ICE does not have the authority to override the Constitution

POGO Weekly Spotlight -   In a reversal of established legal protocol and in complete disregard for due process rights, the Trump administration is attempting to deny bond hearings from millions of undocumented immigrants, including the tens of thousands of people who are currently in ICE detention, by claiming they are ineligible. A leaked memo declares that immigrants without legal status should be detained by ICE for the duration of their removal proceedings, which can last months or even years. We know what conditions are like in ICE detention centers. This directive could force millions of people into unsafe, unsanitary, and inhumane conditions while completely hindering their ability to exercise their due process rights. Congress must do everything it can to stop this.

“ICE is already detaining a record number of people in conditions that most experts that I’ve heard from say are the worst they’ve ever witnessed. This will make things even worse by expanding the number of people subject to ‘mandatory detention’ by including people never convicted of a crime, who may have lived in the United States for decades and who have U.S. citizen spouses and children,” POGO’s Katherine Hawkins told Newsweek. Congress signed off on more and worse abuses. The billions in additional funding approved for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under the recently passed reconciliation bill will give the unaccountable agency license to further expand and fuel its operations.The courts can and must intervene. In California, a federal judge has blocked the administration from racial profiling and denying detainees access to legal counsel.

Axios - A growing number of Democratic-leaning states and cities are weighing proposals to ban federal immigration agents from wearing masks and to require them to display IDs when making arrests. Images of masked, armed agents in plain clothes grabbing people off the streets have alarmed many Americans — and put pressure on lawmakers to respond...

Democrat-led state legislatures in California, New York and Massachusetts are discussing or have introduced bills that would ban agents from wearing masks in most operations. Meanwhile, local leaders in Chicago, Albuquerque and several southern California towns are considering proposals to ban masks and require IDs.  More