Category: Immigration

ICE Detains 500+ Babies, Toddlers Under Trump

Since Trump’s return to office in January 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has detained at least 500 babies and toddlers, with an average of 25 children aged 3 and under held in custody daily between January 2025 and March 2026. This represents a tenfold increase from the Biden administration, when fewer than three infants and toddlers were detained on an average day. The data comes from analysis by The Marshall Project and analysis of records obtained by the Deportation Data Project, a group of academics and lawyers tracking federal immigration detention.

Between Trump’s second inauguration and March 2026, ICE held at least 175 babies and toddlers for periods exceeding the federally mandated 20-day limit established by the 1997 Flores v. Reno settlement governing child detention conditions. During the final year of the Biden administration, no children aged 3 or younger were held beyond this 20-day threshold. Trump restarted family detention practices and reopened the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas, the primary facility used to detain families with children, shortly after retaking office.

Parents report severe conditions inside facilities, including forced separation from spouses, inadequate nutrition, and substandard medical care. A 2-year-old named Kaleth stopped eating for 12 days after being separated from his father during incarceration; facility doctors attributed this to depression. A 1-year-old named Amir experienced developmental regression, stopped speaking beyond two words, and suffered from forced weaning off formula by facility staff. A 1-year-old named Amalia developed pneumonia, bronchitis, RSV, and COVID-19 while detained, with her oxygen levels dropping to dangerously low levels before she was transferred to an outside hospital. Parents described inadequate water quality, insufficient formula preparation water, lack of sleep aids, and all-night lighting that prevented children from sleeping.

Elora Mukherjee, a Columbia Law School professor who has represented more than 80 children and parents detained at Dilley in the past year, stated that nearly all recent clients complained about poor medical care. Marsha Griffin, a pediatrics professor and co-founder of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Council on Immigrant Child and Family Health, described infancy and toddlerhood as “probably the most harmful time of their lives to have them in detention,” saying “our immigration system is breaking children.” Rahil Briggs, a psychologist at Zero to Three, noted that missed developmental windows in early childhood create cascading deficits that are harder to overcome later. A court filing from lawyers for detained children called ICE’s claims about facility conditions “fanciful.”

While some detained children including Kaleth, Amir, and Amalia have since been released and show signs of recovery, experts warn the long-term neurological and psychological damage from prolonged toxic stress and institutional abuse will persist across hundreds of infants and toddlers incarcerated during this period. Trump’s DHS has systematically removed safeguards that previously protected migrant children, creating conditions that developmental experts describe as profoundly damaging during the most critical window for human brain development.



(Source: https://www.ms.now/news/trump-ice-detention-dilley-kids-immigration)

Trump Files 52 Denaturalization Cases, Double Biden’s Four-Year Total

The Trump administration has filed 52 civil complaints to denaturalize naturalized citizens since taking office in 2025, more than double the 24 complaints filed during President Biden’s entire four-year term. The Justice Department announced Monday that it is moving to strip 17 naturalized individuals of their citizenship after they were convicted of crimes including sex offenses and drug dealing, framing the action as enforcing a “zero-tolerance policy” for what officials describe as abuse of the naturalization process.

To denaturalize a citizen not born in the U.S., the Justice Department must file a court notice and prove the individual misled the government by failing to disclose prior crimes during citizenship proceedings. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that “criminal aliens” who exploit naturalization by breaking the law face consequences, characterizing gaining U.S. citizenship as a privilege that can be forfeited through dishonesty in immigration proceedings. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin declared the administration would “use every lawful avenue to denaturalize and remove aliens” who he claimed have “exploited our generosity and gamed our immigration system.”

The acceleration in denaturalization cases reflects a significant shift in enforcement priorities, with the Trump administration pursuing citizenship revocation at a pace substantially exceeding the previous administration. The cases involve individuals convicted of crimes ranging from sexual offenses to drug trafficking, each requiring separate court filings and proof of fraud in the naturalization process. The administration has extended its focus toward people who have already become legal citizens, targeting those deemed to have misrepresented their backgrounds.

Officials have repeatedly warned that naturalized citizens who commit crimes could face denaturalization proceedings, establishing the administration’s intent to use citizenship status as a consequential penalty alongside criminal conviction. The Justice Department’s stated rationale emphasizes protecting American citizens from what it characterizes as criminals who obtained citizenship through deception, though the dramatic increase in filings signals an expanded interpretation of what constitutes grounds for revocation. The timeline for individual cases remains dependent on particular courts handling the denaturalization notices.(Source: https://abcnews.com/Politics/trump-moved-denaturalize-citizens-entire-biden-admin/story?id=133690815)

DHS Threatens to Halt International Flights in Sanctuary Cities

The Trump Administration is developing plans to halt international flight processing at airports located in sanctuary cities, according to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. Speaking on Fox News in May 2026, Mullin stated the Administration is "currently drawing up plans" for the effort, framing it as retaliation against cities where local officials restrict cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Mullin claimed that sanctuary cities cannot simultaneously refuse to enforce immigration laws while expecting the federal government to process international flights at their airports.

Mullin's threat targets major transportation hubs across the country. Airports potentially affected include New York's JFK, Los Angeles International, Newark Liberty, Chicago O'Hare, and San Francisco International, all among the busiest U.S. gateways for international travel. The Justice Department previously released a list identifying sanctuary cities, counties, and states as having policies restricting federal immigration enforcement cooperation. Mullin has previously suggested reducing Customs and Border Protection staffing at airports in these jurisdictions and met with airline and travel industry executives to discuss implementing such cuts.

The plan would inflict severe economic damage on communities across the country, regardless of political affiliation. According to Juliette Kayyam, a former DHS official under President Barack Obama, international flights cannot be diverted to alternative airports and would instead be cancelled entirely, disrupting both Democratic and Republican voters and causing substantial airline losses. Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, characterized the proposal as "actively insane," warning that mass flight cancellations would generate economic chaos far beyond the targeted cities.

This threat represents the latest attempt by Trump to punish Democratic-led jurisdictions for disagreeing with his immigration agenda. The effort parallels earlier announcements to withhold federal funding from sanctuary states and cities, reflecting a broader pattern of weaponizing federal resources against political opponents. On his first day in office, Trump signed an Executive Order directing the Attorney General and Homeland Security Secretary to ensure sanctuary cities lose access to federal funds, establishing the framework for escalating punitive measures.

The proposal demonstrates Trump's willingness to weaponize federal authority against cities and states that oppose his policies, causing collateral damage to millions of citizens and the economy itself. By threatening to disrupt critical infrastructure serving both supporters and opponents alike, the Administration is deploying federal power as a tool of political retaliation rather than governance, undermining the principle that federal benefits and services should serve all Americans regardless of their city's immigration policies.

(Source: https://time.com/article/2026/05/27/dhs-international-flight-processing-sanctuary-city-airports-mullin/)

Trump Admin Shuts Detention Watchdog, Eliminates Abuse Oversight

The Department of Homeland Security closed the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, the agency responsible for investigating abuse and misconduct in immigration detention facilities. The office removed all public signage, shut down its website that helped detainees’ families file complaints, and ended inspections. DHS claimed Congress failed to fund the office in the recent appropriations bill, though the bill text contains no requirement for the closure.

Adam Isaacson of the Washington Office on Latin America stated the closure violates federal law because Congress established the office in 2019 and only Congress can eliminate it. The ombudsman’s office likely retained sufficient funding from previous appropriations to continue operating. Isaacson characterized the closure as part of a deliberate strategy to make detention conditions as severe as possible, forcing immigrants to abandon legal cases rather than endure confinement.

The Trump administration had already gutted the office’s capacity, reducing staff from over one hundred at the start of 2024 to five people by March 2025, even as immigration detention facilities more than doubled. Over 30 people died in ICE custody last year, the deadliest year since 2004, and 18 deaths have already been reported in 2025. DHS officials have explicitly stated that detention conditions are intentionally brutal to incentivize “self-deportation,” with one spokesperson telling HuffPost in March that “being in detention is a choice.”

The ombudsman’s closure removes a critical check on detention abuse as immigration detention capacity surged to a record 73,000 people earlier this year, though recent numbers decreased slightly to approximately 60,000. Isaacson described the move as part of a “larger strategy” to coerce immigrants into abandoning asylum and immigration proceedings through deliberate suffering and the threat of indefinite confinement in the worst possible conditions.

(Source: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/immigration-detention-ombudsman-closure_n_69f8facee4b0115dd7bf98e5?ref=bffbhuffpost&ncid_tag=fcbklnkushpmg00000063&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&utm_campaign=us_main&d_id=11876884&fbclid=IwdGRjcARmzqVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEegPZQZVDRQoU8W0yMSsnkoSSsuT41cjzDBJyuDSR7EwDlQjmRjZonRxEws14_aem_wPy4NATdr6sslO9XelMVAA)

DHS Allocates $7.5M for Smart Glasses Immigration Surveillance

The Department of Homeland Security plans to spend $7.5 million developing “smart glasses” equipped with real-time biometric identification capabilities to help agents identify migrants in the field, according to documents reviewed by NewsNation. The proposal, included in the Trump administration’s fiscal year 2027 budget, targets completion of a working prototype by the first quarter of next year and aims to enhance what officials describe as enforcement and removal operations.

The budget justification explicitly states the technology would facilitate “efficient and effective immigration enforcement, removal operations and fulfillment of executive orders and administrative priorities while ensuring public safety and operational excellence.” This language reflects the administration’s broader push to allocate substantial resources toward migration enforcement, with the smart glasses representing a technological expansion of surveillance and identification capabilities at immigration checkpoints and in the field.

A DHS spokesperson told The Independent that “no funds have been committed to any form of ‘smart glasses'” as of Friday, claiming the Science and Technology Directorate is still in assessment stages with privacy offices and legal counsel. However, DHS agents have already been documented wearing personal pairs of Meta’s AI-enabled smart glasses in at least six states since Trump took office, with some agents using them to record and photograph members of the public, according to a prior Independent investigation.

The proposed smart glasses initiative coincides with Meta’s development of facial recognition features for its devices, which the New York Times reported in February would enable users to identify individuals and allow Meta’s AI assistant to provide information about them. This convergence of private technology development and government enforcement spending raises significant questions about surveillance infrastructure and data sharing between tech companies and federal agencies.

(Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/homeland-security-smart-glasses-development-b2964680.html)

Trump ICE Detention Crisis Forces Federal Judges to Issue Sanctions

Federal judges across California are confronting a crisis in immigration detention created by the Trump administration’s mandatory detention policy. Since July 2025, the Department of Homeland Security has ordered all arrested immigrants held without bond, a dramatic expansion from the previous policy that applied only to those caught at the border. This change followed Trump’s signing of a spending bill allocating $45 billion to expand federal immigrant detention facilities.

The surge in detentions has overwhelmed California’s federal courts, particularly the Eastern District, which received over 2,700 habeas corpus petitions since January 2026 compared to fewer than 500 the previous year. Chief Judge Troy Nunley declared a judicial emergency in the district and sanctioned a Department of Justice attorney $250 for repeatedly violating court orders to release detained immigrants. Many detainees are longtime U.S. residents with no criminal records who were arrested during routine immigration check-ins, including an Afghan who supported American military efforts and a Cambodian grandmother who fled the Khmer Rouge.

Habeas corpus petitions, once reserved for death row inmates and suspected terrorists, have become the only recourse for immigrants seeking release. Judge Nunley stated that “the majority of the cases that we see are cases where people should not be detained” and emphasized that detainees are entitled to the same due process protections as any other person. However, some government lawyers have argued that the Fifth Amendment does not apply to detained immigrants, contradicting constitutional guarantees of due process.

The Trump administration’s policy has created procedural chaos across federal districts. Judge Sunshine Sykes of California’s Central District issued a decision describing the administration’s enforcement as inflicting “terror against noncitizens,” though the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked her order requiring bond hearings. Federal judges unprepared for the volume of immigration cases are working nights to process emergency motions, while government attorneys claim they are overwhelmed by more than 300 cases assigned in three months.

Nationwide, nearly a quarter of approximately 30,000 active habeas petitions are filed in California courts, with half concentrated in Nunley’s Eastern District. Legal experts anticipate the dispute over mandatory detention will reach the Supreme Court as challenges progress through multiple appellate circuits. Judges across the country have expressed frustration that the Trump administration’s enforcement blitz has created a system that denies detainees the opportunity to gather evidence or consult with lawyers while forcing them to file emergency constitutional petitions instead of receiving standard bond hearings.

(Source: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-04-19/trump-doj-habeas-corpus-immigration-detention)

Trump Posts Jesus-Like Picture of Himself Amid Pope Leo Feud

President Donald Trump posted an artificial intelligence-generated image depicting himself as Jesus Christ performing a miraculous healing on a sick man, complete with religious iconography including a glowing hand, American flags, the Statue of Liberty, fighter jets, and angelic soldiers. The image also featured a praying woman, a person in what appears to be an Immigration and Customs Enforcement uniform, and a nurse observing Trump’s supposed miracle work in a hospital setting.

Trump posted the image approximately 40 minutes after launching a hostile attack on Pope Leo XIV over the pontiff’s criticism of the Iran war. Trump branded the pope “WEAK” on crime and nuclear weapons, calling him “terrible” on foreign policy. Trump also attacked the pope’s brother, Louis Prevost, claiming he preferred him because Prevost was “all MAGA,” demonstrating Trump’s weaponization of family members to escalate conflicts.

The pope’s criticism stemmed from Trump’s threats to obliterate “a whole civilization” in Iran if its leadership refused to make a deal, which the pontiff called “truly unacceptable.” Pope Leo XIV subsequently declared that “God does not bless any conflict.” The pope had previously denounced the Trump administration’s “extremely disrespectful” treatment of undocumented immigrants, establishing a pattern of moral opposition to Trump’s policies.

When speaking to reporters at Air Force One on Sunday evening, Trump doubled down on his attacks, stating “We don’t like a pope that’s going to say it’s okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon” and describing Pope Leo XIV as “a very liberal person” who “doesn’t believe in stopping crime.” Trump’s messaging contradicted the pope’s actual position on nuclear proliferation while mischaracterizing the pontiff’s humanitarian stances.

The AI-generated image and accompanying tirade reflect Trump’s pattern of appropriating religious imagery and language to reinforce a messianic narrative among his supporters, while simultaneously attacking religious figures who challenge his military and immigration policies. The juxtaposition of the image with the pope attack demonstrated Trump’s weaponization of faith rhetoric to delegitimize moral opposition to his authoritarian actions.

(Source: https://www.mediaite.com/politics/trump-posts-jesus-like-picture-of-himself-performing-miracle-on-sick-man-minutes-after-ramping-up-feud-with-pope-leo/)

Miller Pushes States to Strip Education Rights from Undocumented

Stephen Miller, Trump’s senior immigration adviser, is orchestrating a campaign to dismantle the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment by encouraging Republican-led states to deny public education funding to undocumented children. Miller raised this idea in a closed-door meeting with Texas lawmakers in Washington, citing congressional gridlock as justification for state-level action that would challenge the 1982 Supreme Court precedent in Plyler v. Doe, which mandated free public education for undocumented children as a constitutional right.

If enacted, Miller’s proposal would classify approximately one million children as members of a subordinate class excluded from mainstream society. As Justice William Brennan wrote in the Plyler decision, denying these children basic education forecloses their ability to contribute to the nation’s progress and violates the 14th Amendment’s guarantee that “The 14th Amendment to the Constitution is not confined to the protection of citizens.” Miller’s strategy aims to use state legislation as a testing ground to weaken federal constitutional protections, encouraging other Republican states and federal lawmakers to follow suit.

Miller’s assault on the 14th Amendment extends beyond education policy and represents a broader assault on the constitutional protections established after the Civil War. The 14th Amendment was designed as a political text to ensure equal protection and citizenship rights for all people, directly extending the prohibitions of the 13th Amendment against slavery and involuntary servitude. Miller’s crusade against immigration and his efforts to strip constitutional protections from vulnerable populations reveal an intent to fundamentally reshape American democracy by dismantling the legal and political framework designed to prevent the creation of subordinate classes.

(Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/28/opinion/stephen-miller-birthright-citizenship-14th-amendment.html)

Trump Admits ICE Raids Toxic, Plans Quieter Deportations

President Trump has privately acknowledged to his wife Melania and top aides, including White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, that brutal Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids have become politically toxic ahead of midterm elections, according to The Wall Street Journal. The admission follows high-profile ICE operations that resulted in federal agents fatally shooting American citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in January, incidents that Wiles believes have poisoned voter attitudes toward immigration enforcement and the term “mass deportation.”

Trump is planning to shift tactics by reducing visible ICE operations in Democratic-leaning cities such as Minneapolis, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., and focusing instead on arresting individuals he characterizes as “bad guys.” Arrests have declined from over 1,500 daily to approximately 1,200, according to sources cited by the Journal. Despite these reported plans, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson denied any policy changes, claiming Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda remains unchanged and that approximately 3 million immigrants have left the United States through forced or self-deportation.

Senator Markwayne Mullin, Trump’s nominee to replace Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, told the Senate Homeland Security Committee that his primary goal is to remove the department from daily news coverage within six months. Mullin, a former MMA fighter and plumber with no immigration enforcement background, acknowledged his lack of expertise in the field. Border Czar Tom Homan confirmed Mullin’s inexperience, stating the nominee would rely on career experts to guide policy decisions despite having minimal knowledge of immigration operations.

The shift reflects Trump’s concern that mass deportation rhetoric and violent ICE operations damage Republican electoral prospects rather than any genuine commitment to protecting immigrants or respecting due process. Trump’s private concessions to Melania and advisers demonstrate that political calculation, not principle, drives his approach to immigration policy. The administration continues to describe its deportation operations as targeting criminals while obscuring the human cost of its enforcement agenda.

(Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-makes-shock-private-admission-042229444.html)

Trump DHS Order Targets Tens of Thousands Legal Refugees

The Trump administration issued a sweeping Department of Homeland Security order requiring that tens of thousands of lawfully present refugees return to federal custody one year after admission to the United States for green card application review, potentially enabling mass detention of refugees who fled persecution. The memo, filed ahead of a Thursday federal court hearing in Minnesota, states DHS “may maintain custody for the duration of the inspection and examination process,” directly contradicting established legal protections refugees have received under prior administrations and upending longstanding immigration safeguards that have governed refugee resettlement for decades.

Advocacy and resettlement organizations condemned the order as unlawful detention of people the U.S. government itself admitted legally. HIAS, an international Jewish nonprofit serving refugees, stated the policy constitutes “a transparent effort to detain and potentially deport thousands of people who are legally present in this country,” after those refugees were promised safety and the opportunity to rebuild their lives. Democratic U.S. Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota declared the government “failed to offer any coherent argument for their policy in either law or fact,” while U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar joined refugee rights supporters opposing the measure at a courthouse news conference.

The order represents the latest escalation in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown targeting Minnesota, which included Operation PARRIS, a “sweeping initiative” purportedly to reexamine 5,600 Minnesota refugees without permanent resident status. Federal agents conducted door-to-door arrests, sending refugees to detention centers in Texas without access to attorneys, with some later abandoned in Texas to find their own way home. U.S. District Judge John Tunheim blocked the government from targeting Minnesota refugees in January, ruling the plaintiffs were likely to prevail on claims that “their arrest and detention, and the policy that purports to justify them, are unlawful,” and noting refugees undergo extensive vetting by multiple agencies before resettlement and none arrested had been deemed dangerous or charged with deportable crimes.

Judge Tunheim previously rejected the government’s legal rationale as producing illogical results, writing that mandating detention would be “nonsensical” since refugees cannot apply for green cards until one year after U.S. arrival, making nearly all refugees subject to detention under the administration’s interpretation. Trump’s broader immigration restrictions have suspended green card approvals for refugees admitted during the Biden years and dramatically reduced the number of refugees admitted to the country, citing national security and economic concerns despite expert consensus that refugees undergo rigorous background screening before entry.

The new order applies nationally but was filed specifically before Minnesota federal court arguments on whether Judge Tunheim’s temporary protective order for Minnesota refugees would be extended beyond its February 25 expiration date. Justice Department attorney Brantley Mayers indicated the government would have discretion whether to arrest refugees at the one year mark, a claim met with skepticism by refugee attorneys and legal observers monitoring whether the courts would tolerate mass preventive detention of legally admitted refugees facing no criminal charges or flight risk.

(Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/judge-weighs-extending-protections-refugees-050548010.html)

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