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Unchecked abuse exposed at US immigration detention center

Unchecked abuse exposed at US immigration detention center

Two former employees of a private contractor working with U.S. immigration authorities came forward with sworn statements alleging a culture of abuse and sexual harassment at a federal immigration facility in California, reported Xinhua, quoting local media on Tuesday. The allegations added to a growing body of complaints about conditions and misconduct at immigration detention centers across the United States, where more than 65,000 people are currently being held, the highest number in the country's history. Civil liberties advocates argue that oversight of these facilities has been weakened after the Trump administration cut funding to Department of Homeland Security offices responsible for civil rights monitoring. Sandy Nogales and Jorge Zinzun, former employees of BI Incorporated, filed sworn declarations in Sacramento Superior Court describing what they called a toxic work environment, according to the report by The Sacramento Bee. BI Incorporated is a private company that monitors immigrants on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the federal agency responsible for immigration enforcement. In a sworn statement, Nogales, a former BI Incorporated employee who spent eight years with the company and oversaw its Sacramento office, said that some case specialists came to view themselves as superior to the immigrants they were tasked with supervising. She singled out a staff member, Luis Ruiz, describing him as someone who exploited the very people he was meant to assist. Zinzun said he was dismissed in December 2023 in retaliation for reporting Ruiz's hostile conduct to management. He said that from a neighboring office, he could hear Ruiz repeatedly shouting at, swearing at, and harshly reprimanding undocumented individuals. The two former employees came forward after reading about a lawsuit filed in October by a 52-year-old undocumented woman who alleges that Ruiz sexually harassed her for 18 months. According to the lawsuit, Ruiz sent her explicit photographs and videos and made unwanted advances during her mandated meetings at the Sacramento ICE facility. The Sacramento case reflects a broader pattern of abuse allegations at ICE facilities nationwide. Human rights organizations have revealed similar cases in some of the largest immigration centers in the country, including Fort Bliss in Texas and the California City Detention Facility. The American Civil Liberties Union has called on authorities to close the Fort Bliss facility and halt the rapid expansion of immigration detention.

Explosion in southern Moscow kills 3

Explosion in southern Moscow kills 3

An explosion in southern Moscow killed three people, including two traffic police officers, on Wednesday, reported Xinhua, quoting the Russian Investigative Committee. On the night of Dec. 23-24, the two officers approached a suspicious person near a police car on Yeletskaya Street in Moscow, before an explosive device was detonated, the committee said in a statement. As a result of their injuries, the two police officers, as well as the person standing next to them, died, according to the statement, citing investigators.

US imposes visa-ban on ex EU commissioner, activists over censorship

US imposes visa-ban on ex EU commissioner, activists over censorship

U.S. officials on Tuesday issued visa restrictions on five individuals from the EU and Britain over the claim that they are involved in content censorship on U.S. social media platforms, according to a statement released by the U.S. State Department, reported Xinhua. The visa restrictions follow the administration's National Security Strategy released earlier this month, which accused European leaders of restricting free speech. U.S. diplomats have rallied opposition to the EU's Digital Services Act, a landmark regulation aimed at addressing hate speech, misinformation, and disinformation. Washington has argued that the legislation curbs free expression and imposes greater compliance burdens on U.S. technology firms. "The State Department is taking decisive action against five individuals who have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to censor, demonetize, and suppress American viewpoints they oppose," said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the statement without mentioning specific names. Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers later revealed the five names on X, including former European Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton, whom she claimed was "a mastermind of the Digital Services Act." The visa restrictions also apply to Imran Ahmed, a British citizen and chief executive of the U.S.-based Center for Countering Digital Hate; Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon from the German non-profit organization HateAid; and Clare Melford, a co-founder of the Global Disinformation Index, according to Rogers. Hodenberg and Ballon said in a statement that the visa bans were aimed at obstructing the enforcement of European law on U.S. companies operating in Europe, adding that they would not be intimidated by what they described as the use of "censorship" accusations, while a spokesperson for the Global Disinformation Index called the U.S. move immoral and unlawful, characterizing it as an authoritarian act that undermines free speech and amounts to government censorship, according to media reports.

EU slams US travel bans on Europeans over tech regulations

EU slams US travel bans on Europeans over tech regulations

The European Union (EU), French, German, and British senior officials on Wednesday strongly condemned a U.S. decision to impose travel restrictions on five European individuals, including former European Commissioner Thierry Breton, reported Xinhua. Alleging their involvement in content censorship on U.S. social media platforms, the U.S. State Department on Tuesday issued visa restrictions on Breton, Imran Ahmed, a British citizen and chief executive of the U.S.-based Center for Countering Digital Hate, Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon from the German non-profit organization HateAid, and Clare Melford, a co-founder of the Global Disinformation Index. U.S. Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers has described Breton, who left the European Commission in 2024, as "a mastermind" of the EU Digital Services Act (DSA). In response, the EU warned that it would act "swiftly and decisively" to defend the bloc's regulatory autonomy if needed. "Freedom of expression is a fundamental right in Europe and a shared core value with the United States across the democratic world," a Commission spokesperson said in an attributable response to Xinhua. The spokesperson stressed that the EU retains the sovereign right to regulate economic activity in line with its democratic values and international commitments. The EU's digital rules are designed to ensure "a safe, fair, and level playing field for all companies," and are applied fairly and without discrimination, the spokesperson said, adding that the Commission has requested clarifications from U.S. authorities and remains engaged. Stephane Sejourne, the executive vice president and European Commissioner for Industrial Strategy, strongly defended Breton, calling him a prominent driver of the DSA framework. Vowing to press ahead with online content scrutiny, Sejourne said in a post on social platform X, "No sanction will silence the sovereignty of the European peoples." Other European countries also backed the EU on the tech regulations. "These measures amount to intimidation and coercion aimed at undermining European digital sovereignty," French President Emmanuel Macron said on his X account. "The rules governing the European Union's digital space are not meant to be determined outside Europe. Together with the European Commission and our European partners, we will continue to defend our digital sovereignty and regulatory autonomy," Macron added. Also on X, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that the DSA has no extraterritorial reach and does not affect the United States. In his post on X, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul described the U.S. entry bans as "not acceptable." "The DSA was democratically adopted by the EU, for the EU - it does not have extraterritorial effect," he added. The British government defended the right to free speech. "While every country has the right to set its own visa rules, we support the laws and institutions that are working to keep the internet free from the most harmful content," a government spokesperson said in a statement. According to reports by the Guardian, British Senior Labour Member of Parliament Chi Onwurah accused the Trump administration of undermining free speech hours after the U.S. visa ban announcement. "Banning people because you disagree with what they say undermines the free speech the administration claims to seek... Banning him (Imran Ahmed) won't shut down the debate, too many people are being harmed by the spread of digital hate," said Onwurah, who is the chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology committee in the British parliament. Breton also asked in his post on X "Is McCarthy's witch hunt back?" He stressed that 90 percent of the European Parliament, the EU's democratically elected body, along with all 27 member states, voted in favor of the DSA. Since Brussels stepped up enforcement of the DSA, which entered into force on Nov. 16, 2022, Washington has voiced opposition to the regulation designed to tackle hate speech, misinformation, and disinformation. It argued that the legislation restricts free expression and places additional compliance burdens on U.S. technology companies. On Dec. 5, the European Commission issued its first non-compliance decision under the act, fining U.S. social media X 120 million euros (about 141.6 million U.S. dollars) for the deceptive design of its blue checkmark, a lack of transparency in its advertising repository, and failing to provide researchers with access to public data.

European powers decry US travel bans in online 'censorship' row

European powers decry US travel bans in online 'censorship' row

European powers on Wednesday sharply criticized entry bans imposed by the United States on five Europeans accused of censoring online platforms, warning the move could trigger countermeasures and further strain trans-Atlantic relations, reported dpa. The US State Department on Tuesday imposed travel bans on former EU commissioner Thierry Breton and four civil society campaigners, including the heads of the German organization HateAid, accusing them of promoting "extraterritorial censorship" of US-based online services. The European Commission said it "strongly condemned" the sanctions and had requested clarification from Washington. "If needed, we will respond swiftly and decisively to defend our regulatory autonomy against unjustified measures," the commission said, without specifying possible steps. "Our digital rules ensure a safe, fair, and level playing field for all companies, applied fairly and without discrimination," it added, referring to the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), which regulates online platforms within the bloc. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul called the US measures unacceptable, stressing that the DSA was democratically adopted and applies only within the European Union. "What is illegal offline is also illegal online," he wrote on X, adding that differences should be addressed through dialogue. German Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig said HateAid supports victims of unlawful digital hate speech but does not censor opinions. "Anyone who calls this censorship is misrepresenting our constitutional system," she said, adding that "the rules by which we want to live in the digital sphere in Germany and Europe are not decided in Washington." French President Emmanuel Macron also condemned the US action, describing it as an attempt at "intimidation and coercion aimed at undermining European digital sovereignty." Along with Breton, the sanctions also target Josephine Ballon and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg, managing directors of HateAid, as well as Imran Ahmed, founder of the Center for Countering Digital Hate US/UK, and Clare Melford, founder of the UK-based Global Disinformation Index (GDI). Breton, considered one of the architects of the DSA, condemned the measures as a "witch hunt." During his term as EU commissioner from 2019 to 2024, he repeatedly clashed with tech billionaire Elon Musk, whose X platform was recently fined €120 million ($141 million) by the EU over transparency violations. GDI described the US action as an "authoritarian attack on free speech and an egregious act of government censorship." The organization said the Trump administration was attempting to intimidate and silence voices it disagreed with, calling the move "immoral, unlawful and un-American." HateAids Ballon and von Hodenberg denounced the sanctions as an "act of repression." Von Hodenberg received Germanys Federal Order of Merit in October for her work against digital violence. Washington justified the sanctions by accusing the targeted individuals and organizations of acting as "radical" activists who had sought to pressure US platforms into suppressing "American viewpoints."