On March 22, the Trump administration issued a memo, directing the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to take disciplinary and punitive action against attorneys practicing in our national courts. While the memo is broad, it takes aim at immigration lawyers, pro bono attorneys representing asylum seekers in immigration court, and organizations (such as the American Immigration Council) that challenge the federal government’s immigration policies in court.
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Congress approved a full-year continuing resolution that will fund mass deportation while gutting domestic spending. The economic and humanitarian costs will plunge the most vulnerable communities into turmoil while stripping away essential services for all. Systemic failures will continue to spiral while children, U.S.-citizen or not, will be hit the hardest. Robert Hernandez, the founder of Guanatos GDLSUR in Mexico, supports people who fell victim to similar systemic failures in their youth.
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When the Trump administration essentially disappeared 238 Venezuelan men (and potentially women) living in the United States to a prison in El Salvador earlier this month, it alleged they were members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. The administration claimed it based this assertion on their tattoos. But experts say that tattoos aren’t even a symbol of membership in Tren De Aragua. |
There have been nearly 300 deportation flights conducted since President Trump took office. Of those flights, around 30 were operated by the military. This is the first time the U.S. government is using military aircraft to carry out deportation flights.
Little public information exists regarding the military’s training in handling and communicating with migrants, but government officials have expressed concern about the flights. They have stated some migrants were unaware which country they were in, and others expressed fear of return to their home countries. Many of these flights included families and children.
This FOIA request by the American Immigration Council seeks records and data from U.S. Air Force about how the agency conducts military deportation flights.
Read more: The Council Files a FOIA with the United States Air Force on the Use of Military Aircraft to Remove Immigrants from the United States |
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, the Council’s Senior Fellow, testified before Congress last week to highlight the critical contributions immigrants make in the U.S. and the pressing need to address the underfunded and outdated humanitarian protection system.
In his testimony, he outlined the urgent need for a faster process for immigrants to obtain work authorization so they can quickly contribute to the workforce and support themselves. He also discussed the misalignment of spending priorities, with immigration enforcement receiving more attention than immigration adjudication, resulting in extensive backlogs.
Watch the testimony: Testimony to Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement |
