(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
ICE deported LA Honor Student Nory Sontay Ramos to Guatemala [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-09-03
From MSNBC, this is what happened to LA Honor Studen Nory Sontay Ramos and her mother after they chose to attend their immigration hearing.
With immigration raids sweeping Los Angeles neighborhoods and President Donald Trump making mass deportations of noncriminal immigrants a cornerstone of his administration, the family feared the worst. “I had a bad feeling,” Nory told MSNBC. But her mother insisted they had to attend, saying they needed to “do things the right way.” The next morning, Estela woke Nory up. They ate a quick breakfast and set out. The appointment was scheduled for 10 a.m., but Estela wanted to arrive an hour early. From the start, Nory sensed something was wrong. “We were there waiting for hours, with no information. Our appointment time passed, and we were still sitting there. Every time we asked questions, they said they had a lot of paperwork to review.” Their lawyer, Nory added, didn’t make things better. “She was antsy. She kept saying she had more work waiting at her office, but my mom begged her to please stay longer. Hours later, an officer finally called our names.” They were taken into a room filled with people who, Nory said, “looked worried.” After another stretch of waiting, officials finally called them in — and everything changed in an instant. “We went to a little room, and they told us to sit down. They closed the door and said, ‘I’m sorry to say this, but your case is over. We will take you guys with us.’” They were being deported.
Let’s be clear, these people are not the “Worst of the Worst.” There is no allegation that they are members of “Tren De Aragua”, or that they are “MS 13” — as has been alleged with Kilmar Abrego Garcia — or that they have broken any US laws other than crossing the border. Nory is at the top of her class as she is about to become a senior in high school and is a track star. She’s been in the US since she was a pre-teen and she doesn’t even speak Spanish. Her mother, Estela is hardworking and devoted to her children.
These are not criminals.
Now they have both been deported to Guatemala, without due process, and are now trapped in a tiny apartment as they try to avoid being noticed and assaulted by the violent gangs that forced her mother to flee Guatemala in the first place.
Just for the record, the 5th Court of Appeals has blocked Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act.
Several federal judges have rejected President Donald Trump's attempt to summarily deport alleged Venezuelan gang members as "alien enemies." On Tuesday night, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit joined them in concluding that Trump's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) is not supported by that 1798 law's text or history. In a March 15 proclamation, Trump averred that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua "is perpetrating, attempting, and threatening an invasion or predatory incursion against the territory of the United States" by engaging in "mass illegal migration" and committing "brutal crimes, including murders, kidnappings, extortions, and human, drug, and weapons trafficking." He said alleged members of that gang therefore are subject to peremptory removal under the AEA as "natives, citizens, denizens, or subjects" of a "hostile nation." The AEA applies when there is a "declared war" with "any foreign nation or government" or when "any invasion or predatory incursion is perpetrated, attempted, or threatened against the territory of the United States by any foreign nation or government." Prior to Trump's proclamation, the law had been invoked just three times, always in the context of declared wars—a condition that the government concedes does not exist in this case. The proclamation's validity therefore hinges on the question of whether Trump's understanding of "invasion of predatory incursion" is consistent with the terms of the statute as they were understood when it was enacted.
We are not at war with anyone, certainly not Tren De Aragua. Nory Ramos is not a member of Tren De Aragua, the Trump administration didn't even make that claim.
x x YouTube Video Jacob Soboroff, MSNBC Senior National and Political Correspondent and Melissa Murray, NYU Law Professor join Nicolle Wallace on Deadline White House to discuss his reporting about Nory Sontay Ramos, a seventeen-year-old honor roll student and mother deported to Guatemala as a result of the deportations carried out by the Trump Administration, and what the months since her deportation have been like.
The Trump administration says that they are “enforcing the law.” They claim that they can’t understand why President Biden had “open borders” and allowed “so many people in” to our country.
There’s an answer to that question.
The answer is U.S. Asylum law, which was adopted after the U.S. ratified the UN Convention on the Refugee in 1967. The convention confers the Human Right of “Non-Refoulment” — the right not to be sent back to a country where you safety and life may be in danger.
The core principle of the 1951 Convention is non-refoulement, which asserts that a refugee should not be returned to a country where they face serious threats to their life or freedom. The document outlines the basic minimum standards for the treatment of refugees, including the right to housing, work and education while displaced so they can lead a dignified and independent life. It also defines a refugee’s obligations to host countries and specifies certain categories of people, such as war criminals, who do not qualify for refugee status. [...] In the aftermath of the First World War (1914 - 1918), millions of people fled their homelands in search of refuge. Governments responded by drawing up a set of international agreements to provide travel documents for these people who were, effectively, the first recognized refugees of the 20th century. Their numbers increased dramatically during and after the Second World War (1939-1945), as millions more were forcibly displaced. In response, the international community steadily assembled a set of guidelines, laws and conventions aimed at protecting the basic human rights and treatment of people forced to flee conflict and persecution. The process, which began under the League of Nations in 1921, culminated in the 1951 Convention which consolidated and expanded on previous international instruments relating to refugees and continues to provide the most comprehensive codification of the rights of refugees at the international level.
So under these rules, what is a “Refugee?”
Article 1 of the 1951 Convention defines a refugee as someone who "owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of [their] nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail [themself] of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of [their] former habitual residence, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it."
Why do Refugees need protection?
States are responsible for protecting the fundamental human rights of their citizens. When they are unable or unwilling to do so – often for political reasons, based on discrimination, or due to conflict, violence and other circumstances seriously disturbing public order – individuals may suffer such serious violations of their human rights that they must leave their homes, their families and their communities to find sanctuary in another country. Since, by definition, refugees are not protected by their own governments, the international community steps in to ensure they are safe and protected. Countries that have signed the 1951 Convention are obliged to protect refugees on their territory and treat them according to internationally recognized standards.
Millions of people in Guatemala have been fleeing that nation for fear of their lives due to violent gangs with guns and drugs. Guns and Drugs that are bought and sold in the U.S. The US, as of 1967, has committed itself to honoring the human rights of refugees — and has long had it’s own Asylum laws.
It’s not possible to apply for Asylum in the U.S. from a foreign country.
You have to COME HERE FIRST.
You have to physically be on U.S. Soil. You can’t mail in a request, you can’t do it on an app, you can’t do it by going to a consulate or embassy. You have to be here.
Under this law, refugees have a right to come into the U.S. in order to seek Asylum.
That’s why Biden “let this happen” — it’s the law.
And it doesn’t matter how you come here. As highlighted in the above section of law, “irrespecctive of such alien’s status” you can enter legally or NOT. Even If you have technically broken the “illegal entry” law (USC 1325) the application of that law is suspended when you make an application for Asylum status.
The punishment for the first violation of 1325 is a misdemeanor fine and up to 6 months in jail, the second violation is a fine and up to 2 years in jail. The punishment for violating this law does not include being deported. However, neither of these penalties can be applied until the person has been indicted, tried and convicted. Snatching people off the street and shoving them into detention centers and death camps without a trial or hearing — is blatantly illegal. Deporting them without due process is also illegal.
Trump is not “following the law” — he’s perverting the law.
Whether a person should or shouldn’t be deported is a matter of administrative immigration law. It’s not a criminal matter. Administratively, immigration courts put a higher priority on those who have been arrested and convicted of crimes, but it is not limited to that. Violating 1325 can be applied to the reason to deport, but that is not an automatic presumption.
At least, it wasn’t until now.
Nory and her mother were apprehended when they went into court for a hearing. That is the correct legal process as outlined under Asylum law and under immigration administration. This is “doing it the right way.” They were yanked out of the court, put in detention and summarily thrown out of the country.
Why?
Under Asylum law, Nory and her mother have every right to have their case heard and reasonably adjudicated. They have a HUMAN RIGHT to have their due process before a judge. The Trump administration has violated their rights and deported them without allowing their case to be heard.
The same is true under Due Process rules, even without the Asylum application.
Trump has put their lives at risk. They could be assaulted or killed at any time. For what?
And they are not alone.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/9/3/2341670/-ICE-deported-LA-Honor-Student-Nory-Santay-to-Guatemala?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
