Dodgers player claims Los Angeles being 'abused and ripped apart' amid immigration raids
Los Angeles Dodgers player Enrique Hernandez claimed in a social media post over the weekend that the community was "being violated, profiled, abused and ripped apart" amid an illegal immigration crackdown in the city and in parts of the county.
The two-time World Series champion expressed his feelings about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE's) raids over the last week that led to hundreds of arrests and sparked riots in parts of Los Angeles. Hernandez made no mention of the violence that took place against law enforcement officers.
"I may not be Born & Raised, but this city adopted me as one of their own," he wrote on Instagram. "I am saddened and infuriated by what's happening in our country and our city. Los Angeles and Dodger fans have welcomed me, supported me and shown me nothing but kindness and love.
"This is my second home. And I cannot stand to see our community being violated, profiled, abused and ripped apart. ALL people deserve to be treated with respect, dignity and human rights."
The anti-immigration enforcement protests began on June 7 and on June 8 the protests turned violent. Agitators sprayed walls and vehicles with the words "F--- ICE," autonomous vehicles were set on fire, and law enforcement officers were pelted with rocks and other objects in the Paramount neighborhood. Later in the week, stores in downtown Los Angeles were looted.
President Donald Trump immediately deployed the National Guard to the area where the issues began, garnering criticism from Democrats insisting their presence would only escalate tensions.
ICE has organized several high-profile raids across the country as part of the president's campaign promise to deliver mass deportations. Trump promised to prioritize criminal illegal immigrants, but critics allege the administration is separating families and targeting non-criminal workers.
Trump has since doubled down on his support of ICE in Los Angeles and called on ICE officers to expand their efforts to other cities.
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Miami Herald
34 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
County leaders mostly silent after arrest of woman objecting to ICE deal in Miami-Dade
A day after a 36-year-old real estate agent was dragged out of the Miami-Dade County Commission chambers by plain-clothed officers during a public meeting, the elected officials who watched it happen are mostly keeping mum on what they saw. The Miami Herald requested statements from the county's 13 commissioners and Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, who until January oversaw a county police force that's now under the control of an elected sheriff. No commissioner offices provided statements. Levine Cava did, but the message did not directly address the police response that landed Camila Ramos in jail overnight on felony charges after a brief and tense exchange with the sheriff's deputies that serve as plain-clothed sergeants-at-arms during commission meetings. VIDEO: Officers drag woman out of Miami-Dade meeting during ICE discussion Ramos had intended to speak on a modified agreement between the county's jails system and Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the allotted public comment portion of the meeting but was removed while attempting to ask a question about the rules after an officer had warned her not to speak. 'It was unfortunate that yesterday's meeting escalated the way it did when people were there simply to make their voices heard,' Levine Cava said. 'Public input is an essential part of an accessible, accountable local government and as elected officials we should encourage all residents to exercise their right to participate.' The Herald also requested a statement from Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz, the veteran county police administrator who in November won the county's first sheriff election since the 1950s under a change mandated by Florida's Constitution. The Sheriff's Office has not released a statement but did provide arrest reports alleging a deputy saw Ramos punch an officer while being dragged to the chamber doors. Ramos was heard denying to an officer that she had punched her — or that if she had, it was inadvertent. Video of the ejection showed officers with hands on both of Ramos' arms and, at one point, also on her hair and foot. Less than two minutes passed between when a sergeant-at-arms first took hold of Ramos' arm near the microphone that members of the public use to address commissioners to when she was dragged out of the chamber doors by officers, her hand briefly grasping the arm of her husband, who was there to speak as well. 'I'm trying to understand the process,' Ramos said as the two sergeants took hold of her arms and started pulling her toward the exits. 'You're ejecting me?' Video shows Ramos dragging her feet and then falling to the ground while the sergeants still held her arms. They then began dragging her while her body remained in contact with the floor. 'I deserve to know the process,' she said. 'Let me go of me.' While commissioners have kept quiet on the incident, some politicians are sharing their views. Ken Russell, a former Miami commissioner running for city mayor, said on social media: 'Being silent is a message in itself…ANY elected [official] can speak up to allow someone to be heard or to stop an ejection.' Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett sent an email Friday morning to town administrators urging them to make sure Surfside could avoid that kind of incident. 'This is really bad. I can't think of any good reason why a situation like this ought to evolve with a woman on the floor with two very strong police around her,' Burkett wrote. 'We must never allow something like this to happen under our watch.' Ramos was released from the Turner Guilford Knight jail on Friday after posting bond for two felony charges, including battery against an officer. The arrest report shows uniformed deputies who helped take her out of the chambers were wearing body cameras, but that footage hasn't yet been released. It could prove crucial in her criminal case because a uniformed deputy wrote in the report that he witnessed Ramos strike a sergeant-at-arms in the face. While Ramos hasn't spoken publicly, supporters on Friday held a press conference outside of County Hall to denounce what happened to her. 'Her flailing may have mistakenly grazed an officer,' Juan Cuba, director of Sheriff Accountability Action, an advocacy group. 'I don't see in any video evidence it was battery.' He urged the county's elected officials to denounce what happened in the chambers Thursday. Cuba, a longtime Miami activist, is married to one of Levine Cava's top aides, Deputy Chief of Staff Rachel Johnson. Video of the meeting showed the confrontation began during a confusing moment in the session. While commissioners were scheduled to vote on a modification of the county's existing ICE agreement, there was a last-minute move to delay that vote indefinitely. As Chair Anthony Rodriguez explained the plan to the audience, he also outlined speaking rules that seemed to contradict guidelines from the county's top lawyer. Rodriguez told the audience they had a right to speak on the ICE item. At that point, Ramos was standing in an area near the lecterns where members of the public typically wait their turn for their allotted time at the microphones. While the audience members could still speak on the item about to be deferred, Rodriguez said, doing so would mean the public wouldn't have the chance to address commissioners if the item ever came up for an actual vote at a future meeting. 'Even if just one person speaks,' he said, 'then public hearing has been had on this item. And if it resurfaces, there will be no opportunity to speak on this item again.' Those instructions appeared more restrictive than guidance provided by County Attorney Geri Bonzon-Keenan a couple of minutes earlier. Asked by Rodriguez how to handle the list of people signed up to speak about the ICE item at Thursday's meeting, the top lawyer outlined a procedure where people wanting to speak Thursday could line up for the microphones and those who chose to stay seated could address commissioners if the item came up at a future meeting. 'I would just start calling the names,' Bonzon-Keenan said. 'And those that wish to speak can stand up. And those that don't stand up, they can come back and speak at the appropriate time when the matter is under consideration.' Those conflicting rules were what faced Ramos as she waited for her allotted 60 seconds before commissioners, with a paper of prepared remarks in her hand. Video showed she was approached by sergeant-at-arms and a disagreement followed, with Ramos pointed toward the dais. Soon, two sergeants had her by the arms and pulled her away as the audience chanted 'Let her go!' and 'Let her speak!'
Fast Company
an hour ago
- Fast Company
WhatsApp just got banned on Capitol Hill. Here's how you can make the Meta messaging platform more secure
The U.S. House of Representatives' Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Catherine Szpindor, informed congressional staffers this week that WhatsApp is now banned from government phones. The move came after the CAO's Office of Cybersecurity deemed the Meta-owned app to be 'high-risk to users'—a claim that WhatsApp quickly rebutted. But the CAO is correct. While WhatsApp is one of the more secure messaging apps out there, it does have some privacy and security risks. Users can mitigate some of these risks, but others are beyond their control. Here's why WhatsApp is now banned in the U.S. House of Representatives and how you can make the app more secure on your phone. What the Office of Cybersecurity said, exactly The news that the CAO's Office of Cybersecurity had announced a ban on WhatsApp this week came from Axios. On Tuesday, the publication published parts of an internal CAO memo it received, which was sent to congressional staffers on Monday, announcing that WhatsApp was now verboten on government phones. The memo stipulated that 'House staff are NOT allowed to download or keep the WhatsApp application on any House device, including any mobile, desktop, or web browser versions of its products.' It went on to add: 'If you have a WhatsApp application on your House-managed device, you will be contacted to remove it.' The reason? According to the memo, 'The Office of Cybersecurity has deemed WhatsApp a high-risk to users due to the lack of transparency in how it protects user data, absence of stored data encryption, and potential security risks involved with its use.' The CAO didn't provide further details in the memo regarding the above risks. Still, it's easy to interpret some of the things that may have made the CAO leery about the continued use of WhatsApp by Congressional staffers. WhatsApp's transparency issue WhatsApp, like competing secure messaging apps including Apple's iMessages and Signal, is end-to-end encrypted, meaning that no parties other than the ones in the chat, even including Meta, can read the chat messages. But WhatsApp collects a lot more metadata from each chat than other secure messaging apps do, and it sends this info to Meta A chat's metadata includes information such as the identities of the chat participants, IP addresses, phone numbers, and the timestamps of messages. No one knows exactly what Meta does with this metadata. Still, it is shared with Meta's other platforms, including Instagram and Facebook. It is likely used to help the company build social graphs of users, leveraged for advertising purposes, and analyzed by the company to understand who is using their apps, and when and where. This opaqueness is likely some of the 'lack of transparency' risk that the CAO was referring to. As for the 'absence of stored data encryption,' the CAO may have been referring to the default method by which WhatsApp backs up a user's chats. While WhatsApp chats are end-to-end encrypted, if a user backs up those chats to the cloud, the backup itself is not end-to-end encrypted by default. This means that if a bad actor gains access to a WhatsApp user's cloud backup, they could read all of that user's messages. It's no wonder the CAO's Office of Cybersecurity finds this worrying. WhatsApp also doesn't have other privacy and security features on by default, including the ability to lock the app behind biometrics and requiring two-step verification when a WhatsApp account is installed on another phone. If you don't work in the House of Representatives, you can still keep WhatsApp on your phone. But you might want to mitigate its privacy and security risks. Here's how. How to make WhatsApp more secure on your phone Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do about WhatsApp's metadata problem. Meta designs WhatsApp so that the metadata of your chats is sent directly to the company. There's no way you can turn this data collection off. But you can make the app more secure on your phone by following some simple steps, including: End-to-end encrypt your WhatsApp backups: In WhatsApp, go to Settings>Chats>Chat Backup>End-to-End Encrypted Backup and turn this option on. Now your chat backups saved in the cloud will be end-to-end encrypted. Lock WhatsApp: You can set WhatsApp to refuse to open without further authentication by locking the app. This means that even if someone has access to your unlocked phone, they won't be able to open WhatsApp unless they know your phone's PIN, or have your face or fingerprint. To lock WhatsApp, go to WhatsApp's Settings>Privacy>App Lock and toggle the feature on. Enable two-step verification: If someone logs into your WhatsApp account on their phone, they'll be able to see your messages. That's why you should set up two-step verification for your account. This will require a PIN that you set to be entered whenever an attempt is made to log into your WhatsApp account on a new device. If the PIN isn't entered correctly, the new device won't have access to your account. To enable two-step verification, go to WhatsApp's Settings>Account>Two-Step Verification and toggle the feature on. Apps the CAO suggests using instead When reached for comment on the CAO's decision to ban WhatsApp, the organization's chief administrative officer, Catherine Szpindor, told Fast Company, 'Protecting the People's House is our topmost priority, and we are always monitoring and analyzing for potential cybersecurity risks that could endanger the data of House Members and staff. We routinely review the list of House-authorized apps and will amend the list as deemed appropriate.' In the past, the CAO has banned or imposed partial bans on various foreign apps, including those from ByteDance, such as TikTok. But the CAO has also previously announced bans or restrictions on apps made by American companies, including Microsoft Copilot and the free versions of ChatGPT. As for Meta, a company spokesperson told Fast Company that it disagrees with the CAO's characterization of WhatsApp 'in the strongest possible terms.' The spokesperson also asserted that, when it comes to end-to-end encryption, WhatsApp offers 'a higher level of security than most of the apps on the CAO's approved list that do not offer that protection.' In the Office of Cybersecurity's memo, the agency provided guidance on alternative secure messaging apps that House staffers could use now that WhatsApp had been banned. According to Axios, those apps include Apple's iMessage and FaceTime, Microsoft Teams, Wickr, and Signal.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Canadian firefighter says he was denied entry to U.S.: 'Good enough to fight their wars but not good enough to cross their borders'
A B.C. firefighter says he was denied entry into the United States, where he was going to take part in a competition for First Responders from different countries around the world. Jamie Flynn posted on social media on Thursday to detail what happened to him when he was en route to Birmingham, Alabama. He said he was supposed to represent Vancouver firefighters in the Jiu Jitsu category at the World Police & Fire Games. He described the games as an 'international event uniting frontline responders through sport,' in a post on Instagram. 'Being denied entry to the United States is deeply upsetting,' he told National Post in an emailed statement on Friday. 'I lost my flights, my time away, and my opportunity to compete at the World Police & Fire Games in Alabama — an event I had trained extensively for.' Flynn said he is a British citizen living in Canada as a permanent resident. He is a firefighter in Vancouver and volunteers with Squamish Search and Rescue. He has served in the British Parachute Regiment (SFSG) and has also served alongside U.S. forces under Joint Special Operations Command. 'I operated under U.S. command, wore the American uniform, and fought under the American flag. I've always felt a strong bond with the United States,' he told National Post. 'I have no criminal record and no known issues that would justify this denial.' In his post on Instagram, he said he trained for the competition in the U.S. for months. 'And still, I'm grounded — sidelined not by injury or lack of effort, but by bureaucracy and silence,' he wrote. Flynn intended to fly to Alabama from Vancouver International Airport on Wednesday. He never made his flight because his Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) had expired and would not be renewed, Global News reported. He said he received an update on the ESTA app that said, 'Travel not authorized.' ESTA is an automated system used to determine the eligibility of visitors to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It is valid for two years, or until a passport expires, and allows for multiple entries. If a traveller receives a 'travel not authorized' response to their application, CBP says online that they can look into applying for a visa if they still wish to enter the country. The denial only prohibits travel under the Visa Waiver Program and does not determine eligibility for a visa, per the agency. Canadian citizens travelling with a Canadian passport do not need to apply for an ESTA. Flynn said that he did not receive an explanation from anyone at the U.S. border, the U.S. consulate or the ESTA program. 'This feels like a clerical error,' he said, and, he added, it's cost him thousands of dollars. 'I'm gutted. I'm angry. And I want answers.' He ended the post with the line: 'We were good enough to fight their wars — but not good enough to cross their borders.' Flynn told National Post that he is looking forward to being able to visit the U.S. again in the near future. He has since submitted a visa application. Unfortunately, he said, the earliest available appointment is Feb. 11, 2027. University of Toronto law professor and Rebecca Cook Chair in Human Rights Law Audrey Macklin said her advice for travellers going to the U.S. is to avoid it altogether 'unless absolutely necessary.' 'Even at the best of times, states often treat non-citizens arbitrarily, and do not feel obliged to explain their actions,' she told National Post over email. 'This is sometimes justified on the ground that non-citizens do not have a right to enter, and therefore have no standing to complain about how a decision to admit or exclude is made. Since the rule of law is in free fall in the United States at the moment, the arbitrariness is more extreme, more coercive, and more frequent. That is why travellers should avoid the United States if they can.' U.S. Customs and Border Protection Public Affairs Officer Jessica Turner said in an emailed statement to National Post that 'CBP cannot comment on specifics regarding travellers' ESTA denials.' 'U.S. Embassies and Consulates are not able to provide details about ESTA denials or resolve the issue that caused the ESTA denial,' she said. 'Embassies and Consulates will process an application for a non-immigrant visa, which, if approved, will be the only way that a traveler whose ESTA application has been denied would be authorized to travel to the U.S.' U.S. deports 70-year-old man after he 'violently' kicked a customs dog at an airport U.S. man drives into Canada by mistake, gets busted with 78 pounds of pot on the way back Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.
