civil rights

Fear Palpable among Immigrant Community as Feds Converge on Bronx amid ICE Raids

By DAVID GREENE
Federal agents from a host of different law enforcement agencies converged last month on at least three locations in The Bronx, one in Manhattan, and another in Queens in efforts to detain undocumented migrants. The raids came days after Republican U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 22, suspending “the physical entry of aliens engaged in an invasion of the United States through the southern border.” This order had, in turn, followed a prior Jan. 20 executive order authorizing the detention of “unregistered aliens,” among other immigration-related actions.

Former Bronx Professor Gets Over 8 Years for Human Trafficking & Sex Crimes

By SÍLE MOLONEY
A 45-year-old Bronx man, Jorge Alberto Ramos, was sentenced on Thursday, Feb. 6, to over 8 years in prison for smuggling three female victims from El Salvador to the U.S., where he sexually abused them, federal prosecutors said. The man’s sentence was also for possessing child pornography. Danielle R. Sassoon, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said the sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl, who also presided over the defendant’s guilty plea.

Mayor Appoints Marjorie Velázquez to Tenant Protection Role

By DAVID GREENE
Embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams last month announced 17 new appointments and promotions within City government to fill various vacancies. The appointments come as the City Hall exodus continues, and amid a federal bribery probe into the mayor’s 2021 election campaign that continues to cast a shadow over his administration. The mayor denies any wrongdoing and his case is ongoing.