Reading view

Barack Obama publicly states support for anti-ICE demonstrators in Minneapolis

Speaking with progressive YouTuber, former US president stressed ‘unprecedented nature’ of agency’s actions

Barack Obama publicly gave his support to demonstrators in Minneapolis for standing up to the “unprecedented nature” of the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in Minnesota.

Speaking in an interview with progressive YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen on Saturday, the former president discussed the power that US citizens hold when standing up for the values they believe in and his hopes for the next generation of American leaders.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Erin Hooley/AP

© Photograph: Erin Hooley/AP

© Photograph: Erin Hooley/AP

  •  

US homeland security department partially shutdown after lawmakers fail to agree funding

Lawmakers left Washington for a long weekend without resolving an impasse over much-criticized agency’s funding

The Department of Homeland Security has begun a partial shutdown, after funding for the much-criticized agency expired, with a range of services, including domestic flights and the US Coastguard, now vulnerable to disruption.

The shutdown was all but confirmed on Thursday, after the Senate failed to clear the 60-vote threshold needed to pass the DHS appropriations bill and lawmakers left Washington for a long weekend without resolving the impasse.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Leah Millis/Reuters

© Photograph: Leah Millis/Reuters

© Photograph: Leah Millis/Reuters

  •  

ICE to spend $38bn turning warehouses into detention centers, documents show

US homeland security eyeing 24 buildings, some as ‘primary locations’ for deportations, in escalation of Trump agenda

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) expects to spend an estimated $38.3bn on a plan to acquire warehouses across the country and retrofit them into new immigration detention centers with capacity for tens of thousands of detainees, according to documents the agency sent to the governor of New Hampshire.

The documents, published on the state’s website on Thursday, disclose that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) estimates it will spend $158m retrofitting a new detention facility in Merrimack, New Hampshire, and an additional estimated $146m to operate the facility in the first three years.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

© Photograph: Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

© Photograph: Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

  •  

Irishman held by ICE was issued warrant over 2009 drug offense in Ireland

Seamus Culleton has been held for five months despite having valid work permit and being married to US national

An Irish court apparently issued a warrant for the arrest of the Irish man currently embroiled in controversy with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which has been ramping up detentions and activity around the United States since last year.

Seamus Culleton has spent five months in US custody and faces deportation despite having a valid work permit in a case that has attracted widespread publicity. His lawyer called him a “model immigrant” with no criminal record.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: GoFundme

© Photograph: GoFundme

© Photograph: GoFundme

  •  

US federal immigration officer charged with harboring undocumented person

Officer alleged to have had ‘romantic relationship’ with ‘daughter’ of man ‘listed as his brother’ in investigation

A federal immigration supervisor who allegedly lived with his undocumented girlfriend has been charged with harboring an undocumented person, Texas federal prosecutors said on Wednesday.

Andres Wilkinson’s alleged “romantic relationship” with this woman caught the eye of authorities last spring. Authorities later received information “indicating” the woman was Wilkinson’s niece, according to a criminal complaint.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: John G Mabanglo/EPA

© Photograph: John G Mabanglo/EPA

© Photograph: John G Mabanglo/EPA

  •