Embedded Files
Next Meeting: 02/09/26, 7 PM, Ozark-Dale Library
Focus On Immigration And Border Security (Post 2024 Election):
Department of Homeland Security changes story of Maryland ICE shooting after local police release contradicting details | CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/13/us/ice-shooting-maryland-immigration-hnk
Legal analyst breaks down questions surrounding ICE killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis
https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/legal-questions-ice-shooting-renee-good-minneapolis/
Comment: "The fatal shooting of Renee Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent has outraged many but is also strongly defended by President Trump and the Trump administration."
"The shooting raises many legal questions. Constitutional law professor David Schultz, who has taught a class on police, criminal and civil procedure, has some answers."
Comment: Please read the linked article for professor David Schultz's interpretation of the law.
Demands grow for ICE accountability, but Trump administration cutbacks leave fewer options
Comment: "Minnesota leaders and demonstrators are calling for accountability after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a 37-year-old woman during an operation. But the Trump administration has restructured key federal agencies in ways that leave fewer avenues for investigations that could determine whether the officer’s response was overly aggressive, legal experts said."
"The Department of Homeland Security has substantially cut back staff and sought to shutter three agencies, the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman and the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman, watchdogs that are tasked in part with investigating instances where there was a misuse of or excessive force by officers and agents. DHS officials have said the divisions were 'roadblocks' to immigration enforcement operations."
"A whistleblower report sent to Congress last year alleged that as a result, hundreds of complaints were left and that staffing had been cut so much that the agencies could not properly do their mandated work. Homeland Security officials have said the agencies are now just better streamlined."
"The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, which is typically involved in prosecutions of law enforcement officers accused of using excessive force, has lost hundreds of lawyers over the course of President Donald Trump’s second term in office. It dismissed lawsuits against a number of local police departments and ended investigations into patterns and practices of unconstitutional behavior, including in Minneapolis. Department officials have said the division is focusing on important administration priorities."
Comment: "Focusing on important administration priorities" like undermining the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights?
Judge to temporarily block effort to end protections for relatives of citizens, green card holders
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/judge-temporarily-block-effort-end-202921525.html
Comment: "A federal judge said Friday that she expects to temporarily block efforts by the Trump administration to end a program that offered temporary legal protections for more than 10,000 family members of citizens and green card holders."
"U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani said at a hearing that she planned to issue a temporary restraining order but did not say when it would be issued. This case is part of a broader effort by the administration to end temporary legal protection for numerous groups and comes just over a week since another judge ruled that hundreds of people from South Sudan may live and work in the United States legally."
" 'The government, having invited people to apply, is now laying traps between those people and getting the green card,' Justin Cox, an attorney who works with Justice Action Center and who argued the case for the plaintiffs, said. 'That is incredibly inequitable.' "
ICE officer kills a Minneapolis driver in a deadly start to Trump’s latest immigration operation
Comment: "An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a Minneapolis driver on Wednesday during the Trump administration’s latest immigration crackdown on a major American city — a shooting that federal officials said was an act of self-defense but that the mayor described as reckless and unnecessary."
Comment: This is one of the early news reports regarding the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis.
NPR: DHS pauses immigration applications for an additional 20 countries
https://www.npr.org/2026/01/02/g-s1-104284/dhs-pause-immigration-applications-20-countries
Video: ICE ramps up marketing efforts for new hires | NewsNation Live - December 31, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X9aGlHtBpg
Comment: "Immigration and Customs Enforcement has a $100 million budget to recruit new federal officers as the Trump administration's illegal immigration crackdown continues. NewsNation's Nancy Loo reports for 'NewsNation Live' on the efforts that include images of Uncle Sam and the Statue of Liberty."
Judge rules basic Medicaid data can be shared with ICE
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/judge-rules-basic-medicaid-data-can-shared-ice-rcna251443
Comment: "A federal judge in California ruled Monday that the federal government is allowed to share basic information about Medicaid participants with Immigration and Customs Enforcement amid a government push to locate people it believes are in the country unlawfully."
"The plan to share information from the federally backed program had been blocked by a preliminary injunction that applied to 20 states that sued, including California."
"U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria partly denied the states' request for a preliminary injunction Monday, writing that 'basic biographical, location, and contact information' is legal under the law."
"But he also granted the injunction as it pertains to any information beyond that."
Video: Trump’s 2025 ICE crackdown and the RESISTANCE against it - December 27, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCdxOyr32dI
ICE’s interest in high-tech gear raises new questions: ‘What is it for?’
Comment: "The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is buying millions of dollars’ worth of new surveillance tools at the same time President Donald Trump has scaled back protections for use of civilian data — a combination that could lead to a vast expansion of domestic surveillance that goes far beyond immigrants."
"Federal records show that ICE has increased its spending on surveillance technology, looking to spend more than $300 million under Trump for social-media monitoring tools, facial recognition software, license plate readers and services to find where people live and work."
"These upgrades are expected to be used in ICE’s push to help fulfill the president’s campaign promise of 'the largest deportation program of criminals in the history of America'."
"The high-tech capabilities are also coinciding with policy changes from the White House that lower the guardrails around the government’s use of data on millions of American residents and expand its potential surveillance targets. A set of executive orders is giving ICE workarounds for the decades-old federal standard that protects American residents’ privacy, and the agency itself is signaling a shift in its enforcement policy, looking beyond immigrants and toward American critics of its officers’ behavior."
"ICE’s new capabilities and legal flexibility are raising concerns among privacy and civil liberty advocates that it is expanding its remit with little supervision of its powers."
Comment: "Privacy advocates argue that this new technological capability — and the mission of tracking threats against agents — widens ICE’s surveillance scope beyond immigration enforcement in dangerous ways."
Comment: Please read the linked article. Some of the privacy threats are chilling, even for citizens.
ICE is deporting some immigrants so quickly, their attorneys are left scrambling
Video: ICE plans to hold 80,000 immigrants in detention warehouses, report says - December 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FQzbQNj10M
Trump administration wants to set quota for denaturalizing American citizens
Comment: "The Trump administration says it wants to establish a quota for next year to denaturalize up to 200 American citizens per month."
Comment: "In a document circulated recently to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Department, the administration says it wants to denaturalize 100 to 200 people per month in 2026. It also says USCIS should work with the Department of Justice to meet that quota. NPR hasn't seen the document, which was first obtained by The New York Times. USCIS spokesman Matthew J. Tragesser told NPR that the goal is to prioritize the denaturalization of people who have been found lying or misrepresenting themselves in the naturalization process. Now, the Trump administration wanting to denaturalize people is not new. Establishing a quota is. Elizabeth Taufa is with the San Francisco-based Immigrant Legal Resource Center. She says denaturalization has historically been used in rare cases."
Comment: Naturalized citizens subject to denaturalization should be provided due process on an individual basis in accordance with the rights of any other U.S. citizen. That due process is inconsistent with any quota system that the Trump Administration can come up with. If the Trump Administration can establish evidence sufficient to support an indictment, they are free to prosecute any citizen that illegally lied or misrepresented "themselves in the naturalization process." However, any denaturalization process should be based on an individual legal basis (with standard due process procedures accorded to any other U.S. citizen) rather than some administrative procedure incorporating quotas that the Trump administration comes up with.
ICE officer accused of excessive force, then sent back to work despite active probe
https://www.npr.org/2025/12/24/nx-s1-5650773/ice-immigration-agent-leave-oversight
Comment: "In the span of less than 72 hours, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Victor Mojica went from being widely vilified and placed on administrative leave — to being returned right back to his old job."
"On a Friday in September, Mojica was caught on several cameras roughly pushing a woman into the hallway and then to the ground, as the woman screamed."
"The incident at an immigration court in New York rapidly circulated online and prompted the Homeland Security Department to place Mojica on administrative leave – a rare instance of such leave being publicly announced."
"By the following Monday, Mojica was back on the job, without any further explanation from the agency."
"NPR has now learned that he returned to work before the Homeland Security Department's internal watchdog had concluded a review into his behavior. The DHS Office of Inspector General ultimately decided — nearly two months later — that the incident did not merit a criminal probe."
"The disclosure of the probe raises questions about the adequacy of DHS oversight mechanisms to investigate employee misconduct. It comes as the department has gutted some internal oversight agencies and faces consistent pressure from Trump officials to ramp up deportations."
"Critics of the administration, and former ICE personnel, also worry the lack of transparency about DHS's disciplinary practices can further erode trust in federal law enforcement."
Video: Afghan migrants ordered to report to ICE on Christmas, New Year's Day - December 23, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ6_s0S7Dbw
Video: Can local officials stop ICE operations? - December 23, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SgeJr5KG8g
DHS increases offer for undocumented migrants to $3,000 if they voluntarily leave by end of 2025
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dhs-undocumented-migrants-self-deportation-offer-increased/
Comment: Just how much of your tax dollars will Trump and Stephen Miller spend in an attempt to Make America White Again?
NPR analysis shows skyrocketing number of 'no-shows' in immigration court
https://www.npr.org/2025/12/22/nx-s1-5583971/trump-ice-immigration-arrests-deportation-no-shows
Comment: If one shows up for court, he/she can be arrested immediately by ICE. If one doesn't show up, the judge can issue an order allowing the immigrant to be deported. Some choice! Given this choice, many immigrants are opting to not show up in court.
Number of people in ICE detention hits record high, data shows
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/22/ice-detentions-record-immigration
Comment: "The number of people in immigration detention in the US has hit an all-time high according to data published by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The data, which comes out every two weeks, shows that as of 14 December 2025, ICE held more than 68,400 people."
"This many people in immigration detention is a new record, breaking the previous high set at the beginning of December."
Comment: "In one of the biggest changes in immigration enforcement policies, immigrants with no criminal record continue to make up the largest group in US immigration detention, despite the administration’s rhetoric about focusing its anti-immigration efforts on 'the worst of the worst' criminals. Being undocumented in the US is a civil not a criminal infraction. The Trump administration has also moved to invalidate protections for many immigrants staying in the US legally."
Trump's new crackdown: Collective punishment for legal immigrants
https://www.axios.com/2025/12/19/trump-immigration-diversity-visas-travel-ban
Comment: "President Trump's overnight crackdown on diversity visas is the latest use of his 2025 strategy to scale down legal immigration."
Comment: "The Trump administration is leveraging collective punishment by halting or trying to scuttle entire legal immigration programs after high-profile incidents."
" '[T]hey are using them fully as a pretext for ... undoing so many aspects of the immigration system,' said Doris Meissner, who formerly led the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and is now at the non-partisan Migration Policy Institute."
Comment: "The alleged shooter at Brown University and MIT entered the U.S. from Portugal through the diversity lottery immigrant visa program, which allows roughly 50,000 people entry a year."
"DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced that program is now paused. Trump had called to end this visa program several times in his first term."
Comment: "In November, DHS paused all asylum decisions after an Afghan national, who entered the U.S. legally and was granted asylum, attacked members of the National Guard in D.C."
"The agency also suspended all immigration decisions for Afghan passport holders and nationals on the travel ban list, which has grown to 39 countries."
"The pause has stopped citizenship ceremonies, green card interviews and will prevent people from renewing their work or student visas."
Trump pauses green card lottery program after Brown University, MIT shootings
https://www.axios.com/2025/12/19/trump-green-card-lottery-visa-brown-university-mit-shootings
Military lawyer swiftly fired from immigration bench after defying Trump deportation push
Comment: Trump's thumb on the scale of justice?
Trump administration pauses immigration cases for people from another 20 countries
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-administration-pauses-immigration-cases-another-20-countries/
Comment: "The U.S. government has expanded a sweeping pause on legal immigration applications to include those filed by people from an additional 20 countries that President Trump added to his 'travel ban' proclamation this week, a U.S. official with direct knowledge told CBS News on Thursday."
"The move, which mainly affects immigrants who hail from certain African and Asian countries, further escalates a wide-ranging crackdown on legal immigration expanded by the Trump administration this month. Many of those affected by the pause are likely to be legal immigrants who are currently in the U.S. and are seeking to change their status or become citizens."
ICE meets snow as midwesterners fight back against Trump immigration raids
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/18/snow-midwest-ice-raids-trump
ICE is reopening shuttered prisons as detention centers. Many have a troubled past
https://www.npr.org/2025/12/15/nx-s1-5591459/former-prison-ice-detention-centers-conditions
Many immigrants' final legal step — citizenship — has become harder under the Trump administration
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-citizenship-harder-immigrants-green-cards-rcna248917
Comment: "Lawful permanent residents are seeing their naturalization ceremonies abruptly canceled this month as the Trump administration puts an indefinite 'hold' on immigration applications from certain countries."
"The holds apply to green card and U.S. citizenship requests by people from 19 countries deemed 'high risk' by the Trump administration. The list includes Cuba, Iran, Haiti and Somalia, among others."
"Lawful permanent residents, or green card holders, are already among the most thoroughly vetted individuals in the nation’s immigration system. When they decide to naturalize, they undergo an even more comprehensive government review that includes background checks, interviews with immigration officers and a citizenship test."
"The citizenship ceremony is the last step in a long process that starts with having a green card for several years, submitting the application, paying hundreds of dollars in fees, completing an interview with an immigration officer, passing a background check as well as an English and civics test, all before finally taking the oath."
" 'If you’re scheduled for an oath ceremony, you have gone through all of the checks that are required,' said Deborah Chen, supervising attorney at the New York Legal Assistance Group's immigrant protection unit."
US ends temporary legal status for Ethiopians amid Trump crackdown
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/12/trump-ends-temporary-legal-status-ethiopia
Comment: "The US is ending temporary legal status for citizens of Ethiopia in the United States, according to a government notice on Friday, as the Trump administration continues its crackdown on legal and illegal immigration."
Comment: "Temporary protected status is available to people whose home country has experienced a natural disaster, armed conflict or other extraordinary event. It provides eligible migrants with work authorization and temporary protection from deportation."
Comment: "In recent months, the Trump administration has removed the protective status for people from numerous countries, including Haiti, Myanmar, South Sudan, Syria, and Venezuela. In November, the president announced the termination of protection for Somalis in Minnesota."
Comment: It appears that previously protected individuals from these countries have 60 days to leave the U.S. after the relevant DHS announcement published in the Federal Register. However, as a disclaimer, this statement is not from an official source and should be verified for accuracy by any affected parties.
Trump's speech on combating inflation turns to grievances about immigrants
https://www.npr.org/2025/12/10/g-s1-101506/trumps-speech-grievances-about-immigrants
Comment: "The president told the crowd gathered at a casino and resort in Mount Pocono that inflation was no longer a problem and that Democrats had used the term 'affordability' as a 'hoax' to hurt his reputation. But his remarks weaved wildly to include grievances he first raised behind closed doors in his first term in 2018 — and later denied saying — asking why the U.S. doesn't have more immigrants from Scandinavia."
" 'Why is it we only take people from s—-hole countries, right?' Trump said onstage. 'Why can't we have some people from Norway, Sweden, just a few?' "
"Trump said he objected to taking immigrants from 'hellholes like Afghanistan, Haiti, Somalia and many other countries.' He added for emphasis that those places 'are a disaster, right? Filthy, dirty, disgusting, ridden with crime'."
Comment: "Following dismal results for Republicans in last month's off-cycle elections, the White House has sought to convince voters that the economy will emerge stronger next year and that any anxieties over inflation have nothing to do with Trump."
"He displayed a chart comparing price increases under his predecessor, Joe Biden, to prices under his own watch to argue his case. But the overall inflation rate has climbed since he announced broad tariffs in April and left many Americans worried about their grocery, utility and housing bills."
Comment: When he doesn't have a viable plan for improving the economy, Trump's solution is to blame the immigrants and divert the public's attention from his disastrous tariffs.
Authorities monitor online criticism of New Orleans immigration crackdown
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/08/new-orleans-immigration-online-criticism-tracking
Comment: "State and federal authorities are closely tracking online criticism and protests against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in New Orleans, monitoring message boards around the clock for threats to agents while compiling regular updates on public 'sentiment' surrounding the arrests, according to law enforcement records reviewed by the Associated Press."
Comment: " 'Online opinions still remain mixed, with some supporting the operations while others are against them,' said a briefing circulated early on Sunday to law enforcement officials. Earlier bulletins noted 'a combination of groups urging the public to record ICE and Border Patrol' as well as 'additional locations where agents can find immigrants'."
"Immigration authorities have insisted the sweeps are targeted at 'criminal illegal aliens'. But the law enforcement records detail criminal histories for less than a third of the 38 people arrested in the first two days of the operation."
"Local leaders told the AP those numbers – which law enforcement officials were admonished not to distribute to the media – undermined the stated aim of the roundup. They also expressed concern that the online surveillance could chill free speech as authorities threaten to charge anyone interfering with immigration enforcement."
" 'It confirms what we already knew – this was not about public safety, it’s about stoking chaos and fear and terrorizing communities,' said the Louisiana state senator Royce Duplessis, a Democrat who represents New Orleans. 'It’s furthering a sick narrative of stereotypes that immigrants are violent.' ”
Comment: By stressing the review of "public sentiment," the Trump administration is illustrating that it is weighing the political impact (either positive or negative to them) of the New Orleans immigration crackdown, rather than focusing on any real effort to target "criminal illegal aliens." Political messaging is the agenda not crime prevention.
‘We’ll need to see a warrant’: the group teaching businesses a vital tool to fight ICE raids
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/08/ice-fourth-amendment-rights-north-carolina
Mayor-elect Mamdani releases 'Know Your Rights When Dealing with ICE' video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzFOmAoadE8
Legal disclaimer: The guidance provided in the video deals with immigrant rights in New York While many of these rights probably apply across the United States, there may be additional legal requirements in Alabama that immigrants must comply with. For detailed legal guidance, please consult an immigration attorney.
NBC News: ICE has arrested nearly 75,000 people with no criminal records, data shows
Comment: "The figures don't include arrests made by Border Patrol, which has launched aggressive immigration operations in several cities in recent months. "
Comment: What happened to the plan to go after the "worst of the worst?"
GOP ramps up scrutiny of green card holders and U.S. citizens
https://www.axios.com/2025/12/05/republicans-green-cards-citizenship-immigration
Comment: "In Congress, the GOP's immigration crackdown increasingly includes more scrutiny of people who have already navigated the lengthy legal process."
"After two National Guard personnel were shot last week in D.C., the Trump administration has paused asylum, vowed to expand its travel bans to more than 30 countries and called for a review of green card holders from 19 countries."
Comment: Please read the linked article for other GOP plans to attack the rights of naturalized U.S. citizens and valid green card holders.
Border Patrol enters an uneasy New Orleans
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/04/border-patrol-new-orleans-immigration-00677121
Comment: "It marks the fourth destination for DHS after similar efforts in Los Angeles, Chicago and Charlotte — but the action in Louisiana marks an escalation of the federal government’s immigration crackdown with its goal of arresting roughly 5,000 people. It also represents the first Border Patrol deployment within a Democrat-led city with the full-throated cooperation of a Republican governor, raising the potential for local and state leaders to be pitted against each other."
"GOP Gov. Jeff Landry teased the operation on Fox News earlier this week, calling New Orleans a 'crime ridden city' that needs 'more boots on the ground in order to get crime under control.' New Orleans used to have the highest homicide rate in the country, but crime has reportedly dropped in recent years, like it has for many major U.S. cities."
"As the Crescent City’s first Hispanic mayor, Moreno has expressed concerns about resident’s due process rights being violated and has criticized federal officials for not providing her with any information about the operation. Ahead of the deployment, Moreno launched a website listing resources for people affected by the law enforcement action. An aide for Moreno declined to comment."
Comment: "When word first spread in September that the White House was considering sending the National Guard into New Orleans, Moreno vowed to 'fight any federal takeover' and deemed the threat to be about 'scare tactics and politicizing public safety.' "
"Trump’s crusade against Democratic-led cities has put city leaders across the U.S. on defense, with many making preparations in anticipation they will be the next on the administration’s list. New Orleans leaders and groups have been in contact with cities dealing with the presence of federal immigration agents to build a roadmap for their own response."
Video: Border Patrol’s expanding role in Trump’s immigration crackdown - December 03, 2025
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/border-patrols-expanding-role-in-trumps-immigration-crackdown
Comment: Lengthy video and transcript available at link.
Trump launches immigration crackdown in New Orleans
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-immigration-crackdown-begins-new-orleans-2025-12-03/
Video: Trump calls Somalis 'garbage' as ICE plans new targeted operation - December 03, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nXoi3yr1Tg
Comment: Most of this video discusses New Orleans immigration operation and a response from DHS spokesperson, but it also mentions Trump's contemptuous remarks.
US pauses all immigration applications from 19 non-European countries
Comment: "The Trump administration on Tuesday said it paused all immigration applications, including green card and U.S. citizenship processing, filed by immigrants from 19 non-European countries, citing concerns over national security and public safety."
"The pause applies to people from 19 countries that were already subjected to a partial travel ban in June, placing further restrictions on immigration - a core feature of U.S. President Donald Trump's political platform."
Administration cancels some naturalization ceremonies for those on travel ban list
U.S. halts all immigration cases, including citizenship ceremonies, for nationals of 19 countries, internal guidance says
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-administration-halts-immigration-citizenship-for-19-countries/
Comment: "The Trump administration has halted all immigration applications filed by people from 19 countries, its latest move to restrict legal immigration pathways following the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., last week, according to internal government guidance and a source familiar with the move."
"The internal U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services guidance obtained by CBS News shows the agency directed employees on Monday to 'stop final adjudication on all cases' involving individuals from 19 nations that are facing restrictions under a proclamation President Trump issued in June. Colloquially, that proclamation is known as the travel ban."
"That pause includes the completion of citizenship ceremonies for legal U.S. permanent residents from the list of 19 countries who were on the cusp of becoming naturalized American citizens, the USCIS document said. It suggested the suspension is an interim step while the administration develops further guidance on the vetting of the affected immigrants."
" 'This hold includes all form types and making any final decisions (approvals, denials) as well as completing any oath ceremonies,' the guidance to USCIS offices said."
"Mr. Trump's June proclamation imposed a near-total restriction on the entry of people from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. It also partially suspended the entry of travelers and immigrants from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela."
"The new guidance indicates that the immigration crackdown directed by Mr. Trump following last week's shooting of the National Guard members is much broader in scope than previously reported. The man accused of shooting the two Guard members, one of whom has died, is an Afghan evacuee who entered the U.S. in September 2021, under the Biden administration, and who was granted asylum in April 2025, after Mr. Trump returned to the White House."
Video: Minneapolis PD Chief: Police 'Have A Duty To Intervene' If ICE Uses Excessive Force In New Crackdown - December 02, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlvkDFslmpw
Trump calls Somali immigrants ‘garbage’ as US reportedly targets Minnesota community
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/02/trump-somali-immigrants-minnesota
Comment: "Donald Trump on Tuesday called Somali immigrants 'garbage' and said they should be sent back home in a rant that came as the administration is reportedly increasing immigration enforcement against undocumented Somalis in Minnesota."
"In a xenophobic rant during a cabinet meeting, Trump went off on Somalis and Ilhan Omar, the congressional representative who is from Somalia and is a US citizen. He said Somalia 'stinks' and is 'no good for a reason'."
" 'They contribute nothing. I don’t want them in our country, I’ll be honest with you,' he said. He called Omar 'garbage' and said 'we’re going to go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country'. "
" 'These are people who do nothing but complain,' he said. 'They complain, and from where they came from, they got nothing … When they come from hell and they complain and do nothing but bitch, we don’t want them in our country. Let them go back to where they came from and fix it.' ”
"The New York Times reported on Tuesday that the Minneapolis-St Paul metro area, where most Somalis reside, would see stepped-up deportation efforts this week, focusing primarily on Somalis who have final deportation orders. It would use 'strike teams' of ICE agents and other federal officers, bringing in about 100 agents from across the country, the Times reported. Other media outlets, including the Associated Press, have confirmed the reporting."
Comment: Did you ever expect a President of the United States to use language like this, and display the ignorance and prejudice shown here?
Trump wants to revoke the citizenship of some naturalized Americans: What to know
https://www.axios.com/2025/12/01/trump-naturalized-citizenship-national-guard
Gutting of key US watchdog could pave way for grave immigration abuses, experts warn | Trump administration | The Guardian
Comment: "The federal watchdog system at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that oversees complaints about civil rights violations, including in immigration detention, has been gutted so thoroughly that it could be laying the groundwork for the Trump administration to 'abuse people with impunity', experts warn."
"Former federal oversight officials have sounded the alarm at the rapid dismantling of guardrails against human rights failures – at the same time as the government pushes aggressive immigration enforcement operations."
"A group of fired watchdogs has filed a whistleblower complaint to Congress through the Government Accountability Project (GAP), and a coalition of human rights organizations sued the administration, demanding the employees be reinstated. There is deepening concern that a system of oversight that was already weak is now hanging by a thread, even as criticism surges over treatment of detainees in the ballooning immigration jail network."
Comment: Please read entire linked article for a better explanation.
Mapped: What Share of Each State’s Population is Foreign Born?
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/share-of-state-populations-foreign-born/
An emboldened Trump escalates his anti-immigration crackdown after National Guard shooting
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/28/politics/trump-immigration-crackdown-national-guard-shooting
College student deported when flying home for Thanksgiving, despite court order
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/28/college-student-deported-boston-flight-thanksgiving
Comment: "A college freshman trying to fly from Boston to Texas to surprise her family for Thanksgiving was instead deported to Honduras in violation of a court order, according to her attorney."
"Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, 19, had already passed through security at Boston Logan international airport on 20 November when she was told there was an issue with her boarding pass, said attorney Todd Pomerleau. The Babson College student was then detained by immigration officials and within two days sent to Texas and then Honduras, the country she left at age seven."
"The day after Lopez Belloza was arrested, a federal judge issued an emergency order prohibiting the government from moving her out of Massachusetts or the US for at least 72 hours. ICE did not respond to an email on Friday from the Associated Press seeking comment about violating that order."
CNN: US will reexamine all green cards issued to people from 19 countries as Trump administration ramps up immigration crackdown
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/27/politics/us-reexamining-green-card-holders-19-countries
The Guardian: Mother of Karoline Leavitt’s nephew detained by US immigration agents
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/26/karoline-leavitt-nephew-mother-detained-ice
Comment: "Bruna Ferreira, who has a child with the White House press secretary’s brother, is now in custody at an ICE facility"
Comment: "At a minimum, Ferreira’s detention and likely deportation has brought home the close or casual connections many Americans have to the administration’s immigration crackdown."
Comment: Do you think this situation will make anyone in the White House more empathetic to the plight of DACA immigrants? Hopeful, but doubtful.
The number of non-criminal detainees arrested by ICE has surged by 2,000% under Trump. These charts show who's in detention.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ice-detainee-data-fastest-growing-without-criminal-records-trump/
Comment: What happened to the idea of arresting "the worst of the worst?"
Legal status of 350,000 Haitian migrants to expire in early February, U.S. officials announce
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/legal-status-haitian-migrants-expire-early-february/
Trump administration to review status of all refugees admitted under Biden
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna245917
Comment: "The Trump administration is ordering the review of all refugees admitted to the U.S. during the Biden administration, according to a memo reviewed by NBC News. It is the latest in a series of actions taken by the administration to dismantle the U.S. immigration system."
"The decision would potentially affect more than 200,000 refugees who began the process of legally immigrating to the U.S. over the last four years. In order to receive refugee status, applicants first must go through an extensive vetting process that often takes years to complete and begins one to two years before they arrive in the U.S."
"The memo calls for a 'comprehensive review and a re-interview of all refugees admitted from January 20, 2021, to February 20, 2025,' including green-card holders. It cites a finding by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that the Biden administration 'potentially prioritized expediency, quantity, and admissions over quality interviews and detailed screening and vetting.' "
Applicants who are not found to meet the definition of a refugee under the re-review will have no right to appeal the decision, according to the Nov. 21 memo. Spouses, children and other family members would also lose their immigration status if the original applicant is retroactively denied."
Comment: Given the large number of refugees, to do this review objectively and correctly, a large expenditure of efforts, time, and funds will be necessary. On the other hand, if this "review" is simply going to be an excuse to cancel prior commitments to legitimate refugees, this can be done more quickly and inexpensively. What do you think the Trump administration approach will be?
Comment: Please note that this announcement was made before the tragic shooting of the National Guard troops in Washington D.C.
'Nobody wants to come': What if the U.S. can no longer attract immigrant physicians?
Comment: "Immigrants make up about a quarter of all the country's doctors, and the U.S. health care system depends heavily on them. There are roughly 325,000 physicians — not including nurses or other critical health care workers — living and working in the U.S., who were born and trained elsewhere."
"In rural communities, and in some subspecialties of medicine, the reliance on immigrant physicians runs much higher. In primary care and specialties like oncology, for example, foreign-born doctors account for about half of the workforce."
"Meanwhile, health care is already burdened by retirements and burnout. Many experts say recent immigration and health policies are only making it harder — and less appealing — for foreign-born talent to augment the short-staffed American health system."
" 'This is a real pivotal moment right now where decades of progress could be at risk,' says Dr. Julie Gralow, chief medical officer at the American Society of Clinical Oncology."
"She says policies defunding everything from scientific research to public health have damaged the U.S.'s reputation to the point where she hears from hospitals and universities that top international talent are no longer interested in coming to America. 'Up until this year, it was a dream — a wish! — that you could get a job and you could come to the U.S. And now nobody wants to come.' "
Lawmakers question legality of Border Patrol license plate reader program
Comment: "A number of Democratic lawmakers are questioning the legality of a U.S. Border Patrol predictive intelligence program that singles out and detains drivers for suspicious travel inside the country."
"Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts sent a letter Monday to Border Patrol’s parent agency calling the license plate reader program an 'invasive surveillance network' that 'poses a serious threat to individuals’ privacy and civil liberties' and raised the possibility that the program may run afoul of the U.S. Constitution."
" 'Such pervasive surveillance — similar to surveillance conducted by authoritarian regimes such as China — not only chills lawful expression and assembly but also raises serious constitutional concerns. Without transparency, accountability, and clear limitations, these practices erode fundamental individual rights and set a dangerous precedent for unchecked government power,' Markey wrote in a letter asking the agency for details about the plate readers and their use."
"An Associated Press investigation published last week revealed that the U.S. Border Patrol, a component of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, is running a predictive intelligence program monitoring millions of American drivers nationwide to identify and detain people whose travel patterns it deems suspicious. In some instances, Border Patrol concealed its license plate readers in ordinary traffic equipment. The agency also had access to plate data collected by other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies as well as from private companies."
"The program, which has existed under administrations of both parties, has resulted in people being stopped, searched and in some cases arrested. A network of cameras scans and records vehicle license plate information, and an algorithm flags vehicles deemed suspicious based on where they came from, where they were going and which route they took. Federal agents in turn sometimes refer drivers they deem suspicious to local law enforcement who make a traffic stop citing a reason like speeding or lane change violations."
"Courts have generally upheld license plate reader collection on public roads but have curtailed warrantless government access to other kinds of persistent tracking data that might reveal sensitive details about the movement of individuals, such as GPS devices or cellphone location data. A growing critique by scholars and civil libertarians argues that large-scale collection systems like license plate readers might be unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment, which protects people from unreasonable searches."
One-third of those arrested by Border Patrol in Charlotte were classified as criminals, internal document says
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/charlotte-border-patrol-immigration-criminals-arrests/
Comment: "Fewer than one-third of the individuals arrested by Border Patrol during the Trump administration's recent immigration enforcement crackdown in Charlotte were classified as criminals, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security document obtained by CBS News."
"The government document undermines claims by Trump administration officials who said the crackdown, dubbed Operation Charlotte's Web, was primarily focused on apprehending immigrants living in the U.S. illegally who also had criminal histories and posed a threat to public safety."
"Roughly 200 green-uniformed Border Patrol agents recorded more than 270 immigration arrests during the Charlotte campaign, which began on the weekend of Nov. 15, the document shows. Fewer than 90 of those arrested by Border Patrol were categorized as 'criminal aliens' in the document."
"Those statistics do not include arrests made by officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, though Border Patrol played the principal role in Operation Charlotte's Web. The document also does not specify the severity of the crimes of the detainees listed as criminals, nor whether their records included convictions or solely criminal charges."
"While DHS has publicly maintained that the crackdown in Charlotte is ongoing, separate internal documents say Border Patrol's operation there concluded, with agents demobilizing from the area last week. ICE has a permanent presence in North Carolina, and is expected to continue operations there."
CNN: Trump administration moves to reinterview refugees admitted to US under Biden
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/24/politics/trump-refugee-program-interviews-biden
Trump administration cancels temporary asylum for Myanmar nationals living in US
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/24/trump-cancels-asylum-myanmar
Comment: "The Trump administration announced it will cancel temporary asylum for about 10,000 Myanmar nationals living in the US, despite the country being ruled by a military dictatorship that has a record of executing dissidents."
"On Monday the Department of Homeland Security said it was terminating the designation of Burma (Myanmar) for Temporary Protected Status relief. It claimed that after reviewing conditions in Myanmar and consulting with appropriate US government agencies, 'the secretary [Kristi Noem] determined that Burma no longer continues to meet the conditions' for TPS designation."
Comment: "The Trump administration has already withdrawn protected status for a number of other nationalities, including Afghanistan, Cameroon, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, South Sudan and Venezuela, as part of sweeping changes to immigration policy."
Nearly 200,000 Ukrainians in US thrown into legal limbo by Trump immigration crackdown
Federal judge rebukes administration's use of force during 'Operation Midway Blitz'
CNN: Charlotte officials say Border Patrol operation has ended, but DHS insists immigration enforcement will continue
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/20/us/border-patrol-charlotte-gregory-bovino
Judge dismisses charges against 2 people accused of ramming vehicle of federal agents conducting Chicago immigration sweeps
https://abcnews.go.com/US/doj-drops-charges-2-people-accused-ramming-vehicles/story?id=127714651
Comment: "A federal judge on Thursday dismissed the indictment against two people accused last month of 'ambushing' federal agents conducting an immigration sweep in Chicago, including a woman who was shot five times in the incident."
Comment: "Martinez’s attorney, Christopher Parente, told ABC News on Thursday that he and his client are relieved by the government's decision."
" 'We appreciate the U.S. attorney being thoughtful in agreeing to dismiss this,' Parente said."
Comment: "The decision by the DOJ to dismiss the charges against Martinez and Ruiz came a day after a federal judge in Chicago ordered the government to turn over to the defense additional text messages by the CBP agents involved in the incident."
"During a Nov. 5 court hearing, CBP Agent Charles Exum, identified as the agent who shot Martinez, was questioned by Parente about text messages he sent to friends and family after the incident in which he appeared to boast about his shooting skills."
" 'I fired 5 rounds and she had 7 holes. Put that in your book, boys,' one of those messages said."
Comment: "Federal prosecutors initially claimed that Exum fired rounds at Martinez in self-defense, saying that Martinez drove toward him when he exited his vehicle after the collision."
"During an Oct. 6 hearing, Parente claimed in court that he viewed a body-camera video from one of the agents involved in the incident that he said appeared to show the federal vehicle swerve into Martinez's car."
" 'When I watched the video after this agent says, 'Do something, b----,' I see the driver of this vehicle turn the wheel to the left. Which would be consistent with him running into Ms. Martinez’s vehicle, okay,' Parente said. 'And then seconds later, he jumps out and just starts shooting.' "
"Parente also said Martinez is licensed to carry a concealed weapon and that the gun federal officials claimed she had during the confrontation with CBP agents was never removed from her purse."
Migrants thought they were in court for a routine hearing. Instead, it was a deportation trap
Axios: Pope Leo denounces "extremely disrespectful" treatment of immigrants in U.S.
https://www.axios.com/2025/11/19/pope-leo-trump-immigration-crackdown-us-bishops-message
Comment: "Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday backed the U.S. Roman Catholic bishops' rare statement criticizing the Trump administration's immigration and mass deportation policies and called on immigrants to be treated with 'dignity'."
Comment: "The Chicago-born pontiff told reporters the immigration message that the bishops delivered last week was 'a very important statement' and 'people of goodwill' should listen carefully to what they said."
Comment: " 'We have to look for ways of treating people humanely, treating people with the dignity that they have. If people are in the United States illegally, there are ways to treat that. There are courts. There's a system of justice,' Leo said."
Fear spreads as federal immigration crackdown in North Carolina expands to Raleigh
Comment: "Federal agents expanded their North Carolina immigration crackdown to the area around the state capital of Raleigh on Tuesday, with fear spreading in at least one immigrant-heavy suburb where restaurants closed and many people stayed home."
"The North Carolina operation began over the weekend in the state's largest city, Charlotte, where officials said more than 130 people have been arrested."
"Speaking at a Raleigh City Council meeting, Mayor Janet Cowell said there had been 'confirmed sightings' of Border Patrol officers operating in Wake County, which includes Raleigh, and nearby Durham County, which includes the city of Durham. She said earlier that she did not know how large the operation would be or how long agents would be present."
"She encouraged residents to call the police department if they felt unsafe and urged protesters to remain peaceful."
Video: Supreme Court to hear case over U.S. stopping migrants in Mexico - November 17, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucJ7TGsNt-E
Trump revives policy penalizing immigrants for using safety net programs
Comment: "The Trump administration on Monday proposed giving immigration officers authority to deny permanent residency to lawfully present immigrants who use Medicaid or other food and housing assistance programs, arguing that 'government benefits should not incentivize immigration' and that immigrants should be 'self-reliant'."
"It’s a twist on the so-called public charge rule from Trump’s first term, which the Biden administration stopped enforcing in 2021 and rescinded in 2022."
"The proposal Monday from the Homeland Security Department’s Citizenship and Immigration Services division would repeal the Biden administration’s 2022 rule. But instead of reviving the public charge rule from the first Trump term, the agency pledged to release guidance at an unspecified future date. That effectively would give more power to individual Citizenship and Immigration Services officers to make determinations about who they think is or could become a 'public charge'."
"The proposal Monday from the Homeland Security Department’s Citizenship and Immigration Services division would repeal the Biden administration’s 2022 rule. But instead of reviving the public charge rule from the first Trump term, the agency pledged to release guidance at an unspecified future date. That effectively would give more power to individual Citizenship and Immigration Services officers to make determinations about who they think is or could become a 'public charge'."
Comment: "Some health policy experts and immigrant rights advocates are warning that the change, if it takes effect, will cause both individual suffering and negative population-wide effects."
"They say the policy could burden already overwhelmed hospitals if immigrants skip preventive care because they lack health insurance and end up in the emergency room. They also predict it will make it harder to control both outbreaks of infectious diseases and chronic health conditions."
Comment: Please note that working immigrants pay taxes. Until recently, that also included undocumented immigrants. However, because the Trump administration starting allowing the IRS to turn over tax filing information over to ICE (it was generally prohibited from doing this in the past), many undocumented immigrants are now no longer filing tax returns.
Comment: Do we really want individual Immigration Services officers, without guidance, to subjectively "make determinations about who they think is or could become a 'public charge'?"
Immigration arrests in Charlotte have sparked fears, leading businesses to close
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/immigration-arrests-charlotte-fear-businesses-closed-rcna244357
Comment: "After immigration officials arrested more than 130 people, some churches report being half empty, an after-school program canceled activities and one U.S. citizen said he started carrying his passport."
Federal agents make 130 arrests in 48 hours as immigration crackdown puts Charlotte on edge
https://abcnews.go.com/US/federal-agents-make-130-arrests-48-hours-immigration/story?id=127591461
Border Patrol operation rocks Charlotte with dozens arrested
https://www.axios.com/2025/11/16/charlotte-immigration-arrests-border-patrol
Comment: "Federal Border Patrol agents arrested 81 people on day one of their Charlotte, North Carolina, crackdown that's prompted protests and left businesses shuttered."
Comment: "Charlotte, in what federal officials are calling 'Operation Charlotte's Web,' is the latest city to be rocked by federal forces and a surge in immigrant arrests as advocates decry the administration's aggressive tactics.'
Comment: "The enhanced operation has caused 'unnecessary fear and uncertainty,' local officials said in a statement, pointing to operations in other cities that resulted in people without criminal records being detained and clashes between protesters and agents."
"City leaders implored dissenters to speak out peacefully, saying, 'We can stand up for what we believe in without resorting to violence.' "
"Masked agents have been spotted throughout the city and its suburbs, per local reports, and have detained people along roads, in parking lots, outside restaurants and beyond."
Analysis on use of force: As ICE escalates its tactics, are federal agents truly ‘untouchable’ in the eyes of the law? | CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/15/us/ice-federal-agents-immigration-force
Federal agents deployed to Charlotte for immigration enforcement, despite rejections from local leaders
CBS News: Border Patrol plans to expand Trump's immigration crackdown to Charlotte and New Orleans, with armored vehicles and special agents
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/charlotte-new-orleans-border-patrol-immigration-trump/
ICE has not yet purchased translation technology promised for new agents
Comment: "Immigration and Customs and Enforcement has yet to purchase new translation technology that it promised would replace a Spanish-language course requirement for officers as part of an effort to speed up the agency’s hiring process, according to two Department of Homeland Security officials."
"In August, ICE officials told reporters that the agency had purchased new, 'robust translation services' for officers to use in the field while pursuing immigration arrests as part of President Donald Trump’s deportation policy. Caleb Vitello, who was the head of training for new ICE recruits at the time, described the new technology as 'so much more efficient' than the five-week Spanish course."
Comment: "The lack of Spanish classes or the body-worn translation devices for new ICE officers as they carry out arrests has sparked concern about potential communication misunderstandings that could endanger the agents and people in the communities they are targeting, the officials said."
Naturalized US citizens thought they were safe. Trump's immigration policies are shaking that belief
Comment: "As President Donald Trump reshapes immigration and the nation’s relationship with immigrants, some naturalized citizens are wondering if the country they made a commitment to when they took the oath of citizenship is still making one to them"
Comment: "Adding to the worries, the Justice Department issued a memo this summer saying it would ramp up efforts to denaturalize immigrants who’ve committed crimes or are deemed to present a national security risk. At one point during the summer, Trump threatened the ciizenship of Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist mayor-elect of New York City, who naturalized as a young adult."
"The atmosphere makes some worried to speak about it publicly, for fear of drawing negative attention to themselves."
'We need to get out of here': Trump's immigration crackdown is quietly reshaping where immigrants live in America
U.S. Catholic bishops call for end to "dehumanizing rhetoric" on immigrants
https://www.axios.com/2025/11/13/trump-immigration-catholic-bishops-special-message
CNN: WLS: Judge orders release of hundreds arrested in Illinois immigration crackdown
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/12/us/chicago-ice-arrests-hearing
Judge says he’ll order release of hundreds of people arrested under feds’ deportation blitz
Comment: "The 615 detainees are from a list of roughly 1,800 arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Chicago area between June 11 and Oct. 7, and there could be more to come."
Video: Some ICE tactics against protesters violate federal policy, CBS News investigation finds - November 11, 2025
We asked a former federal agent to review videos showing use of force against protesters. Here's what he found.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/former-federal-agent-ice-use-of-force-against-protesters/
Comment: "You've seen the videos in newscasts and social feeds: Federal agents employing chokeholds, firing pepper spray at close range, and even using vehicle maneuvers to control immigration protests."
"These videos have spurred debate over whether agents have violated federal policies on use of force, which is authorized 'only when no reasonably effective, safe, and feasible alternative appears to exist,' according to Department of Homeland Security policies."
"A review of hundreds of videos, most recorded on cellphones by protesters and posted online, shows repeated instances that don't appear to meet that standard."
Comment: "Protesters and media organizations in Chicago have filed a complaint in federal court about the tactics employed under Bovino's command, as well as those captured on video recordings in Portland, Oregon; Los Angeles and other cities. Last week, U.S. District Court Judge Sara L. Ellis issued an order blocking federal agents from deploying chemical spray, tear gas or any other less-lethal weapon 'unless such force is necessary to stop the immediate threat of physical harm to another.' The Trump administration has filed an appeal."
Comment: "Videos taken outside the ICE facilities show federal agents standing several stories above protesters and shooting less-than-lethal munitions towards their heads and torsos."
Comment: "In one October cellphone video from Portland, a federal agent can be seen spraying a form of tear gas called 'oleoresin capsicum' spray directly at an individual protester at close range and in high volume."
"The protester can be seen verbally confronting two agents in the street. Another agent then walks up to the protester and sprays her directly in the face with a large can of pepper spray."
Comment; "DHS policy allows the deployment of chemical irritants only in cases when subjects offer 'active resistance.' The footage shows protesters yelling but not physically threatening the agents, which Balliet said was not a sufficient provocation for this level of response."
Comment: "In one video from Chicago, an agent in an unmarked federal vehicle slowly drives into a protester. The agent can be heard yelling, 'I'm gonna slam you on the f****** ground,' as the vehicle makes contact with the demonstrator."
Comment: Please read the linked article for more examples and details.
Video: ICE arrest in Washington raises privacy concerns over federal data access - November 11, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJQbKGk98Jk
Gregory Bovino and Border Patrol agents plan to leave Chicago area, sources say
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gregory-bovino-border-patrol-plan-to-leave-chicago-area-sources-say/
Immigrants with health conditions may be denied visas under new Trump administration guidance
Comment: "Foreigners seeking visas to live in the U.S. might be rejected if they have certain medical conditions, including diabetes or obesity, under a Thursday directive from the Trump administration."
"The guidance, issued in a cable the State Department sent to embassy and consular officials and examined by KFF Health News, directs visa officers to deem applicants ineligible to enter the U.S. for several new reasons, including age or the likelihood they might rely on public benefits. The guidance says that such people could become a 'public charge;" -- a potential drain on U.S. resources -- because of their health issues or age."
"While assessing the health of potential immigrants has been part of the visa application process for years, including screening for communicable diseases like tuberculosis and obtaining vaccine history, experts said the new guidelines greatly expand the list of medical conditions to be considered and give visa officers more power to make decisions about immigration based on an applicant's health status."
"The directive is part of the Trump administration's divisive and aggressive campaign to deport immigrants living without authorization in the U.S. and dissuade others from immigrating into the country. The White House's crusade to push out immigrants has included daily mass arrests, bans on refugees from certain countries and plans to severely restrict the total number permitted into the U.S."
Comment: "The cable's language appears at odds with the Foreign Affairs Manual, the State Department's own handbook, which says that visa officers cannot reject an application based on 'what if' scenarios, Wheeler said."
"The guidance directs visa officers to develop "their own thoughts about what could lead to some sort of medical emergency or sort of medical costs in the future," he said. 'That's troubling because they're not medically trained, they have no experience in this area and they shouldn't be making projections based on their own personal knowledge or bias.' "
"Immigrants already undergo a medical exam by a physician who's been approved by a U.S. embassy."
Comment: There are a lot of other issues associated with the Trump administrative directive. Most would encourage prejudice and subjective reasoning by visa officers who are not equipped to make medical evaluations, or evaluate the future ability of applicants to pay for their health care.
'Mega detention centers': ICE considers buying large warehouses to hold immigrants
Comment: Think of the cost to convert these warehouses into suitable living space for thousands of inmates. Of course, given prior ICE reluctance to allow facility inspections, one might wonder if the concept of "living" space is actually a consideration to ICE.
Comment: Apparently, efficiency is an important consideration. Hopefully, the historical reference is not relevant, but we recall that Nazi concentration camps were quite efficient.
Video: Private prisons are posting huge earnings under Trump's immigration surge - November 7, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaHtvFGckOI
Video: TPS ending for more than 250,000 Venezuelans in the U.S. - November 7, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVMVvuwdGPM
Border Patrol agent who shot Chicago woman bragged about it in text messages
Comment: "A federal agent who shot a Chicago woman multiple times after he said she struck his vehicle with her own bragged about his shooting skills in text messages with other agents, according to records presented on Wednesday at a hearing against the woman."
"U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agent Charles Exum shot U.S. citizen Marimar Martinez, who was warning others about immigration enforcement agents in Chicago’s Brighton Park neighborhood, five times on October 4, after their cars collided."
"Martinez said the federal agent’s vehicle rammed her car."
"Federal prosecutors said the shooting was an act of self-defense. "
Comment: "Records presented at the hearing showed that in a group Signal chat with other agents, which Exum described as a support group, he wrote in part: 'I fired 5 rounds and she had 7 holes. Put that in your book boys.' "
"In a message to another recipient, Exum sent a news article about the event followed by the message: “Read it. 5 shots, 7 holes.”
Comment: Another case of CBP "professionalism?"
Comment: Apparently, there were also questions about a repair to the agent's vehicle and failure to preserve evidence that could have helped determine which vehicle initiated contact with the other.
Judge grants preliminary injunction against Bovino, federal agents over use of force: "Shocks the conscience"
Chicago Tribune: Chicago judge to issue injunction limiting use of force by ICE
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/06/operation-midway-blitz-injunction/
ICE is sending a chill through the construction industry
https://www.npr.org/2025/11/06/nx-s1-5575539/ice-immigration-construction-latino-workers
Comment: "For years, the construction industry — in which on average one in three workers is foreign-born — has struggled with a yawning labor shortage that President Trump's immigration crackdown is making worse, industry officials warn. In D.C., for example, that has meant Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) checkpoints that have swept up Latino workers on their way to and from work."
Comment: "As ICE agents fan out to detain and deport undocumented immigrants, their enforcement actions are creating unease among both undocumented and documented workers on building sites across the U.S., deepening the already severe labor shortage, slowing the pace of construction and driving up costs, industry officials and contractors say."
Federal judge says Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino admitted he lied, in ruling limiting federal agents’ use of force in Chicago | CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/us/gregory-bovino-deposition-chicago-immigration
ICE's detainee population reaches 66,000, a new record high, statistics show
Comment: "Never before has ICE held so many detainees facing deportation at any given time, according to officials, historical data and immigration policy experts."
"ICE's detainee population has ballooned by nearly 70% since Mr. Trump took office for a second time in January, when ICE was holding around 39,000 individuals in its detention system. The previous high before Mr. Trump's second administration was recorded during his first term, in 2019, when ICE held about 56,000 detainees at one point, according to government figures compiled by researchers at Syracuse University."
Comment: "The internal Department of Homeland Security figures show just over half — or around 33,000 — of the individuals in ICE detention as of Thursday morning did not have criminal charges or convictions and were being held solely because of civil immigration violations. ICE calls them 'immigration violators.' The other half, nearly 33,000 detainees, had criminal charges or convictions, according to the data."
"Since the summer, the fastest growing group of detainees initially arrested by ICE — as opposed to those transferred to the agency's custody by Border Patrol agents — has been comprised of unauthorized immigrants who lack criminal records, government figures show."
"It's unclear how many of those in ICE custody with criminal records have been convicted of or charged with violent or serious crimes, as opposed to misdemeanors or immigration-related crimes."
Comment: So, as ICE detains ever more undocumented immigrants, including many who were holding jobs and paying taxes, the cost to house and feed them increases. Ignoring the moral, ethical, political, and legal considerations of these actions for a moment, how do fiscally conservative Republicans feel about the cost of arresting and detaining these folks, especially the half without criminal charges or convictions?
Feds drive off with 1-year-old girl after arresting her father in Los Angeles
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/federal-agents-drive-off-1-year-girl-after-127238297
Comment: "Federal immigration agents arrested a U.S. citizen and took his car with a child in the back seat and drove off from the scene of a raid in Los Angeles, advocates and family said Wednesday."
"On a video provided by immigrant advocates, masked and armed agents are seen arresting a man by his car in a parking lot while his 1-year-old daughter is strapped into a car seat in the back. After the man is led away, agents are seen getting into the front of the car and driving off with the girl still inside."
"The man is a U.S. citizen who was at the scene of a federal immigration raid at a Home Depot store in Los Angeles, said Lindsay Toczylowski, co-founder of Immigrant Defenders Law Center. The firm, which handles immigration cases, was contacted by community members for help reuniting the family, but isn't representing the man because he is American, she said."
"“It was a dangerous act to have armed men get in a car with that child and remove her from the situation,” Toczylowski said, adding relatives picked up the child later that day from federal offices in Los Angeles. 'They should have followed protocols that had the best interest of that child in mind.' "
"U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials did not immediately respond to questions about why agents drove the man's car or took the child."
Chicago court hearing to focus on allegations that immigration agents used excessive force
Border Patrol commander Bovino defends tactics in Chicago immigration crackdown as Trump cheers
Video: Witnesses testify to conditions inside Broadview ICE facility - November 4, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q5VSEuCBCg
Judge calls alleged conditions at Chicago-area immigration site ‘disgusting’
Comment: "Allegations of heartless conditions at a key Chicago-area immigration building are 'disgusting,' a judge said Tuesday before hearing evidence that could lead to changes at a site that is a stop for people rounded up by the Trump administration.
"The government is accused of denying detainees proper access to food, water and medical care and coercing them to sign documents they don’t understand. Without that knowledge, and without private communication with lawyers, they have unknowingly relinquished their rights and faced deportation, the lawsuit alleges."
Comment: "U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman presided at the hearing just days after Van Brunt’s group and the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois filed the lawsuit and sought a temporary restraining order. The judge said the allegations are 'disgusting'."
" 'To have to sleep on a floor next to an overflowing toilet — that’s obviously unconstitutional,' Gettleman said."
"Attorney Jana Brady of the Justice Department acknowledged there are no beds at the Broadview building, just outside Chicago, because it was not intended to be a long-term detention site."
Comment: "Testifying with the help of a translator, Moreno Gonzalez, 56, said he was arrested last week while waiting to start work. He said he was placed in a cell with 150 other people, with no beds, blankets, toothbrush or toothpaste."
"For months advocates have raised concerns about conditions at the facility, which has drawn scrutiny from members of Congress, political candidates and activist groups. Lawyers and relatives of people held there have called it a de facto detention center, saying up to 200 people have been held at a time without access to legal counsel."
Two courts urge ICE to halt deportation of man wrongfully imprisoned for more than 40 years
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/03/subu-vedam-ice-deportation-overturned-conviction
Comment: "Two different courts have called on immigration officials to halt deportation of a Pennsylvania man who spent more than 40 years in prison for a murder conviction that was recently overturned. "
"Subramanyam Vedam, 64, was brought to the United States by his parents when he was nine months old. Vedam is a legal permanent resident, and according to his lawyer, had his citizenship application accepted prior to his arrest in 1982. He is known by his relatives as 'Subu, per the Associated Press."
"He is currently being held in a short-term center in Alexandria, Louisiana, which is equipped with an airstrip for deportations."
Comment: "Vedam was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison in 1983 and received an additional sentence of two-and-a-half to five years for a drug offense a year later, as part of a plea deal that was to be served simultaneously with his life sentence."
"He has maintained his innocence in the murder case throughout his time in prison and his conviction was overturned this year. He was released from state prison on 3 October only to be taken straight into immigration custody."
"Immigration and Customs Enforcement is seeking to deport Vedam over his no contest plea to charges of LSD delivery, filed when he was about 20. His lawyers argue that the four decades he wrongly spent in prison, where he earned degrees and tutored fellow prisoners, should outweigh the drug case. "
"A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said on Monday that the reversal in the murder case does not cancel the drug conviction."
Comment: 40 years in prison before case is reversed, released from prison, then ICE wants to deport you! ICE is cold.
US Citizen Shot From Behind by ICE, Lawyers Say
https://www.newsweek.com/ice-shooting-california-10980288
Comment: "A U.S. citizen and father of three was shot from behind by a federal immigration officer in Ontario, California, last week, according to attorneys for the man, who spoke with The Los Angeles Times."
"Attorneys say Carlos Jimenez, 25, was attempting to alert agents to nearby children when the incident occurred, while federal officials maintain that the officer discharged their weapon in self-defense after the driver reversed his vehicle toward them."
" 'An ICE officer, fearing for his life, fired defensive shots at the vehicle. The subject fled the scene and abandoned his vehicle,' Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek."
Comment: Most people would flee the scene if shot.
Comment: "No footage of the incident has been publicly released."
"DHS has made several accusations against multiple U.S. citizens, accusing them of impeding law enforcement operations and barreling at agents behind the wheel."
"The shooting is the second incident involving ICE officers in Southern California in just over a week. In a separate case last week in South Los Angeles, agents fired at a man after his vehicle was boxed in. Carlitos Ricardo Parias was struck in the elbow, and a deputy marshal was hit by a ricocheted bullet. Authorities said Parias had attempted to drive his car toward the agents’ vehicles."
Report: ICE Shot a US Citizen Trying to Help Kids
Comment: "According to his lawyer, immigration officers shot Carlos Jimenez after he warned them that children would soon gather for the bus where they had pulled over a vehicle."
Video: Masked agents, tear gas, and raids: the tactics used in Trump's deportation drive - November 2, 2025
https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/c6299nrj76yo
Trump says ICE raids "haven't gone far enough"
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-says-ice-raids-havent-gone-far-enough-60-minutes/
Comment: "President Trump, who campaigned on immigration and closing the border, says Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids 'haven't gone far enough'."
"As part of his crackdown on immigration, ICE agents have raided neighborhoods throughout the U.S. One video shows a mother being tackled by an agent. Tear gas was used in a Chicago residential neighborhood. Car windows have been smashed to grab drivers."
" 'I think they haven't gone far enough because we've been held back by the judges, by the liberal judges that were put in by Biden and by Obama,' Mr. Trump said."
"He said he's OK with the tactics being used by ICE 'because you have to get the people out.' "
Comment: Many of the linked articles on this website page describe other actions/tactics taken by ICE and CBP that Trump is OK with.
Chicago Tribune: Border Patrol’s strong-arm tactics are the new norm in Chicago as Trump moves to sideline ICE leadership
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/02/border-patrol-chicago-trump-ice/
For News Articles links from before November 1st, 2025, please go to one of the following, depending on the article date:
https://sites.google.com/view/dem3oldnews/home/old3-immigration-border-security
https://sites.google.com/view/dem2oldnews/home/old2-immigration-border-security
OR
https://sites.google.com/view/demoldnews/home/old-border-security
There you will find a continuation of the news links & comments from the period prior to November 1, 2025. The article history can be viewed as follows:
www.dalecodemocrats.com (latest)
sites.google.com/view/dem3oldnews/home/ (May 1, 2025 - October 31, 2025)
sites.google.com/view/dem2oldnews/home/ (Nov 2024 election - April 30, 2025)
sites.google.com/view/demoldnews/home/ (Prior to 2024 election)
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