Latest news with #detention
CBC
5 hours ago
- Politics
- CBC
From Texas to South Sudan: ICE's deportation pipeline
The U.S. federal immigration law enforcement agency — ICE — is offshoring migrants incarcerated in the U.S. to detention camps in Africa. In at least one of these cases, migrants were told they would be transported to a domestic detention facility and instead were taken to a prison located nearly 10,000 KM away from the U.S. This decision to deport groups of people in American prisons, against their will, to detention camps in nations they have never visited marks a radical and unprecedented shift in American policy. Legal experts say it might well be unconstitutional. Hamed Aleaziz is an immigration reporter with The New York Times and joins us for a conversation about the offshoring of immigration detention, the future of the migration crisis, and the two facilities at the centre of Trump's immigration detention plan: 'American Siberia,' and 'Alligator Alcatraz.' Subscribe to Front Burner on your favourite podcast app. Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Listen on YouTube
The Independent
7 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Military veteran reunited with his wife weeks after ICE detention
The wife of a US Marine Corps veteran has been released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention, following advocacy from Senator John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican. Paola Clouatre, a Mexican national, had been among tens of thousands held in ICE custody as President Donald Trump's administration continues its hardline immigration crackdown, pressing officers to arrest 3,000 people daily suspected of being in the US illegally. Emails reviewed by The Associated Press show that Senator Kennedy's office requested her release from the Department of Homeland Security last Friday, after a judge halted her deportation order earlier that week. By Monday, Ms Clouatre was back home in Baton Rouge with her husband, Adrian Clouatre, and their two young children, having left a remote ICE detention centre in north Louisiana. Christy Tate, a constituent services representative for Senator Kennedy, congratulated Adrian Clouatre on his wife's return, writing in an email: "I am so happy for you and your family. God is truly great!" The family's attorney, Carey Holliday, described Senator Kennedy's office as "instrumental" in their engagement with the Department of Homeland Security. Senator Kennedy's office did not provide further comment. Another Louisiana Republican, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, also intervened recently with the Department of Homeland Security to secure the release of an Iranian mother from ICE detention following widespread outcry. The woman has lived for decades in New Orleans. Kennedy has generally been a staunch supporter of Trump's immigration policies. 'Illegal immigration is illegal — duh,' Kennedy posted on his Facebook page on July 17, amid a series of recent media appearances decrying efforts to prevent ICE officers from making arrests. In April, however, he criticized the Trump administration for mistakenly deporting a Maryland man. The Department of Homeland Security previously told The AP it considered Clouatre to be 'illegally' in the country. An email chain shared by Adrian Clouatre shows that the family's attorney reached out to Kennedy's office in early June after Paola Clouatre was detained in late May. Tate received Paola Clouatre's court documents by early July and said she then contacted ICE, according to the email exchange. On July 23, an immigration judge halted Paola Clouatre's deportation order. After Adrian Clouatre notified Kennedy's office, Tate said she 'sent the request to release' Paola Clouatre to DHS and shared a copy of the judge's motion with the agency, emails show. In an email several days later, Tate said that ICE told her it 'continues to make custody determinations on a case-by-case basis based on the specific circumstances of each case' and had received the judge's decision from Kennedy's office 'for consideration." The next working day, Paola Clouatre was released from custody. 'We will continue to keep you, your family and others that are experiencing the same issues in our prayers," Tate said in an email to Adrian Clouatre. 'If you need our assistance in the future, please contact us." Paola Clouatre had been detained by ICE officers on May 27 during an appointment related to her green card application. She had entered the country as a minor with her mother from Mexico more than a decade ago and was legally processed while seeking asylum, she, her husband and her attorney say. But Clouatre's mother later failed to show up for a court date, leading a judge to issue a deportation order against Paola Clouatre in 2018, though by then she had become estranged from her mother and was homeless. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Clouatre's release. Adrian Clouatre said he wished the agency would "actually look at the circumstances' before detaining people like his wife. 'It shouldn't just be like a blanket 'Oh, they're illegal, throw them in ICE detention.'' Reunited with her breastfeeding infant daughter and able to snuggle with her toddler son, Paola Clouatre told AP she feels like a mother again. 'I was feeling bad,' she said of detention. 'I was feeling like I failed my kids.' It will likely be a multi-year court process before Paola Clouatre's immigration court proceedings are formally closed, but things look promising, and she should be able to obtain her green card eventually, her attorney said. For now, she's wearing an ankle monitor, but still able to pick up life where she left off, her husband says. The day of her arrest in New Orleans, the couple had planned to sample some of the city's famed French pastries known as beignets and her husband says they'll finally get that chance again: 'We're going to make that day up.' Senator's office requests mother's release from ICE custodyBack with her children
Washington Post
a day ago
- Washington Post
Scientist on green card detained for a week without explanation, lawyer says
A Korean-born researcher and longtime U.S. legal permanent resident has spent the past week detained by immigration officials at the San Francisco International Airport without explanation and has been denied access to an attorney, according to his lawyer. Tae Heung 'Will' Kim has lived in the United States since he was 5 and is a green card holder pursuing his PhD at Texas A&M University, where he is researching a vaccine for Lyme disease, said his attorney, Eric Lee. Kim, 40, was detained by immigration officials on July 21 at a secondary screening point after returning from a two-week visit to South Korea for his younger brother's wedding.
ABC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Australians from Gaza aid boat still in Israeli detention
Two Australians are among 20 or more crew who were taken into custody or deported from Israel - after Israeli forces boarded and confiscated their protest boat, as they tried to make their way to Gaza. Tan Safi and Robert Martin are still in detention in Israel - where lawyers were due to face a tribunal last night, to argue for their release.
ABC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Israeli court extends detention of flotilla activists including two Australians
An Israeli court has extended the detention of a group of activists, including two Australians, seized by the nation's military off the coast of Gaza. Human rights activists Robert Martin and Tan Safi were among 21 people on board the Handala when it was stopped by the Israeli navy while en route to Gaza on Sunday. Two of the crew were dual Israeli-US citizens who were interrogated and released. Five agreed to an expedited deportation and were deported. The other 14 people, including the two Australians, remain in Givon prison in Ramle, Israel. On Monday, Israel's Detention Review Tribunal ruled they should remain in custody until the deportation process was finalised. The group on the boat included activists, lawyers, two members of the European parliament and two journalists for the Qatar-based network Al Jazeera, which is banned in Israel. Lawyers for the group say Israel's seizure of the boat and detention of the crew is illegal, arguing the boat had been in international waters at the time it was stopped and the blockade on aid entering Gaza is illegal under international law. "Our main argument on behalf of the volunteers is that, first, the blockade on Gaza is illegal," lawyer Suhad Bishara, from the legal advocacy group Adala, told the ABC. "Israel has a duty under international humanitarian law, laws of the sea and the ICJ [International Court of Justice] decision from January 2024 to allow the flotilla to access Gaza's shores and to deliver the humanitarian assistance goods that they have on board. "We're talking specifically in this flotilla about formula for babies, toys for children, and very basic medication. "Under all of these legal frameworks, Israel has an obligation to allow the flotilla to access Gaza's shores. "Thus, we also argued on their behalf that the interception of the flotilla, of the ship, [on] international waters, and generally any interception, is illegal under international law and violates Israel's obligations in this regard. "This is, of course, in the background of the humanitarian crisis, the starvation, the genocidal war in Gaza." The lawyers said the group should be allowed to reboard their boat and sail to Gaza. "They're all in very good spirits, feeling well," Dr Bishara said. "They are all under hunger strike since the boat was intercepted so they obviously feel a little bit weak. But again, the good spirit is above everything else. "We've met them. They were very appreciative of all the support that they get from inside, from outside, and hopefully they will be back safely home very soon." Israel's government has maintained a full naval blockade of Gaza since militant group Hamas took over the strip, preventing any vessels from approaching Gaza or any Gazans from sailing out. Since Hamas's October 7, 2023, attacks in Israel, the Israeli military has also attacked Gazans fishing in the sea. This month it also effectively prohibited swimming and bathing by banning Palestinians from entering the water. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) declined to give any new response to the lawyers' arguments. On Sunday it said its naval blockade of Gaza was legal and the ship was intercepted legally. "The Israeli navy has stopped the vessel Navarn [the boat's registered name] from illegally entering the maritime zone of the coast of Gaza," the MFA said in a statement. "The vessel is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. All passengers are safe. Unauthorized attempts to breach the blockade are dangerous, unlawful, and undermine ongoing humanitarian efforts." The Israeli government and military deny accusations they are committing genocide and say they try to minimise civilian casualties. The Handala is the second activist boat from the group the "Freedom Flotilla Coalition" to be intercepted by the Israeli navy in recent months while attempting to reach Gaza. The occupants of the Madleen, which was carrying prominent Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, a French member of the European parliament and two journalists, were all deported from Israel in June. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said on Monday it was preparing to send dozens more boats to Gaza to "break the siege" and deliver aid.
