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David Wilson, a Minneapolis-based atty, said such actions were typically reserved for clear public safety threats.
“They’re doing it because they don’t want #ICE to lose the advantage of surprise,”Wilson said.
He said federal ofcls appear to have expanded the tactic over the past 3 weeks to #students & #visa holders w/minor violations.
“We’re in uncharted territory w/such an aggressive approach w/students & visa holders who are lawfully admitted to the US,”Wilson said.

The soft-spoken Harsono said in a phone call that he had not been told that his F-1 #student #visa had been revoked before his arrest.

A State Dept memo, dated March 23 & submitted in court, shows #DHS & #ICE requested Harsono’s visa revocation because of a 2022 property damage incident.…

Harsono was charged after spray-painting graffiti on a bridge support & Schwan’s food delivery trailers in Marshall, where the company was based.

To #ICE, the graffiti case meant Harsono “now poses a threat to US public safety,” the govt memo read. [how???]

Harsono originally was charged with a felony, but the charge was downgraded to a misdemeanor in a plea deal, & he served probation.

Federal officials planned to “immediately pursue removal” for Harsono, & the #State Dept agreed not to tell him about his #visa revocation, the memo read.

“Due to ongoing #ICE operational security, this revocation will therefore be silent,” the memo read. [ridiculous]

Harsono said he believes his past participation in #SocialJustice #protests after #GeorgeFloyd’s murder in 2020 may also have been a factor.

Harsono said…that he had no idea he was being apprehended until agents placed him in handcuffs in the basement of the hospital in Marshall, where he worked as a supply chain manager.

Harsono said he was asked to go to the basement on March 27, when he saw 2 men standing in front of packages.

He said he assumed they were mail couriers, but when he approached, the plainclothes agents handcuffed him & declared he was under arrest. He said he could only reply, “Why?”

Harsono spoke from the Kandiyohi County jail, where he’s been held since his arrest by #ICE agents.

…#Immigration lawyers & a #medical #labor #union have sharply criticized the manner of Harsono’s arrest at a hospital.

The Minnesota Nurses Association condemned the arrest, which it said occurred at an Avera hospital.

“The MNA Board of Directors reaffirms their position that nurses should not & will not serve any role in immigration enforcement,” the association said in a statement.

The group said its directors hope all hospital employees reject assisting #ICE.

On April 16, 2021, Harsono joined about 1k people demonstrating over #GeorgeFloyd’s murder by Minneapolis #police & the recent death of #DaunteWright by police in Brooklyn Center.

He was arrested for unlawful #assembly after the #protest, though the charge was dismissed. His wife & attorney said agents & lawyers cited Harsono’s protest history during detention proceedings.

Harsono said he protested because growing up, he had been inspired by the American ideal of #FreedomOfSpeech.

“I was scared to voice my opinion back in #Indonesia,” he said. “Now, you know, I’m in #America, I could do that now.”

…After his arrest at the 2021 #protest, which occurred shortly before his #student #visa expired, he went back to Indonesia. He said he was “surprised” when his application to return to study for a graduate degree was accepted.

Harsono met his future wife in 2022 while studying for his MBA, & they married the next year. They now have an 8-month-old daughter, Adalet, who recently learned how to say “da da” during calls with her jailed father.

“I just wanna kiss my wife on her forehead, & hold my daughter as tight as I can,” Harsono said Wednesday night. “I wanna be there for my daughter.”

@Nonilex

So now they just revoke your visa, don’t tell you, then sneak up and arrest you. This is Gestapo shit. Abolish ICE.

@ins0mniak @Nonilex I'm sorry? How is this enforcing the law? This is Gestapo tactics.

@ins0mniak @Nonilex HE IS HERE LEGALLY LEARN TO FUCKING READ