The Forum Daily | Wednesday, May 21, 2025https://immigrationforum.org/

THE FORUM DAILY

In an emergency filing late yesterday, immigration lawyers informed a federal judge of reported deportation flights taking migrants from countries such as Vietnam and Myanmar to South Sudan, reports Camilo Montoya-Galvez of CBS News [link removed].  

Such flights would violate the judge’s ruling barring third-country deportations without due process, the lawyers wrote. They cautioned that deportees could face "a strong likelihood of irreparable harm" due to South Sudan's political landscape.  

Late last night, the judge ordered the Trump administration to "maintain custody and control" of the migrants to make sure they can be returned to the United States if necessary. 

Elsewhere, a federal judge temporarily blocked an Oklahoma law that criminalizes entering the state without authorization as a noncitizen, reports Dietrich Knauth of Reuters [link removed].  

The judge ruled that HB 4156, which empowers local and state law enforcement to detain individuals suspected of being in the United States without authorization, cannot be enforced for 14 days while a legal challenge plays out. 

For your resource file: See our policy team’s new explainer [link removed] on the data-sharing agreement between the Internal Revenue Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).  

Welcome to Wednesday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Dan Gordon, the Forum’s VP of strategic communications, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Jillian Clark, Broc Murphy, Clara Villatoro and Becka Wall. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected] mailto:[email protected]. 

**PASTOR DETAINED** — Listen to or read every word of Jasmine Garsd’s story about Florida evangelical pastor Maurilio Ambrocio’s detention on NPR [link removed]. Ambrocio, a 20-year U.S. resident who has a stay of removal, was detained upon showing up for a mandatory immigration check-in last month. "You're gonna take you know a community leader, a pastor, a hardworking man," said Greg Johns, Ambrocio’s next-door neighbor. " … What, did you need a number that day?" 

**HUNTERS AFFECTED** — The militarization of the border as part of the president’s national emergency declaration is blocking hunting and other recreational activities, reports Lauren Villagran of USA Today [link removed]. "If I’m hunting down there and wearing camo and I have a rifle strapped to my back, am I going to get shot?" said Ray Trejo, a Luna County, New Mexico, commissioner with a hunting permit. A Department of Defense official confirmed that hunting and hiking in the border area are no longer allowed. 

**NO ANSWERS** — A software flaw in an ICE database led to the erroneous deportation of a Guatemalan man, Patricia Caro of El País [link removed] reports. Separately, the administration has offered no answers about the location and health of a 24-year-old Venezuelan man who lost contact with his family and lawyer after being detained more than two months ago, reports Sam González Kelly of the Houston Chronicle [link removed]. On Monday, a federal district court judge in Houston gave the administration until yesterday to provide details. 

For more on people experiencing policies’ impacts: 

* A pregnant mother and her 9-year-old son in Columbus, Ohio, are seeking an injunction in court to block their deportation to Mexico. (Bethany Bruner, Columbus Dispatch [link removed]) 

* A Los Angeles man who immigrated from Vietnam showed up to his regular ICE check-in and was almost deported to Libya. (Rachel Uranga, Los Angeles Times [link removed]) 

* A woman who came to the U.S. from El Salvador 10 years ago faces $1.8 million in immigration fines. (Ted Hesson and Kristina Cooke, Reuters [link removed]) 

**UNSETTLING** — Draft documents suggest the administration has considered using $250 million originally meant for foreign aid — including refugee resettlement here — to return people from countries experiencing active conflict, report Adam Taylor and Martine Powers of The Washington Post [link removed]. The proposal lists Ukrainians, Haitians, Afghans and others as possible targets.  

Thanks for reading,  

Dan 

**P.S.** On a positive note, a program in Iowa helps immigrants start their own businesses and contribute to their communities, reports Nicole Tam of KCCI News [link removed]. 

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