Latest news with #detention
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Canadian who died in ICE custody lived a 'simple life,' his lawyer says
The Canadian man who died while in custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement earlier this week was a "very polite, quiet, unassuming man with a very simple life" who did not pose a danger to anyone, says the lawyer who represented him. Dan Leising represented Johnny Noviello, 49, who died in a detention centre in Florida on Monday. The cause of death is unknown and is under investigation, says an ICE news release. In 2023, Noviello was convicted of a number of offences — including racketeering and drug trafficking — and had been sentenced to 12 months in prison, according to the ICE release. But Leising says Noviello never actually went to state prison. Being sentenced to 364 days, he served time in county jail and was out on probation when he was arrested by ICE in May. Leising says Noviello had not violated the terms of his probation. LISTEN | As it Happens speaks with Noviello's lawyer: Leising described the charges against Noviello as "very, very serious." He said Noviello had worked as a cashier and did some janitorial work, and had no prior criminal record. "Is he violent or anybody that you'd be afraid of if you walked by them on the street? Absolutely not," said Leising. Leising says he stayed in contact with Noviello's family during his detention and after his death. The family once called Leising when they were unable to get in contact with Noviello during his detention. He said the family was concerned about Noviello getting the medication required to treat his epilepsy. Leising said he has no knowledge of Noviello's access to that medicine while in detention. Despite having Canadian citizenship, Noviello had been in the U.S. since 1988 and became a lawful permanent resident in 1991, the release says. Noviello was being detained by ICE "pending removal proceedings," the agency's news release said. In an interview with CBC's Power & Politics, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said consular officials had been in touch with Noviello as soon as they heard of his detention. "At this point we are also seeking additional information relating to the circumstances of his passing away, and I'd like to extend my condolences to his family," she said. U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra posted a statement on social media saying his team is following the investigation into Noviello's death. "We will keep the Canadian government informed as ICE completes its investigation," he wrote in a post on X. Noviello's death comes as ICE agents are making sweeping arrests across the United States. Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff and the main architect of U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration policies, has pushed ICE to aim for at least 3,000 arrests a day, up from about 650 a day during the first five months of Trump's second term. Lawyer and policy analyst Richard Kurland says Noviello's criminal history means that he meets Trump's profile for priority removal. He says the president's focus on deporting criminals and "mass detention" comes with "great risk" to those in custody. "You do not enjoy the luxury of isolated cells," said Kurland. "You're going to have physical interactions between detainees." Noviello isn't the only Canadian to have been arrested in the U.S. since the ICE sweeps began. Global Affairs Canada told CBC News in a statement that it is aware of "several dozen cases of Canadians currently in immigration-related detention in the U.S." One Canadian, Jasmine Mooney from B.C., was arrested and held for nearly two weeks after trying to get a work visa renewed. She was released and returned to Canada in mid-March. WATCH | Canadian describes ICE detention: U.S. immigration lawyer Len Saunders, who represents Mooney, says he was surprised to hear of Noviello's death. "You don't see a lot of Canadians in immigration detention in the United States," he said. Saunders says the detention system is complex — detainees can't just say they want to be sent home. "They have to go through the formal deportation proceedings, they have to see an immigration judge," he said. Saunders says when Mooney was detained, one of her friends wanted to know how to speed up the process. His response was to go to the news. "That's the only reason I think Jasmine Mooney was released so quickly," he said. In the case of Noviello, Kurland says there's nothing Canada could have done to prevent his death. But he says Canada must try to negotiate an overall deal with the U.S. when it comes to the detention and deportation of its citizens — because the numbers of Canadians held by ICE will only grow. "We need to act now to create a special protocol just for Canadian detainees," he said. "That would relieve a lot of people in a bad situation."
Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Iran moves female prisoners to ‘hellhole' cattle farm jail
Iran moved female inmates to a 'hellhole' detention centre in the wake of an Israeli air strike on Tehran's notorious Evin prison. Missiles struck the site, where dissidents are jailed to silence them, on Monday morning, the day before Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire ending their 12-day war. The Telegraph has learnt that guards moved prisoners from the facility after the strike, with women being taken to Qarchak prison, a former livestock facility that has been converted into a detention centre 40 miles south of the Iranian capital. Humanitarian groups have issued frequent alerts about the centre, which is sanctioned by the US on the basis of extrajudicial killings, torture and other violations of human rights. Iranian authorities have launched a wave of arrests across the country since the fragile truce was struck, detaining more than 700 people on espionage charges. The Islamic Republic has used international tensions as a cover while it cracks down on dissent at home and steps up retributions. The regime has been significantly weakened, and clerics are said to have become paranoid and wary of a challenge to their grip on power. However, since Israel's war with Iran started, the Tehran regime has stopped arresting women for not wearing headscarves, with analysts saying it wanted public support as it was put under pressure by the bombing campaign by Israel and the US. But women protesters still suffer in prison. Many women arrested during the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests were moved to Qarchak prison, where some remain. In an audio recording, a woman named Sayeh Seydal described being moved from Evin prison to Qarchak in the wake of Monday's air strike. 'The American and Israeli bombing didn't kill us, but the Islamic Republic has brought us to a place where it's practically killing us,' Ms Seydal said in the recording smuggled out of the country. 'They've brought us to a place where humans don't live. It's a gradual death.' Ms Seydal is serving three years for social media posts deemed unacceptable to the Iranian regime, and had been imprisoned at Evin since October 2024. After the explosion, special guards reportedly attacked prisoners and began to move them. Men were transferred to Fashafoyeh prison outside Tehran, while women were handcuffed and transported to Qarchak. According to Ms Seydal's recording, the conditions defy basic human dignity. 'They've crammed everyone into a quarantine ward – a real hellhole,' she said. 'The toilets are like outdoor latrines. The showers? Like outdoor showers. The stench of filth has taken over everywhere. Even the water – the water you splash on your face – is salty. The food? It absolutely cannot be eaten. A terrible situation. 'The Islamic Republic has brought us to a place where it seems they want to get revenge for Israel and America and just kill us off easily.' Qarchak lacks prison standards that even the livestock once enjoyed. There is no proper sewage system or access to clean water, according to human rights groups There are no windows, and when the iron gates to outdoor areas close at 5pm, inmates stare at walls with only two small holes, 'the size of lentils,' for glimpses of the sky. Between 1,500 and 2,000 women are held at Qarchak throughout most of the year. Each hall was designed for fewer than 100 people, but they typically house over 150. At times, the number has reached 600, leaving prisoners without space to sleep, even on the floor. The detention centre is infested with cockroaches, rats, salamanders, lizards, water bugs and venomous tarantulas, according to human rights activists and former prisoners. Medical care is severely limited, with only five prisoners per ward allowed daily medical visits, and while prison authorities claim budget constraints prevent the provision of essential medications, they freely distribute sleeping pills and tranquillisers to keep prisoners sedated. Most of Qarchak's inmates are women from marginalised and impoverished backgrounds, among the most vulnerable sectors of Iranian society. Qarchak also holds children up to the age of four with their imprisoned mothers. The children endure the same harsh conditions, and having seen no men during their imprisonment, often become frightened when encountering men after leaving prison 'Qarchak prison is a symbol of the blatant denial of humanity and human dignity,' said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the director of Norway-based Iran human rights organisation. 'The continued operation of such facilities is a stain on the conscience of the world.' Iran's judiciary said the transfers were conducted to 'respect prisoners' rights' and 'provide better services'. The conditions in Evin prison were already dire. Established in 1972, it has become notorious for its use by the Tehran regime to detain political prisoners, including British mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was released from Iran in 2022. After the Israeli strike, family members of other foreign detainees expressed concerns about their loved ones' safety, with relatives saying they had no information about their status. While Iran's judiciary confirmed the strike, Iran has not released official casualty figures or disclosed the current status of transferred prisoners. One prisoner who was able to call his family was Ahmadreza Djalali, an Iranian-Swedish academic who has been on death row since 2017. But his wife Vida Mehrannia said she has not spoken with her husband since after the strikes on Monday, when he called to say he had survived. She is increasingly worried. 'He called and said he was OK, but parts of Evin had been destroyed and they were being moved somewhere,' she said. 'I've had no news from him since.' Mr Djalali was arrested in 2016 and sentenced to death the following year on charges of espionage for Israel's Mossad. Six people, including alleged Mossad spies, have been executed over the past week. Asked how worried she is about the latest developments, Ms Mehrannia asked The Telegraph: 'Are they going to execute him? He was very worried and said that two of his cellmates have so far been executed.' She added: 'The situation in Iran is not good, but ours is worse than anyone else's. They've taken our lives away for the past nine years. I just hope they leave us alone.' 'Why do they insist someone is a Mossad spy when he isn't,' she asked. 'He is not a Mossad spy, but they keep insisting he is – and it's punishing.'
CNN
3 hours ago
- CNN
Video Shows woman clinging to tree as immigration agents try to detain her
A bystander captured on video the moment immigration agents in street clothes chased a woman across the street trying to detain her outside of a Home Depot where she had been selling food in West Los Angeles just moments prior.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Are you from California?' Political advisor said he was detained at airport after confirming he's from L.A.
Veteran Los Angeles political consultant Rick Taylor said he was pulled aside by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents while returning from a trip abroad, asked if he was from California and then separated from his family and put in a holding room with several Latino travelers for nearly an hour. 'I know how the system works and have pretty good connections and I was still freaking out,' said Taylor, 71. 'I could only imagine how I would be feeling if I didn't understand the language and I didn't know anyone.' Taylor said he was at a loss to explain why he was singled out for extra questioning, but he speculated that perhaps it was because of the Obama-Biden T-shirt packed in his suitcase. Taylor was returning from a weeklong vacation in Turks and Caicos with his wife and daughter, who were in a separate customs line, when a CBP agent asked, "Are you from California?" He said he answered, 'Yeah, I live in Los Angeles.' The man who ran campaigns for L.A.'s last Republican mayor and for current Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla when he was a budding Los Angeles City Council candidate in the 1990s found himself escorted to a waiting room and separated from his family. There, Taylor said he waited 45 minutes without being released, alleging he was unjustly marked for detention and intimidated by CBP agents. 'I have no idea why I was targeted,' said Taylor, a consultant with the campaign to reelect L.A. City Councilwoman Traci Park. 'They don't talk to you. They don't give you a reason. You're just left confused, angry and worried.' The story was first reported by Westside Current. Read more: Most nabbed in L.A. raids were men with no criminal conviction, picked up off the street Former Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said the incident brought to mind Sen. Alex Padilla, who was arrested and handcuffed June 12 while trying to ask a question during a Los Angeles press conference by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. 'My former chief of staff and political consultant, Rick Taylor, was detained at Miami International Airport by federal authorities after returning from an international vacation,' he said in an email. 'As Senator Alex Padilla said a couple of weeks ago, 'if it could happen to me, it could happen to anyone.' This Federal government operation is OUT OF CONTROL! Where will it end?!' A representative from the Customs and Border Protection in Florida said an inquiry made by the Los Angeles Times and received late Friday afternoon will likely be answered next week. 'If Mr. Taylor feels the need to, he is more than welcome to file a complaint online on our website and someone will reach out to him to try and get to the bottom of things,' CBP Public Affairs Specialist Alan Regalado said in an email. Taylor, a partner at Dakota Communications, a strategic communications and marketing firm, said he was more concerned about traveling and returning to the U.S. with his wife, a U.S. citizen and native of Vietnam. He said he reached out to a Trump administration member before leaving on vacation, asking if he could contact that individual in case his wife was detained. Read more: ICE arrests at L.A. courthouse met with alarm: 'Absolutely blindsided' The family flew American Airlines and landed in Miami on June 20, where he planned to visit friends before returning to Los Angeles on Tuesday. In a twist, Taylor's wife and daughter, both Global Entry cardholders, breezed through security while Taylor, who does not have Global Entry, was detained, he said. He said after the agent confirmed he was a Los Angeles resident, he placed a small orange tag on his passport and was told to follow a green line. That led him to another agent and his eventual holding room. Taylor described '95% of the population' inside the room as Latino and largely Spanish-speaking. 'I was one of three white dudes in the room,' he said. 'I just kept wondering, 'What I am doing here?'' Read more: ICE seizes 6-year-old with cancer outside L.A. court. His mom is fighting for his release He said the lack of communication was 'very intimidating,' though he was allowed to keep his phone and did send text message updates to his family. 'I have traveled a fair amount internationally and have never been pulled aside,' he said. About 45 minutes into his holding, Taylor said an agent asked him to collect his luggage and hand it over for inspection. He said he was released shortly after. 'The agents have succeeded in making me reassess travel,' Taylor said. 'I would tell others to really think twice about traveling internationally while you have this administration in charge.' Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Disappeared by ICE in L.A.: How to find detained relatives
For 22 days, immigration enforcement officials have conducted sweeps in communities across the Los Angeles region, arresting an estimated 722 people between June 1 and June 10 alone. For families and immigrant advocacy groups, determining the location of detainees has been difficult. "In some cases it's been 72 hours where we have not been able to identify where their family member is and when we do, sometimes they're in the [Adelanto Detention Center]," said Flor Melendrez, executive director of CLEAN Carwash Worker Center, a nonprofit labor advocacy group. "Sometimes it's too late and [the detainee is] calling from the Ciudad Juárez or Tijuana, where they have already been deported, and that's within 72 hours." CLEAN has focused on representing workers in the car wash industry for 18 years, but in the last three weeks the group has shifted to helping families find workers who were taken during a raid and guide them toward supportive and legal services. "When the children are asking if we are going to bring their parent back home and we have no way to even respond [with] where they are, it's heartbreaking," Melendrez said. Here are the immediate steps you should take if your relative is arrested and detained by immigrant enforcement officials: If your loved one was detained by immigration enforcement agents, reach out to immigrant advocacy groups that can provide referrals, information, resources (such as food and financial assistance) and, in some cases, direct support. A network of local rapid response hotlines has been established to document immigration enforcement activity and help connect those affected to legal services and other types of support, according to the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice. The following local rapid response hotline numbers are provided by the California Immigrant Policy Center and the ACLU Southern California: Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, (888) 624-4752 Boyle Heights Immigrant Rights Network, (323) 805-1049 Long Beach Community Defense Network, (562) 245-9575 Órale (Long Beach), (562) 276-0267 People's Struggle San Fernando Valley, (562) 977-8118 Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice, (909) 361-4588 Southern California Bilingual Rapid Response Legal Resource Hotline, (213) 833-8283 After or before you've made the call for help, gather these important documents that pertain to the detained family member: Birth certificate Medical records Past visa applications Receipt and approval notices for any immigration applications the person has previously submitted You'll also need to gather the following personal information that will be used either by you or your legal representation to locate your detained loved one: A-Number, also known as "alien registration number," which is assigned by the Department of Homeland Security to noncitizens who apply to live and work in the U.S. The seven- to nine-digit number can be found on a green card, work permit or other immigration document. Country of birth Personal information including full name and birthday There is a coalition of organizations and pro bono attorneys working to support individuals who have been detained, but it can be challenging to get immediate help because there is an overwhelming need. Because of the high demand for legal help, Public Counsel, a nonprofit public interest law firm, is currently prioritizing cases based on extreme need and often can only take a bond case or help with locating a detained person. Public Counsel warned that families who have not been affected by immigration enforcement but need help with their immigration status should look for a lawyer now and begin the immigration process in case they are detained in the future. Your options for legal help include: Immigrant Defenders Law Center, (213) 833-8283 Public Counsel, (213) 385-2977 Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, (800) 399-4529 Lalama Immigration Law, (833) 838-8472 Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project, (213) 251-3505 Immigration Center for Women and Children (L.A. office), (213) 614-1165 El Rescate, (213) 387-3284 Central American Resource Center of Los Angeles, (213) 385-7800 USC Gould School of Law Immigration Clinic, (213) 821-9627 International Institute of Los Angeles, (323) 264-6217 You can also search for an immigration lawyer through the American Immigration Lawyers Association online locator tool. How to spot a fake immigration attorney: Scammers try to confuse immigrants into thinking they're an attorney by calling themselves a notario, notary public, accountant or consultant, according to the Federal Trade Commission. In Latin American countries, a notario or notary public is an attorney or has legal training, but that's not the case in the United States. How to protect yourself from the scam: Do not hire an immigration consultant or a notary. Only lawyers, accredited representatives and recognized organizations can give you legal advice or represent you in immigration court. Immigration consultants — who may call themselves immigration experts, notarios, notaries public or paralegals — cannot do so, according to California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta's office. Do not give your original important documents to anyone, unless you see proof that the government requires the original document, according to the FTC. You can verify whether a lawyer is legitimate by searching for them on the State Bar of California website and determining if they have an active law license. If your relative is arrested in Los Angeles, they will likely be taken to the federal detention center in downtown Los Angeles — sometimes called "B-18" — which is located at 320 Aliso St., according to Public Counsel. Call the detention center at (213) 830-4900 or (213) 830-7911 and provide the operator with your relative's A-Number, according to Public Counsel. You can also try locating your relative by using the Department of Homeland Security's ICE Detainee Locator System online or call (866) 347-2423, but be warned that immigration officials often won't provide detainee information over the phone and might not update their online data regularly. Whether you use the ICE online locator or call, you'll need to provide the detainee's A-Number and country of birth, or their full name and both country and date of birth. If you cannot locate your family member through this process, you can contact the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations field office closest to where the person was picked up. There are three field offices in California: Los Angeles Field Office: 300 North Los Angeles St., Room 7631, Los Angeles, CA 90012; (213) 830-7911. This office's area of responsibility includes Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. San Diego Field Office: 880 Front Street, #2242, San Diego, CA 92101; (619) 436-0410. This office's area of responsibility includes San Diego and Imperial counties. San Francisco Field Office: 630 Sansome Street, Room 590, San Francisco, CA 94111; (415) 365-8800. This office's area of responsibility includes Northern California, Hawaii, Guam, Saipan. Another option for locating your detained relative is contacting their country's consulate. Here is a list of local consulate offices and contact numbers. Several organizations are offering free delivery of groceries and necessities to families affected by recent immigration enforcement. Follow the organization's websites and social media accounts for up-to-date information on resource availability: The YMCA is providing confidential delivery of groceries and other essentials to affected families. Contact socialimpact@ or call (323) 244-9077 for support. InnerCity Struggle is an East Los Angeles organization that assists with groceries and rental assistance. Call (323) 780-7605. No Us Without You offers food to undocumented community members. You can fill out their eligibility form for assistance online. Comunidades Indigenas En Liderazgo (CIELO) is delivering food to Indigenous families it serves and those in the community who are afraid to go out for fear of being caught up in ICE raids. To see if you qualify for assistance, fill out their online contact form. Raíces Con Voz is a grassroots organization in Boyle Heights that is providing grocery and essential items to those in the community who feel they are unable to leave their homes due to recent ICE activity. For assistance, send the group a direct message on Instagram. World Harvest Charities and Family Services' Cart With a Heart program is providing families who are sheltering in place with grocery carts full of fresh produce, protein, pantry supplies and more. For assistance, call (213) 746-2227. La Puente Mutual Aid delivers essentials to community members without asking for a name or address of the person in need, for free. Email lapuentesdropbasket@ with a code name, your neighborhood, a safe drop spot and items needed. The El Monte Business Alliance is offering food assistance and baby products to those in need through their new program El Monte Cares. For help, call (800) 622-4302. Immigo Immigration Services delivers necessary items to families in need. Call (818) 730-0140 for assistance. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
