Louisiana
US transfers immigrants out of Guantanamo Bay to Louisiana as court weighs legality – WTOP News
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. authorities have removed immigrants from detention facilities at the Guantanamo Bay naval base as a federal…
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. authorities have removed immigrants from detention facilities at the Guantanamo Bay naval base as a federal court in Washington weighs a challenge by civil rights advocates to holding immigrants at the offshore military station.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Southern Command on Thursday said that no “illegal aliens” are being held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba after 40 immigrants were flown off the base on Tuesday to Louisiana.
Officials declined to specify why the immigrants were transferred to the U.S. or to share their names and nationalities.
Additionally, two U.S. officials said on condition of anonymity, to provide additional details on the movement, that while the 40 immigrants have been removed, it doesn’t mean that the facility won’t be used in the future — it’s just not decided yet.
Future “high-threat” detainees may be sent there, the officials said.
President Donald Trump has said he will send the worst criminal migrants to Guantanamo Bay, but civil rights attorneys say many detainees transferred there don’t have a criminal record and that the administration has exceeded its authority in violation of U.S. immigration law.
Civil rights attorneys sued the Trump administration this month to prevent it from transferring 10 migrants detained in the U.S. to Guantanamo Bay and filed statements from men held there who said they were mistreated in conditions that one of them called “a living hell.”
The transfer of detained immigrants to Guantanamo Bay “constitutes an unlawful removal” and violates the Immigration and Nationality Act, advocacy groups including the ACLU said Thursday in a court filing.
The Trump administration says it commands broad authority to hold immigrants with final deportation orders at Guantanamo Bay.
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Lee reported from Santa Fe, New Mexico.
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A state lawmaker whose district includes Iberville and nine other parishes will lead the way on the drawing of a new congressional map when the committee convenes Friday.
Sen. Caleb Kleinpeter, R-Port Allen, will chair the hearings to draw a new congressional district map. He currently serves as chairman of the U.S. Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee.
On Wednesday, Kleinpeter said he has not worked on any maps. He is letting the committee members and the members of the Senate work on this with staff.
The move will come nine days after the U.S. Supreme Court on a 6-3 vote ruled one of Louisiana’s two majority-Black U.S. House districts unconstitutional.
“We can’t base it on race anymore, so the minority party is the Democrats,” he said. “The Democrats have migrated away from the New Orléans area, so we’re looking at Democrats versus Republicans, so the minority party — the Democrats — which means it’s more favored toward Baton Rouge.”
The move would work in favor of incumbent 6th District Congressman Cleo Fields, who was a candidate for the race which Gov. Jeff Lndry suspended in the wake of the Supreme Court decision.
The ruling stemmed from Louisiana vs. Callais – a consolidation of Robinson vs. Callais – that centered on racial gerrymandering and redistricting in the state of Louisiana following the 2020 United States census. The lead plaintiff, Phillip “Bert” Callais, is a resident of Brusly.
The Supreme Court vote came despite the African American population comprising nearly one-third of the state’s population.
According to the 2020 Census, the Black or African American population in Louisiana was approximately 1,464,023,representing 31.4%of the state’s total population. Louisiana has one of the highest percentages of Black residents in the United States, ranking second behind Mississippi.
The Baton Rouge district would likely be the area to undergo the remap, he said.
It amounts to an intricate balancing act.
“What far-right Republicans don’t understand is that with Congress maps, you have to be within 776, 280 votes – within 50 votes of the other districts,” Kleinpeter said. “It’s not like our legislative maps where you can be off by thousands … when you start changing a precinct, it can run down a rabbit hole chasing this precinct over here and over there.
“We can easily draw a really strong nine Republican and one strong Democrat, so if you start watering districts down you could wind up with a 4-2 map.”
Republicans currently have a two-vote super majority vote.
“But some Republican districts are strong and others are weak,” Kleinpeter said. “If you take 58 percent Democrats and put them in Republican districts, you could end up losing Republicans.
“Drawing congress maps is very difficult – you have the leader of the party, and you have the Speaker of the House you have to protect,” he said. “You don’t want to jeopardize their maps at hole.”
One other issue is looming for the state, Kleinpeter said.
“What people don’t understand is that we will have to do this all over again in five years, after the next census comes out,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll people by that time.”
The 2030 Census will play a key role in the process, but it still requires participation.
“I had plenty of next-door neighbors who didn’t want to fill out their census” he said. “I’m going to push to fill out their census. We miss out on federal money and potentially risk losing a seat. “
Neuty, the iconic Bucktown nutria visits the state capitol, with Myra Lacoste, Denny Lacoste, Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser, Dennis Lacoste Sr., and Louisiana state Senator J. Cameron Henry Jr. Neuty was an orphan, rescued by the Lacostes. In March 2023, LDWF agents attempted to confiscate the illegal pet.
VIDALIA, La. — Louisiana State Police arrested 18-year-old Gregory Steele early Sunday morning on two counts of vehicular homicide, one count of underage operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, one count vehicular negligent injuring and one count careless operation, according to Concordia Parish Jail records.
Steele, 18, a white male, was arrested in connection with an accident that occurred at approximately 1:54 a.m. on Sunday morning on Minorca Road in Vidalia. Two passengers in the vehicle were killed. Steele and another passenger were able to escape the vehicle.
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