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Lorena Larios Shah

@lorenalariosshah.bsky.social
82 followers 92 following 64 posts

Immigration Attorney, fan of contemporary literature, paleontology and astronomy enthusiast, cat lover, zumba dancer, and love to travel and try new foods and learn about cultures.

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Reposted by Lorena Larios Shah
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
🚨 🚨 🚨 NEW: A shocking @USCIS memo seems to declare that hundreds of thousands of immigrants living in this country and applying for green cards must instead apply for visas abroad; which could MASSIVELY disrupt lives. 🧵 on what we know, and what we don’t.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services
PM-602-0199
May 21, 2026
Policy Memorandum
SUBJECT: Adjustment of Status is a Matter of Discretion and Administrative Grace, and an Extraordinary Relief that Permits Applicants to Dispense with the Ordinary Consular Visa Process
Purpose
This memorandum reminds officers and the public that adjustment of status under section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) is a matter of discretion and administrative grace not designed to supersede the regular consular processing of immigrant visas. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reaffirms this consistent and longstanding approach and declares as a matter of general policy its intention to faithfully apply the statutes consistently with this understanding.
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Nikhil Shah @grandmastershah.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
No words. This administration sunk to a new low.
reuters.com
US tells foreigners seeking green cards: Return to your countries to apply
Foreigners seeking to adjust their immigration status in the United States to secure green cards will ​have to do so from outside the country via ‌the State Department, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigr...
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George Takei @georgetakei.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
All of the men we wrongly sent to CECOT deserve compensation and justice.
Screenshot of a tweet by Aaron Reichlin-Melnick stating that what was done to certain people was a stain on the nation’s history. The tweet quotes a post reporting that a Venezuelan man deported from the U.S. and detained in El Salvador’s CECOT prison has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. seeking $1.3 million in damages.
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Nikhil Shah @grandmastershah.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Great legal analysis. This article answers questions people may have about the legality of the actions of the parties involved.
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Nikhil Shah @grandmastershah.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
"Enforcement is about removing whoever they can to feed a quota, regardless of how long these people have been in their communities, regardless of whether they have stable employment, regardless of what their family situation is in the United States.”
theguardian.com
Worst of the worst? Most US immigrants targeted for deportation in 2025 had no criminal charges, documents reveal
A Guardian analysis finds the vast majority of people who entered deportation proceedings for the first time from January to August last year had no criminal convictions
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Nikhil Shah @grandmastershah.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
"Immigrants will now have only 10 days, rather than 30, to file a notice of appeal from an ILJ decision. And after the BIA inevitably denies that appeal? Then the person gets deported, unless they file a petition with a federal circuit appellate court, which costs $600."
dailykos.com
Trump team goes to cruel new lengths to strip immigrants’ rights
It’s clear by now that the Trump administration remains furious that it is required to give immigrant detainees even the meager due process they are currently owed. So it’s setting out to change ...
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Nikhil Shah @grandmastershah.bsky.social · 30/11/2025
“ I don’t think they care about the conditions of these facilities. I think they’re just trying to round up as many people as they can and get rid of them without any due process and without any regard for conditions,” said the former official, who worked on CRCL investigations"
theguardian.com
Gutting of key US watchdog could pave way for grave immigration abuses, experts warn
Former oversight officials alarmed by dismantling of DHS system that oversees complaints about civil rights harms
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Lorena Larios Shah @lorenalariosshah.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
At least 225 judges have ruled in more than 700 cases that the administration’s new policy, which also deprives people of an opportunity to seek release from an immigration court, is a likely violation of law and the right to due process.
politico.com
More than 220 judges have now rejected the Trump admin’s mass detention policy
The number has skyrocketed in recent weeks and includes at least 20 judges appointed by Trump himself.
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Lorena Larios Shah @lorenalariosshah.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
The number of weapons bought by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has reportedly surged 700 percent under President Donald Trump—and even includes chemical agents and warheads.
thedailybeast.com
ICE Is Stockpiling Warheads and Chemical Weapons
Spending went from almost $9 million under Biden in 2024 to $71 million in Trump’s first nine months.
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David J. Bier @davidjbier.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
An ICE agent, who is being arrested for drunk driving and nearly killing his little kids & others, tries to stop the arrest by racially profiling the officers arresting him. Amazing to watch the courtesy given to him as he is belligerent and uncooperative
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Jesse Mermell @jessemermell.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
He is 13. A 7th grader w/ a pending asylum case. Being held more than 500 miles from home & housed w/ adults. He called his mom crying, & reported that he’s sleeping on concrete w/ an aluminum blanket. How is this anything other than sick & shameful? www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/12/m...
bostonglobe.com
Everett 13-year-old arrested by ICE and sent to Virginia detention facility - The Boston Globe
The boy’s mother, Josiele Berto, was called to pick her son up from the Everett Police Department on Thursday, the day he was arrested.
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
“.. On closer inspection, however, it turned out that the image was not a photograph of a real event in Portland, but instead a fabrication created by combining two photographs of scenes that unfolded in South America nearly a decade apart ..” @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
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John Pfaff @johnpfaff.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
Um, ICE just coldly shot an unarmed PRIEST in the head w a pepper ball when he (and everyone around him) clearly posed no threat. For the crime of … complaining about government policy. Core 1A speech. With cameras rolling, they’re sniping priests for sport.
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Lorena Larios Shah @lorenalariosshah.bsky.social · 28/09/2025
"The boss of the prosecutor should not be the boss of the judge.”
theguardian.com
‘Like the Gestapo’: trailblazing immigration judge on Ice brutality and Trump’s damage to the courts
Dana Leigh Marks had a long and notable tenure on the bench. Now she’s watching the Trump administration trash her institution – and raising the alarm
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Nikhil Shah @grandmastershah.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
"The Government ... has all but declared that all Latinos, U. S. citizens or not, who work low wage jobs are fair game to be seized at any time, taken away from work, and held until they provide proof of their legal status to the agents’ satisfaction," Sotomayor wrote."
latimes.com
Supreme Court upholds 'roving patrols' for immigration arrests in Los Angeles
The Supreme Court says immigration agents may stop and question people they suspect are here illegally based on little more than working at a car wash, speaking Spanish or having brown skin.
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
The data doesn't lie; the court order in Los Angeles had a clear and measurable impact.
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
HUGE. The first major court victory involving conditions of confinement at ICE field offices. The judge bars detention in any cell which isn't: - Restricted by capacity - Has mats for people to sleep on overnight - Is cleaned 3 times a day - Provides hygiene supplies - Offers free legal calls
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Qasim Rashid, Esq. @qasimrashid.com · 06/08/2025
Article 1, Section 9 & 10 have been removed from the official Govt website on the US Constitution. Among numerous points: •Section 9 forbids suspending The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus •Section 10 forbids ex post facto laws This better be a joke. Ignoring these is full blow dictatorship
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
Florida, unlike the federal government, can be sued for civil rights violations and punished with monetary damages.
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Lorena Larios Shah @lorenalariosshah.bsky.social · 02/08/2025
A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration from rapidly deporting migrants who entered the U.S. legally on humanitarian grounds, potentially curtailing arrests at immigration courts that have triggered controversy across the country.
cbsnews.com
Judge blocks expedited deportations of those who entered the U.S. legally, possibly curtailing ICE courthouse arrests
A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration's policy of rapidly deporting migrants who were granted parole to enter the U.S. legally.
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Nikhil Shah @grandmastershah.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
“When I see felonies dismissed, that tells me either the federal officers have filed affidavits that are not truthful and that has been uncovered, or US attorneys reviewing the cases realize the evidence does not support the charges,”
theguardian.com
Dropped cases against LA protesters reveal false claims from federal agents
Revealed: records show border patrol gave inaccurate testimony about people it jailed. Prosecutors now face ‘embarrassing’ dismissals
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Lorena Larios Shah @lorenalariosshah.bsky.social · 29/07/2025
"I heard one officer say about us 'they smell like sh--,'" one detained person recounted in a federal court filing. "And another officer responded, 'They are sh--.'"
cbsnews.com
Immigrant kids detained in "unsafe and unsanitary" sites as Trump administration seeks to end protections
The Justice Department seeks to terminate the Flores Settlement Agreement, which requires U.S. immigration officials to hold migrant children in facilities that are safe and sanitary, among other prot...
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NPR @npr.org · 20/07/2025
Dozens of Palestinians were killed across Gaza on Sunday as they tried to get food aid, according to local health authorities, one of the deadliest days in recent months for those seeking assistance. By Joe Hernandez, @danielestrin.bsky.social and Anas Baba
n.pr
Nearly 100 people killed seeking aid in Gaza on Sunday, Palestinian officials say
Dozens of Palestinians were killed across Gaza on Sunday as they tried to get food aid, according to local health authorities, one of the deadliest days in recent months for those seeking assistance.
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Nikhil Shah @grandmastershah.bsky.social · 20/07/2025
"Guevara “was arrested while doing the vital work that journalists in a democracy do”, GALEO’s letter states. “Not only do the circumstances surrounding his incarceration and subsequent immigration detainment stir serious civil rights concerns.."
theguardian.com
Atlanta journalist fights deportation from Ice jail despite dropped charges: ‘I’m seeing what absolute power can do’
A Salvadorian reporter with an audience of millions, Mario Guevara was arrested while livestreaming a protest against Trump in June – and is still struggling for freedom
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Lorena Larios Shah @lorenalariosshah.bsky.social · 20/07/2025
In an exclusive interview with CBS News, the head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said his agents will arrest anyone they find in the country illegally, even if they lack a criminal record, while also cracking down on companies hiring unauthorized workers.
cbsnews.com
ICE head says agents will arrest anyone found in the U.S. illegally, crack down on employers of unauthorized workers
Immigration agents will arrest anyone they find in the country illegally, even if they lack a criminal record, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said in an exclusive CBS News interview.
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Lorena Larios Shah @lorenalariosshah.bsky.social · 19/07/2025
Today, however, Grammer claims the emphasis on very public raids and heavy-handed tactics attracts recruits with "authoritarian and punitive traits" who relish the "satisfaction from the suffering they cause" to vulnerable populations.
rawstory.com
'Unchecked sadism': Psychiatrist warns ICE inundated by recruits with shocking traits
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Reposted by Lorena Larios Shah
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
This has been the talk of the removal defense community for days. Long story short, what the Trump admin is alleging is that a 1996 law made every undocumented immigrant who crossed the border illegally “mandatory detention” and categorically ineligible for bond, no matter how long they lived here.
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NPR @npr.org · 14/07/2025
EXCLUSIVE: Several more immigration judges have been fired, even as the Trump administration ramps up immigration enforcement, and after Congress gave the Department of Justice $3 billion, in part to hire judges.
n.pr
More immigration judges are being fired amid Trump's efforts to speed up deportations
Several more immigration judges have been fired, even as the Trump administration ramps up immigration enforcement, and after Congress gave the Department of Justice $3 billion, in part to hire judges.
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Nikhil Shah @grandmastershah.bsky.social · 13/07/2025
Yup. We fight back. We always have regardless of the odds against us.
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The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 13/07/2025
Breaking news: Federal immigration officers may deport immigrants with as little as six hours’ notice to countries other than their own, even without assurances that the arrivals will be safe from persecution or torture, a top official said.
washingtonpost.com
ICE memo outlines plan to deport migrants to countries where they are not citizens
The dramatic shift in policy could result in thousands of immigrants being deported to places where they lack family ties or even a common language.
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Lorena Larios Shah @lorenalariosshah.bsky.social · 13/07/2025
Gallup shows the percentage of Americans who favor deporting all undocumented immigrants dropping from 47% last year during the 2024 campaign down to 38% now that it’s a reality Trump is pursuing.
cnn.com
Analysis: Trump’s mass deportation is backfiring | CNN Politics
President Donald Trump and his administration continue to bet big on the issue that, more than any other, appeared to help him win him a second term in 2024: immigration.
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Maxwell Frost @maxwellfrost.bsky.social · 13/07/2025
I just left the Everglades Immigrant Interment Camp. No, I’m not using their ridiculous name. It was a very tough to witness humans in those cages. Every Floridian should be ashamed that our taxpayer money is being used for this.
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Law Offices of Nikhil M. Shah @nikhilmshahlaw.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
yahoo.com
Federal judge temporarily halts alleged indiscriminate immigration stops
In a searing ruling, a federal judge in Los Angeles blocks the Trump administration from conducting indiscriminate sweeps in immigrant communities, saying they likely violate the 4th Amendment.
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
🚨Federal judge orders DHS to limit “roving patrols” in Los Angeles. The judge finds that the evidence shows that DHS officers are racially profiling people to demand their papers, which all sides agree is illegal, and orders DHS to stop those unlawful practices.
What the federal government would have this Court believe—in the face of a mountain of evidence presented in this case—is that none of this is actually happening.
Most of the questions before this Court are fairly simple and non-controversial, and both
sides in this case agree on the answers.
• May the federal government conduct immigration enforcement— even large scale immigration enforcement-in Los Angeles? Yes, it may.
• Do all individuals regardless of immigration status— share in the rights guaranteed by the Fourth and Fifth Amendments to the Constitution? Yes, they do.
• Is it illegal to conduct roving patrols which identify people based upon race alone, aggressively question them, and then detain them without a warrant, without their consent, and without reasonable suspicion that they are without status? Yes, it is.
• Is it unlawful to prevent people from having access to lawyers who can help them in immigration court? Yes, it is.
There are really two questions in controversy that this Court must decide today.
First, are the individuals and organizations who brought this lawsuit likely to succeed in
proving that the federal government is indeed conducting roving patrols without reasonable suspicion and denying access to lawyers? This Court decides—based on all the evidence presented-that they are.
And second, what should be done about it? The individuals and organizations who have brought this lawsuit have made a fairly modest request: that this Court order the federal government to stop.
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @aoc.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
I don’t think anyone is prepared for what they just did w/ ICE. This is not a simple budget increase. It is an explosion - making ICE bigger than the FBI, US Bureau of Prisons, DEA,& others combined. It is setting up to make what’s happening now look like child’s play. And people are disappearing.
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Nikhil Shah @grandmastershah.bsky.social · 21/06/2025
"Some detainees told lawmakers they were held inside Adelanto for 10 days without a change of clothes, underwear or towels, Chu said. Others said they had been denied access to a telephone to speak to loved ones and lawyers, even after repeatedly filling out forms." enter
latimes.com
Moldy food, dirty towels: Critics warn of inhumane conditions at California's largest detention center
In less than two months, the number of detainees at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center has surged from around 300 near the end of April to more than 1,200.
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Lorena Larios Shah @lorenalariosshah.bsky.social · 21/06/2025
Civil rights advocates and scholars on policing say the government’s assault claims against well-known members of the opposing party, and the repetition of those accusations, nonetheless are troubling indicators of rising authoritarianism.
theguardian.com
‘Authoritarian playbook’: DHS accuses critics of assaulting officers when videos say otherwise
Civil rights advocates and scholars say the US government’s claims are troubling indicators of rising authoritarianism
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Lorena Larios Shah @lorenalariosshah.bsky.social · 21/06/2025
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
theguardian.com
As Ice infiltrates LA, neighborhoods fall quiet: ‘We can’t even go out for a walk’
Raids have brought life to a standstill for some immigrant residents while others pick up pieces after arrests of family
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Nikhil Shah @grandmastershah.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
thejoebraxton
10h

Follow

We heard for over 2yrs that "we can't breathe with
masks on" & now ICE can't seem to function
without one.

POLICE
ICE

F

SI

TQ

BI

FOI
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
This is the military carrying out law enforcement, I'm sorry, there's no other way to interpret it.
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Lorena Larios Shah @lorenalariosshah.bsky.social · 14/06/2025
At the Santa Monica 'No Kings' protest. Safe protest to everyone.
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Governor Gavin Newsom @governor.ca.gov · 12/06/2025
Yesterday, I met with a 12 year old boy in Oxnard, CA. His mom and dad have been fieldworkers for over 20 years. ICE agents snatched his parents from the fields and left this boy alone with no clue when he’ll see them again. A 6th grader.
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David Gura @davidgura.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
Sen. Alex Padilla, who was just forcibly removed from a DHS press conference, is the ranking member of Judiciary’s subcommittee on immigration, citizenship, and border safety, which has “oversight of federal agencies with citizenship, asylum, refugee, and immigration enforcement responsibilities.”
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Nikhil Shah @grandmastershah.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
"Institutions had begun folding to the president’s threats. As the administration escalated immigration raids and stripped away immigrants’ rights; politicians mounted muffled objections. And then Trump came after Los Angeles."
theguardian.com
Los Angeles responds with roaring backlash to Trump’s dramatic escalation
The president vowed to crush opposition to his immigration raids – but his attempted show of force may have awoken something else
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
It is completely unlawful for ICE to turn away members of Congress like this. The law could not be more clear; no member of Congress may be denied access to a facility where ICE is detaining someone, and they cannot be required to schedule in advance. Surprise inspections must be surprise.
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Christopher Webb @cwebbonline.com · 07/06/2025
ICE raids hit across Los Angeles today—and locals are rising up. This is what resistance looks like. ✊🏾 This was about an hour ago…
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Wajahat Ali @wajali.bsky.social · 07/06/2025
Dont F with California. Most populous state in the country and the world's 5th largest economy. MAGA is in for a surprise.
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Nikhil Shah @grandmastershah.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
"The new bill will also cause the US to emit 260m tonnes more pollution than it would’ve otherwise in 2035, which is more than the entire annual emissions of Spain."
theguardian.com
Trump’s tax bill to cost 830,000 jobs and drive up bills and pollution emissions, experts warn
Bill will unleash millions more tonnes of planet-heating pollution and couldn’t come at a worse time, say experts
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
A new analysis estimates the Trump/GOP budget's rollback of clean energy tax credits will eliminate nearly 830,000 jobs by 2030 and raise energy prices by 50% by 2035.  Just another way the "big beautiful bill" will make the economy worse and your life more expensive.
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
🚨Reports around the country today that some people who showed up for their immigration court hearings were told that ICE prosecutors had dismissed their cases — and then were arrested moments later by ICE officers and taken to detention centers for unknown reasons. Happening in multiple cities.
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