What a week. The federal government has continued to attack the immigrant and Latino communities using arrests, detentions, and new methods. From Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Social Security to Florida, there was a lot of immigration news this week. It might be hard to keep up. No te preocupes because we are here with a breakdown of the things you need to know. Here is a quick recap of what the Trump administration has been up to that impacts our community.

The Trump administration is listing thousands of people as deceased to compel self-deportations

The Trump administration classified more than 6,000 people as deceased with the Social Security Administration (SSA). This is the latest move to push mass deportation and curb immigration. The move will cut critical lifelines for those who legally received social security numbers during the Biden administration. The administration is allegedly also looking into adding another 92,000 undocumented people to the list.

According to CNN, the announcement will effectively financially starve people. The classification has large repercussions for those impacted. Those on the list will lose their ability to legally work in the United States and will be barred from opening credit or bank accounts.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, the government is finally doing what it should have all along: sharing information across the federal government to solve problems,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement to CNN. “Information sharing across agencies is essential to identify who is in our country, including violent criminals, determine what public safety and terror threats may exist, scrub these individuals from voter rolls, as well as identify what public benefits these aliens are using at taxpayer expense.”

Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) made a trip to El Salvador and met with Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Sen. Van Hollen has been outspoken about Abrego Garcia’s deportation to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison. Abrego Garcia was wrongfully detained and removed from the U.S., something an attorney for the federal government admitted in court. Despite a 9-0 Supreme Court ruling to bring him back, the Trump administration claims there is nothing they can do. The news alarmed immigration activists.

Sen. Van Hollen traveled down to El Salvador and met with Abrego Garcia. The meeting was the first proof of life for Abrego Garcia for the American public. Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador in March despite having a “withholding of removal” order from 2019. A “withholding of removal” order protects an individual from deportation if there is credible evidence that they will be persecuted if they are sent back.

In a recent press interview, President Donald Trump appeared to change course on the whole matter. Just a couple of days ago, he was meeting with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele and Abrego Garcia was very much part of the conversation. In fact, President Bukele parroted President Trump’s words and called Abrego Garcia a terrorist, which there isn’t evidence to prove.

An American citizen was arrested and held for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Florida

Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez, a U.S. citizen born in Georgia, was arrested in Florida under a new law that has been blocked by a judge. The anti-immigrant law, simply named “Immigration,” makes it a first-degree misdemeanor for an undocumented person over the age of 18 to knowingly enter the Sunshine State. U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen Williams issued a block on the law’s enforcement, further casting doubt on the arrest and charge.

According to Florida Phoenix, the 20-year-old was arrested by a Florida Highway Patrol officer under the new law. This happened even after he showed his Georgia issued identification. Once he was detained at the Leon County Jail, ICE requested an immigration hold to pick him up for deportation.

Lopez-Gomez’s mother appeared in front of Leon County Judge LaShawn Riggans and showed his birth certificate and social security card. However, Judge Riggans said there was nothing she could do after ICE requested the hold. Judge Riggans did not have the jurisdiction to order Lopez-Gomez’s release since the ICE hold was a federal matter.

Fortunately, the U.S. citizen was eventually released but will have to appear at the Leon County Courthouse in May. Lopez-Gomez has to appear due to the accusation that he is in the country illegally, according to NC Newsline.

According to reports, the arresting officer claims that Lopez-Gomez told him that he was in the country illegally when he was arrested. According to the arrest report, according to NC Newsline, the officer claims that Lopez-Gomez showed him his Georgia ID but doesn’t mention seeing a copy of a Social Security card. Lopez-Gomez claims he showed the officer a copy of his Social Security card.

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