Taylor contributed to this report.
The Guardian
24-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Trump drives surge in Ice detentions of those with no criminal record despite stated priorities
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agency is continuing to arrest an increasing number of immigrants without any criminal history, according to recent federal government data reviewed by the Guardian, demonstrating a further dramatic surge in this trend. The latest available data, released by Ice last Friday, appears to contradict Trump administration officials' frequent assertions that the agency is prioritizing the pursuit of criminals in its immigration enforcement operations. 'Our number one concern is violent criminals,' Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which houses Ice, said on TV in an interview with PBS last week. In mid-June, Ice data shows there were more than 11,700 people in immigration detention who had been arrested by Ice despite having no track record of being charged with or convicted of a crime. That represents a staggering 1,271% increase from data released on those in immigration detention immediately before the start of Trump's second term. Being undocumented in the US is a civil infraction, not a criminal offense. But the Trump administration has continued to push the narrative that they are targeting 'criminal aliens' in their push to deport undocumented immigrants, conflating those who are only undocumented with those with criminal histories. Those seeking to stay in the US, through legal means, have also been targeted. Border czar Tom Homan has admitted the administration has decided that people without criminal records are viable to be rounded up by Ice. '[Does] everyone that has been arrested by Ice agents have a criminal record like those you've described?' an MSNBC host asked Homan. 'Absolutely not,' he replied. But the overarching narrative from homeland security officials has been that the administration is targeting 'criminal illegal aliens'. According to the most recent data released by the government, nearly a third of all people arrested by Ice and booked into immigration detention had no criminal history. Although detainees with criminal records and with pending criminal charges still make up the majority of people arrested by Ice, the number of people with no criminal record continues to rise disproportionately. As of 15 June, there were just more than 14,500 people, who had been arrested by Ice, in the detention network with a criminal record – felony or misdemeanor – and just more than 13,000 with pending criminal charges but no convictions. The government is arresting immigrants with criminal records, but past data shows that most crimes were misdemeanors, not violent felonies as the administration has claimed. Detailed statistics on immigration arrestees are not available for 2025, but between October 2022 and November 2024 in the Biden administration, 78% of people arrested by the agency had a misdemeanor conviction or no conviction at all. The Trump administration has frequently pushed the narrative that many of the people arrested by Ice have been 'violent' offenders. The recent data also suggests that the current number of immigrants detained in Ice's detention facility network is the highest it has ever been in history, according to an analysis published by Austin Kocher, an assistant research professor at Syracuse University who tracks Ice enforcement. Ice facilities throughout the country on paper can accommodate 41,500 people but are currently holding more than 56,000. Statistics from early 1 June, previously reported on by the Guardian, demonstrated an 807% increase in arrests of people without criminal histories since before Donald Trump's second inauguration this January. DHS's McLaughlin criticized the Guardian in an interview on PBS, when asked about the 807% number. 'I don't know where CNN or the Guardian are getting their data, but I wouldn't say that those are exactly nonpartisan outlets. I don't really rely on them for facts or analysis,' McLaughlin said. 'I do rely on the Department of Homeland Security and our career civil servants, who are giving us this data.' For the 14 June story and this story, the Guardian analyzed data from Ice, which is required to disclose detention statistics. The agency updates a spreadsheet every few weeks with new data and the Guardian compared the most recent data released with older government data that had been gathered by the Vera Institute of Justice, on order to calculate detention trends. DHS did not respond to a request for comment before publication. McLaughlin did not respond to a request for an interview before publication. The dramatic surge in the detention of immigrants with no criminal history rose exponentially after a tense meeting on 21 May between Trump administration officials and top Ice officials. In a heated atmosphere, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and DHS secretary Kristi Noem ordered Ice officials to arrest many more immigrants, demanding a target of 3,000 arrests a day, or a million per year. It has not been confirmed exactly what the daily arrest rate had been from January 20 to May 20 but it is widely believed to have been well below that new target figure, and far from keeping pace with apprehensions under the Biden administration when many more unauthorized migrants were taken into custody by Customs and Border Protection, typically at the US-Mexico border. As the Guardian previously revealed, on 31 May, top Ice managers instructed officers throughout the country to find imaginative ways to increase arrests. Pressure from above has led to many controversial Ice raids and many more arrests, sparking protests across the country. The high figures have resulted in an overcrowded and saturated detention network.
CBS News
21-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Florida Attorney General proposes "Alligator Alcatraz" as immigration detention site in Everglades
Florida's attorney general has proposed a temporary detention facility called "Alligator Alcatraz," which he wants to build in the Everglades to house what he calls "criminal aliens." As of now, the area is an old airstrip used as a pilot training facility and is surrounded by pythons and alligators. In a video posted on social media platform "X", Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said: "Efficient. Low cost opportunity to build a temporary detention facility because you don't need to invest that much into the perimeter. People get out. There's not much waiting for them, other than alligators and pythons. Nowhere to go, nowhere to hide." Uthmeier says the facility would sit on the already constructed runway, hold more than 1,000 beds, and be surrounded by the Everglades — though it is not part of Everglades National Park. Many are rejecting the idea, citing environmental concerns — including Executive Director of Friends of the Everglades, Eve Samples. "This site is really important to Friends of the Everglades. It's actually the reason Friends of the Everglades was founded by Marjory Stoneman Douglas in 1969, to stop what would have been the world's largest airport from being built right there," said Samples. "We call on the governor to put a stop to this proposal right now. It's a terribly bad idea...," continued Samples. Officials haven't shared the projected cost of the project but say it could be operational within 30 to 60 days after construction.
Fox News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Florida Sen Moody rolls out measure to expedite removal of criminal illegal immigrants
FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Ashley Moody will roll out a measure on Wednesday that will expedite the removal of criminal illegal immigrants from the United States involved in gangs, foreign terrorist organizations or convicted of any felony on U.S. soil, Fox News Digital has learned. Moody, R-Fla., is expected to introduce her legislation Wednesday morning, titled "The Expedited Removal of Criminal Aliens Act." Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., is co-sponsoring the legislation. Moody's team told Fox News Digital that the legislation is "critical" to supporting the Trump administration's immigration priorities. "Following four years of systematic dismantlement of our country's immigration and national security structure under Joe Biden, the American people gave President Trump a mandate to clean up Biden's mess," Moody told Fox News Digital. "Democrats and lower-level partisan judges, however, have sought to block his efforts at every turn." Moody told Fox News Digital that they have claimed that "dangerous criminal illegal aliens and MS-13 gang members like Kilmar Abrego Garcia are just family men living quiet lives in America, and they couldn't be more wrong." "Democrats have fought against the quick removal of illegal aliens who have committed atrocious crimes against children or even those that have been convicted of murder," Moody said. "It makes no sense." Moody's bill authorizes the expedited removal of an immigrant who is a member of a criminal gang or organization; a member of a foreign terrorist organization or has provided material support to such an organization; or has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor. Those potential felony or misdemeanor convictions include any assault of a law enforcement officer, any sexual offense, any crime of domestic violence, any stalking offense, any crime against children or any violation of a protection order. "Today we are finally putting common-sense immigration policies first by introducing legislation to authorize the expedited removal of dangerous criminals and prevent activist-judges from keeping known terrorists, criminals and gang members on American soil and endangering our communities," Moody told Fox News Digital. Moody's bill comes amid a court battle over Abrego Garcia — the Salvadorian migrant and alleged MS-13 member who was deported from Maryland to El Salvador in March. Abrego Garcia was suspected of partaking in labor/human trafficking, according to a 2022 Homeland Security Investigations report obtained by Fox News. The report also stated that "official law enforcement investigations" revealed that Abrego Garcia was a member of the notorious gang MS-13, which Trump has designated as a terror organization. A Homeland Security Investigations report also notes that in October 2019, the Prince Georges County Police Gang Unit identified Abrego Garcia as a member of the notorious Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang. Abrego Garcia was also recently revealed to have a record of being a "violent" repeat wife beater, according to court records filed in a Prince George's County, Maryland, district court by his wife, Jennifer Vasquez. The Trump administration has continued to maintain it was right to deport Abrego Garcia to CECOT, despite many Democrats suggesting he was wrongly deported, even going as far as to say he was kidnapped by the administration.
