Tag: ice

Trump-Appointed Judge Orders ICE to Release Hamas-Linked Milwaukee Mosque President Salah Sarsour Despite Terror Convictions and Immigration Fraud Allegations

A federal judge on Thursday ordered the immediate release of Salah Sarsour, the president of Wisconsin’s largest mosque. Sarsour had been locked up by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who flagged him as a serious foreign policy and national security threat.

As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, ICE arrested Salah Sarsour, president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee (Wisconsin’s largest mosque) and board member of the pro-Palestinian group American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), on March 30.

DHS labeled him a terrorist. He was convicted by an Israeli military court of throwing a Molotov cocktail at Israeli forces and later attempting to possess weapons and ammunition. He allegedly lied on his U.S. immigration forms to secure a green card under President Bill Clinton.

Sarsour also raised funds for the Holy Land Foundation (HLF), the Hamas front group convicted of funneling over $12 million to terrorists. An FBI memo from 2001 listed him as a Hamas fundraiser in the U.S. through HLF. His brother Imad was similarly flagged.

Now a federal judge has set him free.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge James Patrick Hanlon, nominated to the bench by President Trump in 2018, ordered ICE to immediately release Sarsour from the Indiana county jail where he was being held, according to CNN.

Hanlon ruled that Sarsour raised a “substantial” claim he was targeted for speaking out in favor of Palestinian rights. The judge said ICE and DHS failed to provide enough evidence to refute allegations of retaliation for protected speech or explain why Sarsour suddenly became a national security threat after more than three decades as a legal permanent resident.

“The mere invocation of foreign relations concerns does not automatically trump First Amendment rights,” Hanlon wrote in the decision, according to CNN.

Sarsour was released within hours. He returned to Milwaukee, where supporters greeted him as he headed back to the Islamic Society of Milwaukee.

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Former Judge’s ICE Obstruction Conviction Upheld

A federal judge in Milwaukee refused Tuesday to throw out former Wisconsin Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan’s felony obstruction conviction, clearing the way to sentencing in a case that became an early flash point in the Trump administration’s courthouse immigration arrests.

U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman denied Dugan’s motion for reconsideration in a 32-page order, ruling that her conduct on April 18, 2025, when she led Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a Mexican national, out a private jury door while federal immigration agents waited in the corridor, obstructed a “pending proceeding” within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. Section 1505.

Adelman, who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton, did not reset a sentencing date.

Dugan’s lawyers had pressed Adelman to reconsider after the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals split 2-1 in April to vacate a conviction in United States v. Hernandez, holding that Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s execution of an already-issued removal order did not count as a “pending proceeding” under the statute.

Dugan’s legal team called Tuesday’s decision “wrong.”

Adelman, however, drew a sharp factual line.

In Hernandez, ICE was finishing the job after another agency had ordered removal.

Here, Adelman wrote that ICE was still investigating, securing probable cause, and seeking to arrest Flores-Ruiz before any removal order had been reinstated.

“This case did not involve some random encounter on the street,” Adelman said in the order. “It was a targeted operation, conducted pursuant to agency procedures, including the issuance of an arrest warrant for a specific person, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz.”

The judge also rejected the defense’s broader claim that ICE arrests are indistinguishable from routine police work.

“Unlike, say, the FBI, ICE can issue its own warrants and adjudicate and effectuate a removal, as it did with Flores-Ruiz, without the involvement of a court,” Adelman wrote. “This makes a difference under section 1505.”

A jury convicted Dugan, 67, on Dec. 19 of the obstruction felony and acquitted her of a misdemeanor concealment charge.

She resigned from the Milwaukee County Circuit Court two weeks later, after nine years on the bench, amid impeachment threats from Republican state lawmakers.

She faces up to five years in prison, though federal guidelines typically call for probation for first-time, nonviolent offenders.

Flores-Ruiz pleaded guilty to illegal reentry and was deported on Nov. 13, 2025.

The case is widely expected to reach the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after sentencing.

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15 Tied To Antifa Charged With Violently Interfering With ICE Operations In Minnesota

Fifteen suspects are accused of conspiring with two Minneapolis-based Antifa groups to violently interfere with federal immigration enforcement, authorities announced on Tuesday.

Daniel Rosen, who heads the U.S. attorney’s office for Minnesota, told reporters at his Minneapolis headquarters on June 16 that agents arrested 12 of the 15 suspects; one was already in custody for other offenses.

Two defendants remain at large. Rosen said both are aware that federal agents are seeking them in connection with an indictment that was unsealed just before the news conference.

“We expect they will surrender peacefully,” he said.

The 15 suspects—all from Minnesota—are charged with conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer, solicitation to commit a crime of violence, interstate threats, interstate stalking, assault on a federal officer, and destruction of government property.

“These defendants have been charged not for what they said, but for what they did. They all joined an agreement, a conspiracy to interfere with lawful immigration enforcement operations,” Rosen said.

“The conspiracy was not to interfere by their voice, but to do it by force. That’s a crime, and it will not be tolerated in the United States.”

A group called “Direct Action Minnesota” is tied to many of the allegations, Rosen said, while another group, Black Cat Workers Collective, is connected to other allegations

The new cases are part of a “broad federal effort to address organized lawless behavior,” he said.

Michael McCarthy, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations, said the announcement followed “a thorough and months-long investigation into a deeply concerning trend—coordinated violence targeting federal law enforcement officers and facilities.”

“There is a clear line that cannot be crossed” between peaceful protesting and violence, he said, adding, “some groups have crossed that line.”

He noted that many of the violent actions opposed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.

The new charges were filed months after President Donald Trump’s administration announced that it was probing Antifa groups.

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Chaotic car chase ends with ICE nabbing alleged foreign terrorist leader accused of holding wife captive

 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested a Brazilian illegal immigrant, who authorities say previously served as the commander of two designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations, after allegedly attempting to flee a North Carolina traffic stop while preparing to escape to Mexico.

Felipe Linares de Oliveira Dell Aquilla, known as “Don,” was arrested June 5 in Mooresville, North Carolina, after allegedly leading law enforcement on a vehicle pursuit that ended in a crash before his arrest, according to a Department of Homeland Security press release obtained by Fox News Digital.

Federal authorities say Dell Aquilla was wanted in Brazil on charges of criminal association and extortion and had been preparing to leave the United States for Mexico.

Dell Aquilla previously served as a commander within the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho (CV), two Brazil-based criminal organizations that were recently designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations by the Trump administration, according to DHS.

“This arrest demonstrates the unwavering commitment of HSI to protect our communities from dangerous international criminals,” Mark M. Zito, special agent in charge of HSI in North and South Carolina, said in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital.

“By removing a known leader of violent foreign terrorist organizations — wanted for serious crimes including criminal association and extortion — we have prevented further harm to innocent people here and abroad,” Zito said.

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Two Former Utah Clerks Arrested for Helping Illegals Evade ICE – Defiant Clerks Flip Off Surveillance Camera After Sneaking Illegals Out Back Door of Courthouse

Two former Utah clerks were arrested and charged with helping illegal aliens evade ICE.

Jennifer Joma, 27, and Lauren Kelsey Morrow, 26, both of Logan, Utah, were indicted June 3, 2026, the DOJ announced on Wednesday.

“Joma and Morrow are charged with conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal aliens, harboring illegal aliens, and obstruction of proceedings before departments and agencies. Joma is also charged with transporting illegal aliens,” the DOJ said.

According to authorities, Joma and Morrow were working at the Logan City Municipal Justice Court when ICE agents arrived at the court to arrest an illegal alien.

The two female clerks learned that ICE was at the court and helped the illegal aliens slip through the back door to evade arrest.

After sneaking the illegal aliens out the back door of the courthouse, Morrow and Joma laughed as they flipped off the surveillance cameras.

According to the DOJ, on the second trip, Joma drove off with three illegal aliens in her car before returning alone to the courthouse for work.

Per the DOJ:

An indictment was unsealed, and two former Utah state court clerks have been arrested after they allegedly helped an illegal alien evade U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrest. The clerks also allegedly obstructed immigration proceedings and the lawful enforcement of United States immigration laws by helping at least one of three other illegal aliens escape out a backdoor of the Logan City Municipal Justice Court so that ICE could not arrest or deport them.

According to allegations in court documents, on April 9, 2026, Joma and Morrow were working at the Logan City Municipal Justice Court in Logan when an ICE Enforcement and Removal Officer (ICE-ERO) entered the justice court to arrest an illegal alien for immigration related charges. The ICE officer had an administrative warrant for the illegal alien who was at the justice court for a court hearing. The ICE officer left the secure area and eventually went outside and waited in his car for his target to leave the courthouse before trying to make the lawful arrest.

As alleged in court documents, after Joma and Morrow learned that ICE was there to arrest an illegal alien, they took steps to identify ICE’s target. These steps included misusing court databases to determine the alienage of everyone who was listed on the court docket. During their searches, they identified multiple non-U.S. citizens, and before those non-citizens would leave the courthouse, Joma and Morrow intercepted them.

ICE’s intended target was among the unauthorized aliens whom Joma and Morrow helped slip out a backdoor of the courthouse. Joma and Morrow led the individuals down a secure area, several hallways, and eventually out of the courthouse without being seen by ICE.

After sneaking out the back door of the courthouse for the first time with an alien, Morrow and Joma were spotted on a surveillance camera waving and smiling at it, and Morrow used her middle finger in an obscene gesture at the camera. On the second trip, Joma drove off with three aliens in her car before returning alone to the courthouse for work.

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House passes GOP’s $70B border security and immigration bill

The House of Representatives officially passed a roughly $70 billion budget reconciliation package on Tuesday, securing a major legislative victory that guarantees three years of dedicated funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Clearing the chamber in a razor-thin 214–212 party-line vote, the enforcement package bypassed traditional filibuster hurdles in the Senate through the reconciliation process, effectively cementing long-term fiscal resources for enhanced border operations, detention center expansions, and thousands of new field agents.

Having now successfully cleared both chambers of Congress following an intense final hour of floor debate, the spending bill officially heads to President Trump’s desk, where it is expected to be signed into law.

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Calif.: Man pleads guilty to ‘doxing’ ICE lawyer

A California man pleaded guilty to a federal criminal charge for doxing an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lawyer.

According to a Friday press release from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, Gregory Curcio, 68 years old, shared personal information about an ICE attorney on social media.

The office defined doxing as “publishing private or identifying information about an individual on the internet with malicious intent.”

“In February 2025, Curcio created a Facebook post in which he identified the victim — an ICE attorney — as an ICE agent, posted her home address, and directed others to ‘swat’ her at that address,” the release stated.

“Curcio also posted the victim’s home address on another social media account with instructions to swat her,” it continued.

It noted that “swatting” is a form of harassment that often includes a false emergency call being made that is meant to provoke a “significant” response from law enforcement.

According to previously filed court documents, the victim said Curcio was a former resident at her mother’s apartment building in Santa Monica, California, per the release.

“The victim said she never met Curcio, but that he had harassed and threatened her mother for years and engaged in a campaign to harass the victim and her family beginning from at least January, 2024,” the office stated.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for August 21st, and Curcio could face up to five years in federal prison.

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Mamdani: ‘ICE Should Be Abolished’ — ‘No Way to Reform This Kind of Cruelty’

Saturday on MS NOW’s “The Weekend,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should be abolished.

Co-host Eugene Daniels said, “Just over the river here in new Jersey, there’s the Delaney facility. There are folks there that are on hunger strike over the conditions. What’s your reaction? And I guess, more importantly for New Yorkers, what prevents a facility like that from opening here in New York?”

Mamdani said, “I think there are a few things. One is a reaction of pain and seeing what people have to go through in these kinds of facilities. And these are conditions that they offend the conscience of so many, not just here in New York City but frankly, across the country. This is partially why I have put forward a vision alongside so many others to say that ICE should be abolished, that there is no way to reform this kind of cruelty that we’re seeing endemic in the way that immigration is being enforced across the country. When it comes to our city, we are proud of our sanctuary city policies. We are proud of the policies we’ve put forward, and also the executive orders we’ve put forward to ensure that every single agency is complying with those policies.”

Daniels said, “What do you say to people who say language? And there’s Democrats in DC who say language like, abolish ICE or unhelpful for the political health of the Democratic Party?”

Mamdani said, “I think if we we’ve listened to them before and look where we are. I think it’s time to develop a new vision for this party, one that is unflinching in its beliefs and also uncompromising in its principles.”

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ICE Nabs Violent Criminal Illegal Alien After Sanctuary Chicago Authorities Set Him Free

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Chicago arrested Luis Manuel Saucedo-Cardenas. The violent illegal alien felon and suspected former gang member was intentionally released by the Chicago Police Department. The troubling occurrence is repeating itself in multiple sanctuary jurisdictions across the country.

According to ICE, Saucedo-Cardenas, a 40-year-old criminal illegal alien from Mexico, has an extensive rap sheet that includes multiple arrests for assault, carjacking, controlled substance violations, and a prison stint for wire fraud. Saucedo-Cardenas, according to authorities, is a former member of the La Raza street gang. The gang primarily operates in the Chicago area but has been found operating in small numbers engaging in criminal enterprises in Florida, Georgia, and several parts of the western United States.

ICE previously removed Saucedo-Cardenas from the United States in 2022. According to ICE, a federal criminal arrest warrant was obtained for illegal re-entry into the United States for Saucedo-Cardenas and was confirmed by the Chicago Police Department, which had the criminal illegal alien in their custody at the time. Despite confirming their awareness of the existing warrant of arrest on May 1, ICE says the Chicago Police Department refused to transfer custody of Saucedo-Cardenas to ICE Chicago despite multiple requests.

According to ICE, operating under sanctuary policies enacted by politicians, the violent repeat offender was released back onto the streets of Chicago. Expressing frustration at the lack of cooperation with ICE by Chicago law enforcement authorities, ICE Chicago Acting Field Office Director Tammy Marich said, “The Chicago Police Department knowingly jeopardized the public’s safety by releasing a dangerous suspect with a federal criminal arrest warrant. Politics aside, there is no excuse for sanctuary politicians to threaten the well-being of the communities they purport to serve.”

According to ICE, the safest way to arrest criminal illegal aliens starts with lodging immigration detainers against them. An immigration detainer is a request from ICE that asks other law enforcement agencies, including jails, prisons, or other detention facilities, to notify ICE as early as possible before releasing a removable alien, or to hold the individual for up to 48 hours beyond normal release time so DHS may assume custody in accordance with federal immigration law.

The Chicago Police Department has a long history of failing to honor the detainers or to cooperate with ICE when an illegal alien is arrested for a suspected criminal act within the sanctuary city. The lack of cooperation can have devastating impacts on residents when offenders are released back into the community. As reported by Breitbart News’s John Binder, Jose Medina-Medina, a 25-year-old illegal alien from Venezuela, was arrested by the Chicago Police Department and charged with murdering Sheridan Gorman, an 18-year-old freshman at Loyola University, in a random attack on a pier at Tobey Prinz Beach on March 19.

Records show Medina-Medina was arrested after crossing the southwest border in 2023 and released to pursue asylum shortly afterward. Within months of arriving in Chicago, Medina-Medina was arrested by Chicago authorities and charged with shoplifting. Under Chicago and the state of Illinois sanctuary policies, Medina-Medina was set free by authorities rather than being turned over to ICE officials for removal proceedings.

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Anti-Ice Activist Accused of Leaving Agent with Horrific Bite Wounds Previously Accused of Distributing Child Porn

The Gateway Pundit reported that an anti-ICE rioter, identified as Brendan John Geier, was arrested and charged last week after kicking and biting ICE agents during protests, leaving the agent with horrific bite wounds.

In gruesome photos of agents’ injuries,  gashes and teeth marks are seen on the agents’ skin.

Acting Attorney General Blanche shared the following after the arrest:  “Today @TheJusticeDept charged rioter Brendan John Geier for allegedly kicking and biting ICE officers at Delaney Hall last night. We will not tolerate the vicious attacks on ICE officers we’ve seen in New Jersey the last few days. These riots are clearly not ‘peaceful protests’ as you can see from the photos of these horrific wounds. Assault a federal officer, you’ll be held accountable.”

The Justice Department has confirmed to The New York Post that Geier, of Madison, New Jersey, was previously charged with sexual abuse of children related to the dissemination and possession of child pornography in Pennsylvania.

In 2019, the Berks County District Attorney’s Office shared, “On September 21, 2018, the Berks County Detectives received a complaint from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC.)This complaint involved the possession and uploading of child pornography through “Skype” on September 17, 2018.”

“Detectives learned that Microsoft reported to NCMEC that someone utilized an I.P. address to upload seven digital images of suspected child pornography. The I.P. address was identified and that information was provided to the detectives. On October 1, 2018, detectives learned that the I.P. address and device was associated with the defendant, Brendan Geier.”

“On November 9, 2018, members of the Berks County Detectives and the Kutztown University Police Department served a search warrant on the defendant’s residence, which was a room located at Lehigh Hall, Kutztown University, Kutztown, Pennsylvania 19530.”

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