A US citizen and construction worker, Leo Garcia Venegas, has filed a class-action lawsuit against the Trump administration after being detained twice by immigration agents in Alabama. The lawsuit challenges workplace raids targeting industries with large immigrant workforces, alleging unconstitutional enforcement tactics and targeting based on appearance and ethnicity. Despite providing identification, Venegas was detained in raids where agents allegedly lacked warrants and focused on Latino-looking workers. The Department of Homeland Security dismissed the suit, asserting that arrests are based on legal status, not race.
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Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez, a U.S. citizen born in Georgia, was arrested in Florida under a recently challenged state law criminalizing illegal entry, despite presenting his birth certificate. Despite a judge finding no probable cause, ICE’s detainer prevented his immediate release, highlighting concerns about the law’s impact. Following protests, Lopez-Gomez was released; however, the incident underscores the ongoing legal battle surrounding the law and its potential for misapplication. The incident follows a pattern of controversial immigration actions by federal agencies.
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Following a Supreme Court ruling ordering the Trump administration to “facilitate” the return of wrongfully deported Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia from an El Salvadoran prison, a judge has ordered expedited depositions of government officials. This action comes after the administration’s failure to take meaningful steps to secure Garcia’s release, despite admitting the deportation was an “administrative error.” The depositions, scheduled for completion by April 28th, will determine whether the administration acted in good faith. The judge warned against gamesmanship and emphasized the urgency of the situation, highlighting the high stakes involved and the wife’s public plea for her husband’s return.
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Over two dozen Christian and Jewish organizations, representing millions of Americans, filed a federal lawsuit challenging a Trump administration policy expanding immigration agents’ authority to conduct arrests in houses of worship. The lawsuit argues this policy violates religious freedom by creating fear, reducing attendance, and hindering ministries to immigrants, regardless of legal status. The plaintiffs contend the policy’s chilling effect on religious practice is unconstitutional, citing the administration’s disregard for houses of worship as traditionally protected spaces. The Department of Justice, in response to a similar lawsuit, argued the claims are based on speculation, but the new suit’s wide-ranging plaintiff base significantly increases pressure on the administration.
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Following the arrest of Wilson Velásquez, an asylum seeker, at a Georgia church, a coalition of Quaker meetings sued the Department of Homeland Security. The lawsuit challenges the Trump administration’s reversal of a policy protecting houses of worship from immigration raids, arguing it violates the First Amendment and acts arbitrarily. The arrest, part of increased ICE enforcement, targeted Velásquez despite his having a work permit and regularly checking in with authorities. Plaintiffs contend the new policy creates fear and disrupts religious practices within immigrant-serving congregations.
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Eighteen states are challenging President Trump’s executive order aiming to curtail birthright citizenship, a move that has sparked intense debate and legal action. The order directs federal agencies to halt the issuance of citizenship documents to U.S.-born children of undocumented mothers or mothers on temporary visas, provided the father is not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. This action has raised serious questions about the interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment and the potential consequences for affected children.
The lawsuit filed by these states highlights the severe implications of denying citizenship to these children, arguing that it would render them stateless. This is a particularly concerning issue, given the existence of programs in some states and cities that allow mothers to anonymously relinquish newborns.… Continue reading
John Q. Hosedrinker 
Matt Underwood