As the Trump administration ramps up its deportation efforts through courthouse arrests, more migrant youth — many of whom are, or were recently, living in city shelters — are seeking guidance on how to navigate their immigration hearings.

Immigration officers outside 26 Federal Plaza in June. (Ayman Siam/Office of NYC Comptroller)

After his immigration hearing ended in August, what the 21-year-old from Guinea feared most happened. At the exit door, agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) stopped him and asked for his documents.

Upon entering the courtroom earlier, he had seen ICE agents patrolling the halls of 26 Federal Plaza, where they’ve been targeting immigrants appearing for routine hearings for arrest and deportation.

“I started shivering, because I’m not used to being detained like that,” the 21-year-old said. 

City Limits is withholding his identity as he fears it could jeopardize his petition for Special Immigrant Juvenile status, which protects qualifying minors from deportation and allows them to work. “I gave [my documents] to them, and they went through the list. They didn’t see my name, so they went through it for the second time.”

During those moments, one of the volunteers accompanying the young man to court held his hand and moved closer to him, in case agents moved to arrest him.

“They didn’t see my name, so they let me go,” the 21-year-old recounted. “When I entered the elevator, I was feeling like a big relief getting off me, because at that moment I thought I was going directly [to detention].”

Since late May, when the Trump administration ramped up its deportation efforts by targeting those showing up for scheduled immigration hearings, young migrants—many of whom are, or were recently, living in city shelters—are seeking guidance on how to prepare. They’ve expressed fear of appearing in person at court, and uncertainty over what to do if they are arrested.

Many of them are turning to the city’s youth-centered organizations for help, which have seen demand for their services increase quickly as they struggle to represent everyone who needs it.

“The numbers have just—we can’t keep up,” said Beth Baltimore, the deputy director of the legal services center at The Door, a nonprofit in Manhattan.

Previously, The Door would see just a couple of people during its weekly hour-long legal clinic, Baltimore said. Now, they see more than 20 people on average in about two hours.

On a visit in mid-August, City Limits observed 17 young people attend the clinic, where paralegals, attorneys, social workers, and volunteers spread out across five round tables that were always busy.

The scene during a recent legal clinic at The Door, a nonprofit youth services organization. (Daniel Parra/City Limits)

“We’re unable to even meet with everybody at this time because there’s more people coming with really extreme fear. So people are coming and saying: ‘I’m scared to go to immigration court. What do I do?’” Baltimore said. 

So far, she said, at least two of their members have been arrested by ICE, although she believes there are more.

Earlier this month, The Door—among other New York organizations—sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE for arresting migrants following check-ins at immigration courts, arguing the practice violates federal law.

Mayor Eric Adams’ administration filed an amicus brief in the case last week in support of The Door’s argument, saying courthouse arrests make the city less safe by discouraging immigrant New Yorkers from interacting with the legal system and other aspects of public life.

“No one in our city should feel forced to hide in the shadows or be afraid to use resources, and that includes sending children to school, going to a hospital when sick, calling 911 when in danger, or going to a court hearing when called upon to do so,” Adams said in a statement. 

Some of those being targeted are living in the shelter system, which saw an influx of new immigrant arrivals over the last few years, though the numbers have dropped significantly in recent months. When asked, City Hall didn’t provide a number for how many teens and young adults are currently housed in the few remaining emergency shelters for migrants. 

But as of Aug. 20, there were 56 migrants between the ages of 18 and 20 at more traditional shelters run by the Department of Homeless Services (DHS), and 223 between the ages of 21 and 24. That’s down from March of last year, when there were 852 immigrants aged 17 to 20 living in shelters.

‘Am I going to get detained too?’

Before his court appearance, the 21-year-old Guinean attended one of The Door’s legal clinic sessions, and his advocates filed a motion asking if he could attend his hearing virtually, to avoid having to appear in person. But the court turned that request down.

City Comptroller Brad Lander visiting one of The Door’s legal clinics last week. (Ayman Siam/Office of NYC Comptroller)

The day before his court date, the young man was hit by a car while riding a bike. His advocates then asked to reschedule his appearance, but were again turned down. 

“The day I went for my hearing,” the young migrant recalled, “the guy who left the [court] hall before me got detained, and I was feeling like—whoa, am I going to get detained too? Because that guy was with people, he was with his lawyer.”

A few months ago, one of his friends from the shelter system was detained after an immigration hearing. After that, the 21-year-old migrant said, he began to fear his own court date. He already knows what it’s like to be detained: Before arriving in New York City, he said he spent a few days in immigration custody after crossing the border in 2023.

Safe Horizon’s Streetwork Project, which serves runaway and homeless youth in New York City, has also noticed a rise in the number of young people seeking help with court dates and asylum applications.

“I would say we have maybe a little under a dozen young folks who specifically reached out around their court appearances,” said Sebastien Vante, associate vice president of Safe Horizon’s Streetwork Project in Harlem. They’ve begun preparations to escort young people through hearings in response to the demand.

“We’re adapting to the needs that the young people have. And this is [the] new need that’s emerging around support,” Vante explained.

‘Leading a lamb to the slaughter’

A 20-year-old from Guinea, whose name City Limits is withholding for fear of immigration repercussions, started hearing about the courthouse arrests from his high school classmates after ICE arrested a student in the Bronx in May.

The young man arrived in New York at the end of 2023, lived in adult shelters for a while, and has been attending a public school in the city to finish his high school education since September 2024. He dreams of going to college. 

Before his court date, he was torn between studying business and law; but after his experiences in immigration court, the young man said he decided he doesn’t want to be a lawyer anymore.

In July, one of his friends panicked after learning his court date had been moved up, leaving him with only a few days left to prepare. Shortly thereafter, the 20-year-old checked his own court date out of curiosity: it had also been moved up, from early 2026 to August. 

A couple of days before he was due to appear, the young man’s family messaged to inform him that his mother, back in West Africa, was hospitalized and in a coma.

Hours later, this news—on top of the compounding fear of going to court in less than 48 hours—prompted the 20-year-old to run away in the middle of the night from the studio apartment where he lived with three other friends.

Early in the morning, he texted his mentor, Angel, an advocate for runaway and homeless youth (who asked City Limits to identify him by his first name only). “While I’m like this, I breathe with difficulty, and I’d rather kill myself than go back to Guinea… I don’t know what to do with my life. It’s torture,” the young man wrote. 

After reading the message, Angel and Charlotte Soehner, director of youth services with an organization called Resources, Opportunities, Connections & Community (ROCC NYC), urged him to come back home and attend his court hearing.

“I know what the right thing to do was, but there was that part of me, too, that was like, am I leading a lamb to the slaughter here? Like, maybe he’s not that wrong, but I knew what we had to do,” Angel said. 

Soehner said that they prepared a motion asking the court to change the young man’s hearing to a virtual appearance, but that request wasn’t granted, so advocates moved fast to prepare his case. They joined a large group, including local officials and faith leaders, to escort him in and out of court. Even his English teacher’s mother came. 

New York City Council members and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams at a press conference last week calling on ICE to release Brooklyn high school student Mamadou Mouctar Diallo. (John McCarten/NYC Council Media Unit)

He isn’t the only New York City public school student navigating the threat of ICE. Over the last two months, the enforcement agency’s New York City field office (which includes Long Island and other regions outside the five boroughs) has arrested dozens of immigrant children. That includes a 6-year-old enrolled at P.S. 89 in Queens who was deported alongside her mother last week, news site THE CITY reported. 

A spokesperson for New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) said via email that the department “stands with all of our students, and we are committed to supporting every child and family in our system.” 

“When we hear about a family that is being detained, we have—with their permission— connected them with community and agency partners who can offer legal support and other resources,” the spokesperson added. “We want to reassure all families: our schools are safe, welcoming places, and we encourage you to continue sending your children to school, where they are cared for and valued.”

When asked if they are keeping track of how many of their students have been arrested, detained, or deported, NYCPS did not provide details.

Both young men who spoke to City Limits acknowledged that they were fortunate not to get arrested by ICE. Some of their peers are now experiencing the same panic they both felt before their own court dates, they said.

“It’s so unfair that kids who get lucky in meeting advocates have such an advantage in visibility around their case,” Soehner said. “And for all of the [young migrants] who have Brad Lander, and Beth, and Angel there, there are hundreds whose stories are not known, and it shouldn’t be that way.”

To reach the reporter behind this story, contact Daniel@citylimits.org. To reach the editor, contact Jeanmarie@citylimits.org

Want to republish this story? Find City Limits’ reprint policy here.

The post ‘Really Extreme Fear’: Advocates See Uptick in Young Migrants Afraid to Go to Court appeared first on City Limits.

By ANDREW DALTON, AP Entertainment Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lil Nas X was charged Monday with four felonies after police say he charged at them when they confronted him for walking naked down a Los Angeles street last week.

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Prosecutors charged the musician, whose legal name is Montero Lamar Hill, with three counts of battery with injury on a police officer and one felony count of resisting an executive officer, the District Attorney’s Office said. He was initially booked on suspicion of misdemeanor obstructing an officer on Friday.

He is set to be arraigned later Monday. His representatives have not responded to requests for comment.

Police said officers found the 26-year-old walking naked on Ventura Boulevard, a major thoroughfare in the Studio City neighborhood, shortly before 6 a.m. Friday,

They say he charged at the officers when confronted and was arrested. Police, suspecting a possible overdose, took him to a hospital where he spent several hours before being taken to jail, where he has remained since.

The charges were first reported by TMZ.

The rapper and singer from Atlanta is best known for his huge hit from 2018, “Old Town Road,” which merged country and hip-hop. It spent a record 19 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Known for his genre-bending, innovating sounds and style, his first full studio album, 2021’s “Montero,” went to No. 2 on the Billboard album chart and was nominated for a Grammy for album of the year.

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order requiring the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute people for burning the American flag, an activity that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled is legitimate political expression protected by the U.S. Constitution.

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The order the Republican president signed in the Oval Office acknowledged the court’s 5-4 ruling in a case from Texas in 1989, but said there is still room to prosecute flag burning if it “is likely to incite imminent lawless action” or amounts to “fighting words.”

In that case, the justices ruled 5-4 that the First Amendment protects flag burning as legitimate political expression. The late Justice Antonin Scalia, the conservative icon who Trump has repeatedly praised, was in the majority.

Trump said Monday that burning the U.S. flag “incites riots at levels we’ve never seen before,” with some people “going crazy” over burning it and others expressing anger at people for burning it. He did not offer examples.

The text of the executive order states that desecrating the American flag is “uniquely offensive and provocative. It is a statement of contempt, hostility, and violence against our Nation — the clearest possible expression of opposition to the political union that preserves our rights, liberty, and security. Burning this representation of America may incite violence and riot.”

The order calls on the attorney general to prioritize enforcement “to the fullest extent possible” of criminal and civil laws against flag burning that cause harm unrelated to the First Amendment.

Trump said the penalty for flag-burning would be one year in jail with no opportunity for early release.

The order also states that foreign nationals who burn the flag could face having their visas, residency permits, naturalization proceedings and other immigration benefits revoked. They could also be deported.

Trump said the court that ruled that flag burning is constitutionally protected was a “very sad court.”

“I guess it was a 5 to 4 decision. They called it freedom of speech,” the president said. “But there’s another reason, which is perhaps much more important. It’s called death.”

“Because what happens when you burn a flag is the area goes crazy,” Trump said. “If you have hundreds of people, they go crazy.”

Associated Press writer Mark Sherman in Washington contributed to this report.

Not everyone realizes you don’t have to travel out of state to explore wine country.

An expansive offering of vineyards and wineries is just one of many allures to Palisade.

The lushest corner of Colorado’s Western Slope, if not the most agriculturally rich swath of land in the entire state, Palisade is home to some of the world’s tastiest peaches, a handful of farm-to-table eateries, a brewery, a distillery, and outdoor adventures you can’t find anywhere else.

Framed by the picturesque Book Cliffs with the majestic Grand Mesa looming above, a weekend here feels like immersion in another world.

Alpacas look curiously around their enclosure at SunCrest Orchard Alpacas on April 20, 2016, in Palisade. The farm specializes in alpacas, fiber processing and finished alpaca products. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)

Adventure

On the more low-key end of outdoor pursuits, there’s no better way to immerse yourself in a peach-full environment than with a fuzzy friend in hand (No, not a peach).

The family that owns and operates Suncrest Orchard Alpacas and Fiber Works has been one of the area’s greatest peach growers for decades. The orchard has almost 4,000 peach trees.

You can walk among the resident alpacas, whose fur is used onsite to create beanies, yarn, and other products. For $20, you can spend up to an hour strolling the grounds with an alpaca.

Animal lovers with a special affinity for hoofed creatures can venture south of town into the Little Book Cliffs. If you’re lucky, you may spot a wild horse or two. This area has hundreds of wild horses and several hiking or mountain biking trails.

Palisade’s wineries and orchards stretch for several miles along both sides of the Colorado River. A great way to visit several wineries in one day is by bike. There are three established Fruit & Wine Byway loops that measure 5, 9, and 25 miles, allowing you to access nearly every winery in the area. Each route is mostly paved, and you can navigate it with any bike.

That said, a road or e-bike is recommended for the longest route, which takes you through farms and vineyards on both sides of the river, rolling over hills with more than 700 feet of climbing that you won’t notice too much as you take in the sweeping mesa views.

The 9-mile route stays on the north side of the river, passing by a high concentration of wineries and through Riverfront Park and the heart of Palisade.

The 5-mile loop starts and finishes near downtown and is mostly flat and manageable on a cruiser bike. It takes you on a scenic spin along the river south of town, with one of the area’s tastiest and most beautifully set wineries—Colterris—conveniently located on the home stretch.

A rider drops into a section known locally as the toilet bowl within the lower section of the Palisade Plunge that can be reached by a connection to the Palisade Rim Trail just outside of Palisade on Wednesday, May 5, 2021. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

Hiking and mountain biking

On the opposite side of the adventure spectrum, the most extreme you can get sits the Palisade Plunge. Arguably the most impressive and officially among the longest downhill bike trails in the world, the Plunge takes you from atop the Grand Mesa down 6,000 vertical feet and 32 miles.

Don’t be fooled about just being along for a ride, though. This trail is designed only for skilled (and brave) riders. There’s a good amount of pedaling and a few exposed, high-stakes areas.

The upper half of the trail is open to hikers, equestrians, and leashed dogs. Palisade Rim is an iconic hike and bike trail that is easy to access. The trailhead is next to the river just east of town.

The journey, technical on a bike with high exposure in some places, takes you straight up the cliffs, past a handful of ancient petroglyphs, to phenomenal views of wine country below. The loop is about 9 miles long and involves 1,500 feet of climbing and descending.

Farmer Tricia Sproles smells sweet Red Globe peaches as she picks them to box up and ship to market at Papa Brown’s Orchards on August 18, 2016, in Palisade. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)

Eat

Start your day with an egg sandwich and turmeric latte at The Milky Way, which also serves amazing homemade gelato.

Speaking of sweet treats, Slice O Life Bakery’s peach blueberry cinnamon rolls or lemon lavender scones are a must-try.

Don’t be fooled by its sports bar vibe; 357 Bar & Grill is open for breakfast and serves the heartiest breakfast (bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, stack of pancakes) in town.

Regularly named one of Colorado’s tastiest and most foodie-geared restaurants, Pêche is situated in the heart of Palisade and is a must for dinner.

Opened in 2019 by Ashley Chasseur (general manager/owner) and Matthew Chasseur (chef/owner), Pêche has been widely lauded for its outstanding cuisine. Its menu changes frequently depending on what’s fresh for the season, but always includes charred fruits, locally sourced meats, and home-baked sourdough bread.

The stylish but unpretentious haunt was a 2023 James Beard Award semifinalist in the Outstanding Hospitality category.

Also located in the small downtown vicinity, don’t miss the gourmet tacos at Fidel’s Cocina & Bar. Made with the freshest possible ingredients (locally sourced elk chorizo, peppers roasted onsite, and made-from-scratch tortillas from La Milpa up the road), tacos and thoughtfully crafted plates (chile relleno, enchiladas) rank among the Western Slope’s tastiest. Fidel’s also offers an impressive selection of tequilas, mezcals and creative cocktails.

Considered Colorado’s first wine-themed hotel, Wine Country Inn broke ground in 2007 and has grown to become a comfortable farmhouse retreat among the vineyards for overnight visitors. Its restaurant, Caroline’s, is one of Palisade’s top dining haunts. The French-infused menu gathers ingredients locally, including the famed local peaches featured creatively in appetizers (peach green chili mussels, anyone?) and the signature bread pudding.

The wood barn at Maison La Belle Vie winery is where wine is stored and bottled as seen on April 21, 2016 in Palisade. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)

Drink

For a place with a population of less than 3,000, Palisade boasts one winery for every couple hundred residents, with more than 30 scattered around the town’s vicinity and outskirts.

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Each one has its own unique personality, ambiance and signature variety. An obvious standout is Restoration Vineyards. Named after co-owner Gary Brauns’ propensity and passion for restoring vintage vehicles (many of which are on display on the property), Restoration boasts Napa-caliber wines from six grape varieties—barbera, cabernet franc, chardonnay, merlot, sauvignon blanc and sémillon grapes—as well as an expansive outdoor space and patio, where it regularly hosts live music and food trucks.

On the newer side (opened in 2019), Sauvage Spectrum focuses on unique grapes, all grown onsite, and offers a great selection of sparkling wines.

TerraVin Cellars, headed by a seasoned Grand Valley winemaker, makes an exquisite Petit Verdot and offers a casual vibe with occasional live music.

Vines 79 Wine Barn is a fun stop for an Old West meets grapes experience, while Ordinary Fellow is right in town. It is housed in a giant, open-air shed with a ping-pong table and creative varieties crafted by English owner Ben Parsons.

Maison La Belle Vie has a wonderful ambiance, scrumptious French-inspired cuisine, and the most refreshing glass of Marechol Foch around.

Carlson, one of Palisade’s longest-standing vineyards (founded in 1981), thrives. It has accrued numerous awards, including a World Cup winner for its Riesling.

Many of Palisade’s wineries also specialize in fruit wine. Talon’s lineup includes a meadery with several sweet options and a tasty cidery.

Nearly every restaurant in the region carries at least one brew from the unassuming Palisade Brewing Company, which also serves amazing sandwiches. Peach Street Distillers is raising eyebrows for its flavorful bourbon, but it crafts every other type of spirit you might be craving and serves impressively delicious pub fare out of its food trolley.

Spoke & Vine Motel is a renovated classic one-story lodge with a bike theme. (Photo provided by Spoke and Vine)

Stay

The industrial chic, dog-friendly Spoke & Vine Motel is a renovated version of everything you find nostalgic about a classic one-story lodge, but with a bike theme and a free breakfast served right to your door.

Owned by mountain bike enthusiasts Jody Corey and Jeff Snook, the same couple behind Fidel’s Cocina, this lodge will be one of the cleanest, most comfortable and character-endowed motels you’ve ever experienced.