Revulsion and resistance to ICE's courthouse arrests grows

Also: Anti-war protests around the nation

The arrest last week of New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander as he sought to escort an undocumented immigrant out of a federal courthouse has called attention to a growing and powerful form of resistance to a particularly heinous ICE tactic.

What ICE agents have been doing for at least a month now is lying in wait in federal courthouses to abduct people who have gone there seeking to follow the law.

Typically, an immigrant dutifully shows up in court to challenge a deportation order from the government. (Often, they are making an asylum claim.) The prosecutor, in collusion with ICE, asks the judge to dismiss the deportation order. This has the perverse effect of terminating the legal protections the immigrant had while the case was pending.

Then, when the immigrant leaves the courtroom, ICE agents – frequently masked and not showing identification – grab them and take them away for immediate deportation. (Most immigrants who entered the country without documentation less than two years ago are subject to what is called “expedited removal”.)

Horrified by this tactic, a growing number of volunteers have taken to showing up at federal courthouses with the goal of escorting those immigrants past the ICE agents, so they may return to their work and their homes. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

That’s what Lander was doing when he got arrested. (He was later released, and charges were dropped.) It had worked on two previous courthouse visits, he said.

And that’s what a clergy delegation led by San Diego Bishop Michael M. Pham intended to do on World Refugee Day, June 20. Pham is the first U.S. bishop appointed by Pope Leo, and is himself a Vietnamese refugee.

Pham was unsuccessful only because when he and his delegation arrived, the ICE agents at the courthouse scattered rather than risk confrontation.

The New York Times described what a growing number of volunteers are doing in the New York area:

They often provide immigrants, many of whom lack lawyers, with legal guidance, though not necessarily representation. They pass out fliers written in Spanish, French, Arabic and other languages informing them of their rights and explaining the government’s new arrest strategy. And they take down their name, country of origin and case number so that relatives can be contacted if they are detained and to look up where they are being held.

Then, the volunteers try to walk with some migrants — especially those at risk of being arrested because their cases were just dismissed — out of the hearing rooms and past federal officers.

Want to help? Find an immigration group near you.

Immigration Protests

Protests against Trump’s immigration policies sprung up in a variety of cities and towns over the weekend.

• Hundreds of anti-ICE protesters marched through downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Friday. “The sound of strumming guitars and chants for change filled the air as downtown Albuquerque was packed with protesters expressing their anger toward the federal government,” reported KRQE TV.

• In Lawrenceville, Georgia, hundreds of people gathered to peacefully protest ICE raids and the arrest of local journalist Mario Guevara, who was taken into ICE custody while covering another Atlanta-area immigration protest a week earlier. Guevara, who is from El Salvador, built a big social media following by documenting immigration raids, and now faces deportation himself. “We see how this is an attempt to stop people from using their First Amendment rights to righteously speak out against these attacks on immigrants,” a protest organizer told WSB TV.

• A spontaneous protest erupted in Pasadena, California, on Saturday, after community members learned that armed officers who drove unmarked vehicles and lacked clear agency identification had detained several people that morning – including four men who were buying tamales from a street cart. Pasadena Now reported that about 200 to 300 people gathered for an evening march and vigil, where Pasadena Mayor Victor M. Gordo and other local officials called for unity and protection of immigrant residents.

• Friends and neighbors of a much-beloved bagel shop manager in Port Washington, Long Island, protested his detention on Saturday. Fernando Mejia, 40, was picked up by ICE agents on June 12, reportedly for overstaying a visa 20 years ago. The protest took place at the Port Washington train station, right across the street from the Schmear Bagel & Cafe where Mejia worked, reported News 12 Long Island.

• Hundreds of angry residents in southeast Los Angeles County faced off against masked men in fatigues Friday evening after federal agents raided a car wash in the city of Bell, the Los Angeles Times reported. “In one video shared with The Times, a protester sprays white paint on a silver SUV and a voice can be heard saying, ‘Get the ... out of here!’ while others jeer. People can be seen hitting the vehicle,” the Times reported. “One woman with a bullhorn hurled obscenities at the agents and President Trump; others waved a Mexican flag and an upside-down U.S. flag, traditionally a symbol of protest or distress.”

  Disappeared in America

Here’s a call for participation in an immigration protest tomorrow, from Not Above the Law, a coalition of about 150 pro-democracy groups.

On Thursday, June 26th, we’re showing up at federal buildings, courthouses and town squares across the country to say: in America, we don’t let the government disappear people. That’s not who we are.

The goal, organizers say, is to help raise awareness about the “disappearances, detentions and deportations being conducted by the Trump administration without due process.”

You are being asked to stand outside courthouses and ICE offices with photos of people who have been “disappeared” during the crackdown on immigrants.

Disappeared in America Visual Action will be a national photo petition day where people will take photos with posters of those who have been disappeared and flood social media with the truth using the hashtags #DisappearedInAmerica / #DisappearedByTrump / #AbductedByTrump.

There’s more information here, including a link to detailed instructions.

The need to protest against Trump’s immigration policy was heightened on Monday when the Supreme Court, in one of its most horrific orders to date, cleared the way for the Trump administration to deport migrants to countries other than their own – like South Sudan – where they could be tortured or killed.

Anti-War Protests

There were anti-war protests in more than a dozen cities on Sunday, just hours after U.S. bombers and missiles struck Iranian nuclear facilities.

• At least 200 protesters gathered outside the White House to condemn Trump, the New York Times reported. A photo by Getty Images shows a large banner proclaiming "Remember Iraq, No more wars based on lies!”

• Hundreds marched through midtown Manhattan on Sunday, waving flags and signs reading, "Stop the war in Iran," "Hands off Iran," and "No new war in the Middle East,” CBS News reported.

• The San Francisco Chronicle reported that “Hundreds of protesters condemned President Donald Trump’s decision to bomb Iran during a rally Sunday at San Francisco’s Embarcadero Plaza, with many speakers accusing him of war crimes.” Here’s video from Getty Images.

• As many as 200 people rallied in Boston, reported WCVB TV.

• Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles, reported KTLA TV. Here’s a photo from Reuters.

• Here are a couple videos of the protest in Chicago on Sunday, from Getty Images. Protesters came out on Monday night as well, reported WLS TV.

• There were also protests in San Antonio and Austin, Texas, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Lexington, Kentucky, Portland, Oregon, and Seattle and Spokane, Washington.

Several of the protests were organized by the Answer Coalition, which has denounced the attack on Iran as a violation of the U.N. Charter, international law and the U.S. Constitution.

The group is calling for a protest in Washington, D.C., on Saturday.

Elon Musk’s Birthday

June 28, which is Elon Musk’s birthday, has been declared a #MuskMustFall Global Day of Celebration. “Elon Musk is done at DOGE, but we're just getting started,” the organizers say.

Elon is still deeply tied to the Trump regime, still fueling conspiracies and fascist rhetoric, and still using his immense wealth to warp government policy and buy elections around the globe.

On June 28—Elon's birthday—let's celebrate everything we've achieved and a recommit to the long fight still ahead.

Find a protest near you.

One Million Rising

The same folks who brought you the No Kings rally are now preparing for the long haul with a massive training initiative called One Million Rising:

One Million Rising — a national effort to train one million people to help lead in this moment and gain the skills to lead others. This is how we build people power that can’t be ignored. You’re invited to join us—and lead.

Let’s build a force bigger than fear and louder than hate. Let’s get ready. Let’s get organized. Let’s stop Trump.

Business Community Defends Universities

The Wall Street Journal reports:

More than 200 business leaders signed an open letter calling on the Trump administration to reverse its moves against colleges and universities, arguing that funding cuts and restrictions on student visas threaten America’s economic competitiveness. The letter, released Wednesday by the business group Leadership Now Project, is one of the first coordinated public efforts from the business community to push back on some of the Trump administration’s moves. Its signatories include former Unilever CEO Paul Polman, former American Airlines CEO Robert Crandall and former Procter & Gamble CEO John Pepper.

Many current CEOs, though, remain reluctant to speak out publicly about the administration, fearing repercussions. “Many of us have founded companies and launched ground-breaking products based on campus discoveries,” the letter said. “We hire from a wide range of universities and benefit every day from the essential training that they have provided our employees. But last month’s federal cutbacks are already causing harm.”

Lawsuit Watch

• Freed from a Louisiana immigration detention center by a federal judge last week, Mahmoud Khalil -- the first pro-Palestinian campus protester detained by the Trump administration -- is back in New York City with his family. Here’s a picture of him leading a march up Amsterdam Avenue towards Columbia University on Sunday.

• A federal judge last week granted Harvard a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from revoking the university’s ability to enroll international students. The same judge on Monday also enjoined the implementation of a presidential proclamation intended to prevent new students from abroad from enrolling there.

• The American Bar Association last week filed a lawsuit asking a federal court to declare unconstitutional the Trump administration’s policy of intimidation against lawyers and law firms. “Without skilled lawyers to bring and argue cases, the judiciary cannot function as a meaningful check on the executive branch,” the ABA said in a statement.

• A federal judge last week temporarily blocked the U.S. Department of Transportation from withholding billions of dollars in funding to Democratic-led states refusing to cooperate with immigration enforcement.

• Media Matters for America filed suit in federal court on Monday to block an investigation launched by the Federal Trade Commission. The suit maintains that the investigation is retaliation for the group’s reporting on X, the social media site Elon Musk controls,