A US citizen was held for pickup by ICE even after proving he was born in the country
Master Steve Rapport, Creative Commons BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Welcome to our news segment: TL;DR of Immigration News, for when the news is Too Long and you Didn’t Read it.
This is a weekly collection of immigration-related news stories. These bite-size summaries will keep you up to date without overwhelming your inbox.
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A US citizen was held for pickup by ICE even after proving he was born in the country
In yet another real-time example of Niemöller’s “And then they came for me,” the Trump Administration, in coordination with the Florida government, are now responsible for the arrest and detention of at least one US citizen. Juan Carlos Lopez Gomez is a citizen who was detained in Florida by ICE. After he was detained, his mother showed his birth certificate in court, leading the judge to dismiss all charges. Gomez still ended up in ICE detention.
No one, regardless of their citizenship status, should be subjected to the cruel and capricious system that is now championed at the highest levels of the executive branch. And make no mistake, the disappearance machine they’ve assembled recognizes no authority other than its own.
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LA schools superintendent says he'll protect undocumented students 'to the very end'
NPR interviews Alberto Carvhalo, Superintendent of the second-largest school district in the nation, about two recent incidents where ICE agents showed up at elementary schools in LA to perform “wellness checks” on undocumented students. Carvhalo reports that there is no precedent for such an action by ICE agents, and reports that ICE agents lied to the principals of the schools in order to try to obtain access to the students. The schools’ principals, following district guidance, refused the agents entry or access to the students.
Asked directly “how far” he was willing to go to protect undocumented students in the face of repercussions from the Trump administration, Carvhalo says, “To the very end,” adding that he is perfectly willing “to incur and sustain personal consequence in my efforts to advocate and support hundreds of thousands of kids.”
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As if trying to rush us headlong into a constitutional crisis, ICE hastened to try to deport a busload of detained, mostly Venezuelan immigrants Friday night. The bus seems to have turned around at the last minute to head back to the detention facility.
The twenty-eight immigrants were under deportation orders because of the current administration’s violent interpretation of the Alien Enemies Act. Designed in the eighteenth century to apply to foreign nationals present in the country during wartime, the Alien Enemies Act has been used infrequently, always with disastrous consequences. FDR invoked it in his Executive Order 9066, which resulted in the detention of close to 20,000 Japanese Americans, many of them American citizens.
The migrants were accused of being members of the gang Tren de Aragua. But recent history shows that ICE is willing to apprehend anyone that “looks like” a gang member, which seems to mean anyone Latinx with or without tattoos.
Due to quick action by lawyers representing the immigrants, the Supreme Court issued a ruling in the middle of the night to clarify that the administration must stop deportation flights for the time being. It’s unclear whether the bus turning around was directly caused by this, but it’s abundantly clear that the administration will continue being as cruel and inhumane as it feels it can get away with.
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Bill expanding Tennessee law enforcement powers during protests draws pushback
Two Republican Tennessee congressmen have proposed a multi-part bill designed to enable police crackdowns on protesters. The bill was adopted by the Tennessee Senate on Monday and seems likely to pass in the House. Its provisions include:
- Allowing police to demand that members of the media and public remain 25 feet away from any “ongoing threat to public safety,” including crime scenes and traffic stops
- Redefining the crime of “littering” to include the distribution of fliers and hanging banners and signs
- Enabling law enforcement to demand a person’s name based on “reasonable suspicion of a legal violation”
The good news is: our Never Again Tennessee chapter was part of a powerful show of solidarity, as they joined their partners, a coalition of over two dozen groups including Muslim, Jewish, Black, immigrant, and civil liberties advocate Tennesseans, to send a letter to their representatives warning of the harms that could result from the new bill.
It was especially important that we spoke out as Jews because this is yet another bill targeting immigrants and pro-Palestine protesters on the false premise of protecting Jews. The bill had its origins when Nashville’s primarily Democratic city council passed ordinances aimed at preventing hate speech, in response to several anti-semitic and racist demonstrations by white supremacists and neo-Nazis. Instead, we know empowering police to suppress protests is not going to protect Jewish and Black Tennesseans.
As our friend, Sabina Mohyuddin, executive director of the American Muslim Advisory Council Tennessee, powerfully said in the letter: “In today’s political climate—where immigrant and pro-Palestinian voices are increasingly targeted—this legislation raises grave concerns.”
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More Democratic lawmakers are visiting El Salvador on Ábrego García's behalf
After Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland visited El Salvador last week, a group of four Democratic House representatives organized another visit there this week to continue raising awareness of Kilmar Ábrego García’s case and demand his safe return to the United States.
Ábrego García’s case has garnered national attention after the Trump administration admitted his deportation was due to an “administrative error” (a US immigration judge prohibited his deportation back in 2019, at which point DHS awarded him legal status). Democratic lawmakers are focusing on Ábrego García’s case to call attention to the Trump administration’s disregard for due process, US law, and judicial oversight, stating concern for the fate of American democracy.
It is crucial to remember that Ábrego García is not the only person the government has illegally deported to the Salvadoran facility. There are over 200 other refugees and immigrants accused of gang activity without due process. All of it in violation of the Supreme Court prohibiting their deportation.
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5 actions you can take right now:
- Jeanette Vizguerra, community leader and mother, was arrested by ICE in Colorado. Jeanette has been fighting her deportation case since 2009 and is a pillar to her community and family. She has organized and supported immigrant and human rights for years, she needs our support now.
- Sign and share the petition to free Jeanette: https://secure.afsc.org/a/freejeanette
- Donate to the family’s GoFundMe to cover legal costs: https://gofund.me/5cb78117
College Students/Faculty/Staff: Sign the ICE Noncompliance Pledge. When Trump abuses “Jewish safety” to justify deportations, we must spread the word to not comply.
Respond to reports of suspected raids in your area in real time by reading and sharing the information in this 1-page guide. For those of us who are allies especially, learn how to watch for ICE and protect your neighbors.
Updated for 2025: Never Again Action is equipping members to organize themselves into neighborhood groups (or “pods”) to be trained and respond to deportation threats on a hyperlocal level. Learn more and build or join a pod: bit.ly/BuildAPod2025
Support Never Again Action’s organizing by making a donation today. You can make a tax deductible donation via our fiscal sponsor at this link, or you can donate directly to our 501(c)(4) organization at this link.