ICE Capades: The Roundup
PWS weekly on the ghoulish acts, dastardly deeds, and unseemly actions of the country's now-biggest LEO
As ICE becomes one of the largest law enforcement organizations on the planet, it couldn’t be more crucial for real-time reporting by journalists with experience on both the migration and authoritarianism beats. As part of efforts to provide that coverage, PWS brings you the weekly “ICE roundup.”
DHS claimed children rippped from their beds and zip-tied by federal agents in Chicago were “Tren de Aragua”, persecutors disagree
In October, DHS invited a Fox News reporter to accompany them on a dramatic nighttime raid of an apartment building in Chicago. Agents rappelled from a Black Hawk helicopter in a massive show of force. Residents were ripped from their beds, zip-tied, and held for hours.
Authorities said Tren de Aragua “terrorists” had taken over the building and arrested 900 people. But after the cameras were gone, federal prosecutors did not charge anyone who was detained, according to a new investigation by Pro Publica.
There is no evidence that anyone at the building was associated in any way with the Venezuelan gang. Nonetheless, many of those detained have been deported to Venezuela, some at the detainees’ request.
DHS officials said they had intelligence about guns, drugs, and explosives in the building. They have presented none of that evidence in court.
Todd Lyons, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the show of force was necessary because of the threat from Tren de Aragua gang members who were “terrorizing the poor residents.” He added: “When law enforcement has any intelligence like that, when we’re facing known gang members that are now designated a foreign terrorist organization, of course, we’re going to go in with our SWAT teams and our special operations teams.”
It is a chilling illustration of how reality often does not align with DHS claims.
Human Rights watch accuses Trump administration of “torture” and “forced disappearances” over El Salvador migrant detention scheme
A report out this week by Human Rights Watch documents torture and sexual violence against the Venezuelan nationals deported to El Salvador’s CECOT detention center by DHS officials earlier this year.
The report reveals that violence did not occur in isolated cases, but was rather systematic and intentional.
“The Trump administration is complicit in torture, enforced disappearance, and other grave violations,” says HRW. The US paid El Salvador millions of dollars to detain DHS detainees for months, until they were eventually released to Venezuela.
Some of those detained had ongoing asylum cases in the US, alleging persecution in their home nations. HRW interviewed dozens of detainees as well as their family members, who also described regular denial of food and medical treatment to detainees, as well as conditions that prevented their sleep, such as sudden noises, loud music, and even beatings of detainees by guards at irregular hours.
ICE and CBP are headed to Charlotte
Border Patrol officials will be deploying to Charlotte, North Carolina this week for operations similar to the ongoing deployment in Chicago, and operations earlier this year in Los Angeles.
As in both previous operations, the Charlotte deployment will be led by outspoken CBP chief Gregory Bovino, who has come under fire for his violent tactics against protesters, as well as attacking journalists covering CBP activities on social media.
Bovino has positively compared CBP actions in Chicago and LA to “Operation Wetback,” a racist migration enforcement program carried out by in the 1950s by US President Dwight D Eisenhower, which deported hundreds of US citizens.
He has also been criticized by Chicago judges and police for lying about the actions of both protesters and detainees during CBP operations.
Judge orders release of hundreds of DHS Chicago detainees
Speaking of DHS lies about detainees in Chicago, a federal judge ordered the release of hundreds detained in Chicago as part of “Operation Midway Blitz.”
More than 3,000 migrants have been detained by ICE and CBP officials between June and October. The ruling found that 615 were detained illegally, and released detainees on bond.
A pattern is emerging: DHS claims detainees are criminals, and then deports them before anyone can debunk the false claim
The Trump administration released the names of 608 people detained in Chicago. Only 16 have any sort of criminal record. Most of those on the list have already been deported.
It is proving to be a national pattern. DHS regularly claims, without proof, that detainees are criminals, then deports them before any legal processes before many are later found to be innocent.
The word of federal agents alone is acting as sufficient cause to engage in human trafficking.
The Roundup
A judge in Suffolk County, New York, ruled that a class-action lawsuit filed by nearly 700 migrants has merit, and awarded the plaintiffs $112 million.
Numbers of those in ICE detention have reached more than 60,000, a historical high as the agency ramps up its detention capacity.
ICE agents pepper-sprayed a one-year old and her family while the group was driving in their car just outside of Chicago. Video of the incident posted by the father, Rafael Veraza, showed the family driving down a highway when a passing ICE vehicle sprays the family through an open-car window.
Trump migration crackdowns are causing a shortage of construction workers nationally. Even documented migrants have been routinely harassed by security forces. Some migrants are also simply not showing up for work, according to NPR.
A US army Veteran and purple heart awardee was deported by ICE to Mexico. Venezuelan-born Jose Barco detained upon early release from prison following attempted murder conviction. His family has been unable to determine his whereabouts.
The Chilling ICE image of the week
ICE and CBP personnel have increasingly threatened Chicago journalists in recent weeks, often targeting them with weapons during routine coverage. These two photos, published by the Chicago Tribune, show the threats in action.
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Hasta pronto, pirata
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Looking at what our largest corporations and wealthiest billionaires keep funding and executing, it seems easier to see the people sending military forces into our cities and funding armed coups against our capitol as waging a war on America than the drug cartels they are using as an excuse to topple our democracy.