Yamil J. Colón-Rodríguez
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yamiljcolon.bsky.social
Yamil J. Colón-Rodríguez
@yamiljcolon.bsky.social
260 followers 310 following 6 posts
Assistant Professor in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Notre Dame. Interested in computational materials discovery and design.
Born and raised in Puerto Rico.
https://www.computationalnano.org/
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Reposted by Yamil J. Colón-Rodríguez
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
Update: my friend was quoted by @thecity.nyc as he waited to find out what happened.

It's two days later and he has no idea where his client is. She was detained on Wednesday morning at a check-in. She's not in the ICE Detainee Locator, and when he's called ICE they refuse to tell him where she is.
11: 45 a.m.: Attorney Dave Wilkins is pacing around outside the building. Earlier in the day he accompanied a client into the basement office but was soon kicked out by a site supervisor. “I haven’t been able to figure out physically where my client is or what they plan to do with my client,” he says, adding that he hadn’t heard from her in about two hours.
June 6, 2025 at 3:28 PM
yamiljcolon.bsky.social
Proud of this #NSFFunded through my #CAREER program and our #BroaderImpacts. We partnered with the Center for STEM Education and Center for Broader Impacts from University of Notre Dame.
The World of Artificial Intelligence Curriculum Package_Final_STEM Teacher Residency_2024-25.pdf
drive.google.com
June 5, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Reposted by Yamil J. Colón-Rodríguez
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
🚨According to litigators, ICE just put a dozen men on a flight (which may have already taken off) to SOUTH SUDAN, a country on the brink of civil war, in direct defiance of a court order requiring ICE to give people an opportunity to raise objections before being sent to a country not their own.
Last night N.M.’s attorneys were notified that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) intended to remove him to South Sudan. See Exhibit 1, Declaration of Jacqueline Brown, Exhibit D (email to counsel); Exhibit E (notice provided to N.M.). N.M., a Burmese national with limited English proficiency, refused to sign the notice of removal to South Sudan which was provided to him only in English. Id. This morning, they learned from a detention officer via email that N.M. was removed this same morning to South Sudan. Exhibit F. As with the motion for temporary restraining order that Plaintiffs filed not even two weeks ago, on May 7th, Dkt. 89, and which this Court agreed ought to not be necessary, Dkt. 91 at 1, this motion should also not be required as it blatantly defies this Court’s PI to remove class members without a reasonable fear screening and a 15-day opportunity to submit a motion to reopen after any negative reasonable fear determination. Earlier this morning, class counsel received notification of a second class member, T.T.P., a national of Vietnam, who appears to have suffered the same fate as N.M., as well as information that there were likely at least 10 other class members on the plane to South Sudan. See Aldana Madrid Decl., Exhibit A.
May 20, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Reposted by Yamil J. Colón-Rodríguez
science.org
Exclusive: National Science Foundation staff were told today that the agency’s 37 divisions—across all eight directorates—are being abolished and the number of programs within those divisions will be drastically reduced.
Exclusive: NSF faces radical shake-up as officials abolish its 37 divisions
Changes seen as a response to presidential directives on what research to fund
scim.ag
May 8, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Reposted by Yamil J. Colón-Rodríguez
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
The new Pope didn't tweet once in 2024. In 2025, he's posted 5 times, in which he:

- Criticized JD Vance's views on Catholicism and Jesus
- Posted an article opposing Trump's immigration policies
- Retweeted twice about the Pope's health
- Retweeted a criticism of Trump & Bukele's laughter at KAG.
Robert Prevost reposted Rocco Palmo @roccopalmo · Apr 14 As Trump & Bukele use Oval to 🤣 Feds’ illicit deportation of a US resident (https://bit.ly/3ROMjnP), once an undoc-ed Salvadorean himself, now-DC Aux +Evelio asks, “Do you not see the suffering? Is your conscience not disturbed? How can you stay quiet?” https://bit.ly/4j700KN Robert Prevost reposted Synod.va @Synod_va · Feb 25 We continue praying together the Holy Rosary for the health of #PopeFrancis this evening at 9 PM in St. Peter’s Square, The prayer today will be presided over by His Eminence Cardinal Louis Antonio Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization. #pope #PopeFrancis Robert Prevost reposted Synod.va @Synod_va · Feb 15 #PrayForThePope #GoodNews: The Holy See Press Office has announced that Pope Francis' health is improving. Let us pray together for his full recovery @franciscus Be strong, We are looking forward to seeing you again soon at St. Peter's Square. #WeLoveOurPope Robert Prevost @drprevost · Feb 13 Pope Francis’ letter, JD Vance’s ‘ordo amoris’ and what the Gospel asks of all of us on immigration From americamagazine.org Robert Prevost @drprevost · Feb 3 JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others https://ncronline.org/node/292716 via @NCRonline
May 8, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Reposted by Yamil J. Colón-Rodríguez
brucearthur.bsky.social
New Pope has a Twitter account and this was the last thing he sent
May 8, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Reposted by Yamil J. Colón-Rodríguez
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
NEW: A SECOND story was released today of a Venezuelan man disappeared by the Trump admin. Neiyerver Leon is a barber who entered legally seeking asylum in June 2023. ICE arrested him on March 13 and accused him of being in TdA.

Days later, he vanished off the face of the earth.
Leon Rengel was briefly held at East Hidalgo Detention Center, a private facility in La Villa, Texas, used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Then — nothing. His alien number, a way to track his whereabouts, vanished two days later from ICE’s online system. He disappeared. ICE agents told Gutierrez her boyfriend had been deported to his home country. But the family has searched in Venezuela, and he isn’t there, she said. “I’ve been to the ICE office. I’ve contacted the FBI. The DEA. Everyone told me the same thing: He was deported,” Gutierrez said. “But where to? He never arrived in Venezuela.” It’s possible that the Trump administration deported Leon Rengel to a mega-prison in El Salvador, where hundreds of other Venezuelans were sent last month — but there is no official record to confirm it.
April 22, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Reposted by Yamil J. Colón-Rodríguez
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
NEW: A federal judge in Massachusetts grants a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from deporting people to third countries without telling them where they're going and allowing them to raise fears of persecution or torture.

The opening lays out the stakes.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER ON PLAINTIFFS’ MOTIONS FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION AND PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION MURPHY, J. This case presents a simple question: before the United States forcibly sends someone to a country other than their country of origin, must that person be told where they are going and be given a chance to tell the United States that they might be killed if sent there? Defendants argue that the United States may send a deportable alien to a country not of their origin, not where an immigration judge has ordered, where they may be immediately tortured and killed, without providing that person any opportunity to tell the deporting authorities that they face grave danger or death because of such a deportation. All nine sitting justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1 the Assistant Solicitor General of the United States, 2 Congress, 3 common sense,4 basic decency, and this Court all disagree. Plaintiffs are seeking a limited and measured remedy—one Defendants have conceded in other proceedings is the minimum that comports with due process. 5 Plaintiffs are simply asking to be told they are going to be deported to a new country before they are taken to such a country, and be given an opportunity to explain why such a deportation will likely result in their persecution, torture, and/or death. This small modicum of process is mandated by the Constitution of the United States, and for this reason, the motion for class certification is GRANTED, and the motion for preliminary injunction is GRANTED in part.
April 18, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Reposted by Yamil J. Colón-Rodríguez
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
We already know of over 1,000 student visa terminations. The true number is likely significantly higher. Very few have anything to do with pro-Palestinian advocacy. The overwhelming majority seem to be the result of automated terminations for any contact with law enforcement, no matter how minor.
kreighbaum.bsky.social Andrew Kreighbaum @kreighbaum.bsky.social · Apr 15
There are specific regulatory and procedural requirements to end a student’s legal status, attorneys say.

But the basis for the vast majority of terminations—including traffic violations and other misdemeanor issues—wouldn’t meet them, they say. And students aren’t getting a chance to respond.
Lawsuits Over Foreign Students’ Status Find Solid Legal Footing
The Trump administration lacks regulatory authority to terminate foreign students’ lawful status in the US, immigration attorneys said about litigation over the government’s unprecedented crackdown.
news.bloomberglaw.com
April 15, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Reposted by Yamil J. Colón-Rodríguez
deliamilliron.bsky.social
Useful info for those mystified (and angered) by the student status terminations hitting international students at campuses across the US.
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · Apr 15
We already know of over 1,000 student visa terminations. The true number is likely significantly higher. Very few have anything to do with pro-Palestinian advocacy. The overwhelming majority seem to be the result of automated terminations for any contact with law enforcement, no matter how minor.
kreighbaum.bsky.social Andrew Kreighbaum @kreighbaum.bsky.social · Apr 15
There are specific regulatory and procedural requirements to end a student’s legal status, attorneys say.

But the basis for the vast majority of terminations—including traffic violations and other misdemeanor issues—wouldn’t meet them, they say. And students aren’t getting a chance to respond.
April 15, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Reposted by Yamil J. Colón-Rodríguez
joshuajfriedman.com
NEW: Kilmar Abrego Garcia's attys tell Judge Xinis that to accept the Trump admin's position would be to render the Supreme Court's order a nullity. "The Government should at least be required to request the release of Abrego Garcia." storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
PLAINTIFFS' REPLY IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR ADDITIONAL RELIEF The Government contends that the term "facilitate" is limited to "remov[ing] any domestic obstacles that would otherwise impede the alien's ability to return here." ECF No. 65 at 3 (emphasis in original). Not so. The Supreme Court ordered the Government "to "facilitate' Abrego Garcia's release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador." Noem v. Abrego Garcia, 604 U.S. — 2025 WL 1077101, at *1 (Apr. 10, 2025) (emphasis added). That order is rendered null if construed solely to require removing "domestic obstacles." To give any meaning to the Supreme Court's order, the Government should at least be required to request the release of Abrego Garcia. Id. To date, the Government has not done so. Contrary to the Government's assertion that it lacks "authority" to take any such actions, ECF No. 65 at 5, its own ICE Policy Directive requires DHS supervisors to "fully coordinate at the ... international... level[!" to facilitate the return of removed individuals.' The Secretary of State announced that the Government delivered an additional ten detainees to El Salvador on Saturday? That involved all three of the actions that the Government contends the courts cannot order: "i) mak[ing] demands of the El Salvadoran government (A1), (ii) dispatch[ing] personnel onto the soil of an independent, sovereign nation (A2), and (iii) send[ing] an aircraft into the airspace of a sovereign foreign nation... (A3)." ECF No. 65 at 4. The Government holds contractual rights to send prisoners to its "contract facility," where the United States has "outsourced" part of its prison system, and it holds "the power to secure and transport [its] detainees, Abrego Garcia included." ECF No. 31 at 11-12. It can exercise those same contractual rights to request their release, as the detainees are being held "pending the United States' decision on [their] long term disposition." Id. at 6. Since this Court's April 10 order on remand, clarifying that the Government is required to "take all available steps to facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia to the United States as soon as possible," ECF No. 51 at 1, and this Court's April 11 order requiring daily updates, ECF No. 61 at 2, the Government's updates do not indicate that any steps have been taken to comply with this Court's and the Supreme Court's orders, ECF Nos. 63, 64, 74. There is no evidence that anyone has requested the release of Abrego Garcia.
April 15, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Reposted by Yamil J. Colón-Rodríguez
nkalamb.bsky.social
One of hundreds of people abducted by ICE and sold to slavery in El Salvador was a 19 year old with no criminal record in the US or Venezuela and no tattoos of any kind.

An ICE kidnapper who grabbed him outside his house said, "He's not the one."

The other said, "Take him anyway."

So they did.
Wilmer only found out his son had been detained after receiving a phone call on March 15 from his nephew, Luis, who lives with them. That morning was their last time together; they had gone around the corner to do their laundry. Later that day, Wilmer said that his son met with a friend to get help with some errands at the American Red Cross. He learned this from Luis, who looked at the situation from inside the apartment: when his son was on his way back, just steps from his home when ICE agents stopped him. “The officers grabbed him and two other boys right at the entrance to our building. One said, ‘No, he’s not the one,’ like they were looking for someone else. But the other said, ‘Take him anyway.'” That moment marked the beginning of Wilmer’s search for answers — answers he’s still waiting for.
April 14, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Reposted by Yamil J. Colón-Rodríguez
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
NEW: @aclu.org obtained ICE's "Alien Enemies Act Validation Guide," confirming all it takes to be sent to rot in prison in El Salvador is being Venezuelan and 1) having a tattoo an ICE officer says is a "gang tattoo" and 2) displaying "logos," "symbols" or clothes an ICE officer says are gang signs.
ALIEN ENEMIES ACT: ALIEN ENEMY VALIDATION GUIDE In the case of: ________________________________ A-File No:__________________ 1. The person named above is fourteen years or older: 2. The person named above is not a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States: 3. The person named above is a citizen of Venezuela: If any of these three requirements are not satisfied, the person named above shall not be ordered removed under the Alien Enemies Act (AEA). In such a case, you should consult your supervisor and the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and, where applicable, initiate removal proceedings under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). 4. The person named above is validated as a member of Tren de Aragua (TDA), as determined by reference to the following evaluation form: Instructions: Complete the following validation evaluation form for each suspected alien targeted for removal under the AEA, or, following apprehension, for each alien potentially subject to an AEA removal. After accounting for the two comments below, aliens scoring 8 points and higher are validated as members of TDA; you should proceed with issuing Form AEA-21B, titled, “Notice and Warrant of Apprehension and Removal under the Alien Enemies Act.” Aliens scoring 6 or 7 points may be validated as members of TDA; you should consult with a supervisor and OPLA, reviewing the totality of the facts, before making that determination; if you determine an alien should not be validated at this time as a member of TDA, when available, you should initiate removal proceedings under the INA. Alien scoring 5 points or less should not be validated at this time as member of TDA; when available, you should initiate removal proceedings under the INA. The following alt-text is excerpted of a larger checklist, as the whole page doesn't fit within alt-text character limits. Comment 2: For purposes of validating an alien as a member of TDA, at least one scoring category must involve conduct occurring, or information received, within the past five years. Valuation Explanation Category Definition Explanation Points Judicial Outcomes and Official Documents a. Subject has been convicted of violating Title 18, United States Code, Section 521 or any other federal or state law criminalizing or imposing civil penalties for activity related to TDA 10 b. Court records (e.g., indictments, criminal complaints, sentencing memorandums) identifying the subject as a member of TDA, describing specific activity of TDA 5 Self-Admission a. Subject self-identifies as a member or associate of TDA verbally or in writing to law enforcement officer, even if that self identification to a law enforcement officer is unwitting, e.g., through lawful interception of communications. 10 Criminal Conduct and Information a. Subject participates in criminal activity (e.g., narcotics trafficking, human smuggling, etc.) with other members of TDA, including preparatory meetings and significant incidents directly attributed to TDA 6 b. Law enforcement or intelligence reporting identifying subject as a member of TDA, to include Bureau of Prisons validations and reliable foreign partner information. 4 c. Credible testimonies/statements from victims, community members, or informants that affirm the subject’s membership in or allegiance to TDA. 3 d. Detailed open-source media (e.g., newspapers, investigative journalism reports) that describe arrest, prosecution, or operations of a subject as a member of TDA 2 e. Subject conducts and/or facilitates business with TDA (e.g., money laundering, mule, service provider) 2 Documents and Communications Final page: Association a. Surveillance documentation that a subject is frequently observed closely associating with known leaders and members of TDA 2 b. Subject part of group photos with two or more known members of TDA 2 c. Subject presently resides with known members of TDA 2 Total Points VALIDATION DETERMINATION Note: If any of the four requirements are not satisfied, do not complete this validation determination. Based on the validation guide and instructions above, including Comments 1 and 2, I find that the person named above, _______________________________________________: 1. Is fourteen years or older; 2. Is not a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States; 3. Is a citizen of Venezuela; and 4. Is a member of Tren de Aragua. Accordingly, the above-named person is validated as an Alien Enemy. _____________________ _________________________ __________________ Name of Agent/officer Signature of agent/officer Date completing the form completing the form ______________________ _________________________ ____________________ Name of Supervisor Signature of Supervisor Date
March 30, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Reposted by Yamil J. Colón-Rodríguez
minakimes.bsky.social
A beautiful peace of writing.
March 29, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Reposted by Yamil J. Colón-Rodríguez
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
Given the distance, plane. "ICE Air" currently has (I believe) 13 aircraft through contracts with private air charters, the largest of which is a subsidiary of private prison co. GEO Group. They do removal flights or internal transfers. Every day, they shuttle hundreds of people around the country.
March 26, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Reposted by Yamil J. Colón-Rodríguez
acs.org
Professor Nicholas Jackson, at UIUC, works on problems at the interface of soft materials, quantum mechanics, and machine learning, with specific interests in the development of coarse-grained electronic structure methods, conjugated materials theory, and sustainable polymer design.
March 13, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Reposted by Yamil J. Colón-Rodríguez
aaup.org
"Institutions, inside & outside higher ed, might want to think carefully about their stance of self-protective silence in the face of a government that covets the unchecked power of authoritarianism. Anything could be the next Columbia in the ongoing quest to scare us all straight."
hankreichman.bsky.social Hank Reichman @hankreichman.bsky.social · Mar 10
". . . it is not, in any real sense, about Columbia. Neither is it about antisemitism or free speech. It is not even at its root about education." www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
The attempt to destroy Columbia (opinion)
The Trump administration has the symbolic fight it wants, Brian Rosenberg writes.
www.insidehighered.com
March 11, 2025 at 12:48 AM
Reposted by Yamil J. Colón-Rodríguez
esqueer.net
I need y'all to sit with this headline and understand what is being done to our community. They're trying to criminalize our very existence.

This is a campaign of eradication.

www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/rcna...
"A screenshot of an NBC News article headline. The headline reads: 'Texas bill would make identifying as transgender a felony punishable by jail.' Below the headline, a subtext states: 'The bill, while unlikely to pass, highlights the increasing extremism of legislation targeting trans people, especially in Texas, in recent years.' The NBC News logo is visible at the top, along with a navigation bar that includes a 'WATCH' button and a user profile icon."
March 10, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Reposted by Yamil J. Colón-Rodríguez
davidsirota.com
The insurance companies that dropped homeowners' fire coverage in California are simultaneously offering coverage to fossil fuel companies that are creating the climate-crisis conditions for ever larger and more destructive wildfires.
“What If I Can’t Insure My Home At All?”
Insurance companies are leaving homeowners at the mercy of climate catastrophes they helped create.
buff.ly
January 8, 2025 at 2:59 PM
yamiljcolon.bsky.social
Hi everyone! I'm an Assist. prof. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Notre Dame. My group does computational materials discovery and design for various applications using molecular modeling and machine learning. Excited to see everyone's research on this platform!
November 13, 2024 at 5:16 PM