Beyond the Border: Detained witnesses, diverted FEMA staff and ICE’s record arrest number
Here's what happened this week in immigration news.
Written by Rami Alarian, Edited by Kate Morrissey
Welcome to another edition of Beyond the Border, which summarizes immigration news from across the country in a weekly roundup. Did we miss something? Message us via kate@daylightsandiego.org or on Instagram.
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Mistreatment in Custody
The Guardian reported that a Wisconsin mosque president said he lost over 30 pounds over 80 days in ICE custody and endured treatment similar to Israeli prison.
The Charlotte Observer reported that ICE detained a Somali immigrant who had been living in the U.S. for decades and deported him to Somalia. His niece said he suffered injuries during transport.
A man with a disability is suing ICE along with private prison companies GeoGroup and CoreCivic, alleging agents beat him unconscious during his arrest and that detention center staff mocked his disability, telling him he’d never walk again, Mother Jones reported.
A 78-year-old Ugandan pastor in ICE custody told The Washington Post that he has lost 35 pounds and can no longer walk. His parishioners, many of them Trump supporters, feel conflicted about what's happening to him.
The New Yorker took a deep dive into the creation of Camp East Montana, a notorious tent detention complex on a West Texas military base holding thousands of people in ICE custody. A former ICE official said the administration’s goal is “to make detention look and feel so bad that people leave.”
The Washington Post reported that a Human Rights Watch and American Civil Liberties Union report found that 90% of detainees interviewed at Camp East Montana in Texas reported being beaten or witnessing beatings. Detainees also reported denied medical care, feces-covered bathrooms and spoiled food.
The Denver Post reported that the family of a Colorado man who died in ICE custody last year is still seeking answers. The man had agreed to voluntary departure to Nicaragua, but ICE had still kept him in custody. ICE said his death was a suicide.
The Washington Post reported that United States immigration officials alerted others about dangerous overcrowding for weeks in New York’s 26 Federal Plaza immigration facility, but the agency kept adding more people.
Increased arrests
The Guardian reported that ICE arrested over 43,000 people in June, a record number since President Donald Trump returned to office. The agency has shifted to less visible arrests at workplaces, homes and check-in appointments.
The Washington Post reported that ICE averaged more than 1,400 arrests daily in the first 12 days of July, setting the highest pace of Trump’s second term.
ICE agents entered Manolo Farmers Market in El Cajon, California, on Sunday, but they left soon after employees and customers demanded to see a warrant, El Imparcial reported.
KCUR reported that ICE detained an Ecuadorian asylum seeker after agents raided a market in Kansas City using a warrant with no named individuals. The wife of the asylum seeker found out about her husband’s arrest through videos on social media.
Houston Public Media reported that ICE released an 18-year-old Russian immigrant on Monday after detaining him three days earlier at Houston Hobby Airport.
The Chicago Tribune reported that ICE detained a school custodian at an asylum check-in and sent him to a jail in Indiana, separating him from his family.
ICE-related deaths
More than 100 people attended a Houston city hall meeting to demand an independent investigation into an ICE officer's killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, The Guardian reported.
The Houston Chronicle reported that three men detained at the scene dispute the government's claim that Salgado Araujo rammed an agent’s vehicle.
La Jornada reported that Salgado Araujo’s brother, who witnessed the killing, remains detained at an ICE facility in Conroe, Texas.
Mother Jones compiled a list of lies that ICE and the Department of Homeland Security have told after using force in ways that injured or killed people.
The Miami Herald identified the man killed by a truck while fleeing ICE officials as a 28-year-old Mexican father and tourist on a valid visa.
The Associated Press identified the ICE Officer who shot Joan Durán Guerrero in Maine last week as David Brouillette, and the outlet found that he had a history of domestic violence.
Brouillette's ex-wife told NPR that Brouillette has a violent past and racist beliefs.
CNN reported that Brouillette said that he suffered lingering cognitive issues after a head injury in 2021.
Other News
Immigration judges nationwide are denying bond more often, with the sharpest jump at California’s Adelanto detention facility, the LAist reported. A group of immigration attorneys has sued for public records related to the change.
ICE has issued a new dress code that bans field officers from wearing jeans, hoodies and graphic tees, requiring visible badges and ballistic vests instead, The Intercept reported.
The Arizona Republic reported that a House Democrats report found the Department of Homeland Security illegally diverted FEMA staff to serve as the “operational backbone” of ICE’s mass deportation efforts.
The Intercept reported that Google has deleted nearly all Google Maps reviews of ICE detention facilities.
A Phoenix jury delivered a not-guilty verdict for a man charged with assaulting a federal officer after he ran over to help his father, whom the man said was being pummeled by immigration officials, The Arizona Republic reported.
ABC7 reported that the Los Angeles Police Department is letting a three-year contract with Flock Safety expire over civil liberties and data privacy concerns. The department is continuing talks with Flock about a revised contract.
Citizens Bank is cutting ties with CoreCivic and GEO Group after a campaign led by advocacy groups and city councils threatened to pull funds, Associated Press reported.
Thanks for reading! Take care and stay well.
— Rami
