As more universities agree to immigration enforcement on campus, students are fighting back

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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ICE agent charged with assault, accused of pointing a gun at civilians in Minnesota

The first of what should be many cases of prosecutors charging ICE agents dropped last week. The Minnesota Attorney General is charging an agent with a second-degree felony for actions he took during the siege of Minneapolis: pointing a gun at two civilians in a moving vehicle. This is not the most high-profile case but hopefully sets the precedent for holding agents responsible for their violence and law-breaking in the Twin Cities, L.A., Chicago, and elsewhere across the nation.
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A Protester Threw a Snowball. Federal Agents Responded With Tear Gas and Pepper Balls

Last week, ProPublica and Frontline--two of the best outlets for investigative journalism working today--released a documentary called “Caught in the Crackdown,” examining the ICE sieges of the Twin Cities, Los Angeles, Chicago, and other cities, beginning with an incident that happened in a Minneapolis neighborhood a few days after the murder of Renee Good. In the incident, protesters threw snowballs at ICE agents, who responded by aiming tear gas and pepper balls at protesters’ heads and faces. Multiple experts interviewed in the documentary characterize this and other violent incidents as indefensible.
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ICE deportations are pushing Central Texas families toward financial collapse

Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests in Central and South Texas have climbed to an average of 2,000 arrests per month, according to a New York Times analysis.

This surge is quietly destabilizing families, pushing many toward financial ruin. About 9 in 10 of those arrested locally are men, the American-Statesman found, leaving women and children to replace lost income while navigating systems they’ve never had to manage alone.

Although the immigrants interviewed for this story said they have not received government assistance — many had not applied — local service providers are becoming aware of the increased need for assistance by immigrants without legal status for food and other support.
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As more universities agree to immigration enforcement on campus, students are fighting back

Waged on many fronts, the war against immigrants extends to university campuses. Currently, seventeen universities have signed agreements with the Department of Homeland Security promising to aid enforcement actions on campus, as well as curtail activities that support immigrants, including international students. Some, like St Johns University in New York City, have partnered actively with Customs and Border Patrol, creating academic units to study enforcement and “security.” Others sign deadly 287(g) agreements, forcing campus police to collaborate with ICE and CBP. Such arrangements are particularly prevalent in right-wing dominated states like Florida, where both Florida International University and the University of Florida have supported immigration enforcement on campus.

As a result of these programs, many immigrant and international students feel increasingly unsafe on campus. Along with campus labor unions, students and faculty have opposed universities becoming a site for immigration enforcement. At St Johns, this effort has successfully terminated the collaboration between CBP and the university. Other universities are also organizing against the trespasses of these agencies on campus.
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French widow, 86, flies home after ICE detention ordeal

An 86-year-old French woman who was sent by ICE to a US detention center is now back in France with her family. Marie-Thérèse Ross-Mahé moved from her home in Brittany, France to Anniston, Alabama to marry a man she had met at a US army base in France in the 1950s. After her husband died unexpectedly this past January, his sons attempted to cut her out of his estate, and allegedly colluded with the county’s sheriff department to get Ross-Mahé picked up by ICE.

Though the sons deny alerting the local sheriff dept about her possibly overstaying their visa, they did have mail from her house diverted, which caused Ross-Mahé to miss paperwork on her pending residency. Ross-Mahé spent a week in detention while the French consulate tried to find her, and another week before she was deported back to France and reunited with her family.
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Minnesota woman detained by ICE in El Paso seeks release as her ovarian cyst worsens

Andrea Pedro Francisco was scheduled to have surgery in Minnesota to remove an ovarian cyst, but 6 days before the scheduled surgery date, the 23-year-old was arrested by immigration agents and sent to an El Paso detention center. Pedro Francisco came from Guatemala to the US at the age of 16. She has a pending asylum claim, based on violence faced by women and Indigenous people in her home country.

As the cyst grows, it is in danger of rupturing, which would be life-threatening. Pedro Francisco’s attorney has asked ICE to release her on humanitarian parole, a discretionary power the agency has for detainees facing medical issues.

Humanitarian parole is likely Pedro Francisco’s only hope. Her case has caught the attention of international human rights groups, members of Congress, and religious groups from her home state of Minnesota.

Support Andrea through Amnesty International.
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