Immigration
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Louisiana Illuminator: LSU students detained by ICE released after judge’s order
Tags Share Two Iranian-born LSU Ph.D. students were released from ICE detention after a federal judge intervened, following weeks of being held under questionable and deceptive circumstances. Despite having valid legal status to study in the U.S., they were arrested shortly after U.S. military action in Iran, raising serious concerns about politically motivated targeting. Robert…
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WBRZ: Attorneys, advocates for released LSU Iranian students concerned with timing of clients’ arrest
Tags Share Two Iranian LSU students were arrested by ICE under false pretenses just one day after U.S. bombings in Iran. They were then held for weeks without any clear explanation of the charges against them. Represented in federal court by the ACLU of Louisiana and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, the students were eventually…
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Slate: A Former ICE Official Is Worried the Agency Is About to Go on a Spree of Hiring Proud Boys
Tags Share ICE just received a staggering $29.9 billion from President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill”, tripling its budget while dismantling the very oversight designed to prevent abuse. As part of its mass deportation agenda, the Trump administration eliminated key DHS oversight offices until a lawsuit filed by Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights forced them…
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Advocacy Groups File Federal Lawsuit Seeking Justice for Woman Abused at a Florida Immigration Detention Center
Tags Share Miami, FL, July 17, 2025 – Yesterday, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, the ACLU of Florida, and Gibson Dunn filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a 33-year-old woman named Ana* who was subject to abuse while she was held at the Baker County Detention Center, a county jail operating as an Immigration…
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In Historic Victory, Iranian LSU Students Released After Unlawful ICE Detention in Louisiana
Tags Share The ACLU of Louisiana today announces the release and complete dismissal of all removal proceedings against Iranian LSU students Pouria Pourhosseinhendabad and Parisa Firouzabadi, who are married, after they were unlawfully arrested and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Their release follows two separate habeas corpus petitions filed by the ACLU of…
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WIRED: DHS Faces New Pressure Over DNA Taken From Immigrant Children
Tags Share The U.S. government has been quietly collecting DNA from migrant children on a massive scale and is now storing their genetic profiles in an FBI criminal database built to track violent offenders. In a searing new report, Senator Ron Wyden demanded answers from the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, accusing the Trump…
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Dispatches from Detention: Detained for Riding a Bike without a Light
Tags Share Dispatches from Detention shares stories of people encountered by RFK Human Rights attorneys in legal outreach trips to the country’s most isolated immigration detention centers. Names have been changed to protect privacy. Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center, Jena, Louisiana “I was just going home from the store.” – Wilmer, 19, from Nicaragua Wilmer,…
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This Week’s Spotlight on Human Rights
Tags Share U.S. Botched a Deal to Swap Venezuelans Held in El Salvador for Americans The Trump administration’s top diplomat, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, was overseeing a deal to free several Americans and dozens of political prisoners held in Venezuela in exchange for sending home about 250 Venezuelan migrants the United States had deported…
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Newsweek: More ICE Deaths ‘Inevitable’ as Detention Numbers Soar
Tags Share Deaths in U.S. immigration detention have already matched last year’s total, with months still left in the fiscal year, and advocates warn the toll will rise. Amid record-high detention levels under the Trump administration, RFK Human Rights and the ACLU are sounding the alarm on dangerous, preventable conditions inside ICE facilities. Speaking with…
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CNN: Cuts to DHS watchdogs spark more questions as deportation efforts increase
Tags Share As deaths in immigration detention rise and new facilities rapidly expand, the Trump administration has slashed oversight mechanisms within the Department of Homeland Security. Advocates, including RFK Human Rights, warn that the gutting of key accountability offices mandated by Congress puts lives at risk due to the “inhumane conditions, medical neglect, and abuse…
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Ninety U.S. civil society groups express “deep concern” to FIFA about immigration policies ahead of 2026 World Cup
Tags Share Ninety U.S.-based civil society groups have warned FIFA that it risks becoming a “public relations tool to whitewash the reputation of an increasingly authoritarian government”, in a joint letter that calls on FIFA to publicly urge the US government to reverse immigration policies and practices introduced by the Trump administration. The letter describes…
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Bloomberg: Florida Taps Contractors With No Detention Experience for ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
Tags Share In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis is rapidly constructing a massive state-run immigrant detention facility nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” designed to hold thousands of people detained under President Trump’s deportation plan. The site, built on an abandoned airstrip in the Everglades, has drawn backlash from human rights advocates and environmentalists. RFK Human Rights’ Anthony Enriquez…
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