Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer called on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to remove any mention of his state’s controversial immigration law from a human rights report issued by the State Department.
Human Rights Watch condemned US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for force-feeding detained migrants. Detained men at the agency's El Paso Processing Center have been participating in a hunger strike since early January. ICE officials said that 11 men are striking, but AP reports the number may be closer to 30. In mid-January a federal judge authorized ICE to force-feed six of the protesters. The detained men have been protesting "rampant verbal abuse and threats of deportation from guards" and long detentions while awaiting a hearing. Most of the hunger strikers are from India or Cuba. (Photo: Hetsumani/Pixabay)
UN Special Rapporteur of the human rights of migrants Felipe González Morales called for an independent investigation into the death of Jakelin Ameí Caal, a Guatemalan migrant child who died while in US Customs and Border Protection. Jakelin was in custody, along with her family and other migrants, after crossing the Mexico border. The factual causes leading up to her death are currently disputed. In the report, Morales stresses the importance of finding out what happened to Jakelin, stating that "if any officials are found responsible they should be held accountable." (Photo via Jurist)
The White House issued a proclamation that bans migrants caught entering the US unlawfully from seeking asylum. The ban's stated purpose is to funnel migrants from Mexico and Central America to ports of entry, where they will be allowed to apply for asylum "in an orderly and controlled manner instead of unlawfully." But Omar Jadwat, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Immigrant Rights Project, stated: "The law is clear: People can apply for asylum whether or not they’re at a port of entry, and regardless of their immigration status. The president doesn't get to ignore that law, even if he dislikes it." (Photo via Jurist)
US Army Private First Class Nasser Abdo, 20, is seeking a discharge on the ground that his religious belief as a Muslim forbids him from fighting in any war as a member of the US military.
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) accused Congress of “appeasing anti-immigrant xenophobes” in approving $600 million in emergency spending for border security.
A federal judge issued a premilinary injunction against several provisions of the controversial Arizona immigration law, which is set to take effect this week—but failed to halt the law entirely.
Two lawsuits were filed by civil rights groups seeking injunctive relief against a Fremont, Neb., ordinance banning the hiring, harboring or renting property to “illegal immigrants.”
Oakland’s Police Chief Anthony Batts blames out-of-town “anarchists” for the disturbances that followed the involuntary manslaughter verdict in the police shooting of Oscar Grant.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on behalf of 10 US citizens and lawful residents who are prohibited from flying to the US airspace because they are on the “No Fly List.”
Human and civil rights groups in Canada are calling for an investigation after hundreds were indiscriminately arrested during protests at the Toronto G20 summit over the weekend.
In a 5-4 decision in the Michigan murder case Berghuis v. Thompkins, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority further eroded Miranda rights for criminal suspects.
