Latest news with #CorrieBoudreaux
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gov. Polis has ‘deep reservations' about National Guard use for immigration enforcement
A Texas National Guardsman observes as Border Patrol agents pat down migrants who have surrendered themselves for processing, May 10, 2023. (Photo by Corrie Boudreaux for Source NM) Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has 'deep reservations' about a plan for the Department of Homeland Security to use National Guard members to help with federal immigration enforcement. The plan, first reported by the New York Times on Thursday, would pull in 20,000 members to increase enforcement capacity amid the Trump administration's mass deportation efforts. Governors would be asked for National Guard troops to help with the detention and deportation of immigrants without legal status, though it is not clear what specific role troops would serve, according to NPR. The plan is being reviewed by Department of Defense lawyers. 'Our national guard members play an important role in protecting our state at home and abroad and the Governor would have deep reservations about pulling guard members away from core functions at a time when resources are being cut in these critical areas, further straining resources needed for public safety by diverting resources to a federal responsibility,' Polis spokesperson Shelby Wieman wrote in an email. 'Gov. Polis calls on Congress to do their part and pass comprehensive immigration reform that secures our border, provides adequate personnel for border and interior enforcement so that they don't need to take away national guard units from the states, and creates a pathway to citizenship.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The Colorado Army National Guard and Colorado Air National Guard comprises about 5,500 people who serve part-time under the governor's direction. Often, they respond to disasters in the state. A spokesperson for the Colorado National Guard said it has not received any communication about a plan to ask members to volunteer for immigration enforcement. Trump administration officials such as Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, have suggested that that National Guard troops from Republican-led states could be deployed in states, like Colorado, governed by Democrats. Democratic lawmakers in the Colorado Legislature passed a sweeping immigrant rights bill during the legislative session this year. It included a provision that would ban military units from another state from entering Colorado without the governor's permission. 'Any time we have someone else's National Guard that wants to come into this state, agreements happen. The governor's office has asked for support in this area,' Rep. Lorena Garcia, an Adams County Democrat and the bill's sponsor, said during floor debate on May 2. 'We have seen buses come forward without any warning from Texas. Who's to say that (Texas) Gov. (Greg) Abbott wouldn't just throw his National Guard straight into Colorado because they decided to do immigration enforcement here?' A Polis spokesperson in November after Trump's election told Newsline in a statement, 'It would be a violation of state sovereignty for another state to send National Guard troops without a request from the state.' Many of the approximately 40,000 migrants who arrived in Denver since 2022 came on buses sent from Texas at Abbott's direction. In February, Abbott gave the Texas National Guard the authority to make immigration arrests. Polis has not signed that immigration bill, Senate Bill 25-276, into law. Though it would bar other states from sending their National Guard troops into Colorado, it would do little if Trump federalized the National Guard to perform law enforcement activities under the Insurrection Act, which was last invoked in 1992 during the Los Angeles riots after the police beating of Rodney King. Bill sponsor state Sen. Mike Weissman, an Aurora Democrat, told Newsline that the provision in question is comparable to laws in other states, including Texas. 'So it depends exactly what Trump, and potentially Trump-allied governors, proceed to do,' he wrote in an email. 'The mere fact that Trump is trying to corral guards members for his anti-immigrant efforts is yet another sign of the rapid disintegration of norms and precedents in this country.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Yahoo
Arizona AG queries ICE about arrest of New Mexico man
Migrants wait throughout the night on May 10, 2023, in a dust storm at Gate 42, on land between the Rio Grande and the border wall, hoping they will be processed by immigration authorities before the expiration of Title 42. (Photo by Corrie Boudreaux for Source NM) Arizona's top state prosecutor is seeking more information about immigration officials' arrest of a U.S. citizen from New Mexico earlier this month. A federal prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona on April 9 filed a criminal complaint against 19-year-old Jose Hermosillo, of Albuquerque. The complaint alleges that on April 8, immigration agents found Hermosillo 'without proper immigration documents' near Nogales, Arizona. Arizona Public Media reports that Hermosillo and his girlfriend were visiting from Albuquerque to see family in Tucson, Arizona. The radio station reports that Hermosillo said he has never been to Nogales and that he was held in the Florence Correctional Center for 10 days. A few days after the U.S. Marshals took Hermosillo to Florence, his family presented documents showing his U.S. citizenship, according to a statement provided to Source on Monday in response to an emailed inquiry to its Office of Public Affairs email address. The statement is attributable to a 'senior U.S. Department of Homeland Security official,' the unsigned email said. On Monday morning, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes posted on X that her office had reached out to ICE for more information about Hermosillo's arrest, 'for answers on how this was allowed to happen to an American citizen.' 'It is wholly unacceptable to wrongfully detain U.S. citizens,' she wrote. A spokesperson for Mayes' office told Source NM in an email that the request was made over the phone but declined to comment further. The complaint, signed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent and a prosecutor, alleges that Hermosillo 'admitted to illegally entering the United States from Mexico' on April 7. It also wrongfully states that he is a 'citizen of Mexico.' According to the DHS official, Hermosillo 'said he wanted to turn himself in and completed a sworn statement identifying as a Mexican citizen who had entered unlawfully.' 'This arrest was the direct result of Hermosillo's own actions and statements,' the DHS official said. A federal judge dismissed the case on April 17, court records show. The DHS official said Hermosillo was then released to his family. The judge's dismissal order states that the government moved to dismiss the case. In an email on Monday, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona declined to answer Source NM's questions about the case, and wrote, 'The U.S. Attorney's Office does not have anything to add beyond what is found in the public record.' The case against Hermosillo is absent from a news release the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona published three days after his arrest, in which the agency touted 'immigration-related criminal charges' it had filed in the previous week. Requests for comment from ICE and Hermosillo's attorney were not returned on Monday. John Mitchell, immigrants' rights attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, told Source NM that we don't have a full account of what transpired in Hermosillo's case but people who suffered a wrongful arrest or detention can generally seek relief by filing a complaint under the Federal Tort Claims Act, detailing any harm they suffered at the hands of the federal government's agents. Someone who brings a claim would have to show that their arrest lacked probable cause and that the arrest caused a tangible injury, Mitchell said. People can also bring suits against the government for violations of their constitutional rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, commonly known as Section 1983 claims, Mitchell said. These claims typically involve violations such as wrongful arrest or excessive force, and can result in monetary or injunctive relief against the government, he said. 'In both types of cases, a central and challenging issue is to connect the harm suffered to the relief sought (e.g. money),' Mitchell said. 'Obviously, the duration of wrongful detention is important. Other details matter; what did officers say to the plaintiff or to each other? Any indications of animas or hostility? These can all factor in.' The Florence Correctional Center where Hermosillo was detained is a prison complex that CoreCivic privately owns and operates, Mitchell said. The prison holds, among others, immigrants in removal proceedings, he said. In 2022, a Mexican national named Benjamin Gonzalez-Soto died while in ICE custody at FCC, Mitchell noted. This story was updated following publication to include comment from the ACLU of Arizona. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
WA bill to restrict outside National Guard from entering state advances in Legislature
A Texas National Guardsman observes as Border Patrol agents pat down migrants who have surrendered themselves for processing, May 10, 2023. (Photo by Corrie Boudreaux for Source NM) A bill that would give the governor authority to limit other states' National Guard troops from deploying in Washington, unless they are mobilized by the president, passed the state House on Monday. House Bill 1321, sponsored by Rep. Sharlett Mena, D-Tacoma, is intended to protect immigrant communities in the state. It follows a statement released by Republican governors from across the country offering National Guard support for President Donald Trump's hardline immigration policies. The bill would prevent other states from sending their National Guard troops into Washington to enforce federal laws. Its backers say the bill would not undermine military readiness or disaster response. House Democrats approved the bill on a 58-37 party-line vote. Democrats say the bill protects the state's sovereignty and autonomy. 'Without this bill, there is nothing to prevent other states from sending their National Guards here to carry out their own agendas,' Mena said. 'I, for one, do not want an outside armed force in our state enforcing policies that may not be consistent with what we have.' Republicans raised concerns that the bill could be misused by future governors and took issue with an emergency clause that will allow the restrictions to take effect immediately. They also questioned the need for the legislation. 'Not a bad bill, but kind of pointless bill,' said Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen. Gov. Bob Ferguson highlighted Mena's bill during his inaugural address in January as an example of legislation he would support this year. The National Guard is a state-based military force when not activated for federal service and is under the command of the state governor and the president of the United States. Some states also have State Guards which are under state control. States like Idaho, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Maine and Indiana have laws in place that are similar to the Washington bill. Republican lawmakers introduced six amendments. None were adopted. These amendments would have allowed for the National Guard from other states to come into Washington without the governor's permission for certain reasons, such as combatting drug trafficking across state lines, or providing disaster or emergency assistance. They also would have also removed the bill's emergency clause. Walsh proposed an amendment that would've rewritten the bill to, among other things, require a Congressional declaration of war before a governor releases the National Guard for an overseas combat deployment. He argued that his amendment would prevent the state's National Guard units from being deployed in ways inconsistent with federal or state priorities. Mena said the amendment would've altered the underlying bill completely and that it had other 'major defects.' Democrats say they've consulted with the state's Military Department, the Office of the Attorney General, the Washington State Narcotics Investigators Association and other groups to ensure the bill doesn't have unintended consequences. 'We find it important, as do the AG's office and the Military Department, to keep the language in this legislation as simple and broad as we can,' said Rep. Darya Farivar, D-Seattle. The bill now awaits action in the Senate.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
U.S. deports three Venezuelans held at Otero County Processing Center
Border Patrol agents collect handcuffs with leg and waist chains as they transfer custody of Guatemalan nationals to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation at the El Paso International Airport, May 10, 2023. (Photo by Corrie Boudreaux for Source NM) Content warning: This story discusses suicidal ideation. The United States last month deported three Venezuelan men who had been held in immigration detention in New Mexico back to their home country after they successfully convinced a federal judge to block their transfer to the notorious military prison at Guantánamo Bay. Each of the three men fled Venezuela, sought asylum from the U.S. and passed an initial Credible Fear Interview with federal asylum officers by establishing a credible fear of persecution or torture in their home countries. However, they were held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention because of a political dispute between the two countries. The case began in September 2024 when the men first challenged the legality of their detention at the Otero County Processing center in Chaparral, N.M. with help from the Center for Constitutional Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico. President Donald Trump on Jan. 29 directed the Secretary of Homeland Security and Secretary of Defense to expand the Migrant Operations Center in the U.S. Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay 'to provide additional detention space for high-priority criminal aliens unlawfully present in the United States.' Extension of temporary protections for Venezuelan immigrants revoked by Trump administration Following Trump's orders, the U.S. diverted hundreds of troops to Guantánamo to start setting up a tent city for detained migrants, according to the New York Times. On Feb. 9, the trio's attorneys recounted how their clients, upon seeing the news coverage of the first Guantánamo flights, personally recognized several detainees who had also been held at Otero. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Kenneth Gonzales on Feb. 9 blocked the transfer of all three men to Guantánamo, and less than 24 hours later, the U.S. deported them to Venezuela, according to the detained migrants' attorneys. The case's conclusion comes as the New Mexico Legislature debates a proposal to prohibit state agencies and local governments from entering into agreements used to detain people for violations of civil immigration law in Otero and two facilities like it. All three petitioners on Feb. 14 voluntarily dismissed their case against Otero County Processing Center Warden Dora Castro 'in light of their deportation to Venezuela.' Nonetheless, their attorneys wrote that the damage from their unlawfully prolonged detention remains. Each of them were held for more than a year in total, and 'endured dismal conditions in detention that will leave lasting scars on them and their families.' Detention center officials placed one of the men into solitary confinement in retaliation from a hunger strike in protest of ICE's plans to deport them to Mexico. Venezuelan refugees detained in NM fearful of more deportations to Mexico Detention's emotional and psychological toll led the men to suffer depression, anxiety, loss of appetite and suicidal ideation, the attorneys wrote. One harmed himself and was admitted into a psychiatric facility in January, they wrote. Their fears and anxiety were made worse in early February when they began to confront the threat that they could be sent to Guantánamo, the attorneys wrote. 'I fear being taken to Guantánamo because the news is painting it as a black hole… I also see that human rights are constantly violated at Guantánamo, so I fear what could happen to me if I get taken there,' said petitioner Abrahan Barrios Morales, in an affidavit attached to the petition. The company running the migrant detention center at Guantánamo has faced critical audits and a civil rights complaint over conditions at three other facilities it runs in the U.S., according to The Guardian newspaper. Their flight marked the first deportation flight from the U.S. to Venezuela in over a year, according to the Associated Press. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement El Paso Field Office in March 2024 paused deportation flights to Venezuela, apparently stemming from an oil sanctions dispute. Attorneys for the trio who were held in Otero wrote in the dismissal notice that with thousands of Venezuelans held in the U.S. awaiting removal, it's hard to imagine that they would have been put at the front of the line for deportation 'if they had not filed this habeas action, and courageously challenged the executive branch's reprehensible and legally unsupportable decision' to start shipping detained migrants to Guantánamo and holding them there incommunicado. Another pending case aims to block the removal of 10 other men who are nationals of Venezuela, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, are held in neighboring Arizona and Texas and fear that they're at risk of being taken to Guantánamo. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NM lawyers helping 250 immigrant kids uneasy after federal funding was cut, then restored, last week
Travelers, including a woman and a child, cross an international bridge in El Paso in May 2023, just before the expiration of Title 42. A New Mexico center representing unaccompanied immigrant children briefly lost most of its funding last week following a stop-work order from a federal agency. The order was quickly rescinded. (Photo by Corrie Boudreaux for Source NM) A team at the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center representing children in immigration court is breathing an uneasy sigh of relief after the majority of the team's funding was abruptly cut, and then just as abruptly, restored last week. The immigrant law center currently has about 250 children as clients, including some as young as 2 or 3. Without the center's help, the vast majority of the kids would have to represent themselves in immigration court, said Andres Santiago, leader of the center's children's team, in an interview Friday with Source New Mexico. The center is a subcontractor for Acacia Legal Services, which receives funding from the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement to represent roughly 26,000 children under 18 who crossed the border without their parents. On Tuesday, the United States Department of the Interior issued the center a stop-work order and required it to inform its subcontractors across the country about the order. The children's team in New Mexico receives up to three-quarters of its funding from the federal government, Santiago said. The Tuesday announcement sent the team of seven attorneys into a flurry of activity. They called families of their clients and tried to reschedule court hearings to prevent a child going before a judge alone, he said. Families and kids called the center seeking urgent help, but the center was forced to put their cases on hold. Santiago said he never got a clear explanation why the funding was cut. The same held true Friday morning when the stop-work order was rescinded. 'Just as quickly as the announcement came, came the announcement that it was being rescinded,' he told Source New Mexico. 'And I think this kind of highlights the precarious nature of the funds. We're kind of at the whim right now to what may happen in the future.' The children the center represents have extended family in New Mexico. The children all crossed the border without their parents, including at ports of entry and elsewhere, largely coming from Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, with a smaller number from Cuba and Venezuela, Santiago said. A large number of them have suffered some form of abuse or neglect, Santiago said, including human or sex trafficking. After federal immigration authorities encounter a child, they are held in custody for up to 72 hours and then sent to juvenile detention centers across the country for up to 30 days while authorities find and vet members of their extended families in the United States, Santiago said. The kids whose families live in New Mexico are paired with NMILC attorneys as their immigration cases proceed. Thousands surrender to Border Patrol as Title 42 ends Many of the children qualify for humanitarian visas or are seeking asylum. Their lawyers help with that and also can argue to a judge that the kids should not be deemed high priority for deportation because they have a pathway to residency, Santiago said. It's hard to imagine what would happen to those kids if there weren't lawyers on their behalf in the courtroom, he said. 'Literally toddlers like 2 and 3 years old are some of the youngest ones that we're working with,' he said. 'And a stop-work order for them — like to expect a toddler or even a young person to represent themselves in court — it's unjust, and it's really cruel.' Santiago said he remains mystified that President Donald Trump's administration would seek to cut funding for immigrant children's legal help. Democrats and Republicans in Congress and the White House have repeatedly reauthorized funding, including for the current fiscal year. 'I can't really speak to things on, like, a national level. What I can speak to is that we currently represent about 250 kids,' he said. 'I can speak to the work that we're doing has a real impact on the kids that we serve.'
