The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) are facing backlash after accusations of refusing detained illegal immigrants access to legal counsel and alleged mistreatment.
The scrutiny came after the relatives and advocacy groups of the 200 Venezuelan illegal immigrants, who were sent to Guantanamo Bay and later taken to Venezuela, accused the U.S. government of holding immigrants without access to legal counsel or relatives.
In a court filing, the departments of Homeland Security defended their actions, stating that the recent detainees were under “final removal orders” which offered “very limited due process rights.” The groups argued back, saying immigrants with final removal orders should still be able to challenge conditions of confinement and possible mistreatment in detention and seek release in the U.S. if efforts to deport them drag on too long.
Following this, the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. has directed authorities to provide phone access to legal counsel, and authorities at Guantanamo said in the court filing that they have complied, while pushing back against other demands including communication between detainees and relatives.
Volga Ozturan, a PPCHS junior from Turkey, believes that while everyone deserves basic human rights, these immigrants cut in line and therefore shouldn’t get the benefits legal citizens receive. “[You have] those who follow the correct visa path, while the illegals enter and occupy resources. When it comes to them being provided with a lawyer and due process, they are still humans, so unfairness shouldn’t take place, however they aren’t citizens, so [having] an attorney seems doubtful,” he expresses.
As deportations continue, the White House also sparked backlash after posting a video on X labeled, “ASMR: Illegal Alien Deportation Flight.” The video shows ICE taking out chains and handcuffs and placing immigrants in them before they board a plane. This caused many to see this as an attempt to make a public spectacle out of mass deportation efforts and trying to dehumanize illegal immigrants.
Junior Aaron Santiago views this as a way to gain attention, and not in a good way. “Whatever message they were trying to convey, it wasn’t a good way of doing it. It wasn’t funny and just wrong that they were treating them like they committed terrorism. It’s just sad,” he says.
As of now, the Trump administration has deported more than 30,000 illegal immigrants in the first month of presidency.
