Activists across the country say they are being targeted by federal immigration authorities for speaking out at protests and accusing the government of heavy-handed tactics.
The Trump administration has warned that anyone in the country illegally could be arrested and deported under tough new enforcement rules. And federal officials deny allegations of retaliation.
But the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups say they have documented two dozen cases of immigrant activists and volunteers who say they have been arrested or face fines for their work.
They say many of the activists who are undocumented don’t have criminal records and only came to the attention of Immigration and Customs Enforcement because of their activism.
See the list of the 20+ immigration activists arrested here.
“We’re always at the marches and giving interviews, without fear of what could happen,” says Zully Palacios Rodriguez, one of the activists caught by ICE. “So to go against us is a way to intimidate the community.”
Several of the arrests have garnered national and international attention.
Two of the undocumented activists who have been arrested and put in deportation proceedings have filed First Amendment lawsuits claiming their free speech rights have been violated.
In one of those cases, the United Nations Office of Human Rights waded into the controversy, calling on the U.S. government “to guarantee that no action, including detention and deportation, as a means of retaliation, is taken against” the activist.
One of the groups crying foul is Migrant Justice, a nonprofit that advocates for dairy workers in Vermont. Six of its undocumented leaders have been arrested and face deportation.
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