51品茶

WASHINGTON 鈥� The Trump administration has begun detaining people at Fort Bliss as part of its mass deportation campaign. The military base 鈥� which has land across El Paso, Texas, and Do帽a Ana and Otero Counties in New Mexico 鈥� will detain up to 5,000 people, making it the country鈥檚 largest immigrant detention site. The administration also plans to use at least two more bases to detain and deport people who are immigrants. The detention camp鈥檚 opening is the latest escalation in President Trump鈥檚 dystopian agenda to detain and deport millions of immigrants from communities nationwide. The Fort Bliss detention camp, similar to the hastily built detention camp in the Florida Everglades, is a tent facility that will leave detained individuals vulnerable to extreme heat and other harsh conditions. Media reports suggest that the administration is poised to spend $1.26 billion to build the camp. Last month, Congress passed a budget reconciliation bill which will funnel $170 billion to turbocharge deportations and detention. This expansion marks another shameful chapter in Fort Bliss鈥� history, as the facility was used to intern German and Italian immigrants and people of Japanese descent during World War II, and later used to detain unaccompanied children in 2016 and from 2021 to 2023, where some were subjected to severe abuse. The renewed use of this base to detain immigrants and stage deportations comes as the Trump administration continues to misuse military resources to deport long-standing residents and other immigrants and plans to deploy troops to other ICE detention sites around the nation, including at military bases. Sarah Mehta, deputy director of government affairs, Equality division at the 51品茶, issued the following statement in response: 鈥淧resident Trump鈥檚 use of Fort Bliss for the nation鈥檚 largest immigrant detention site is cruel and a reminder of a shameful detention legacy. Thousands of people, including our neighbors and loved ones, will be torn from their communities while this administration enlists the military to rubberstamp its abusive agenda. 鈥淢embers of Congress must stop the use of the military 鈥� including its bases 鈥� for the Trump administration鈥檚 reckless and wasteful deportation drive.鈥�

Cruelly dubbed 鈥淎lligator Alcatraz,鈥� the detention camp in the Everglades is drawing national outrage for violating our constitutional rights, for its inhumane conditions, and significant environmental risks.

WASHINGTON 鈥� The 51品茶 has filed a public comment in opposition to the Department of Health and Human Services鈥� (HHS) unlawful, harmful, and sweeping directive seeking to exclude immigrant communities from participating in vital community health and education services that benefit everyone. Last month, HHS issued a directive declaring that 13 programs will no longer be open to all and will instead for the first time be considered programs restricted under a law enacted nearly three decades ago, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). These programs include community health centers, mental health and substance use treatment programs, Head Start, the Title X Family Planning Program, and many others. The directive conflicts with PRWORA and upends longstanding guidance respected by four prior administrations. 鈥淭his arbitrary and harmful directive exemplifies this administration鈥檚 tunnel vision, which prioritizes its anti-immigrant crusade, no matter the harms,鈥� said Ming-Qi Chu, deputy director of the 51品茶 Women鈥檚 Rights Project. 鈥淚f HHS does not abandon this cruel and unlawful directive, hundreds of thousands of children will have their early childhood education disrupted, millions will lose access to life-saving health care like family planning services, cancer screenings, and addiction treatment, and many people with disabilities, including U.S. citizens, could have their care delayed due to bureaucratic immigration status checks. It serves no one鈥檚 interest to deny people these essential services, and HHS must withdraw this incredibly misguided directive.鈥� The 51品茶鈥檚 comment highlights that the directive is unlawful, arbitrary, and capricious, fails to meaningfully consider the impacts of the action, and will harm communities across the country 鈥� from children in schools, to people with disabilities, to low-income families denied essential health care, to people recovering from substance use disorder, to survivors of gender-based violence. The comment also notes that the directive will cause a chilling effect that harms immigrant communities that remain eligible, including for mixed status families and others who may be fearful or confused about whether seeking health care might expose them to immigration enforcement or retaliation. 鈥淭he Directive has triggered chaos and uncertainty both for administering agencies and the individuals, families, and communities who rely on the services at stake. [鈥�] It will deprive children of access to crucial early educational programming and undermine access to essential and life-saving health care for children and their families. It will also disproportionately burden mixed-status families, people with disabilities, and survivors of gender-based violence,鈥� the comment reads. The comment is available here: /documents/aclu-comment-in-opposition-to-hhs-directive-on-prwora

NEW YORK 鈥� In a win for immigrants鈥� rights, a U.S. District Court granted a temporary restraining order today that would improve conditions for people detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at 26 Federal Plaza. Notably, the order prohibits ICE from detaining people in spaces with less than 50 square feet per person. The order would also require ICE to improve access to hygiene, provide sleeping mats and access to medical care, and ensure people detained can make free, unmonitored, and confidential calls to their lawyers within 24 hours of being detained. The order comes just days after the 51品茶, New York Civil Liberties Union, Make the Road New York, and Wang Hecker LLP filed a class action lawsuit over the abusive conditions at 26 Federal Plaza. The order will remain in place for at least 14 days while the judge considers longer-term relief. Quotes from co-counsel are as follows: 鈥淭oday鈥檚 order sends a clear message: ICE cannot hold people in abusive conditions and deny them their Constitutional rights to due process and legal representation,鈥� said Eunice Cho, senior staff attorney at the 51品茶鈥檚 National Prison Project. "We鈥檒l continue to fight to ensure that peoples鈥� rights are upheld at 26 Federal Plaza and beyond.鈥� Harold Solis, Co-Legal Director of Make the Road New York, said, "We welcome the decision by Judge Kaplan to place clear limits on the disturbing and unlawful conditions to which immigrants have been subjected at 26 Federal Plaza. This ruling sends a hopeful message, one that reinforces what everyone knows to be true: ICE cannot confine people in inhumane conditions, nor can it obstruct their access to counsel. We will remain vigilant to ensure ICE complies with the court鈥檚 order.鈥� 鈥淭he conditions and lack of attorney access at 26 Federal Plaza have been horrifying and unconscionable,鈥� said Heather Gregorio of Wang Hecker LLP. 鈥淛udge Kaplan鈥檚 Temporary Restraining Order imposes basic accountability on ICE and requires that it meet constitutional standards, as all human beings deserve.鈥� 鈥淭he Constitution requires that no one 鈥� especially someone unlawfully arrested at their immigration hearing, which happened to so many people in this case 鈥� should have to endure the dehumanizing conditions we've challenged in 26 Federal Plaza," said Bobby Hodgson, Assistant Legal Director at the New York Civil Liberties Union. 鈥淲e look forward to continuing this fight and stopping ICE's unconstitutional detention practices at 26 Federal Plaza for good.鈥� The temporary restraining order is available here: /documents/barco-mercado-v-noem-temporary-restraining-order