update - USSC strikes down CO's conversion therapy ban 8 - 1
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Venezuela’s opposition leader Machado says she will return to the country in the coming weeks
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader and winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize María Corina Machado said on Sunday that she will return to Venezuela in the coming weeks and that elections will be held in the South American country.
Machado did not set a date for her return but said that one of the objectives will be to prepare “for a new and gigantic electoral victory.”
In a message shared on social media, the politician called on her supporters to “strengthen the unity of Venezuelans that began with the primaries,” a reference to the 2023 process in which she won the vote aimed at establishing a single candidate to compete at the polls against former President Nicolás Maduro.
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez – in power since Maduro and his wife were captured in a U.S. military operation in January — has warned that Machado “will have to answer” if she returns to the country.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that change in Venezuela must go through phases of stabilization, economic recovery and transition. He has not indicated that elections could be held in the short term.
The 58-year-old politician, a key figure in the Venezuelan opposition, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year for her fight for democratic transition in Venezuela.
She controversially later presented her medal to U.S. President Donald Trump after the military intervention that deposited Maduro, who now faces drug-trafficking-related charges in U.S. courts. He has pleaded not guilty.
After Maduro was declared the victor of the July 2024 elections, protests erupted which sparked widespread repression. The opposition claimed it had credible evidence that the real winner was Edmundo González, who replaced Machado after she was barred from participating.
Associated Press, The Associated Press
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader and winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize María Corina Machado said on Sunday that she will return to Venezuela in the coming weeks and that elections will be held in the South American country.
Machado did not set a date for her return but said that one of the objectives will be to prepare “for a new and gigantic electoral victory.”
In a message shared on social media, the politician called on her supporters to “strengthen the unity of Venezuelans that began with the primaries,” a reference to the 2023 process in which she won the vote aimed at establishing a single candidate to compete at the polls against former President Nicolás Maduro.
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez – in power since Maduro and his wife were captured in a U.S. military operation in January — has warned that Machado “will have to answer” if she returns to the country.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that change in Venezuela must go through phases of stabilization, economic recovery and transition. He has not indicated that elections could be held in the short term.
The 58-year-old politician, a key figure in the Venezuelan opposition, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year for her fight for democratic transition in Venezuela.
She controversially later presented her medal to U.S. President Donald Trump after the military intervention that deposited Maduro, who now faces drug-trafficking-related charges in U.S. courts. He has pleaded not guilty.
After Maduro was declared the victor of the July 2024 elections, protests erupted which sparked widespread repression. The opposition claimed it had credible evidence that the real winner was Edmundo González, who replaced Machado after she was barred from participating.
Associated Press, The Associated Press
Trump’s bid to have tariff refund process slowed was rejected
A federal court has rejected the Trump administration’s bid to slow the process of refunding billions of dollars in tariffs, which the Supreme Court previously ruled illegal.
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has now advanced the refund process, sending the matter to a lower court for resolution.
Trump’s Justice Department had urged the Federal Circuit last Friday to proceed cautiously and impose a 90-day delay, but judges dismissed the request. The Supreme Court’s ruling on 20 February declared Trump’s extensive tariffs on most global countries unlawful, paving the way for importers who paid them to seek refunds.
By mid-December, the government had collected over $130 billion from the tariffs and could ultimately face a liability of up to $175 billion in refunds, according to calculations by the Penn Wharton Budget Model.
However, the Supreme Court’s decision offered no guidance on refunds, not even mentioning them. The US Court of International Trade in New York will now determine how the complex refund process should proceed.
"I would expect the Court of International Trade to quickly issue an order requesting a status update from the government on their plans with respect to refunds (or expedited briefing)," said trade lawyer Ryan Majerus, a partner at King & Spalding and a former US trade official.
"I expect the court to take an aggressive posture, asking the government to justify how they intend to comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling."
Trump’s Justice Department had urged the Federal Circuit last Friday to proceed cautiously and impose a 90-day delay, but judges dismissed the request (AFP/Getty)
Siddartha Rao, a partner at law firm Hoguet Newman Regal & Kenney, noted a surge in client inquiries. "We are somewhat in uncharted territory," he stated.
The Trump administration has been seeking to implement new tariffs to replace those struck down by the Supreme Court. A key question, Rao highlighted, is how the government will finance these substantial refunds.
"Everyone is sort of cognizant of the fact that it’s not like there’s over a hundred billion dollars sitting in, you know, in a room somewhere to just cut checks," Rao explained.
"So, you know, this is a Treasury problem, and it may very well be that the administration is reimposing tariffs for the reasons that it’s cited ... it’s important for strategic trade agreements and for bargaining power and all of that. But it also might be that they need to raise revenue to pay out refunds."
A federal court has rejected the Trump administration’s bid to slow the process of refunding billions of dollars in tariffs, which the Supreme Court previously ruled illegal.
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has now advanced the refund process, sending the matter to a lower court for resolution.
Trump’s Justice Department had urged the Federal Circuit last Friday to proceed cautiously and impose a 90-day delay, but judges dismissed the request. The Supreme Court’s ruling on 20 February declared Trump’s extensive tariffs on most global countries unlawful, paving the way for importers who paid them to seek refunds.
By mid-December, the government had collected over $130 billion from the tariffs and could ultimately face a liability of up to $175 billion in refunds, according to calculations by the Penn Wharton Budget Model.
However, the Supreme Court’s decision offered no guidance on refunds, not even mentioning them. The US Court of International Trade in New York will now determine how the complex refund process should proceed.
"I would expect the Court of International Trade to quickly issue an order requesting a status update from the government on their plans with respect to refunds (or expedited briefing)," said trade lawyer Ryan Majerus, a partner at King & Spalding and a former US trade official.
"I expect the court to take an aggressive posture, asking the government to justify how they intend to comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling."
Trump’s Justice Department had urged the Federal Circuit last Friday to proceed cautiously and impose a 90-day delay, but judges dismissed the request (AFP/Getty)
Siddartha Rao, a partner at law firm Hoguet Newman Regal & Kenney, noted a surge in client inquiries. "We are somewhat in uncharted territory," he stated.
The Trump administration has been seeking to implement new tariffs to replace those struck down by the Supreme Court. A key question, Rao highlighted, is how the government will finance these substantial refunds.
"Everyone is sort of cognizant of the fact that it’s not like there’s over a hundred billion dollars sitting in, you know, in a room somewhere to just cut checks," Rao explained.
"So, you know, this is a Treasury problem, and it may very well be that the administration is reimposing tariffs for the reasons that it’s cited ... it’s important for strategic trade agreements and for bargaining power and all of that. But it also might be that they need to raise revenue to pay out refunds."
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www.politico.com
The Department of Homeland Security may not bar members of Congress from making unannounced visits to ICE detention facilities, a federal judge ruled Monday, blocking a policy imposed in January by Secretary Kristi Noem requiring a week’s notice before lawmakers could gain access.
U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb ruled that Noem’s policy was crafted with funds that Congress specifically said could not be used to impede lawmakers’ visits to detention facilities, even if those visits are not announced in advance. And she rejected DHS’ claim that it had relied on alternative funding sources to craft and implement the policy — namely the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which directed unprecedented sums toward DHS operations.
“The Court agrees that these funds are indeed staggering,” Cobb wrote in the 44-page ruling. “But the power of the purse rests with Congress, and even a deep-pocketed agency must comply with Congress’s restrictions on the permissible uses of appropriated funds.”
The Trump administration quickly appealed the ruling.
It was Cobb’s third time blocking or limiting the reach of Noem’s efforts to prevent unannounced lawmaker visits. In December, the Biden-appointed judge blocked the policy in response to a lawsuit filed by Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) and a dozen other lawmakers who sued, claiming their efforts to visit detention facilities had been illegally blocked.
But in January, when members of Congress attempted to access an ICE facility in Minnesota in the wake of the fatal shooting of Renee Good — one of them even wielding a paper copy of Cobb’s opinion — ICE blocked them again. Noem had issued a new version of the policy, claiming to fund it with the unrestricted funds of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Last month, Cobb again sided with the lawmakers, granting an emergency ruling that allowed Neguse and the dozen other plaintiffs to regain unfettered access to ICE facilities.
This time, Cobb’s ruling will block enforcement of the policy altogether, restoring full access to ICE detention facilities for all members of Congress. Cobb said her latest ruling was strengthened by the fact in recent months, “ICE’s enforcement and detention practices have become the focus of intense national and congressional interest.”
Cobb separately rejected claims that the ongoing shutdown of DHS funding should influence her ruling. Though appropriations for the department have lapsed, she said the agency’s leadership structure is still operating on funding provided by annual appropriations bills — which include the requirement for lawmakers to have unrestricted access to ICE detention centers.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Attorneys who backed the Democratic lawmakers’ effort to regain access to ICE facilities hailed the ruling as a win for transparency and to expose what they say are cruel and inhumane conditions inside detention centers.
“Today’s ruling makes it clear that Secretary Noem cannot operate detention facilities in the shadows or silence elected officials who are doing their job,” said Skye Perryman, president of Democracy Forward. “The court has once again affirmed that oversight is not optional, transparency is not negotiable, and human rights do not disappear at the doors of a detention center.”
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x.com
BREAKING A man was choked to death by ICE guards, and DHS hid his body at a military base to block the autopsy. His name was Geraldo Lunas Campos.
When the county medical examiner finally performed an autopsy, the conclusion was devastatingly clear: his death was ruled a homicide. But here is the detail that should make your blood run cold. When another man recently died at that exact same #ICE facility, the Department of Homeland Security didn't call the local medical examiner. Instead, they moved his body to a nearby U.S. Army base. And that Army base is now flat-out refusing to release the results of the autopsy.
This was revealed today by Senator Dick Durbin in a horrifying congressional hearing about the explosion of deaths in ICE custody under the Trump administration. Eight people have already died in ICE custody in just the first two months of this year alone. Many of them died from easily treatable illnesses.
911 logs show ICE facilities are completely overwhelmed, ignoring basic human rights. But moving a body to a military installation to dodge a local homicide investigation? That isn't just negligence. That is a coordinated, state-sponsored cover-up.
They are operating mass detention facilities with zero accountability. They are treating human beings like they are disposable. And when their guards cross the line, they use the full weight of the federal military apparatus to hide the evidence. We are watching human rights abuses happen on American soil, funded by our tax dollars. We must demand the autopsy report. Share this. Do not let them sweep these deaths under the rug.
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x.com
Former New Mexico AG Hector Balderas reveals federal prosecutors asked his office to HALT its investigation into sex trafficking at Epstein's Zorro Ranch in 2019 — promising to share information in return. They never did.
"Cooperation was a one-way relationship." New Mexico handed over police reports, witness interviews & investigative records to the Southern District of New York. In return? Silence.
Balderas urged feds to SEIZE Zorro Ranch in 2020 to preserve criminal evidence — files, video recordings. No response. None of NM's investigative records appear among the 3M+ pages DOJ released last month. The investigation was "gutted" just weeks before Epstein died in custody.
Now NM AG Raúl Torrez is reopening the probe and a legislative truth-finding commission with subpoena power has been formed. The investigation should have been BROADENED, not narrowed.
Rubio scrambles to contain GOP revolt
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Capitol Hill on Tuesday in an effort to head off a potential “revolt” from lawmakers angered by the Trump administration’s decision to attack Iran without notifying Congress — let alone without seeking its authorization — a move critics say violates the U.S. Constitution.
The House and Senate are set to vote this week on resolutions to put guardrails on President Donald Trump‘s ability to use unilateral military force, Politico reports.
Secretary Rubio on Monday said that “Congress can vote on whatever they want. But there’s no law that requires us” to obtain congressional approval before going to war.
“Look, that is fine if they want to take a war powers vote,” Rubio told reporters. “They can do that. They’ve done that. They’ve done that a bunch of times. But there’s no – people keep saying that we have – there’s no law that requires the President to have done anything with regards to this. To begin with, no presidential administration has ever accepted the War Powers Act as constitutional – not Republican presidents, not Democratic presidents.”
On Tuesday afternoon, Rubio will be joined by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, to brief members of Congress on the President’s military actions in Iran.
Politico adds that “lawmakers on both sides are decrying a lack of details from the administration — including evidence that Iran posed an imminent threat to the U.S. that would necessitate military action.”
Some prominent Democrats blasted Rubio’s claim that there is no law that requires the administration to obtain congressional approval.
“There is a law,” wrote U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA). “It’s called the frickin Constitution of the United States.”
But Speaker of the House Mike Johnson pushed back on efforts to put guardrails on the President.
“The idea that we would take the ability of our commander in chief … to finish this job, is a frightening prospect to me,” he said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Capitol Hill on Tuesday in an effort to head off a potential “revolt” from lawmakers angered by the Trump administration’s decision to attack Iran without notifying Congress — let alone without seeking its authorization — a move critics say violates the U.S. Constitution.
The House and Senate are set to vote this week on resolutions to put guardrails on President Donald Trump‘s ability to use unilateral military force, Politico reports.
Secretary Rubio on Monday said that “Congress can vote on whatever they want. But there’s no law that requires us” to obtain congressional approval before going to war.
“Look, that is fine if they want to take a war powers vote,” Rubio told reporters. “They can do that. They’ve done that. They’ve done that a bunch of times. But there’s no – people keep saying that we have – there’s no law that requires the President to have done anything with regards to this. To begin with, no presidential administration has ever accepted the War Powers Act as constitutional – not Republican presidents, not Democratic presidents.”
On Tuesday afternoon, Rubio will be joined by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, to brief members of Congress on the President’s military actions in Iran.
Politico adds that “lawmakers on both sides are decrying a lack of details from the administration — including evidence that Iran posed an imminent threat to the U.S. that would necessitate military action.”
Some prominent Democrats blasted Rubio’s claim that there is no law that requires the administration to obtain congressional approval.
“There is a law,” wrote U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA). “It’s called the frickin Constitution of the United States.”
But Speaker of the House Mike Johnson pushed back on efforts to put guardrails on the President.
“The idea that we would take the ability of our commander in chief … to finish this job, is a frightening prospect to me,” he said.
Trump-appointed judge trashes administration for 'unimaginable cruelty'
U.S. district Judge Gary Brown of the Eastern District of New York has blasted ICE's detainment of an honors student who was swept up in a raid despite his Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) status.
Honduran national Hester Asaf Garcia Lanza, who came to the U.S. at age 9, lived and worked lawfully in the U.S. for years under the SIJ status before being arrested in an ICE/DHS sweep. Despite his legal certifications, removal proceedings were initiated and his deferred action and work authorization were revoked.
Even after the court set terms of Garcia Lanza's release after discovery of his legal status, ICE imposed additional unsanctioned conditions and DHS piled on with a hefty fine to offset his illegal apprehension.
Brown’s outrage at those actions was clear in his ruling.
“This isn’t how things are supposed to work in America,” Brown wrote.
The judge has been a staunch defender of immigrant rights, but was particularly incensed by this situation in his ruling. He cited the arrest of Garcia Lanza without a judicial warrant or legitimate basis for detaining someone with SIJ status who has no criminal record as particularly egregious.
Calling the government agency actions “unimaginable cruelty,” Judge Brown wrote, "The laws of human decency condemn such villainy.”
The full text of Brown’s order has not been published, but the available filings show Brown said DHS was found in violation of statutory and constitutional protections. He also ordered that Garcia Lanza’s SIJ status be restored, and that he be either released or provided a bond hearing.
Brown’s order will have an impact for others being detained despite lawful immigration status or statutory protections like SIJ status. It underscores that the executive branch cannot override basic constitutional and statutory safeguards, including proper warrants and respect for SIJ protections.
https://bsky.app/profile/kyledcheney.bsky.social/post/3mg5z3sgesj2z
U.S. district Judge Gary Brown of the Eastern District of New York has blasted ICE's detainment of an honors student who was swept up in a raid despite his Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) status.
Honduran national Hester Asaf Garcia Lanza, who came to the U.S. at age 9, lived and worked lawfully in the U.S. for years under the SIJ status before being arrested in an ICE/DHS sweep. Despite his legal certifications, removal proceedings were initiated and his deferred action and work authorization were revoked.
Even after the court set terms of Garcia Lanza's release after discovery of his legal status, ICE imposed additional unsanctioned conditions and DHS piled on with a hefty fine to offset his illegal apprehension.
Brown’s outrage at those actions was clear in his ruling.
“This isn’t how things are supposed to work in America,” Brown wrote.
The judge has been a staunch defender of immigrant rights, but was particularly incensed by this situation in his ruling. He cited the arrest of Garcia Lanza without a judicial warrant or legitimate basis for detaining someone with SIJ status who has no criminal record as particularly egregious.
Calling the government agency actions “unimaginable cruelty,” Judge Brown wrote, "The laws of human decency condemn such villainy.”
The full text of Brown’s order has not been published, but the available filings show Brown said DHS was found in violation of statutory and constitutional protections. He also ordered that Garcia Lanza’s SIJ status be restored, and that he be either released or provided a bond hearing.
Brown’s order will have an impact for others being detained despite lawful immigration status or statutory protections like SIJ status. It underscores that the executive branch cannot override basic constitutional and statutory safeguards, including proper warrants and respect for SIJ protections.
https://bsky.app/profile/kyledcheney.bsky.social/post/3mg5z3sgesj2z
Judge rules companies are entitled to refunds for Trump tariffs overturned by the Supreme Court
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a defeat for the Trump administration, a federal judge in New York ruled Wednesday that companies that paid tariffs struck down last month by Supreme Court are due refunds.
Judge Richard Eaton of the U.S. Court of International Trade wrote that “all importers of record’’ were “entitled to benefit’’ from the Supreme Court ruling that struck down sweeping double-digit import taxes President Donald Trump imposed last year under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
The Supreme Court found those tariffs to be unconstitutional under the emergency powers law, including the sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs he levied on nearly every other country. The majority ruled that the president could not unilaterally set and change tariffs because taxation power clearly belongs to Congress.
In his ruling, Eaton wrote that he alone “will hear cases pertaining to the refund of IEEPA duties.’’ The ruling offers some clarity about the tariff refund process, something the Supreme Court did not even mention in its Feb. 20 decision. Trade lawyer Ryan Majerus, a partner at King & Spalding and a former U.S. trade official, said he expects the government to appeal or “seek a stay to buy more time for U.S. Customs to comply.″
The federal government collected more than $130 billion in the now-defunct tariffs through mid-December and could ultimately be on the hook for refunds worth $175 billion, according to calculations by the Penn Wharton Budget Model.
Eaton was ruling specifically on a case brought by Atmus Filtration, a Nashville, Tennessee, company that makes filters and other filtration products, claiming a right to a tariff refund.
All goods that go through U.S. Customs and Border Protections enter a process called “liquidation,” when the agency issues its final accounting of what is owed. Once liquidated, importers have 180 days to formally contest the duties. After that window closes, the liquidation is legally final.
The judge ordered customs to stop collecting the IEEPA tariffs the Supreme Court struck down last month on goods going through the liquidation process. And if the goods were past that part of the process, the agency would have to recalculate them without the tariffs.
“This is a great decision for importers and consumers who paid,” said Barry Appleton, a law professor and co-director New York Law School’s Center for International Law. “It will make customs brokers busy. It should make things easier for the courts — and get a process underway for those importers who paid within the last 180 days.”
On Monday, another federal court rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to slow the refund process. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit started the next phase in the refund process by sending it to New York trade court to sort out.
Now the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency must come up with a way to process the refunds. Customs routinely refunds tariffs when there’s been some kind of error, but its system was “not designed for a mass refund,″ said trade lawyer Alexis Early, a partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner. “The devil will be in the details of the administrative process.″
____
Anderson reported from New York.
AP Writer Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this story.
Paul Wiseman And Mae Anderson, The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a defeat for the Trump administration, a federal judge in New York ruled Wednesday that companies that paid tariffs struck down last month by Supreme Court are due refunds.
Judge Richard Eaton of the U.S. Court of International Trade wrote that “all importers of record’’ were “entitled to benefit’’ from the Supreme Court ruling that struck down sweeping double-digit import taxes President Donald Trump imposed last year under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
The Supreme Court found those tariffs to be unconstitutional under the emergency powers law, including the sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs he levied on nearly every other country. The majority ruled that the president could not unilaterally set and change tariffs because taxation power clearly belongs to Congress.
In his ruling, Eaton wrote that he alone “will hear cases pertaining to the refund of IEEPA duties.’’ The ruling offers some clarity about the tariff refund process, something the Supreme Court did not even mention in its Feb. 20 decision. Trade lawyer Ryan Majerus, a partner at King & Spalding and a former U.S. trade official, said he expects the government to appeal or “seek a stay to buy more time for U.S. Customs to comply.″
The federal government collected more than $130 billion in the now-defunct tariffs through mid-December and could ultimately be on the hook for refunds worth $175 billion, according to calculations by the Penn Wharton Budget Model.
Eaton was ruling specifically on a case brought by Atmus Filtration, a Nashville, Tennessee, company that makes filters and other filtration products, claiming a right to a tariff refund.
All goods that go through U.S. Customs and Border Protections enter a process called “liquidation,” when the agency issues its final accounting of what is owed. Once liquidated, importers have 180 days to formally contest the duties. After that window closes, the liquidation is legally final.
The judge ordered customs to stop collecting the IEEPA tariffs the Supreme Court struck down last month on goods going through the liquidation process. And if the goods were past that part of the process, the agency would have to recalculate them without the tariffs.
“This is a great decision for importers and consumers who paid,” said Barry Appleton, a law professor and co-director New York Law School’s Center for International Law. “It will make customs brokers busy. It should make things easier for the courts — and get a process underway for those importers who paid within the last 180 days.”
On Monday, another federal court rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to slow the refund process. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit started the next phase in the refund process by sending it to New York trade court to sort out.
Now the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency must come up with a way to process the refunds. Customs routinely refunds tariffs when there’s been some kind of error, but its system was “not designed for a mass refund,″ said trade lawyer Alexis Early, a partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner. “The devil will be in the details of the administrative process.″
____
Anderson reported from New York.
AP Writer Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this story.
Paul Wiseman And Mae Anderson, The Associated Press
ICE detainee dies from untreated tooth infection, family says
Emmanuel Damas sought asylum in the United States after fleeing Haiti, where he worked as a handyman.
Two years later, he died in federal custody while hospitalized for an infected tooth, according to Arizona officials.
The 56-year-old asylum seeker, a father of two, was hospitalized after he struggled to receive timely medical care for a worsening toothache, according to Chandler City Councilwoman Christine Ellis.
Ellis, a registered nurse who is Haitian-American, said she is “deeply heartbroken” by news of his death.
At least 35 people have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody since Donald Trump returned to the White House and accelerated efforts to quickly arrest, detain and deport tens of thousands of people.
Damas is expected to be the 10th person to die in ICE custody so far this year; ICE has acknowledged eight deaths, and local officials in Arizona and California have reported two additional in-custody deaths in their states. Officials in New York are also investigating the circumstances leading to the death of a Rohingya refugee who was last seen in Border Patrol custody.
Damas entered the United States under Joe Biden-era humanitarian protections in 2024. Those protections expired two years later. Trump’s Homeland Security Kristi Noem is pursuing legal challenges to revoke protections that could endanger tens of thousands of vulnerable Haitians and other immigrants with temporary legal protections extended under Biden.
He was arrested in Boston in September 2025 and transferred to an ICE detention center in Arizona, according to Ellis.
On February 12, he began complaining about a toothache but was only given ibuprofen, according to his brother Presly Nelson.
After complaining for two weeks, he collapsed. He was transferred to a Scottsdale hospital last week.
By the time his family arrived from Boston to visit him, he was intubated. He died Monday, according to his family.
“When we got there he had been in this coma for the last nine days,” Nelson told ACB15. “We believe in God. We thought a miracle could happen.”
Ellis said she learned the details of his death from his family members, who provided her with photographs of Damas appearing unconscious and intubated while in an intensive care unit. Ellis shared the images on Instagram.
His alleged struggle to receive timely medical attention “raises serious and painful concerns about the quality of care provided to individuals in custody,” Ellis wrote.
“No one should die under such horrific conditions,” wrote Democratic Rep. Yassamin Ansari.
“After four oversight visits to ICE facilities in Arizona, I’ve witnessed inhumane treatment and medical neglect firsthand,” she added. “I will continue fighting to stop this.”
The Independent has requested comment from Homeland Security.
The number of people in ICE custody has exploded since Trump returned to the White House, with more than 60,000 being held at any given point inside detention centers across the country.
Conditions inside detention centers have come under heightened scrutiny following lawsuits alleging unsanitary and inhumane conditions inside, outbreaks of measles in at least two facilities, and the hospitalizations and alleged medical mistreatment of children inside a sprawling camp that is holding a growing number of immigrant families.
Homeland Security officials have repeatedly defended the level of care provided to detained immigrants.
Detainees are provided with “comprehensive medical care” from the moment they enter ICE custody, an agency spokesperson told The Independent last month.
That care “includes medical, dental and mental health intake screening within 12 hours of arriving at each detention facility, a full health assessment within 14 days of entering ICE custody or arrival at a facility, and access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care,” according to DHS. “This is the best healthcare many aliens have received in their entire lives.”
Emmanuel Damas sought asylum in the United States after fleeing Haiti, where he worked as a handyman.
Two years later, he died in federal custody while hospitalized for an infected tooth, according to Arizona officials.
The 56-year-old asylum seeker, a father of two, was hospitalized after he struggled to receive timely medical care for a worsening toothache, according to Chandler City Councilwoman Christine Ellis.
Ellis, a registered nurse who is Haitian-American, said she is “deeply heartbroken” by news of his death.
At least 35 people have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody since Donald Trump returned to the White House and accelerated efforts to quickly arrest, detain and deport tens of thousands of people.
Damas is expected to be the 10th person to die in ICE custody so far this year; ICE has acknowledged eight deaths, and local officials in Arizona and California have reported two additional in-custody deaths in their states. Officials in New York are also investigating the circumstances leading to the death of a Rohingya refugee who was last seen in Border Patrol custody.
Damas entered the United States under Joe Biden-era humanitarian protections in 2024. Those protections expired two years later. Trump’s Homeland Security Kristi Noem is pursuing legal challenges to revoke protections that could endanger tens of thousands of vulnerable Haitians and other immigrants with temporary legal protections extended under Biden.
He was arrested in Boston in September 2025 and transferred to an ICE detention center in Arizona, according to Ellis.
On February 12, he began complaining about a toothache but was only given ibuprofen, according to his brother Presly Nelson.
After complaining for two weeks, he collapsed. He was transferred to a Scottsdale hospital last week.
By the time his family arrived from Boston to visit him, he was intubated. He died Monday, according to his family.
“When we got there he had been in this coma for the last nine days,” Nelson told ACB15. “We believe in God. We thought a miracle could happen.”
Ellis said she learned the details of his death from his family members, who provided her with photographs of Damas appearing unconscious and intubated while in an intensive care unit. Ellis shared the images on Instagram.
His alleged struggle to receive timely medical attention “raises serious and painful concerns about the quality of care provided to individuals in custody,” Ellis wrote.
“No one should die under such horrific conditions,” wrote Democratic Rep. Yassamin Ansari.
“After four oversight visits to ICE facilities in Arizona, I’ve witnessed inhumane treatment and medical neglect firsthand,” she added. “I will continue fighting to stop this.”
The Independent has requested comment from Homeland Security.
The number of people in ICE custody has exploded since Trump returned to the White House, with more than 60,000 being held at any given point inside detention centers across the country.
Conditions inside detention centers have come under heightened scrutiny following lawsuits alleging unsanitary and inhumane conditions inside, outbreaks of measles in at least two facilities, and the hospitalizations and alleged medical mistreatment of children inside a sprawling camp that is holding a growing number of immigrant families.
Homeland Security officials have repeatedly defended the level of care provided to detained immigrants.
Detainees are provided with “comprehensive medical care” from the moment they enter ICE custody, an agency spokesperson told The Independent last month.
That care “includes medical, dental and mental health intake screening within 12 hours of arriving at each detention facility, a full health assessment within 14 days of entering ICE custody or arrival at a facility, and access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care,” according to DHS. “This is the best healthcare many aliens have received in their entire lives.”
