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Gabriella Sanchez

@gesanchez.bsky.social
1.1K followers 818 following 38 posts

Fronteriza! Migration and Security researcher at @Georgetown University. Critical border studies; high risk migration facilitation and criminalization; smuggling & trafficking. Tacos & Shawarma. Former @mpc-eui.bsky.social and @diis.dk.

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Reposted by Gabriella Sanchez
Border Criminologies @bordercrim.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
ICE's Alternatives to Detention programme is said to be "more humane" – but for Juliana and her children, it means living under constant pressure. Read the new blog post by @gesanchez.bsky.social and Juliana R. S. ⤵️ blogs.law.ox.ac.uk/border-crimi...
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Reposted by Gabriella Sanchez
Bernd Parusel @bernd-parusel.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
I‘m sure @birgitsippel.bsky.social has the entire migration/asylum expert community on her side on this issue, but sadly that doesn‘t seem to mean much any more. @nikolajnielsen.bsky.social @euobserver.com @gesanchez.bsky.social @jesperbjarnesen.bsky.social @theecre.bsky.social
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Reposted by Gabriella Sanchez
euobserver — EU news that matters @euobserver.com · 10/12/2025
Contrary to the name, the EU's safe country of origin list is not primarily based on safety considerations. In fact, the EU’s new asylum legislation on ‘safe country policies’ forms part of a system whose aim is to reject and deport more quickly.
euobserver.com
The EU's new asylum 'safe countries' list is a fantasy wonderland
Contrary to the name, the EU's safe country of origin list is not primarily based on safety considerations. In fact, the EU’s new asylum legislation on ‘safe country policies’ forms part of a system whose aim is to reject and deport more quickly.
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Gabriella Sanchez @gesanchez.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
Today, in Copenhagen!
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Reposted by Gabriella Sanchez
NPR @npr.org · 10/10/2025
ICE claims assaults on its officers are up sharply since June. There's no public evidence that number is true.
n.pr
White House claims "more than 1,000%" rise in assaults on ICE agents, data says otherwise
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers claim assaults on their officers are up sharply since June. There's no public evidence that number is true.
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Reposted by Gabriella Sanchez
Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
“ABC7 spoke to Pertissue Fisher, a woman who lives in the building. She said ICE agents took everyone in the building, including her, and asked questions later….’They was bringing the kids down, too, had them zip tied to each other.’” It can’t happen here, you say. But it is happening.
abc7chicago.com
ICE agents raid South Shore apartments; Trump says Chicago could become military training ground
ICE agents raided a South Shore apartment building overnight as the city braces for a possible military deployment.
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Gabriella Sanchez @gesanchez.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
📣Call for applications: Dialogues on Mobility, Surveillance & Resistance JAN 26–30, 26 Tijuana, Mexico Organized by International Migration Institute & University of Amsterdam's Decolonial Futures Research Priority Area. Apply by SEP 25. Funding available! www.migrationinstitute.org/imi-archive/...
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Gabriella Sanchez @gesanchez.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
📣Call for applications: Dialogues on Mobility, Surveillance & Resistance JAN 26–30, 26 Tijuana, Mexico Organized by International Migration Institute & University of Amsterdam's Decolonial Futures Research Priority Area. Apply by SEP 25. Funding available! www.migrationinstitute.org/imi-archive/...
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Reposted by Gabriella Sanchez
Florian Trauner @ftrauner.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
🚨 New publication out! Together with @linavosyliute.bsky.social, we examine the EU’s risk of falling into a far-right trap in the negotiations on the Return Regulation. 📄 Published as an open-access Policy Brief by @birmm.bsky.social l — free to read & share! zenodo.org/records/1696...
zenodo.org
The EU's Return Regulation: Negotiating on the Basis of Evidence, not Narratives
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Luděk Stavinoha @stavinoha.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Full access to the story here: archive.li/2025.09.08-0...
archive.li
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Luděk Stavinoha @stavinoha.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Frontex doesn't like to hear its 'voluntary' interviews of people arriving at Europe's shores being described as covert 'interrogations'. Why? Because it has no legal mandate to interrogate and criminalise migrants. Yet, that is precisely what's happening in Spain. elpais.com/espana/2025-...
elpais.com
Enfrentamiento entre España y Frontex: dudas sobre el uso de los datos que se obtienen de los migrantes
Documentos internos a los que ha tenido acceso EL PAÍS revelan tensiones entre la agencia de la UE y las autoridades españolas por las entrevistas a los recién llegados
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Gabriella Sanchez @gesanchez.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
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Gabriella Sanchez @gesanchez.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
On June 11, ICE and police in Baton Rouge, raided 9 massage parlors, detaining 10 Chinese women, their names and whereabouts unreleased. They disappeared into ICE’s sprawling detention system. Not a single migrant rights organization has called for their release. truthout.org/articles/sex...
truthout.org
Sex Workers Are Being Abducted by ICE — and Abandoned by Respectability Politics
Sex workers targeted by ICE need the migrant justice movement’s full solidarity.
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Reposted by Gabriella Sanchez
Solomon @wearesolomon.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
Here is how #Frontex unlawfully shared thousands of people’s personal data with #Europol Investigation conducted by Solomon, the French newspaper Le Monde, the Spanish newspaper El País, and the German outlet Netzpolitik. wearesolomon.com/mag/format/i...
wearesolomon.com
Frontex unlawfully shared thousands of people's personal data with Europol
Under the banner of fighting migrant smuggling, Frontex has collected, and unlawfully siphoned to Europol, personal data for years—quietly drawing thousands of migrants, as well as EU citizens aiding ...
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Reposted by Gabriella Sanchez
RSA - Refugee Support Aegean @rsaegean.org · 08/07/2025
Cross-border investigation: @lemonde.fr, @elpais.com, and @netzpolitik.org reveal how, between 2016 and 2023, @frontex.bsky.social illegally transferred the personal data of over 13,000 people to Europol. Published by @wearesolomon.bsky.social 👇 wearesolomon.com/mag/format/i...
wearesolomon.com
Frontex unlawfully shared thousands of people's personal data with Europol
Under the banner of fighting migrant smuggling, Frontex has collected, and unlawfully siphoned to Europol, personal data for years—quietly drawing thousands of migrants, as well as EU citizens aiding ...
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Reposted by Gabriella Sanchez
Joe Galvin @joegalvin.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
Important investigation from @elpais.com on how migrants and activists were treated as criminals by Frontex and Europol. “My whole life was in that police file... They wanted to portray me as promiscuous, a lesbian, using morality to make me look suspicious,” says Helena Maleno, a Spanish activist.
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Reposted by Gabriella Sanchez
Luděk Stavinoha @stavinoha.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
Serious questions about evasion of accountability arise, too. FOI documents reveal that senior EU officials had coordinated to misled MEPs about the scale of unlawful Frontex-Europol data transfers during a hearing that followed our earlier investigation: balkaninsight.com/2022/07/07/e...
balkaninsight.com
EU’s Frontex Tripped in Its Plan for ‘Intrusive’ Surveillance of Migrants
Frontex and the European Commission sidelined their own data protection watchdogs in pursuing a much-criticised expansion of “intrusive” data collection from migrants and refugees to feed into Europol...
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Reposted by Gabriella Sanchez
Luděk Stavinoha @stavinoha.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
For @gesanchez.bsky.social - leading expert on smuggling - 'EU agencies often justify harvesting personal data from migrants by claiming it is necessary to combat sophisticated...smuggling networks. This creates the illusion that the data is actually reliable or useful. We know it's neither.'
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Luděk Stavinoha @stavinoha.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
Our investigation reveals that prominent human rights defenders, who have faced lengthy criminal investigations in Spain and Greece - including @helenamaleno.bsky.social and @aegeanboatreport.bsky.social - have also landed in Frontex & Europol databases. www.lemonde.fr/en/les-decod...
lemonde.fr
Frontex unlawfully shared thousands of people's personal data with European police
In the name of combating migrant smugglers, the European Union's border surveillance agency spent years collecting information on migrants and civil society activists deemed 'suspect,' before passing ...
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Reposted by Gabriella Sanchez
Luděk Stavinoha @stavinoha.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
Between 2016-2023, Frontex unlawfully shared the personal data of more than 13,000 'suspects' with Europol, via supposedly 'voluntary' debriefing interviews with newly arrived migrants that lack basic legal safeguards - branded by experts as 'covert interrogations'. elpais.com/internaciona...
elpais.com
Frontex transfirió durante años ilegalmente a Europol datos de migrantes y activistas
Una investigación de varios medios, entre ellos EL PAÍS, revela que la agencia europea de fronteras facilitó a la entidad policial información indiscriminada de miles de personas a partir de entrevist...
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Reposted by Gabriella Sanchez
Luděk Stavinoha @stavinoha.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
For years, human rights advocates have warned of the criminalisation of migrants & activists at Europe’s borders. With @balkanizator.bsky.social & @lolahierro.bsky.social we shed light on the opaque role of Frontex and Europol in drawing thousands into this dragnet. wearesolomon.com/mag/format/i...
wearesolomon.com
Frontex unlawfully shared thousands of people's personal data with Europol
Under the banner of fighting migrant smuggling, Frontex has collected, and unlawfully siphoned to Europol, personal data for years—quietly drawing thousands of migrants, as well as EU citizens aiding ...
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Reposted by Gabriella Sanchez
Antonella Napolitano @svaroschi.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
The criminalisation of solidarity is an incredible worrying element of the EU's response to migrant smuggling. We went deep on this issues with @gesanchez.bsky.social , @bramfrouws.bsky.social and @bernd-parusel.bsky.social in this seminar hosted by @sieps.bsky.social sieps.se/en/seminars/...
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Lola Hierro @lolahierro.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
También publicamos en @lemonde.fr , versión en inglés y francés www.lemonde.fr/article-offe...
lemonde.fr
Migrants : comment Frontex a alimenté de manière illicite les polices européennes avec les données personnelles de milliers de personnes
Au nom de la lutte contre les passeurs, l’agence européenne de surveillance des frontières a recueilli pendant des années des informations sur des migrants et des militants associatifs jugés « suspect...
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Reposted by Gabriella Sanchez
Lola Hierro @lolahierro.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
Con @balkanizator.bsky.social y @stavinoha.bsky.social publico hoy esta investigación en @elpais.com acerca de las prácticas ilícitas de @frontex.bsky.social en la obtención y el manejo de datos personales de migrantes y activistas. elpais.com/internaciona...
elpais.com
Frontex transfirió durante años ilegalmente a Europol datos de migrantes y activistas
Una investigación de varios medios, entre ellos EL PAÍS, revela que la agencia europea de fronteras facilitó a la entidad policial información indiscriminada de miles de personas a partir de entrevist...
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Reposted by Gabriella Sanchez
European Ombudsman @ombudsman.europa.eu · 25/06/2025
Following a complaint by civil society organisations, we opened an inquiry into @ec.europa.eu decision not to carry out an impact assessment on two legislative proposals to counter migrant smuggling. As a first step, we have asked the EC a set of questions. www.ombudsman.europa.eu/news-documen...
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Reposted by Gabriella Sanchez
Bernd Parusel @bernd-parusel.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
Missed our recent @sieps.bsky.social webinar on migrant smuggling and the EU’s counter-smuggling policies, with @gesanchez.bsky.social, @bramfrouws.bsky.social & @svaroschi.bsky.social? There is now a recording you can watch! 👇 sieps.se/en/seminars/...
sieps.se
Assessing the EU’s response to the smuggling of migrants
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Gabriella Sanchez @gesanchez.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
📢📢📢Join @svaroschi.bsky.social , @bramfrouws.bsky.social, @bernd-parusel.bsky.social for a conversation on the #facilitationproposal and its implications, next 17 June at 15.00 CET.
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Reposted by Gabriella Sanchez
Tom Cartwright @tomcartwright.bsky.social · 08/06/2025
Next deportation stop- Nepal.
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Tom Cartwright @tomcartwright.bsky.social · 08/06/2025
✈️👀 I believe this is a likely large jet deportation to Bangladesh. It would follow small jet deportations to there in February and April. Would not be surprised to see another atop on this route.
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Antonella Napolitano @svaroschi.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
Looking forward to speaking in this webinar on the EU’s legislation on counter-smuggling of migrants organised by @sieps.bsky.social next 17 June. I will be joined by @gesanchez.bsky.social and @bramfrouws.bsky.social Thanks @bernd-parusel.bsky.social for the invitation! sieps.se/en/seminars/...
sieps.se
Assessing the EU’s response to the smuggling of migrants
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Bernd Parusel @bernd-parusel.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
Webinar announcement! @gesanchez.bsky.social, @bramfrouws.bsky.social, @svaroschi.bsky.social and I will discuss the EU's response to the smuggling of migrants. Join us online on 17 June, 15:00-16:15 CEST! Info, related @sieps.bsky.social papers & and registration here. 👇 sieps.se/en/seminars/...
sieps.se
Assessing the EU’s response to the smuggling of migrants
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WOLA @wola-org.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
🚨 NEW: WOLA President @cjimenezdc.bsky.social co-authored a powerful piece in the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs on how U.S. mass deportation policies are putting migrant women and girls at grave risk. 🧵 gjia.georgetown.edu/2025/05/06/g...
gjia.georgetown.edu
Gendered Consequences of U.S. Mass Deportations | GJIA
This article contends that increased rates of GBV, both domestically and internationally, must be anticipated as migrant women and girls are forcibly detained and compelled to “reverse migrate” to dan...
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Gabriella Sanchez @gesanchez.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
"Increased rates of GBV, both domestically and internationally, must be anticipated as migrant women and girls are forcibly detained and compelled to “reverse migrate” to dangerous environments." Global Women's Institute & @wola-org.bsky.social gjia.georgetown.edu/2025/05/06/g...
gjia.georgetown.edu
Gendered Consequences of U.S. Mass Deportations | GJIA
This article contends that increased rates of GBV, both domestically and internationally, must be anticipated as migrant women and girls are forcibly detained and compelled to “reverse migrate” to dan...
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Reposted by Gabriella Sanchez
oiip @infooiip.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
ONLINE PANEL TODAY AT 5pm! Walls, Fences and Deportations: The Radicalization of Border and Migration Policies Mert Cangönül, @charlesmartinshields.com, Sophie Reichelt, @gesanchez.bsky.social z.bsky.social & @judithkohlenberger.bsky.social y.social Register: www.oiip.ac.at/events/walls...
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Gabriella Sanchez @gesanchez.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
Join us all this Tuesday, May 7 at 17.00 CET! Thanks to @infooiip.bsky.social for the invitation to talk about borders, 100 days into the 2nd Trump presidency.
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Katy Fallon @katymfallon.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
With thanks to @gesanchez.bsky.social, @juliawinkler.bsky.social, the defence lawyers and the young men such as nineteen year old Justin who gave testimony from behind bars for the story.
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oiip @infooiip.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
Join our ONLINE Panel: Walls, Fences and Deportations: The Radicalization of Border and Migration Policies on 7 May at 5pm CET with Mert Cangönül, @charlesmartinshields.com, Sophie Reichelt, @gesanchez.bsky.social & @judithkohlenberger.bsky.social Register: www.oiip.ac.at/events/walls...
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de:criminalize @de-criminalize.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
Instead of protection, they were met with handcuffs upon arrival in Greece. Because they (allegedly) steered the boat or took on other tasks, they are being charged with smuggling. Despite the fact that they were part of the group, paid for the trip, fled the war & are still almost children. 2/4
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de:criminalize @de-criminalize.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
#FreeTheBoys - Around 40 Sudanese youths, barely out of childhood, are locked in Avlona juvenile prison, Greece. Most are under 20, some still just 17. They fled the horrors of war in Sudan, losing fathers, homes, and hope. Now, they face life in prison for surviving. 1/4
In the picture you can see seven teenagers from the back, looking outside the window of a prison cell. The picture says: "Free the Boys! Over 40 Sudanese Teenagers Aged 17-21 Years Who Fled The War Are Facing Life Sentences For Boat Driving."
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de:criminalize @de-criminalize.bsky.social · 26/04/2025
We have hired a great lawyer for him and will be there in court to support him! We demand that all charges against Ariad are dropped! We need your help to also be able to support the dozens of other boys! - Every contribution makes a difference. 🖤 6/6 ▶️ www.betterplace.org/en/projects/...
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de:criminalize @de-criminalize.bsky.social · 26/04/2025
If convicted, Ariad faces harsh penalties—at least 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of at least €30,000 for each transported person. In total, he could be sentenced to several hundred years in prison and fines exceeding €2 million euros. 2/6
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de:criminalize @de-criminalize.bsky.social · 26/04/2025
Ariad is one of the about 50 Sudanese teenagers currently imprisoned on smuggling charges after arriving in Crete this and last year. There were about 70 passengers on the boat he crossed with. Everyone had to help a little — and so did Ariad. Anyone in his position would have done the same. 1/6
In the picture you can see the image of a young boy. Next to him, it says "Freedom for Ariad!". It also says "Trial on 30.4.25" and "Crete, Greece". On the bottom of the picture, there is text written that says: "With a broken arm and still a minor, he fled the war. Five days after turning 18, he was arrested and now faces life in prison for helping on the boat."
There is the logo of the group "de:criminalize" on it as well as of "Captain Support".
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de:criminalize @de-criminalize.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
@juliawinkler.bsky.social, a political scientist who co-authored a 2023 report on migrant criminalisation in Greece, says: “What’s happening in Crete is a brutal example of how Europe’s so-called ‘war on smuggling’ is, in reality, criminalising the very act of migration.” 9/10
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de:criminalize @de-criminalize.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
The practice across EU countries of prosecuting young migrants as smugglers goes against the protocol’s principles.” 7/10
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de:criminalize @de-criminalize.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
@gesanchez.bsky.social, research fellow at Georgetown University, says the criminalisation of refugees from the civil war in Sudan contravenes the UN protocol on migrant smuggling, which “clearly establishes that a migrant cannot be prosecuted for facilitating his or her own smuggling. 6/10
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de:criminalize @de-criminalize.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
Fifty Sudanese teenagers fled war — now they're facing life sentences for 'smuggling' simply because they steered the boat they escaped on. Following our coverage, @theguardian.com has picked up the story, shedding light on this great injustice! 1/10 #FreeTheBoys www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
theguardian.com
‘It was steer or they would kill me’: why Sudanese war refugees are filling prisons in Greece
Prosecutors are using harsh anti-smuggling laws to jail people who have no connection to criminal offences, say migrants’ lawyers
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Katy Fallon @katymfallon.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
With @giorgoschristides.bsky.social, we wrote about the dozens of young men under 21 who fled Sudan & are now facing (what their lawyers say are) draconian charges under Greek anti-smuggling legislation. Many have already been handed lengthy sentences in Greece... www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
theguardian.com
‘It was steer or they would kill me’: why Sudanese war refugees are filling prisons in Greece
Prosecutors are using harsh anti-smuggling laws to jail people who have no connection to criminal offences, say migrants’ lawyers
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Gabriella Sanchez @gesanchez.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
En Sonora este jueves...
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Dara Lind @daralind.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
I know there is a lot more going on here, but FWIW: -137 Venezuelans were deported to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act. -When asked how many more people might be subject to that proclamation, the government wrote in a sworn declaration that it had identified 258 others. That’s <400 people.
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Al Otro Lado @alotrolado-org.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
We're offering free legal assistance to CA residents state-wide who earn a low income + who may be eligible to file one of the following case types ⤵️ with USCIS. Space is limited. To schedule a consultation (virtual or in person), please call 323-238-9935 + leave a message with your contact info.
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