ACLU of New Mexico Reacts to Sweeps of Border Immigrant Communities

NEW YORK — The American Civil Liberties Union announced today that its affiliates have now filed 54 claims in 17 states and Washington, D.C. against the federal government on behalf of people who have suffered serious violence, abuse, and neglect at the hands of federal law enforcement. Since the beginning of President Trump’s second term, federal law enforcement agents have terrorized communities and people in their custody with a blatant disregard for the law. The consequences have been deadly. Conditions in ICE facilities are so inhumane that the rate of deaths in ICE custody has more than doubled since Trump’s term began, reaching its highest level in over a decade. In early July, reporting revealed that, after the White House pushed to increase arrest rates, ICE officials detained more than 10,000 people in five days. Only days later, ICE agents in unmarked vehicles shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas while he was on his way to work. The following week, a federal agent shot and killed Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine. Across the country, ACLU affiliates are fighting back against the Trump administration’s illegal conduct by filing claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), one of the few legal tools available to seek financial compensation for wrongdoing by federal government employees. Through this coordinated effort, ACLU affiliates are representing dozens of people and families who are seeking justice for the harm they experienced at the hands of federal immigration agents. “As more than 50 of these cases show, federal agents’ violence, misconduct and utter disregard for the law is rampant,” said Yasmin Cader, deputy executive director of the ACLU. “President Trump and his law enforcement officers rely on a perceived sense of impunity, but no one is above the law. This administration is making everyone in America less safe and less free. That’s why the ACLU and its affiliates are fighting back at every turn.” Each of the 54 claims that have been filed tells an individual story of someone who was brutalized by federal immigration agents. Together, they reveal a widespread pattern of civil rights violations and abuse carried out by officials nationwide, affecting people who are immigrants, U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, families, workers, and people exercising their constitutional rights. These claims put names and faces to the harm that federal law enforcement agencies have been inflicting in communities across the country. The people represented include: A mother, who was five months into a high-risk pregnancy when she was held with her four children, including her 11-month-old child, in a CBP facility for approximately four weeks. The family was held in a cell with limited access to clean running water and without any windows to the outside. Rodney, from Georgia, who was arrested by ICE agents with guns drawn while his two young children watched, and was later denied needed medical care and accessibility accommodations while in ICE custody. Willy, a U.S. citizen in North Carolina, who was on his way back from a restaurant when federal immigration agents racially profiled him, put him in a headlock, and threw him to the ground. Norma Bowe, a grandmother, professor of public health at Kean University, and registered nurse, who was assaulted in front of Delaney Hall by ICE agents while there to operate her mobile health clinic. Darren, a U.S. citizen from Illinois, who was arrested at work after DHS agents broke through a gate to reach him, after which he required hospitalization for the two chemical irritants they used against him and was left without any of his confiscated property. “My story is not just about what happened to me. It’s about the kind of country we choose to be,” said Darren, a U.S. citizen being represented by the ACLU of Illinois. “No one should lose their dignity the moment they come face to face with those who hold power.” Earlier this month, the ACLU released a report analyzing immigration enforcement actions in the first year of President Trump’s second term. The report, Agents of Chaos and Cruelty, examines more than 1,200 immigration enforcement incidents across eight states and found that more than 400 of those incidents involved misconduct by immigration agents, including excessive force, racial profiling, and intimidation and abuse. “I was violently attacked by ICE agents while I was trying to provide medical care for people visiting their loved ones in Delaney Hall,” said Dr. Norma Bowe, a registered nurse and professor of public health at Kean University being represented by the ACLU of New Jersey. “ICE agents are acting like they have impunity and are inflicting harm however and whenever they want; without accountability, more people will get hurt and die. ICE must be held responsible.” The ACLU and its affiliates will continue to work to defend the rights of everyone, including people harmed by Trump’s immigration forces, and hold the administration accountable for its unlawful and inhumane actions. Read more about the clients ACLU affiliates are representing here: https://www.aclu.org/campaigns-initiatives/the-people-v-agents-of-chaos-and-cruelty

WASHINGTON — Over 1,000 high school students and ACLU affiliate leaders lobbied Congress today in support of immediate protection from deportation for millions of people, urging Congress to pass the Dream and Promise Act to provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and recipients of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED). It was the largest lobbying action on citizenship since President Trump took office in January 2025, and the largest lobby day in the organization’s history. The students participating in the lobbying action, attendees of the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Advocacy Institute, hail from nearly every state in the country, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. “Students are a force to be reckoned with, and today they raised their voices against the Trump administration’s violent and cruel deportation agenda to demand Congress act swiftly to protect our loved ones and neighbors,” said Deirdre Schifeling, ACLU chief political and advocacy officer. “Led by Stephen Miller, the Trump administration has moved to strip more than a million people of Temporary Protected Status — the largest de-documentation project in American history — with hundreds of thousands losing protection just in the last week. We need the Dream and Promise Act now to shield millions from the risk of ICE violence and the cruelty of deportation.” Students visited more than 400 congressional offices, including over 165 Republican, 230 Democratic, and three independent offices, and rallied in support of immigrants’ rights on Capitol Hill alongside ACLU affiliate leaders from across the country. Congressional offices were left with leaflets and handwritten postcards from students on the rise of brutal abuse by federal immigration agents and the ACLU affirmative vision for an immigration system that works for everyone. “People in power want to convince us that someone who was born somewhere else is somehow our competition. But in the labor movement, we know that immigrants make our communities stronger,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, who spoke at the rally today. “And we know that when we stand alone, it's easy to ignore us, but when we stand together, we can change the world. Students using their voices and power to stand up for their classmates, for families, for people they care about — it matters. The AFL-CIO is proud to come together with the ACLU and stand with Dreamers, TPS holders, and every immigrant worker and family in this country. Their fight is our fight.” The congressional visits and rally follow the introduction of a discharge petition by Rep. Sylvia Garcia (TX) in the U.S. House of Representatives that, if signed by at least 218 House members, would force a vote on the America Dream and Promise Act on the House floor — the first and only major citizenship bill to be voted on by this Congress. The ACLU also launched an online petition to allow constituents to send messages to their members of Congress urging their support for the discharge petition and passage of the Dream and Promise Act.

WASHINGTON— The American Civil Liberties Union today released a new report, Improving Asylum at and Beyond the U.S. Border, which explores how the Trump administration’s attacks on asylum and other humanitarian protections are weakening the U.S. immigration system already on the brink of collapse. The report argues that gutting asylum not only sends people with valid asylum claims to countries where they face death but also fails to provide long-term solutions for the border. The report comes weeks after the Trump administration deported at least two dozen people, including people fleeing persecution in Iran and Afghanistan, to the Central African Republic, one of the most dangerous places in the world. Its release also comes just days before the 75th anniversary of the United Nation's adoption of the 1951 Refugee Convention, a landmark treaty that outlines core legal protections and rights that States must uphold to protect refugees. The report argues that attempts to gut our asylum system do nothing to prepare for future increases in arrivals along the U.S.-Mexico border. Adding obstacles to the asylum system means that political dissidents from Iran, LGBTQ persons from Uganda, children fleeing traffickers and many others can’t get the protection they deserve. At the same time, these restrictions don’t improve border processing, respond to new arrivals, or address the overdue need for lawful pathways, which has created demand at the border. Without needed reforms and legal options to come reunite with family, work, and seek safety, the government is sacrificing vulnerable people and its legal obligations while failing to create a sustainable alternative system that serves U.S. values, laws, and the economy. “The Trump administration’s cruel anti-asylum policies are predicated on the false notion that by gutting humanitarian protections, our broken immigration system will somehow be fixed – but deporting vulnerable people to war zones, detaining families, pushing kids through mass hearings, and arresting refugees who followed the rules do not create a functional system,” said Sarah Mehta, report author and deputy director for policy and government affairs, immigration at the ACLU. “If our policymakers want any semblance of a fair and workable immigration system, they must commit to rebuilding asylum and creating other legal pathways.” Though many of the arguments to close the border and the country to newcomers have focused on zero-sum thinking and promulgated claims about how people seeking asylum have strained local communities, the report highlights how asylum seekers and refugees are critical to a thriving U.S. economy and need support in getting to communities eager to receive them. For example, in 2024, asylees and refugees contributed an estimated $581 billion in revenue to federal, state, and local governments over a 15-year period, strengthening the case for improved access to asylum as communities nationwide, especially in rural areas, continue to feel economic strain. The report urges policymakers to recommit to protect asylum and other existing humanitarian protections and invest in modern solutions to our border. Recommendations include: Create additional lawful pathways for people to come to the U.S. to ensure that people can lawfully apply for and receive permission to come to the United States, without burdening the border arrival system. Invest in border processing and modernize the arrival triage system so that people arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border with valid asylum claims can be processed quickly. Support states and localities in welcoming newcomers through legislative solutions to improve coordination between arriving immigrants and the communities receiving them so that humanitarian needs and services are met and that communities have the support they need. Fund and bolster the immigration court and asylum processing system to address backlogs, streamline bureaucratic processes, and enhance due process through legal representation. It is the second report published as part of the ACLU’s affirmative vision series in which policy and legal experts will explore how the Trump administration’s immigration agenda has harmed communities nationwide, gutted asylum and other legal pathways, undermined our democracy, and wreaked havoc on key industries and weakened the American workforce. The series will also outline steps that members of Congress, as well as state and local policymakers, can take to reform the U.S. immigration system and inoculate against future attacks on immigrant communities. You can read the full report here: https://www.aclu.org/publications/improving-asylum-at-and-beyond-the-u-s-border-the-case-for-a-fair-and-effective-protection-framework-with-a-modern-border-and-reception-system

NEW YORK – Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit overturned a ruling that determined federal courts have jurisdiction when immigration enforcement detains noncitizens in retaliation for their protected speech. The Second Circuit held that the district court lacked the authority to release Columbia University graduate student Mohsen Mahdawi on bail in April 2025 after he was detained at his citizenship interview and held for over two weeks in retaliation for his advocacy in support of Palestinian rights. The decision does not go into effect immediately and the government has no lawful basis to redetain or deport Mr. Mahdawi as the appeals process proceeds. “The government is claiming the unprecedented power to detain people for months or even years on end to censor their speech, with no ability to challenge their detention in court. This is as absurd as it is dangerous,” said Michael Tan, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, who argued on behalf of Mr. Mahdawi last year. “We will continue to fight for our client and for his right to prompt judicial review.” Earlier this year, immigration judge Nina Froes dismissed the deportation case against Mr. Mahdawi on the grounds that the government failed to authenticate a memo purportedly from Marco Rubio that declared him deportable under the “foreign policy ground” of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Froes was subsequently fired from her position as part of the Trump administration’s larger efforts to use the immigration court system to accelerate deportations. In April, after the government appealed that decision, the DOJ-controlled Board of Immigration Appeals held that Mr. Mahdawi was removable and remanded proceedings to a new immigration judge, who issued an order of removal last month. Mr. Mahdawi’s appeal of that decision is pending. “Today’s decision is a grave setback, although I am confident justice will ultimately prevail,” said Mohsen Mahdawi, who has been a lawful permanent resident for more than a decade. “It reflects a dangerous failure under political pressure, one that risks turning the federal courts into instruments of politics rather than guardians of constitutional freedom. By weakening the First Amendment and creating different tiers of rights for citizens and non-citizens, this ruling hands the government a dangerous power: the power to intimidate, censor, and punish dissent without meaningful restraint. But I still have faith that the full court will correct the legal error and restore the constitutional principles that protect all people equally. This struggle continues for Palestine, for dignity and equality everywhere, and for the democratic promise of freedom that must belong to us all; until Palestine is free.” “The Second Circuit's decision is incredibly dangerous, not just for Mohsen but for all other noncitizens the Trump administration has its vengeful sights upon," said Luna Droubi of Beldock Levine & Hoffman LLP. "Federal courts must have the power to step in when the government exploits our country’s immigration system to imprison people for their constitutionally-protected speech. If the Trump administration can target Mohsen for his advocacy in support of Palestinian rights, they can do it to anyone expressing an opinion they disagree with. Despite today's disappointing ruling, we will keep fighting for justice for Mohsen and to protect the First Amendment rights of everyone in this country.” Mr. Mahdawi is represented by Cyrus Mehta and David Isaacson of Cyrus D. Mehta Partners, PLLC; Luna Droubi, Matthew Melewski, and Tala Alfoqaha of Beldock Levine & Hoffman LLP; Andrew Delaney of Martin Delaney & Ricci Law Group; CLEAR; the American Civil Liberties Union; and the ACLU of Vermont.