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In a special exhibit featuring just three paintings, the Frick Collection in New York is inviting viewers to contemplate the age and the art of seduction by the written word.The show brings together a trio of paintings by 17th century Dutch master Johannes Vermeer: the Frick’s own “Mistress and Maid,” “The Love Letter” on loan from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and “Woman Writing a Letter with her Maid” from the National Gallery of Ireland.They are three of six paintings by Vermeer (1632-1675) that focus on the reading and writing of letters. They also depict interactions between women of different classes. Each painting features a woman and a female servant who has likely become a confidante and an intermediary as her mistress conducts a romantic relationship, said exhibit curator Robert Fucci.”While the contents of the letters in Vermeer’s paintings are not made clear, they are most likely amorous,” he said.”Courtship and love letters were an important part of the artist’s social context and a prevalent artistic theme.”In Vermeer’s era, women had increasing autonomy in choosing their life partners, Fucci noted. “Servants played a crucial role. Employers entrusted them with delivery, especially when messages needed to be shared covertly,” he added. – A debt with the baker – “Vermeer’s Love Letters,” on view until the end of August, is the first show on offer since the Frick reopened its doors in April following a top-to-bottom, $330-million renovation. The 20th century mansion filled with paintings, sculptures, and decorative pieces dating from the Renaissance to the 19th century now has 10 new galleries on its second floor, in what used to be the Frick family’s private quarters.Two of the Vermeer paintings — worth a fortune today — helped the artist’s wife, Catharina Bolnes, settle a debt with a baker after she was widowed with 11 children. The show is the first of the Dutch master’s works in New York since 2001. The intimate offering is in sharp contrast to the sprawling Vermeer retrospective at the Rijksmuseum in 2023. Featuring 28 of his 35 known paintings, that was the largest collection of Vermeer’s work ever assembled in one place, and drew thousands of art lovers.”Vermeer certainly continues to compel people and to inspire people today,” said Aimee Ng, another curator at the Frick.  

President Donald Trump said the US military launched a “very successful attack” Sunday on three Iranian nuclear sites including the Fordo uranium enrichment plant, as Washington joined Israel’s air campaign against Tehran.Trump said a “full payload of BOMBS” was dropped on the underground facility at Fordo and he was set to address the nation at 10:00 pm on Saturday Washington time (0200 GMT Sunday) following his surprise announcement of the strikes.The fresh US military entanglement in the Middle East comes despite Trump’s promises to avoid another of his country’s “forever wars” in the region. Iran had vowed to retaliate against US forces in the region if Washington got involved. “We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.”A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow.”Trump added that “all planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors.” Iranian media confirmed that part of the Fordo plant as well as the Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites were attacked.Trump spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the attacks, while the United States also gave key ally Israel a “heads up” before the strikes, a senior White House official told AFP.In a second post announcing his address to the nation from the White House, Trump said that “IRAN MUST NOW AGREE TO END THIS WAR.”He described it as a “historic” moment for the United States, Israel and the world.Earlier Saturday there were reports that US B-2 bombers — which carry so-called “bunker buster” bombs — were headed out of the United States across the Pacific.Trump did not say what kind of US planes or munitions were involved.- ‘More devastating’ -Trump said on Thursday that he would decide “within two weeks” whether to join Israel’s campaign — but the decision came far sooner.The US president had also stepped up his rhetoric against Iran in recent days, repeating his insistence that it could never have a nuclear weapon.Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian had warned earlier Saturday of a “more devastating” retaliation should Israel’s nine-day bombing campaign continue, saying the Islamic republic would not halt its nuclear program “under any circumstances.”Israel and Iran have traded wave after wave of devastating strikes since Israel launched its aerial campaign on June 13, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon.On Saturday, Israel said it had attacked Isfahan for a second time, with the UN nuclear watchdog reporting that a centrifuge manufacturing workshop had been hit.Later Saturday Iran’s Mehr news agency said Israel had hit the southern city of Shiraz, which hosts military bases.Iran’s Revolutionary Guard meanwhile announced early Sunday that “suicide drones” had been launched against “strategic targets” across Israel.Iran denies seeking an atomic bomb, and on Saturday Pezeshkian said its right to pursue a civilian nuclear program “cannot be taken away… by threats or war.”- ‘Continued aggression’ -In a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Pezeshkian said “we do not agree to reduce nuclear activities to zero under any circumstances,” he added, according to Iran’s official IRNA news agency.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was in Istanbul on Saturday for a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to discuss the conflict.Top diplomats from Britain, France and Germany had met Araghchi in Geneva on Friday and urged him to resume nuclear talks with the United States that had been derailed by the war.Iran’s Huthi allies in Yemen on Saturday threatened to resume their attacks on US vessels in the Red Sea if Washington joined the war, despite a recent ceasefire agreement.The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said Friday that, based on its sources and media reports, at least 657 people had been killed in Iran, including 263 civilians.Iran’s health ministry on Saturday gave a toll of more than 400 people killed in the Israeli strikes.Iran’s retaliatory strikes have killed at least 25 people in Israel, according to official figures.Leading US Democrat Hakeem Jeffries said Trump risked US “entanglement in a potentially disastrous war in the Middle East,” while the Israeli army has raised its alert level, permitting only essential activities until further notice.

They were once part of an underground network that helped an estimated 11,000 women get abortions before the US Supreme Court established a constitutional right to the procedure in 1973.More than 50 years on, former members of the “Jane Collective” are watching in disbelief as America slides back toward the era they risked everything to end.”I was crushed,” recalls Abby Pariser, speaking to AFP ahead of the third anniversary on June 24 of the landmark Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v Wade and erased the federal right to terminate a pregnancy.”I was infuriated that they could do this to women,” adds the 80-year-old Pariser at her home in Huntington, a suburb of New York City, wearing a T-shirt declaring “Bold Women. Change History.”Like many of the now-retired women, Pariser devoted her life to defending reproductive rights at a time when abortion was widely illegal in the United States.The story began in Chicago in the late 1960s.Students, mothers, and young professionals — “ordinary women,” as they describe themselves — came together, helping others access clandestine abortions. They risked prison as they negotiated prices with doctors willing to perform the procedures — and some even learned to do them themselves.”It was just unbelievable that this would occur in this time and era, that we would go back to something this devastating,” says a fellow ex-Jane, Sakinah Ahad Shannon, her voice breaking with emotion.The seismic reversal — and the release of the HBO documentary “The Janes” — brought renewed attention to their story. Several former members have since spoken out, recounting the hardships women faced before the Roe ruling.- Mobsters and back-alley surgeries -At the time, access to contraception was severely limited, and the very notion of abortion was steeped in taboo, recalls Laura Kaplan, a former Jane and author of a book on the subject, who now lives in the iconic New York village of Woodstock.Out of public view, women resorted to desperate measures to end unwanted pregnancies — from ingesting poison to seeking help from underground abortionists.The illicit trade was dominated by corrupt doctors and Mafia intermediaries, who charged exorbitant fees. Abortions typically cost around $500, Kaplan remembers.”You could rent a decent one-bedroom apartment in Chicago for $150 a month at the time,” she says. “Just to give you a sense of how expensive abortions were.”Beyond the financial burden, women were often subjected to sexual assault, humiliation, or medical malpractice. Some did not survive.”There were wards in every major city’s public hospitals for women suffering the effects of illegal abortions — whether self-induced or performed by someone else — and they were dying,” Kaplan adds.The Jane network emerged in response to this grim reality, aligned with the broader women’s liberation movement of the time. They adopted pseudonyms, opened a phone hotline, and raised funds to help women who could not afford the procedure. Some later trained to perform dilation and curettage procedures themselves.- Hope -“Women paid $10, $50 — whatever they had in their pockets,” says Kaplan.But in the spring of 1972, seven members of the collective, including Pariser, were arrested during a police raid.”It was scary,” she recalls, describing a night in jail and the disbelief of officers who had stumbled upon an all-female clandestine network.Still, the others pressed on. “We knew what we were doing was committing multiple felonies every day we worked,” Kaplan adds with a smile. “We were well aware of that.”Had Roe not been decided, they could all have spent their lives behind bars — a prospect that, today, no longer feels remote.Since the federal right to abortion was overturned, more than 20 states have banned or sharply curtailed access to the procedure, forcing women to travel across state lines or resort — once again — to illegal means.Such restrictions have already led to multiple preventable deaths from delayed miscarriage care, according to reporting by ProPublica.Access could shrink further with the return to power of President Donald Trump, who takes credit for reshaping the Supreme Court during his first term and paving the way for its reversal on abortion. Observers are closely watching for moves to restrict access to abortion pills, which now account for the majority of terminations.”I think we were very naive,” reflects Pariser, believing the battles of their youth had secured lasting progress.”The people who were shooting doctors and killing them in clinics or churches on Sunday — these are maniacs. These are terrible people.” Just this month, a gunman suspected of killing a Minnesota lawmaker was reportedly found with a hit list targeting abortion providers, activists and politicians who support access to abortion.Even so, the Janes believe today’s generation of women are better informed, with higher reproductive health literacy and broad access to online resources.”Just like we said no 50 years ago, they’re saying no today — and that’s what gives me hope,” says Ahad Shannon.

Mahmoud Khalil, one of the most prominent leaders of US pro-Palestinian campus protests, pledged Saturday to keep campaigning after he was released from a federal detention center.”Even if they would kill me, I would still speak for Palestine,” Khalil said as he was greeted by cheering supporters at Newark airport, just outside New York City. Khalil, a legal permanent resident in the United States who is married to a US citizen and has a US-born son, had been in custody since March facing potential deportation.He was freed from a federal immigration detention center in Louisiana on Friday, hours after a judge ordered his release on bail.The Columbia University graduate was a figurehead of student protests against US ally Israel’s war in Gaza, and the Trump administration labeled him a national security threat.”Just the fact I am here sends a message — the fact that all these attempts to suppress pro-Palestine voices have failed now,” said Khalil, who is still fighting his potential expulsion from the United States.He spoke alongside his wife Noor Abdalla, who gave birth to the couple’s first child while Khalil was in detention, as well as Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.”Mahmoud Khalil was imprisoned for 104 days by this administration, by the Trump administration, with no grounds and for political reasons, because Mahmoud Khalil is an advocate for Palestinian human rights,” Ocasio-Cortez said.”This is not over, and we will have to continue to support this case,” she added.Khalil, who was born in Syria to Palestinian parents, is not allowed to leave the United States except for “self-deportation” under the terms of his release.He also faces restrictions on where he can travel within the country.President Donald Trump’s government has justified pushing for Khalil’s deportation by saying his continued presence in the United States could carry “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences.”Beyond his legal case, Khalil’s team fears he could face threats out of detention.”We are very mindful about his security, and the irony is that he is the one being persecuted,” Baher Azmy, one of his lawyers, told AFP. “But he is committed to peace and because he is rejecting US government policy he is under threat,” Azmy added, without elaborating on any security measures in place for Khalil and his family.

Belarus freed top opposition figure Sergei Tikhanovsky and over a dozen other political prisoners Saturday following an appeal from the White House, Minsk said, a sign of warming ties between Washington and Belarus-ally Moscow.The release came just hours after US special envoy Keith Kellogg met Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk, the highest-profile visit of a US official to the authoritarian state in years.Tikhanovsky’s wife Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who took the mantle of the opposition movement after her husband’s jailing, thanked US President Donald Trump directly for brokering the deal.European politicians and members of Belarus’s exiled opposition also welcomed the news.The European Union hailed Tikhanovsky’s release as a “symbol of hope” and a leading activist calling it an “important moment”.Tikhanovsky, 46, had been imprisoned for more than five years.The popular Youtuber had planned to run against Lukashenko in the August 2020 presidential election, but was arrested and detained weeks before the vote.He was sentenced in 2021 to 18 years in prison for “organising riots” and “inciting hatred”, then to another 18 months for “insubordination”.Svetlana — a political novice at the time of his arrest — ran against Lukashenko in her husband’s place but lost after what the opposition described as widespread falsification. She later fled Belarus.”It’s hard to describe the joy in my heart,” she said in a post on X following her husband’s release.- Transferred to Lithuania -Among the 13 others freed were Radio Liberty journalist Igor Karnei, arrested in 2023 and jailed for participating in an “extremist” organisation.They have now been transferred from Belarus to Lithuania, where they were receiving “proper care”, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said.Swedish-Belarusian citizen Galina Krasnyanskaya, arrested in 2023 for allegedly supporting Ukraine, was also freed, said Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.Belarus, ruled by Lukashenko since 1994, has outlawed all genuine opposition parties. It is the only European country to retain the death penalty as a punishment.The eastern European country still holds more than 1,000 political prisoners in its jails, according to local human rights group Viasna.- ‘Sincerest joy’ -Lukashenko’s spokeswoman said the Belarusian leader ordered the release of the prisoners on Trump’s “request”, Russian state media reported.There was no immediate comment from the White House.Since taking office, Trump has engaged in direct talks with Vladimir Putin, ending his predecessor’s policy of isolating the Russian president.The two nuclear powers have since worked to normalise diplomatic ties, which have for years lingered at their lowest point since the Cold War.Tikhanovsky was for years held incommunicado, and in 2023 his wife was told that he had “died”.In a video published by Viasna on Saturday, he appeared almost unrecognisable, his head shaven and face emaciated.A charismatic activist, Tikhanovsky drew the ire of authorities for describing Lukashenko as a “cockroach” and his campaign slogan was “Stop the cockroach.” Lukashenko claimed a landslide victory in the 2020 election, a result that sparked massive opposition protests which authorities violently suppressed.The Belarusian autocrat claimed a record seventh term in elections earlier this year that observers dismissed as a farce.Fellow Belarusian political activists and foreign politicians welcomed the release of the 14 on Saturday.Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski expressed his “sincerest joy”, while Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics called Tikhanovsky’s freedom a “much awaited and long overdue moment”.Pavel Latushko, a former culture minister in Belarus who supported the 2020 protests against Lukashenko, said all those released had been jailed illegally. He hailed Tikhanovsky’s release as an “important moment”.European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen also welcomed Tikhanovsky’s release.”This is fantastic news and a powerful symbol of hope for all the political prisoners suffering under the brutal Lukashenka regime,” she said on X.Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Tikhanovsky’s release was “fantastically good news”, in a post to X.”At the same time, we must not forget the many other prisoners in Belarus. Lukashenko must finally release them,” he added.

US Vice President JD Vance said on Friday that the thousands of troops deployed to Los Angeles this month were still needed despite a week of relative calm in the protest-hit city.President Donald Trump has sent roughly 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines, purportedly to protect federal property and personnel, after demonstrations over immigration raids.”Unfortunately, the soldiers and Marines are still very much a necessary part of what’s going on here because they’re worried that it’s going to flare back up,” Vance told reporters in Los Angeles.He was speaking the day after an appeals court ruled that Trump could continue to control the California National Guard, which would normally fall under Governor Gavin Newsom’s authority.California officials have heavily criticized Trump over his use of the military, saying it escalated protests that local law enforcement could have handled.The demonstrations were largely peaceful and mostly contained to a small part of Los Angeles, the second-largest US city, although there were instances of violence and vandalism. “If you let violent rioters burn Great American Cities to the ground, then, of course, we’re going to send federal law enforcement in to protect the people the president was elected to protect,” Vance said, adding that Trump would deploy them again if needed.The Republican further accused Newsom — a possible contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028 — and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of encouraging protesters.Newsom and Bass have both condemned rioting and violence towards law enforcement while accusing the Trump administration of manufacturing a crisis in the city.Bass hit back at Vance during a news conference on Friday, accusing him of openly lying and saying that local law enforcement agencies handled crowd control. “How dare you say that city officials encourage violence. We kept the peace. You know that the federal officials that were here protected a federal building — they were not involved in crowd control,” she said. Bass said that even when there was vandalism, at its height “you are talking about a couple of hundred people who are not necessarily associated with any of the peaceful protests.” “Los Angeles is a city that is 500 square miles and any of the disruption that took place took place at about 2 square miles in our city,” she said, accusing Vance of adding to “provocation” and sowing “division.”- ‘Jose Padilla’ -Many in Los Angeles are angry about immigration raids carried out as part of Trump’s ambition to deport vast numbers of undocumented migrants around the country.Outrage at the use of masked, armed immigration agents also sparked protests in other cities, including San Francisco, New York, Chicago and San Antonio, Texas.Tensions spiked when California Senator Alex Padilla, a Democrat, was handcuffed and forcibly removed last week when attempting to ask Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem questions during her news conference. Vance misnamed the senator when referring to the incident, saying: “I was hoping Jose Padilla would be here to ask a question but unfortunately I guess he decided not to show up because there wasn’t a theater.”Bass reacted to the comment with outrage.”How dare you disrespect him and call him Jose. But I guess he just looked like anybody to you,” she said. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had said Padilla’s treatment “reeks of totalitarianism,” while the White House claimed — despite video evidence to the contrary — that Padilla had “lunged toward Secretary Noem.”

US President Donald Trump took credit Friday for a peace deal negotiated in Washington between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda — and complained that he would not get a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.The warring African nations said in a joint statement on Wednesday that they had initialed an agreement aimed at ending the conflict in eastern DRC — to be formally signed in the US capital next week.”This is a Great Day for Africa and, quite frankly, a Great Day for the World!” Trump said in a Truth Social post confirming the breakthrough.But his triumphant tone darkened as he complained that he had been overlooked by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for his mediating role in conflicts between India and Pakistan, as well as Serbia and Kosovo.He also demanded credit for “keeping peace” between Egypt and Ethiopia and brokering the Abraham Accords, a series of agreements aiming to normalize relations between Israel and several Arab nations.Trump campaigned for office as a “peacemaker” who would use his negotiating skills to quickly end wars in Ukraine and Gaza, although both conflicts are still raging five months into his presidency.  Indian officials have denied that he had any role in its ceasefire with Pakistan.The government of Pakistan, meanwhile, said Friday it would formally recommend Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize “in recognition of his decisive diplomatic intervention and pivotal leadership” during the recent conflict.However, Trump’s claims for the Abraham Accords being able to “unify the Middle East” have yet to be realized, with war breaking out between Israel and Iran, and no end in sight to the conflict in Gaza.And critics say the Republican greatly exaggerated the significance of the 2020 Serbia-Kosovo agreements, which were statements of intent that were thin on details and quickly unraveled.The president said officials from DR Congo and Rwanda would be in Washington on Monday for the signing, although their joint statement said they would put pen to paper on June 27.The resource-rich eastern DRC, which borders Rwanda, has been plagued by violence for three decades, with a resurgence since the anti-government M23 armed group went on a renewed offensive at the end of 2021.The deal — which builds on a declaration of principles signed in April — was reached during three days of talks between the neighbors in Washington, according to their statement.Trump has received multiple Nobel Peace Prize nominations from supporters and loyal lawmakers over the years.He has made no secret of his irritation at missing out on the prestigious award, bringing it up as recently as February during an Oval Office meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. President Barack Obama won the prize soon after taking office in 2009, and Trump complained during his 2024 election campaign that his Democratic predecessor was not worthy of the honor.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, criticized for failing to comment on the US government’s immigration crackdown, on Friday committed $1 million toward assistance for families of immigrants “impacted by recent events in the region.”The reigning World Series champions have faced criticism for their response to an escalation in federal immigration sweeps that have targeted migrant workers in garment factories, car washes and other workplaces.Los Angeles has become ground zero of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement across the United States and the Dodgers have a heavily Latino fan base, with some claiming a sense of betrayal over the franchise’s failure to speak out against the ongoing raids.”What’s happening in Los Angeles has reverberated among thousands upon thousands of people, and we have heard the calls for us to take a leading role on behalf of those affected,” Dodgers president Stan Kasten said in a statement.”We believe that by committing resources and taking action, we will continue to support and uplift the communities of Greater Los Angeles.”The Dodgers said the funds would be used for “direct financial assistance” for the families.They added that in the coming days the team planned additional announcements with local community and labor organizations that are directly supporting youth and families with food insecurity, basic essentials and mental health services.Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass welcomed the Dodgers’ involvement.“I want to thank the Dodgers for leading with this action to support the immigrant community of Los Angeles,” Bass said in a statement.”These last weeks have sent shockwaves of fear rippling through every neighborhood and have had a direct impact on our economy,” she said. “My message to all Angelenos is clear: We will stick together during this time and we will not turn our backs on one another — that’s what makes this the greatest city in the world.”Bass and other California officials have heavily criticized Trump over his use of the National Guard and a contingent of Marines, sent to purportedly protect federal property and personnel in Los Angeles after demonstrations over the immigration sweeps.An appeals court has ruled that Trump could continue to control the California National Guard, which would normally fall under Governor Gavin Newsom’s authority.The announcement comes a day after the Dodgers said they barred federal immigration agents from the team’s stadium parking lot as raids continued across America’s second-biggest city.The Department of Homeland Security later clarified that the agents at the venue were from US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), not Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

After night fell on the outskirts of Los Angeles on Thursday, around 50 people clanged metal pots and blasted air horns outside a hotel in a noisy bedtime protest targeting US immigration agents.The “No Sleep For ICE” rally underscored growing anger at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a once obscure agency that has become the focal point of President Donald Trump’s migrant crackdown. “They terrorize our community the entire day. Why do they get a good night’s sleep?” said Nathanael Landaverde, 23, who banged a dismantled frying pan at the protest.Dramatic images have shown federal agents, often masked and sometimes armed with assault rifles, chasing down migrants and handcuffing them at courthouses, farms and on the streets.ICE officials have also detained some US citizens for allegedly intervening in arrests, including a mayoral candidate in New York this week. The heavy-handed approach has sparked fear among immigrants and infuriated many Americans, particularly in liberal cities such as Los Angeles, where large-scale street protests erupted this month over ICE raids.”If they don’t sleep they’re not gonna do their job effectively. They’re gonna get less people,” added Landaverde, as passing vehicles honked in apparent support for the late-night rally.It was not certain whether ICE agents were staying at the three-star hotel, but protest organizers claimed to have photo evidence.Dozens of people danced to a deafening cacophony as they waved signs reading “No rest for ICE” and “ICE out of LA” towards the hotel, where some guests peered through the curtains. One woman simply screamed into a megaphone. Another man wore earmuffs as he blasted distorted white noise through a speaker. “They’re ripping families apart, and it’s horrifying to watch in my community. They can’t sleep if they’re gonna do that here,” said Juliet Austin, 22, who was playing a small blue accordion.- ‘Secret police’ -Trump was elected to a second term in large part for his promise to deport thousands of migrants.But alongside their aggressive tactics, critics have denounced federal immigration agents for wearing face masks to hide their identities — a highly unusual but legal practice in US law enforcement.”At what point will we as a nation find ourselves with a secret police?” Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute think tank, wrote last month.  “For the Trump administration, turning masked raids into standard practice fits into a wider effort to dodge accountability for potentially illegal and unconstitutional actions,” he added.In California, lawmakers have introduced the “No Secret Police Act” that would restrict federal agents from wearing masks.Federal officials have rejected this criticism by claiming that agents wear masks to protect them from potential reprisals.Meanwhile, ICE has frequently boasted about its activities and posted pictures of detained migrants on social media. And it crucially still enjoys Trump’s support, who last weekend praised ICE agents’ “incredible strength, determination, and courage.”Still, anger over ICE looks unlikely to go away as long as immigration arrests continue, and protesters Thursday were adamant they would not back down.”I think it’s a modern Gestapo here in America,” said Austin, a dance teacher.”This city is not the one to mess with… We’re not gonna let it happen. We’re not tired,” she added.

A Venezuelan woman who went through hell to emigrate to America is going back to her troubled homeland, saying that living in fear is no life at all.Deisy — who declined to give her last name for safety concerns — will uproot her three children, sever all the links she made in America and brave the economic misery and other turmoil she fled in the first place.That’s how terrified she is, every day, all day, of being scooped up in one of the raids the Trump administration is carrying out in its relentless crackdown on people without papers.”What I thought was a dream has turned into a nightmare,” said Deisy. “The situation is total chaos. Who wants to be arrested in a country that is not theirs?”Trump was elected last year in large part on his pledge of a historic wave of deportations, and he is delivering.Any day now, transplanted Chicago resident Deisy, 37, and her kids will join the growing number of people deporting themselves to avoid falling into the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.In recent months ICE agents have stepped up arrests and the targets have included 252 Venezuelans who were sent handcuffed to a notorious prison in El Salvador without court hearings, on allegations they belong to a powerful Latino crime gang called Tren de Aragua.The detainees, their lawyers and advocacy groups insist the men have no ties to that organization.- Peace of mind ‘priceless’ -Deisy arrived in the United States in 2019 after an arduous trip from Panama, where she had emigrated six years earlier to find work.In her hometown of Maracay in the north of Venezuela, she could not make a living so she made the heartbreaking decision to leave her children with her mother and set out in search of a better life for all of them.After crossing the border with Mexico on foot, she turned herself in to the US authorities and was released with the obligation to appear later in immigration court.Her first taste of Chicago was grueling. She had little money, spoke no English and had no papers. But she stuck it out.In order to live and send money back home, she worked in construction — demolition, to be exact — and drove an Uber.Life back home seemed like a much worse alternative, as is the case for many migrants in the United States. The United Nations says nearly eight million people have left Venezuela in the past decade because of an economic meltdown in the once prosperous, oil-rich country, which suffers from acute shortages of food, medicine and other basic needs. And President Nicolas Maduro is accused of acting like a repressive leftist dictator who tolerates no dissent and steals elections.Now, what Deisy fears is not leaving but staying.Not long ago the immigration authorities picked up a work colleague whose status is the same as hers — living in the US with an asylum request pending.The Trump administration has pledged to revoke a special temporary status that Joe Biden’s administration granted to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans that shielded them from deportation.They include Deisy’s children, who joined her in 2022, and her husband, a Venezuelan she met in the United States.”We live in fear that we will be stopped on the street,” Deisy said. “We don’t want to be deported to a jail with criminals, where they treat us all as if we were members of Tren de Aragua.”Going home is not easy. Besides uprooting the family, Deisy has to pay for the trip and deal with messy paperwork. For instance, many Venezuelans have had their passports seized by US authorities.After considering several options she has decided to fly with a travel agency that specializes in people like her, Venezuelans going home. It is running 60 flights a month — 70 percent more than before Trump was inaugurated.”Life in Venezuela is rough, but my husband and I do not seek to be rich. And I think I prefer peace and quiet, the stability of being at home,” said Deisy. “For us, peace of mind is priceless.”