Executive Director of @AILANational. The views expressed here are my personal opinions. RT ≠ Endorsements.
Joined July 2011
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262 Photos and videos
Jun 10
We are deeply alarmed by reports that the Trump Administration plans to deport Afghan and Iranian nationals to the Central African Republic tomorrow. Third-country removals raise serious due process and humanitarian concerns. We urge immediate action to halt these transfers.
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Jun 10
Read more on third-country removals in the American Immigration Council's factsheet @immcouncil americanimmigrationcouncil.o…
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Ben Johnson retweeted
May 13
New on #ThinkImmigration: Rekha Sharma-Crawford, AILA Second Vice President and member of the AROL Task Force, discusses Matter of Lozada, "a legal decision [that] exposes not merely a flawed rule, but a systemic failure." bit.ly/3Rm6ZGN
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May 12
We have read reports of overcrowding, medical neglect, abuse by guards & sleep deprivation at ICE detention facilities. Horrific conditions have caused 48 deaths in ICE custody during the current Trump administration. 18 people have died since January of this year.
May 11
This morning @RepSaraJacobs and I conducted an unannounced oversight visit to the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego. ICE allowed the two of us to enter the facility, consistent with federal law and recent court rulings that have reaffirmed the right of Members of Congress to inspect detention facilities without prior notice. Our staff, however, were barred from joining us.
As we attempted to meet with detainees, ICE personnel handed us a memorandum dated today from Todd Lyons, the acting ICE Director. The new policy is designed to make it more difficult for Members of Congress to conduct oversight with transparency. Under this policy, Members can no longer meet with detainees unless we identify them by name at least two business days in advance and produce a signed consent form from each individual.
The American people deserve to know what is happening inside these facilities. Congressional oversight is how they find out. A policy designed to make oversight more difficult is a policy designed to keep the public in the dark.
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May 12
Since Trump has shuttered oversight offices within the agency, oversight visits from Members of Congress are one of the few tools left keeping ICE accountable. A new policy that requires two days notice and signed forms is not oversight, it's ICE trying to cover their tracks.
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Ben Johnson retweeted
Apr 27
Next week is #AILAWellBeingWeek! AILA's Well-Being Committee has prepared daily roundtables to help members build community, share practices, support well-being, and manage stress. Read more on #ThinkImmigration bit.ly/4tE8gra
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Ben Johnson retweeted
HUGE news. Immigrants detained in New York, Vermont, and Connecticut must be given bond hearings unless they have a criminal record or are subject to some other ground of mandatory detention.
This creates a circuit split, so the Supreme Court will likely hear the case next term.
Apr 28
BREAKING: A 2nd Circuit court of appeals panel rejects ICE's mandatory detention policy, splitting with the 5th and 8th Circuits and putting the case on a likely trajectory to SCOTUS
The 3-0 decision rejects "mass detention w/o bond for millions." documentcloud.org/documents/…
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Apr 24
The court’s ruling reaffirms that the right to seek asylum is fundamental and enshrined in U.S. law. washingtonpost.com/immigrati…
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Apr 24
By rejecting the sweeping use of ‘invasion’ as a pretext to close the border, the decision upholds America’s commitment to due process and the rule of law. Asylum seekers deserve a fair hearing, not blanket exclusions.
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Apr 23
The Trump administration has identified 384 naturalized Americans it wants to strip of citizenship & is dispatching prosecutors in 39 US attorney's offices across the country to do it. This is a dangerous escalation & every American should understand why.🧵nytimes.com/2026/04/23/us/po…
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Apr 23
Congress, the courts, and every one of us needs to see this clearly: an administration that treats 20 million Americans' citizenship as revocable is an administration that believes no one's rights are truly secure. Today it's them. Tomorrow it's anyone who dissents.
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Apr 23
If you're a naturalized citizen: you belong here. Your citizenship is real. And the fight to defend that principle is a fight for what American citizenship means for everyone.
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Ben Johnson retweeted
Apr 13
This Thursday, 300 AILA members from 34 chapters will meet with congressional delegations for AILA’s National Day of Action to elevate community voices & advocate for policies that treat people with dignity & deliver 21st-century solutions #AILANDA26 bit.ly/4tgefCs
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Apr 14
Trump has fired 100 immigration judges, replaced them w/ "deportation judges," ordered courts to stop granting bond & is pressuring judges to rule against immigrants. The result: immigration courts have become extensions of his mass deportation campaign nytimes.com/2026/04/09/us/po…
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Apr 14
Trump's ideological takeover of immigration courts should alarm every American. Courts exist to apply the law, not a political agenda. When judges are fired for ruling independently, due process dies. If the executive branch can corrupt one court system, it can corrupt others.
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Apr 14
TAKE ACTION today through AILA’s advocacy page and tell your congressional delegation that an independent immigration court is necessary. aila.org/library/take-action…
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