Latest news with #immigration
Bloomberg
25 minutes ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
As Troops Withdraw From LA, ICE Raids Leave Behind Turmoil
Welcome to Bloomberg's California Edition—covering all the events shaping one of the world's biggest economies and its global influence. Join us each week as we put a unique lens on the Golden State. Sign up here if you're not already on the list. The Trump administration this week pulled back about half of the National Guard troops it deployed in Los Angeles following immigration raids and ensuing protests last month, saying 'the lawlessness' is subsiding. But while turmoil in downtown LA has eased, deportations are continuing to roil the region.
Bloomberg
25 minutes ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Ex-Columbia Student Wins Ruling Blocking Deportation, for Now
Politics A federal judge said the US can't immediately deport Mahmoud Khalil, blocking the Trump administration's attempts to get another court to give it permission to ship the former Columbia University graduate student out of the country. The ruling Thursday by US District Judge Michael Farbiarz said the immigration court didn't have the authority to deport Khalil while a June 11 order by Farbiarz blocking such a move was still in place. The ruling, however, directs the immigration court to take another look at the issue under new guidance from Farbiarz.
Arab News
26 minutes ago
- Politics
- Arab News
5 US immigrants deported to Eswatini in Africa are being held in solitary confinement
CAPE TOWN, South Africa: Five immigrants deported by the United States to the small southern African nation of Eswatini under the Trump administration's third-country program are in prison, where they will be held in solitary confinement for an undetermined time, a government spokesperson said. Thabile Mdluli, the spokesperson, declined to identify the correctional facility or facilities where the five men are, citing security concerns. She said Eswatini planned to ultimately repatriate the five to their home countries with the help of a United Nations agency. In cell phone messages to The Associated Press on Thursday, Mdluli said it wasn't clear how long that would take. The men, who the US says were convicted of serious crimes and were in the US illegally, are citizens of Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba, Yemen and Laos. Their convictions included murder and child rape, the US Department of Homeland Security said, describing them as 'uniquely barbaric.' Their deportations were announced by Homeland Security on Tuesday and mark the continuation of President Donald Trump's plan to send deportees to third countries they have no ties with after it was stalled by a legal challenge in the United States. Here's what we know and don't know about the deportations: A new country for deportees Eswatini, a country of 1.2 million people bordering South Africa, is the latest nation to accept third-country deportees from the US. The Trump administration has sent hundreds of Venezuelans and others to Costa Rica, El Salvador and Panama, and deported eight men earlier this month to South Sudan, also an African country. The deportees to South Sudan are citizens of Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar, Vietnam and South Sudan. They were held for weeks in a converted shipping container at a US military base in the nearby country of Djibouti until a Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for them to be finally sent to South Sudan. The US also described them as violent criminals. Eswatini's government confirmed on Wednesday that the latest five deportees were in its custody after landing on a deportation plane from the US. Local media reported they are being held at the Matsapha Correctional Complex, outside the country's administrative capital of Mbabane, which includes Eswatini's top maximum-security prison. The men's fate is unclear The Eswatini government said the men are 'in transit' and will eventually be sent to their home countries. The US and Eswatini governments would work with the UN migration agency to do that, it said. The UN agency — the International Organization for Migration or IOM — said it was not involved in the operation and has not been approached to assist in the matter but would be willing to help 'in line with its humanitarian mandate.' Eswatini's statement that the men would be sent home was in contrast to US claims they were sent to Eswatini because their home countries refused to take them back. It's unclear how sending the men to Eswatini would make it easier for them to be deported home. There was also no timeframe for that as it depends on several factors, including engagements with the IOM, Mdluli said. 'We are not yet in a position to determine the timelines for the repatriation,' she wrote. Four of the five countries where the men are from have historically resisted taking back some of their citizens deported from the US, which has been a reoccurring problem for Homeland Security. Homeland Security assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the administration was happy the men were 'off of American soil' when she announced their deportations. Another secretive deal There have been no details on why Eswatini agreed to take the men and Mdluli, the government spokesperson, said 'the terms of the agreement between the US and Eswatini remain classified.' Eswatini has said it was the result of months of negotiations between the two governments. South Sudan has also given no details of its agreement with the US to take deportees and has declined to say where the eight men sent there are being held. Some analysts say African nations might be willing to take deportees from the US in return for more favorable relations with the Trump administration, which has cut foreign aid to poor countries and threatened them with trade tariffs. The Trump administration has also said it's seeking more deportation deals with other countries. Rights groups have questioned the countries the US has chosen to deal with, as South Sudan and Eswatini have both been criticized for having repressive governments. Eswatini is Africa's only absolute monarchy, meaning the king has power over government and rules by decree. Political parties are banned and pro-democracy protests have been quelled violently in the past. Several rights groups have criticized Eswatini since pro-democracy protests erupted there in 2021, citing deadly crackdowns by security forces and abusive conditions in prisons, including at the Matsapha Correctional Complex, where pro-democracy activists are held.
CBS News
an hour ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Concerns grow in Norristown, Pennsylvania, after ICE arrests 14 undocumented immigrants at supermarket
Concerns are growing in the Hispanic community after Wednesday's ICE raid at a Norristown, Pennsylvania, supermarket ended with 14 undocumented immigrants arrested. Sharon Williams, who lives in Norristown, visited Super Gigante at the West Norriton Farmers Market the day after the raid on Thursday to shop and also show her support for her immigrant neighbors. "It's just very disappointing," Williams said. "We are very upset here in the greater Norristown area that we've been targeted, that our community and our immigrant community is being targeted." According to federal officials, agents were at the supermarket to execute a search warrant for 14 people, who they said did not have legal status to be in the United States. Ultimately, 14 undocumented immigrants were arrested, including six Mexican nationals, according to the Mexican Consulate in Philadelphia. Residents said the raids are making people uneasy regardless of their immigration status. "Folks who are full citizens either by birth or naturalized citizens have to be on edge because all you have to do is look the part," Williams said. Community advocacy groups in Montgomery County believe these raids are going to continue with ICE agents targeting spaces such as churches, schools, or, as on Wednesday, a supermarket. "People aren't going out to go get groceries," Andi Laudisio, with the nonprofit Indivisible Montgomery County PA and Friends, said. "People are nervous to show up to court because they are being snatched from court. So it's affected everyday life for all of our community members." Laudisio and her work with the advocacy group involves monitoring ICE activity in the area. She was also at the raid at the supermarket after seeing who she believed were ICE agents gathering at a movie theater parking lot earlier Wednesday morning. "ICE is intentionally targeting people on their way to work, on their way home from work, to schools, to graduations," she said. "These are not where criminals are hanging out." Laudisio and others have worked to give people a heads up about ICE activity in the area, but she believes the state needs to do more to help protect immigrant families. Laudisio said if people in power won't step up to help, the community will. "Who is going to do something? Not the government, not the police. It has to be the citizens," she said.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Ice arrests Oregon chiropractor as he was dropping off child at preschool
An Oregon father was taken into US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) custody while dropping off his child on 15 July at a preschool in the Portland-area town of Beaverton, the agency confirmed. The man, identified by Ice as 38-year-old Iranian citizen Mahdi Khanbabazadeh, was arrested outside Guidepost Montessori school after being stopped by agents en route. An Ice spokesperson said in a statement that Khanbabazadeh entered the country legally but overstayed his visa. The spokesperson said that after the traffic stop, officers allowed Khanbabazadeh to drive to the school to drop off his child, but there, he 'stopped cooperating, resisted arrest and refused to exit his vehicle'. Officers broke a window during the arrest, and the child was not harmed, according to the spokesperson. Related: US couples with a noncitizen partner: did you decide to get married because of immigration policy concerns? Caroline Medeiros, an immigration attorney whose child attends the same preschool as Khanbabazadeh's, told local news that he was married to a US citizen, worked as a chiropractor and had already applied and interviewed for a green card. The Guardian contacted Medeiros and has not yet received a response. In a statement to the Guardian, Angel Ignacio, regional manager at Guidepost Global Education, said the organization was 'deeply disturbed by what took place in our South Beaverton school parking lot 7/15/2025. 'While we are still working to understand the full details of the situation, we can confirm that a law enforcement action occurred during school hours and involved the apprehension of a parent by federal agents. Our first priority is the safety and emotional wellbeing of the children in our care. We are actively supporting the affected child and family, and we are providing our staff and families with resources to help them process this event with care and sensitivity,' Ignacio said. 'We are also reviewing the circumstances surrounding this incident and taking steps to ensure that our campuses remain a safe and secure environment for all members of our school community. Because this involves a federal law enforcement matter and private individuals, we are limited in what we can share further. We ask for compassion and respect for the family's privacy during this difficult time.' This was the first confirmed federal immigration arrest at an Oregon school, according to local news. Ice agents have been historically blocked from making arrests at schools, places of worship, hospitals and other sensitive locations, but the Trump administration overturned the policy this year in its widespread crackdown on unlawful immigration. The administration has said it is focused on removing violent criminals who are in the country unlawfully. However, research by the Cato Institute found that 93% of people arrested by Ice since October 2024 had no violent convictions, and 65% had no criminal convictions at all. Khanbabazadeh appears to have no criminal record. Randy Kornfield, who was dropping off his four-year-old grandson at the Montessori school during Khanbabazadeh's arrest, told local news he saw officers in police vests and unmarked cars 'laying in wait' for the father and acting in a 'cold and uncaring' manner. Khanbabazadeh remains in Ice custody pending removal proceedings, according to the agency.
