Latest news with #protests
Daily Mail
9 minutes ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Airline that deports ICE detainees suspends west coast operation after furious pro-migrant protests
An airline which has been operating deportation flights for the Trump administration has announced major closures after furious pro-migrant protests at several airports. Texas-based budget carrier Avelo Airlines said this week that it will close down its west coast operations at Hollywood Burbank Airport as it struggles financially. The company said it will reduce its operation at the airport to one aircraft until December 2 and then close the base which currently serves 13 routes. Avelo said the protests and its contract with DHS did not have any effect on its decision to close the base and have not impacted its business. 'We believe the continuation service from (Burbank) in the current operating environment will not deliver adequate financial returns in a highly competitive backdrop,' the company said in a statement. However, the airport has been the target of several fiery rallies by pro-migrant protesters who have hailed the closure as a response to their calls for a boycott. They include Nancy Klein, from Hollywood, California, who organized seven protests with activist groups CA27Indivisible and East Valley Indivisible in Southern California. 'This change in Avelo's business operations is some evidence that being on the right side of history, while being principled and persistent, can make a difference,' Klein said, adding that another protest is planned at Burbank Airport on July 27. The airline signed a contract with the US Department of Homeland Security in April to transport migrants to detention centers inside and outside America. It faced backlash from customers and employees over its partnership with the DHS. Protests unfolded across the country from outside the Burbank Airport to their hub in New Haven, Connecticut, calling on the airline to end its partnership with the DHS and for customers to boycott the carrier. Susan Auerback slammed Avelo for using migrant deportations 'for their economic benefit' during a protest at Burbank airport earlier this year. 'We will not stand for these mass deportations and we will intervene wherever we can to stop the operation of them,' she told ABC7 reporters at the scene on April 28. 'Protesting an airline that has just decided that this is for their economic benefit to be part of this unjust policy is why we're here.' Avelo's CEO, Andrew Levy, defended the decision at the time, adding that the airline also operated deportation flights under the Biden administration. Texas-based carrier Avelo Airlines signed a contract with the US Department of Homeland Security in April to transport migrants to detention centers inside and outside America 'We realize this is a sensitive and complicated topic,' Levy said in a statement. 'After significant deliberations, we determined this charter flying will provide us with the stability to continue expanding our core scheduled passenger service and keep our more than 1,100 Crewmembers employed for years to come.' Avelo said it had made several changes over the past few years to its West Coast operations but they did not produce the results necessary to continue presence there. The Daily Mail has contacted Avelo for more information on the DHS operations.
South China Morning Post
8 hours ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Trump administration calling back 2,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles
The Trump administration said on Tuesday it is ending the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles. Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell announced the decision in a statement. Roughly 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines had been deployed. It was not immediately clear how long the rest would stay in the region. The troops were tasked with protecting federal buildings and guarding immigration agents as they carry out arrests. The deployment began in early June and was slated to last 60 days. US President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of about 4,000 California National Guard troops and 700 active duty Marines in early June to respond to a series of protests against immigration raids in and around Los Angeles.
Al Jazeera
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Pentagon withdraws 2,000 National Guard troops from Los Angeles
United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has ordered the withdrawal of 2,000 National Guard troops from Los Angeles, roughly half the federal troops deployed to the city, the Pentagon said. President Donald Trump ordered some 4,000 National Guard and 700 Marines into Los Angeles in early June to help enforce federal immigration raids amid widespread protests. According to Department of Homeland Security figures, cited by NBC Los Angeles, the raids have led to the arrest of 2,792 undocumented immigrants. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell on Tuesday confirmed the release of 2,000 California National Guardsmen 'from the federal protection mission'. He claimed the move was because 'the lawlessness in Los Angeles is subsiding'. Mayor Karen Bass described the withdrawal as a 'retreat', crediting the success of peaceful protests and legal actions. 'This happened because the people of Los Angeles stood united and stood strong,' Bass said. 'We organised peaceful protests, we came together at rallies, we took the Trump administration to court. All of this led to today's retreat,' the Democratic mayor said. She referred to a lawsuit the city joined that led to an order from a federal judge barring immigration officers from detaining people based solely on their race or for speaking Spanish. Federal troops deployed to Los Angeles are authorised to detain people who pose a threat to federal personnel or property, but only until police can arrest them. Military officials are not allowed to carry out arrests themselves. Responding to the withdrawal of some of the troops, California's Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, said that 'thousands of members are still federalised in Los Angeles for no reason and unable to carry out their critical duties across the state'. 'End this theatre and send everyone home,' he added in a post on social media. Despite legal challenges, a US appeals court has let Trump retain control of California's National Guard, the first to be deployed by a US president against the wishes of a state governor since 1965. Newsom's office said in late June that California National Guard firefighting crews were 'operating at just 40 percent capacity due to Trump's illegal Guard deployment', as fires were 'popping up across the state' months after devastating fires tore through Los Angeles. Originally a part of the Mexican empire, Los Angeles continues to have a large population of people with Central and South American origins. The Californian capital is also one of several so-called 'sanctuary' cities in the US, offering protection from deportation to hundreds of thousands of undocumented people living there. Trump has promised to deport millions of people in the country without documentation and has executed raids at work sites, including farms that were largely exempted from enforcement during his first term. The administration has faced dozens of lawsuits across the country challenging its tactics. Trump has also increasingly turned to the military in his immigration crackdown. In addition to sending troops to Los Angeles, thousands of active-duty troops have been deployed to the border with Mexico, and the Pentagon has created military zones in the border area. The zones are intended to allow the Trump administration to use troops to detain migrants without invoking the 1807 Insurrection Act that empowers a president to deploy the US military to suppress events such as civil disorder. A recent poll showed support for immigration in the US has increased since last year, while backing for the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants has gone down.
Bloomberg
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Big Take Asia: Leaked Phone Call Upends Thai Politics
A leaked phone call between Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Cambodia's Hun Sen has ignited a significant political crisis in Thailand, leading to large-scale protests and her suspension from office. On today's Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha talks to Bloomberg's Patpicha Tanakasempipat about the political fallout and its impact on the powerful Shinawatra clan, which has dominated Thai politics for almost three decades.
CTV News
13 hours ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Duelling protests target Toronto's mayor and council at city hall
Toronto Watch Natalie Johnson reports on duelling protests outside Toronto City Hall, with demonstrators demanding changes to city management.
