EU-DIGEST

A second winter wave dubbed ‘Beast from the East 2.0’ has hit Poland and the UK, with other parts of northern Europe set to be affected this weekend.

Poles endured heavy snowfall in Warsaw on Friday, as low temperature warnings were issued across 10 southeast voivodeships (provinces) in the country. As of Saturday, up to 25cm of snow and 40kph winds have been forecast in the south of Poland.

The cold snap there is expected to continue until March 22.

In the UK, residents across swathes of eastern England and Scotland have been braving the subzero temperatures to take some dramatic pictures of the snow.

Read more: Beast from the East 2.0’ hits northern and eastern Europe | Euronews

Niec received a temporary green card and, in 1989, became a lawful permanent resident. He grew up in Michigan, went to medical school, became a doctor, and raised a daughter and stepdaughter.

Niec, now 43, never fathomed that his legal status in the United States would become an issue. With a renewed green card, and nearly 40 years in the country, his Polish nationality was an afterthought for Niec, his sister told The Washington Post. He doesn’t even speak Polish.

But on Tuesday morning, immigration authorities arrested Niec at his home, just after he had sent his 12-year-old stepdaughter off to school. Niec, a physician specializing in internal medicine at Bronson Healthcare Group in Kalamazoo, Mich., has been detained in a county jail ever since, awaiting a bond hearing and possible deportation.

“It’s shocking,” said his sister, a corporate lawyer named Iwona Niec Villaire. “No one can really understand what happened here.”
According to his “notice to appear” from the Department of Homeland Security, Niec’s detention stems from two misdemeanor convictions from 26 years ago. In January 1992, Niec was convicted of malicious destruction of property under $100. In April of that year, he was convicted of receiving and concealing stolen property over $100 and a financial transaction device.

Because Niec was convicted of two crimes involving “moral turpitude,” stemming from two separate incidents, he is subject to removal, immigration authorities wrote in the notice to appear, citing the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Both of the offenses took place when he was a teenager.He associated himself “with some bad people” his sister said. The first of the incidents involved an altercation with a driver after a car crash, Niec’s sister said. He was one of multiple teenagers in the car at the time.

The second of those convictions was eventually expunged from his criminal record, his sister said, as part of a guilty plea through Michigan’s Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, a program intended to help young offenders avoid the stigma of a criminal conviction.

But even though the crime was scrubbed off his public record, it can still be used against him for removal from the country, his sister said.

 Read more: ICE detains a Polish doctor and green-card holder who has lived in the U.S. for nearly 40 years

The New US Order

The NBC network reported that a federal operation to arrest undocumented immigrants this week netted nearly 500 people in cities and states that have openly opposed the Trump administration's deportation initiatives.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said Thursday that its four-day "Operation Safe City" targeted people in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Denver, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore as well as Cook County, Illinois, Santa Clara County in California's Bay Area, Portland, Oregon, and Massachusetts.

"Sanctuary jurisdictions that do not honor detainers or allow us access to jails and prisons are shielding criminal aliens from immigration enforcement and creating a magnet for illegal immigration," Tom Homan, ICE's acting director, said in a statement. "As a result, ICE is forced to dedicate more resources to conduct at-large arrests in these communities."

At first the Department of Homeland Security scrapped the operation after the agency said it was halting nationwide enforcement actions in the wake of hurricanes Irma and Harvey.

This latest effort indicates the administration is ready to renew its efforts.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has warned cities that supporting sanctuary policies could cause them to lose millions in federal grants — particularly if they don't help the federal government deport suspected undocumented immigrants already being held in jails. 

EU-Digest

 Icy temperatures across Europe have left more than 20 people dead and blanketed even the Greek islands and southern Italy in snow.

Italy saw ferries and flights cancelled and schools in the south are expected to close on Monday.

Turkey has also been badly affected. The Bosphorus was closed to shipping as a heavy snowstorm hit Istanbul.

At least 10 people died of cold in Poland. Night temperatures in Russia plunged to minus 30C.

Normally milder Greece has witnessed temperatures of minus 15C in the north where an Afghan migrant died of cold last week and roads were closed.

Read more:n Deadly icy spell grips much of Europe, including Greek islands - BBC News

In case you have not heard of your ICE number (In Case Of Emergency)  this might be of importance.

Since most of us carry cell phones also please include in your phone telephone directory an ICE number. This is an internationally recognized emergency identification symbol known to global emergency services/ambulances/police/hospitals,  as to who needs to be called if you are in a critical emergency situation and need to have a  family or friend alerted. 

With your ICE number listed on your phone the emergency services do not need to do any guess-work as to who to contact if you get involved in an emergency or life threatening situation. 

It will take you only a few minutes to put your ICE number in your cell phone but could save you and your loved ones lots of trauma.

EU-Digest