Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a statement asserting Texas’ constitutional right to self-defense on Wednesday as tensions with the Biden administration over security along the US southern border escalated. The statement specifically references Article I, § 10, Clause 3 of the US Constitution, which Abbott interpreted as granting Texas the authority to act autonomously against [...]
Search Results for: immigration detention
Türkiye prosecutor orders detention of 15 suspected Israel spies
Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc announced on Friday that the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office ordered the detention of 15 people suspected of spying for Israel. The 15 arrested are part of a larger group of 34 people suspected of espionage. Yilmaz’s announcement says that the 15 suspects were detained following an investigation by the [...]
Washington State Supreme Court rules immigration detainees entitled to minimum wage
The Washington Supreme Court ruled Thursday that civil immigration detainees employed in private facilities must be treated as legal employees and are thus entitled to the minimum wage stipulated by the state. The case, Ugochukwu Goodluck Nwauzor, et al v. The GEO Group, Inc., scrutinized the compensation practices of the GEO Group, a Florida-based private [...]
ACLU challenges new Texas law criminalizing illegal entry from abroad
Civil rights groups filed a lawsuit on Tuesday challenging a recently enacted Texas law, which gives state officials broad powers to arrest, prosecute and deport people who illegally cross the US-Mexico border. Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed SB4 into law on Monday as the latest escalation of confrontations between the state and the federal government [...]
Pakistan Supreme Court begins hearings on Afghan refugee deportations
Pakistan’s Supreme Court heard arguments Friday on a petition to halt the country’s removal of Afghan refugees. The petition was signed by a group of human rights activists, lawyers and politicians in November following the government’s October 3 decision to deport undocumented Afghan migrants back to Afghanistan. Despite warnings, and with the expiration of the [...]
Australia emergency laws for immigrants who can not be deported face challenge
A Chinese refugee affected by recent Australian emergency laws subjecting certain refugees to monitoring challenged the laws in Australia’s high court on Wednesday, according to ABC News (Australia). The refugee’s lawyers claim that the new laws, which relate to the monitoring of refugees who cannot be deported, are “arbitrary” and “punitive.” Under the new laws, [...]
Amnesty International urges Pakistan to halt mass detention and deportations of Afghan refugees
Amnesty International urged the Pakistani government to stop detentions, deportations and harassment of Afghan refugees on Friday. Since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, over 600,000 Afghans have fled the country and resided in Pakistan without proper documentation. In response, the Pakistani government imposed a deadline of November 1 for all “illegal immigrants” to voluntarily leave [...]
Australia High Court finds indefinite detainment of migrants is unlawful
The Australian High Court found on Tuesday that the government’s ongoing practice of detaining migrants indefinitely in detention facilities in cases where extradition is not possible is unlawful. The case overrules 2004 precedent that allowed the government to indefinitely detain migrants deemed to be “stateless.” Tuesday’s case looked at the issues facing a Rohingya man [...]
Pakistan's Forced Deportation of Afghan Refugees: A Violation of Human Rights and International Law
Last month, Pakistan’s caretaker government issued an ultimatum to all undocumented immigrants, including some 1.73 Afghan nationals: leave the country voluntarily, or face expulsion. The deadline was Nov. 1. Since the announcement, over 86,000 undocumented Afghan nationals, including women and children have returned to their country, presumably to avoid arrest. Pakistan, a country that hosts [...]
UN Human Rights Committee concludes session, criticizes US immigration policies
The UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) concluded its 139th session on Friday after reviewing reports from Iran, Kuwait, Republic of Korea, Trinidad and Tobago, the US and Venezuela. It said there were positive developments in all countries, but identified concerns and proposed recommendations. Notably, the UNHRC criticized the Biden Administration’s approach to US immigration policy, [...]