Latest news with #OJM
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge orders release of transgender asylum seeker who was detained by ICE agents in Portland
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A U.S. judge has ordered the release of a transgender asylum seeker from Mexico who was . The 24-year-old woman who goes by OJM, was at a hearing for her asylum case in Portland on June 2 when ICE officials asked the court to dismiss her case and detained her. In response, attorneys at the Portland-based Innovation Law Lab said they filed an emergency petition, arguing ICE used 'deceptive and unethical practices' to detain her and strip her of her due process rights. According to OJM's attorneys, after she left the courtroom, ICE agents arrested her 'in an attempt to end her asylum claim, transfer her, and rapidly deport her.' Second court challenge filed after ICE arrests another asylum seeker in Portland 'This is a dangerous attempt by ICE to circumvent due process, speed up deportations, and eviscerate the right to asylum,' said Innovation Law Lab Attorney Jordan Cunnings after OJM's arrest. 'This unethical behavior goes against the values we hold as Oregonians, ensuring that everyone is welcomed and included in our state.' According to court documents, Judge Amy Baggio claimed that OJM's was 'erroneously deprived by the Government without procedural due process through the series of Government actions.' OJM was abducted and raped in Mexico because of her gender identity and sexual orientation 'at the hands of a dangerous cartel,' OJM's attorneys said, noting she fled to the United States for safety. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Fox News
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Judge orders release of migrant trans woman held in male section of ICE facility
A Mexican transgender migrant seeking asylum in the U.S. after allegedly being abducted and raped by cartel members has been ordered released from an all-male Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility by a federal judge on due process grounds. U.S. District Court Judge Amy Baggio, a President Joe Biden appointee, ordered the migrant released from the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, ruling that the asylum seeker had been deprived of liberty without proper procedural safeguards. The migrant, a 24-year-old transgender woman identified as "O-J-M" in court documents, was arrested outside a Portland courtroom last month and transferred to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington. The nonprofit Innovation Law Lab, whose attorneys represent O-J-M, welcomed the move and decried the fact O-J-M was being held at a man's facility. "President Trump's anti-transgender executive order forced her into a men's facility, and into solitary confinement for her own safety, adding layers of cruelty to an already unconstitutional detention," a social media post by Innovation Law Lab reads. "OJM was detained for over a month simply for legally seeking asylum. Seeking asylum is lawful, and a human right. This is a huge victory for our trans and immigrant communities in Oregon." O-J-M's attorneys said O-J-M was abducted and raped in Mexico because of gender identity and sexual orientation and was seeking asylum on those grounds. O-J-M was arrested in Portland's immigration court in early June after a judge granted the government's request to dismiss the asylum case. O-J-M was then transferred to an ICE detention facility in Tacoma, Washington and held there for over 40 days. But O-J-M's attorneys filed a habeas petition, a legal motion asking the court to review whether the detention was lawful, saying they were not aware of their client's location after O-J-M was taken into custody. Under due process standards, especially in asylum cases, attorneys must be able to locate their client and ICE is required to notify or justify sudden detentions and transfers. In O-J-M's case, the judge found that ICE's failure to provide timely, specific information about the migrant's location and legal status violated fundamental procedural fairness. The judge had also demanded to know why it was deemed immediately necessary. One of the migrant's attorneys, Stephen Manning, of Immigrant Law Group, previously told OPB that O-J-M was processed into the Tacoma detention center, but he had not been granted access to her since her transfer. "They threatened to kill her because O-J-M is a transgender woman," her habeas petition states, per OPB. "Fearing for her life, she fled and sought asylum in the United States in September 2023." Manning told Willamette Weekly that his client had not committed a crime while in the U.S. O-J-M has regularly checked in at ICE offices as instructed. Oregon sanctuary laws prevent it from having long-term immigration detention facilities, and — aside from temporary holding cells at the Portland ICE office — the nearest immigration detention center is the Tacoma facility.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Transgender asylum seeker released from ICE custody following order from federal judge in Oregon
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A transgender asylum seeker from Mexico has been released from an immigration detention facility in Washington state, where she was held for over a month after her arrest at an Oregon immigration court, attorneys said Tuesday. The release of the transgender woman, identified in court filings as O-J-M, came after a federal judge in Oregon ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday to free her. In her order, U.S. District Judge Amy Baggio wrote that O-J-M had been deprived of her liberty by the government without procedural due process. The nonprofit Innovation Law Lab, whose attorneys represent O-J-M, said in an email Tuesday that she was 'now home with her family.' 'We are grateful the court recognized that OJM deserves to be free while her case proceeds,' the group said in an emailed statement. 'No one should be punished for seeking safety.' O-J-M said in court filings that she crossed the border in September 2023, two years after being raped by cartel members because of her gender, and had regularly checked in at ICE offices as instructed. O-J-M was arrested in Portland's immigration court in early June after a judge granted the government's request to dismiss her case. She was then transferred to an ICE detention facility in Tacoma, Washington, where she was held for over 40 days.
The Independent
15-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Transgender asylum seeker released from ICE custody following order from federal judge in Oregon
A transgender asylum seeker from Mexico has been released from an immigration detention facility in Washington state, where she was held for over a month after her arrest at an Oregon immigration court, attorneys said Tuesday. The release of the transgender woman, identified in court filings as O-J-M, came after a federal judge in Oregon ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday to free her. In her order, U.S. District Judge Amy Baggio wrote that O-J-M had been deprived of her liberty by the government without procedural due process. The nonprofit Innovation Law Lab, whose attorneys represent O-J-M, said in an email Tuesday that she was 'now home with her family.' 'We are grateful the court recognized that OJM deserves to be free while her case proceeds,' the group said in an emailed statement. 'No one should be punished for seeking safety.' O-J-M said in court filings that she crossed the border in September 2023, two years after being raped by cartel members because of her gender, and had regularly checked in at ICE offices as instructed. O-J-M was arrested in Portland's immigration court in early June after a judge granted the government's request to dismiss her case. She was then transferred to an ICE detention facility in Tacoma, Washington, where she was held for over 40 days.
Associated Press
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Transgender asylum seeker released from ICE custody following order from federal judge in Oregon
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A transgender asylum seeker from Mexico has been released from an immigration detention facility in Washington state, where she was held for over a month after her arrest at an Oregon immigration court, attorneys said Tuesday. The release of the transgender woman, identified in court filings as O-J-M, came after a federal judge in Oregon ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday to free her. In her order, U.S. District Judge Amy Baggio wrote that O-J-M had been deprived of her liberty by the government without procedural due process. The nonprofit Innovation Law Lab, whose attorneys represent O-J-M, said in an email Tuesday that she was 'now home with her family.' 'We are grateful the court recognized that OJM deserves to be free while her case proceeds,' the group said in an emailed statement. 'No one should be punished for seeking safety.' O-J-M said in court filings that she crossed the border in September 2023, two years after being raped by cartel members because of her gender, and had regularly checked in at ICE offices as instructed. O-J-M was arrested in Portland's immigration court in early June after a judge granted the government's request to dismiss her case. She was then transferred to an ICE detention facility in Tacoma, Washington, where she was held for over 40 days.
