skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Sunday, June 15, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump warns Iran to agree to a deal 'before there is nothing left'; 'No Kings' rallies planned across Massachusetts on Saturday; NV disability advocate alarmed by proposed cuts to Medicaid; Advocates push for economic inclusion during Pride Month in GA.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Democrats demand answers on CA Sen. Padilla's handcuffing and removal from a DHS news conference. Defense Secretary Hegseth defends the administration's protest response as preventative, and Trump vows protests of Saturday's military parade will be met with "heavy" force.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

EV charging stations are harder to find in rural America, improving the mental health of children and teachers is the goal of a new partnership in seven rural states, and a once segregated Mississippi movie theater is born again.

Emails Reveal ICE Targeted WA Immigration Activist

play audio
Play

Monday, May 4, 2020   

SEATTLE -- Newly revealed emails show U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials discussed taking away the "clout" of a Washington state activist.

The emails were released as evidence in a lawsuit against ICE by two immigrant rights groups, accusing the agency of intentionally targeting a La Resistencia community organizer.

The groups say ICE sought to retaliate against Maru Mora Villalpando for organizing protests against the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma.

The emails stretch back to 2017, and Villalpando was placed in deportation proceedings in 2018. She says the case drained resources from her group's work.

"What we wanted to present to the judge is that ICE is clearly targeting human rights and human rights activists, and the impact goes beyond those activists," she states.

In another email, an ICE official discusses her desire to "take on these punks," in reference to a panel about ICE taking place at the University of Washington.

An ICE representative says the agency doesn't comment on pending litigation, but emphasizes that this shouldn't be construed as agreement with any of the allegations.

Sejal Zota is legal director of Just Futures Law, which has represented immigrant rights activists who have charged ICE with illegally singling them out. She says these emails show an attempt to violate Villalpando's right to free speech.

"If ICE is targeting immigrants simply because they're engaging in that protected right, then that would be unlawful retaliation, that would be an unlawful policy," Zota stresses. "It would violate the First Amendment."

Villalpando says it's important to note who sent and received these emails, including the deputy field director of the Seattle ICE office and the acting head of Seattle's Enforcement and Removal Operation office. But she maintains the agency's deportation efforts may have backfired. She says she has received an outpouring of support from folks in Washington state and beyond.

"If you think about it, when they say they're going take away some of my 'clout,' they end up giving me more," she states. "They just helped create this huge influence, a lot more so than my organization and I have."


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A single Abercrombie dairy facility will house 12,500 cows. Combined with the planned 25,000-cow Herberg site, these two operations will generate manure equivalent to that of a city of 1.5 million. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

North Dakota is facing growing opposition to two massive dairy operations planned near the Red River. Environmental advocates say the projects could …


Social Issues

play sound

The budget reconciliation bill being considered by the U.S. Senate proposes $863 billion in Medicaid reductions over a decade, with 10.9 million …

Social Issues

play sound

Next Monday marks the beginning of "PROTECT" week, when AARP helps seniors learn the signs of financial fraud. Experts say Maryland seniors can …


Researchers estimate only one in 1,000 sea turtles reaches adulthood. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

As World Sea Turtle Day approaches on Monday, an expert explains threats to sea turtles and their ecological importance along the coasts of the …

Health and Wellness

play sound

As Congress reviews budget slashes to health care in President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," a new evaluation from the nonpartisan Cong…

Sensitive areas such as San Diego's Kendall-Frost Mission Bay Marsh Reserve are experiencing impacts from degraded water quality and sea level rise. (Nancy D. Regan/Flickr)

Environment

play sound

California took a big step Tuesday toward the goal of conserving 30% of land and waters by 2030. The Ocean Protection Council adopted a roadmap to …

Social Issues

play sound

A Kent State University shooting survivor is warning Ohioans and others to take note of the U.S. military's involvement in immigration-related …

Health and Wellness

play sound

Nevadans with disabilities are concerned with proposed federal cuts to Medicaid, despite claims from GOP lawmakers that the cuts target only waste…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021