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Tag: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

  • Amnesty Condemns Trump Threat of ‘Very Heavy Force’ Against Military Parade Protesters

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    Original article by Jon Queally republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

    Protesters continue to march and chant in an approximately one-square mile area of downtown Los Angeles in response to a series of immigration raids, on June 11, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.

    The far-right Republican president, warned the human rights group, “is continuing to send a clear and chilling message: dissent will be punished.”

    The human rights advocacy group Amnesty International USA has issued a strong rebuke and warning in response to President Donald Trump’s public threat to aim “very heavy force” at law-abiding protesters voicing their constitutionally-protected free speech during organized ‘No Kings’ protests scheduled for Saturday nationwide.

    In Tuesday remarks to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said he didn’t know of any planned protests timed to coincide with his $134-million parade, taking place on his birthday, but said if there are, “these are people that hate our country.”

    “For those people who want to protest, they’re going to be met with very big force,” Trump said, making no distinction between peaceful demonstrators and those who might be more confrontational or even violent.

    “Now is a good moment to remind President Trump that protesting is a human right and that his administration is obligated to respect, protect, and fulfill the human rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly–not suppress them,” said Paul O’Brien, executive director of Amnesty International USA, in a statement on Wednesday.

    Trump’s threat arrived after he overrode California Gov. Gavin Newsom to call up 4,000 National Guard troops in that state last weekend—and subsequently U.S. Marine forces—to confront large protests in Los Angeles that erupted in response to raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and the violent arrest of union leader David Huerta, president of SEIU California.

    “The militarized response to protests, including the deployment of the National Guard and the Marines in Los Angeles, further escalates tensions and is a chilling preview of even more human rights violations that could be coming,” warned O’Brien. “The U.S. military is not trained or equipped to police civilians. It increases the risk of excessive force, arbitrary arrests, and other violations of free expression and peaceful assembly. The Trump administration has already shown us that it will use any tool of the state, including ICE, police, and military forces to target immigrants, asylum seekers, protesters, and anyone who dares to defend their rights.”

    Over 1,800 coordinated ‘No Kings’ protests are being organized for July 14 to counter Trump’s growing authoritarianism and to coincide with the military parade Trump is throwing for himself in Washington, D.C., at an estimated cost of $134 million.

    A new poll released Thursday shows a majority of Americans believe the parade is a waste of taxpayer money.

    Approximately 6 in 10 Americans also say Trump’s parade is “not a good use” of taxpayer funds, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. That number of disapproving voters includes a number of people surveyed who have no particular criticism of the parade itself.

    Poll results approving of military parade.

    Beyond the wasted cost, critics of the president warn that the more dangerous aspect of the parade is how the spectacle dovetails with Trump’s broader authoritarianism, including his militarized response to dissent and weaponizing state power against his perceived political enemies.

    “Make no mistake,” said Amnesty’s O’Brien. “President Trump’s response to protests has nothing to do with public safety. This is his administration’s way of stoking fear and suppressing opposition. By sending police, ICE, or the military into neighborhoods to silence voices calling for justice and human rights, President Trump is continuing to send a clear and chilling message: dissent will be punished.”

    Amnesty called for an immediate halt to Trump’s “militarized response” to public protest.

    “The task of any law enforcement is to facilitate—not to restrict—a peaceful public assembly,” said O’Brien. “This must be clearly understood by all law enforcement officials taking part in the management of the assembly. Law enforcement must also not use violent acts of a few as a pretext to restrict or impede the human rights of others to peacefully protest.”

    Original article by Jon Queally republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

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    Climate Science Denier Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.
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    Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.

  • ‘Authoritarian Escalation’: Trump Deploys US Marines to Help Put Down LA Protests

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    Original article by Jessica Corbett republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

    Members of the National Guard stand outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, California on June 8, 2025. (Photo: Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

    “Every governor, red or blue, should reject this outrageous overreach,” said California’s Democratic governor, who sued over the president’s takeover of the state’s National Guard. “We will not let this stand.”

    As President Donald Trump deployed U.S. Marines to Los Angeles on Monday in response to protests against immigration raids and the violent arrest of a popular labor leader, California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office announced that he and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom sued Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over their weekend takeover of the state’s National Guard.

    “President Trump’s order calling federalized National Guard troops into Los Angeles—over the objections of the governor and local law enforcement—is unnecessary and counterproductive. It’s also deeply unfair to the members of the National Guard who are hard at work every day protecting our state, preparing for and responding to emergencies, and training so that, if called, they can fight our nation’s wars,” Bonta said in a statement.

    “Let me be clear: There is no invasion. There is no rebellion. The president is trying to manufacture chaos and crisis on the ground for his own political ends,” he added. “Federalizing the California National Guard is an abuse of the president’s authority under the law—and not one we take lightly. We’re asking a court to put a stop to the unlawful, unprecedented order.”

    As of press time, the filing was not yet available, but it was set to be shared on Bonta’s government website.

    U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted raids in Los Angeles on Friday and Saturday, sparking intense protests. Trump’s memorandum came on Saturday, prompting Newsom’s Sunday letter formally requesting that the president reverse course. The governor also previewed the new lawsuit during a Sunday interview with MSNBC.

    “Donald Trump is creating fear and terror by failing to adhere to the U.S. Constitution and overstepping his authority. This is a manufactured crisis to allow him to take over a state militia, damaging the very foundation of our republic,” Newsom, who widely seen as a 2028 presidential contender, said Monday.

    “Every governor, red or blue, should reject this outrageous overreach,” he argued. “This is beyond incompetence—this is him intentionally causing chaos, terrorizing communities, and endangering the principles of our great democracy. It is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism. We will not let this stand.”

    Trump’s actions and remarks related to the protests against ICE in California have elicited fears of wider repression during his second term.

    Criticism continued to mount on Monday, with Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of the progressive group Our Revolution, declaring that “this is not law and order—it’s tyranny… When power is concentrated in the hands of a corrupt few, and dissent is met with armed repression, democracy itself is under siege. We must call this what it is: a threat to the republic.”

    Before the Marine deployment on Monday, Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar (D-Texas) said in a statement that “Trump politicizing and weaponizing the National Guard makes us all less safe and less free. His threat to deploy the Marines into the streets of an American city is an illegal and authoritarian escalation.”

    Politico reported Monday that the administration ordered about 700 Marines to Los Angeles, and while it is not yet clear what role they will play, “one of the defense officials said they will likely support the 2,000 National Guard troops sent to assist law enforcement.”

    Casar tied the recent events in Los Angeles to congressional Republicans’ evolving budget reconciliation package, saying that “Trump’s threats have nothing to do with keeping people safe—it’s about political theater. He’s scapegoating immigrants to distract from the GOP’s real agenda: ripping healthcare away from millions to pay for tax cuts for the ultrarich.”

    “We will not be intimidated,” he added. “Progressives are standing up to this administration, including by conducting lawful oversight at ICE detention centers in Los Angeles and across the country. We stand with Angelenos, and we stand with immigrant families everywhere. The president must return command of the National Guard to Gov. Newsom.”

    Original article by Jessica Corbett republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

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    Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.

  • Reporters Without Borders Decries ‘Wave of Violence’ Against Journalists at LA Protests

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    Original article by Eloise Goldsmith republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

    Police take security measures during demonstration as the Trump administration continues its immigration raids in Los Angeles, California, United States on June 8, 2025. Hundreds of protesters are seen demanding an immediate halt to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids at workplaces in America’s second largest city. (Photo: Taurat Hossain/Anadolu via Getty Images)

    “These protests are a matter of huge public interest and the public has a right to know exactly what’s going on,” said the executive director of RSF USA.

    The press freedom group Reporters Without Borders, also known as RSF, on Monday condemned recorded attacks carried out largely by law enforcement, but also by protestors, against journalists reporting on protests that took place in Los Angeles this past weekend.

    Protests began on Friday to oppose federal immigration raids on workplaces.

    In a statement, RSF said that it has verified at least 27 recorded incidents of violence against journalists since June 6 with the help of its local partner, the Los Angeles Press Club. Twenty four of those incidents were carried out by law enforcement, and three were carried out by individual protestors, according to the statement.

    “The wave of violence against journalists on the streets of Los Angeles this weekend is unacceptable. These protests are a matter of huge public interest and the public has a right to know exactly what’s going on. The only way that can happen is if journalists are allowed to do their jobs freely,” said Clayton Weimers, the executive director of RSF USA.

    “This is inherently dangerous work, but it’s made more dangerous by authorities who are unable or unwilling to distinguish press from protestors, and by private actors who attack members of the media,” Weimers continued. “Authorities in LA must do more to ensure press freedom is respected during these protests.”

    In one incident caught on camera, police hit reporter Lauren Tomasi, a U.S. correspondent for CNN-affiliate Nine News in Australia, with a rubber bullet while she was reporting live on on air.

    Several media workers reported being hit with “less-than-lethal munitions,” such as pepper balls, rubber bullets, and tear gas canisters, by police, according to RSF.

    According to the group, U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to call in National Guard troops in response to protests “contributed to the violence against journalists already being perpetrated by law enforcement.” On Saturday, Trump ordered that 2,000 National Guard members be called up to help quell the anti-U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests, over the objections of Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom. As of Sunday, some 300 federal troops were on the ground in Los Angeles, according to The Associated Press.

    Alleged incidents of violence carried out by protestors against media workers include an episode, caught on video, of a KTTV Fox 11 TV crew being heckled and forced to leave a protest.

    Original article by Eloise Goldsmith republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

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    Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.

  • Outcry as White House Admits to Sending Maryland Man to El Salvador Prison ‘In Error’

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    Original article by Julia Conley republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

    More than 250 people arrive in San Salvador, El Salvador by plane after being detained and deported by the Trump administration, without officials verifying that they were members of violent gangs as they claimed, on March 16, 2025. (Photo: El Salvador Presidency/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

    “If Trump can disappear Abrego Garcia, he can disappear you,” warned one advocate. “This is why due process matters. Without it, America slides into dictatorship.”

    “This is the precedent Trump needs to send you to a concentration camp,” said one advocate for due process rights as President Donald Trump’s administration claimed it had made an “administrative error” in sending a Maryland father to a prison in his home country of El Salvador—leaving the federal government with no way of bringing him back to his children and wife, a U.S. citizen.

    In a court filing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, an acting field office director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Robert L. Cerna, told Judge Paula Xinis that the removal of Kilmar Abrego Garcia on March 15 “was in error.” Abrego Garcia was one of hundreds of people rounded up by the Trump administration and sent to a “Terrorism Confinement Center” in El Salvador, with the White House invoking the Alien Enemies Act for the first time since World War II and claiming many were members of gangs including MS-13 and Tren de Aragua.

    Cerna’s filing reveals the result of a mass expulsion operation in which hundreds of people were afforded no due process rights in violation of the U.S. Constitution: At least one person with legal protected status in the United States who was not convicted of a crime is now imprisoned in a country where a U.S. federal court had previously found he could face persecution and torture.

    As Joshua Eakle of Project Liberal warned, Abrego Garcia’s detention and the administration’s claim that it can do nothing to help him also creates precedent for Trump to do the same to anyone else it sees fit to target.

    “This is how it starts. You must pay attention,” said Eakle. “If Trump can disappear Abrego Garcia, he can disappear you. If Trump can strip his rights with no accountability, he can do it to anyone. This is why due process matters. Without it, America slides into dictatorship.”

    As the news spread of Abrego Garcia’s mistaken expulsion, Vice President JD Vance “smeared him as a ‘convicted gang member,’” claiming to cite the court filing from Monday, and accused podcast host Jon Favreau of having sympathy for “gang members getting deported while ignoring citizens they victimize.”

    Cerna’s filing states that Abrego Garcia was denied bond in 2019 because “the evidence show[ed] that he is a verified member of [Mara Salvatrucha] (‘MS-13’)]” and therefore posed a danger to the community.” As Kyle Cheney wrote at Politico, the accusation was “sharply contested” by Abrego Garcia and “credited to information gleaned from a confidential informant.”

    “That’s not a conviction,” said Cheney.

    The 2019 court filing regarding the bond denial notes that Abrego Garcia “has no criminal conviction” and that the government erroneously stated at the time that Abrego Garcia was “detained in connection to a murder investigation.”

    Further, noted Cheney, the court at the time found that Abrego Garcia was likely a member of MS-13, but that he had a credible fear of persecution in his home country of El Salvador and should not be deported there—or expelled via an operation like Trump’s mass expulsion campaign, in which those sent overseas have not been afforded due process.

    Vance’s claim that Abrego Garcia is a “convicted gang member” was “a lie,” said Krystal Ball of the online news show “Breaking Points.”

    “But JD’s comment reveals his deportation was not really a ‘mistake,’” she said. “They put whoever they could round up on those planes without regard for guilt, innocence, immigration status, or court orders. If this man can be permanently disappeared into a foreign dungeon, anyone can.”

    Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the American Immigration Council said it was “shocking that the vice president of the United States would so callously, and so falsely, accuse someone of being a convicted gang member. It’s especially bad when his own administration just admitted to illegally deporting that person due to ‘administrative error.’”

    Trump’s Justice Department is now urging Xinis to reject a petition filed by Abrego Garcia’s attorneys to secure his return to the U.S., saying that since the Maryland resident is now in custody in his home country, the administration and the court system can’t force El Salvador to return him.

    “People should go to prison over this,” said Paul Blest, a reporter for More Perfect Union.

    Antonio De Loera-Brust, communications director for United Farm Workers, suggested the Trump administration is now refusing to push for Abrego Garcia or other potentially innocent people who have been expelled from the U.S. “because then they will be able to speak for themselves and the full extent of this atrocity will become clear.”

    Shannon Watts, founder of the gun violence prevention group Moms Demand Action, called on the Democratic Party to ensure the administration can’t ignore the demand for Abrego Garcia’s release.

    “I don’t care what the polls say about immigration, this is a legal assault on the Constitution and humanity,” said Watts. “Democratic leaders must publicly pressure the Trump administration to rescue Kilmar Abrego Garcia.”

    Original article by Julia Conley republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

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    Neo-Fascist Climate Science Denier Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.
    Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
    Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.

  • Jewish Americans and Allies Occupy Trump Tower Demanding Release of Mahmoud Khalil

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    Original article by Julia Conley republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Common Dreams is publishing many quality articles.

    Demostrators from the human rights organization Jewish Voice for Peace hold a civil disobedience action inside Trump Tower in New York on March 13, 2025.
     (Photo: Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images)

    “We know what happens when an autocratic regime starts taking away our rights and scapegoating and we will not be silent.”

    This is a developing story… Please check back for possible updates…

    Nearly a year and a half after the advocacy group Jewish Voice for Peace began leading nationwide demonstrations against Israel’s U.S.-backed assault on Gaza, hundreds of organizers and supporters of the group risked arrest Thursday as they assembled in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York City, demanding the release of Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil.

    “Three hundred Jews and friends in Trump Tower, because we know what happens when an autocratic regime starts taking away our rights and scapegoating and we will not be silent,” said Sonya Meyerson-Knox, communications director for Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). “Come for one—face us all.”

    The latter phrase was emblazoned on banners that were displayed by campaigners, who chanted, “Never again for anyone, never again is now!” and, “Free Mahmoud, free them all!”

    New York City police officers began arresting participants in the sit-in early in the afternoon.

    Jane Hirschmann, a Jewish New York resident whose grandfather and uncle were abducted by the Nazis in Germany as Adolf Hitler rose to power, said Khalil’s detention “is further proof that we are on the brink of a full takeover by an authoritarian regime.”

    “As Jews of conscience, we know our history and we know where this leads,” said Hirschmann. “This is what fascists do as they cement control. This moment requires all people of conscience to take bold action to resist state violence and repression. Free Mahmoud now.”

    Actors Morgan Spector, Debra Winger, and Arliss Howard were in attendance at the sit-in, along with writer and artist Molly Crabapple and New York City Council member Alexa Aviles.

    Khalil was abducted by plainclothes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents last Saturday night as he was returning home to his Columbia-owned apartment with his wife, who is eight months pregnant. He was a graduate student at the university until this past December, and took a central organizing role in student-led protests and negotiations against Columbia’s investment in companies that profit from Israel’s apartheid policy in Gaza, including the bombardment it began in October 2023 in retaliation for a Hamas-led attack.

    Khalil, a legal U.S. resident and a citizen of Algeria, was detained under the State Department’s “catch and revoke” program, with the Trump administration revoking his green card and threatening to deport him. Administration officials have admitted that they are not accusing Khalil of breaking any laws by participating in Palestinian solidarity protests, but they said he is viewed as “adversarial to the foreign policy and national security interests of the United States of America.”

    After a hearing Wednesday, a federal judge is considering whether Khalil should be sent back to New York, where he was detained, from the Louisiana ICE facility where he is being held. The same judge blocked Khalil’s deportation this week.

    Original article by Julia Conley republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Common Dreams is publishing many quality articles.

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    Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
    Neo-Fascist Climate Science Denier Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.
    Neo-Fascist Climate Science Denier Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.