The bet on tough immigration has suffered two setbacks tonight. One judicial; another, internal. The president of the United States has had to accept that a judge has temporarily suspended the arrests of refugees who are waiting for their permanent residence card (Green Card) in the state of Minnesota and, also, that the agents of the man who murdered Renee Nicole Good and Alex Jeffrey Pretti have been suspended.
The protests that these two deaths have generated, those of two native American citizens, non-immigrants, people who tried to prevent arrests or were simply demonstrating against them, have become massive, despite the fact that they are not the only deaths from ICE (there are at least six more people of migrant origin) and they are forcing the North American Executive to tone down its speech somewhat and promise certain revisions to its actions.
This violence is sought, to fulfill a central electoral promise of Trump, but polls show that Americans, even those who voted for him, understand that too many red lines are being crossed and even constitutional rights such as those of demonstration or expression are being called into question.
Protection of refugees
For now, a federal judge has temporarily suspended tonight the arrests of more than 5,000 refugees, in the process of regularization, in Minnesota. This decision by Judge John Tunheim prevents the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from carrying out an operation to identify and re-examine the situation of thousands of refugees in the state, considering that it violates federal law.
The judge assured in the order that people who have already gone through all the procedures to obtain that residence, but who have not yet received it, cannot be imprisoned if they have not been accused of any crime, reports EFE. The ICE, in Minnesota, than some federal agencies in their entire history, indicates the magistrate.
“These people were admitted to the country, have complied with the rules and are waiting for their status to be adjusted to become legal permanent residents of the United States,” the judge said at the beginning of the text. He also ordered the release, within five days, of those who have already been arrested based on these regulations.
“These people were admitted to the country, have complied with the rules and are waiting for their status to be adjusted to become legal permanent residents of the United States”
Furthermore, in its opinion it requires federal agents to guarantee that when they are released they are not exposed to dangerous cold “given the severe weather conditions in Minnesota”, those that have given the protesters the same, which have not kept them in their homes. “In order to ensure humane treatment, detainees must be released into the custody of their attorneys or persons specifically authorized by them,” the judge wrote.
The magistrate has given the Trump Government 48 hours to provide a list with the names of all the arrested people and seven days to report their release. Tunheim announced that he will decide whether this provisional decision becomes a more stable precautionary measure, in a hearing that will take place on February 19.
The “exhaustive” review of refugees in Minnesota is part of the immigration campaign that Trump has ordered in the state since he deployed ICE agents and the Border Patrol, which is the other body that the Republican relies on to establish terror among non-regularized migrants.
Since these troops arrived in the state, specifically in Minneapolis, two people have died after being shot by agents, one was injured as a result, and dozens have been arrested for protesting against the actions of the forces.
to the office
Meanwhile, due to these deaths, ICE has decided to remove the agents involved in the cases of Good and Pretti, both 37 years old, a poet and a nurse, whose cases have traumatized North American society.
Jonathan Ross, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who killed the woman in Minneapolis on January 7, has been suspended from duty while the investigation into the incident is carried out, according to official information provided by the North American edition of .
Tricia McLaughlin, spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS, in English), confirmed to the media that Ross had been placed on administrative leave, although the official did not specify when said suspension had occurred.
Good’s death unleashed a wave of protests throughout the US, which grew last weekend after the death of Alex Pretti, shot by Border Patrol agents, who were precisely participating in the immigration raids in Minneapolis.
The two officers who shot Pretti have also been suspended from their duties, as announced this morning. The deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, has confirmed the measure in statements to Europa Press, alluding that it is “standard procedure” after the Department stated in a report sent to Congress that there were two agents who shot Pretti. Now they will be in offices, not on street patrols.
Although McLaughlin has not confirmed the number of agents suspended from duty, the network suggests that these two are the ones affected by the measure. About eight Border Patrol members surrounded Pretti as they tried to subdue him.
According to the report sent by the Department of Homeland Security to Congress, a struggle occurred between Pretti and law enforcement. In the midst of the tumult, one of the multiple agents who was at the scene shouted several times that the nurse was carrying a weapon. The document states that, “approximately five seconds later, a Border Patrol agent fired his ‘Glock 19’ (…) and a Customs and Border Protection agent also fired his ‘Glock 47’ (…) at Pretti.”
So, no
Although Trump powerfully won the 2024 elections and that tough hand against immigration was one of his main demands, citizens are beginning to tell him that not everything goes, that perhaps the end does not justify the means, that he must control ICE, in short.
For this reason, 58% of likely voters in the midterm elections that the United States must face next November want ICE to be controlled, according to a survey conducted the weekend in which nurse Pretti died.
The survey was conducted between January 23 and 26 at the height of public outrage over the man’s murder.
The survey also adds:
- That 73% oppose ICE detaining US citizens.
- That 79% are against immigration agents entering homes without a court order.
- That 70% are concerned about the lack of use of clearly identifiable uniforms.
- That 30% of those voters who ask to control ICE prefer to reform the immigration agency, rather than eliminate it completely.
- That although the majority (72%) support the application of immigration laws in the interior of the country, especially if they focus on criminals and people who represent a threat to communities, 54% believe that ICE’s tactics have been too forceful.
- That 58% of Democrats surveyed consider some deportations to be legitimate and necessary, but oppose ICE’s indiscriminate and cruel tactics.
The survey among 1,502 likely voters in next November’s elections found that a large majority of both parties want ICE to respect the rule of law.
Voters support local police cooperating with ICE in certain circumstances: While most support officers sharing a person’s immigration status with ICE during criminal stops (63%), they strongly oppose such actions during a hospital admission (19%) or a traffic stop (34%).
The results of the survey were announced on Tuesday with important members of the Democratic Party, as reported to influence minority members and seek agency reform.
“Senate Democrats should recognize this reality and use their influence to achieve meaningful changes that end ICE abuses and reorient the agency toward its fundamental law enforcement mission,” concludes Searchlight Institute, a Democratic think tank.
Congress has until midnight on January 30 to approve budgets to keep the Administration operational, but after what happened in Minneapolis, Democratic senators said over the weekend that they will not approve the bill to finance the Department of Homeland Security, in charge of immigration in the United States, which would lead to a new closure starting next Saturday.
