IN THE COURTS
American Immigration Council: On July 28, 2025, and July 29, 2025, the Council and LatinoJustice PRLDEF filed eleven requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) with ICE and EOIR. These requests seek the agencies’ policies for immigration court arrests and dismissal of immigration proceedings, as well as communications between ICE and EOIR leadership about arrests and dismissals. Access to these records is critical for informing the ongoing public debate about ICE arrests in immigration courts and these courts’ complicity in the Trump Administration’s mass deportation regime.
On Friday, a federal court in Washington, DC blocked one of the administration’s most common tactics in its drive for mass deportations. In its drive to arrest and deport as many people as possible as quickly as possible, the administration has been terminating immigration court proceedings against those previously admitted into the country on parole. DHS has then been using expedited removal, side-stepping the courts and removing the individuals from the country without legal recourse.This ruling will protect anyone in the country who entered on parole, even if that parole has expired or has been stripped away by the administration.
Immigration Advocates and Individuals Sue the Trump-Vance Administration Over Sudden and Unlawful Termination of Parole Status The Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts and three individuals from Venezuela, Cuba, and Haiti filed suit today against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts by Democracy Forward and Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, challenges the Trump-Vance administration’s sudden and unlawful termination of the plaintiff’s parole status, which allowed them to live and work legally in the United States.
In NY, a judge ordered ICE to improve conditions for detainees at 26 Federal Plaza, effectively immediately. The named plaintiff, an immigrant from Peru named Sergio Alberto Barco Mercado, wanted to file it “not just for him but for people who he saw in detention.”ACLU: Barco Mercado vs Noem Restraining Order
IN THE COMMUNITY
Immigration advocates hold Day 6 of hunger strike demanding sanctuary policy in Sonoma Co. In the North Bay, immigration activists are staging a hunger strike. They’re camping outside the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors offices demanding leaders pass a sanctuary ordinance protecting the immigrant community from ICE raids.
Fear of ICE Jolts a Maine Beach Town Wells, ME, like many U.S. tourist spots that rely on foreign labor, is fearful of immigration raids. The local police department’s agreement to collaborate with federal agents only adds to the anxiety. Protests, which began in April, have become a weekly event in Wells, which relies on foreign workers to staff its hotels, restaurants and other businesses. Police leaders, in turn, are now taking a cautious approach and have yet to participate in ICE enforcement actions — but that hasn’t quieted the furor or the concerns about how Wells, and Maine broadly, will be seen by tourists and foreign workers.
More than 350 partners signed onto Protecting Immigrant Families’ comment opposing the Department of Health and Human Services eligibility redetermination that denies care and help to lawfully present immigrants.
FOR YOU
P’alante: Stories Moving Somerville Forward
Somerviva is now SOIA! Somerville’s Office of Immigrants has a new name and a new art project! Check out the powerful photos and mini documentary celebrating our city’s vibrant, inclusive community.