#migrant traffickers arrested

[soon-palestine]

The report, “Handcuffed like dangerous criminals”: Arbitrary detention and forced returns of Sudanese refugees in Egypt, reveals how Sudanese refugees are rounded up and unlawfully deported to Sudan – an active conflict zone – without due process or opportunity to claim asylum in flagrant violation of international law. Evidence indicates that thousands of Sudanese refugees have been arbitrarily arrested and subsequently collectively expelled with the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) estimating that 3,000 people were deported to Sudan from Egypt in September 2023 alone.

“It is unfathomable that Sudanese women, men and children fleeing the armed conflict in their country and seeking safety across the border into Egypt, are being rounded up en masse and arbitrarily detained in deplorable and inhumane conditions before being unlawfully deported,” said Sara Hashash, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.

“Egyptian authorities must immediately end this virulent campaign of mass arrests and collective expulsions. They must abide by their obligations under international human rights and refugee law to provide those fleeing the conflict in Sudan with safe and dignified passage to Egypt and unrestricted access to asylum procedures.”

For decades, Egypt was home to millions of Sudanese people studying, working, investing or receiving healthcare in the country, with Sudanese women and girls, as well as boys under 16, and men over 49 exempt from entry requirements. Around 500,000 Sudanese refugees are estimated to have fled to Egypt after the armed conflict erupted in Sudan in April 2023. However, in the following month, the Egyptian government introduced a visa entry requirement for all Sudanese nationals, leaving those fleeing with little choice but to escape through irregular border crossings.

The report documents in detail the ordeals of 27 Sudanese refugees who were arbitrarily arrested with about 260 others between October 2023 and March 2024 by Egypt’s Border Guard Forces operating under the Ministry of Defence, as well as police operating under the Ministry of Interior. It further documents how the authorities forcibly returned an estimated 800 Sudanese detainees between January and March 2024 who were all denied the possibility to claim asylum, including by accessing UNHCR, or to challenge deportation decisions.

The report is based on interviews with detained refugees, their relatives, community leaders, lawyers and a medical professional; as well as a review of official statements and documents and audiovisual evidence. The Egyptian ministries of defence and interior did not respond to Amnesty International’s letters sharing its documentation and recommendations, while the Egyptian National Council of Human Rights, the national human rights institution, rejected the findings claiming that authorities comply by their international obligations.

The spike in mass arrests and expulsions came after a prime ministerial decree issued in August 2023 requiring foreign nationals in Egypt to regularize their status. This was accompanied by a rise in xenophobic and racist sentiments both online and in the media as well as statements by government officials criticizing the economic “burden” of hosting “millions” of refugees.

It has also taken place against the backdrop of increased EU cooperation with Egypt on migration and border control, despite the country’s grim human rights record and well-documented abuses against migrants and refugees.

In October 2022, the EU and Egypt signed an €80 million cooperation agreement, which included building up the capacity of Egyptian Border Guard Forces to curb irregular migration and human trafficking across Egypt’s border. The agreement purports to apply “rights-based, protection oriented and gender sensitive approaches”. Yet, Amnesty International’s new report documents the involvement of the Border Guard Forces in violations against Sudanese refugees.

A further aid and investment package, under which migration is a key pillar, was agreed in March 2024 as part of the newly announced strategic and comprehensive partnership between the EU and Egypt.

“By cooperating with Egypt in the migration field without rigorous human rights safeguards, the EU risks complicity in Egypt’s human rights violations. The EU must press Egyptian authorities to adopt concrete measures to protect refugees and migrants,” said Sara Hashash.

“The EU must also carry out rigorous human rights risk assessments before implementing any migration cooperation and put in place independent monitoring mechanisms with clear human rights benchmarks. Cooperation must be halted or suspended immediately if there are risks or reports of abuses.” Arbitrary arrests from streets and hospitals

The mass arrests have mostly taken place in Greater Cairo (encompassing Cairo and Giza) and in the border areas in the governorate of Aswan or inside Aswan city. In Cairo and Giza, police have conducted mass stops and identity checks targeting Black individuals, spreading fear within the refugee community leaving many afraid to leave their homes.

Following arrest by police in Aswan, Sudanese refugees are transferred to police stations or the Central Security Forces camp, an unofficial detention place, in Shallal region. Those arrested by Border Guard Forces in Aswan governorate are detained in makeshift detention facilities including warehouses inside a military site in Abu Simbel and a horse stable inside another military site near Nagaa Al Karur before being forced into buses and vans and driven to the Sudanese border.

Conditions in these detention facilities are cruel and inhumane, with overcrowding, lack of access to toilets and sanitation facilities, substandard and insufficient food, and denial of adequate healthcare.

Amnesty International also documented the arrest of at least 14 refugees from public hospitals in Aswan, where they were receiving treatment for serious injuries sustained during road accidents on their journeys from Sudan to Egypt. Authorities transferred them – against medical advice and before they had fully recovered – to detention, where they were forced to sleep on the ground after surgery.

Amira, a 32-year-old Sudanese woman who fled Khartoum with her mother was receiving treatment at an Aswan hospital following a car crash on 29 October 2023 that left her with fractures to the neck and the back. Nora, a relative of Amira, told the organization that the doctors told her she would need three months of medical care, but after just 18 days police transferred her to a police station in Aswan where she was forced to sleep on the ground for around 10 days. Cold and rat-infested detention facilities before collective expulsions

Amnesty International’s Evidence Lab reviewed photos and verified videos from January 2024 of women and children sitting on dirty floors amidst rubbish in a warehouse controlled by Egyptian border guards. The former detainees said the warehouses were infested by rats and pigeon nests and those detained endured cold nights with no appropriate clothing or blankets. Men’s warehouse conditions were overcrowded, with over a hundred men crammed together and limited access to overflowing toilets, forcing them to urinate in plastic bottles at night.

At least 11 children, some under the age of four, were detained with their mothers at these sites.

Israa, who has asthma, told Amnesty International that guards at the overcrowded horse stable near Nagaa Al Karur village ignored her request for an inhaler, even when she asked to buy one at her own expense.

After periods of detention ranging from a few days six weeks, police and Border Guard Forces handcuffed males and drove all detainees to the Qustul-Ashkeet border crossing and handed them to Sudanese authorities, without individualised assessment of risk of serious human rights violations if returned. None was given the opportunity to claim asylum even when they had registration appointments with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), asked to speak to UNHCR or pleaded not to be sent back. Such forced returns violate Egypt’s international obligations under human rights and refugee law, including the principle of non-refoulement.

Border Guard Forces expelled Ahmed, his wife and two-year-old child together with a group of roughly 200 detainees, on 26 February 2024, after detaining them for six days in Abu Simbel military site.

Since the conflict in Sudan began, Egyptian authorities have failed to provide statistics or acknowledge their policy of deportations.

[dertaglichedan]

Terrifying map reveals how bloodthirsty Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua has infiltrated America

Terrifying new research has laid bare how notorious Venezuelan super gang Tren de Aragua's criminal tentacles have spread across America.

Members of the violent migrant gang TdA have crept into the US hidden among the one million Venezuelan migrants who have entered the country during the Biden administration.   

Arrest data shared with DailyMail.com has now revealed that the tattooed gangsters are operating in even more US cities than originally feared - with San Antonio, Texas, the latest hub of activity. 

Dubbed the 'epitome of evil' and 'MS-13 on steroids', police investigations showed that the mob is behind a spiraling crime wave across the US, with members accused of murders, violent assaults on cops and sex trafficking women.

'MS-13, they were never organized; Tren de Aragua is a transnational criminal organization from the bottom to the top,' Colorado's former ICE director John Fabbricatore told DailyMail.com.

'These guys right here [in the US] - they're sending money back to leaders in Venezuela. They're set up shop like a corporation - it is the like the mafia. What it took MS-13 to do in like a ten-year period, Tren de Aragua has been able to do in less than a year,' he added.

[beardedmrbean]

A dreaded Venezuelan gang 'Tren de Aragua' (TdA) has been spreading terror in as many as 19 states across America, with presence in New York, Colorado, Texas, Georgia, Florida, California and Illinois, Fox News has reported.

The report said that the gang is spreading wings in new states such as Maryland, North Dakota, Arizona and Utah, with all of them witnessing a marked rise in violent activities.

The gang is suspected to be involved in criminal activities such as human trafficking, extortion and drug trafficking.

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has designated Tren de Aragua as a Transnational Criminal Organization (TCO) due to its brutal activities across the nation.

DHS has reassured the public that all individuals processed at the border undergo thorough national security vetting, and any identified threats are either detained or referred to other federal agencies for further investigation.

Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) criticized the Biden administration's border policies over the expanding influence of such gangs.

"The Biden administration's so-called border security policies have allowed millions of illegal aliens to cross our nation's borders, including bad hombres who are members of the violent Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua. For over two years now, I have warned the Biden Administration about violent criminals from Venezuela entering our country," he said.

A series of violent incidents across the US has underscored the growing threat posed by TdA members. In New York, the NYPD conducted a large-scale raid in Brooklyn and the Bronx, arresting nearly two dozen men suspected to be affiliated with the gang.

One raid took place on December 5, when authorities raided a building next to a daycare, allegedly used as a gang hideout.

In Colorado, Aurora police arrested 14 individuals suspected of ties to the gang after an armed home invasion in which victims were kidnapped and assaulted. Police Chief Todd Chamberlain indicated that the gang affiliation was highly probable but not confirmed at the time.

Meanwhile, on December 3, US and international law enforcement arrested a high-ranking TdA member in Memphis, Tennessee, who had a history of violent crimes. Interpol Washington Acting Director Jeffrey A. Grimming called TdA "a significant threat to the United States."

The gang's reach has now grown further, with officials warning that TdA's presence could be on the rise in more states than currently reported.

In New York, a recent raid in the Bronx led to the arrest of seven suspected TdA members, including one who had been wearing an ankle monitor.

Former ICE Chief John Fabbricatore said that the gang's strategy involves recruiting migrants from shelters and extending their operations across multiple locations for criminal activities. "People are finally starting to realize how bad the situation has gotten," he said.

Federal officials continue working with law enforcement across the country to crack down on Tren de Aragua and enhance public safety. 

[reality-detective]

If you don't think anything is being done about human/child trafficking around the planet you are sorely mistaken. This is what the mission is... Everything else is a distraction.

Read 👇

I see articles and videos everyday of arrest being made. They range from child pornography, sexual abuse, slavery and even sacrifice. These people are sick and disgusting and if you have children, you better not let them out of your site and stay close to them. Have a plan. 🤔

[head-post]

Mexico makes largest fentanyl bust days after Trump tariff threat

Mexican soldiers and marines seized more than a tonne of fentanyl tablets in two raids in the north of the country, in what officials called the largest catch of the synthetic opioid in the country’s history, Mexican media reported.

The raids came after a sharp drop in fentanyl seizures in Mexico earlier this year and days after US President-elect Donald Trump threatened to impose 25 per cent tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico if those countries did not take action to stem the flow of migrants and drugs across the border.

Experts say the timing coincidence may not be coincidental. Security analyst David Saucedo said:

“It is clear that the Mexican government has been managing the timing of fentanyl seizures. But under the pressure by Donald Trump, it appears President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration is willing to the increase the capture of drug traffickers and drug seizures that Washington is demanding.”

Saucedo said it is clear that the Mexican government “does not consider fentanyl one of its problems, and fighting it is not its priority.” He added that major detentions would only be made “under pressure from Washington.”

Mexico’s top security official said soldiers and Marines spotted two men with guns late Tuesday in the northern state of Sinaloa, where the eponymous drug cartel is based. They chased the men, who ran into two homes. Soldiers found about 660 pounds of fentanyl in one of the homes and a truck containing about 1,750 pounds of the drug, mostly in pill form, in the other.

“In Sinaloa, we achieved the biggest seizure in history of fentanyl,” Public Safety Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch wrote on his social media accounts. Several weapons were also seized and two men were arrested.

In the past, Mexican security forces have sometimes used the story of armed men running into homes as an excuse to enter a home without a search warrant. In at least one case, the government’s version was disproved by surveillance footage.

The latest batch is striking in that fentanyl seizures in Mexico dropped sharply in the first half of the year. At some points in the summer, under former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, federal forces reported seizures of no more than 50 grams (2 ounces) per week.

Data for the first half of 2024 show that from January to June, Mexican federal forces seized only 286 pounds (130 kilograms) of fentanyl nationwide, 94% less than the 5,135 pounds (2,329 kilograms) seized in 2023.

Read more HERE

[starlightshadowsworld]

It just breaks and pisses me off that things like the Greek migrant crisis are so preventible.

They were fleeing their countries because of the absolute mess the encomy had become.

Trying to meet with their relatives in Europe.

As of June 19th, the death toll is 81 and the people in charge are looking to be facing manslaughter charges.

Though this hasn't be confirmed.

The fact Pakistan issued Monday as a national day if mourning is both heartbreaking but also gestures your part of the problem my dudes.

Don't just give thoughts and prayers, do something.

Also this boat was a fishing boat and started off in Libya and was attempting to get to Italy.

Which is quite the journey.

Greek authorities are like well as tried to help but they didn't want it.

While an advocacy group are like no... No they did, they alerted you guys 2 days before shit went down.

Just seeing the accounts of the survivers reuniting with family like 😭🥺I'm glad their were survivors.

Though not a high amount.

Many are still unaccountated for.

And the story gets more fucked up because guess who organised the damn thing.

Members of a human trafficking ring.

I wish I was making this up.

It's said people paid those incharge anywhere from between $5000 to $8000 to be taken to Europe in hopes of a better life.

Vulnerable people being taken advantage of.

And the boat conditions, survivors described being denied food or water and those who failed to bribe the crew were beaten.

Arrests are being made but I just hope the core issue if why these people were so desperate to take this opportunity isn't lost.

I know the titanic submerine event has people's attebtion right now but it's crucial this story is heard.

[kevinwikse]

THE LDS CHURCH IS COMPLICIT IN FUNDING CRIMINAL GANGS OF MIGRANTS, HUMAN TRAFFICKERS, AND MURDER!!!

Leaving the LDS Mormon Church was as easy and necessary as bolting out of a reeking campground outhouse. You know the kind—full of shit, stinking to high heaven, and no matter how deep you dig, there's no finding a clean spot. Growing up in Southern California, the LDS culture was somewhat tolerable—like a mild hangover, you can still function through. But when I hit 1990s Boise, Idaho, it was like stepping into the seventh circle of Mormon hell. That’s when the wild arson fantasies began—the kind where you dream of pulling that golden boy off the Boise Temple and paying a group of guerrillas to purge the whole Mormon horde from existence.

But did I do it? No, I regret to say I didn’t. And now, in some twisted irony, the Mormon Church has picked up the slack where I failed. Only they're not targeting the source of the stench—they're inviting more filth in. The LDS Church is up to its neck in funding the great immigrant surge from South America and Mexico. Follow the money trail, and you'll see their fingerprints on everything from arms trafficking to human smuggling. The Mormon Church is shaking hands with the CCP, MS-13, and those vicious Venezuelan gangs now carving their way through Aurora, Colorado.

These gangs are going door to door—raping, robbing, killing. And what are the police doing? Standing down. Arresting citizens for daring to defend themselves. Haven’t you heard of this? No surprise there. The media blackout is tighter than a Mormon father's grip on his 16-year-old daughter's virginity. But if you’re brave enough, go ahead and search "Venezuelan gang Aurora." You’ll see the pictures, the videos—thugs robbing, looting, murdering like they’re the second coming of BLM. But don’t worry; the media insists they’re not gang members. So, take solace in knowing that the foreign horde defiling you and your family aren’t technically criminals, and certainly not Venezuelan.

So, die in peace while your children are brutally gang-raped. And don’t forget to send a thank-you note to the Mormon Church for making it all possible.

-Kevin Wikse

https://www.abc4.com/news/wasatch-front/church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints-donates-3m-support-migrants-south-america/

[vague-humanoid]

On June 28, 2009, democratically elected Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was ousted by a military coup. In response to Zelaya’s push for a poll to gauge public interest in constitutional changes, the Honduran Supreme Court ordered the military to arrest him. He was then sent to Costa Rica in his pajamas.

The coup led to nearly 13 years of right-wing rule, marked by collusion with drug trafficking organizations, widespread privatization, violence, repression, and a significant migrant exodus. During this period, the Honduran left organized a strong resistance movement. In 2022, Xiomara Castro, Zelaya’s wife and a leader of the anti-coup resistance, was elected president, signaling a major shift in the country’s history.

In this episode of Deconstructed, Zelaya sits down for an exclusive interview with journalist José Olivares to discuss the 15th anniversary of the coup, the ensuing resistance movement, the right-wing and drug trafficking organizations’ control, and the U.S. government’s role and influence. Host Ryan Grim and Olivares delve into Zelaya’s interview, recent developments in Honduran history, and present the full Spanish-language interview with Zelaya.

[sparksinthenight]

104 of 128

ICE illegally deports family of asylum seekers from Vermont

Inbox

A family has been deported to Honduras, in violation of the government’s legal protections for asylum seekers. Greisy Mejia, 29, came to the United States with her nine-year-old daughter and infant son fleeing for her life. Rather than allow her to apply for relief from deportation, immigration agents detained Greisy and her children yesterday in St. Albans, VT. 

As dozens of community members gathered for an emergency rally outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office, Greisy and her children were driven away. They were put on a plane and deported to Honduras. ICE carried out this deportation despite protections guaranteeing individuals who express fear of persecution in their country of origin an interview with an asylum officer.

Late last year – following extortion and threats from organized crime – Greisy and her family fled Honduras to seek asylum in the United States. When she arrived at the border, she was detained. Though Greisy told Border Patrol agents that she feared for her life, she was not allowed to apply for asylum. Instead, she and her children were deported. 

Greisy and family in Vermont

Knowing that staying in Honduras could be a death sentence, Greisy again attempted to come to the U.S earlier this year. Because they had denied her the opportunity to request asylum the first time, Greisy decided not to turn herself into Border Patrol again; instead, she crossed the border, hoping to join her family in Vermont.

Because of their vulnerable position, Greisy and her children were kidnapped as soon as they made it across. The kidnappers held them for weeks, abused them, and demanded $9,000 ransom from her family. Greisy and her children were finally able to escape and reach a police officer in Uvalde, Texas.

Following their escape from the kidnappers, Greisy was once more handed over to Border Patrol. She was given an ankle monitor, put under an order of supervision, and allowed to travel to Vermont. Upon arriving in Vermont, Greisy connected with Migrant Justice and was in the process of applying for asylum and for a special visa available to victims of human trafficking.

After several routine appointments with ICE, Greisy was asked to return to their office in St. Albans, VT with her two kids. ICE agents knew that she would be filing a petition to request to remain in the U.S. and implied that they might remove her ankle monitor.

Yesterday, July 9th, Greisy and her two kids reported to the ICE office. They remained in the waiting room for six hours, held without food, under the pretense that ICE would consider Greisy’s petition for relief. When agents finally appeared, they arrested Greisy, her nine-year-old daughter, and infant son.

The family’s attorneys at the Center for Justice Reform of Vermont Law and Graduate School attempted to file an emergency application for a “Stay of Removal” to stop their deportation, but ICE would not accept the application at its Vermont office. Instead, the agency put the family on a plane to Honduras, where they arrived this afternoon.

We denounce this cruel and horrific abuse. ICE needlessly and knowingly sent a family back to a country where their lives will be at risk – in violation of the law and the agency’s own guidelines. We hold ICE responsible for any harm that comes to Greisy and her family. This is an attack against the entire immigrant community. Migrant Justice mourns the deportation of this family and will continue to fight for their safe return to the United States.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Kallie Cox at KCUR:

After Texas Gov. Greg Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in 2021, the governors of Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska answered his call to tackle crime and illegal immigration along the state’s border with Mexico. Their efforts are failing, critics say.

Hundreds of National Guardsmen have spent the past three years rotating through a deployment in Texas. They’ve traded Midwestern green grass, highways and sprawling crop fields for dusty roads, a dry riverbed and close-ups of concertina wire thousands of miles away from their families. Baking for hours in the withering heat, the troops from Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska share a mission under the banner of Operation Lone Star: Intercept immigrants arriving illegally and drugs crossing the U.S. border from Mexico. “Political theater” is how immigration and border relations researcher Tony Payan describes the operation. He regularly travels both sides of the border interviewing activists, migrants and experts about immigration.

Unlawful migration has become a political flashpoint since Donald Trump began campaigning on the issue and arguing for a border wall in 2015. It continues to be a key element of GOP campaigns. According to a July poll from Gallup, about 55% of Americans support a decrease in immigration to the U.S. Payan, director of the Center for the U.S. and Mexico at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, said the troops tasked with maintaining these border patrols have become increasingly stressed as long stretches of inactivity and heat take their toll. The Republican governors of Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska, along with Republican governors from other states, said the troops would be intercepting human smugglers and massive shipments of fentanyl. There were predictions of mass arrests, drug busts and the apprehension of suspects on the terrorist watchlist.

[...]

‘Every state is a border state’

In March 2021, Abbott launched Operation Lone Star by sending the Texas National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety to patrol sections of the border between legal entry points. Since then, 14 additional states — many of which sit thousands of miles from the Mexico border – have sent resources to support the Texas operation. Abbott called on other states across the country to participate because, as the governors of Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska have all argued in separate press releases: “Every state is a border state.” Since 2021, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska have together sent 519 National Guard service members and 143 state troopers and other law enforcement personnel to the border, according to information published by the states. The combined cost is approximately $7.1 million.

“As Governor, I have a responsibility to protect the safety and well-being of Iowans and protecting them at home starts with protecting the border,” Reynolds said in a 2023 statement. Pillen echoed her sentiments after a visit to the border in 2024. “Our federal government continues to ignore our border crisis,” he said. “The highest calling of government is public safety. We, as governors, must stand together to stop the constant influx of illegal drugs, weapons, and human trafficking.” While Operation Lone Star targets the areas at the border between legal ports of entry, the Department of Homeland Security notes: “More than 90% of interdicted fentanyl is stopped at ports of entry where cartels attempt to smuggle it primarily in vehicles driven by U.S. citizens.”

Midwestern states that do not touch a single mile of Mexico have spent millions propping up Operation Lone Star as part of Texas’s war on undocumented immigrants.

[mortalityplays]

Just an interesting thing to consider re: florida scientist lady...

1) the sons school and faculty declined to push the issue of "threats" because they found then lacking.

2) And jones claims (and its sort of on home security tape) that the cops said they were investigating/pressing charges on behalf of "the state"

Ron Desantis just banned teaching kids about rosa friggin parks. He technically trafficked migrants, or was at least really shitty and had them shipped across the country like they're a spoiled case of oranges he's trying to offload. Do you honestly believe he's not above intimidating whistleblowers and trying arrests to intimidate people he doesn't like? And testing how much he can get away with?

That doesn't surprise me at all, by all accounts the kid has been struggling with his mental health for some time. Like I said, arrest is not a great option for dealing with a child his age who is going through shit. It's perfectly reasonable to me that his teachers wouldn't want to call the cops on him if they thought he could find alternative help.

If the cops were made aware of the threats by his classmates, or parents of his classmates, and made the judgement that he was enough of a threat to take into custody, they would by definition be acting on behalf of the state. The police are an institution of the state, they are paid by the state. They are not pressing charges on behalf of an individual (e.g. a victim of assault) or a company (e.g. the owners of stolen property). They are pressing charges on behalf of the state. That is normal language, it doesn't mean 'the governor called us this morning and said bag that kid'.

What I believe DeSantis is or is not capable of has absolutely zero bearing on reality. His actions are measurable, his words can be recorded and assessed. We don't need to rely on 'yeah but what iffff' to demonstrate that he's a sack of shit who shouldn't have his hands on the levers of power. If you think that dealing in measurable truths runs defense for your enemies, you seriously lack conviction.

[beardedmrbean]

Two more illegal immigrants accused of crimes were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Martha's Vineyard on the same day recently, the latest migrants apprehended on the affluent islands off the coast of Cape Cod in Massachusetts.

On Sept. 17, ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston team tracked down a 36-year-old Brazilian fugitive to Oak Bluffs who was wanted by his own country's authorities and skipped out on a 10-year prison sentence for drug trafficking, officials said.

"This fugitive was convicted of international drug crimes in Brazil, and instead of serving his debt to society, he chose to run and hide on Martha’s Vineyard," said ERO Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde.

"Our officers are the best in the world at finding people who don’t want to be found. ERO Boston will continue our mission to prioritize public safety by apprehending and removing egregious noncitizen offenders from our New England communities."

Wealthy, Liberal Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard See 6 Ice Arrests In One Month, Including Ms-13 Gang Member

The Brazilian was lawfully admitted into the country in Orlando, Florida, on March 7, 2020, but violated the terms of his legal admission, ICE said. However, unbeknownst to immigration officials who admitted him, he had been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison by a Brazilian court on May 10, 2012.

Also on Sept. 17, the agency arrested a 50-year-old Salvadoran national wanted by his own country's authorities for crimes against humanity who had been hiding out in the Martha's Vineyard town of Tisbury.

"This Salvadoran fugitive is wanted by authorities in his native country to face some extremely serious and disturbing allegations," Hyde said in a release, which did not identify the 50-year-old suspect. "He attempted to hide out in Massachusetts and escape the law in his home country. He posed a substantial threat to the residents of Martha’s Vineyard. ERO Boston will continue to prioritize public safety in all of our New England communities by arresting and removing egregious noncitizen offenders."

Nantucket Parents Fear For Children Amid Spike In Migrant Crime: 'As A Father, It Truly Scares Me'

The Salvadoran was apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol on Nov. 27, 1994, after he crossed the U.S. border near Harlingen, Texas. On June 21, 1995, an immigration judge ordered his deportation back to El Salvador.

Years later, on July 6, 2003, the same man was convicted of disorderly conduct in a Portland, Maine Superior Court and sentenced to a fine and court costs.

Officers with ERO Boston arrested the man in 2009 but released him on an order of supervision via the Alternatives to Detention program, the agency said.

The program, which began in 2004, "uses [monitoring] technology and case management to ensure noncitizen compliance with release conditions, court hearings and final orders of removal," according to the agency.

However, he violated the terms of the program, was apprehended by the agency again on May 18, 2010 and was deported a second time on June 20, 2011.

The man remains in ERO custody. The nature of his crimes in his own country and the timing of his arrest there are unclear.

ICE told Fox News that it did not release the identities of the two men arrested on Sept. 17 because the charges stem from their home countries, and revealing their identities could give their legal representation cause to complain that they can’t receive a fair trial if their identities are exposed.

Fear Grips Idyllic Nantucket Amid Migrant Crime Spike: 'A Lot Of Bad People'

The two arrests are the latest on the wealthy, liberal islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. On Sept. 3, 24-year-old Brazilian illegal immigrant Warley Neto was arrested on Martha's Vineyard. According to ERO Boston, he faces five counts of raping a Massachusetts minor after he entered the United Stated illegally at the Paso Del Norte border region of Texas in 2018.

In Nantucket on Sept. 10, 28-year-old Salvadoran migrants Bryan Daniel Aldana-Arevalo and Elmer Sola – both accused of sex crimes against children – were taken into custody by the agency.

The next day, the agency arrested Brazilian immigrant Gean Do Amaral Belafronte, who was charged with indecent assault and battery on a person 14 years or older, on the island.

Felix Alberto Perez-Gomez from Guatemala, 41, was also arrested on the island that day, and allegedly committed a sex crime against a Nantucket resident.

On Sept. 12, documented MS-13 gang member Angel Gabriel Deras-Mejia of Salvador was arrested on Nantucket, according to the agency.

[bighermie]

Just one result of not having a secure southern border.

[angie-words]

The Way (2024): content warnings

One of the things I noticed while watching The Way is that the BBC content warnings left a little to be desired (scenes of a sexual nature and upsetting scenes). There wasn't anything on Does the Dog Die last I checked either. During a group watch, I pulled together some content warnings for folks. If you're interested in watching The Way (which I definitely recommend), but want an idea of what may come up, I've put CWs for each episode below. Obviously, spoilers as well.

Episode 1: self-immolation, accidental death, mental health issues/episode, divorce, misuse of prescription medication, drug-dealing, depression/anxiety, dysfunctional family relationships, suicide (act not graphically depicted, but discussion of and brief visual of deceased person), police violence (including real footage of police violence against striking workers), mob violence, xenophobia, racism, sex (no genitalia shown), guns/weaponry, gun violence/shootings (heard not seen), blood/injuries

Episode 2: Submersion in water/drowning, brief scene of self-immolation, brief scenes of protest suppression, dysfunctional family relationships, detainment camps, surveillance state, medication withdrawal, mistreatment of detained people, use of pepper spray, home hospice care, hallucinations, child endangerment, generational trauma, drug addiction, people escaping concealed in lorries, drug dealing, brief scenes of suicide aftermath, abandonment of family (unintentional and intentional), alcohol consumption, use of a stun gun, threat of gun violence, xenophobia, violence/injury to detained people, forceful separation of children from families, sleeping rough, arrest, family drama relating to paternity

Episode 3: alcohol, discussion about food, xenophobia, lockdowns, physical intimacy, swinging scene, jump scare, dysfunctional family relationships, brief visuals of suicide aftermath and impact on family, generational trauma, submersion in water, hallucinations, discussion of trafficking and border control, violence, injury/blood, surveillance state, brief scenes of protest violence, collaboration, police profiling/AI profiling, mention of civil war, traumatic boat crossing, separation of family, suicide, implied drowning, discovery of drowning victim, major character death, threat of gun violence, migrant pushbacks

[mudwerks]

(via Greece boat disaster: Capsized boat had 100 children in hold, BBC told - BBC News)

Survivors from a fishing boat that sank off southern Greece in one of Europe's worst migrant disasters say up to 100 children may have been on board.

At least 78 people have already been confirmed dead in the disaster.

But many more could still be missing at sea, with reports suggesting that up to 750 people were aboard the vessel.

At least 11 arrests have been made including several Egyptians on suspicion of people trafficking, Greek TV reports.

The coastguard has been criticised for not intervening earlier but authorities say their offers of aid were refused.

Rescuers are still searching the area where the boat capsized almost 50 nautical miles off the south-west coast, as hopes of finding more survivors dwindle.

The boat had been heading to Italy from the Libyan port of Tobruk when it went down.