Canada’s federal court ruled on Nov. 29 that the US breaches the rights of asylum seekers under the United Nations Refugee Convention and the Convention Against Torture. Justice Michael Phelan cited the example of Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen who… Read moreCanada rules US not safe for refugees
A US Border Patrol official confirmed on Nov. 13 that agents investigating human smuggling on commercial bus lines arrested more than 100 illegal immigrants in the area of Twin Falls, Idaho, over the past week. The number of people arrested… Read moreBorder Patrol raids protested in Idaho
On Nov. 16, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Wilfredo Vazquez was arrested by federal agents in Tampa, FL, and charged with three counts of knowingly causing a detainee under his supervision to engage in a sexual act. According… Read moreFlorida ICE agent rapes detainee
On Nov. 13, in its second day of deliberations, a federal jury in Newark, NJ, awarded former asylum seeker Hawa Abdi Jama of Somalia $100,000 in damages after finding the private company that ran an immigration detention facility in Elizabeth… Read moreSomali ex-detainee wins damages from NJ prison farm
Your tax dollars at work. From the marijuana advocacy site CelebStoner, Nov. 14: California crop report: Nearly three million pot plants destroyed California not only leads the nation in pot production, but also in plant eradication. With the outdoor harvest… Read moreCalifornia tops marijuana eradication record
A glimmer of hope—but it’s pretty terrifying that this was under consideration, even by the supposedly enlightened Chief William Bratton. Some of us remember the mass detention of Southern California Muslims by immigration authorities in 2002. From AFP, Nov. 16:… Read moreLAPD drops Muslim mapping plan
In a little-noted move, the US House of Representatives Oct. 23 passed the “Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007” (HR 1955), which is being widely assailed by civil libertarians. The bill, if it becomes law, would establish… Read moreHouse passes thoughtcrime prevention act
Nearly two dozen high school students in Illinois have been suspended and face possible expulsion for holding a peaceful protest against the war in Iraq. On Nov. 1, students at Morton West High School in the town of Berwyn locked… Read moreIllinois high school students face expulsion for anti-war protest
Immigrant rights groups and the ACLU say authorities have created a climate of intimidation at evacuation centers set up to help people displaced by wildfires in southern California. As wildfires forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people, more… Read moreImmigrants faced “climate of intimidation” in California fires
In El Paso, Texas, about 30 activists marked Day of the Dead on Nov. 1 by hanging 450 white wooden crosses on the border fence along the American Canal, where at least 15 people drowned this year trying to enter… Read moreBorder deaths marked on Dia de los Muertos
On Oct. 14, federal and local agents carried out a massive raid on Roosevelt Avenue, the main commercial strip of the heavily immigrant neighborhood of Jackson Heights in northern Queens, New York City. While the operation was supposedly targeting individuals… Read moreDozens snared in Queens immigration sting
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson Paula Grenier said on Nov. 2 that nine people were detained that morning in Hartford, Connecticut. The raids apparently began around 7 AM in the Parkville section of Hartford, where ICE agents went to… Read moreMore controversy in Hartford ICE raids
