10 year old US citizen with cancer deported

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Conservative icon Justice Antonin Scalia wrote: "It is well established that the 5th Amendment entitles aliens to due process of law in deportation proceedings."

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The latest court filing show the attempts by ICE/Trump/DoD to dodge accountability
https://justsecurity.substack.com/p/swi ... irect=true

[mister_coffee]

The fact of the matter is that if they can do stuff like this they won't need any "reason" except not liking you very much or wanting something that you have.

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The battle is hot and furious today after the trial judge ruled that the govt had screwed up and must return this man to the US and his courtroom by noon today. The appeals panel concurred unanimously. Trump is doing an emergency appeal to SCOTUS now.

If this man survives to testify in court and/or in a Congressional hearing as a whistleblower he will surely blow the lid off this whole fiasco.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/appeals ... =120562513

[just-jim]

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I watched the 60 Minutes episode as well.

It occurred to me that if the current rulers of this Country can do that to those men - with apparent impunity - then ALL of us are at risk. Even for - potentially - less egregious ‘violations’!

- Missed paying your taxes on time?
- Got a ticket for a minor traffic infraction and missed a payment deadline?
- Voted in the wrong precinct?
- Said the wrong thing in a public setting?

You’ll be ‘dis-appeared’ to somewhere that has even less rights than you thought you had here in the US.
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60 Minutes: 75% of the renditioned immigrants did not have a criminal record
https://bsky.app/profile/60minutes.bsky ... 6spjays72a

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In the wake of 'we will deport random people with tattoos, actual Venezuelan journalists who study Tren de Aragua, say that the gang doesn't have identifying tattoos at all. It's literally something Americans made up.

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Court filing Monday 3/31 govt acknowledges it renditioned a man accidentally who was here legally with protected status but now say they can't/won't return him
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ma ... rcna199010

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This is criteria that ICE has used to rendition Venezuelans
https://newrepublic.com/post/193373/ice ... ticker_rss

[mister_coffee]

The immigration agencies under homeland security have a reputation for goonish thuggery. Because they have been under enormous pressure to expand and because no one in their right minds want those jobs they can't really fire anyone unless the abuse and incompetence are really outrageous. If you've ever interacted with any of the guys who sometimes patrol the border in the Pasayten Wilderness you will understand what I am saying. The Pasayten seems to be one of those places they send people who they know are pretty useless but not useless enough to fire.

I encountered one of these guys near Peeve Pass on the way to Ramon Lakes whose only map, I kid you not, was an old USFS planimetric map. Which for any kind of backcountry travel is a joke. And if you are trying to chase people sneaking over the border that is even worse.

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The number of incorrectly renditioned immigrants is growing by the day. And yet, the numbers reveal that the Trump admin, with all its grabbing people off the street, is not matching the numbers that the Biden admin did legally.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump- ... 025-02-21/

[just-jim]

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I always thought that a "Department of Homeland Security" would eventually be arresting people in the middle of the night and disappearing them.

Interesting you should bring that up. I was thinking along similar lines a couple weeks back…..

I recall thinking - after 9/11 - when Bush 2 created DHS - that I was both pleased and a little fearful.

Pleased, because of my work in the emergency world of wildfire - and natural resource agency response - I saw the value of better co-ordination between various Agencies with differing missions. AND - fearful - because the vertical and horizontal integration of both function and command has the possibility of ending up exactly where we appear to be now….and that, sadly, we have witnessed before.

[mister_coffee]

I always thought that a "Department of Homeland Security" would eventually be arresting people in the middle of the night and disappearing them.

[PAL]

Well, they won't.

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ICE/Trump have some big time explaining to do
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/20 ... ot-bukele/

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Tim Snyder:
"If you accept that non citizens have no right to due process you are accepting that citizens have no right to due process. All the government has to do is claim that you are not a citizen; without due process you have no chance to prove the contrary."

JT: 'The judge who is trying to block Trump’s deportation flights to El Salvador today issued a 37-page opinion, to tell the world why he is going toe to toe with Donald Trump. Most of it is impossible legalese. One wishes that federal judges -- on those rare moments when they actually have the world’s attention -- could remember how to speak plain English.
Nevertheless, a few pages stand out. When ruling on a temporary injunction, a judge must decide whether any of the parties will face “irreparable harm.” So, Judge Boasberg describes the conditions in Salvadoran prisons where our government is sending deportees. Here are the Judge’s words, trimmed for clarity:
“In Salvadoran prisons, deportees are reportedly ‘highly likely to face immediate and intentional life-threatening harm at the hands of state actors.’ The country’s government has boasted that inmates in CECOT [the prison where the deportees are going] 'never leave’; indeed, one expert declarant alleges that she does not know of any CECOT inmate who has been released. Once inmates enter the prisons, moreover, their families are often left in the dark. ‘In a sample of 131 cases, it was found that 115 family members of detainees have not received any information about the whereabouts or wellbeing of their detained family members since the day of their capture.’’
“Plaintiffs offer declarations that inmates are rarely allowed to leave their cells, have no regular access to drinking water or adequate food, sleep standing up because of overcrowding, and are held in cells where they do not see sunlight for days. At CECOT specifically, one declarant states that ‘if the prison were to reach full supposed capacity each prisoner would have less than two feet of space in shared cells . . . which is less than half the space required for transporting midsized cattle under EU law.’ Given poor sanitary conditions, ‘tuberculosis, fungal infections, scabies, severe malnutrition, and chronic digestive issues are common.’”
“Beyond poor living conditions, Salvadoran inmates are, according to evidence presented, often disciplined through beatings and humiliation. One inmate claimed that ‘police beat prison newcomers with batons. When he denied being a gang member, they sent him to a dark basement cell with 320 detainees, where prison guards and other detainees beat him every day. On one occasion, one guard beat him so severely that he broke a rib.’ Three prior deportees from the United States reported being kicked in the face, neck, abdomen, and testicles, with one requiring an operation for a ruptured pancreas and spleen. One inmate reported being forced to ‘kneel on the ground naked looking downwards for four hours in front of the prison’s gate.’ That same prisoner also said that he was made to sit in a barrel of ice water as guards questioned him and then forced his head under water so he could not breathe.”
“One scholar avers that, since March 2022, an estimated 375 detainees have died in Salvadoran prisons. Although the Salvadoran government maintains that all deaths have been natural, others respond that 75% of them ‘were violent, probably violent, or with suspicions of criminality on account of a common pattern of hematomas caused by beatings, sharp object wounds, and signs of strangulation on the cadavers examined.’ When an inmate is killed, there are also reports that guards ‘bring the body back into the cells and leave it there until the body starts stinking.’”
Reading Judge Boasberg’s words, I thought of the irreparable harm done to a person who has been living in the US on a visa or a Green Card, suddenly thrust into those conditions, without any prospect of release, due process of any kind, or even notice to loved ones of where they are. And then, there is the irreparable harm to America -- and Americans -- as we turn that Salvadoran hellhole into a functional component of “our” immigration system, for which, Trump insists, we voted.
https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc...

JT

[just-jim]

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Where things stand today. https://joycevance.substack.com/p/alien ... irect=true

[PAL]

This is pure evil. Simple. Cruel. It's the #47 way and don't deny it. Setting an example using innocent people.

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Posted by father of the young woman detained in Tacoma:
"Becky Burke is Home After ICE Detention Nightmare
After 19 harrowing days in ICE detention due to a visa mix-up, our daughter Becky has finally returned home to the UK. Instead of allowing her to take an immediate flight back, Homeland Security detained her in handcuffs at a Tacoma, WA facility under harsh conditions. The current immigration crackdown and systemic delays exacerbated her ordeal, worsened by a shortage of immigration judges. Becky's nightmare ended on March 18th, and she is now beginning to recover.
The Light of Kindness and Compassion
Throughout this ordeal, we were overwhelmed by the incredible kindness of friends, strangers, experts, politicians, and the media. From visitors making long journeys to see Becky, to generous donations for necessities, we cannot express our gratitude enough. This experience has reaffirmed our faith in humanity—showing that even in the darkest times, compassion shines through.
A Word of Caution for Travellers
Becky's story serves as a warning to anyone planning extended trips to the USA: always triple-check visa requirements and confirm them with the US Embassy. Print any documentation for added security.
Becky is also planning to produce a graphic novel highlighting her story and how it is not an isolated case. She wants to support her fellow detainees who are still locked up, a group of women who helped Becky get through this horrible experience, despite their own grim situation.When she feels able to she will start posting again on her instagram page @R.E.Burke
Frequently Asked Questions
Did she overstay the 90 day limit on the ESTA tourist visa?
No. She had only been in the USA for 50 days when she had planned to travel by bus to Canada, she was planning to spend 2 months in Canada and then fly home to the UK.
Did she break the rules of the ESTA?
The ESTA is for tourists only. For work or study a specific visa is required. Becky did a lot of research before she went and what she had planned was classed as tourism. This was accepted when she entered the US on 7th January. It was also accepted in 2023 when she spent two weeks in San Francisco, with a host family. On the 26th February, US border officers suddenly decided staying with host families and joining in with household chores was now classed as work. Our US Immigration Lawyer said they got their definition of work wrong.
Was she given a chance to return to the UK at her own cost?
No, this was not offered at the border despite this being the usual protocol for tourists. ICE had the chance to offer this at any stage during her detention, her parents even had a flight home booked for her at one point, in the hope they would let her take it, but they didn't.
Does she have a criminal record?
No. She also has many people who testify to her good character and her gentle soul.
Was she allowed to let family know when she was being deported?
No. One of the other detainees had to call us to say she had left. Even the British Consulate were not told that she had boarded the flight. We were only certain when she arrived at Heathrow.
Was she treated with 'dignity and respect' as written in ICE policy.
No. She was handcuffed when she was transferred from the border to the facility. When inside the facility ICE did not communicate where she was in the process, all her possessions were confiscated, lights were on 24/7 and there were four head counts each day during which they were forced stay on their bunk for at least an hour. When she was eventually transferred to Seattle airport to fly home she was taken in leg and waist chains and handcuffs, and was escorted to the plane.

[mister_coffee]

... No birthright citizenship? We are all immigrants to him now.

No, the end result is that we are all unclaimed property.

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With Trump's continued promises to treat protestors at Tesla facilities as terrorists, his disappearing of tourists, of ending peoples' green card status and applications and then declaring that he will send more people to El Salvador's jail who are criminals in our jails, there's no reason not to worry that he will continue to deny habeas corpus on a broad and broader basis. No birthright citizenship? We are all immigrants to him now.

[mister_coffee]

I know it is impolite to make fun of people with poor communications skills, but Vern's struggles with language are pretty entertaining. Kind of like watching someone who can't ride a horse try to ride a horse.

Obviously traditional education served him well.

Back on topic, I very much doubt that separation of powers or constitutional rights will be particularly relevant in our future. At least at the federal level. The situation, I think, is best considered as an analogy with someone who has eaten a very poisonous mushroom. With Amanita phalloides (commonly known as the death cap) they reportedly taste very nice and the victim apparently feels "fine" or has very minor symptoms for the first 72 hours while their internal organs are irreparably damaged. Painful slow lingering death occurs between six and sixteen days after ingestion.

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Interesting thing about the autopen that was now clearly used to sign the whole debacle of an order rather than Trump authorizing it in person...just the week before Trump declared Biden's pardons moot because BIden had used the autopen to sign them. Fox had also weighed in, saying the autopen was only used by Trump for contracts...clearly that's not the case which now calls into question who used Trump's authority to use So is there a war that the US is involved in that was not approved by Congress and not signed by the President?

[just-jim]

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Vern - after pretty clearly loosing any argument about the citizenship of a 10 year old - now falls back on the big boogeyman of ‘trafficators’ and molesters!!!

One - not any of the deportees, who were illegally rendered into another country, were convicted of such crimes, AFAIK.

Two - Any Congressional ACT which BEGINS with the words “Whenever there shall be a declared war between the United States and …” has VERY clear intent. And that law cant be used just at the whim of some mor*n who doesnt like someone based on the color of their skin or where they came from.

Yeah….Color me a ‘crybaby’…and a limp-wristed, cake-eating, sissy, bedwetter, too!

But I still believe we have a Constitution….and separation of powers.
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