DECISION BY THE SUPREME COURT ALLOWS FOR MORE DEPORTATIONS BUT WITH A HEARING

The United States Supreme Court overturned the ruling of the judge who had blocked the use of a 200-year-old law to deport members of groups deemed enemies of the country, such as the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

The 5-4 decision is good for Trump in that it allows him to use the law, but it also establishes that foreigners have the right to be notified that they will be deported under this law and to at least one hearing to verify that they really are members of this group.

It also establishes that they have to present their case before the court where they are detained, not before the District of Columbia Court in Washington. Most immigrants in this situation are taken to Texas where the majority of judges are more conservative and anti-immigrant, making it more difficult for immigrants accused of being enemies of the country.

There is some confusion with the decision. On the one hand, the Trump administration is claiming victory because it can continue to use this old law, which generally has to do with enemy countries, not with individual people, and on the other hand it gives the opportunity that at least through what is called a writ of habeas corpus, a kind of individual lawsuit, people can demand before a federal court the review of the legality of their detention by demanding evidence that they are indeed a member of that group or gang.

In the next few days there will be a clarification of the decision and supposedly there will also be another hearing in Texas to discuss the case. For now we will continue to await the decision.

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EXTENDED DEADLINE FOR RETURN OF PERSON ERRONEOUSLY DEPORTED

The Supreme Court has also extended the deadline for the return of the Salvadoran who was deported from the United States by mistake and who is currently in a Salvadoran prison. The judge in charge had ordered his return by Wednesday, but the Supreme Court extended the deadline while the court of appeals reviews the case. It is important to point out that the US government admitted that it made a mistake in sending the young man to El Salvador because he had obtained what is called protection against deportation from an immigration court, but they still sent him to a prison in El Salvador.

The government said they can't bring him back because he is in another country, when in many other cases when the court orders it, the government has to bring people back when there have been violations of their rights. We still don't know what will happen, for now the deadline is being extended and we have to keep waiting while the poor young man, married to a US citizen, has to remain imprisoned in El Salvador.

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TRUMP CANCELS THE CBP ONE (1) PROGRAM FOR THOUSANDS OF IMMIGRANTS

Last Tuesday, the government canceled the CBP One (1) program for more than 900,000 immigrants, most of them from Central America, Cuba and Venezuela, who entered the country legally under this Biden program, in which they went through a process of interviews and supervision before entering the United States using the platform called CBP One.

Under this program, instead of people entering the United States without permission and creating more chaos, the Biden administration allowed them to enter the country in an organized way for a period of two years after passing an interview. Unfortunately, with the elimination of this program, hundreds of thousands of immigrants will be harmed even though they followed a legal process.

In the next few days, pro-immigrant groups will file a lawsuit to challenge Trump's decision. We still don't know where they will file the lawsuit, but we are sure that groups like the ACLU, the American Civil Liberties Union, will defend these immigrants, otherwise in the next few days they will have to leave the country or remain illegally.

IMPORTANT: People who entered under CBP One and have applied for asylum or another kind of program will be able to remain in the country legally. If you entered under the CBP One program you should speak to a lawyer immediately to find out what your options are.

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PROTEST AGAINST THE DETENTION AND DEPORTATION OF IMMIGRANTS

On Thursday, April 17th, there will be a peaceful protest in front of the immigration office at 515 Ottawa NE, Grand Rapids, at 6:00 PM, to call for a halt to the detention and deportation of immigrants. The protest is sponsored by several groups including Cosecha and Rapid Response, among others. They will also focus on protesting against the plan to open a mega detention center in Baldwin Michigan, north of Grand Rapids, managed by the private company Geo Group, which is scheduled to be able to house more than 1,800 immigrants in a few months. It is important that we make our presence felt and tell the government that we do not want any more immigrant detentions, especially of people who have never committed any crime.