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President Donald Trump has dismissed a bill proposed by Democrat lawmakers to force federal immigration agents to wear visible identification and show their faces during public enforcement operations.
Speaking at a White House event on Wednesday, Trump praised immigration agents as "great patriots" and said that forcing them to remove their masks and show identification would "put them in great danger, tremendous danger."
"It's sort of funny, when people picket in front of Columbia, in front of Harvard and they have masks on... Nobody complains about that," Trump said. "But when a patriot who works for ICE or border patrol puts a mask on so they won't recognize him or his family, so they can lead a little bit of a normal life after they worked so hard and so dangerously, there is as problem with that."
What to Know:
- Democratic Senators Alex Padilla and Cory Booker introduced new legislation Tuesday, known as the VISIBLE Act.
- The Act would require agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to wear legible ID, including the agency name or acronym. The agents would also be banned from wearing most face coverings.
- The proposal follows images of masked immigration agents detaining individuals in unmarked cars, sparking widespread concern over lack of transparency.
- ICE currently operates with broader enforcement powers and fewer accountability measures than other federal agencies and local law enforcement.
- President Trump attacked Padilla and Booker over the bill on Wednesday, claiming they "hate our country" and saying Democrats have "become somewhat deranged."
Stay with Newsweek for the latest updates.
Jul 09, 2025 at 07:57 PM EDT
ICE detain landscaper at California medical center
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) clashed with staff at a California medical center after they arrested a 30-year-old landscaper.
Footage from the scene shows staff at the Ontario Advanced Surgical Center repeatedly asking agents to show them a warrant.
"They were able to assert their rights," Javier Hernandez, executive director of the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice, told ABC 7. "This is private property. They had every right to ask, 'Who are you? Show us your badge.'"
The Department of Homeland Security said that ICE agents were conducting a targeted operation to arrest two undocumented migrants. That included Dennis Guillen, a Honduran native who moved to the U.S. a few years ago.
They also accused hospital staff of having "assaulted law enforcement," something that is not shown in the public footage of the incident.
"Then, the staff attempted to obstruct the arrest by locking the door, blocking law enforcement vehicles from moving, and even called the cops claiming there was a 'kidnapping,'" the DHS said.
Hernandez said that ICE have not confirmed where Guillen is being held.
Jul 09, 2025 at 07:45 PM EDT
WATCH: Trump slams Democrats’ bill forcing ICE agents to show their faces
Jul 09, 2025 at 07:31 PM EDT
Ex-children’s hospital chaplain detained by ICE
A former Cincinnati Children's Hospital chaplain has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Ayman Soliman, an Egyptian immigrant, was arrested after a scheduled meeting with immigration officials on Wednesday, his supporters said.
Soliman moved to the United States from Egypt around ten years ago and received asylum status in June 2018. However, ICE suddenly rescinded his asylum status in December 2024.
"We are shocked as a community, who is already vulnerable, who already feels targeted," Tala Ali, chair of the Clifton Mosque and the Islamic Association of Cincinnati, told The Enquirer.
"To have one of our leaders and our elders in our community be detained in such fashion is very alarming."
It is not clear why Soliman's asylum was rescinded under the Biden administration, but he had previously sued federal officials after learning he had an "FBI flag" that appeared on his background check. His lawsuit stated that his fingerprints did not match prints of the terrorism flag and he believed he was a victim of discrimination due to his Muslim faith.
Jul 09, 2025 at 07:15 PM EDT
Supreme Court deals blow to Republican immigration law in Florida
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to let Florida enforce an immigration law that would criminalize undocumented immigrants entering the state, leaving in place a lower court's block on the measure.
The justices issued no written opinion and noted no dissents, effectively halting the law's implementation while legal challenges proceed. The unsigned brief order states: "The application for stay presented to Justice [Clarence] Thomas and by him referred to the Court is denied."
The ruling effectively blocks a sweeping immigration law signed in February by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who aimed to bolster Trump's immigration crackdown
Florida Senate Bill 4-C, which was voted through the chambers and signed by the governor, enforces criminal penalties for adult unauthorized immigrants, making it a misdemeanor to enter illegally and evade federal immigration officials, and the potential for a felony if reentering after being deported.
Read in full from Mandy Taheri on Newsweek.
Jul 09, 2025 at 06:57 PM EDT
Florida lawmakers, Congress members to get Alligator Alcatraz tour
Florida's state lawmakers and members of Congress are being offered a tour of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in the Florida Everglades, dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz."
Alligator Alcatraz, located at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Big Cypress National Preserve, opened in early July 2025 following rapid construction. It currently holds an estimated 400 people.
Human rights advocates and the Cuban-American community have raised major concerns over the alleged "inhumane" and unsanitary conditions at the facility.
But it's been widely praised by the Trump administration and many of the president's supporters.
Jul 09, 2025 at 06:41 PM EDT
Thune says US has ‘workforce crisis,’ backs calls for Medicaid recipients to replace migrant farm workers
Majority Senate leader, John Thune, has backed Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins's calls for Medicaid recipients to replace migrant workers on farms amid Trump's mass deportations.
"We have a lot of able-bodied adults who are on programs and frankly, one of the things we said as a result of the legislation we passed is there ought to be some reasonable expectations that people who are getting benefits are at least attempting to find jobs... there's certainly a lot of work in the ag [agriculture] sector of our economy."
Thune added that the U.S. had a "workforce crisis."
Jul 09, 2025 at 06:10 PM EDT
Global Refuge President says Trump’s bill strips support from migrants who followed legal processes
Global Refuge President and CEO Krish O'Mara Vignarajah warned that Trump's spending bill punished even migrants in the country legally.
"This bill...devotes unprecedented resources towards a sprawling human incarceration machine, while stripping support from those who followed legal processes to seek safety through proper channels," he said in a statement.
"Nothing could be more at odds with the balanced approach Americans overwhelmingly favor as it relates to border security and legal immigration pathways."
Jul 09, 2025 at 05:54 PM EDT
Trump urged African leaders to accept US deportees
President Donald Trump urged the leaders of Liberia, Senegal, Mauritania, Gabon, and Guinea-Bissau to accept U.S deportees, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Trump met with the five African nation leaders at the White House on Wednesday.
During their trip to Washington D.C., the leaders were pushed to accept migrants deported from the U.S., whose home countries were slow or refused to take them, the paper reports.
Trump appeared to allude to the request during their meeting, where he said in his opening remarks, "I hope we can bring down the high rates of people overstaying visas, and also make progress on the safe third country agreements."
Jul 09, 2025 at 05:37 PM EDT
Immigration enforcement arrests four U.S. citizens for allegedly interfering with raid
U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested four U.S. citizens Tuesday on suspicion of interfering with a raid in Los Angeles.
Border Patrol Sector Chief Gregory K. Bovino accused the men of "placing homemade tire spikes to disable law enforcement vehicles."
"Anyone who interferes with our lawful mission will be arrested," he said.
The men arrested include, Jenaro-Ernesto Ayala, 43; Jude Jasmine Jeannine Allard, 28; Sadot Jarnica, 54; and Daniel Montenegro 30.
Nonprofit organization Instituto de Educacion Popular del Sur De California said Ayala and Allard are day laborer advocates, who were documenting the immigration raid.
"It is not a crime to be looking for work to support your families, and it's not a crime to be brown, Latino and looking for work," Cal Soto, an attorney with the National Day Laborer Organizing Network told the LA Times. "It is also not a crime to observe and record law enforcement when they are enacting these kinds of raids."
Jul 09, 2025 at 05:20 PM EDT
College student in green card process detained by ICE
Sara Lizeth Lopez Garcia, a 20-year-old Colombian honors student at Suffolk County Community College, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials at her Long Island home in May after they came looking for someone else, said her fiancé, Santiago Ruiz Castilla.
Lopez Garcia's detention comes amid the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. President Donald Trump has pledged to launch the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history.
According to Patch, immigration officials appeared early on May 21 at Lopez Garcia's residence, where she lived with her mother and teenage brother.
Lopez Garcia and her mother were taken into ICE custody, while her brother remained on Long Island. They have since been transferred to the GEO Group-operated South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile.
Read in full from Mandy Taheri on Newsweek.
Jul 09, 2025 at 05:07 PM EDT
ICE criticized after allegedly forcing people to wear color-coded bracelets in raid
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid at a warehouse has come under fire after agents were accused of forcing people who are in the U.S. legally, to wear color-coded bracelets.
One worker at Alba Wine & Spirits warehouse in Edison, New Jersey, named only as Dave by Pix 11, said he was detained and zip-tied after ICE agents burst into the property.
He added that he was given a red bracelet after he was able to show proof of his Social Security and immigration status.
"Those without bracelets were taken away," he said in Spanish.
Jul 09, 2025 at 04:43 PM EDT
Green card holder detained in Alligator Alcatraz speaks out
Cuban reggaeton artist and U.S. permanent resident Leamsy Izquierdo, known artistically as Leamsy La Figura, alleges that detainees at the newly opened "Alligator Alcatraz" immigration detention center in Florida are enduring unsanitary, cold and inhumane conditions.
Izquierdo has been at the detention center since Friday. His case brings renewed attention to ongoing controversies about the treatment of detainees, particularly migrants and non-citizen residents, at U.S. immigration facilities. His arrest and subsequent transfer to an immigration detention site highlights the risks that green card holders face when charged with criminal offenses.
Izquierdo, 34, described long periods without showers, lack of basic hygiene supplies, inadequate food and constant lighting within the makeshift Everglades compound.
"I haven't showered for four days, there's no water, no toothpaste, they don't let you out for even a minute," he said in a phone call with his partner, Katia Hernández. She later shared details about the call on Instagram and helped his situation gain traction with Cuban social media influencers, according to Ciber Cuba.
"We are in a cage of metal bars with the lights on 24 hours a day, and the mosquitoes seem like elephants," he added.
Read in full from Nick Mordowanec on Newsweek.
Jul 09, 2025 at 04:33 PM EDT
WATCH: Mask snatched off ICE agent by California protester
Jul 09, 2025 at 04:32 PM EDT
Two Catholic diocese say immigrants are not required to attend Mass amid ICE raids
At least two Catholic dioceses in the U.S. have said that immigrants are not required to attend Sunday Mass amid the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids.
The Diocese of San Bernardino issued a decree on Tuesday that migrants with a "genuine fear" about getting detained in the immigration raids did not have to go to the services
"In issuing this decree, I'm guided by the Church's mission to care for the spiritual welfare of all entrusted under my care, particularly those who face fear or hardship," San Bernardino Bishop Alberto Rojas and Vicar General Gerard M. Lopez wrote.
The Diocese of Nashville issued a similar decree in May after noticing a decline in Spanish-speaking Mass.
"Our churches remain open to welcome and serve our parish communities, but no Catholic is obligated to attend Mass on Sunday if doing so puts their safety at risk," they said in a decree.
Jul 09, 2025 at 03:52 PM EDT
Dozens of cities join lawsuit to block Trump-era sanctuary funding cuts
Thirty-four cities and counties are seeking to join a California-led lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's efforts to withhold federal funding from jurisdictions with sanctuary policies.
The move comes amid growing legal pressure following a Supreme Court ruling that limits nationwide injunctions, requiring localities to join lawsuits directly to benefit from court protections.
The lawsuit targets executive actions tying federal grants to immigration enforcement compliance. U.S. District Judge William Orrick previously issued an injunction blocking the administration from enforcing the policy against the original plaintiffs and expanded it in June to cover broader funding threats. The administration has vowed to appeal.
If accepted, the new additions would bring the total number of participating localities to 50 across 14 states.
Jul 09, 2025 at 03:31 PM EDT
Supreme Court deals blow to Republican immigration law in Florida
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to let Florida enforce an immigration law that would criminalize undocumented immigrants entering the state, leaving in place a lower court's block on the measure.
The justices issued no written opinion and noted no dissents, effectively halting the law's implementation while legal challenges proceed.
Read the full story by Mandy Taheri on Newsweek.
Jul 09, 2025 at 02:55 PM EDT
ICE budget now bigger than most of the world’s militaries
Trump's spending bill has made Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) the United States' largest interior law enforcement agency, with funding for Donald Trump's immigration enforcement agenda higher than most of the world's militaries, including Israel's.
It means a massive increase in ICE funding as part of an immigration enforcement agenda worth $150 billion over four years with an annual average of $37.5 billion, which is higher than the military expenditure of all but 15 countries.
This figure is more than the annual military budget of Italy, which at $30.8 billion, is the world's 16th highest defense spender for this year, according to tracker Global Fire Power.
It is also higher than military spending for Israel ($30 billion), the Netherlands ($27 billion) and Brazil ($26.1 billion).
Different news outlets have broken it down in different ways. The National Immigration Law Center said that ICE's detention budget would increase to $45 billion to build immigration jails for single adults and families, a price tag 13 times more than ICE's 2024 detention budget.
The bill also allocates $29.9 billion in additional funding for ICE activities, including hiring new agents and securing transportation contracts to move migrants between detention centers and facilitate deportations, according to Migrant Insider
Meanwhile, an assessment by the Detention Watch Network said the bill set aside $59 billion to militarize the border, which included wall construction, CBP agents and vehicles, and border surveillance technology.
Jul 09, 2025 at 02:46 PM EDT
WATCH: Mayor Karen Bass accuses feds of using LA as ‘experiment in fear’
Jul 09, 2025 at 02:21 PM EDT
Trump suggests ‘planned ambush’ on Texas ICE agents funded by the left
President Donald Trump has suggested that the left secretly funded the suspects behind an attempted ambush on an ICE facility in Alvarado, Texas.
Eleven people have been arrested after the July 4 incident which law enforcement officials say was coordinated attack meant "to kill ICE corrections officers."
On Wednesday, Trump was asked if he believed there was a "national threat of a left-wing militia that is targeting ICE and CBP."
"I think you have some very stupid ppl on the left who have some money that are making it available to these people," Trump replied. "Because you look at the guns they had, they were brand new, even the clothing they were wearing, it looked like it had just come out of some military shop.
"So you have some very stupid people that, if anything were ever to happen, they'd be the first to go. They don't understand that," the president continued.
"There's something going on, and we'll have to get to the bottom of it."
Trump added the penalties for anyone involved in such a scheme should be "very, very stiff... a long time in jail."
Jul 09, 2025 at 01:59 PM EDT
Trump slams Democrat-sponsored bill to make ICE agents show faces, IDs
President Donald Trump has dismissed a bill proposed by Democrat lawmakers to force federal immigration agents to wear visible identification and show their faces during public enforcement operations.
Speaking at a White House event on Wednesday, Trump praised immigration agents as "great patriots" and said that forcing them to remove their masks and show identification would "put them in great danger, tremendous danger."
"It's sort of funny, when people picket in front of Columbia, in front of Harvard and they have masks on, more than masks, I mean you can't see anything," Trump said. "Nobody complains about that. But when a patriot who works for ICE or border patrol puts a mask on so they won't recognize him or his family, so they can lead a little bit of a normal life after they worked so hard and so dangerously, there is as problem with that.
"This is the problem with the Democrats, they have lots of bad things going on in their heads. They've lost their confidence number one, and they've become somewhat deranged," he continued.
"I want to do whatever's necessary to protect our great law enforcement people and they are right at the top of the list."
There has been growing criticism of ICE in recent months for allowing its agents to carry out targeted enforcement operations across the U.S. in plain clothes and face coverings. Some of the raids carried out by ICE have detained people with proper documentation.
The VISIBLE Act would require agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to wear legible ID, including the agency name or acronym. The agents would also be banned from wearing most face coverings.
The proposed bill, unveiled on Tuesday, was introduced by Democratic Senators Alex Padilla and Cory Booker.
Jul 09, 2025 at 01:48 PM EDT
Green card holders with criminal record may face mandatory detention when returning to US, CBP says
The Customs and Border Protection has issued a fresh warning to green card holders in the U.S.
The agency warned that any green card holder with a criminal record may face "mandatory detention" when returning to the U.S.
"Attention Green Card Holders: Having a criminal history does not make you an upstanding lawful permanent resident," the CBP said in a post on X.
"Possessing a green card is a privilege, not a right. Under our nation's laws, our government has the authority to revoke your green card if our laws are broken and abused. In addition to immigration removal proceedings, lawful permanent residents presenting at a U.S. port of entry with previous criminal convictions may be subject to mandatory detention."
Jul 09, 2025 at 01:34 PM EDT
South Sudan says its received eight deportees from US
South Sudanese officials said that they had received eight deportees from the United States on Tuesday, Associated Press reports.
The undocumented migrants are from Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar, Vietnam and South Sudan.
The Supreme Court ruled recently that the U.S. is allowed to deport migrants to third countries, meaning countries that are not of their origin.
U.S. authorities said that the eight men, who were initially removed from the US in May but were held for several weeks at a U.S. military base in Djibouti amid a legal battle, was allowed to be deported to Sudan after the Supreme Court ruling.
Jul 09, 2025 at 01:18 PM EDT
ICE agents forced to wear visible ID under new bill
Democratic lawmakers have proposed a bill that would force federal immigration agents to wear visible identification during public enforcement operations.
The VISIBLE Act would require agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to wear legible ID, including the agency name or acronym. The agents would also be banned from wearing most face coverings.
The proposed bill, unveiled on Tuesday, was introduced by Democratic Senators Alex Padilla and Cory Booker.
There has been growing criticism of ICE in recent months for allowing its agents to carry out targeted enforcement operations across the U.S. in plain clothes and face coverings. Some of the raids carried out by ICE have detained people with proper documentation.
It comes as the Trump administration has pledged to carry out the largest mass deportation in U.S. history.
Read the full story by Billal Rahman on Newsweek.
Jul 09, 2025 at 01:06 PM EDT
Rollins says ‘we’re working’ on ‘concrete’ proposal for immigrant farmer workers
Agricultural secretary Brooke Rollins faced a grilling on Wednesday after she gave seemingly conflicting statements on the Trump administration's plans for migrant farm workers.
"We have to move toward a 100 percent legal workforce, that's what this president stands for, and that's what we're doing," Rollins said during an appearance on Fox News.
"The mass deportations will continue but the president has been very clear that we have to make sure we're not compromising our food supply at the same time."
"Sounds like you don't yet a concrete proposal to deal with farmers who rely on undocumented workers," the Fox host responded, "Am I right?"
"No. We're working on it," said Rollins, before adding "None of this is easy."
On Tuesday, Rollins said that migrant farm workers would not receive any "amnesty" under the Trump administration, following President Trump's comments that he he's been considering exemptions for farm workers over fears American farms and the U.S. food supply would be hard hit by his mass deportations.
Rollins claimed that that new Medicaid work requirements, along with automation, could eventually fill in the huge gaps left by immigrants in the farming industry.
Jul 09, 2025 at 12:47 PM EDT
Immigration major concern for C-suite execs, investors and major law firms
Business leaders have said that the Trump administration's immigration policy is becoming a major consideration, both in mergers and acquisitions and in business travel.
Ted Chiappari, a partner and the head of immigration at Duane Morris, told Business Insider that many companies are taking a closer look at firm's immigration compliance to ensure they don't lose a quarter of their staff after a merger.
"They're concerned because that really affects the viability of the business if they end up losing 25% of their workforce or end up having to pay a lot more money to find replacements," he said.
Some business leaders say they have been left uneasy about business travel into the U.S. after multiple reports of people being turned away or detained at airports.
"I know I'm taking a personal risk, but I'm putting myself out there," Mark Dowding, a British citizen and chief investment officer of RBC's BlueBay unit, told Insider. He said he is concerned that his weekly note, which has been critical of some Trump policies in the past, could see him barred from the U.S.
"If they say I can't come in, then I can't come in. So be it," he said.
However, while the immigration policies are causing concern for many, some have seen the opportunity to poach immigrant talent, who are concerned about their future in America, from the U.S.
Jul 09, 2025 at 12:28 PM EDT
Family of green card holder detained on the way to immigration appointment pleads for his release
The family of a long time green card holder is calling for his release after he was detained while driving to an immigration appointment.
Raul Sanchez, 50, from California, moved to the U.S. from Mexico when he was two years old and he became a permanent resident.
However, last week he was arrested while driving to an immigration appointment near his home, and has been held in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Otay Mesa ever since.
"My dad has been separated from us and there could be a possibility of him completely being removed from us," Sanchez's daughter Alejandra Sanchez told Fox 6.
She said the issues with her father's immigration status began in April, after her parents returned from a vacation in Europe.
Alejandra said that her dad had been pulled to the side by immigration agents who took his green card and Mexican passport, and took him to a holding cell.
Raul was previously jailed for a nonviolent drug offense in 2001, when he was in his 20s. The Trump administration has been re-opening cases that are more than a decade old which have now become enforcement cases, immigration attorney Saman Nasseri told the local outlet.
Alejandra has now created a GoFundMe to help raise legal funds to keep their father in the U.S.
"Our family is currently facing an incredibly difficult time," she said on the fundraiser. "My father was recently detained by ICE, and we are now doing everything we can to secure a strong legal team to fight for his release and help him stay with his loved ones."
Jul 09, 2025 at 12:09 PM EDT
Green card holders face major immigration backlog: What to know
The U.S. immigration system has faced growing strain, with a backlog of pending applications reaching an all-time high of 11.3 million, according to data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
The slowdown in processing and rising delays have left millions of applicants in a state of legal and personal limbo, and green card replacement delays have added to the frustration. Form I‑90 processing times have increased dramatically, now taking more than eight months to complete.
Despite this surge in wait times, experts say green card holders should not panic.
"While it may be surprising, from a legal and practical perspective, the sharp increase in Form I-90 processing times is not of concern. There is already a policy fix in place," Morgan Bailey, a partner at Mayer Brown and former senior official at the Department of Homeland Security, told Newsweek.
USCIS data from January to March shows some immigration categories experiencing worsening delays, with backlogs growing larger.
Jul 09, 2025 at 11:49 AM EDT
WATCH: Alligator border patrol? Welcome to Trump’s ‘Alcatraz’
Jul 09, 2025 at 11:27 AM EDT
Immigration officials issue new warning to Green Card holders
Green card holders have been warned that federal authorities may revoke their legal status if they have a criminal record and violate immigration laws.
"Under our nation's laws, our government has the authority to revoke your green card if our laws are broken and abused," Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.
The agency added that lawful permanent residents arriving at a U.S. port of entry with prior criminal convictions could end up detained ahead of removal proceedings.
There were 12.8 million lawful permanent residents, or green card holders, living in the U.S. as of January 1, 2024, according to estimates by the Office of Homeland Security Statistics.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has said that lawful permanent residents found to be in violation of immigration laws could lose their legal status and face deportation.
Read in full from Billal Rahman on Newsweek.
Jul 09, 2025 at 11:14 AM EDT
ICE raids doing ‘severe economic damage’ to Los Angeles, says mayor
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has warned that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids across her city is doing "severe economic damage" at a time when the region is struggling to rebuild after January's devastating wildfires.
Real estate developers say they are struggling to find crews to continue the construction projects. Construction is an industry that typically relies heavily on migrant labor.
Developer Arturo Sneider, chief executive officer of Primestor, told Mercury News that they had been left "scrambling" to find enough people to finish building projects such as shopping centers and apartment buildings. "It's triggering delays."
Several local businesses have also shuttered amid the immigration crackdowns, which saw more than 1,600 people arrested in the space of two weeks in June.
Bass said last month that the impact of the raids had been so profound, it reminded her of the Covid-19 lockdowns.
"It's the uncertainty that continues that has an absolute economic impact," she said on Fox News. "But it is pretty profound to walk up and down the streets and to see the empty streets. It reminded me of COVID."
Jul 09, 2025 at 10:53 AM EDT
ICE agents aren’t required to wear body cams or provide badge numbers
Videos showing masked, plainclothes immigration officers arresting undocumented immigrants—sometimes in front of children or by smashing car windows—have circulated widely, drawing national outcry. Protesters and immigrant rights advocates say the scenes resemble kidnappings, with agents often refusing to identify themselves.
These arrests are part of a broader crackdown under the Trump administration, which has prioritized mass deportations and expanded enforcement efforts in public spaces. Many of the tactics, while alarming to the public, are legal under current U.S. law.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was formed in 2003 in the wake of 9/11 and granted broad authority by Congress to detain and remove individuals without legal immigration status. Unlike local police, ICE officers are not required to wear body cameras, provide badge numbers, or even obtain judicial warrants before making an arrest.
Jul 09, 2025 at 10:32 AM EDT
Woman detained during birthday trip despite pending green card application
...
A woman was detained at San Juan airport in Puerto Rico while returning home from a birthday trip, despite having a pending green card application.
Maryia Vviadzenskaya, 28, who goes by Masha, was stopped by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers on April 16 while preparing to board a flight from Puerto Rico to Hawaii, where she resides with her U.S. citizen husband, Spencer Ricciardello.
Vviadzenskaya, a Belarusian national, had traveled to the island territory with her spouse and friends to celebrate her birthday.
The group was departing for Hawaii when Vviadzenskaya was stopped at a TSA checkpoint after presenting a U.S. driver's license. She was pulled aside, authorities flagged her expired visa and informed her that she would be detained.
"Her family is very worried and concerned because she has had a very tough year, she lost her mother two months ago and her father a couple years ago that are also from Belarus. but I'm staying in contact with the rest of her family and keeping them updated with everything," Ricciardello told Newsweek.
Read the full story by Billal Rahman on Newsweek.
Jul 09, 2025 at 10:18 AM EDT
Cuban artist reports horrific conditions at controversial Florida immigration detention facility—which officials deny
Cuban reggaeton artist Leamsy La Figura, born Leamsy Isquierdo, was arrested last week in Miami-Dade on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and battery. Following his arrest, he was transferred to a newly established immigration detention facility, dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," located in the Everglades.
In a phone conversation, per CBS News, La Figura reported alarming conditions at the facility, claiming that detainees lack access to clean water, face inadequate meals, and experience restrictions on their religious practices.
La Figura spoke of the severe overcrowding, with over 400 individuals held at the facility, and shared his own struggles with basic hygiene, saying that he had not bathed for days. He described the food offered as insufficient and unsanitary, even alleging that some meals contained maggots. The facility's continuous bright lighting and the presence of large mosquitoes have contributed to a distressing environment.
Others detained alongside La Figura echoed his concerns, expressing feelings of dehumanization. Some reported experiencing extreme stress and worsening mental health, particularly due to the lack of medical care and the confiscation of personal items, like Bibles, which are crucial for their spiritual well-being.
"I'm on the edge of losing my mind. I've gone three days without taking my medicine," a detainee said. "It's impossible to sleep with this white light that's on all day."
In response to these serious claims, Florida officials have asserted that the allegations regarding the conditions at Alligator Alcatraz are unfounded, stating that the facility meets all necessary standards.
The creation of this detention center has raised significant controversy, with criticisms focusing on human rights violations and environmental impacts, particularly given its location on protected land in the Everglades.
Jul 09, 2025 at 09:59 AM EDT
Border Patrol issues warning to green-card holders
Green-card holders have been warned that federal authorities may revoke their legal status if they have a criminal record and violate immigration laws.
"Under our nation's laws, our government has the authority to revoke your green card if our laws are broken and abused," Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.
The agency added that lawful permanent residents arriving at a U.S. port of entry with prior criminal convictions could end up detained ahead of removal proceedings.
The warning comes amid a widespread immigration crackdown under the Trump administration. President Donald Trump has pledged to remove millions of undocumented immigrants as part of a hardline mass deportation policy, with the White House labeling anyone in the country illegally as a "criminal."
Beyond targeting those without legal status, immigrants with valid visas and green cards have also faced detention under the government's sweeping enforcement operations.
Newsweek has reported numerous cases involving green-card holders and applicants being caught up in the immigration raids.
Read the full story by Billal Rahman on Newsweek.
Jul 09, 2025 at 09:42 AM EDT
DHS issues subpoenas to Harvard over foreign student visa program
The Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday it is issuing administrative subpoenas to Harvard University, escalating a dispute over the university's compliance with the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP).
DHS officials say Harvard repeatedly declined previous requests to provide information related to foreign students enrolled under the program. "We tried to do things the easy way with Harvard. Now... we have to do things the hard way," said Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin, accusing the university of allowing students to misuse their visas and promote violence on campus.
The subpoenas, issued through Immigration and Customs Enforcement, demand Harvard turn over records, emails, and documentation dating back to January 1, 2020. The focus is on alleged disciplinary discrepancies involving nonimmigrant students.
Jul 09, 2025 at 09:20 AM EDT
Los Angeles joins lawsuit to stop federal immigration raids
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced Tuesday that the city is joining a class-action lawsuit aimed at halting what she called "unconstitutional reckless raids" carried out by federal immigration authorities in the region.
"The City of Los Angeles, along with the County, cities, organizations and Angelenos across L.A., is taking the Administration to court to stop its clear violation of the United States Constitution and federal law," Bass said in a press release. "We will not be intimidated – we are making Los Angeles the example of how people who believe in American values will stand together and stand united."
The original lawsuit, Vasquez Perdomo v. Noem, was filed by the ACLU of California and Public Counsel on behalf of immigrants and advocacy groups. It alleges that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has targeted migrants with "brown skin" and held them in overcrowded facilities with inadequate food, no access to legal counsel, and unsanitary conditions.
DHS has reportedly denied the claims, saying that accusations of racial profiling were "disgusting and categorically false."
Jul 09, 2025 at 09:05 AM EDT
Dozens of green card applicants sue Trump admin after process derailed
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Dozens of Iranian employment-based green card applicants filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging that a new presidential travel ban has unlawfully derailed their immigration process.
The plaintiffs allege that although the ban theoretically allows for national interest exceptions, in practice, none have been granted to date. The complaint forms part of a broader legal pushback against recent Trump administration immigration measures, which have included heightened scrutiny of green card applicants and sweeping changes to application procedures.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson told Newsweek on Tuesday that the department does not comment on pending or ongoing litigation.
"We also cannot preview future visa-related decisions, which are made on a case-by-case basis, based on the individual facts relevant to each case," the spokesperson said.
Newsweek reached out to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for comment via email.
Read the full story by Nick Mordowanec on Newsweek.
Jul 09, 2025 at 08:41 AM EDT
Iranian mother released from ICE custody after Scalise intervention
Iranian mother Mandonna "Donna" Kashanian, 64, was released from ICE custody following the intervention of Republican House Majority Leader Steven Scalise.
Kashanian was detained by ICE agents in June while gardening in her New Orleans home's front yard after living in the U.S. for 47 years, and had been allowed to do so as long as she touched base with immigration officers, which her lawyer and family said she did regularly. She came to the U.S. on a student visa in 1978 and unsuccessfully applied for asylum, the Associated Press reported.
Following media coverage of the case, Scalise said that the Department of Homeland Security should give Kashanian "a fair shake."
"When she was picked up, we looked at it and said, 'Are they really looking at it the right way, objectively?'" Scalise told WDSU. "And so they took a second look at it."
Kashanian had support from her family and neighbors, who all wrote letters of support that Scalise then shared with the Trump Administration.
In a June 26 X, formerly Twitter, post, ICE New Orleans said about Kashanian: "She was ordered by a judge to depart the U.S. and didn't. Shouldn't be a surprise we came knocking."
Jul 09, 2025 at 08:19 AM EDT
Anti-Donald Trump protests planned nationwide for July 17
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Nationwide rallies and demonstrations against President Donald Trump are planned to take place across the U.S. on July 17.
The "Good Trouble Lives On" protests will take place on the anniversary of the death of John Lewis, the Democratic congressman and civil rights icon.
Newsweek has contacted the organizers for comment via email.
The protests are the latest round of nationwide demonstrations against the Trump administration since he returned to office in January, organized by the 50501 Movement (50 protests, 50 states, one movement) and other groups.
Millions of people took to the streets for "No Kings" protests on June 14, targeting a military parade in Washington marking the Army's 250th anniversary that coincided with Trump's 79th birthday. Over the Fourth of July weekend, "Free America" events were held across the country in protest of Trump's policies.
Read the full story by Khaleda Rahman on Newsweek.
Jul 09, 2025 at 08:02 AM EDT
Journalist remains in ICE custody despite judge’s bond order
Mario Guevara, a Spanish-language journalist arrested while covering a protest in Georgia, remains in federal custody more than a week after an immigration judge granted him bond. Guevara, 47, was detained by local police on June 14 while livestreaming a demonstration near Atlanta and was later transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Although a judge approved his release on a $7,500 bond, ICE has refused to accept payment, citing an appeal of the bond order. Guevara has since been moved between multiple jails, including facilities in Gwinnett and Floyd counties, and is now being held at a federal detention center in Atlanta.
Guevara, who fled El Salvador two decades ago, built a following reporting on immigration issues in Georgia. His attorneys say he has valid work authorization and a pending green card application. All local charges related to his arrest during the protest were dropped due to insufficient evidence.
His legal team and press freedom advocates argue that ICE's refusal to release him amounts to retaliation for his reporting. The Committee to Protect Journalists has called for his immediate release, warning that his continued detention sends a chilling message to immigrant journalists.
Jul 09, 2025 at 07:47 AM EDT
Trump voter’s wife detained by ICE during green card interview
A Canadian woman was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during what was supposed to be a routine green card interview in California, sparking outrage from her husband—a Trump supporter—who now says he regrets his vote.
Cynthia Olivera, 45, was arrested on June 13 at a USCIS office in Chatsworth, California. According to Newsweek, she had been living in the U.S. since childhood and is the mother of three American-born children. Her husband, Francisco Olvera, a U.S. citizen, said the couple supported former President Donald Trump's immigration policies but never expected she would be targeted.
Olivera had previously been deported in 1999 and reentered the country illegally, which federal officials say constitutes a felony. She had been granted a work permit in 2024 under the Biden administration and was pursuing legal permanent residency when she was taken into custody.
"She was trying to do everything right," Olvera told local media. "We feel blindsided. I want my vote back."
Olivera remains in ICE custody in El Paso, Texas, pending removal to Canada.
Jul 09, 2025 at 07:33 AM EDT
Mask snatched off ICE agent by California protester
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A protester in California appeared to snatch off a federal agent's mask during an altercation last week, according to new footage.
The video, released by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), shows a woman confronting federal law enforcement officials behind a police line in San Diego. After an officer holds her by the arms, she can be seen pushing him in the face, removing his face covering.
ICE has been pushed into the national spotlight surrounding immigration enforcement in recent months. The agency has received growing criticism for allowing its agents to carry out targeted enforcement operations in plain clothes and face coverings.
ICE officials argue that masks are crucial to protect agents and their families from death threats. The agency is facing increased scrutiny as President Donald Trump directs his administration to remove millions of migrants without legal status. California lawmakers and members of Congress have introduced legislation to prohibit federal agents from donning masks during enforcement operations.
Read the full story by Billal Rahman on Newsweek.
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