This is a developing story.
At least one refugee family in Juneau has received a notice from the Trump administration ordering them to leave the country immediately or face prosecution, while at least four foreigners affiliated with the University of Alaska have had their visas revoked, officials said Monday.
Both actions mirror nationwide targeting of foreigners who were residing legally in the United States, but are now being subject to detention, arrest and deportation for reasons including expressing views the Trump administration finds disagreeable and alleged criminal activity — although the latter allegations have not been presented in court in many instances.
Department of Homeland Security officials have acknowledged some of the departure notices were sent in error, and legal challenges to those and many of the actions targeting students are pending. However, President Donald Trump on Monday furthered his challenges to the judicial branch’s authority by stating he will not comply with a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court order to return a man his administration admits was mistakenly deported to a “mega-prison” in El Salvador.
A Latin American family in Juneau, who asked not to be identified, received a “Notice of Termination of Parole” dated April 11 declaring “It is time for you to leave the United States” within seven days. The New York Times reported Monday similar notices are being sent to at least a large number of the 900,000 people who were allowed by the Biden administration to use an app to schedule appointments to legally cross the border to temporarily live and work in the U.S.
“If you do not depart the United States immediately you will be subject to potential law enforcement actions that will result in your removal from the United States — unless you have otherwise obtained a lawful basis to remain here,” the notice states. “Any benefits you receive in the United States connected with your parole — such as work authorization — will also terminate. You will be subject to potential criminal prosecution, civil fines, and penalties, and any other lawful options available to the federal government.”
“Do not attempt to remain in the United States — the federal government will find you. Please depart the United States immediately.”
A federal court in San Francisco issued a nationwide order suspending DHS from demanding refugees from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti depart by April 24, according to Bruce Botelho, a former state attorney general and Juneau mayor, who now works with local refugees provided a copy of the notice sent to the Juneau family. As such, he doesn’t believe the notices are being inadvertently sent as administration officials have claimed.
“The effect is basically to further terrorize and intimidate immigrants in the country to leave ‘voluntarily’ — and I put voluntarily in quotation marks because this is clearly under duress,” he said Monday. “These are the tactics of police states.”
Four at University of Alaska have visas revoked “without prior notice”
Foreign students have also been a high-profile target of the Trump administration in recent weeks, including a legal permanent resident for a decade who was detained Monday by immigration officials in Vermont after he helped organize pro-Palestinian demonstrations last year at Columbia University. He is not charged with a crime, but Trump officials are seeking to deport such activists because they “have enabled the spread of antisemitism, but they have not offered evidence to substantiate the claim,” according to The New York Times.
The administration’s targeting of students reached the University of Alaska’s Anchorage campus on Monday, although no students in Fairbanks or Juneau were singled out.
“This week, we learned that the federal government has revoked visas for four individuals affiliated with UAA — one current student and three recent graduates in post-graduation training — without prior notice,” University of Alaska President Pat Pitney wrote in a message to the “UA Community” on Monday. “No students at UAF or UAS have been affected to date. Our staff are monitoring immigration records daily and are working to support impacted individuals.”
Pitney stated “these immigration issues do not impact a student’s academic standing at UA” and encouraged people to notify campus international student services offices if they know somebody affected by such actions.
“Our international students and scholars are vital members of our community, and we remain fully committed to supporting their success,” she wrote. “We’ve made additional information on international students’ rights and visa revocations available on the UA Federal Relations site and to staff at the universities who support our international students.”
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
