June 30 Updates

Jun 30

ICE is holding a record 59,000 people in detention facilities across the country as of June 23, operating at over 140% of the agency’s congressionally funded capacity of 41,500 beds. The large number of detainees has created overcrowding conditions at detention facilities nationwide, with detainees forced to sleep on floors and reporting inadequate access to water and medical care.

New detention facilities have been bought and are coming online soon, including the awfully named “Alligator Alcatraz” at an old abandoned airport facility in the Everglades

This facility has been approved to receive federal funds from FEMA for construction. They plan to house up to 5,000 detainees in tents at the facility, which is expected to cost approximately $450 million annually.
The FL location is set to open in early July when the heat index is regularly over 100ºF. Environmentalist groups, the Miccosukee Tribe, and Immigrant Justice groups have filed lawsuits to attempt to halt the construction. Thomas Kennedy, of the FL Immigrant Coalition said: “There’s no adequate running water or plumbing facilities. Uthmeier is out there saying we don’t need to build brick and mortar because we’ll just throw some tents up in the middle of the swamp, in July, in hurricane season, with the heat, no proper infrastructure and the mosquitoes. It’s designed to enact suffering.”

Another new facility in North Lake, MI has been bought by GEO Group and is set to hold 1800 people, according to ABC7 News. This would be where many of the people detained in Chicago would be transported.

The Pentagon has expanded military areas along the southern border, increasing the number of “National Defense Areas” to four, up from two established in April and May.

Federal judges in the areas initially dismissed cases due to legal ambiguity and lack of signage, but the first successful convictions from the areas have been coming through in TX and in NM.

Gov Abbot has signed a bill mandating 234 of the state’s 254 counties to enter into 287(g) agreements with ICE.
On Friday, June 27, the supreme court ruled 6-3 to limit the authority of federal judges to issue nationwide injunctions – knee-capping the power of the judiciary branch in an effort to mollify Trump and his cabinet.

It will be very difficult to fully revoke birthright citizenship, since it is enshrined in the 14th amendment of the constitution
It will be up to the lower courts

The Supreme Court also unfortunately has allowed 3rd country removals to resume. You can read Justice Sotomayor’s scathing dissent here.
“No Secret Police Act” (HR 4176) introduced in Congress to require law enforcement officers and agents of the Department of Homeland Security engaged in border security or immigration enforcement to display or wear certain insignia and provide identification. Already has 40 cosponsors! If your representative is not on this list, please call them and ask them to sign on.

Information from the City Key will not be able to be used by ICE, according to Fred from ICIRR.

Join Chicago Public Health and Safety Campaign in attending one of the Chicago City Budget Roundtable sessions. Sign up here to attend!

If you haven’t already, please sign the petition from OCAD to Free Gladis here

Emily Wheeler

July 7 Updates