Torture techniques from CIA black sites were used at Alligator Alcatraz
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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This Chanukah, Never Again Action is trying to raise $36,000 to support our 2026 strategy to end detention and deportation. We have raised $10,000 already - and we need absolutely everyone to throw in some gelt ($). Are you able to match our average donation of $36 and help us reach our goal? Donate here: bit.ly/Gelt4NAA
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Dear TL;DR readers,
We would be remiss not to mention the horrifying attack that happened on the first night of Chanukah in Bondi Beach, Australia this past weekend, and we send love to the victims of this horrific massacre and to their families and community.
We are also heartened by the brave act of solidarity of Ahmed al Ahmed, who saved countless lives while putting his own in grave danger. What he did teaches us a powerful lesson, one about how the safety of Jewish people is interconnected.
As those on the far right try to weaponize this story in order to attempt to convince us that things like more militarization, surveillance, Islamophobia and turning inwards are the only things that will protect Jews, we remember Ahmed al Ahmed, we remember the non-Jewish community members in Pittsburgh who showed up for their Jewish neighbors in the wake of the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting, and above all we remember that safety is about showing up for each other with Ometz Lev, or courage, the way countless people have by taking bold action to risk their own lives and safety in service of the safety of their neighbors.
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Torture Techniques from CIA Black Sites Were Used at Alligator Alcatraz
Content note: this story includes descriptions and one illustration of a torture device.
Based on an Amnesty International investigation, human rights groups have concluded that the people imprisoned at the internment camp called “Alligator Alcatraz” were subject to a level of abuse that met the definition of torture. The story focuses on one specific technique that was dropped from the CIA’s roster of “enhanced interrogation” techniques in 2005 but somehow revived as a means of punishment in Florida.
Needless to say, torture of anyone on US soil is illegal. This is part of why people were originally held at Guantanamo: so the government could claim that it wasn’t torturing people on US soil. The fascist sycophants in charge of Florida don’t even feel the need to bother with such fig leaves. They just disappear people out of ICE rosters and put them in cages in the Florida sun, and no one has (yet) been held accountable.
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Kristi Noem crumbles under congressional pressure
Fireworks in a congressional hearing!
The hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee opened with the Committee Chair Bennie Thompson (D-Missisippi) telling Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign. It ended with Noem claiming she had a FEMA Council Meeting, and leaving an hour early. She did not. The meeting had been canceled. In the interim, she was confronted by Rep. Seth Magaziner, who brought forward multiple examples of US citizens and veterans who had been detained and deported under Noem’s oversight, disproving Noem’s false claims to the contrary.
When Thompson immediately moved to subpoena her back to the committee, the Republicans voted it down.
The woman in charge of homeland security, who is responsible for protecting 330 million Americans from terrorist attacks, natural disasters, and cyber threats can’t handle a few hours of tough questions from Congress.
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Border Patrol left Charlotte. The damage stayed behind
Border Patrol agents invaded Charlotte for about a week, doing their job of terrorizing immigrant neighborhoods, separating families, and jeopardizing the safety of everyone in their vicinity. NPR chose to report on an often-ignored aspect of this government-sponsored terrorism: the aftermath.
Latino children returning to class after being kept home for a week were showing up with notes pinned to their backpacks reading “I am a citizen.” A vibrant avenue, popular for shopping and socializing, remains emptied out even after CBP agents seem to have mostly disappeared. A young woman is still using a path she chopped through the woods to escort children to school because she is too afraid to use the sidewalks.
This is just some of the lasting damage that occurs in the aftermath of Border Patrol operations. This article from the Charlotte Observer has some excellent ways for residents to support Latino-owned businesses in the aftermath. CLT Mutual Aid has excellent resources for both immigrants and allies.
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A Venezuelan Family Tries to Stay Together in the U.S.
During the Biden administration, about 700,000 Venezuelans arrived in the United States, seeking refuge from the devastating economy and increasing repression of the Maduro regime. Through humanitarian parole, they entered the country in full compliance with US law, found work and home, and considered themselves at least temporarily safe.
The community put down roots. Many Venezuelans voted for Trump, hoping that his anti-Maduro rhetoric might mean they could, eventually, return to Venezuela.
This is the whole point of refugee and asylum policy: to shelter people fleeing impossible circumstances in their home countries. Turns out, no one is safe from the current regime of xenophobic terror. While saber-rattling at the Maduro regime, the Trump administration terminated TPS and humanitarian parole for Venezuelans and deported over two hundred people to be tortured in CCOT, the notorious Salvadoran gulag, though the Department of Homeland Security was well aware that few to none of those subject to this treatment had any criminal record at all.
For more, you can watch the film Status: Venezuela (see link above).
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Action items:
- Help Vince Rebuild After Deportation -- Vince Jobo, whose story we have featured previously, was deported recently after months of detention in horrible conditions in ICE facilities. This page will help him raise funds to start a new life.
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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.
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If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for next week’s roundup, drop us a line at neveragainaction@gmail.com.