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Early Arrival: Couple Arrested at Army Base

Monday's Edition of Early Arrival: Couple Arrested at Army Base – Vacant Phoenix Office Building Used to Detain Children – “We Will Never Abolish ICE,” says Pence

A Mexican couple were reportedly arrested and transferred to a detention facility while trying visit their son-in-law at the Fort Drum army base in upstate New York for the Fourth of July.

The couple, Concepcion and Margarito Silva, were questioned by an army sergeant who asked for their New York City IDs and then took them to a detention facility hundreds of miles away. The couple’s son Eduardo Silva told NBC New York that they had valid NYC IDs which they’d used previously to enter the base but this time they were stopped by military police.

Concepcion and Margarito are undocumented and have reportedly lived in New York City for two decades. In 2007, they were granted work permits by the Department of Labor, NBC New York reports.

The couple was arrested by Customs and Border Patrol and taken to a detention center in Buffalo. In a statement, the Army said they notified CBP after “security personnel identified a discrepancy” with the couple’s passports.

A similar case unfolded at Brooklyn’s Fort Hamilton Army base last month. Pizza deliveryman Pablo Villavicencio was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement while delivering food to the base after military police contacted the agency to alert them of his status. NBC New York

Good morning, and welcome to Early Arrival. I’m Mazin Sidahmed, here to take you through the latest in local and national immigration news and analysis. If you have feedback, suggestions, tips or leads, reach out at mazin.sidahmed@documentedny.com or on Twitter.

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It has been 95 days since Memphis-based journalist Manuel Durán was detained by immigration authorities after first being arrested by the Memphis Police Department while covering a protest. ICE says that he has a standing order of deportation and intends to deport him to El Salvador. His attorneys say the detention is in retaliation for his reporting on the local police department’s cooperation with ICE. Documented will keep a running tally of how long Durán remains in detention

Ellis Island

Conman Arrested for Offering Immigrants Green Cards for Cash

A New York man has been arrested for conning undocumented immigrants by telling them he could secure green cards in exchange for cash. Marko Nikac was charged in Westchester County with grand larceny and criminal impersonation after he allegedly told three men that he was a federal agent who could get them green cards within three months for $9,000. After he failed to deliver, he reportedly threatened to have them deported when the men asked for their money back. NBC New York

Woman Arrested After Going on Racist, Anti-Immigrant Rant

A woman from Pearl River, New York, is facing new charges after she was caught on camera unloading a racist, anti-immigrant tirade on a bus in Rockland County, New York. Anne Marie Messiano was caught on camera saying, “Get out of my fucking country,” during a long rant in which she used the N-word. “You got a fucking problem with that, call the fucking police. And I hope that you all got your motherfucking papers. You shut up,” she said later. The incident took place June 30. Police arrested the woman after they were called by the bus driver. Messiano was originally charged with disorderly conduct but charges of criminal obstruction of breathing and aggravated harassment were later added. Gothamist

Chinatown’s Skyrocketing Rent Forces out Bakeries

Traditional bakeries in Chinatown are struggling to survive due to the area’s growing rent and declining demand. Fay Da, a bakery that’s been open for almost three decades, closed its Centre Street location on June 30. Despite growing the business to 12 locations after opening in 1991, the shop’s owner Han Chou said that high rent and demographic changes in the area have made it difficult for bakeries like his to survive in Chinatown. World Journal via Voices of NY

‘Are they going to shoot me?’: Statue of Liberty ​Climber on her Anti-Trump Protest, The Guardian

Wife of Immigrant Pizza Deliveryman and Father Pablo Villavicencio Pleads for his Release Month After he Was Busted by ICE, Daily News

Was July 4th Citizenship Event Last of a Kind? NJ.com [Opinion]

N.J. Lawmakers: We Must Stop Trump’s Madness at the Border, by Sen. Robert Menedenz and State Sen. M. Teresa Ruiz, NJ.com [Opinion]

National

Children Held in Vacant Phoenix Office Building

A security agency is holding children separated from their parents at the border at a vacant office space in Phoenix, despite denying that they house any children separated from their parents. The lease for the building states that it is not for sleeping or cooking and it is not licensed by Arizona to hold children. The building is rented by MVM, a Virginia-based defense contractor, which initially denied that it housed immigrant children before learning that neighbors had recorded children being brought to the facility. The company claims the building is a temporary holding place for children being flown out of Phoenix airport. Reveal

Immigrants To Be Tried in Converted Garage in Operation Streamline

A George W. Bush-era program to speed up prosecutions is being expanded to the Southern District of California starting Monday. “Operation Streamline” is a fast-track prosecution process that gives defendants minimal time to meet with lawyers and means that a dozen defendants could face a judge at the same time, often in chains. The program has been expanded due to the overwhelming caseload from the Trump administration’s zero tolerance policy, which requires criminal prosecution of every person who crosses the border at an unauthorized entry point. It has already been implemented in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. The Appeal

Border Patrol Stops Canadian Fishermen

CBP officers have started stopping Canadian fishermen in a “gray zone” that was historically free from patrols. Canadian fishermen say that agents have been wading into disputed waters and checking fishermen’s citizenship. The patrols have taken place around Machias Seal Island, which has been subject to dispute between Canada and the U.S. for centuries. Fishermen say that CBP has no right to be patrolling that area. In response, the Canadian Coast Guard has also begun patrolling the area. The New York Times

1-Year-Old Shows Up in Immigration Court

Across the country, children separated from their parents are being asked to appear before judges to go through deportation proceedings. The Associated Press reported in Phoenix on Friday that a 1-year-old Honduran boy named Johan was forced to make his case before a judge. There are 101 children under 5 years old who have been separated from their parents according to the Trump administration, which is scrambling to meet a court order to reunite them. Associated Press

Trump Hires Foreign Workers

Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club has asked for permission to hire 61 foreign workers on H-2B visas to serve as waiters and cooks during the winter social season. According to a posting at the Department of Labor, Trump wants to hire five more foreign workers than in 2017. Despite his “Hire American” slogan, Trump’s businesses hire temporary foreign workers. Earlier this year, Trump’s New York golf club asked to hire 14 foreign workers, and his winery near Charlottesville, Virginia, asked for 23. The Washington Post

Anne Frank’s Family Was Thwarted by U.S. Immigration Rules, Research Shows, The New York Times

Here’s What School is Really Like for Some Migrant Children Separated from Their Parents, HuffPost

They Came Here to Serve. But for Many Immigrants, the Army Isn’t Interested, The New York Times

‘I’ve Never Seen That Before’: Activists Marvel as Calls for Immigrant Rights Enter the Mainstream, The Washington Post

Boston Weighs Giving Legal, Non-U.S. Citizens Voting Rights, Associated Press

Washington – “We Will Never Abolish ICE,” says Pence, Judge Orders Feds To Reunite Families

Vice President Mike Pence stepped up the administration’s defense of ICE on Friday and attacked Democratic politicians who have called for the abolishment of the agency.

At a visit to the agency’s headquarters, Pence said, “We will never abolish ICE,” before heaping praise on the agency. “The spurious attacks on ICE by our political leaders must stop” he said, calling the abolishment of ICE “irresponsible.”

Pence named Senators Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, and New York gubernatorial hopeful Cynthia Nixon as key figures in the opposition to ICE.

The movement to abolish the agency has grown dramatically in response to Trump’s zero tolerance policy. While the separations were carried out by CBP, the agency has become the face of Trump’s immigration policy. The New York Times

Read more about the #AbolishICE movement here.

More Democrats Want To Abolish ICE. Decriminalize Migration? Not So Much, HuffPost

Jeh Johnson: Don’t Abolish ICE, Reform it, Politico

A federal judge rejected on Friday the government’s request to extend the deadline to reunite families separated at the border, except for specific cases. The ruling compels the government to share the 101 separated children under the age of five with the American Civil Liberties Union. The two parties will decide which cases merit a delay and present it to the judge on Monday. The deadline is July 10 for children under 5 and July 26 for everyone else. Eighty-three children have been reunited with their families, a Justice Department attorney said. Associated Press

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services last month began an aggressive move of referring all non-citizens who have an application for a “benefit” rejected into deportation proceedings. Benefits could include a green card, a change of status, or citizenship. Bureaucratic reasons for rejecting a visa may now result in deportation. Quartz

Mitch McConnell Confronted By Protesters Asking: ‘Where Are The Babies?’ HuffPost

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