July 28 Updates
Federal
Some good news! Two judges ruled that Kilmar Abrego García is to be released from custody and also protected from deportation during the time he is to await his trial in January.
District Judge Waverly Crenshaw in Tennessee determined that the government failed to justify continued detention while Kilmar Abrego Garcia awaits trial (scheduled to begin January 27, 2026).
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland issued protective orders requiring ICE to provide 72 hours advance notice before any deportation to a third country and mandating that Abrego Garcia be restored to his previous supervised status in Baltimore.
Earlier this year, the administration signed an executive order called “Ending the Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders,” directing federal agencies to prevent undocumented immigrants from receiving benefits. This memo is another step toward actualizing this action.
Two lawsuits:
ACLU filed in May regarding attacks on Head Start programming. On July 15, they requested to amend their lawsuit to challenge the HHS rule.
Illinois Attorney General Raoul joined a coalition of other attorneys in suing the Trump Administration over new rules that could bar undocumented immigrants from health and education programs.
Trump admin awarded a huge $1.26 billion contract to build what will be the country’s largest detention center at Fort Bliss, TX. This is part of the reconciliation bill that was passed.
The Department of Defense is also expanding two military bases, one in NJ and one in IN – the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey and Camp Atterbury in Indiana will be used for temporary immigration detention use, approving a plan from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that calls for space to hold up to 1,000 people at each base.
Trump admin are using emergency acquisition processes to award no-bid contracts to private prison firms for detention centers.
The administration is also considering deploying 2,000 National Guard troops to assist at ICE detention facilities nationwide.
From the ACLU: Tell Congress: Stop the administration from using military troops and bases for immigration arrests and detention. Stop the misuse of the military. Take Action Now
From Detention Watch Network: Trump’s multi-layered expansion plan (see our new expansion map) has proliferated ICE operations into other government agencies, including the Bureau of Prisons and the Department of Defense, using military bases as deportation hubs and growing ICE partnerships with local sheriffs and county jails.
On July 18, the Trump administration conducted a prisoner swap with Venezuela, exchanging 10 U.S. citizens for 252 Venezuelan men who had been deported to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 and held at the notorious CECOT maximum-security prison for four months.
This swap was originally proposed by Bukele of El Salvador and was mutually beneficial for all three countries’ leaders (Maduro, Trump, and Bukele) and their political agendas.
Maduro and VZ officials confirmed that all the returned men will undergo medical checks and screenings to determine the extent of what was suffered during their internment in CECOT.
With help from his lawyers from the Democracy Defenders Fund Neiyerver Adrián Leon Rengel (27) filed an abuse claim against the US Govt on July 24 alleging that he was removed without due process. This is the first filing of its kind from the group of men who were detained at CECOT.
The immigrant advocacy org CASA unfortunately lost their appeal to the courts to stay the termination of TPS for immigrants from Afghanistan and Cameroon.
Around 8,100 Afghans and 5,000 Cameroonians are enrolled in TPS, without permanent residence or green cards. Those who lose their TPS protections can apply for asylum or some other form of legal status, but otherwise, they will be at risk of deportation.
On Friday, July 18, the Board of Immigration Appeals ruled that women can no longer seek asylum based solely on their sex or sex and nationality
More from Mother Jones here
The ruling specifically stated that gender-based violence does not fit under the five existing categories for asylum protection: race, religion, nationality, political opinion, and membership in a particular social group. The decision was regarding a Salvadorian woman fleeing gang violence which the police refused to protect her from – read more about the case here.
Human Rights First’s Innovation Lab announced the launch of ReadyNow!, a free and secure mobile app designed to help immigrants prepare for possible detention and act quickly in moments of crisis
Key features of the app include:
One-click emergency alerts via SMS to pre-selected contacts
Personalized emergency plans for childcare, medical needs, legal support, and more
Option to share key information with National Immigration Legal Response Alliance (NILRA) if faced with arrest, a national network of pro bono immigration attorneys
Currently available in six languages: English, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin, Haitian Kreyol, and French
NIJC just published their new Explainer of all the new immigration related fees that are now applicable after the passage of HR-1
The PDF of this explainer and the chart of all fees has been uploaded to our Legal Resources Folder as well
Chicago
Immigration Court Judges have been terminated at alarming rates
As of July 15th, Judge Jennifer Payton was terminated without cause from her position as Assistant Chief Immigration Judge. It is speculated that her termination was directly related to an oversight visit by Senator Durbin, during which she showed him around.
Judge Carla Espinoza is also no longer employed by the Chicago Immigration Court. She was handling more cases of detained people than anyone else, so court watch volunteers will be reporting back once they conduct their investigation of what is going to happen in her absence.
From Jack Lloyd (ICIRR Court Watch Lead): “I was in Judge Espinoza's court last week and the government lawyer repeatedly made the argument that no undocumented person is entitled to bond, saying this was a ‘new directive this week’ from higher up in DHS. Judge Espinoza ignored the argument and the government reserved appeal.”
From PBS: 17 Immigration Court judges have been fired across the country in the past week alone. Read more here.
If you haven’t already, please donate to support Gladis and her family here–
She was unfortunately (and unjustly) deported to Honduras last week and OCAD has released a call for donations on their social media here. Please share.