🧑🎓🚫 Columbia Student Sues to Stop Deportation After Pro-Palestinian Protest Arrest
⚖️🇻🇪 Venezuela Files Habeas Corpus in El Salvador to Free Deported Migrants Held in Mega-Prison ✈️🛑 Trump Admin Invokes State Secrets to Withhold Details on Wartime Deportations of Venezuelans
🧑🎓🚫 Columbia Student Sues to Stop Deportation After Pro-Palestinian Protest Arrest
Michael Hill, Jake Offenhartz, and Michael R. Sisak, AP.- Yunseo Chung, a 21-year-old Columbia University student and lawful U.S. permanent resident, has filed a federal lawsuit to block her deportation, alleging the Trump administration targeted her for her pro-Palestinian activism. Chung, who has lived in the U.S. since age 7, was arrested during a March 5 sit-in protest, and shortly after, ICE officials attempted to detain her and revoked her green card. Her lawsuit, filed in Manhattan, claims the administration uses immigration enforcement to suppress constitutionally protected speech. It parallels actions against other student activists, including Mahmoud Khalil and Momodou Taal. The Department of Homeland Security says Chung can present her case before an immigration judge. Critics argue the crackdown violates free speech and academic freedoms, citing the use of rarely invoked visa laws to expel students viewed as critical of U.S. foreign policy or supportive of Palestinian rights.
⚖️🇻🇪 Venezuela Files Habeas Corpus in El Salvador to Free Deported Migrants Held in Mega-Prison
Marcos Alemán, AP.- Lawyers hired by Venezuela filed a habeas corpus petition Monday in El Salvador’s Supreme Court, demanding the release of 238 Venezuelan migrants held in a maximum-security prison after being deported by the U.S. under the Alien Enemies Act. The petition, representing 30 detainees but seeking broader relief, challenges the legality of their imprisonment, which occurred despite a U.S. federal judge’s verbal order to halt the flights. The Trump administration alleges the deportees are linked to the Tren de Aragua gang, labeling them as an invading force. However, the Venezuelan-hired legal team asserts the detainees have no criminal records and migrated for economic reasons. Salvadoran and international legal experts question the legality of imprisoning migrants in a foreign country without formal charges. El Salvador’s government has remained silent on the detainees’ status, while President Bukele has expanded cooperation with the U.S. on the mass incarceration of deportees.
✈️🛑 Trump Admin Invokes State Secrets to Withhold Details on Wartime Deportations of Venezuelans
Michael Kunzelman and Lindsay Whitehurst, AP.- The Trump administration on Monday invoked the state secrets privilege to avoid disclosing details of controversial deportation flights that sent hundreds of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg had ordered the planes turned around, but the deportations proceeded, prompting legal challenges. The Justice Department argues that national security prevents releasing flight data, while the ACLU claims migrants were denied due process and deported in secret. The case has now reached the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, where Judge Patricia Millett questioned why Venezuelans received worse treatment than Nazi prisoners during WWII. Meanwhile, Venezuelan government lawyers filed habeas corpus petitions in El Salvador to free 238 deportees held in a maximum-security prison. Boasberg insists that the Constitution requires legal review before removal. The administration maintains its actions are lawful under presidential wartime authority.
Key Facts:
Law Used: Alien Enemies Act of 1798, rarely invoked since WWII
Plaintiffs: Venezuelan migrants deported without due process
Judge: James Boasberg, Chief Judge of U.S. District Court (D.C.)
Government Argument: Deportations are national security matters; state secrets invoked
Flights Ordered Returned: Judge Boasberg issued an oral stop order; not followed
Court Action: Appeals Court hearing ongoing; judges divided
ACLU Argument: Deportations lacked transparency, judicial review, violated due process
Target Group: Alleged members of Tren de Aragua gang; many deny gang ties
Public Fallout: Trump calls for Boasberg’s impeachment; Chief Justice John Roberts rebukes suggestion
International Concern: Venezuela files legal action in El Salvador seeking release of deportees.
🏳️🌈⛔ LGBTQ Migrants in Mexico Rely on Casa Frida Shelter After Trump’s Foreign Aid Cuts
María Teresa Hernández, AP.- Casa Frida, a shelter for LGBTQ+ migrants in Tapachula, Mexico, has become a lifeline for those fleeing persecution, especially transgender and nonbinary individuals, after President Donald Trump slashed 60% of its foreign aid in January. The shelter, operating across Mexico City, Tapachula, and Monterrey, supports up to 200 migrants at any given time, offering food, housing, legal aid, and psychological services. Many migrants, like Cuban trans woman Ana Esquivel and bisexual youth Manuel Jiménez, say returning home is not an option due to violence and persecution. The end of the CBP One app and new U.S. restrictions left many stranded in Mexico. Still, unlike other shelters that have seen demand drop, Casa Frida receives 80 applications monthly. Staff emphasize that their mission goes beyond housing — reintegrating survivors into society. However, the program's future hangs in the balance without restored funding.
This is crazy