At our annual gala earlier this month, I shared that in this terrible time for immigrant communities, I am inspired by the bravery of my friends Cynthia and Tam – whom I met when we were all college students at UCLA. They were leaders in the immigrant rights movement on campus, as well as of the national undocumented student movement in the early 2000s, and they were among the first to publicly proclaim that they were “undocumented and unafraid,” which has become a rallying statement for the undocumented student movement in this country.
In the weeks since our gala, their courage has continued to inspire me and my colleagues as the Presidential Administration’s continued attacks on immigrants have been felt even more significantly. Just last week, my colleague Sofia Velling noticed ICE officers stationed inside the Seattle immigration court, arresting community members whose immigration cases had been dismissed just moments earlier.
NWIRP took immediate action, and we have been present daily at the court since then, helping warn community members of this new effort by the Administration to fast-track deportations from inside the courthouse.
Perpetuating panic and fear among our immigrant communities is inhumane and cruel, but we are steadfast in our commitment to fighting back because we are following in the footsteps of leaders like Cynthia and Tam, honoring their courage, resilience, and memory, along with so many other members of our immigrant communities.
Judge Rules that DHS Violates Court Order in Attempting to Remove Class Members to South Sudan and Separately Orders DHS to Return Guatemalan Plaintiff who was Unlawfully Removed to Mexico.
Last week, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) violated a preliminary injunction it previously issued on behalf of a nationwide certified class, when it placed seven people who had been ordered removed to other countries on a flight to South Sudan without the notice required by the Courts prior order or any meaningful opportunity to seek protection against torture in South Sudan. The Court also ordered DHS to facilitate the return of a named class plaintiff from Guatemala who had been unlawfully removed to Mexico. The class is represented by NWIRP, the National Immigration Litigation Alliance and Human Rights First.
The court’s prior preliminary injunction required the government to provide class members notice and an opportunity to apply for protection prior to removal to a “third” country–that is, not the country designated in the removal order–if they fear persecution or torture in that country. Federal law requires that DHS not deport people, regardless of their status or past histories, to places where it is likely they will suffer persecution or torture. South Sudan is currently on the brink of renewed civil war.
We are grateful that the court affirmed the rule of law, that the government is obligated to ensure that it does not send people where they will likely be persecuted or tortured. However, the fight is not over: two days ago, the government moved the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the district court’s order providing protection to our class members. NWIRP and partners will file our response brief to the U.S. Supreme Court next Wednesday, on June 4.
We would also like to share this Practice Alert which covers the present state of the law surrounding third country deportations and explains the procedural protections afforded by the preliminary injunction. The alert addresses steps practitioners can take for class members subject to a third country removal and options for those who are detained or re-detained.
NWIRP to Present Arguments at Ninth Circuit to Uphold Constitutional Right to Birthright Citizenship
Next Wednesday, June 4th, NWIRP will also appear before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of individuals challenging President Trump’s Executive Order purporting to limit birthright citizenship. Earlier this month the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments regarding the scope of the preliminary injunctions issued by lower courts (i.e., whether it was proper for the district courts to extend initial relief beyond the States and named parties who brought the challenges), but did not address the merits of the case (i.e., whether the Executive Order violates the U.S. Constitution). Now, the Ninth Circuit will hear arguments from NWIRP and the State of Washington defending the district court’s finding that the Executive Order is a blatant violation of the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, guaranteeing U.S. citizenship to all who are born in the United States.
Know Your Rights in Immigration Court
As I mentioned at the beginning of this newsletter, we are deeply concerned about continued ICE presence in the Seattle immigration court, as well as reports of ICE presence at immigration courts across the United States. In order to best inform our community in the midst of this aggressive deportation tactic, we have prepared a Know Your Rights in Immigration Court flier, which you can access on our website’s Know Your Rights page in English and Spanish as well as Amharic, Arabic, Dari/Farsi, French, Mandarin, and Portuguese.
NWIRP is Now on Bluesky!
We are happy to announce that as of this month, we are now on Bluesky, a new open-source social media platform designed as an alternative to platforms like X (formerly Twitter). If you already use the platform, please give us a follow!
NWIRP Immigration Updates Webinar on Tuesday, June 24th
In English: 5pm – 5:45pm
In Spanish: 5:45pm – 6:30pm
Audience: Immigrants, their loved ones, service providers and other community members.
Our team will provide updates on immigration policies and laws, as well as provide a brief Know Your Rights presentation. The webinar will be in English from 5:00pm – 5:45pm and in Spanish from 5:45pm – 6:30pm.
Click here to register for the webinar
Previous Webinars
We have several previous training videos available on our Vimeo page, including Know Your Rights information, the latest immigration-related update webinars from both May and April of this year, and immigration 101 for service providers.
Click here to access these recorded trainings
Thank you so much for your shared commitment to justice. With your support, we will weather the storm because our communities are depending on us to do this work.
With Gratitude,
Malou Chávez (she/her/ella)
Executive Director
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