News Summaries in March 2025
“U.S. Tied Migrants to Gang Based Largely on Clothes or Tattoos, Papers Show,” New York Times, March 31, 2025
The Trump administration has granted itself the authority to summarily deport Venezuelan migrants based on little more than whether they have tattoos or worn clothing associated with the violent Tren de Aragua gang, according to court papers. In March, the Trump administration ordered more than 100 people to be deported based on suspicions they were members of Tren de Aragua. It did so under the powerful wartime statute the Alien Enemies Act. Use of the measure meant they were denied any due process to challenge the allegations against them. The court papers, submitted by lawyers for the Venezuelan migrants, included a U.S. government document entitled “Alien Enemy Validation Guide.” It laid out criteria officials must meet to designate people as members of Tren de Aragua. The document says that if anyone admits they are a member of the gang they are subject to immediate deportation under the Act. But under a numerical system that can also be used to deport them they can be assigned points for displaying insignia, logos, notations, drawings or dress known to show allegiance to the gang. They can also be designated members of the gang even if dressed in “high-end urban street wear” such as basketball jerseys from the Chicago Bulls or its star player Michael Jordan. Lawyers say their clients have been falsely accused of being members of the gang under the system and sent to a brutal prison in El Salvador. For example, one deportee had a crown tattoo honoring his favorite soccer team, Real Madrid, according to his lawyers. Another man had tattoos showing a crown next to the work “Mom” and a crown next to the word “Dad.” His lawyers denied that he had any links to Tren de Aragua.
“Trump Blocked from Deporting Migrants to Countries Where They’re Not Citizens,” Washington Post, March 28, 2025
A federal judge in Boston issued a temporary order March 28 preventing the Trump administration from sending anyone with a final deportation order to a country where they are not a citizen without first getting an opportunity to seek humanitarian protection in the United States. The Trump administration immediately appealed the order. The order by U.S. District Judge Brian E. Murphy follows threats by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem that anyone in the U.S. illegally could be imprisoned in El Salvador, home to a notorious mega-prison. The order requires that the deportee is given written notice of the country to which he or she is being sent. The deportee must then be given an opportunity to apply in immigration court for protection to stay in the U.S. under the Convention Against Torture. Congress ratified that measure in 1994 to bar the government from sending immigrants to a country where they might be tortured. Immigration authorities must await the final decision of an immigration judge before sending someone to another country. “Before taking office, administration officials said immigrants would have their day in court,” wrote Post reporter Maria Sacchetti. “But now they are increasingly attempting to remove people without hearings or to countries that were not their original destinations listed on their deportation orders.” It can be difficult to get protection under the Convention Against Torture. An applicant must show it is more likely than not he or she would be harmed if sent to another country. But while applicants could still be removed to countries where they are not citizens, “the process outlined in Murphy’s decision could slow their removal and ensure that they have a full hearing and potentially have access to legal advice at their own expense,” said Sacchetti.
“Bolsonaro to Face Trial for His Role in Coup Plot,” New York Times, March 27, 2025
A five-justice Brazilian Supreme Court panel voted unanimously March 26 to bring former President Jair Bolsonaro to trial on charges he directed an elaborate scheme to destroy Brazil’s democracy by staging a coup after losing the 2022 election. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, overseer of the case, said there was no doubt Bolsonaro “knew, handled and discussed” plans for a coup. Bolsonaro has been barred from running for office until 2030. If he is convicted, he could face a prison sentence of 12 to 40 years. He’d also be permanently ineligible to run for office under current law. However, analysts say his sentence likely would be shorter. Also, lawmakers who support Bolsonaro are trying to change a law that bars convicted criminals from running for office. They also back a new bill to pardon those convicted in the Jan.8 2023 insurrection that tried to keep Bolsonaro in power. Investigators released an 884-page report last November that accused Bolsonaro of directing a plot that included plans to annul the election results, disband the courts, give special powers to the military and poison Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva days before he became president. “The investigation revealed how close Brazil came to returning to a military dictatorship nearly four decades into its history as a modern democracy,” said Times reporter Ana Ionova. Bolsonaro said the Supreme Court’s decision was a politically motivated attempt to “silence the opposition.”
“Appeals Court Upholds Temporary Block on Alien Enemies Deportation,” Washington Post, March 26, 2025
A federal appeals panel voted 2 to 1 on March 26 to maintain a ban on deportation of migrants using the 1798 Alien Enemies Act (see stories below). The two appeals court judges who voted to continue the ban imposed by lower court Judge James E. Boasberg “stressed the temporary nature of the ban, which the judge imposed to prevent deportations until he could hear arguments on their legality,” wrote Post reporters Jeremy Roebuck and Marianne LeVine. The Trump administration had argued that the ban usurped the power of the federal government to make national security decisions. Judges Karen Henderson and Patricia Millett of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit also cautioned that their decision should not be construed as a final judgment on the merits of the Trump administration’s use of the Act. Still, the judges “questioned the administration’s justification for invoking the act, noting it had only been used before in cases of war or attack from foreign powers,” the Post said. Trump justified the use of the Act to deport Venezuelans without due process on grounds that the presence of the violent Tren de Aragua gang in the United States constituted an invasion. Henderson said “the theme that rings true is that an invasion is a military affair, not one of migration.” Millett said that in the view of the government accused gang members “can be removed immediately with no notice, no hearing, no opportunity – zero process – to show that they are not members of the gang, to contest their eligibility for removal under the law, or to invoke legal protections against being sent to a place where it appears likely they will be tortured and their lives endangered.” Boasberg must rule on the legality of the use of the Act, after which either party in the case could appeal. Trump has angrily attacked Boasberg for blocking his use of the Act and called for his impeachment. U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued a statement saying an appeal, not impeachment, is the remedy for an objectionable decision.
Lawyers for the Venezuelan government filed suit March 24 with the El Salvadoran Supreme Court to free 238 Venezuelans deported by the United States who are being held in a Salvadoran mega-prison. One of the lawyers, Jaime Ortega, said “”we represent at this moment 30 Venezuelans who have given us the power to act, but by extension, we are asking for habeas corpus for the rest of the Venezuelan citizens detained in our country.” Another lawyer for the 30 Venezuelans said they are not members of the Tren de Aragua gang and do not have a criminal record. The Trump administration sent Venezuelans to the El Salvador prison saying they were members of the violent gang and were criminals. AP said “the Salvadoran has been silent about the status of the Venezuelan prisoners since the U.S. government sent them more than a week ago, despite a U.S. federal judge’s verbal order to turn the planes around.”
“Venezuelans Ask to Keep Protected Status in U.S.,” New York Times, March 25, 2025
Immigration rights lawyers urged a federal judge March 24 to delay actions by Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem that would keep migrants from Venezuela from staying in the U.S. under the Temporary Protected Status program. TPS lets migrants from troubled nations live and work legally in the U.S. Under Noem’s actions, that status would begin to expire for Venezuelans, “putting nearly 350,000 people at risk of deportation as soon as April, and hundreds of thousands more later this year,” wrote Times reporter Jazmine Ulloa. The plaintiffs in the case argue that Noem violated the Administrative Procedures Act when she moved to revoke extensions of protected status granted by the Biden administration and also acted with racial bias. They asked the judge to keep their protected status in place while their case is litigated.
“Judge Maintains Halt on Deportations Tied to Wartime Law,” New York Times, March 25, 2025
Federal judge James Boasberg ruled March 24 that his order barring the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act of 1978 to deport Venezuelan migrants to a much-feared mega-prison in El Salvador should remain in place. He said doing so will give migrants the chance to challenge accusations that they belong to the violent Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, which the administration said merited using deportation powers of the Act that largely deny due process. A three-judge federal appeals panel is reviewing Boasberg’s order, which if reversed would let the administration immediately continue deporting people to the El Salvador prison, according to a Justice Department lawyer. One of the appeals judges, Patricia A. Millett suggested that if Venezuelans could be deported without due process then anyone, herself included, could simply be declared a national security threat and flown out of the country. Judge Millett “pointed out that even German citizens arrested under the Alien Enemies Act during World War II had the opportunity to argue in hearings that the law did not apply to them,” wrote Times reporters Alan Feuer and Charlie Savage. “Nazis got better treatment under the Alien Enemies Act,” she said. Lawyers for the Venezuelans offered new information they said contradicted the claims of the government that all of those deported to El Salvador were gang members. “The lawyers said that as many as eight of the migrants who were accused of being gang members were women and that at least one was from Nicaragua, not Venezuela," The Times said.
“Americans Journeyed to Hell and Back in Venezuela,” New York Times, March 20, 2025
American prisoners who came home from Venezuela in late January, their freedom negotiated by the Trump administration, said that while imprisoned they were confined to cement cells, beaten, pepper-sprayed and subjected to psychological torture. They said that three months after their capture they were so angry they rebelled, banging on cell walls and kicking doors. Other prisoners joined in, “hundreds of them screaming for freedom until the concrete began to crack,” wrote Times reporter Julie Turkewitz. Her story was based on interviews with three of the six Americans released. “Some described being hooded, handcuffed and kidnapped at legal border crossings after trying to enter as tourists. All offered a rare inside view of Mr. [President Nicolas] Maduro’s expanding strategy to push global leaders to do what he wants: He has amassed dozens of prisoners from around the world to use as leverage in negotiations.” The cells in which the Americans were imprisoned measured two and a half steps by five and a half steps, one of the prisoners said. There are nine other U.S. citizens or permanent legal residents who remain in Venezuelan custody, according to the U.S. State Department. A total of 68 foreign passport holders are wrongfully imprisoned in Venezuela, according to Foro Penal, a watchdog group. They are being kept with some 900 Venezuelan political prisoners.
“Raids Shatter Perception of Puerto Rico as a Sanctuary for Immigrants,” Associated Press, March 20, 2025
Authorities are stepping up immigration raids to a level never seen before in Puerto Rico. “They appear and snatch people,” said Pastor Nilka Marrero, who is trying to prepare parishioners for the threat of arrest. “For decades, undocumented immigrants have lived in the U.S. territory without fear of arrest,” AP reports. “They’re allowed to open bank accounts and obtain a special driver’s license. Many have felt safe enough to open their own businesses.” But on Jan. 26, large-scale arrests by U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents began, angering Puerto Rican officials and civil leaders. They’ve created programs to help undocumented immigrants, many from the Dominican Republic. Some 55,000 Dominicans live in Puerto Rico, an undetermined number of whom are undocumented. More than 200 have been arrested since Jan. 26, 149 of them Dominican. Annette Martinez of the American Civil Liberties Union said it’s unclear where those arrested have been taken or if they have been deported. An unidentified man with a pending court case told AP he was arrested Feb. 26. A woman whose house he had been working on complained about his work one day. The next day, federal agents arrested him and his employees when they arrived at their workplace. He said the woman had taken a picture of his van and reported him. “How can people want to hurt someone so much?” he asked.
“Mexico City Law Bans Violence in Bullfights,” New York Times, March 20, 2025
Lawmakers in Mexico City, the largest bullfighting city in the largest bullfighting country in the world, have voted to end the practice in its traditional violent form, says Times reporter James Wagner. The legislation bars the injuring or killing of bulls for sport in or outside of arenas. It limits bullfighters to only using capes. Individual bullfights can only last 15 minutes with only six bullfights per event. Supporters of violent bullfighting attacked the legislation, launching a protest March 18 outside the Mexico City legislature. “This is just the beginning of a fight for our bullfighting,” four bullfighting groups said in a joint statement. The legislation is expected to go in effect “in the coming days,” said Wagner, but opponents plan a legal challenge. Bullfighting continues in at least five countries other than Spain and Mexico: France, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.
“Troops on the Streets of Lima as Peru’s Government Calls State of Emergency to Tackle Crime Wave,” Associated Press, March 18, 2025
Residents of Lima were facing new security measures March 18 after the government of Peru declared a state of emergency to combat crime. The measures included an increase in patrols at train and bus stations. The military said it would deploy 1,000 soldiers in Lima as part of the effort, and to support local police. “We’ve been abandoned and left to fend for ourselves,” said a local resident, Pedro Quispe. “If you get on a bus, you can get shot, if you go to work, you can get asked for extortion payments.” Legislators on March 17 were preparing a vote of no confidence against the Interior Minister, Juan José Santivañez, for failing to stem growing crime. A wave of violent crime over the weekend of March 15-16 included the murder of Paul Flores, a popular singer killed in an attack on his band’s bus, and an explosion at a restaurant injured at least 11 people. The minimum 30-day state of emergency will allow the government to suspend the right of assembly. The police will be able to search homes without warrants and to make arrests without orders from judges. The former Interior Minister Ruben Vargas said “we are in a situation where there is exponential growth of illegal economies” such as drug trafficking “and in which there is a growing number of international criminal groups.” A growing number of small businesses in Lima is being forced to make extortion payments to criminal groups, said Jorge Zapata, the head of a powerful trade group. The number of murders in Peru soared from 674 in 2017 to 2,057 in 2024. AP reporter Franklin Briceño wrote that “some analysts say Peru could soon experience the high rates of crime that are seen in neighboring Ecuador.”
“White House’s Defense for Not Recalling Deportations ‘One Heck of a Stretch,’ Says Judge,” The Guardian, March 17, 2025
The Trump administration defended its decision not to comply with the order of a federal judge March 15 to reroute deportation flights back to the United States on the grounds that it had only been conveyed in an oral statement but not in the written statement issued by the judge a short time later. Even if the written order had contained that statement, the authority of James Boasberg, chief US District Court Judge in Washington, to compel the return of suspected Venezuelan gang members disappeared as soon as the planes entered international airspace, the administration claimed. Trump secretly invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 late last week to deport Venezuelan and other gang members without a hearing and without offering evidence that they actually were gang members. The deportees are now inmates at El Salvador’s notorious “terrorism confinement center” prison complex. Guardian reporter Hugo Lowell wrote that in a court hearing March 17, “an incredulous Boasberg at one stage asked the administration concerning the issue of an oral versus a written order: ‘Isn’t then the better course to return the planes to the United States and figure out what to do, than to say: “We don’t care; we’ll do what we want?”’”. Boasberg had ordered a halt to the deportations after plaintiffs argued that Alien Enemies Act of 1798 could not legally be invoked to deport the alleged gang members. Boasberg also said he had authority to order the return of the planes even if they were in international airspace. He said his authority over the U.S. officials who could have instructed the planes to return did not end regardless of whether the planes were in international airspace. White House border czar Tom Homan said the court order came too late for Boasberg to have jurisidiction; “I don’t care what the judges think,” he said. Boasberg gave the administration until noon March 18 to provide more information about the deportation flights. The larger issue is the potential for a Constitutional showdown over the power of the judicial branch to exert a check on the executive branch; administration figures have said they aren’t always required to follow court orders, causing critics to say Trump is asserting dictatorial powers and defying the Constitution by not following the rule of law.
“US Deports 250 Alleged Gang Members to El Salvador Despite Court Ruling to Halt Flights,” The Guardian, March 16, 2025
The United States deported more than 250 people to El Salvador, most of them alleged to be Venezuelan gang members, despite the ruling of a U.S. judge to stop the flights on Saturday after President Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act to send them out of the country. The 1798 Act is meant only to be used in wartime and can be used without a court hearing or asylum screening. El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said 238 members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang and 23 members of the Salvadoran MS-13 gang were in custody in El Salvador. Bukele said the U.S. will pay El Salvador to hold them in its 40,000-person “terrorism confinement center.” Bukele’s confirmation came hours after U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg tried to stop the deportations of all people eligible for removal under a Trump proclamation March 14 invoking the Alien Enemies Act. He also ordered deportation flights already in the air to return to the U.S. Bukele made a joke of the fact that the deportees had arrived in El Salvador despite the court order. “Ooopsie…too late,” he said in an online post followed by a laughing emoji. After Bukele’s statement U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio thanked him in a social media post. The Trump administration has designated Tren de Aragua a terrorist organization. Trump said gang members were “conducting irregular warfare and undertaking hostile actions” against the U.S., wrote Guardian reporters Edward Helmore and Tom Phillips. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Boasberg’s stay on deportations “disregards well-established authority regarding President Trump’s power, and it puts the public and law enforcement at risk.” American Civil Liberties Union lawyers said Trump lacks authority to use the law against a criminal gang rather than a recognized state. On CNN March 16, U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, a Republican from South Dakota, questioned whether deportation flights ignored the judge’s order. “I don’t know about the timing on it,” he said. “I do know that we will follow the law.” Bukele’s megaprison contains many inmates detained largely without due process, human rights activists say. Neither U.S. nor Salvadoran authorities offered evidence that the deported Venezuelans were gang members or had been convicted of an offense. An Australian TV journalist who visited the prison said it has no sheets and no mattresses and prisoners sleep on cold steel frames. They eat the same meal every day and eat with their hands. “There’s just two open toilets in each of these massive cells and the lights stay on 24/7,” said the journalist, Liam Bartlett.
“Cuba Suffers Nationwide Power Outage, Plunging Millions Into Darkness,” CNN March 15, 2025
The power system in Cuba collapsed the night of March 14, leaving its 10 million people in darkness. By the morning of March 15 Cuban officials said pockets of electricity had been restored in some cities. However, most people remained in the dark. It was unclear when power would be fully restored. CNN said the massive outage “marks the latest in a series of failures on the Caribbean island struggling with creaking infrastructure, natural disasters and economic turmoil.” The Cuban government has blamed U.S. economic sanctions in the past for crippling its energy sector. Critics point to a lack of infrastructure investment by Cuba’s communist government. The collapse is the fourth such nationwide outage in six months.
Wall Street Journal, March 14, 2025
A commentary by Chinese state-owned newspaper Ta Kung Pao criticized the planned sale by a Hong Kong-based company of two ports at either end of the Panama Canal. The newspaper said the sale to the Wall Street firm BlackRock will result in use of the Panama Canal for the political purpose of restricting China’s shipping and trade. Journal reporter Kimberly Kao wrote that “the deal came after U.S. President Trump raised the Panama ports as a security concern because of their connection to China.” The $22.8 billion sale by Hong Kong-based C.K. Hutchison of most of its port businesses outside of China would help with the company’s debt repayments, analysts said. The state-owned newspaper quoted individuals sayimg the sale was “profit seeking” and was a move “betraying and selling off” all Chinese people. The paper said the relevante companies should decide which "side they should stand on."
“Trump Wants to Speed Up Deportations With Alien Enemies Act: What to Know,” New York Times, March 13, 2025
President Trump could invoke wartime authority as soon as March 14 to quickly increase the pace of deportations from the United States. The obscure law, the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, could give Trump “sweeping authority to remove undocumented immigrants while providing them little to no due process, although the move is likely to be challenged in court,” said Times reporters Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Hamed Aleaziz and Maggie Haberman. Trump wants to target gang members with the authority, He is concerned about the slow pace of deportations (see story below). The authority has been exercised three times in the past, all during war, said the Brennan Center for Justice. It was used for detentions, expulsions and restrictions targeting German, Austro-Hungarian, Japanese and Italian immigrants, the center said. “The law is best known for its role in Japanese internment, a shameful part of U.S. history.” Immigrants age 14 or older could be removed without a court hearing or asylum screening. Trump tried to lay the groundwork for using the law by signing an executive order in January calling illegal crossings into the U.S. from Mexico an invasion. Experts say use of the law requires establishing a link to actions of a foreign government, creating uncertainty about whether he could legally invoke it. He may specifically target the Venezuelan group Tren de Aragua and send some of those arrested to Guantanamo Bay (see next story).
“Hold 30,000 Migrants at Gauntánamo Bay? A Plan Moves Slowly,” New York Times, March 12, 2025
President Trump said Jan. 29 that the U.S. military base at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba would receive as many as 30,000 migrants awaiting deportation. Workers there began putting up tents for the arrivals but the encampment has yet to open. For now, only 225 detainees can stay at a time. Construction of the huge tent city that was planned has stopped. “It seems clear there’s no plan to get to 30,000 that’s workable in any way,” said Rep. Sara Jacobs, a Democrat from California who recently toured the facilities. The tents lack air conditioning and in some cases have mold. In addition, it appears they are not well designed to meet the security needs of housing what the Trump administration calls “criminal aliens.” The “tent city concept that the military was implementing for Mr. Trump’s order was designed to shelter people from Caribbean nations who had fled political unrest or a natural disaster, as a humanitarian relief project,” said Times reporter Carol Rosenberg. Jacobs said the operation is “entirely for the optics.” It’s meant to scare people thinking of entering the U.S. illegally. When U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited recently he said “I think the message is clear: if you break the law, if you are a criminal, you could find your way at Guantánamo Bay. You don’t want to be a Guantánamo Bay, which is where we housed Al Qaeda after 9/11.”
“Caribbean Leaders Oppose US Policy Targeting Cuban Medical Missions, Saying They’re Critical,” Associated Press, March 11, 2025
The U.S. has adopted a new policy to crack down on Cuban medical missions to other countries, drawing protests from the leaders of Caribbean nations. The Trump administration has threatened to withdraw the visas of those involved with the Cuban medical missions, which U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has termed “forced labor.” The issue was the subject of a recent meeting of the 15-member Caribbean trade bloc known as Caricom. Guyana’s foreign minister, Hugh Todd, said “the U.S. is a strategic partner to Caricom, but this very important issue has to be dealt with at the level of heads of government.” Cuba has some 24,180 doctors working in 56 countries, including missions in the Caribbean that provide impoverished nations with limited medical services. “Their presence here is of importance to our health care system,” said Jamaica’s foreign minister Kamina Johnson Smith. There are more than 400 Cuban doctors, nurses, biomedical engineers and technicians in Jamaica, Smith said. Two influential leaders in the Caribbean, the prime ministers of Trinidad and Tobago and of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, criticized the new policy. “I will prefer to lose my visa than to have 60 poor and working people die,” said Ralph Gonsalves, prime minister of St. Vincent. He was referring to 60 dialysis patients who receive care from Cuban doctors. Trinidad Prime Minister Keith Rowley likewise said he is willing to lose his visa. “We rely heavily on health care specialists whom we have obtained from India, the Philippines, and mainly from Cuba over the decades,” he told the Daily Express, a local paper in Trinidad. Rowley said those doctors are paid the same as local ones “but we’re now being accused of taking part in the program where people are being exploited. That is someone’s interpretation.”
“How Mexico’s President Became the World’s Leading Trump Whisperer,” March 9, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump backed down March 6 on his plans to impose 25 percent tariffs on all Mexican and Canadian products “out of respect for President Sheinbaum,” he said. For the second time in two months, President Claudia Sheinbaum had won a delay of the tariffs. The news was cheered by tens of thousands of Mexicans who had gathered in Mexico City in the country’s most important plaza. It was a sign of how she had unified the country. Her approval rating has grown from 70 percent when she first took office last October to 85 percent in February. Sheinbaum has earned a distinct global presence by emerging from her interactions with the wrathful Trump “looking even and measured,” said Carin Zissis of the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. Sheinbaum has made concessions to Trump while at the same time challenging him. She sent 10,000 additional troops to the border to block fentanyl shipments and illegal migration. She extradited to the U.S. 29 drug cartel operatives “in a massive operation involving 20 jets,” wrote Post reporters Mary Beth Sheridan and Leila Miller. But Sheinbaum says “we cannot cede our sovereignty” or allow Mexicans to be harmed by the decisions of foreign governments. Her approach involves rigorous preparation for her calls with Trump. Also, “she doesn’t take umbrage at his insults…and instead calmly lays out facts,” the Post reporters noted. She sent Trump a graphic noting that U.S. seizures of fentanyl at the border had plummeted since October. She informed Trump about a Mexican government publicity campaign to discourage fentanyl use. She also has taken back not only Mexican deportees from the U.S. but also those from other countries. She has threatened counter-tariffs but avoids a quick tit-for-tat response, seeking dialogue. That allowed pressure to build on Trump to call off the tariffs as the stock market plunged and retailers warned of higher prices. Her expulsion of the 29 drug traffickers also won her respect as a show of strength. Her approach has allowed her to emerge from the shadow cast by her protegee, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the charismatic former Mexican president and the founder of their leftist Morena party. But as an attendee noted at the rally that cheered Sheinbaum, “we need to stay serene and patient – very patient” in dealings with Trump. Among the enormous challenges she faces is that Trump has threatened military strikes on fentanyl targets in Mexico. In addition, Trump “could cripple Mexico’s export-reliant economy with recurrent tariff threats and pressure on auto manufacturers to relocate to the United States,” the Post noted.
“Trump’s Deportation Pledge Runs Into Reality,” New York Times, March 7, 2025
The’s growing frustration inside the Trump administration about the pace of arrests and deportations of undocumented immigrants. President Trump has made it his mission to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. The 23,000 arrests in the past month is a sharp increase over Biden administration figures. But daily arrests have fallen and deportations lag behind, increasing the number of people held in detention by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and straining its resources. Immigration raids and roundups do not go as planned. Hamed Aleaziz and Zolan Kanno-Youngs write that a highly publicized operation against gang members in Aurora, Colorado “was a dud. Hundreds of agents in the town ended up arresting around 30 people…And it was not just Aurora. In San Diego, some F.B.I. agents who were directed to assist ICE have grown frustrated over being redirected from their duties every day for the past month only to produce a handful of arrests, according to officials familiar with the matter.” In the Washington, D.C. office, FBI staff chafe at doing immigration work rather than pursuing national security threats. Each arrest by ICE requires several officers and often hours of waiting. Migrants have learned that they do not need to open their doors with ICE agents knock. ICE now plans to seek more warrants signed by judges to be able to enter homes. ICE would like to be able to pick up undocumented immigrants from jails and prisons but sanctuary cities limit how much local police will cooperate. Their goal is to ensure that immigrant communities feel safe talking to local law enforcement. The goal of mass deportation is unlikely without more money from Congress. But ICE is nevertheless mulling various moves. It is considering deporting people to third countries who have a legitimate fear of torture in their home country. It may also reinstate the practice of detaining immigrant families --- “a tactic that has come under fire because of concerns that detaining children, even with their parents, can cause permanent developmental damage,” the Times reporters say. Because of a shortage of detention beds, the Trump administration may use military sites to house migrants. And the Department of Homeland Security is pressuring the Internal Revenue Service to turn over the addresses of hundreds of thousands of people it wants to deport, which could violate taxpayer privacy laws. The administration will soon revoke the legal status of immigrants from troubled countries who enrolled in Biden-era programs that allowed them to stay in the U.S. temporarily. “It is clear that Trump will use every opportunity to demonize migrants while also undermining what communities want and need,” said Marcela Hernandez of the Detention Watch Network. “This moment demands a national outcry.” She said that Trump's desaire to lock up more people in detention "is in deep contrast with the demands of local communities where immigrants are welcomed and valued."
“Ecuadoran President Offers Carte Blanche to Police and Military After Attack Kills 22 in Guayakil,” March 7, 2025
An attack March 6 across three locations in Guayakil, Ecuador’s largest city, left at least 22 people dead and six people injured, authorities said. Preliminary reports suggested that the attack grew out of a dispute over profits between different factions of the Los Tiguerones criminal gang. “Among the deceased and injured, several have a history of robbery, drug trafficking and weapons possession,” Ecuadoran police said in a statement. Ecuador is in the middle of a drug-fueled epidemic of violence. In 2024, Guayakil recorded nearly 2,000 homicides. Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa has granted preemptive pardons for police and military personnel responding to the March 6 attack. “We need you to act decisively and without fear of reprisal,” Noboa said. “Defend the country, I will defend you.” [According to a March 5 CNN report, Noboa has said he wants foreign military assistance in countering the warring gangs in his country. It appears he wants help from President Donald Trump; Noboa attended Trump’s inauguration in Washington, D.C. Noboa’s proposal for military assistance needs to be approved by the Ecuadoran Congress. Noboa faces a runoff presidential election in April].
“Trump Delays Tariffs on Many Products from Mexico and Canada,” The Guardian, March 6, 2025
Two days after placing tariffs on all imports from Mexico and Canada President Donald Trump announced they would be put off until April. Trump told reporters “there are no delays at all.” Trump had “already softened the attack on Canada and Mexico, granting carmakers a one-month reprieve after they warned of widespread disruption,” said Guardian reporter Callum Jones. “Top retail CEOs have also been bracing customers for significant price increases in grocery stores within days,” he wrote. Trump said the reversal had nothing to do with falling stock prices. The S&P 500 fell 1.8% on Wall Street March 6. “I’m not even looking at the market,” he said.
“Mayors Rebut Fiery Criticism Over Migrants,” New York Times, March 6, 2025
House Republicans March 5 accused the Democratic mayors of New York, Denver, Boston and Chicago of sheltering immigrants who are criminals. The mayors countered angry questioning by Republicans on the House Oversight Committee by saying their cities lack the resources needed to assist federal immigration authorities and that doing so would mean neglecting other responsibilities. “We do not have the capacity for our law enforcement to be doing federal immigration enforcement,” said Denver Mayor Mike Johnston. “But we want to be partners in making sure we are pulling violent criminals off the street.” Republican governors bused tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants to the four cities, which were accused of providing sanctuaries for the violent. “There is no place in America, not one, that actually provides sanctuary from federal law,” said Democratic Representative Dave Min of California. Committee Chairman James Comer of Kentucky referred to cases where undocumented immigrants were charged with rape or murder. He then asked the mayors whether they would hand over such individuals to Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities. “Our local law enforcement works hard every day to get criminals off the streets of Chicago,” said that city’s mayor, Brandon Johnson. Comer said, “will you turn that criminal over to ICE?” Johnson said, “we do not harbor criminals.” Comer said the exchange proved mayors were shielding criminals from federal law enforcement. “We have to have cooperation,” he said. GOP lawmakers said the mayors should be prosecuted for cases in which people had been attacked or killed by undocumented migrants, on the grounds that the cities' immigration policies had contributed to the crimes. Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina said the mayors have "blood on your hands.” Mayors told Republicans they should step up by passing immigration reform and strengthening gun laws. “If you wanted to make us safe, pass gun reforms,” said Michelle Wu of Boston. “I must create an atmosphere that allows every law-abiding resident, documented or not, to access vital services without fear of being turned over to federal authorities,” said Eric Adams of New York City.
“BlackRock-Led Group Will Buy Ports at Heart of Panama-Trump Tension,” New York Times, March 4, 2025
Two ports that President Trump said showed China has control over the Panama Canal have been purchased by the giant American asset manager BlackRock. “BlackRock will buy the ports which sit at either end of the Panama Canal, and over 40 others from the Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison for about $19 billion,” wrote Times reporters Peter Eavis and Maureen Farrell. CK Hutchison is owned by the Li family, one of Asia’s wealthiest. The family believes it was under pressure to sell the ports. “President Trump has been suggesting, without evidence, that the Chinese are influencing the operation of the canal through the ports owned by CK Hutchison,” the reporters said. Trump has said he wants to seize back the canal from Panama. Trump has complained that the canal overcharges U.S. vessels. But the Panamanian agency that runs the canal said that fees have risen because of droughts, investment upgrades and sheer demand.
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