Last week, a federal judge condemned the Trump administration's immigration enforcement tactics in Chicago, ruling that agents were using unnecessary force against residents who were peacefully protesting or documenting agents’ actions.
U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis cited multiple incidents where immigration agents used tear gas, pepper spray, and other crowd-control weapons in ways she described as excessive. Ellis also called out Gregory Bovino, a senior Border Patrol commander, noting that he “admitted he lied” about being hit in the head with a rock before ordering tear gas to be fired.
The judge issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting officers involved in the administration's "Operation Midway Blitz" immigration enforcement operation from using tear gas and pepper spray on people who don't pose a threat.
These aggressive tactics not only put communities in harm’s way, they also increase the risk for immigration agents themselves. This blog post from the American Immigration Council explains how the administration’s mass deportation agenda—and the ensuing violence it causes—makes everyone less safe.
Read more: Trump’s Mass Deportation Agenda Makes Everyone Less Safe — Including Immigration Agents |
Last week, the Council released a platform providing new perspectives into family separations during the implementation of the first Trump administration’s zero-tolerance policy. It allows readers to understand how the administration’s decision-making process was affected by outside levers, and to compare the administration’s public comments against internal agency correspondence.
The new platform explores three key themes: the role of journalists in exposing the harms and failures of the family separation policy; internal watchdogs and congressional offices’ attempts to hold the administration accountable; and the government’s negligent record-keeping of family separations.
Read more: A Look Back at the Family Separation Policy: The Struggle to Uncover the Truth Behind the Trump Administration's Wrongdoings |
