Latest news with #Ice
The Guardian
6 hours ago
- Health
- The Guardian
‘Petri dish for disease': attorney raises alarm of possible Covid outbreak at ‘Alligator Alcatraz'
An outbreak of a respiratory disease, possibly Covid-19, is running rampant through the remote Florida immigration jail known as 'Alligator Alcatraz', according to the attorney of an infected detainee removed from the camp last week. Eric Lee said he was told by his client Luis Manuel Rivas Velasquez that conditions at the facility had deteriorated significantly since Thursday as more migrants held there by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agency experienced symptoms. Lee said authorities removed Rivas Velasquez, a 38-year-old Venezuelan man, from the camp after he was diagnosed in a hospital visit last week, then secretly taken to a similar facility in Texas. Protestors at the gates of the jail in the heart of the Florida Everglades have recorded a number of instances of ambulances arriving and leaving. Lee said the hastily erected tented camp, which Democratic lawmakers have decried for holding thousands of undocumented detainees in cages as they await deportation, is a 'petri dish for disease'. He added: 'Based on what multiple detainees have told me, in the last 72 to 100 hours, there is some respiratory disease which has made the majority, or I would even say vast majority of detainees, sick in some form. 'There are people who are losing breath. There are people who are walking around coughing on one another. Their requests for masks from the guards are denied, and they only are allowed to shower once or maybe twice a week. 'I said to Luis, 'pass the phone. Let me hear it from somebody else. I just want to make sure that people's stories are straight'. And unfortunately they very much are.' The development follows a claim by a woman, a state licensed corrections officer, who said she contracted Covid-19 after working at the camp in unsanitary conditions for about a week last month, and was subsequently fired. 'We had to use the porta-johns. We didn't have hot water half the time. Our bathrooms were backed up,' the woman told NBC6 News after being granted anonymity to discuss conditions there. '[The detainees] have no sunlight. There's no clock in there. They don't even know what time of the day it is. The bathrooms are backed up because so many people [are] using them.' The Florida department of emergency management, which is responsible for operations at the jail, did not immediately respond to a request from the Guardian for comment. In a statement to the Miami New Times, Stephanie Hartman, a department spokesperson, did not answer questions about a possible outbreak, but insisted: 'Detainees have access to a 24/7, fully staffed medical facility with a pharmacy on site.' Lee said Rivas Velasquez told him in a phone call that he pleaded for medical attention for 48 hours after contracting breathing difficulties, and eventually collapsed inside the metal cage in which he and dozens of other inmates were being held. He said his client was taken to Miami's Kendall Regional Medical Center, where he was diagnosed with a respiratory infection, then returned only briefly to the Everglades camp before disappearing for three days. Lee said Rivas Velasquez called on Sunday from a new detention camp in El Paso, Texas. 'He said when he was returned to the Alcatraz facility he asked the guards to provide his medical records and they said they would not do that,' Lee said. 'The guards came to his bed, opened his pillow, took all the poetry and letters he'd been writing, and all the notes he'd been taking about his experiences, and told him he's no longer allowed to write.' Apart from the brief call from Texas, Lee said he had no further information about his client's wellbeing. 'I haven't heard from him for two days now. I have no idea how he's doing or frankly whether he's alive or not. It's hard to wage a legal fight when you don't even have access to your client,' he said. If the outbreak is Covid, Lee added, it would have consequences beyond Alligator Alcatraz. 'The disease doesn't recognize the prison walls and guards are going to get sick. They'll give it to their kids, it's going to get into the Miami school system, people are going to get sick and die as a result of the conditions that are in this facility,' he said.
The Star
a day ago
- The Star
Four Malaysians among 79 arrested in island-wide drug bust in Singapore
Image illustration by The Star / Asia News Network SINGAPORE, Aug 11 (Bernama) -- Four Malaysians were among 79 suspected drug offenders arrested in an island-wide anti-drug operation in Singapore from Aug 4 to 8, where drugs estimated to be worth more than S$470,000 (S$1=RM3.30) were seized, according to the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB). The agency said a total of about 3,457g of heroin, 909g of 'Ice', 3g of cannabis, five 'Ecstasy' tablets, five Erimin-5 tablets and one bottle of GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate) were seized during the five-day operation. CNB said that a 25-year-old Malaysian man was arrested at Woodlands Checkpoint on Aug 5 for attempting to smuggle drugs into Singapore via a Malaysian-registered car. Officers from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) had directed the car for enhanced checks and found several biscuit packages suspected to contain controlled drugs on the rear passenger seat. "CNB officers were immediately alerted to the detection and conducted further checks. The biscuit packages were later found to contain about 2,033g of heroin and 731g of 'Ice',' CNB said in a statement, Monday. On Aug 6, CNB officers arrested a 39-year-old Malaysian man and a 43-year-old Malaysian woman, together with a 53-year-old Singaporean man, for suspected drug offences following an operation in the vicinity of Jurong West and Henderson Road. The Malaysian man was found with 60g of 'Ice' and keycards to a hotel located in the vicinity of Geylang. "With the keycards recovered, CNB officers swiftly raided the hotel rooms and found a total of about 1,421g of heroin, 62g of 'Ice' and drug paraphernalia,' the agency added. CNB said that later the same day, through follow-up investigations, a second operation was launched in the vicinity of Tampines, resulting in the arrest of a 28-year-old Malaysian man. Investigations into all arrested suspects are ongoing. - Bernama
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Straits Times
79 arrested, over 3kg of heroin seized in 5-day drug blitz
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Heroin and Ice (methamphetamine) seized during the five-day island-wide drug bust. SINGAPORE - A total of 79 people were arrested in a five-day drug bust where a total of almost 3.5kg of heroin was seized, among other drugs. In a statement on Aug 11, the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) said that the anti-drug blitz took place from Aug 4 to 8, and covered areas like Ang Mo Kio, Bukit Batok, Jurong, Pasir Ris, Tampines and Yishun. The drugs seized are 3,457g of heroin, 909g of Ice (methamphetamine), 3g of cannabis, 5 Ecstasy tablets, 5 Erimin-5 tablets and 1 bottle of GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate). Anyone found guilty of trafficking more than 15g of diamorphine, or pure heroin, or 250g of methamphetamine may face the mandatory death penalty. The drugs are estimated to be worth more than S$470,000, and the heroin, Ice and cannabis seized could feed the addiction of 2,160 abusers for a week, CNB said. Among the 79 arrested were five suspected drug traffickers, including four Malaysians, who were nabbed in raids where the bulk of the heroin and Ice were seized. A Malaysian man, 25, was arrested at Woodlands Checkpoint on the evening of Aug 5 for attempting to smuggle drugs into Singapore using a car, CNB said. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Business Keppel to sell M1 unit's telco business to Simba for $1.43 billion Business Nvidia, AMD to pay 15% of China chip sale revenues to US, official says Singapore Healthy lifestyle changes could save Singapore $650 million in healthcare costs by 2050: Study Singapore BTO income ceiling, age floor for singles being reviewed: Chee Hong Tat World Netanyahu says Israel's new Gaza offensive will start soon Opinion Anwar's government: Full house but plenty of empty offices Singapore Man's claim amid divorce that his mother is true owner of 3 properties cuts no ice with judge Business Singapore can deliver and thrive in a fragmented global economy: Morgan Stanley analysts About 2,033g of heroin and 731g of Ice were found in biscuit packages in the back of a Malaysia-registered car, which was flagged for additional checks there. Separately, CNB officers arrested a Singaporean man, 53, a Malaysian man, 39, and a Malaysian woman, 43, near Jurong West and Henderson Road early on Aug 6, following a tip off. The Malaysian man was found with 60g of Ice and key cards to a hotel near Geylang, said CNB. CNB then raided the hotel rooms and found a total of about 1,421g of heroin, 62g of Ice and drug paraphernalia. Later on Aug 6, CNB arrested a 28-year-old Malaysian man near Tampines for suspected drug offences, in a follow-up operation. Investigations are ongoing.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Trump Burger owner in Texas faces deportation after Ice arrest
The owner of a Donald Trump-themed hamburger restaurant chain in Texas is facing deportation after immigration authorities under the command of the president detained him. Roland Mehrez Beainy, 28, entered the US as 'a non-immigrant visitor' from Lebanon in 2019 and was supposed to have left the country by 12 February 2024, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) spokesperson told the Guardian. Citing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Texas's Fayette County Record newspaper reported that Beainy applied for legal status after purportedly wedding a woman – but the agency maintained there is no proof he ever lived with her during the alleged marriage. Ice said its officers arrested Beainy on 16 May – five years after he launched the first of multiple Trump Burger locations – and placed him into immigration proceedings, an agency statement said. 'Under the current administration, Ice is committed to restore integrity to our nation's immigration system by holding all individuals accountable who illegally enter the country or overstay the terms of their admission,' the agency's statement also said. 'This is true regardless of what restaurant you own or political beliefs you might have.' In remarks to the Houston Chronicle, Beainy denied Ice's charges against him, saying: 'Ninety percent of the shit they're saying is not true.' He is tentatively scheduled for a hearing in immigration court on 18 November. Trump Burger gained national attention after Beainy opened the original location in Bellville, Texas, in 2020, the same year Trump lost his bid for a second presidential term to Joe Biden. Replete with memorabilia paying reverence to Trump as well as politically satirical menu items targeting his enemies, Beainy's chain expanded to other locations, including Houston. Trump won a second presidency in January, and his administration summarily began delivering on promises to pursue mass deportations of immigrants. Political supporters of Trump in the US without papers, at least in many cases, have not been spared. One case which generated considerable news headlines was that of a Canadian national who supported Trump's plans for mass deportation of immigrants – only for federal authorities to detain her in California while she interviewed for permanent US residency and publicly describe her in a statement as 'an illegal alien from Canada'. In another instance, Ice reportedly detained a Christian Armenian Iranian woman who lost her legal permanent US residency, or green card, after a 2008 burglary conviction and incarcerated her at a federal detention facility in California despite her vocal support of Trump. Her husband, with whom she is raising four US citizen children, subsequently blamed the couple's plight on Biden's 'doing for open borders', as Newsweek noted. Beainy's detention by Ice is not his only legal plight, according to the Houston Chronicle. He sued the landlord of a Trump Burger location in Kemah, Texas, whom Beainy claimed forcibly removed staff and took over the restaurant. The landlord responded with his own lawsuit accusing Beainy of unpaid debts and renamed the Kemah restaurant Maga Burger. In 2022, Beainy told the Houston Chronicle he endured threats to have Trump Burger burned down when the first one opened its doors. But the brand had since gained a loyal following and a portion of its profits were set aside to aid Trump's fundraising, Beainy said to the outlet. 'I would love to have [Trump's] blessing and have him come by,' Beainy said at the time. 'We're hoping that he … sees the place.'
Metro
3 days ago
- Politics
- Metro
Trump Burger owner faces deportation from US after ICE arrest
The owner of a chain of restaurants called Trump Burger is now facing removal from the US. Roland Mehrez Beainy supported Donald Trump's MAGA movement and even donated profits from his politically branded diners towards the president's election campaign. But he has now found himself a victim of Trump's flagship scheme to deport thousands of illegal immigrants. The 28-year-old was arrested by the president's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) on May 16. Authorities say Beainy has overstayed his visa, having entered the US from Lebanon as a 'non immigrant visitor' in 2019 and was supposed to have left the country by February 2024. A spokesperson for Ice said that it is committed to 'restoring integrity' to the immigration system, the rules of which it said applied to all, regardless of'what restaurant you own or political beliefs you might have'. But Beaizy insists that the allegations about his immigration status are false. '90 percent of the sh__ they're saying is not true', he told the Houston Chronicle. The entrepreneur launched his first Trump Burger restaurant in Bellville, Texas in 2020 – the same year Trump lost his re-election bid to Joe Biden. The group has since expanded to locations in Houston and Bay City. Restaurants boast Trump memorabilia as well as spoofs of the president's signature quotes such as 'make burgers great again'. More Trending On the menu are Trump-themed diner items, including Trump Tower burgers, The Big Swiss Deal and Melania Crispy Chicken in a nod to the First Lady. Beainy expressed hope in 2022 that Trump himself would pay the restaurants a visit, while also revealing he had faced threats that they would be burnt down. 'We're hoping that he sees the place', he told the Houston Chronicle. A provisional date for Beainy's immigration hearing has been set for November 18. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Rosie O'Donnell eviscerates Donald Trump in surprisingly moving personal show MORE: Trump-Putin meeting set for Alaska next week – what will happen? MORE: Hiroshima and Nagasaki 80 years later – an anniversary we can't forget
