News around the Trump administration’s grotesque and likely illegal arrest of U.S. residents and others went from bad to unbelievable in the course of a week.
1. We now know that ICE is abducting U.S. residents, legal spouses of American citizens, and even Canadians at the border and at airports across the country.
2. Trump’s State Department is using a 70-year-old law meant to protect our relationships with foreign allies as blanket permission to deport anyone they claim threatens U.S. foreign interests, based solely on them exercising their right to protest.
3. On Saturday, Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, giving ICE the power to deport anyone they claim are members of Tren de Aragua (a transnational gang they’ve fabricated campfire stories about since last year). They do not need evidence or a trial to back up those claims.
4. A federal judge ordered the government not to deport anyone based on Trump’s proclamation while the court takes up a lawsuit by the ACLU. The judge also ordered two planes carrying alleged Tren de Aragua members to El Salvador and Honduras to be turned around. The Trump administration continued the flights anyway, dropping off hundreds of people in those countries.
The American public needs to know what’s happening in our country and the people our government is disappearing. Here’s a brief roundup of some of the victims of this government violence.
FABIAN SCHMIDT – Legal U.S. Resident
Fabian Schmidt is a husband and father of an 8-year-old girl. He lives with his family in New Hampshire, where he works as an electrical engineer. He legally immigrated to the United States nearly 20 years ago.
Earlier this month, ICE agents arrested Fabian at Logan Airport in Massachusetts, demanded he turn over his green card, and tortured him to the point that he passed out and required emergency medical care. After a trip to the hospital, ICE moved him to a detainment center in Rhode Island where he is still in captivity.
JASMINE MOONEY – Canadian
Jasmine Mooney is a 35-year-old actress and entrepreneur from Canada. On March 3, she was in Tijuana attempting to renew her U.S. visa. ICE denied her request then detained her, alleging she crossed the border into California with “an incomplete visa.”
ICE agents locked her in a cell with no bed, blanket, or pillow for two and a half days before transferring her to a facility in Arizona. During the transfer, Jasmine and 30 other women were “wrapped in chains” and forced to stay awake for over 24 hours.
Since her release last night, she’s described ICE’s treatment of detainees as a “deeply disturbing psychological experiment.”
MAHMOUD KHALIL – Legal U.S. Resident
Mahmoud Khalil is a husband and soon-to-be father (his wife is eight months pregnant) who recently graduated from Columbia University in New York. He stepped up during last year’s protests on the school’s campus, speaking with school faculty and the public on behalf of the protesters.
One day after Fabian’s arrest, ICE abducted Mahmoud at his home, informing him that his green card has been revoked. He may soon be deported despite a judge’s order blocking his deportation.
Donald Trump responded to the public backlash by promising more Palestinian Americans will be detained and deported.
CAMILA MUÑOZ – Documented Immigrant & Green Card Applicant
Last month, Wisconsin newlyweds Bradley Bartell and Camila Muñoz visited Puerto Rico for their honeymoon. Camila, who migrated from Peru in 2019, began the green card application process when her original W-2 visa expired.
Bradley voted for Donald Trump in November, assuming that his deportation plans would only affect undocumented immigrants. His wife’s green card application is ongoing, all her taxes are paid, and she does not have a criminal record.
When Bradley and Camilia arrived home from their honeymoon, ICE stopped them at the airport and arrested Camila. She is currently locked up in a Louisiana detention center.
These stories highlight a rapidly growing threat, not only to individuals’ rights but to all of our constitutional rights.
The Trump administration is getting away with detaining and deporting people who are here legally, have not committed any crimes, and are even married to American citizens.
They’ve even deported a 10-year-old brain cancer patient on her way to receive emergency treatment in Texas. Her family has made the trip a handful of times, with legal permission, only being detained and refused help after Trump returned to office. The girl herself is a legal U.S. citizen.
Most of these victims are not ending up in their home countries, either. They are disappearing in detention centers or flown to sites designed for terrorists like Guantanamo Bay and El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center.
Once they’re off U.S. soil, they have no rights — no way to prove citizenship, no way to prove they aren’t a member of Tren de Aragua, and no way to contact their family or friends.
They’re. Just. GONE.
We are urging you to find Facebook groups or other websites for local organizing. Find out who’s gone missing in your community, help spread the word, and stand up to the Trump regime every chance you get.
Thank you for staying informed,
The Team at Trump File
