Latest news with #ICEarrest
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
MAGA supporter arrested by ICE detention issues statement about Trump
An Iranian native who was arrested by ICE agents from her California home and locked up in a detention center is still an avid Donald Trump supporter - saying the president is 'doing the right thing.' Arpineh Masihi, 39, who moved from Iran to America when she was two years old, was taken into custody on the morning of June 30. When federal agents arrived at her house in Diamond Bar, about 30 miles east of Los Angeles, the mother-of-four calmly walked back inside to say goodbye to her four kids - unsure of the next time she'd be able to see them. Before her detainment, her husband, Arthu Sahakyan, received a chilling phone call from an anonymous number, alerting him ICE officials were going to arrest his wife. But he thought it was some kind of cruel but empty threat, like the ones his family often gets for having a large MAGA flag waving in front of their home. Masihi and Sahakyan have been proud Trump proponents, and Masihi being unexpectedly ripped away from her loved ones has not changed that, the couple said. 'I vote Trump all the way. I'll never take it back. He did the right thing,' Masihi told The Orange County Register over the phone from the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in Victorville. 'He's doing the right thing. I would never take it back. And a lot of people hate me in here for that.' Inside the ICE facility, Masihi described her company as 'all from the border' and non-English speaking. She was first placed in another center in downtown LA, which she said was 'the worst facility in the world,' as she had no blankets and could not shower. Masihi, who is of Armenian descent, fled Iran as a refugee with her family in the late 1980s. They all made their way to California, where she has lived ever since. She had a Green Card - but in 2008, she was convicted of burglary and served two years in prison, the Department of Homeland Security told The Orange County Register. As a result of the crime - which both she and Sahakyan claimed was a petty incident involving less than $200 in check fraud - she had the document revoked. 'She made mistakes, but we all make mistakes,' Sahakyan told the outlet. The DHS said she was ordered to leave the US in 2009, but she never did. 'She had more than 15 years to self-deport and leave the US,' the agency wrote in a statement. Acknowledging she made 'mistakes' in the past, Masihi said she also 'blames the Democrats' for her unfavorable situation. 'It's mine [the mistake], but I blame the Democrats for allowing people in, because Trump would never have done this,' she told the outlet. While remaining in the country, she and her husband have been tirelessly trying to get her citizenship back. 'She just went in [for an immigration check-in] in April,' Sahakyan told Fox 11 . 'They said you're fine. Have a good day. See you back in September or October.' Terrified for her future, the family said they have found a lawyer and are hoping to resolve the matter soon in court. Masihi's arrest comes as Southern California has been subjected to sweeping ICE raids amid Trump's immigration crackdown. Adding to the mix, the US recently bombed three nuclear sites in Iran - raising concerns about sleeper cells.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Iranian MAGA supporter thrown into ICE detention makes jaw-dropping statement about Trump
An Iranian native who was arrested by ICE agents from her California home and locked up in a detention center is still an avid Donald Trump supporter - saying the president is 'doing the right thing.' Arpineh Masihi, 39, who moved from Iran to America when she was two years old, was taken into custody on the morning of June 30. When federal agents arrived at her house in Diamond Bar, about 30 miles east of Los Angeles, the mother-of-four calmly walked back inside to say goodbye to her four kids - unsure of the next time she'd be able to see them. Before her detainment, her husband, Arthu Sahakyan, received a chilling phone call from an anonymous number, alerting him ICE officials were going to arrest his wife. But he thought it was some kind of cruel but empty threat, like the ones his family often gets for having a large MAGA flag waving in front of their home. Masihi and Sahakyan have been proud Trump proponents, and Masihi being unexpectedly ripped away from her loved ones has not changed that, the couple said. 'I vote Trump all the way. I'll never take it back. He did the right thing,' Masihi told The Orange County Register over the phone from the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in Victorville. 'He's doing the right thing. I would never take it back. And a lot of people hate me in here for that.' Inside the ICE facility, Masihi described her company as 'all from the border' and non-English speaking. She was first placed in another center in downtown LA, which she said was 'the worst facility in the world,' as she had no blankets and could not shower. Masihi, who is of Armenian descent, fled Iran as a refugee with her family in the late 1980s. They all made their way to California, where she has lived ever since. She had a Green Card - but in 2008, she was convicted of burglary and served two years in prison, the Department of Homeland Security told The Orange County Register. As a result of the crime - which both she and Sahakyan claimed was a petty incident involving less than $200 in check fraud - she had the document revoked. 'She made mistakes, but we all make mistakes,' Sahakyan told the outlet. The DHS said she was ordered to leave the US in 2009, but she never did. 'She had more than 15 years to self-deport and leave the US,' the agency wrote in a statement. Acknowledging she made 'mistakes' in the past, Masihi said she also 'blames the Democrats' for her unfavorable situation. 'It's mine [the mistake], but I blame the Democrats for allowing people in, because Trump would never have done this,' she told the outlet. While remaining in the country, she and her husband have been tirelessly trying to get her citizenship back. 'She just went in [for an immigration check-in] in April,' Sahakyan told Fox 11. 'They said you're fine. Have a good day. See you back in September or October.' Terrified for her future, the family said they have found a lawyer and are hoping to resolve the matter soon in court. Masihi's arrest comes as Southern California has been subjected to sweeping ICE raids amid Trump's immigration crackdown. Adding to the mix, the US recently bombed three nuclear sites in Iran - raising concerns about sleeper cells. During the last week for June - when Masihi was detained - ICE agents took about 130 Iranian nationals into custody across eight states. Federal agents arrived in front of her house in Diamond Bar (pictured), the mother-of-four calmly walked back inside to say goodbye to her four kids 'I'm very for [the United States vetting] Iranian nationals because of the sleeper cells,' Sahakyan told Fox 11. 'I think it will resolve a lot of issues because we'll know exactly who's in here for what reasons, even though I miss [my wife] dearly. 'I think we could have a faster process [where they determine] she's not a radical, or tied to the crazies, let her out.'
The Guardian
03-07-2025
- The Guardian
After 47 years in the US, Ice took this Iranian mother from her yard. Her family just wants her home
Kaitlynn Milne says her mother is usually always up first thing in the morning, hours before the rest of the family. She enjoys being productive in the quiet hours around sunrise. It's an especially optimal time to do yard work, when the rest of her New Orleans neighborhood still sleeps and she can count on peacefully completing chores. Gardening and rearranging the shed is how an average morning would go for Mandonna 'Donna' Kashanian, a 64-year-old Iranian mother, wife, home cook, parent-teacher association (PTA) member and lifelong community service volunteer. 'She always says: 'I've already done most of my day before y'all even wake up,' complaining at us,' said Kaitlynn, 32. It was always done with love, she says, as her mother adores taking care of others and would wake up every morning excited to do just that. But the morning of Sunday, 22 June, didn't go like every other morning. In the early hours, while her husband, Russell Milne, slept inside the house, Kashanian was approached in her yard by plainclothes men who identified themselves as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents. She was quickly arrested without her family being told anything. They only found out after a neighbor who happened to be awake witnessed the arrest and notified them. According to the neighbor, Kashanian was handcuffed before being taken away by multiple agents, details Kashanian herself was later able to confirm to her family. Her arrest involved three unmarked cars, including one that appeared to be a lookout, which her neighbor and family believe had been watching for a moment when Kashanian was outside and alone. 'Had the neighbors not walked out at the same time they were pushing her into the car, we would not have known she was taken,' said Russell. Kashanian was able to call her family about an hour later, when she relayed to them what had happened and where she was. Ice officers told her that she was being taken to a holding center in Mississippi, before eventually being transferred back to a detention center in Louisiana. After that Sunday morning call, her husband and daughter didn't hear from her again until Tuesday. She remains in Ice custody in Basile, Louisiana, despite having no criminal record. The timing of Kashanian's detention was just hours after US airstrikes in Iran, a move that has coincided with the ramping-up of deportations of Iranians by the Trump administration. It also comes amid a nationwide crackdown by Ice, which has seen tens of thousands of immigrants detained, often by masked agents, plunged many communities into fear and outraged civil liberties advocates. Kashanian arrived in the US in 1978 on a student visa and has lived in the country ever since. She later applied for asylum, citing fears of persecution due to her father's ties to the US-backed Shah of Iran. Her asylum request was ultimately denied, but she was granted a stay of removal on the condition she comply with immigration requirements, a condition her family says she always met. Kashanian was so careful about regularly attending her meetings with immigration officials that she once checked in from South Carolina during Hurricane Katrina. Despite having to juggle constant immigration checks, Kashanian remained devoted to community service work. She volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, helping rebuild homes after Katrina. She worked with Nola Tree Project, a local non-profit that replants trees after disasters. She served on a PTA, volunteering at her daughter's elementary school, middle school and high school. 'She was constantly around,' said Kaitlynn. 'She was constantly helping with upkeep of the schools. She was always there, always helping the teachers and custodial staff, anything to be supportive. Everyone knew Kaitlynn's mom.' She also found the time to become a skilled home cook. Her YouTube channel, titled Mandonna in the Kitchen, is dedicated to sharing her favorite Persian recipes with aspiring cooks. According to her daughter and husband, Kashanian is an optimist who is almost impossible to upset. But there is one thing that never fails to unsettle her, and that's improperly cooked rice. Now that she has been moved to a facility in Louisiana, her family has been able to set up a line of communication, speaking to her once a day. But she is given a limited amount of time to call or message, so communication is restricted. She says she has still not been assigned a case worker. 'She's in pretty good spirits,' said Russell. 'She's more worried about us, and about the lack of communication she's getting about her situation. They're not really giving her any information, and that's what's scary.' Russell and Kaitlynn have been working tirelessly to find legal help, but it has been challenging due in part to the complexity of Donna's case, with some of her documents seeming to have been lost over decades of changing hands in the immigration offices. But the other big challenge is the limited availability of immigration lawyers. As the Trump administration has escalated the number of Ice arrests, there is a shortage of legal counsel for immigrants and their families to go to for help. 'We have been on the phone nonstop from 8am to 10pm almost every day the last week trying to find help, and it's proving difficult because all the immigration lawyers are all dealing with everyone else's crises as well,' said Kaitlynn. 'So far, we haven't gotten a lot of optimistic responses.' Like her mother, Kaitlynn remains in good spirits despite the constant obstacles, staying focused on helping someone else who currently needs it. But there is one moment in her show of resilience when her voice falters, as she recalls a memory from her childhood when her mother created a French book section in her New Orleans elementary school library. 'I had forgotten that until just now,' Kaitlynn said, through tears. 'Because there were no French books in the library. She organized that and got it together and painted this little tiny nook.' Russell says the focus currently is just to get his wife out of detention. 'We're working on a grassroots campaign and a letter-writing campaign on her behalf, that will hopefully be able to at least gain her release from the detention center,' he said. 'After that, we can move forward with next steps through the immigration offices,' he added. 'But right now, just getting her home is the challenge.'
News.com.au
03-07-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. arrested by ICE after farcical Jake Paul fight
Julio César Chávez Jr., a Mexican boxer who fought Jake Paul in a losing effort Sunday (AEST), was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Studio City, California, and is facing 'expedited removal' from the United States, the Department of Homeland Security said in a release. Chávez Jr., a Mexican citizen, 'has an active arrest warrant in Mexico for his involvement in organised crime and trafficking firearms, ammunition, and explosives,' according to the release, the NY Post reports. DHS alleged that it believes Chávez Jr. is an 'affiliate of the Sinaloa Cartel' — which President Donald Trump's administration designated as a 'Foreign Terrorist Organization' after taking office in January. Chávez Jr. applied to get lawful permanent resident status — given his marriage to a United States citizen — in April 2024, but that citizen was allegedly connected to the Sinaloa Cartel from a previous relationship to the late son of leader Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, the DHS said in its release. His B2 tourist visa, which he used to legally enter the U.S. in August 2023, expired in February 2024, and filed the application for lawful permanent resident two months later. But in December, ICE was notified that Chávez Jr. was an 'egregious public safety threat.' The administration of former President Joe Biden determined Chávez Jr. — the son of the famous Mexican boxer — 'was not an immigration enforcement priority' and he was allowed back into the U.S. on Jan. 4, according to the DHS release. The DHS alleged that Chávez Jr. made 'multiple fraudulent statements' on his application in April. Chávez Jr.'s manager, Sean Gibbons, told the Los Angeles Times they were 'working on a few issues,' and Michael Goldstein, his lawyer, said that Chávez Jr. was detained by ICE agents while on a scooter by his Studio City home, according to the Associated Press. He'll appear in court Monday, the AP reported. Paul defeated Chávez Jr. by unanimous decision Saturday in Chávez Jr.'s second fight since 2021. ​​'I thought I lost the first five rounds, so I tried to win the last rounds,' Chávez told reporters Saturday following the bout. 'He's strong, a good boxer [for] the first three, four rounds. After that, I felt he was tired. I don't think he's ready for the champions, but he's a good fighter.'
The Sun
03-07-2025
- The Sun
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr arrested by ICE agents over alleged cartel connections just days after Jake Paul fight
BOXER Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. has been arrested by ICE agents. After fighting Jake Paul last weekend, the former champion was arrested for a warrant in Mexico. 1 Chavez allegedly had connections to the cartels. He is currently being processed and being taken into custody in the Los Angeles area. "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today announced Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained prominent Mexican boxer and criminal illegal alien Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., and is processing him for expedited removal from the United States," the agency said. "Chavez is a Mexican citizen who has an active arrest warrant in Mexico for his involvement in organized crime and trafficking firearms, ammunition, and explosives."
