Edisson Barros, a Queens resident and cab driver, had his order of deportation stayed by a federal judge late on Thursday, just hours before he was set to be deported to Ecuador.
ICE arrested Barros, who has lived in Queens for 25 years, while he was leaving a courthouse last month after successfully disputing a criminal mischief charge.
ICE’s increased activity outside of New York City courthouses this year was the subject of intense criticism from lawyers, who staged walkouts following ICE arrests. QNS, Gothamist
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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Ellis Island
Delivereros Live in Fear After Death of 1 Worker
The story of Edwin Vicente Ajacalon is well known among New York City’s bicycle deliverymen. He died at 15 while riding his bicycle in Brooklyn, rocking bicycle delivery workers across the city who know the job comes with overlooked dangers. The New York Times spoke to bicycle delivery workers in the city about the dangers of the job and the difficulty of seeking legal recourse if they are injured. The New York Times
Amy Gottlieb Pens Defense of Husband Ragbir in WaPo [Opinion]
Prominent immigrant rights advocate Ravi Ragbir continues to face potential deportation. So his wife Amy Gottlieb, an associate director at a Quaker group for social justice, published an op-ed in the Washington Post. Ragbir, an immigrant from Trinidad, was detained for 18 days in January following a routine check-in with ICE. A judge stayed his deportation to allow him to pursue a lawsuit that alleges ICE is targeting him due to his activism. Gottlieb argued the language of “removal” was dehumanizing to immigrants. The Washington Post
Undocumented Mother Secures Green Card Due to Children’s Military Service
Imelda Castillo Hernandez, a mother of five who lives on Staten Island, became a legal permanent resident last week thanks to her two children who are active-duty members of the U.S. armed forces. The mother managed to avoid deportation thanks to a 2013 USCIS policy which allows undocumented parents of active-duty U.S. armed troops to petition for residency. Hernandez has been in the U.S. since 1991 and was afraid she would have to return to Mexico in order to secure her residency. NY Daily News
City Holds First Spanish-Only Info Session on Specialized High Schools, WNYC
A Haitian Slave Turned Emperor Brings Celebration and Controversy to Brooklyn, The New York Times
Sex Workers Are Rallying Behind A Democratic Socialist Running For New York Senate, The Intercept
Jackson Heights Father Reunites with Family Following ICE Detainment, QNS
Highly-Educated Immigrants, Now Eyeing the Exits, WNYC
National
ICE Detains Man Driving His Pregnant Wife to Deliver
ICE arrested a man at a gas station while he was driving his pregnant wife to the hospital to deliver their baby. She was left to drive the rest of the way and give birth to their son alone. Joel Arrona-Lara, an undocumented immigrant, was driving his wife for a scheduled C-section on Wednesday when they pulled over to get gas. His wife Maria del Carmen Venegas, a mother of five children, told CBS Los Angeles that two SUVs with ICE agents approached them at the gas station and asked to see their IDs before arresting Arrona-Lara. ICE said he was arrested because he was wanted in Mexico for homicide, a charge his lawyer says is unconfirmed. In their original statement to the station, ICE did not mention a homicide charge. CBS Los Angeles
A Look Inside a Family Detention Center
Reporters were offered a tour of the family detention center in Dilley, Texas last week. That’s where several families recently reunited after being separated at the border are held. The South Texas Family Residential Center is a 2,400-bed campus that includes schools for children, an infirmary, a library and a cafeteria. About 150 of the 1,500 families in the center are reunited families, officials told The Washington Post during the tour. Many of those parents are struggling to appeal deportation orders they received after failing asylum interviews, during which they say they were distraught over their missing children. The Washington Post
Related: The LA Times Looks at the Lasting Effects of Family Detention on 1 Family
The Moral Dilemma of Juan Sanchez, Southwest Key’s CEO
Latino USA took a deep dive into the opposing narratives of Juan Sanchez, the CEO of Southwest Keys, a nonprofit which has received nearly $1 billion in contracts from the government to house unaccompanied minors. Southwest Keys operates shelters like those housing families separated at the border, drawing intense criticism. Several reports of sexual misconduct by Southwest Keys staff also surfaced. Sanchez received a $1.5 million salary from the nonprofit last year, but his Southwest Keys bio paints him as a social justice champion. Latino USA
Immigrant Dads Separated from Children Again
immigration authorities split 16 fathers from their sons for a second time. That number includes fathers who had previously planned to go on a hunger strike to pressure the government to expedite their cases. The men are being held in Texas’ Karnes County Residential Center. The fathers were previously separated as part of the Trump administration’s zero tolerance policy but were reunited and placed in family detention. On Wednesday, the fathers were handcuffed and transported to the South Texas Detention Complex while their children were in school. ICE agents said they were moved because they were involved in a disturbance. BuzzFeed
Families are Reunited in Guatemala
Parents who were separated from hundreds of children at the border were deported back to their country without their children. Now, the government is reuniting some of these children with their parents abroad. Reporters described a white van carrying children pulling up to a government building in Guatemala City where parents are waiting. A judge in California ordered the government to reunify all of the families who were separated, including those whose parents had been deported. KQED via NPR
How “Crazy Rich” Asians Have Led to the Largest Income Gap in the U.S., The New York Times
How a Mother’s Tough Choice Gave her Son a Potential U.S. Asylum Advantage, Reuters
US School Districts Weigh Duty to Youth Migrant Shelters, Associated Press
Washington – Judge Approves Gov. Plan to Reunite Families
California federal Judge Dana Sabraw approved the government’s plan to reunite 366 children whose parents have been deported due to the now-defunct zero tolerance policy.
Sabraw previously ruled that the government should reunify all families separated from their children in the ongoing litigation with the American Civil Liberties Union. Under Friday’s agreement, the government will pass along any known contact information for deported parents to the ACLU, which will try to reach them.
The only thing that remains unclear is where the reunification will happen: In the U.S. or abroad? The ACLU noted a separate lawsuit was filed arguing parents should be allowed to return to the U.S., which would force reunification to happen in America.
Sabraw suggested that reunification should happen in deported parents’ home countries. “This will not be a perfect process,” he said. The parties have until next Friday to propose possible solutions. Reveal
Separated Parents Who Failed Asylum Interviews Sue Government
A group of parents who were separated from their children and failed their initial asylum interviews are suing for a second chance. The 38 parents involved in the suit have all been reunited with their children, but have been given final deportation orders after losing their asylum claims. They currently have a stay on their deportations allowing them to remain in the U.S. as their children’s claims are adjudicated. The migrants’ lawyers argue they failed credible fear interviews because they were traumatized by being separated from their children, making it difficult for them to present their cases. Vox
Judge: Gov Does Not Have to Process New DACA Applications
Washington Federal Judge John D. Bates ruled on Friday that the administration does not have to process new DACA applications, but must continue to process renewals. Bates had previously ruled the government must process renewal applications as well new applications by Aug. 23. That earlier decision came after the government failed to defend the president’s decision to end the Obama-era program, but this new ruling puts Bates’ earlier one on hold. Associated Press
孰真孰假？对特朗普关于移民的言论的事实核查
Trump to Honor ICE With Local Sheriffs
At 1:30 p.m. on Monday, the president will host a White House event honoring ICE and Customs and Border Protection officials. Seven county sheriffs from around the country will also be in attendance, including the outspoken Butler County, Ohio sheriff Richard Jones, who has gained national recognition for his anti-immigrant views. Journal News
Sessions: Judges Costing Taxpayers with Immigration Rulings, Associated Press
