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Tag: Immigration and Customs Enforcement

  • NM Gov declines GOP’s invite to visit ICE detention center

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    This article was published by Source NM. Read more at sourcenm.com.

    Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s “busy schedule” Monday means she won’t join Republican lawmakers on a tour of New Mexico’s biggest immigration detention center, a spokesperson for the governor told Source New Mexico on Thursday.

    New Mexico Republicans shared a letter on social media Wednesday announcing some members would be touring the Otero County Processing Center on Monday, and they invited the governor to come along. The detention center in Chaparral currently houses most of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees in the state, and its population has increased since President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown began this year.

    The governor’s chief lawyer told an interim legislative committee in July that the governor was considering adding a measure to the agenda at an upcoming special session that would ban immigration detention facilities in New Mexico.

    Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham gives her State of the State address on Jan 16. 2024 during the opening day of the legislative session.

    “Before we take any action with such far-reaching implications (for example, putting New Mexicans out of work and risking millions of federal funding), it is essential that we have a clear first-hand understanding of the conditions within these facilities and the operations that take place there,” Republican lawmakers Rep. Andrea Reeb and Sen. Crystal Brantley wrote in the letter.

    The letter went on to invite the governor to tag along for the visit at 8 a.m. Monday.

    “We believe your participation would be instrumental in ensuring that any decisions made are fully informed and in the best interests of the people of New Mexico,” the Republicans wrote.

    In an email Thursday afternoon, Michael Coleman, the spokesperson for the governor, told Source that the governor won’t join the tour and also hasn’t decided yet whether she’ll add an ICE detention facility agenda to the special session call.

    “The governor has a busy schedule on Monday and won’t be joining in the tour,” Coleman said. “We’re still working to determine a special session agenda, and no final decision has been made on this particular issue.”

    He also said the governor hasn’t yet decided on a date for the special session, which her lawyer said she anticipated would happen later this month or in September to address federal funding cuts Congress recently enacted in the “Big Beautiful Bill” act. Other crime-related measures could also be on the governor’s call. Se

    nate GOP spokesperson Brandon Harris told Source New Mexico earlier Thursday that delays around background checks likely mean reporters won’t be able to join the lawmakers during their tour, but they intend to hold a news conference or otherwise provide an update to the public about the tour.

    That could be on social media or at a previously scheduled meeting of the interim Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee also occurring Monday in Las Cruces. But the governor, who hadn’t responded to the GOP’s invite as of 1:30 p.m. Monday, would be able to join if she wanted, he said.

    “If anyone could probably get expedited [approval],” it’s the governor, Harris said. “If she wanted to, she probably could.”

    The GOP’s letter said the CCJ committee canceled a long-promised tour of the facility, citing concerns about background checks.

    As of Aug. 4, the average daily inmate population at Otero County Detention Center is 863, an increase of about 60 inmates, on average, since December last year, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. The other two New Mexico facilities in Torrance and Cibola counties have average daily populations of 444 and 223 ICE detainees, respectively, according to TRAC.

    Read more at SourceNM.com.

    Patrick Lohmann has been a reporter since 2007, when he wrote stories for $15 apiece at a now-defunct tabloid in Gallup, his hometown. Since then, he’s worked at UNM’s Daily Lobo, the Albuquerque Journal and the Syracuse Post-Standard.

    This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: NM Gov declines GOP’s invite to visit ICE detention center

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  • Sheriff: 39 arrested during Fairfield nightclub raid, traffic stops are in the U.S. illegally

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    Aug. 22—Dozens of people were taken into custody the weekend of Aug.16-17 in Fairfield following arrests at a nightclub and during traffic stops.

    The Butler County Sheriff’s Office issued a statement saying multiple agencies, including BCSO, the Fairfield Police Department, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) arrested 34 at a nightclub on Saturday, and five others during traffic stops.

    “All individuals were identified as being in the United States illegally and are currently being held pending further action by federal immigration authorities,” according to a news release from the Sheriff’s Office.

    Arrests at Sabor Peruano Night Club, 7245 Dixie Highway, were in response to recent violence in the area and aimed at reducing criminal activity associated with the club, according to Fairfield Police.

    In the past two months, Fairfield police investigated two shootings it said were directly linked to Sabor Peruano.

    “Investigations revealed that many of the individuals involved were in the country illegally,” according to a media release from the Fairfield Police Department. “As a result, we have been working closely with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to assist with our investigations.”

    Before the operation was executed on Saturday, police officers anticipated encountering people who were in the country illegally and possibly armed. For that reason, the department requested federal law enforcement assistance.

    “Despite multiple opportunities to address ongoing concerns, the ownership of Sabor Peruano has not taken sufficient steps to resolve the issues,” according to the Fairfield Police Department. “As such, we will continue to closely monitor the situation and allocate resources as necessary to ensure the safety of our community.”

    They were arrested and transported to the Butler County Jail.

    “The Fairfield Police Department is committed to maintaining the safety and well-being of our diverse community, and we value the strong relationships we’ve built with our residents and businesses,” according to the police department. “While we support local establishments, we must also ensure that all operations comply with the law and will not tolerate behavior that compromises public safety.”

    The Sheriff’s Office also said it will keep detaining people who are in the United States illegally. The Butler County Sheriff’s Office said it will continue to work with ICE and surrounding law enforcement agencies “to aggressively identify, detain, and remove individuals unlawfully present in this country.”

    “Many of these individuals have been here for years, living and working outside the law,” Jones said. “Butler County will not be a sanctuary. We will continue to enforce the law, protect our citizens, and hold accountable those who break it.”

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  • Sheriff: 39 arrested during Fairfield nightclub raid, traffic stops are in the U.S. illegally

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    Aug. 21—Dozens of people were taken into custody this weekend in Fairfield following arrests at a nightclub and during traffic stops.

    The Butler County Sheriff’s Office issued a statement saying multiple agencies, including BCSO, the Fairfield Police Department, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) arrested 34 at a nightclub on Saturday, and five others during traffic stops.

    “All individuals were identified as being in the United States illegally and are currently being held pending further action by federal immigration authorities,” according to a news release from the Sheriff’s Office.

    Arrests at Sabor Peruano Night Club, 7245 Dixie Highway, were in response to recent violence in the area and aimed at reducing criminal activity associated with the club, according to Fairfield Police.

    In the past two months, Fairfield police investigated two shootings it said were directly linked to Sabor Peruano.

    “Investigations revealed that many of the individuals involved were in the country illegally,” according to a media release from the Fairfield Police Department. “As a result, we have been working closely with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to assist with our investigations.”

    Before the operation was executed on Saturday, police officers anticipated encountering people who were in the country illegally and possibly armed. For that reason, the department requested federal law enforcement assistance.

    “Despite multiple opportunities to address ongoing concerns, the ownership of Sabor Peruano has not taken sufficient steps to resolve the issues,” according to the Fairfield Police Department. “As such, we will continue to closely monitor the situation and allocate resources as necessary to ensure the safety of our community.”

    They were arrested and transported to the Butler County Jail.

    “The Fairfield Police Department is committed to maintaining the safety and well-being of our diverse community, and we value the strong relationships we’ve built with our residents and businesses,” according to the police department. “While we support local establishments, we must also ensure that all operations comply with the law and will not tolerate behavior that compromises public safety.”

    The Sheriff’s Office also said it will keep detaining people who are in the United States illegally. The Butler County Sheriff’s Office said it will continue to work with ICE and surrounding law enforcement agencies “to aggressively identify, detain, and remove individuals unlawfully present in this country.”

    “Many of these individuals have been here for years, living and working outside the law,” Jones said. “Butler County will not be a sanctuary. We will continue to enforce the law, protect our citizens, and hold accountable those who break it.”

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  • Immigration raid in New Jersey results in dozens of warehouse workers detained

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    Dozens of immigrant workers were detained at a warehouse in New Jersey on Wednesday, in the latest federal raid as part of Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

    Agents from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) descended on the warehouse, in Edison, New Jersey, at 9am on Wednesday, the New York Times reported. Officers led some workers away in zip ties, employees told the Times, while people they deemed to have legal status in the US were given yellow wristbands.

    Univision reported that the agents spent hours at the facility, during what CBP said was a “surprise inspection”. CBP told Univision the operation had begun as part of “routine efforts” to verify customs, employment and safety regulations.

    Related: Community rallies around LA teen detained by Ice while walking dog

    CBP did not immediately respond to questions from the Guardian.

    Videos taken by New Labor, a New Jersey-based labor and immigration reform organization, showed CBP vehicles at the site, along with unmarked SUVs. New Labor said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents were also at the raid.

    “We have customs and border patrol holding the door open for their Ice counterparts to say they’re allowed in with us, and then they start doing immigration-related actions,” Amanda Dominguez, an organizer at New Labor, told News 12 New York.

    “That is illegal. Ice still needs their own judicial warrant signed by a judge.”

    Relatives of the workers gathered at the facility throughout the day, the Times reported, waiting for news about people inside.

    “People were very upset and crying and angry, completely understandably,” said Ellen Whit, who works at Deportation & Immigrant Response Equipo (Dire), a New Jersey hotline that responds to calls about raids and from relatives of immigrants who have been detained, told the Times. “One girl’s father was taken. She was very, very upset.”

    Workers described a chaotic scene as federal agents arrived. About 20 agents entered through the front door of the warehouse, witnesses told the Times, while other agents blocked alternative exits. Some people were injured amid the chaos, while others hid in the rafters of the warehouse for hours in an attempt to avoid the officers.

    The raid comes weeks after 20 people were taken into custody by Ice at the Alba Wine and Spirits warehouse in Edison. Activists told Fox 5 NY that masked Ice agents arrived that the warehouse in 30 cars, with K-9 dogs.

    Phil Murphy, the Democratic governor of New Jersey, said after the Alba raid, according to NJ Spotlight News: “We don’t stand in the way of federal authorities doing their work and [we are] cooperating with them all the time. But beyond that, I have no insight into the Edison situation.”

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  • Former ICE field director seizes on immigration in race against Rep. Jason Crow to represent Aurora – The Cannabist

    Former ICE field director seizes on immigration in race against Rep. Jason Crow to represent Aurora – The Cannabist

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    John Fabbricatore enforced federal immigration laws in his position as an ICE field office director until two years ago, and now he hopes to help secure America’s borders as a congressman.

    The Republican candidate in Colorado’s 6th Congressional District is drawing on his career with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as he runs against U.S. Rep. Jason Crow in the Nov. 5 election. Crow, a Democrat, just finished his third term in Congress as the representative of the district, which includes Aurora, Littleton, Englewood, Greenwood Village and Centennial.

    The odds weigh heavily in Crow’s favor. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report doesn’t consider the fight for the 6th District to be competitive. It’s ranked as solidly Democratic, in part because Crow, 45, won all three of his elections by double-digit percentages and redistricting in 2020 resulted in boundaries more favorable to Democrats.

    Read the rest of this story on TheKnow.DenverPost.com.

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    The Cannabist Network

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  • Former ICE field director seizes on immigration in race against Rep. Jason Crow to represent Aurora

    Former ICE field director seizes on immigration in race against Rep. Jason Crow to represent Aurora

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    John Fabbricatore enforced federal immigration laws in his position as an ICE field office director until two years ago, and now he hopes to help secure America’s borders as a congressman.

    The Republican candidate in Colorado’s 6th Congressional District is drawing on his career with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as he runs against U.S. Rep. Jason Crow in the Nov. 5 election. Crow, a Democrat, just finished his third term in Congress as the representative of the district, which includes Aurora, Littleton, Englewood, Greenwood Village and Centennial.

    The odds weigh heavily in Crow’s favor. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report doesn’t consider the fight for the 6th District to be competitive. It’s ranked as solidly Democratic, in part because Crow, 45, won all three of his elections by double-digit percentages and redistricting in 2020 resulted in boundaries more favorable to Democrats.

    That’s a change from 2018 when the district was seen as a battleground and Crow won his first race by unseating then-U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, now Aurora’s mayor.

    But this time, Fabbricatore, 52, says voters are looking for a candidate who will prioritize the economy and lower taxes — and he contends that he’s the person for the job.

    “They want someone that wants to fight,” Fabbricatore said.

    He and Crow share certain traits. They’re both veterans: Fabbricatore served in the U.S. Air Force, and Crow was an Army Ranger. They’re hunters, each having longstanding experience with firearms. Neither hails from Colorado originally, with Fabbricatore raised in New York City and Crow in Madison, Wisconsin.

    And the candidates, both fathers of two children, reside in Aurora.

    Beyond that, their stances on major issues diverge — including on immigration, which Fabbricatore refers to as his “subject matter expertise.”

    He argues jobs are going to immigrants compensated with lower wages, taking positions that could be filled by Americans for higher pay. Fabbricatore says he supports “legal, vetted” immigration and more stringent enforcement of existing laws.

    “If we actually just enforce those laws, we will be doing much better than we are doing today with immigration,” he said.

    In recent weeks, Fabbricatore has raised the alarm alongside former President Donald Trump and other conservatives about the presence of Venezuelan gangs in Aurora — while Crow has called out exaggerations and criticized Trump for distorting the problems in certain apartment complexes.

    Crow notes that he represents “one of the most diverse districts in the nation,” with nearly 20% of his constituents born outside of the U.S. He wants to use federal grants and other programs to help immigrants and defend them against racist rhetoric.

    He said he backed a bipartisan immigration deal that ran aground earlier this year after failing to earn enough Republican support. It would have boosted the number of border patrol agents, immigration judges and officers that oversee asylum cases, as well as established more legal pathways for migrants and others without documentation.

    Fabbricatore said in a Denver Post candidate questionnaire that he would not have supported the bipartisan bill, instead preferring another bill with a greater focus on border security.

    Gun violence is what motivated Crow to run for office. He backs a ban on assault weapons and supports universal background checks. He’s also working to pass a bill that would apply the same restrictions to out-of-state residents when they purchase long guns and shotguns as they face when buying handguns — requiring that the gun be shipped to a federally licensed seller in their home state, with a background check performed there.

    Gun violence is “just an unacceptable, avoidable, ongoing national tragedy,” Crow said. “We don’t have to live with mass shootings.”

    Fabbricatore says he believes in gun rights and is instead pushing for investments in mental health.

    The candidates differ on abortion. Crow favors abortion rights, saying he aligns with the majority of Coloradans who back legal access to abortion — and he would support a federal law establishing that as a right. Fabbricatore says Congress should leave abortion’s legal status to the states. He opposes abortion, but he says he recognizes a need for exceptions, including in cases of rape.

    “Having been someone who worked in sex trafficking and saw what many women went through, I could never tell a woman that she couldn’t have a medical procedure to end what happened to her,” he said.

    Fabbricatore points to the economy as his No. 1 issue, saying it’s impacted by energy policy and immigration. He sees Colorado’s potential to participate in the energy sector through solar, wind, fracking and coal.

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    Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton

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  • ‘Migrant influencer’ in custody after videos on legal loopholes

    ‘Migrant influencer’ in custody after videos on legal loopholes

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    (NewsNation) — A man who came to the U.S. illegally from Venezuela is now in custody after going viral for bragging about getting free money from America and encouraging other newcomers to take advantage of U.S. laws protecting squatters.

    In one TikTok video, Leonel Moreno, now being called the “migrant influencer,” explained squatting laws and suggested how to take advantage of them. His account has now been removed from the platform.

    “I learned that there is a law that says if a house is not inhabited, then we can take it,” he said. “Here in the United States, terrain deformation also applies, and I think that will be my next business: invade abandoned houses.”

    Moreno crossed into the country illegally in April 2022 in Eagle Pass, Texas and was paroled, but authorities say he never showed up to his initial check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

    When Moreno was initially processed, he was placed in the Alternatives to Detention program, where he was given a cell phone as a tracking device.

    But because he didn’t follow the rules, Department of Homeland Security sources told NewsNation he was listed as a preorder absconder and was terminated from the program.

    These sources later confirmed to NewsNation that Moreno was in custody.

    Moreno has an order to appear in a Florida court in February of 2025, but authorities had trouble tracking him down. The address he initially provided was for Catholic Charities in Miami, but sources said he now has a possible address listed in Ohio.

    Also in Ohio, Fermin Garcia-Gutierrez is another man allegedly taking advantage of the system and gaps in intelligence.

    Law enforcement in Butler County, Ohio, said Garcia-Gutierrez has been in Sheriff Richard Jones’ jail 11 times, using seven different names and three different dates of birth. According to Jones, Garcia-Gutierrez has been reported eight times, yet the 46-year-old keeps returning successfully.

    Garcia-Gutierrez’s latest arrest was for possession of drugs and weapons while intoxicated and obstructing. His story is not the only one, with Jones saying since 2021, the county has housed nearly 1,000 immigrant inmates with ICE detainers.

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    Ali Bradley

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