Trending claims

The Board of Immigration Appeals took nine days in the spring to rule that activist Mahmoud Khalil could be deported.

All three judges in José Serrano's case previously worked for the Homeland Security Department.

The Trump administration reduced the size of the Board of Immigration Appeals from 28 to 15 members and removed Biden-era appointees.

The Times reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio approved the detention of activist Beto Coral, who later agreed to be deported.

José Serrano received a commendation from the U.S. DEA for increasing drug seizures during the Obama administration.

A conversation between Kristi Noem and Daniel Noboa took place in Quito, Ecuador on July 31, 2025.

In June, a Colombian activist who protested against Colombia's now-president Abelardo De La Espriella was detained by U.S. immigration agents in Arizona.

A Homeland Security Department spokesman stated the agency does not conduct immigration enforcement for foreign political interests or target individuals for protected political speech.

A Homeland Security Department spokesman said it was 'categorically false' that the agency detained José Serrano for political reasons.

Kristi Noem holds a position as a special envoy for Western Hemisphere security at the State Department.

José Serrano held high-ranking positions under Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa starting in 2009.

Charles Adkins-Blanch was appointed to the immigration appeals board under President George W. Bush and later served as its vice chairman.

Former appellate immigration judges stated that a complex, fast-tracked appeal like José Serrano's would normally take weeks to decide, not a single day.

José Serrano's lawyers have asked a US federal appeals court to order his return to the United States.

Daniel Noboa, who is Miami-born and heir to a banana-exporting empire, has governed Ecuador since late 2023.

In March 2026, the US helped Ecuador's military destroy an alleged cartel training camp that residents claimed was a dairy farm.

ICE agents arrested José Serrano in Miami in 2025, days after Ecuador's President Noboa met with then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in Ecuador.

US immigration judges work for the Justice Department, not the independent judiciary, and can be hired and fired by administration officials.

A US immigration judge initially ruled that José Serrano could not be deported to Ecuador because he was likely to be tortured.

José Serrano admitted to taking more than $500,000 in bribes in an unrelated matter.