Episcopal presiding officers sign court brief opposing Trump administration’s asylum policies; Episcopal News Service (ENS), February 17, 2026

 David Paulsen, Episcopal News Service (ENS); Episcopal presiding officers sign court brief opposing Trump administration’s asylum policies

"The Episcopal Church’s two presiding officers, Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe and House of Deputies President Julia Ayala Harris, have signed onto a “friend of the court” brief along with a long list of other ecumenical and interfaith leaders in support of a lawsuit objecting to the Trump administration’s treatment of asylum-seekers.

The lawsuit was filed by Al Otro Lado, a California-based organization that supports refugees and migrants. Its class-action lawsuit seeks to end the Department of Homeland Security’s practice of turning away asylum-seekers at the border based on criteria that, opponents say, does not follow U.S. immigration law. At issue are administration policies under which border officials have ordered those migrants to remain in Mexico or have denied them asylum because they did not first seek asylum in another country.

The case is now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco.

The Episcopal Church has long spoken in favor of upholding the dignity of refugees and migrants while citing the biblical call to “welcome the stranger.” Such beliefs were cited by the presiding officers and the dozens of ecumenical and interfaith partners in the “friend of the court” brief. The Episcopal Diocese of New York and Episcopal Divinity School also joined the brief.

“Many of these faith traditions are practiced across every country on Earth and have roots stretching back thousands of years,” the brief says. “All make safeguarding the stranger a core component of faith, a duty obligatory upon not just the individual but upon society as a whole.”

The brief also describes asylum as “a core religious and moral tenet of our society, with a history as old as humanity itself.” The signatories warn of “how extreme, and untenable, the government’s interpretation of our asylum laws is from a historical, religious and social perspective.”

“From the first days of its founding, this country has welcomed the stranger fleeing persecution,” the brief says. “Stopping outsiders at our border and preventing them from lawfully seeking asylum is contrary to our civilization’s longstanding understanding of asylum and antithetical to asylum’s understood role in a moral, democratic society.”"

Judge Orders Release of 5-Year-Old, Whose Detention Drew Outrage; The New York Times, January 31, 2026

Mattathias Schwartz and Emily Cochrane, The New York Times ; Judge Orders Release of 5-Year-Old, Whose Detention Drew Outrage

The image of Liam Conejo Ramos, wearing a blue winter hat and Spider-Man backpack while in the custody of immigration agents, fueled outrage across the country.

"A federal judge on Saturday ordered the release of a 5-year-old boy and his father from immigration custody, condemning their removal from their suburban Minneapolis neighborhood as unconstitutional.

The image of Liam Conejo Ramos, wearing a Spider-Man backpack and an oversize fluffy blue winter hat as he was detained by officers earlier this month, spurred outrage at a moment when many were already incensed by the Trump administration’s immigration tactics in Minnesota and elsewhere across the country. The flood of immigration enforcement officers into Minneapolis, known as Operation Metro Surge, has led to mass demonstrations as well as the shooting deaths of two protesters, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, at the hands of federal agents.

In a blistering opinion ordering Liam’s release, Judge Fred Biery of the Federal District Court for the Western District of Texas condemned “the perfidious lust for unbridled power” and “the imposition of cruelty.” The boy’s father, Adrian Conejo Arias, was also arrested and the pair were taken to an immigration detention center outside San Antonio. A lawyer for the family previously said in court filings that Mr. Conejo Arias, who is from Ecuador, had legally entered the country under American guidelines for asylum. The Department of Homeland Security had charged that Mr. Conejo Arias had entered the country illegally in December 2024.

In a statement, Jennifer Scarborough and four other attorneys who represent Liam and his father praised the ruling. They said they were now working to quickly reunite the family. “We are pleased that the family will now be able to focus on being together and finding some peace after this traumatic ordeal,” they wrote."

‘We have to clear our names’: Venezuelan makeup artist who survived Ice detention tries to rebuild his life; The Guardian, August 4, 2025

Clavel Rangel, The Guardian ; ‘We have to clear our names’: Venezuelan makeup artist who survived Ice detention tries to rebuild his life

"Hernández, a makeup artist, was one of 251 Venezuelan men flown from Texas to the notorious Cecot maximum security prison in El Salvador as part of Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration. They endured months in a facility described as the “cemetery of the living dead” before finally being repatriated in late July, following a deal between the US and Venezuelan governments...

Life inside Cecot followed a bleak rhythm. There was no sunlight, no answers, no information. But always, there was the sound of handcuffs. “I think they used it as emotional control – that sound of the cuffs and the doors,” he recalled.

The yelling never stopped. “For everything. Because we spoke. Because we asked questions. For everything.

“If that’s how they treated us, knowing we were just migrants, I don’t even want to imagine how they treat the regular inmates – the ones who’ve actually committed crimes,” he said.

As a gay man, Hernández endured relentless harassment and taunting by the guards.

“In El Salvador, believe me, human rights don’t exist. And LGBTQ rights? Even less. People in there who belong to the community have to be brave... we carry an extra burden. It’s hard for a regular prisoner to accept that he shares a cell with someone from the community. Someone different. Someone who loves the same sex. Who sees the world differently.”"

Venezuelans deported by Trump to El Salvador describe ‘horror movie’ mega-prison; The Guardian, July 24, 2025

Marina Dunbar and agency , The Guardian; Venezuelans deported by Trump to El Salvador describe ‘horror movie’ mega-prison

"Arturo Suárez, whose reggaeton songs surfaced on social media after he was sent to El Salvador, arrived at his family’s home in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, on Tuesday. His sister hugged him after he emerged from a vehicle belonging to the country’s intelligence service.

“It is hell. We met a lot of innocent people,” Suárez told reporters, referring to the prison he was held in. “To all those who mistreated us, to all those who negotiated with our lives and our freedom, I have one thing to say, and scripture says it well: vengeance and justice is mine, and you are going to give an account to God [the] Father.”...

Meanwhile, Andry José Hernández Romero, a gay makeup artist who had been deported to Cecot under an obscure wartime law invoked by the Trump administration, was among those released.

Romero had entered the US legally through the CBP One app last summer, seeking asylum, but eventually was detained and removed to El Salvador with the others.

The Immigrant Defenders Law Center, based in Los Angeles, is now appealing Romero’s case, according to ABC, asserting that he was denied his legal right to seek asylum.

Romero broke down in tears when he was finally reunited with his parents in Venezuela on Wednesday, reported ABC News 10.

“His entire town was waiting for him, preparing a meal,” said Melissa Shepard, legal services director at the California non-profit."

Joe Rogan breaks with Trump, calling Venezuelan deportations ‘horrific’; The Guardian, April 2, 2025

Dani Anguiano , The Guardian; Joe Rogan breaks with Trump, calling Venezuelan deportations ‘horrific’

"Joe Rogan, the influential podcast host and prominent supporter of Donald Trump, has criticized the president’s administration over the deportation of a professional makeup artist and hairdresser to a prison in El Salvador, calling it “horrific”.

Andry José Hernández Romero, who is gay, had sought asylum in the US, telling officials he faced persecution because of his sexual orientation and political views. But US immigration officers argued the crown tattoos on his wrists were proof he was part of Tren de Aragua, the Venezuelan gang, despite Hernández Romero telling them he was not. Last month, he was flown from Texas to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, a facility that his lawyer said was “one of the worst places in the world”. His removal comes as the administration undertakes what Trump has pledged would be a mass deportation campaign.

In a 29 March episode of his popular podcast, Rogan, who endorsed Trump for president last year, said it was “horrific” that “people who aren’t criminals are getting lassoed up and deported”."