Latest news with #DepartmentOfHomelandSecurity
Associated Press
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Trump administration ends legal protections for half-million Haitians who now face deportations
MIAMI (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security said Friday that it is terminating legal protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitians, setting them up for potential deportation. DHS said that conditions in Haiti have improved and Haitians no longer meet the conditions for the temporary legal protections. The termination of temporary protected status, or TPS, applies to about 500,000 Haitians who are already in the United States, some of whom have lived here for more than a decade. It is coming three months after the Trump administration revoked legal protections for thousands of Haitians who arrived legally in the country under a humanitarian parole program, and it is part of part of a series of measures implemented to curb immigration. Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a federal judge's order preventing the administration from revoking the parole program. TPS allows people already in the United States to stay and work legally if their homelands are deemed unsafe. Immigrants from 17 countries, including Haiti, Afghanistan, Sudan and Lebanon, were receiving those protections before President Donald Trump took office for his second term in January. President Trump is ending protections and programs for immigrants as part of his mass deportations promises. During his political campaign he said his administration would scale back the use of TPS, which covered more than 1 million immigrants. His campaign highlighted unfounded claims that Haitians who live and work legally in Springfield, Ohio, as TPS holders were eating their neighbors' pets. Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans and some Afghans have been told already that they're losing their TPS status. Some of the Haitians who benefit from TPS have requested asylum or other lawful immigration status that could protect them from deportation, although it is not clear how many could be left without any relief. 'This decision restores integrity in our immigration system and ensures that Temporary Protective Status is actually temporary,' a DHS spokesperson said. 'The environmental situation in Haiti has improved enough that it is safe for Haitian citizens to return home.' The Department of State, nonetheless, has not changed its travel advisory and still recommends Americans 'do not travel to Haiti due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and limited health care.' Temporary protected status for Haitians expires on Aug. 3, and the termination will be effective on Sept. 2, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said. DHS advised TPS holders to return to Haiti using a mobile application called CBP Home. Frantz Desir, 36, has been in the U.S. since 2022 on asylum, but he says he is concerned by the Trump administration's decision to terminate TPS. 'You see your friends who used to go to work every day, and suddenly—without being sick or fired—they just can't go anymore. It hits you. Even if it hasn't happened to you yet, you start to worry, 'What if it's me next?'' Desir says his asylum court date was set for this year, but the judge rescheduled it for 2028. Desir lives in Springfield, Ohio, with his wife and two children, and he works in a car parts manufacturing plant. ——- AP reporter Obed Lamy contributed from Indianapolis
Wall Street Journal
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
New York Orders Local Governments to Start Reporting Cyberattacks
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation Friday that requires local governments in the state to begin reporting cyberattacks on their networks. The new law orders municipalities and public authorities to notify the state's Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services within 72 hours of a hack. It also obliges these organizations to report any ransom payments made to hackers within 24 hours and mandates security awareness training for government employees in New York.
UAE Moments
19 hours ago
- Politics
- UAE Moments
Trump's Bid to Ban Foreign Students from Harvard Halted
A federal judge in Boston blocked on Monday, June 23, another effort by the US President Donald Trump's administration to ban international students from attending Harvard University. The judge said that the Trump administration's officials' "misplaced efforts to control a reputable academic institution' threatened freedom of speech. The order from the U.S. District Court Judge Allison Burroughs preserves the ability of international students to apply and study at Harvard University while the case is decided. President Trump has sought to cut off enrollment of foreign students as part of his campaign to change the governance and policies of the Ivy League school. The administrations officials have also cut over $2.6 billion in research grants, cancelled federal contracts, and threatened to revoke the tax-exempt status of the university . Harvard University sued the Department of Homeland Security in May, after the department retracted the school's certification to host international students and issue paperwork for their visas. Burroughs temporarily halted the action hours after Harvard sued and then provided an initial injunction on June 20. The latest injunction came on June 23 in response to the Trump administration's move, citing a legal justification when he issued a proclamation on June 4, banning foreign students from entering the US to attend Harvard University.
The Independent
a day ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Mother sues US detention for release of two young children in first lawsuit of kind
A mother and her two young children are fighting for their release from a Texas immigration detention centre, in what is believed to be the first lawsuit involving children to challenge the Trump administration's policy on immigrant arrests at courthouses. The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, argues that the family's arrests violate their Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizure, and their Fifth Amendment right to due process. This challenge comes despite the family having entered the US legally after fleeing Honduras, utilising a Biden-era appointment application. Elora Mukherjee, a Columbia Law School professor and one of the lawyers representing the family, underscored the broader implications of the case. "The big picture is that the executive branch cannot seize people, arrest people, detain people indefinitely when they are complying with exactly what our government has required of them," she stated. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment. Starting in May, the country has seen large-scale arrests in which asylum-seekers appearing at routine court hearings have been arrested outside courtrooms as part of the White House's mass deportation effort. In many cases, a judge will grant a government lawyer's request to dismiss deportation proceedings and then U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers will arrest the person and place them on "expedited removal," a fast track to deportation. Mukherjee said this is the first lawsuit filed on behalf of children to challenge the ICE courthouse arrest policy. The government has until July 1 to respond. There have been other similar lawsuits, including in New York, where a federal judge ruled earlier this month that federal immigration authorities can't make civil arrests at the state's courthouses or arrest anyone going there for a proceeding. The Texas lawsuit was filed using initials for the children and "Ms. Z" for the mother. Their identities have not been released because of concerns for their safety. For weeks in the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, the mother has watched her 6-year-old son's health decline, Mukherjee said. He recently underwent chemotherapy treatment for leukemia and because of his arrest missed his check-in doctor's appointment, Mukherjee said. "He's easily bruising. He has bone pain. He looks pale," Mukherjee said, adding that he has also lost his appetite. "His mom is terrified that these are symptoms that his leukemia situation might be deteriorating." The mother, son and 9-year-old daughter fled Honduras in October 2024 due to death threats, according to the lawsuit. They entered the U.S. using the CBP One app and were paroled into the country by the Department of Homeland Security, which determined they didn't pose a danger to the community, Mukherjee said. They were told to appear at a Los Angeles immigration court May 29. President Donald Trump ended CBP One for new entrants on his first day in office after more than 900,000 people had been allowed in the country using the app since it was expanded to include migrants in January 2023. During the family's hearing, the mother tried to tell the judge that they wished to continue their cases for asylum, Mukherjee said. Homeland Security moved to dismiss their cases, and the judge immediately granted that motion. When they stepped out of the courtroom, they found men in civilian clothing believed to be ICE agents who arrested the family, Mukherjee said. They spent about 11 hours at an immigrant processing center in Los Angeles and were each only given an apple, a small packet of cookies, a juice box and water. At one point, an officer near the boy lifted his shirt, revealing his gun. The boy urinated on himself and was left in wet clothing until the next morning, Mukherjee said. They were later taken to the processing center, where they have been held ever since. "The family is suffering in this immigration detention center," she said. "The kids are crying every night. They're praying to God for their release from this detention center." Their lawyers have filed an appeal of the immigration judge's May decision, but they're at risk of being deported within days because the government says they are subjected to expedited removal, Mukherjee said. The arrests of the family were illegal and unjustified, said Kate Gibson Kumar, an attorney for the Texas Civil Rights project who is also representing the family. "The essential question in our case is, when you have these families who are doing everything right, especially with young children, should there be some protection there?" Gibson Kumar said. "We say 'yes."'
Fox News
2 days ago
- Fox News
Immigration officer charged with taking bribes to help immigrants obtain legal status
A federal immigration officer was recently arrested after being accused of promising adjustments to immigrants' status in exchange for bribes over the span of nearly a decade. Amara Dukuly, 43, of Brookhaven, Pennsylvania, an immigration officer employed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), is charged with bribery of a public official, arising from his alleged solicitation of a bribe in exchange for official acts. Since 2015, Dukuly is accused of using his status as a USCIS employee to extract payments from individuals in exchange for promises to help them obtain adjustments to their immigration status, such as a green card, work authorization documents, or visas, according to a criminal complaint. Given the scope of his job duties, Dukuly did not have the authority to fulfill any of his promises to the individuals, according to court documents. After seeking, receiving and accepting money in return for being influenced while performing an official act, Dukuly converted the monies he obtained from the bribes for his personal benefit, according to a statement from United States Attorney David Metcalf. It is unclear how many immigrants Dukuly is accused of accepting bribes from. The case is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
