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A participant holding a sign at the entrance of the Manhattan Bridge facing the rush hour traffic in July 2020. Members of the activist group Rise and Resist gathered at the plaza by the Manhattan side entrance to the Manhattan Bridge during rush hour holding signs and banners protesting the incarceration of immigrants by CBP (Customs and Border Patrol) and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). (Photo: Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images)
'This Fight Is Not Over': Activists Help ICE Detainee Avoid Deportation Following Alleged Sterilization Procedure at Georgia Facility
Pauline Binam, a Cameroonian who has lived in the U.S. since the age of two, was detained at an ICE facility where her fallopian tubes were removed, allegedly without her consent.
Sep 16, 2020
Immigrant rights advocates Wednesday praised efforts that helped a woman detained in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility temporarily avoid deportation, potentially paving the way for her to corroborate evidence that she and other women at an ICE detention center received unwarranted procedures including hysterectomies while in custody, and allowing her to continue her legal fight against deportation.
"We just got Pauline off the plane," Mijente, a Latinx advocacy group tweeted Wednesday afternoon, referring to a commercial flight Pauline Binam had been on, presumably to be deported.
\u201cBREAKING: WE JUST GOT PAULINE OFF THE PLANE \n\nThanks to YOU and help from @RepJayapal & @JacksonLeeTX18 #FreePauline has a chance to take part in the investigation abuses of dozens of women in ICE detention. \n\nDonate to her continuing legal defense: https://t.co/8LYau7I51K\u201d— Mijente \ud83d\udc1c\ud83d\udc1c\ud83d\udc1c (@Mijente \ud83d\udc1c\ud83d\udc1c\ud83d\udc1c) 1600276299
Binam, who is Black, is originally from Cameroon and has lived in the United States since she was two years old. According to reporting from Democracy Now!, she has been detained at the Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia for three years. Last fall, according to a document shared by Mijente, Binam went to a gynecologist at the facility for a dilation and curettage (D&C) procedure, often used to remove tissue from a woman's uterus, but ended up having a salpingectomy, a procedure that removes one or both fallopian tubes, without her consent.
"With partners at Cameroon American Council, the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights, and Mijente [and Rev.] Leeann Culbreath we are happy to report Victory!," R. Andrew Free, an immigration and civil rights attorney tweeted. "ICE took Pauline off a commercial flight this morning. Thank you to all who took action. This fight is not over."
Celebrations are temporary, however, as disturbing details continue to emerge following the Monday release of a whistleblower complaint that alleged "jarring medical neglect" relating to Covid-19 safety protocols and procedures as well as a high number of hysterectomies performed on women detained at the facility. Congressional lawmakers called for an investigation into the matter late Tuesday.
In related news, ProPublica and the Texas Tribunereported Monday that ICE had deported a detainee who was "a crucial witness in an ongoing investigation into allegations of sexual assault and harassment at an El Paso immigrant detention center." The 35-year-old woman was detained in the Texas facility, and alleged a "pattern and practice" of abuse there including sexual assault, and that some assaults happened in surveillance camera blind spots.
"The short history of DHS has been filled with violence, fear-stoking, and a lack of oversight. Dismantle it," the ACLU tweeted Wednesday, renewing its call to break up the Department of Homeland Security, of which ICE is a part.
Amnesty International joined the ACLU in demanding action.
"Unfortunately, the United States has a history of forced sterilization, including of Indigenous women, Black women and other women of color, incarcerated women, and intersex people," the group said in a statement Wednesday. "In addition to a violation of a person's rights to health and safety and sexual and reproductive rights, forced sterilization can constitute a crime against humanity under international law. No one should be sterilized without their full consent, and people should be not be detained for seeking asylum."
"As a first step, Congress and the DHS must both urgently investigate these allegations," Amnesty added. "These horrifying allegations demonstrate that the abusive practice of immigration detention in the United States cannot be continued. We renew our call to the administration to free people in immigration detention."
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Immigrant rights advocates Wednesday praised efforts that helped a woman detained in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility temporarily avoid deportation, potentially paving the way for her to corroborate evidence that she and other women at an ICE detention center received unwarranted procedures including hysterectomies while in custody, and allowing her to continue her legal fight against deportation.
"We just got Pauline off the plane," Mijente, a Latinx advocacy group tweeted Wednesday afternoon, referring to a commercial flight Pauline Binam had been on, presumably to be deported.
\u201cBREAKING: WE JUST GOT PAULINE OFF THE PLANE \n\nThanks to YOU and help from @RepJayapal & @JacksonLeeTX18 #FreePauline has a chance to take part in the investigation abuses of dozens of women in ICE detention. \n\nDonate to her continuing legal defense: https://t.co/8LYau7I51K\u201d— Mijente \ud83d\udc1c\ud83d\udc1c\ud83d\udc1c (@Mijente \ud83d\udc1c\ud83d\udc1c\ud83d\udc1c) 1600276299
Binam, who is Black, is originally from Cameroon and has lived in the United States since she was two years old. According to reporting from Democracy Now!, she has been detained at the Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia for three years. Last fall, according to a document shared by Mijente, Binam went to a gynecologist at the facility for a dilation and curettage (D&C) procedure, often used to remove tissue from a woman's uterus, but ended up having a salpingectomy, a procedure that removes one or both fallopian tubes, without her consent.
"With partners at Cameroon American Council, the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights, and Mijente [and Rev.] Leeann Culbreath we are happy to report Victory!," R. Andrew Free, an immigration and civil rights attorney tweeted. "ICE took Pauline off a commercial flight this morning. Thank you to all who took action. This fight is not over."
Celebrations are temporary, however, as disturbing details continue to emerge following the Monday release of a whistleblower complaint that alleged "jarring medical neglect" relating to Covid-19 safety protocols and procedures as well as a high number of hysterectomies performed on women detained at the facility. Congressional lawmakers called for an investigation into the matter late Tuesday.
In related news, ProPublica and the Texas Tribunereported Monday that ICE had deported a detainee who was "a crucial witness in an ongoing investigation into allegations of sexual assault and harassment at an El Paso immigrant detention center." The 35-year-old woman was detained in the Texas facility, and alleged a "pattern and practice" of abuse there including sexual assault, and that some assaults happened in surveillance camera blind spots.
"The short history of DHS has been filled with violence, fear-stoking, and a lack of oversight. Dismantle it," the ACLU tweeted Wednesday, renewing its call to break up the Department of Homeland Security, of which ICE is a part.
Amnesty International joined the ACLU in demanding action.
"Unfortunately, the United States has a history of forced sterilization, including of Indigenous women, Black women and other women of color, incarcerated women, and intersex people," the group said in a statement Wednesday. "In addition to a violation of a person's rights to health and safety and sexual and reproductive rights, forced sterilization can constitute a crime against humanity under international law. No one should be sterilized without their full consent, and people should be not be detained for seeking asylum."
"As a first step, Congress and the DHS must both urgently investigate these allegations," Amnesty added. "These horrifying allegations demonstrate that the abusive practice of immigration detention in the United States cannot be continued. We renew our call to the administration to free people in immigration detention."
Immigrant rights advocates Wednesday praised efforts that helped a woman detained in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility temporarily avoid deportation, potentially paving the way for her to corroborate evidence that she and other women at an ICE detention center received unwarranted procedures including hysterectomies while in custody, and allowing her to continue her legal fight against deportation.
"We just got Pauline off the plane," Mijente, a Latinx advocacy group tweeted Wednesday afternoon, referring to a commercial flight Pauline Binam had been on, presumably to be deported.
\u201cBREAKING: WE JUST GOT PAULINE OFF THE PLANE \n\nThanks to YOU and help from @RepJayapal & @JacksonLeeTX18 #FreePauline has a chance to take part in the investigation abuses of dozens of women in ICE detention. \n\nDonate to her continuing legal defense: https://t.co/8LYau7I51K\u201d— Mijente \ud83d\udc1c\ud83d\udc1c\ud83d\udc1c (@Mijente \ud83d\udc1c\ud83d\udc1c\ud83d\udc1c) 1600276299
Binam, who is Black, is originally from Cameroon and has lived in the United States since she was two years old. According to reporting from Democracy Now!, she has been detained at the Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia for three years. Last fall, according to a document shared by Mijente, Binam went to a gynecologist at the facility for a dilation and curettage (D&C) procedure, often used to remove tissue from a woman's uterus, but ended up having a salpingectomy, a procedure that removes one or both fallopian tubes, without her consent.
"With partners at Cameroon American Council, the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights, and Mijente [and Rev.] Leeann Culbreath we are happy to report Victory!," R. Andrew Free, an immigration and civil rights attorney tweeted. "ICE took Pauline off a commercial flight this morning. Thank you to all who took action. This fight is not over."
Celebrations are temporary, however, as disturbing details continue to emerge following the Monday release of a whistleblower complaint that alleged "jarring medical neglect" relating to Covid-19 safety protocols and procedures as well as a high number of hysterectomies performed on women detained at the facility. Congressional lawmakers called for an investigation into the matter late Tuesday.
In related news, ProPublica and the Texas Tribunereported Monday that ICE had deported a detainee who was "a crucial witness in an ongoing investigation into allegations of sexual assault and harassment at an El Paso immigrant detention center." The 35-year-old woman was detained in the Texas facility, and alleged a "pattern and practice" of abuse there including sexual assault, and that some assaults happened in surveillance camera blind spots.
"The short history of DHS has been filled with violence, fear-stoking, and a lack of oversight. Dismantle it," the ACLU tweeted Wednesday, renewing its call to break up the Department of Homeland Security, of which ICE is a part.
Amnesty International joined the ACLU in demanding action.
"Unfortunately, the United States has a history of forced sterilization, including of Indigenous women, Black women and other women of color, incarcerated women, and intersex people," the group said in a statement Wednesday. "In addition to a violation of a person's rights to health and safety and sexual and reproductive rights, forced sterilization can constitute a crime against humanity under international law. No one should be sterilized without their full consent, and people should be not be detained for seeking asylum."
"As a first step, Congress and the DHS must both urgently investigate these allegations," Amnesty added. "These horrifying allegations demonstrate that the abusive practice of immigration detention in the United States cannot be continued. We renew our call to the administration to free people in immigration detention."
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LATEST NEWS
House Dems: Musk Should Go Immediately But Must Exit Trump Post by May 30
"In his short time in government, Elon Musk has done enormous harm to working Americans."
Apr 10, 2025
Dozens of House Democrats wrote to U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday "to make clear that you must remove Elon Musk from his government position by May 30th and to demand that you stop ignoring federal law and ethics rules to empower an unelected billionaire."
Musk, the richest person on Earth, is leading Trump's effort to gut the federal bureaucracy as the de facto chief of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency—but the billionaire is not the formal head of DOGE. Instead, Musk is a "special government employee," which lets him keep his financial disclosure form confidential.
The new letter to Trump, signed by 77 House Democrats, highlights that special government employees can only serve in their positions for 130 days in a year and demands "an immediate public statement from your administration making clear that Musk will resign and surrender all decision-making authority, as required by law."
"In his short time in government, Elon Musk has done enormous harm to working Americans," noted the coalition, led by Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar (D-Texas). "Musk's reckless destruction of government agencies has led to everything from seniors having challenges accessing Social Security to veterans losing access to care."
The billionaire's business ties include SpaceX and its subsidiary Starlink, the electric vehicle maker Tesla, and the social media site X, which is aiming to add a digital wallet feature. His companies have received tens of billions of dollars in government funding, including through contracts.
"While millions of Americans are suffering, Musk is continuing to enrich himself and break ethics laws," the lawmakers wrote. "Musk continues to cut funds from programs that support working people, while his own companies continue to rake in more than $8 million per day in contracts and subsidies from the federal government. Recently, your administration changed the rules of a broadband program to give even more money to one of Musk's companies. Musk held a car show on the lawn of the White House, where he illegally promoted his company's vehicles."
The letter continues: "Musk paid Wisconsin voters to support his preferred candidate in the state supreme court race. Any typical government employee would be held accountable for these actions, but Musk, who donated $277 million to your presidential campaign, has been allowed to keep his position of power in your White House."
"Once Elon Musk is removed from his post, he may not legally return to the federal government this year without divesting from his companies, including Tesla and SpaceX," the letter concludes. "For the good of the country, Elon Musk should be removed from his position immediately. Under the law, Mr. Musk cannot remain in his position beyond May 30th."
Politico reported last week that "Trump has told his inner circle, including members of his Cabinet, that Elon Musk will be stepping back in the coming weeks from his current role as governing partner."
The Hill pointed out Thursday that "the Tesla CEO has signaled he plans to wrap up his work in the allotted 130-day period. He told Fox News' Bret Baier last month that he expects to have accomplished most of his DOGE work in that time frame."
Still, the letter's signatories want to ensure that Musk actually leaves the government. Casar told Axios—which scooped the letter—that "we're making it very clear that the public pressure is only going to ramp up on Republicans between here and May 30."
Democrats "have legal tools at our disposal, political tools at our disposal," he said, as well as the "full force of public pressure."
DOGE Is Reportedly Spying on Federal Workers With AI Technology
"We have been told they are looking for anti-Trump or anti-Musk language," an anonymous source said of potential surveillance at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Apr 10, 2025
Staff with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fear that billionaire and presidential adviser Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency is spying on them using artificial intelligence, according to reporting from Reuters, The Guardian, and Crooked Media's newsletter What a Day.
According to Reuters reporting published Tuesday, Trump administration officials told some managers at the EPA that DOGE is rolling out AI to monitor for communications that may be perceived as hostile to U.S. President Donald Trump or Musk, citing two unnamed sources with knowledge of the situation.
According to those two sources, who relayed comments made by Trump-appointed officials in posts at the EPA, DOGE was using AI to monitor communication apps such as Microsoft Teams. "Be careful what you say, what you type, and what you do," an EPA manager said, according to one of the sources.
"We have been told they are looking for anti-Trump or anti-Musk language," a third source told Reuters.
The outlet, however, could not independently confirm whether AI was being implemented.
After the story was published, the EPA told Reuters in a statement that it was "looking at AI to better optimize agency functions and administrative efficiencies." However, the agency said it was not using AI "as it makes personnel decisions in concert with DOGE." The EPA also did not directly address whether it was using AI to snoop on employees.
In response to Reuters' reporting, the government accountability group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington wrote on X, "Let's be clear: the career civil servants who work in the government serve the American people, not Donald Trump."
According to Thursday reporting from The Guardian and Reuters, EPA managers told employees during a Wednesday morning meeting that DOGE is "using AI to scan through agency communications to find any anti-Musk, anti-Doge, or anti-Trump statements," according to an employee who was quoted anonymously.
Since returning to power, Trump has launched an all-out assault on environmental protection, including through cuts to programs and personnel at the EPA. According to The New York Times, the EPA has already undergone a 3% staff reduction so far, but the agency also plans to eliminate its scientific research arm, which would mean dismissing as many as 1,155 scientists, according to reporting from last month. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has also said he would like to cut 65% of the agency's budget.
The Guardian and What a Day also reviewed an email from a manager at the Association of Clean Water Administrators, a group of state and interstate bodies that works with the EPA on water quality and management, which warned workers that meetings with EPA employees might be monitored by AI.
"We recently learned that all EPA phones (landline/mobile), all Teams/Zoom virtual meetings, and calendar entries are being transcribed/monitored," the email states. The recorded information is then fed into an "AI tool" which analyzes and scrutinizes what has been recorded. "I do not know if DOGE is doing the analysis or … the agency itself," according to the author of the email, per The Guardian and What a Day.
The EPA denied that it's recording meetings, but it did not address the question of an AI tool, according to the outlets.
According to The Guardian and What a Day, employees at other agencies also fear they are being surveilled. For example, a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs official warned employees that virtual meetings are being recorded in secret, according to an email reviewed by the two outlets. In February, managers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warned some workers to be careful about what they say on calls, per an employee there.
"It's like being in a horror film where you know something out there [wants] to kill you but you never know when or how or who it is," one anonymously quoted employee from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development told The Guardian and What a Day, evoking the climate of fear that is rife among government workers.
'They Are Laughing at Us All': Trump Tariff Whiplash Boosts Wealth of Mega-Rich by $304 Billion
"Is there any doubt in anyone's mind they were tipped off?" asked one progressive news outlet.
Apr 10, 2025
As retirees, small business owners, and consumers reeled from the chaos sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump's erratic tariff policies, the richest people on the planet saw their wealth surge Wednesday as the White House partially froze the duties it imposed on most countries.
Trump's announcement of the 90-day pause sparked a historic market rally that added $304 billion to the collective wealth of the world's top billionaires, according to a Bloomberg estimate. The outlet called the jump "the largest one-day gain in the history of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index," which was launched in 2012.
"The largest individual gainer Wednesday was Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk, who added $36 billion to his fortune as the EV manufacturer's stock jumped 23%, followed by Meta Platforms Inc.'s Mark Zuckerberg, who gained almost $26 billion," Bloomberg reported. "Nvidia Corp.'s Jensen Huang saw his wealth rise $15.5 billion as the chipmaker's shares rebounded 19%, nearly offsetting its 13% decline in the week to Tuesday's close."
Though the stock market gave up some of the massive gains on Thursday amid continued uncertainty about Trump's tariffs, the rapid billionaire wealth surge amplified concerns about possible market manipulation and insider trading ahead of the president's announcement of a 90-day pause. Trump publicly encouraged people to buy stock just hours before announcing the pause.
"Is there any doubt in anyone's mind they were tipped off?" The Tennessee Holler, a progressive news outlet, wrote on social media. "They are laughing at us all."
In the days leading up to the president's partial tariff pause, some of his billionaire supporters publicly criticized his approach as their wealth took a hit amid the trade war-induced market sell-off.
According to Bloomberg, the 500 richest people in the world saw their collective wealth fall by $208 billion the day after Trump announced the sweeping tariffs last week. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was "flooded with worried calls from Wall Street over the weekend and felt strongly he had to persuade Trump that a pause was needed."
The partial tariff pause came a day before the Republican-controlled House passed a budget blueprint that paves the way for another round of tax cuts that would primarily benefit the wealthiest Americans.
"These tariffs are not designed to solve an actual trade or economic challenge," Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said Thursday. "They're designed to soak typical workers with higher taxes in order to help pay for handouts to the top."
"They're focused on yet more handouts to billionaires and corporations," Wyden added, "and everybody else is going to be on the hook to pay for them."
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