Author | Lightnews

Maurits van der Veen @amauritsvdv.bsky.social · 6h

252 (25 July). 18-year old US citizen recording violence by ICE is told “You’ve got no rights here. You’re a migo, brother.”

Agents were "bragging and making light of the arrests, calling the stun gun use “funny” and quipping: “You can smell that … $30,000 bonus.”

Immigration agents told a teenage US citizen: ‘You’ve got no rights.’ He secretly recorded his brutal arrest

Video from Kenny Laynez-Ambrosio, 18, puts fresh scrutiny on the harsh tactics used to reach the Trump administration’s ambitious enforcement targets

www.theguardian.com

Maurits van der Veen @amauritsvdv.bsky.social · 6h

251 (22 July). More racial profiling of and violence against US citizens:

Angel Pina was chased & violently detained by ICE agents.

"I told them where I was born, I had an ID, I had a social, I had a birth certificate… the ICE agents… they didn't care about none of that."

US citizen detained after federal agents show up at Ontario Stater Bros. store

A U.S. citizen was detained after federal agents showed up at an Ontario Stater Bros. Markets store. He says he tried explaining to the agents that he's American, but they ignored him.

abc7.com

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Maurits van der Veen @amauritsvdv.bsky.social · 6h

250 (23 July). Florida is "allowing illegal immigrants encountered during traffic stops to self-deport… through an initiative funded by the state’s taxpayers"

(This is an escalation of the existing "voluntary self-deportation" scheme announced in May: www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-off...)

Florida paying for illegal immigrants to self-deport on commercial flights

EXCLUSIVE — The state of Florida and Border Patrol are allowing illegal immigrants encountered during traffic stops to self-deport to their country

www.washingtonexaminer.com

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Maurits van der Veen @amauritsvdv.bsky.social · 6h

249 (22 July). US citizen detained at airport for hours.

"They falsely stated that I, a U.S. citizen, have no Constitutional rights at a point of entry, and officers became increasingly agitated as I continued to assert my rights regardless.”

Winooski Superintendent Detained, Questioned by Border Officials | Seven Days

Superintendent Wilmer Chavarria, a U.S. citizen, was questioned for hours at a Houston airport as he returned from a visit to Nicaragua with his husband.

www.sevendaysvt.com

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Maurits van der Veen @amauritsvdv.bsky.social · 6h

248 (22 July). "An Afghan 🇦🇫 immigrant who helped U.S. troops deployed into the war against the Taliban was arrested and detained by federal immigration agents last week… after a routine appointment related to his pending green card application."

www.wbur.org/news/2025/07...

Former Afghan interpreter for U.S. military detained by ICE after routine immigration appointment

Zia’s arrest is the latest case of federal authorities detaining immigrants with legal status during immigration check-ins. Lawmakers call the detainment of those who helped U.S. troops at war a betra...

www.wbur.org

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Maurits van der Veen @amauritsvdv.bsky.social · 6h

247 (22 July). Poor conditions at 26 Federal Plaza, a detention facility ICE insists is not a detention facility, though people are held there for days.

www.thecity.nyc/2025/07/22/v...

‘Like Dogs in Here’ — Videos Expose ICE Lockup Inside 26 Federal Plaza

An analysis of ICE data by THE CITY shows that dozens of people have packed into locked rooms and increasingly held for days inside a Manhattan building the feds say isn’t a detention site.

www.thecity.nyc

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Maurits van der Veen @amauritsvdv.bsky.social · 6h

27 - update (21 July). Some rare good news:

The Venezuelans deported to El Salvador's CECOT prison in March have been sent to Venezuela as part of a prisoner swap deal.

www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/united-...

United States Frees Venezuelans Held in El Salvador Following Prisoner Swap - American Immigration Council

Trump carried out one of the worst abuses of government power in generations, imprisoning roughly 250 Venezuelan men at CECOT.

www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org

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Maurits van der Veen @amauritsvdv.bsky.social · 6h

246 (19 July). "Immigration officers arrested a father in front of the school during morning drop-off hours, breaking his car window to detain him in front of children, families and staffers."

apnews.com/article/immi...

Immigration arrest outside Oregon preschool rattles parents

Parents at a preschool in Oregon are reeling after immigration officers arrested a father in front of the school.

apnews.com

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Maurits van der Veen @amauritsvdv.bsky.social · 6h

245 (17 July). ICE's facial recognition app (see item 210)

"represents an unprecedented linking of government databases into a single tool, including from the State Department, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the FBI, and state records."

Inside ICE’s Supercharged Facial Recognition App of 200 Million Images

404 Media has seen user manuals for Mobile Fortify, ICE’s new facial recognition app which allows officers to instantly look up DHS, State Department, and state law enforcement databases by just point...

www.404media.co

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Maurits van der Veen @amauritsvdv.bsky.social · 6h

244 (16 July). Trump admin. "rolling back protections for undocumented minors…

not only recent arrivals but also those who have only ever known life in this country. More and more, children are being picked up on family vacations, at traffic stops, and at worksites, and winding up in detention."

The Message Is ‘We Can Take Your Children’

More systematically than in his first term, Trump is rolling back protections for undocumented minors.

www.theatlantic.com

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Maurits van der Veen @amauritsvdv.bsky.social · 6h

243 (15 July). "ICE declares millions of undocumented immigrants ineligible for bond hearings"

This means they will "hold immigrants who entered the country illegally “for the duration of their removal proceedings,” which can take months or years."

ICE declares millions of undocumented immigrants ineligible for bond hearings

A memo from ICE’s acting director instructs officers to hold immigrants who entered the country illegally “for the duration of their removal proceedings,” which can take months or years.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Maurits van der Veen @amauritsvdv.bsky.social · 6h

242 (15 July). Trump admin. continues deportation flights to "third countries" (where deportees are not citizens & know nobody) — here, to Eswatini 🇸🇿.

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/u...

Trump Administration Resumes Third-Country Deportation Flights

www.nytimes.com

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Maurits van der Veen @amauritsvdv.bsky.social · 6h

241 (15 July). Irish tourist jailed by ICE for months after overstaying US visit by three days: ‘Nobody is safe’

Spent more time in detention (>100 days) than the length of his visa (90 days), despite immediately agreeing to deportation.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Irish tourist jailed by Ice for months after overstaying US visit by three days: ‘Nobody is safe’

Exclusive: For roughly 100 days, Thomas says he faced harsh detention conditions, despite agreeing to deportation

www.theguardian.com

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Maurits van der Veen @amauritsvdv.bsky.social · 6h

240 (15 July). "Peoria sushi shop owner [originally from China 🇨🇳] faces deportation after 21 years of living in the US."

Arrested late May, she is still in ICE custody 5 months later (www.thecentersquare.com/arizona/arti...)

Peoria sushi shop owner faces deportation after 21 years of living in the US

Kelly Yu, who does not have legal status in the U.S., is in ICE custody in Arizona, leaving her business, customers and family behind.

www.12news.com

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Maurits van der Veen @amauritsvdv.bsky.social · 6h

239 (15 July). Rising numbers of "collateral arrests"

"warrantless apprehensions of immigrants without a criminal history—have become more commonplace as the Trump administration pushes the legal limits of its deportation dragnet."

How ICE’s arrest of a high school student activated a Massachusetts town

“We’re trying to find ways the community can defend itself.”

www.motherjones.com

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Maurits van der Veen @amauritsvdv.bsky.social · 6h

238 (15 July). ICE lawyers hide their names in court proceedings.

“We’re not really doing names publicly,” said Judge ShaSha Xu — after stating her own name and those of the immigrants and their lawyers."

theintercept.com/2025/07/15/i...

ICE Lawyers Are Hiding Their Names in Immigration Court

ICE attorneys fighting to deport immigrants are able to obscure their identities — no masks required.

theintercept.com

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Maurits van der Veen @amauritsvdv.bsky.social · 6h

237 (13 July). ICE plans to ramp up deportations to countries where deportees are not citizens, know nobody, and do not speak the language.

www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

ICE memo outlines plan to deport migrants to countries where they are not citizens

The dramatic shift in policy could result in thousands of immigrants being deported to places where they lack family ties or even a common language.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Maurits van der Veen @amauritsvdv.bsky.social · 6h

236 (13 July). "Hundreds of immigrants with no criminal charges in the United States are being held at Alligator Alcatraz."

(A sharp contrast to administration claims that it is a place for “vicious” and “deranged psychopaths”)

Exclusive: Hundreds at Alligator Alcatraz have no criminal charges, Miami Herald learns

Descriptions of the Everglades detention center as a place for violent criminals tell only part of the story.

www.miamiherald.com

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Maurits van der Veen @amauritsvdv.bsky.social · 6h

235 (15 July). Ever more explicit racial profiling.

bsky.app/profile/reic...

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · Jul 15

WOW. A lawyer told @miamiherald.com that a Florida Highway Patrol agent told her that they are calling Border Patrol to investigate anyone who "appears Hispanic" that they pull over.

That is direct evidence of racial profiling — said over the phone to a lawyer! They aren't even hiding it!

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Maurits van der Veen @amauritsvdv.bsky.social · 8h

234 (11 July). ICE arrests disabled US veteran, snatching him from his car (with disabled veteran plates).

(see also follow-up interview on NPR: www.npr.org/2025/10/24/n...)

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Maurits van der Veen @amauritsvdv.bsky.social · 8h

233 (10 July). More racial profiling. “farm workers were critically injured… during chaotic raids in Ventura County, California. Others, including US citizens remain… unaccounted for."

"US citizen workers… only… released after… forced to delete photos and videos of the raid from their phones."

UFW Statement on July 10 Federal Raid in Ventura County

“The UFW can confirm farm workers were critically injured yesterday during chaotic raids in Ventura County, California. Others, including US citizens remain totally unaccounted for.

ufw.org

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Maurits van der Veen @amauritsvdv.bsky.social · 8h

232 (9 July). ICE making streets unsafe: Perris mayor tells residents to stay inside after reports of ICE activity

(Perris is SE of LA, in Riverside County)

www.pasadenastarnews.com/2025/07/09/p...

Perris mayor tells residents to stay inside after reports of ICE activity

Mayor Michael Vargas shared the message on the city’s Facebook page.

www.pasadenastarnews.com

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Maurits van der Veen @amauritsvdv.bsky.social · 8h

231 (10 July). Whistleblower info: Trump admin. "went to striking lengths to prop up the claim that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was a “leader” of the MS-13 gang—even as President Trump was coming under intense pressure to return him from El Salvador after wrongfully deporting him." (see also item 217).

Whistleblower Emails Expose Fresh Trump Abuses in Abrego Garcia Case

Newly released communications show the lengths the Trump administration went to in order to label Kilmar Abrego Garcia an MS-13 leader.

newrepublic.com

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Maurits van der Veen @amauritsvdv.bsky.social · 8h

230 (10 July). More racial profiling.

Baseball coach fends of ICE agents:

"the agents are asking the kids [all US citizens] inappropriate things like where they are from, their country of origin, so I say, ‘whoa, whoa,’ and I tell the officers that their questions are inappropriate."

A Baseball Coach Says He Fended Off ICE Agents Questioning Kids on the Upper West Side

The baseball field in Riverside Park near 72nd Street and Youman Wilder. Photo 1: Google Maps. Photo 2: Courtesy of

www.westsiderag.com

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Maurits van der Veen @amauritsvdv.bsky.social · 8h

229 (9 July). More and more racial profiling. Thread with numerous cases.

bsky.app/profile/davi...

David Bier @davidjbier.bsky.social · Jul 9

Border Patrol itself is reporting that it is engaging in racial profiling and then attempting to arrest people who ignore its attempts at racial profiling and try to leave. Yet apparently nothing can be done to stop them? This is a crime. We need state prosecutors to step up.

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