Early on May 31, a Border Patrol agent shot and killed Benito A. Gonzalez after trying to handcuff him in an unincorporated area north of Escondido, California, just east of Interstate 15. Gonzalez was an out-of-status immigrant who lived in… Read moreUndercover border agent kills migrant
On June 15, a federal judge in Trenton, New Jersey, ruled that officials at the Monmouth County jail in Freehold can use intravenous or feeding tubes to force feed immigration detainee Samuel Izrailovich Shevaniya, who is on hunger strike. Shevaniya… Read moreHunger-striking immigration detainee force-fed in NJ
On June 12, more than 150 ICE agents executed search and arrest warrants at three sites in Portland, Oregon, connected with the Fresh Del Monte company and its Portland fruit and vegetable processing facility, arresting about 165 workers and three… Read moreICE raids spark protests in Portland, New Haven
The UN is expected to release a report shortly that will shed light on human rights violations of migrants in the United States. The report will be presented to the Human Rights Council by Special Rapporteur on the Rights of… Read moreUN to report on rights abuses of immigrants in United States
Now, let’s see. A May 26 AP account by Larry McShane on the case of Syed Hashmi, a 27-year-old Pakistan-born US citizen and former Queens resident extradited from England back to New York to face terrorism charges, says he is… Read moreNew Yorker on trial for possession of terrorist rain gear
A prisoner has died in an apparent suicide at the US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, the US military announced May 30. A statement by the US Southern Command said the inmate, a Saudi Arabian national, was found… Read moreApparent suicide at Guantanamo Bay
Interesting. A Pew survey finds that 87% of Muslim Americans polled (just some 1,000 out of the total 2 million-plus) condemn the practice of suicide bombings. But for those under 30, the 13% finding them sometimes justified doubles to 26%…. Read moreMuslim-American views: poll results in eye of beholder
Declaring fires set at a police station, an SUV dealer and a tree farm were acts of “terrorism,” US District Judge Ann Aiken May 23 sentenced former Earth Liberation Front militant Stanislas Meyerhoff to 13 years in prison. Judge Aiken… Read moreELF militants convicted of (dubious) “terrorism”
On May 17, key Democrats and Republicans in the Senate and the administration of President George W. Bush reached a compromise agreement on a Senate immigration reform bill after months of closed-door negotiations. (Arizona Republic, May 18) Under the plan,… Read moreSenate immigration bill: attack on the family?
New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer threw his support behind a proposal to curtail the president’s recently expanded powers to take charge of the National Guard in domestic crises. “Given the Guard’s growing importance in local emergencies, we are concerned about… Read moreSpitzer: No to National Guard “federalization”
From AP, May 6: GREENSBURG, Kan.— The rebuilding effort in tornado-ravaged Greensburg, Kansas, likely will be hampered because some much-needed equipment is in Iraq, said that state’s governor. Governor Kathleen Sebelius said much of the National Guard equipment usually positioned… Read moreIraq war hampers Kansas tornado recovery
On May 1, 2007, thousands of people around the US marched and rallied for immigrant rights. Media coverage focused on the fact that the demonstrations were much smaller than similar actions last spring—even though advocates knew well in advance that… Read moreMay Day mobilization: national round-up
