Revealed: ICE violates its own policy by holding people in secretive rooms for days or weeks

Guardian analysis finds ICE increasingly keeps people in holding rooms with little oversight, as some facilities see a 600% rise in detention length José Olivares and Will Craft Thu 30 Oct 2025 07.00 EDT Share US immigration officials have been increasingly detaining people in small, secretive holding facilities for days or even weeks at a time in violation of federal policy, a Guardian investigation has found. These holding facilities – located at ICE offices, in federal buildings and other locations around the country – are typically used to detain people after they have been arrested but before they are transferred or released. In many cases, they consist of small concrete rooms with no beds and are designed to only be used for a few hours. Previously, ICE was prohibited by its own internal policies from detaining people for longer than 12 hours in these holding facilities. But in a June memo, the agency waived the 12-hour rule, saying people recently arrested by ICE can be detained in the holding rooms for up to three days. There is extremely limited oversight of ICE holding facilities nationwide, leading to concern among advocates about unknown troubling conditions inside. The Guardian analyzed data on ICE holding facility book-ins, first published by the Deportation Data Project, that cover a period from September 2023 until late July of this year, the most recent month for which it is available. The Guardian’s analysis found that: ICE has used at least 170 ICE holding facilities nationwide, including at 25 ICE field offices. The Trump administration and its campaign of mass deportation has led to a near across the board increase in the time people are forced to spend in detention in holding rooms. After Donald Trump’s inauguration, the average time that people spend in detention increased at 127 hold rooms across the country. Despite ICE’s rule change in June, the agency is continuing to violate its own policy by detaining people at these sites for multiple days at a time. In some cases, such as a New York City holding facility located on the 10th floor of a federal building in downtown Manhattan, time in detention increased by nearly 600% on average after the June rule change. In one case the Guardian discovered by looking through agency data, ICE documented that a 62-year-old man was held inside that same New York City holding facility for two and a half months. The Guardian also found an additional 63 people at the site who were held there for longer than one week, between Trump’s inauguration and late July. Across the country, ICE has been criticized for its use of holding facilities, which are not subjected to traditional audits, inspections and general oversight that larger ICE detention centers are required to face. Now, advocates and former ICE officials are sounding the alarm that their extended use puts people in unsafe conditions, raises the risk of abuse and medical neglect, and violates due process rights. The facilities are secretive and face minimal oversight, and detainees have very little contact with family members or attorneys. The Guardian sent a detailed request for comment to the DHS and ICE. ICE responded by requesting an extension to the deadline in order to provide the Guardian “the information needed to ensure a factual story”. Despite that communication, neither the DHS nor ICE provided a comment in time for publication. In various instances, including in court records and when members of Congress have attempted to visit holding facilities, homeland security officials have said holding rooms are not detention centers, so they are not subjected to the same kind of scrutiny as other ICE facilities. In August, the DHS secretary, Kristi Noem, said ICE does not detain immigrants in field offices, some of which contain holding facilities, and instead say they are offices where people are processed. However, former agency officials with extensive knowledge of conditions inside holding facilities have expressed concern at their prolonged use. “People were not supposed to spend more than 12 hours in there,” said a former ICE official, who worked on oversight and detention issues and who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation by the Trump administration. “I actually think it’s wildly, wildly fucked up.” The former official said that the risk of people experiencing sexual abuse or assault while in a holding room – either from ICE staff or fellow detainees – increases the longer they are held. “You’re just putting them all in there with minimal oversight,” the former official added. An overcrowded system People are typically taken to holding facilities after being arrested by ICE or its partner agencies, or while they are awaiting transfer to courts, detention centers or other detention spaces. As arrests surge amid the Trump administration’s widespread immigration crackdown, officials are continuing to skirt the law by detaining people for longer than legally allowed in holding facilities. Officials are arresting more people, leading to a backlog of people to process, while they increasingly rely on the network of holding facilities. A backlogged court system and overfilled detention centers mean people are being held here longer and longer. masked men hold a family in an elevator View image in fullscreen Federal immigration officers detain a family after departing from their hearing at immigration court in New York on 22 October 2025. Photograph: David Dee Delgado/Reuters A data analysis from the Guardian shows that in major holding facilities throughout the country, immigration officials were already detaining people for multiple days at a time even before the memo was signed. Advocates say ICE’s June policy change was made in an effort to move the legal goalposts and lessen any potential ramifications from the agency’s nationwide crisis of overcapacity at holding facilities, as officials have rounded up hundreds of thousands of people in its dragnet. Language in the ICE memo supports that claim, reading that the rule was changed in order to “avoid violation of holding facility standards and requirements”, among other reasons. Despite the rule change, however, court records, interviews and arrest data show ICE has been detaining people for longer than the three-day limit, in violation of its new policy. In the New York City holding facility, for example, located on the 10th floor of a federal building in downtown Manhattan, the average time of people detained in the hold rooms increased by nearly 600% after the June memo was signed. The ICE official who signed the memo, which was first included as an attachment in a federal court filing in a New York-based lawsuit against ICE, justified the policy change by pointing to the major increase in immigration-related arrests by the Trump administration. “This is ICE trying to give themselves a buffer to keep holding people in conditions they know are unsafe,” said Amelia Dagen, a senior attorney with the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights. “They are giving themselves an ‘out’, legally, through the waiver.” A lack of oversight and troubling conditions ICE’s holding facilities have come under increased scrutiny this year, as the Trump administration aggressively escalates immigration enforcement operations. While larger immigration detention facilities are subject to oversight mechanisms, holding facilities are not because they are supposed to only be used for limited time. Attorneys are not allowed into the holding facilities; ICE’s detention standards do not apply to them; it is unknown whether homeland security watchdog agencies, like the inspector general’s office, conduct site audits at the holding facilities; and some members of Congress, who have attempted to enter the facilities to conduct congressionally mandated inspections, have been prevented from doing so because ICE says they are not traditional detention centers. ICE has conducted sexual assault audits in holding facilities in the past, but has not published a single audit since late 2024. The DHS inspector general’s office did not respond to a request for comment. “There is a total lack of oversight,” said Paige Austin, supervising litigation attorney at Make the Road New York, a non-profit organization that sued ICE for its use of the New York City holding facility. “The lack of communication and lack of access to counsel for people in these sites is a way of preventing oversight, transparency and accountability.” Austin added that when Make the Road New York and other organizations sued ICE, the agency did not acknowledge any oversight taking place in holding facilities. a man in a suit walks past masked federal agents View image in fullscreen Representative Dan Goldman walks past federal immigration officers waiting for respondents to depart from their hearings to conduct targeted detainments at immigration court in New York on 23 October 2025. Photograph: David Dee Delgado/Reuters Holding facilities throughout the country, used to detain men, women and children, are designed only to temporarily detain people while they process their arrest. The rooms are in many cases small, concrete-only spaces with benches, sinks and toilets lacking privacy, where multiple people are detained at once. People detained have complained of lights being constantly on, depriving them of sleep. They also have extremely limited contact with the outside world, including with attorneys and family members. There is a shocking lack of oversight and ICE has put forward its own inconsistent statements about conditions, but news reports, court records and leaked videos have offered some troubling glimpses into these facilities. In June, the Guardian reported on a Los Angeles ICE holding facility in a building’s basement, where people, including families with children, were held for days with little food or water. A recent report from the Times of San Diego said people had been held inside an ICE holding facility in the basement of a courthouse. And a story from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution alleged people have been held for long periods of time inside an ICE holding facility in the basement of the agency’s own offices. Few external observers have seen conditions inside holding facilities, but in July, the New York Immigrant Coalition published a video from inside the New York City holding facility that had been surreptitiously recorded by a detained man. The video showed more than 20 people in a brightly lit room, standing around, lying on the concrete floor or sitting on concrete benches with foil blankets. Two toilets are seen in the video, partitioned from the rest of the room by a short wall. Footage reveals harsh conditions inside Ice’s New York City confinement centre – video 0:52 Footage reveals harsh conditions inside Ice’s New York City confinement centre – video According to court declarations reviewed by the Guardian in a New York-based federal lawsuit against ICE, people have been held at the New York City holding facility for multiple days at a time. One person was held there for five days, another for eight, another for 10 and one person for more than two weeks. “We spoke with multiple people who had been in there for more than a week, more than 10 days – in the same clothes, not having bathed and no access to toothbrushes,” said Austin. In mid-September, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to improve conditions for detained migrants at the holding facility. ICE began providing sleeping mats, three meals and toothbrushes in response to the court’s order, according to Austin. The judge also required that people detained by ICE be given the opportunity to consult with their attorneys. ‘A problem of ICE’s own making’ In Baltimore, a similar case is playing out in the Maryland federal court. Located on the sixth floor of the George H Fallon federal building, the Baltimore holding facility has five cells, total, with the three largest cells having the capacity to detain up to 35 people each. It has faced accusations of medical neglect and overcrowding, according to a lawsuit filed in a Maryland federal court. The Trump administration attempted to dismiss that lawsuit by saying that the detained immigrants who sued had already been transferred out, so the Maryland federal court had no legal jurisdiction. According to Dagen, who is on the legal team litigating the Baltimore holding facility lawsuit against ICE, attorneys are particularly concerned about medical care in the facility. “We have found out – through the course of this litigation – that there is no one who is a licensed medical practitioner, in any way shape or form,” Dagen said. “No nurse, no doctor on-site to assess people for the need to go to the hospital if they are having some sort of medical issue.” In response to public criticism, ICE in mid-March began providing air mattresses to detained immigrants in Baltimore. However, court records hint at inconsistent statements from ICE: during litigation, ICE officials told the court that they were providing pre-made and ready-to-eat meals to detained immigrants inside the holding rooms. But when attorneys received a first batch of discovery documents from ICE as part of their lawsuit, they discovered supermarket receipts instead. ICE, attorneys speculate, had been making sandwiches for detained people, not the full, ready-to-eat meals like they had originally claimed. closeup of a hand holding a sign that reads ‘keep ice out of Baltimore’ View image in fullscreen Demonstrators gather outside of the George H Fallon federal building on 18 March 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. Photograph: Michael A McCoy for The Washington Post via Getty Images Due to heightened pressure on ICE, members of Congress throughout the country have attempted to enter ICE field offices with holding facilities. After much prodding, some members of Congress have been able to visit select holding facilities including the one in Baltimore. But according to a separate lawsuit filed against ICE in Washington DC, lawmakers have been denied entry into the New York City, Los Angeles, Santa Ana and Washington ICE field offices for oversight inspections. Those facilities all detain people recently arrested by ICE. The government shutdown is further preventing congressional oversight into holding facilities. Recent court filings by the Trump administration say that due to the lapse in federal funding, a certain oversight rule has been overridden, preventing members of Congress from inspecting holding and ICE detention centers overall. This is a problem of “ICE’s own making”, Dagen added. “They are imposing their own arrest quotas on themselves that are unrealistic and absolutely arbitrary, and then trying to meet those quotas, while fully knowing they don’t have the ability to hold people in conditions that are safe and constitutional.” For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

Shake-up at ICE will boost immigration numbers — just not the ones that matter most to Trump

The Trump administration’s leadership shake-up at Immigration and Customs Enforcement is likely to boost arrest numbers and fuel its aggressive messaging campaign, but will have little effect on President Donald Trump’s broader goal of rapidly deporting more immigrants, according to five people, including Trump administration officials, people close to the administration and former ICE officials. The Department of Homeland Security is installing Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection officials at a number of ICE field offices Trump officials feel are underperforming, part of a broader effort to boost arrest numbers across the country. 00:02 02:00 Read More Border Patrol’s expanded role is expected to funnel thousands of more arrests to ICE for processing, but the agency’s ability to remove people from the country remains hamstrung by limited bed capacity, bogged down immigration courts and too few planes for removal flights. “Border Patrol just wants to go out and arrest every person in the world, and it’s easy for them to do that because they go out and arrest them and they turn them over to ICE,” said an administration official, granted anonymity to speak candidly. “You’re giving ICE all of these cases that aren’t ready to be removed. And that creates a challenge for ICE.” The dynamic highlights a tension at the center of the president’s second term immigration agenda. Trump officials are eager to ramp up arrests and removals, but continually run up against resource and operational challenges amid an overloaded deportation system. The Trump administration has seen historic lows for illegal border crossings, and roughly 60,000 migrants are currently in ICE detention, a major increase since the president took office. The number of daily arrests peaked at more than 2,000 but typically hover around 1,000 — far less than the 3,000-a-day target floated earlier this year by White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. But even Trump allies continue to question the administration’s deportation figures — citing limited data transparency — and say removals can’t keep up with the pace of arrests, a problem that’s bound to expand. “That is the fundamental challenge,” said a person close to the Trump administration, also granted anonymity to speak candidly. “The real backlog is with the removal process.” The GOP megabill, signed by Trump in July, provided DHS with billions of dollars in fresh funding to bolster ICE’s ranks and expand detention capacity, but the build-out process has been slow and ICE has struggled with its hiring. The money has helped, but it hasn’t yet been able to square the mismatch between the White House’s large appetite for better numbers and ICE’s expanding but still limited capabilities. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson defended the administration’s progress and said the president’s “entire team is working in lockstep to implement the president’s policy agenda.” “The tremendous results from securing the border to deporting criminal illegal aliens speak for themselves,” she said. But there is significant friction among the Trump administration’s top immigration officials. Even as they share the same goal, they differ on the best way to accomplish the president’s promises to deport millions of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, said the administration official and others close to the administration. Border czar Tom Homan and acting ICE director Todd Lyons, two career immigration enforcement officials, are more cognizant of the agency’s limitations as it expands and are focused on apprehending criminals and immigrants who already have a final order of removal from an immigration judge and can be deported quickly, said an administration official and the two people close to the administration. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski, a chief adviser to Noem and a special governmental employee, want to ramp up numbers and are eager to use aggressive tactics to arrest all unauthorized immigrants, the people said. “It seems to me that [Lewandowski’s] thinking in political terms, whereas, Tom and Todd, I know they’re thinking in operational terms — the operational benefits to doing this, and public safety benefits and safety of ICE officers,” said the person close to the administration. “They didn’t get where they are without understanding the political aspect of it, but that’s not their primary concern.” DHS did not specifically respond to the notion that there are differing opinions inside the administration, but DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, responding to reports of internal tensions, said it’s “one team, one fight,” led by Noem. In a separate statement to POLITICO, she said the administration is working at “turbospeed on cost-effective and innovative ways” to deliver on mass deportations, citing the megabill that provided DHS funding to hire more ICE officers and expand detention capacity. “The Trump Administration is on pace to shatter historic records and deport nearly 600,000 illegal aliens by the end of President Donald Trump’s first year since returning to office,” she said. “More than 2 million illegal aliens have left the U.S. including 1.6 million who have voluntarily self-deported and over 527,000 deportations.” The administration’s latest shift is connected to Greg Bovino, the Border Patrol commander who has led a series of aggressive raids across Chicago and its suburbs, said the official and one of the people close to the administration. Noem and her inner circle are impressed with Bovino’s approach. He has emerged as the key face of the Trump administration’s immigration blitz in sanctuary cities and was ordered by a federal judge this week to report to her daily after reports of combative enforcement in Chicago, including the use of tear gas. Watch: The Conversation Play Video1:46 Will Rep. Jasmine Crockett run for senate? “Border Patrol, as a general matter, is more equipped and better skilled at playing the political game,” said the administration official. “This very much shows how Border Patrol can get in front of DHS leadership and get them to do things that benefit the Border Patrol.” The efforts build on the Trump administration’s expanded use of CBP agents and Border Patrol officers, as well as law enforcement officials from across the federal government to support ICE’s operations in recent months. Border Patrol, in particular, is a more aggressive agency, and its expanded role will help the administration stoke fear in its targeting of blue cities, said Deborah Fleischaker, who served as ICE chief of staff under the Biden administration. “Border Patrol and ICE have different missions, and this appears to be part of the effort of trying to import the Border Patrol mission, which is much more militarized, much less constrained and a little more Wild West, and bring that into an agency that historically has been very focused on identifying and enforcing against specific targets,” she said. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.

JD Vance calls for reduction in legal immigration at Turning Point event

Vice President JD Vance advocated a slowdown in legal immigration Wednesday, saying, “We have to get the overall numbers way, way down.” Vance took questions from students at the University of Mississippi at an event organized by Turning Point USA, stepping into the role of debater that was so often performed by the organization’s slain founder, Charlie Kirk. Vance said the optimal number of legal immigrants to admit is “far less than what we’ve been accepting,” but he did not offer a firm number when pressed by a woman who questioned his stance. He criticized former President Joe Biden’s immigration policies, which he said allowed too many people into the country and threatened the social fabric of the United States. “When something like that happens, you’ve got to allow your own society to cohere a little bit, to build a sense of common identity, for all the newcomers — the ones who are going to stay — to assimilate into American culture,” Vance said. “Until you do that, you’ve got to be careful about any additional immigration, in my view.” Vance also spoke forcefully about avoiding American deaths in “unnecessary foreign conflicts,” touting President Donald Trump’s Middle East diplomacy and the strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, even as the U.S. steps up military pressure on Venezuela and strikes boats that the Trump administrations says are transporting drugs. Asked whether Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to Democratic-led cities will lead to a future president using that government power against conservatives, he said his allies shouldn’t be worried about Trump’s exercise of executive power. He justified Trump’s targeting of his political enemies by pointing to his arrest during Biden’s administration. He was charged with illegally keeping classified documents after his first term and attempting to subvert the 2020 election he lost, but the charges were dismissed after he was elected to his second term a year ago. “We cannot be afraid to do something because the left might do it in the future,” Vance said. “The left is already going to do it regardless of whether we do it.” Vance was introduced by Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, in one of her first public appearances since she took over her husband’s role leading Turning Point. “Being on campus right now, for me, is a spiritual reclaiming of territory,” she said, reflecting on Kirk’s love of visiting universities and his mission to move campuses to the right. Wearing a white “freedom” shirt like the one her husband wore when he was shot, Erika Kirk urged young Christian conservatives to courageously fight for their beliefs and not fear the social consequences. “If you’re worried about losing a friend—I lost my friend,” she said. “I lost my best friend.” For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.

Trump administration to reassign ICE officials in bid to intensify deportation campaign

The Trump administration is staging a major shake-up at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with plans to reassign senior leaders in agency offices across the country amid frustrations over current arrest and deportation levels, two sources familiar with the changes told CBS News on Monday. One U.S. official, who requested anonymity to talk about internal matters, said as many as roughly a dozen local ICE leaders could be reassigned, with some expected to be replaced by current or former officials at Customs and Border Protection, its sister Department of Homeland Security agency. Some of those ICE officials have already been informed of their reassignments, the official added. The planned shake-up at ICE would be a major leadership overhaul, affecting roughly half of the agency's 25 field offices. In most cases, the field office directors won't be demoted or fired, said two U.S. officials, who described the plan as a way to give certain ICE offices additional support. The Trump administration has increasingly turned to CBP and Border Patrol officials like Commander Gregory Bovino to expand its government-wide crackdown on illegal immigration, deploying them to apprehend unauthorized immigrants far away from the U.S.-Mexico border, in Democratic-led cities like Chicago and Los Angeles. Operations by green-uniformed Border Patrol agents in those cities — including arrests at Home Depot parking lots and worksites like car washes — have triggered significant local backlash, with critics accusing the agents of being heavy-handed and arresting immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally but without criminal records. In a statement to CBS News, DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said, "While we have no personnel changes to announce at this time, the Trump Administration remains laser focused on delivering results and removing violent criminal illegal aliens from this country." Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, said, "The President's entire team is working in lockstep to implement the President's policy agenda, and the tremendous results from securing the border to deporting criminal illegal aliens speak for themselves." The Washington Examiner reported on the reassignments earlier Monday. Internally, U.S. officials tell CBS News, some ICE leaders have been frustrated with Border Patrol's operations in cities — and the opposition they have garnered from local residents. While the Trump administration has made anyone in the U.S. illegally who is encountered by federal officials subject to arrest, ICE says its operations have continued to primarily target immigrants who have committed crimes in addition to being in the country unlawfully. "We're arresting criminals, while they are going to Home Depots and car washes," one U.S. official told CBS News, referring to Border Patrol agents. Some inside the Trump administration, however, see Border Patrol officials as better equipped to carry out the aggressive and expansive operations needed to reach the ambitious arrest targets set by the White House. In the spring, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, the architect of President Trump's mass deportation plans, suggested on Fox News that ICE should be carrying out "a minimum" of 3,000 arrests per day. ICE officials have not met that target. While they have peaked above 2,000 on some days, arrests by the agency typically hover over 1,000 each day. As of this week, ICE had carried out more than 260,000 arrests under the second Trump administration, or an average of approximately 900 per day, according to internal agency data obtained by CBS News. In less than a year, the Trump administration has shuffled ICE's leadership several times. Caleb Vitello, the first official tapped to lead ICE under the second Trump administration, was reassigned in February and replaced by longtime agency veteran Todd Lyons, who continues to serve as acting director. Previous heads of ICE's deportation unit, Enforcement and Removal Operations, and its investigative branch, Homeland Security Investigations, have also been replaced in recent months. ICE has not had a Senate-confirmed director since early 2017, under the Obama administration. Jennifer Jacobs contributed to this report. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.

Miguel fears shift toward totalitarianism, slams Trump immigration crackdown

NEW YORK — Miguel is speaking out about the current administration. The R&B singer-songwriter returned with a new album, "Caos" (out now), and a passionate perspective about the "scary" state of politics. Miguel's embrace of his Mexican heritage musically, with multiple songs on "Caos" written and sung in Spanish, has coincided with the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, including mass deportations and expansion of ICE detention centers. "It was like a 'Twilight Zone'," Miguel recalls of Trump's first term as president, which was "an execution of divisiveness on a stage like the presidency" that "actually inspired people to be outspoken about maybe what they were holding close to their chest in terms of how they felt about their fellow citizens … (or) about people of other ethnicities and religious beliefs." Miguel is 'not a perfect person' and made sure that showed in new album, 'Caos' Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more! And "eight years later now … to see a more tangible execution of a sentiment that really touches on totalitarianism and a real control, to see it affect not just non-citizens, but actual citizens – it's a scary time," Miguel says. Protests about United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions have popped up in his hometown of Los Angeles in recent months since Trump's second term began in January. Reneé Rapp pushes back on ICE, Trump at concert in Portland "It puts us at a real apex … because we have to make some really, really intentional decisions about what we allow and what we don't allow. "I'm not a politician. I don't pretend to be, I'm not a scholar in this way, but I know that we are born with a sense of what is right and wrong. And I would wager my career on the fact that most people are looking at what's happening and feel like something is not right." The "Adorn" singer also added his voice to the growing chorus of entertainers weighing in on fears of being "silenced," following criticism around Bad Bunny's selection as Super Bowl halftime show headliner and the cancellation and temporary suspension of late-night hosts Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel, respectively. Miguel says, "It's important when we see talent being silenced in the way that we have, and then also seeing how (with) capitalism, decisions change when the money is affected. We have to take note of those things and look at where the power is and how to actually change things in the direction that we want it to go." For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.

How Hispanics’ views of Trump have changed since January, according to a new AP-NORC poll

President Donald Trump’s favorability has fallen among Hispanic adults since the beginning of the year, a new AP-NORC poll shows, a potential warning sign from a key constituency that helped secure his victory in the 2024 election. The October survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that 25% of Hispanic adults have a “somewhat” or “very” favorable view of Trump, down from 44% in an AP-NORC poll conducted just before the Republican took office for the second time. The percentage of Hispanic adults who say the country is going in the wrong direction has also increased slightly over the past few months, from 63% in March to 73% now. The shift could spell trouble for Republicans looking to cement support with this group in future elections. Many Hispanic voters were motivated by economic concerns in last year’s election, and the new poll shows that despite Trump’s promises of economic revitalization, Hispanic adults continue to feel higher financial stress than Americans overall. Hispanic voters made up 10% of the electorate in 2024, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of interviews with registered voters, and the number of eligible Hispanic voters has been growing rapidly in recent decades. Alejandro Ochoa, 30, is a warehouse worker in Adelanto, California. He identifies as a Republican and voted for Trump last year, but he’s now unhappy with the president. He criticized some of Trump’s budget cuts, adding that the cost of groceries is too high and buying a home is still unattainable for him. “He was kind of relying on essentially the nostalgia of, ‘Hey, remember, before COVID? Things weren’t as expensive,’” Ochoa said. “But now it’s like, OK, you’re in office. I’m still getting done dirty at the grocery store. I’m still spending an insane amount of money. I’m trying to cut corners where I can, but that bill is still insanely expensive.” Declining approval on economy and immigration Hispanic voters shifted toward Trump in the last election, though a majority still backed Democrat Kamala Harris: 43% of Hispanic voters nationally voted for Trump, according to AP VoteCast, up from 35% in the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. But the poll now finds that Hispanic adults are slightly less likely to approve of Trump’s handling of the economy and immigration — two issues that were major strengths for him in last year’s presidential campaign — and their views of his overall presidential performance have slipped a little as well. In March, 41% of Hispanic adults approved of the way Trump was handling his job as president, but now that has fallen to 27%. Over the past few months, Hispanic communities have also been a target of the president’s hard-line immigration tactics. The poll found that Hispanic adults’ approval of his handling of immigration has declined slightly since March. Some see the two issues as linked. Trump’s attacks on immigration have affected low-wage and high-skilled workers alike, at a moment when the economy is already uncertain because of his erratic trade policies. Fel Echandi, of Winter Haven, Florida, is a behavioral specialist who identifies as a Democrat but sometimes votes for Republican candidates. He said he appreciates Trump’s views on transgender issues, including restroom access for transgender women. But he’s concerned that Trump’s immigration policies leave many people living in fear, with negative effects on the economy. “A lot of people rely on immigrants to do labor in certain areas,” Echandi said. “When that gets affected, all prices go up. Our food costs more because of the costs to get people to do that work.” The poll found particularly high levels of financial stress among Hispanic adults, compared with the rest of the country. More Hispanics say the cost of groceries, housing and health care and the amount of money they get paid are “major” sources of stress, compared with U.S. adults overall. Favorability among Hispanic Republicans drops slightly Views of Trump have even soured a little among Hispanic Republicans. In the latest poll, 66% of Hispanic Republicans said they have a “very” or “somewhat” favorable view of Trump. That’s a slight shift compared with where Trump stood in an AP-NORC poll from September 2024, when 83% of Hispanic Republicans viewed him at least “somewhat” favorably. About 8 in 10 white Republicans had a favorable view of Trump in the new poll, which was unchanged from the year before. In another potentially worrying sign for the president, younger Hispanics and Hispanic men — two groups that swung particularly dramatically toward him in last year’s election — also see him a bit more negatively. About two-thirds of Hispanic adults under age 45 and Hispanic men now view Trump unfavorably, according to the new poll. That’s a slight uptick from September 2024, when about half in both groups had a negative opinion of him. Other concerns about Trump’s chaotic second term emerged in interviews. Teresa Covarrubias, a 65-year-old retired schoolteacher from Los Angeles, feels things are going in the wrong direction and said she was troubled by how some of Trump’s actions have defied norms and may impact social safety net programs. “My major concern is the disregard for the Constitution and the law, and then also the level of cronyism,” said Covarrubias, who is an independent voter. “The people at the top are just grifting and taking, and then there’s the rest of us.” Hispanic adults are more likely to prioritize immigration There are signs in the poll that Trump’s tough immigration approach may be alienating some Hispanic adults. Over the past few months, the president has doubled down on his pledge of mass deportations, with escalating crackdowns in Latino neighborhoods in cities including Chicago. The poll found that, in general, Hispanic adults are more likely to say immigration is an important issue to them personally. About two-thirds of Hispanic adults prioritize immigration, compared with about 6 in 10 white adults and about half of Black adults. And although their views on immigration enforcement aren’t uniform, Hispanic adults are much less likely than U.S. adults overall to favor deporting all immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. About one-quarter of Hispanic adults support this policy, the new poll found, while roughly half of them are opposed and the rest don’t have an opinion. Among U.S. adults overall, about 4 in 10 favor deporting all immigrants in the U.S. illegally, while 34% are opposed and about 2 in 10 don’t have an opinion. Rick Alvarado, 63, a Republican who lives in San Diego, says he still supports Trump and praised his actions to cut public spending. Alvarado, a property manager, is behind Trump’s immigration crackdown in cities including Los Angeles and Chicago, saying he believes some immigrants are involved in organized crime. But he added that he would like to see a solution for those without criminal records to obtain legal residency status. “The people who are productive should have a pathway to stay here somehow,” Alvarado said. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.

As Trump cracks down, faith groups step up for immigrants: ‘What has happened to our heart?’

Catholic parishioners rushed to deliver food boxes to immigrants too terrified to leave their homes in the California city of Coachella after federal immigration agents swept through Latino neighborhoods during the summer. Just south of Arizona’s border in Nogales, Mexico, Catholic nuns, laypeople and volunteers at the Kino Border Initiative, despite rising threats against aid workers, cook and serve two meals daily for immigrants who have been deported or lost their chances at US asylum in Donald Trump’s crackdown. And in El Paso, Texas, about three dozen people from an interfaith group routinely gather outside a federal building to pray for immigrant families. The volunteers monitor immigration court hearings held inside. If their cases are denied, as most are, many immigrants face detention by US immigration agents waiting in adjacent hallways. “Catholic social teaching is on the side of the immigrant,” explained the Rev Raymond Riding, a Catholic missionary in Tucson, Arizona, who has been ministering to relatives of detained immigrants. US cities along the south-west border offer lessons to cities like Chicago, Portland and New York City on how to respond to the immigration dragnet by supporting immigrant families and protecting against what Pope Leo XIV, who was born in Chicago, called “inhuman” treatment of immigrants. Pope Leo, who was elected in May to succeed Francis, has said immigrants should be treated with dignity and respect and has called mass deportations “a major crisis”. a woman pours a drink from a pitcher into a cup for three people seated at a table View image in fullscreen Victoria Mendoza-Cardena, a student volunteer, serves breakfast at the Kino Border Initiative in Nogales, Mexico, in February. Photograph: Anita Snow Across the country, faith groups have formed a defense team for immigrants, at a time of rising pressures to remove them, and have essentially created an underground railroad of help to uphold church teachings. Some of these rapid response teams are very public. Others are not, noting the sharp risks, even dangers faced, over protecting immigrants. Some priests have been celebrating mass online for immigrants too scared to leave homes. Many were shocked by video that surfaced in early October that showed a Presbyterian pastor hit by a pepper ball in the head while protesting outside an Ice facility in a Chicago suburb. The incident involving Rev David Black stoked further drama when the Department of Homeland Security defended the action by calling protesters “agitators” who blocked an Ice vehicle, impeding operations. ‘Ice agents are doing the Lord’s work’ Asked on CNN’s State of the Union Sunday news program this month about the aggressive incident targeting the pastor, a journalist and residents, the US representative Jim Jordan, chair of the House judiciary committee, largely defended the moves. His committee oversees immigration policy, among other issues. “We’ll look into all this,” the Ohio Republican said. “But I think the Ice agents are doing the Lord’s work.” Some Catholics, notably JD Vance, support the immigration crackdown and have condemned US bishops for not backing the administration’s enforcement actions. The pope has held his ground. Recently, the pontiff said during a meeting with the United States conference of Catholic bishops that he wished the bishops were “stronger in their voice”. The El Paso bishop Mark Seitz, the chair of the committee on migration within the US conference of Catholic bishops, has long been an outspoken critic. The pope was moved when Seitz presented him letters and a video that captured the anxieties of people facing deportation, according to members of an El Paso delegation following the meeting in early October at the Vatican. “It’s so important that we as a church give a message of hope in the midst of these horrible struggles, what’s going on in so many cities in the United States right now. At least the church cannot be silent,” the pope told the El Paso delegation, according to a video of the meeting provided by the Hope Border Institute, whose leader attended the meeting. men in religious vestments speak View image in fullscreen Members of the Hope Border Institute and El Paso immigrant representatives were among those in the delegation to meet with Pope Leo XIV. Photograph: Courtesy of the Hope Border Institute Days after meeting with the pope, Seitz stood before union leaders, immigrant advocates, aid groups, political leaders and students and called on churches and non-profit groups along the border to stand up for poor people and immigrants. “What has happened to our heart?” he asked. “Today in the country and the world, I wonder whether we can even recognize our country, because we were founded on these principles and our Lady of Liberty has stood where so many of our immigrants have entered as a sign of hope, as a place of justice.” Parish pain Roman Catholicism remains the largest faith among US Latinos, the largest minority group targeted by immigration agents. The deportation crisis has hit immigrants with force, traumatizing children and parents alike all along the heavily Latino US borderlands and beyond. “In some cases, it’s fear,” says the archbishop Gustavo García-Siller in San Antonio. “In many cases, it’s terror.” About 1.4 million immigrants have left the US since Trump returned to power, according to a new study from the Pew Research Center. The decline contrasts starkly with immigrant population increases over five decades. The dragnet first hit the Los Angeles region, sparking panic and protests. After immigrants were detained outside two parish churches in his diocese east of Los Angeles, the San Bernardino bishop Alberto Rojas spoke out. “I say once again to our immigrant communities who are bearing the trauma and injustice of these tactics that your Church walks with you and supports you,” Rojas said in a 23 June letter. “We join you in carrying this very difficult cross.” a stack of letters View image in fullscreen The delegation shared a video, letters and testimonies from immigrants and families facing deportation, expressing their fears and hopes amid current challenges in the US. Photograph: Courtesy of the Hope Border Institute Rojas has temporarily allowed people to skip Sunday mass because they’re afraid to go out. Some are living their faith in other ways. At Our Lady of Soledad parish in the southern California city of Coachella, parishioners and a community non-profit continue to make deliveries to immigrants wary of wandering outside. “There are still a lot of people who aren’t leaving home to buy groceries, they aren’t sending their children to school,” said Francisco Gómez, the parish priest. “The kids don’t want to go to school because they are afraid they’ll come home and Mom and Dad won’t be there.” In San Diego, the bishop Michael M Pham signaled his support in June by leading other clergy to local immigration courts. The first Vietnamese American US bishop, Pham fled Vietnam as a 13-year-old and was only recently named to his post by Pope Leo XIV. Dozens of clergy members and laity from several faith traditions have since shown up to attend court hearings as witnesses. From court monitoring to suicide prevention In Nogales, Mexico, which shares the border with an Arizona city of the same name, Catholic nuns, lay people and volunteers serve meals to immigrants at the Catholic-run Kino Border Initiative, which also has a shelter and legal and other services. Other faiths have joined the effort, of course. In El Paso, the Rev Marta Pumroy with the Tres Rios Presbyterian Border Foundation recently led dozens of people outside the federal building in song and prayer during an interfaith vigil. Some of the group then went inside to monitor immigration court proceedings. “Having people speak about it and watch it and witness it, [to] share those stories, starts restoring and building that humanity,” Pumroy said. One of them, Bonnie Daniels, said she attends the court hearings three or four times a week. She recently witnessed a man facing return to his native Venezuela who asked how to reach the top of the seven-story court building. He wanted to jump, she said. “Thankfully, the nuns talked him out of it,” Daniels said. people pray outside View image in fullscreen Volunteers gather every week for an interfaith prayer and vigil outside the federal building that houses immigration courtrooms in El Paso, Texas. Photograph: Angela Kocherga One of those nuns was Leticia Gutiérrez Valderrama, director of the El Paso diocese’s Migrant Hospitality Ministry. While desperation is rife, many with court hearings find strength in their faith, Gutiérrez said. “People don’t lose their faith,” she said. “On the contrary. They ask God to be with them as they make their court appearances.” Along with spiritual support, the nuns and other volunteers provide practical help to prepare families for what could happen. They ensure that relatives have the immigrants’ contacts and relevant documents and know how to find them if they are detained, Gutiérrez said. Another volunteer, Dee Anne Croucher, has witnessed the arrest of mothers with children. “Even when the mom breaks down crying and they’re taking her away and the children are all marching by her side,” Croucher said. “I don’t think they really understand what’s happening.” St Toribio Romo, immigrant protector? The El Paso first auxiliary bishop Anthony Celino recently stood under the high arches of St Patrick’s cathedral reading aloud scripture about welcoming the stranger. “As people of faith, we are facing this and similar dire situations caused by racism that has penetrated our culture and our public policies,” Celino told the gathering, incense thick in the air. “It’s as if our country is at war against the poor and the refugees. We cannot remain silent.” As the service ended, people were given cards, written in English and Spanish, explaining the constitutional rights of immigrants and how to respond to immigration agents if questioned. cards provide advice in English and Spanish View image in fullscreen Cards from Estrella del Paso, a non-profit ministry of the diocese of El Paso that provides free legal services to immigrants. Photograph: Alyda Muela In downtown Dallas, at the National Shrine Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the rector, Rev Jesús Belmontes, said he’s often asked by parishioners for letters attesting to the good character of immigrants held in detention. In the cathedral gift shop, among the many prayer cards for sale are some featuring Saint Toribio Romo, a Mexican priest who died in 1928 and is revered as a patron saint of immigrants. Some believe the canonized priest can render immigrants invisible to US agents. Belmontes said there’s nothing political about his support of immigrants. “This isn’t about being Republican or Democratic. This is justice,” Belmontes said. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.

Most Independents Believe The Trump Admin Is Mishandling Immigration And The Economy

Most independent Americans believe the Trump administration is mishandling immigration and the economy, according to a new poll. The survey, conducted by PRRI, showed that almost two thirds of independent respondents (65%) disagreed with the way in which the federal government and the economy are functioning. The figure for immigration clocked in at 57%, while that regarding the way the U.S. is dealing with other countries stood at 60%. Almost three in ten Republicans (29%) also disapproved of the first two questions, according to the poll, which surveyed more than 5,500 adults and has a margin of error of 1.79 percentage points. Axios noted that a recent AP-NORC poll also showed most Americans (69%) claiming the country is going in the wrong direction, and one from Gallup concluded that 67% of respondents are dissatisfied with the way in which things are going in the U.S. The PRRI poll noted in a passage of the survey that almost a quarter of Republicans (24%) believe the U.S. is heading in the wrong direction. It is still a lower figure than the 41% of Democrats who made the claim during Joe Biden's last year in office. PRRI CEO Melissa Deckman told Axios that it "looks like political independents are very unhappy with Trump's actions, [with] ... close to two-thirds on many indicators saying the administration has gone too far in its policies." She called it a "warning sign for the GOP ahead of the midterms." For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.

Mother speaks out after teen with disabilities mistakenly arrested in immigration raid

As the Trump administration intensifies its crackdown on immigration, an increasing number of U.S. citizens are finding themselves caught up in the sweeping actions. A recent investigation by ProPublica reveals that more than 170 American citizens have been detained by immigration agents during the first nine months of this push. Our own Liz Landers recently spoke with the mother of one of these individuals. Liz Landers: A 15-year-old boy with disabilities was handcuffed outside of a Los Angeles high school in August after federal immigration agents mistakenly identified him as a suspect. The boy was waiting in a car with his mother while his sister registered for classes inside. The family is suing the Trump administration, alleging racial profiling, false arrest and assault. Federal officials have denied any wrongdoing and say they were conducting a targeted operation. For more on what happened that day and why the family is taking legal action, we are now joined by Andreina Mejia, the boy's mother. Andreina, walk us through what happened that day. What happened when federal agents approached your car? Andreina Mejia, Mother of Detained American Child: I was on the phone, and something told me to look up, when I just seen this white truck approaching my car, and it looked like coming directly to me, where I'm like, oh, my God, did they lose control? Like, he's going to hit my car. And I just seen these two men get off from the front pointing their guns at me and my son, like, actually at our car. I had my window a little bit down. They just came one from my side, the other one from my son's side, and they just opened our doors. They took me out. They took my son out. All I remember me telling my son is like: "Don't make any movement. Just follow instructions," just because, in my mind, I'm like, OK, they're pointing guns. If they see my son trying to reach for something, I don't know if they're going to shoot. So I was trying to maintain him calm. And after that, I'm just seeing that they pulled him out. And I'm like: "What's going on?" The guy's like; "Oh, like, we're looking for somebody and your son fits that description." So, I’m like: "I mean, who are you guys looking for?" And they showed me a picture. And I'm like: "That's not my son. Like, my son is with me at all times." So, after that, they let my son come towards me. As my son was approaching me,he started crying and just hugged me. And I didn't really appreciate the comment that the guy did where he just called my son: "Oh, we confuse you with somebody else, but just look at the bright side. Like, you're going to have an exciting story to tell your friends when you go back to school." I just looked at him. And, as a mom, it hurt me, because I was just thinking, there's nothing exciting about getting guns pointed at you. Liz Landers: Walk me through what it was like to hear a law enforcement officer say to you and your child that you would have an exciting story to share after they had drawn their weapons towards you? Andreina Mejia: I was really upset just because, like I said, there's nothing exciting about that, and especially how can you be approaching somebody without first asking, oh, let me see an identification to see who you are? I mean, you just can't be targeting people just because, oh, you look like that person or because you guys got the same color skin. Yes, my son is a bit darker than me, but especially a minor. I mean, I'm the mom. You could approach me and be like, oh, we're looking for somebody. What's your son's name? I would have gave it to you. Liz Landers: How did your son react? And you have said that he is a student with disabilities. How did that shape how he understands what happened that day? Andreina Mejia: Hold on. I just hate talking about it, because I get all the emotional. Well, he completely doesn't understand. Like, the phase that he had of confusion, it was just like, I guess he was just trying to wrap his head on, like, what's going on? I mean, it's not an everyday thing that somebody just randomly gets guns pointed at them, like, especially when you're not doing anything. I was just trying to explain it to him to the best of my ability, just because I know, if somebody were to ask him something, he won't really understand what you guys are asking him. He has this thing where he always looks at me to try to be like, OK, mom, explain it to me in a way where I know I'm going to understand. Even though he's 15, his brain is pretty much kind of like a 8- or 9-year-old. Liz Landers: Customs and Border Protection said in a statement to the "News Hour" that — quote — "Agents were conducting a targeted operation on criminal illegal alien Cristian Alexander Vasquez-Alvarenga, a Salvadorian national and suspected MS-13 pledge with prior criminal convictions in the broader vicinity of Arleta." The administration here is denying wrongdoing and saying that this was simply a case of mistaken identity during a targeted operation. What is your response to that? Andreina Mejia: I mean, they're wrong for that because, number one, for my son being a special kid, where in their right mind do they think that he's going to be gang-affiliated? Second, it's, like I said, my son doesn't need my side. And that's for the same reason, because my son does not look his age. He looks older. I don't want people to be thinking, no, no, he's not certain age. He's an older person. Maybe she's lying. So for — when I heard that, that they were looking for this person and that he was apparently Salvadorian, I'm not — we're not Salvadorians. At this point, it's like, what now? Who's going to help my son deal with a situation where there's time still that it's hard for me as his mom to wake him up in the morning to go to school? Sometimes, he doesn't want to go to school. Sometimes, he has good days. Sometimes, he has bad days. Sometimes, he says he can't sleep. Right now is a little bit more calmer, but in the beginning, when it was recent, I would be driving and just like making sure he was OK and, out of nowhere, he would just get emotional. So I will pull over and I'm like: "What's going on?" And he's just like: "Oh, now I don't feel safe, because now I feel that whenever we're in the street, I have to look at my surroundings." Liz Landers: What message do you have for federal officials? Andreina Mejia: They just need to be more professional and not just target innocent people. All this that they're doing is unacceptable. And just I see all these different videos, and it breaks my heart, just because I'm like, what world are we living in now? Like, even to me that I go out and, even though I'm born here, I'm even scared sometimes to go, because I'm like, what about them mistaking me by somebody that doesn't have papers, and I tell them I do, and they don't care, and they still try to grab me in a way where they could hurt me? Liz Landers: You have filed a lawsuit. What is next for you in this incident? Andreina Mejia: I just want justice, and I just want them to take accountability for what they did, because, like I said, before all this happened, I feel that my son was a bit different. And now, with this whole situation, it's like I said. He has this good moment. He has this bad. And he just tells me like: "No, I don't want to go to school." And, oh, he's going to go to school. We're going to get through this. And me, as his mom and his protector, I mean, I'm always going to make sure that he's good. Liz Landers: Thank you so much for joining us today, for sharing your story and your son's story. We really appreciate it. Thank you. Andreina Mejia: Thank you. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/

ICE keeps detaining pregnant immigrants — against federal policy

Cary López Alvarado, of Hawthorne, California, was nine months pregnant when she was arrested by immigration officials alongside her husband, an immigrant from Guatemala. Alvarado was held overnight but was never sent to a detention facility: After taking her into custody, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) learned she was a U.S. citizen. Immediately after her release, she began to experience sharp pains in her stomach, according to a claim she filed against the federal government. She gave birth a few days later. Angie Rodriguez, an immigrant from Colombia, was taken into ICE custody following a routine check-in with immigration officials in July, and soon after found out she was pregnant. At the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center where she was held, Rodriguez could hardly bring herself to eat the small meals that the detention facility served because of how they looked and smelled, and her only other option was buying processed food like instant noodles and chips. The 19th thanks our sponsors. Become one. 970x250 Rodriguez went on to miscarry while in custody, according to a lawsuit she filed against the federal government. Antonia Aguilar Maldonano, a mother of two from El Salvador, was arrested by ICE on her way to work and detained at the Kandiyohi County Jail in Minnesota for almost a month. Her youngest child is 22 months old and still nursing; he has acid reflux and an allergy to other forms of milk. The jail was not equipped to house someone who was nursing, said Gloria Contreras Edin, her lawyer: It did not have a breast pump when Aguilar Maldonado arrived, forcing her to use her hands to massage milk out until the facility was able to buy a pump. Antonia Aguilar Maldonano poses for a picture with her two children. Antonia Aguilar Maldonano, a mother of two from El Salvador, was arrested by ICE on her way to work and detained at the Kandiyohi County Jail in Minnesota for almost a month. (Antonia Aguilar Maldonano) Lawyers successfully argued for her release on bond — $10,000, paid for by members of her church — while the government makes the case that she be deported. A Biden-era policy restricts ICE from arresting or detaining immigrants who are pregnant, postpartum or nursing, except in extreme circumstances. While President Donald Trump has not formally rescinded the policy, it’s clear from lawsuits, news reports and advocates for immigrants who are detained that it’s not being followed. Quantifying the exact number of pregnant, postpartum or nursing immigrants in custody has become impossible: This March, Congress let lapse a requirement that the administration report twice a year on how many of these immigrants are being held in immigration facilities. Since the fall of 2019, Congress had required the Department of Homeland Security to publicly report the count every six months and include “detailed justification” for every single detained immigrant who was pregnant, postpartum or nursing. ICE did not respond to The 19th’s request for this data. While the agency said in a statement in August that pregnant immigrants are receiving sufficient care in custody, medical professionals say the conditions in these facilities can heighten the risk for complications. Limited food can impact nutrition at a vulnerable time; access to medical appointments is spotty and often not aligned with standards of care; and pregnant, postpartum and nursing detainees also face the stress of arrest and separation from their families. The impact of arrests and detention In 2021, following public outcry against the first Trump administration’s immigration policies, the Biden administration directed ICE not to detain pregnant, postpartum or nursing people except in “exceptional circumstances” — they are a national security threat or pose immediate harm to themselves or other people. Those who are detained are supposed to be held in facilities suited to appropriate health care. ICE-employed medical professionals are supposed to provide weekly updates on those detainees to relevant agency directors. The ICE Health Service Corps is also supposed to keep consistent records of all pregnant, postpartum and nursing detainees, providing monthly updates to the organization’s leadership. Since returning to the White House, Trump has not formally rescinded that policy, but administration officials argued in court that he had done so implicitly through a sweeping anti-immigration executive order that supercharged immigration enforcement. A federal judge refuted that argument, but on its website, ICE says the policy is “not reflective of current practice.” “We’re seeing more pregnant women detained again after not seeing much of that, at least not in ICE detention,” said Amanda Heffernan, a longtime nurse-midwife and professor of midwifery at Seattle University. More from The 19th A pregnant woman stands inside a small blue-painted home, one hand on her belly, looking away from the camera toward the dimly lit room behind her. ICE fears put pregnant immigrants and their babies at risk Sisterhood sustained her for 141 days in ICE custody. Now she’s fighting for those still inside. ‘They are hunting us:’ Child care workers in D.C. go underground amid ICE crackdown Rebecca Cassler, an attorney at the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said her organization’s pro bono program has seen an increase in cases of detained pregnant, postpartum and nursing people. She says no one outside ICE really knows how many, but it’s enough to make her “very concerned.” Though the federal government has not made public how many pregnant people have been detained, Democratic lawmakers have published multiple investigations documenting known cases. One report, published this summer by the office of Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia, identified 14 credible cases of pregnant women being mistreated in detention facilities. The report included a description of pregnant women sleeping on cell floors, one detainee being told to “just drink water” when needing medical support, and another miscarrying alone after days of bleeding. ICE has disputed the report. “Pregnant women receive regular prenatal visits, mental health services, nutritional support, and accommodations aligned with community standards of care. Detention of pregnant women is rare and has elevated oversight and review. No pregnant woman has been forced to sleep on the floor,” ICE said in a statement on its website. A September 18 letter signed by 29 Democratic senators and addressed to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem directed federal officials to clarify just how many pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding people are being detained, how many have been deported and what health care is being made available to them. DHS has not acknowledged receipt, said a spokesperson for Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington who organized the letter. “We do not know how many pregnant women are in ICE custody, whether U.S. citizen babies have been born in ICE custody, and what provisions have been made for mothers’ and children’s health, safety, and wellbeing,” the senators wrote. The Women’s Refugee Commission, an advocacy group, is seeking records from Homeland Security pertaining to pregnant, postpartum or nursing individuals who have been detained. It recently launched its own independent tracker, encouraging health providers, lawyers and family members to submit information about pregnant people who have been detained. The commission said it’s too early to provide an accurate count from its tracker. Zain Lakhani, a lawyer and director of migrant rights and justice for the commission, said credible reports of pregnant people being detained suggest a frequency higher than ICE’s policy would suggest. “It would be shocking that we would be able to have this level of detained pregnant people under the guidance,” she said. “We are seeing just this shocking number of detained postpartum and pregnant women.” Dozens of people participate in an anti-ICE rally outside of the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center. Dozens of people participate in an anti-ICE rally outside of the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center on September 2, 2025, in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Workers helping integrate deported immigrants in Honduras told researchers from the Women’s Refugee Commission that nursing women who were deported had not received enough food and water to continue lactating. “They arrive with hardly any milk — or milk that looks like water — and this affects the babies’ weight,” one worker said, according to a report published by the organization. The impact of arrests and detention By the time Aguilar Maldonado left the jail, her breast milk had started to dry up, Contreras Edin said. She is particularly worried about the impact of detention on her children, who were not with her and now follow her wherever she goes, including to the bathroom. Her boyfriend has been deported; she is asking a judge to let her leave voluntarily — a process that has fewer legal penalties than being deported — so she and her children can follow him. “Her children were traumatized and her youngest was especially traumatized,” Contreras Edin said. “That bond was broken during detention and that left a permanent impression on her children.” There is no way to ethically research how detention specifically may affect pregnancy outcomes, including whether it could increase the possibility of miscarriage, said Dr. Carolyn Sufrin, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Johns Hopkins University who studies the reproductive health of incarcerated women. But evidence does show that physical and psychological strain — the kind people can suffer while detained — threatens the health of a pregnancy and can mean greater risk of preterm birth. “I’m very concerned because of the conditions we’ve already heard about that could be increasing the risks of adverse outcomes,” Sufrin said. “I’m very concerned about the outcomes for these moms as well as for the outcomes for their babies.” ICE did not respond to a request for comment on the conditions or available accommodations for pregnant, postpartum or nursing immigrants. More from The 19th An illustration of Nicolle Orozco Forero, her husband Juan Sebastian Moreno Acosta, and their two young sons, with text from their immigration court filing overlayed to show their detention and deportation case. A family’s detention and deportation through a mother’s eyes ‘Adiós, Milwaukee’: A family uprooted, a hole left behind She was a rising senior on the honor roll. ICE just upended her life. Alvarado, who is seeking $1 million following her arrest, citing “the unconstitutional conduct, unlawful arrest, and the tortious conduct of Border Patrol and ICE agents,” said her daughter is healthy and growing. But she’s still dealing with the aftermath of her detention. Footage of the arrest shows federal agents holding her hands behind her — despite guidance advising that officers generally not use physical restraints on pregnant people and that, if they do, they should keep a pregnant person’s hands in front. Her husband has now been deported, and Alvarado has no income. She’s watching her savings dwindle and relying on her family to help care for her little girl. She said she was unsure if she’d have to pick up multiple jobs to make ends meet — and if so, who would be able to care for her infant. She remembers the terror she felt while in government custody. “Every time I see a news or video, it does rewind in my head,” she said. “It does get me very emotional, seeing stuff like that.” Victoria Petty, an attorney with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area who is representing Rodriguez — the woman who suffered a miscarriage in detention — said that she first connected with her client’s husband in late August, about a month after his wife’s detention. He had left Petty a voicemail and text explaining that his wife was pregnant in a detention center and that he was really worried about her. Days later, he called again. “He’s crying on the other line, and he’s like, ‘She had a miscarriage. I don’t know what to do. She’s in the hospital. Help,’” Petty recalled. Federal law enforcement agents stand guard near a temporary fence installed outside of an immigrant processing and detention center. Federal law enforcement agents stand guard near a temporary fence installed outside of an immigrant processing and detention center on October 2, 2025 in Broadview, Illinois. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) Rodriguez described in court records being “unignorably hungry” inside the Bakersfield, California, detention facility and lacking prenatal health care and education for weeks after her pregnancy was confirmed. Eventually, she began to see brown discharge and was taken to an off-site hospital where, days later, health care providers confirmed she had miscarried. Petty moved quickly to file a lawsuit claiming unconstitutional detention. Court documents show that upon release from the hospital, Rodriguez was placed in medical isolation at the ICE detention center. “It was very scary. She was in pain. So after this really traumatic experience, and her going to the hospital and confirming that they did not see the fetus on the ultrasound — after all of that, they brought her back to the detention center and put her in medical isolation,” Petty said, adding that her client was distraught. Petty said it’s hard to determine whether detention conditions caused or contributed to Rodriguez’ miscarriage, a very wanted first pregnancy. But, she said, it’s important to consider the stress of being suddenly detained in a van — her client is from Colombia; kidnappings and murders have left lasting scars on the Latin American nation — along with the strain and lack of food options in detention. “These are the conditions that she was in when she was pregnant. And we cannot rule out that having been under that level of stress and fear and having that little care contributed to her pregnancy loss,” Petty said. Heffernan, who has worked with several immigrants who were detained while pregnant, said she has seen pregnant immigrants get a few small accommodations: being placed in a lower bunk instead of the top bunk for sleep or getting extra milk with their meals and sometimes an extra sandwich or snack before bedtime. Medical care, she said, can be “very haphazard and spotty,” with prenatal appointments often not happening on schedule. “You do see people getting a prenatal visit here and there, but not in a timely fashion, and not according to the standard of care for people that are outside,” Heffernan said. “For instance, in a couple of people that I’ve been in contact with recently, one had been in detention for several months and had had no prenatal care at all. Another had had one visit.” Pregnant immigrants are also more vulnerable to more severe cases of COVID-19, flu and other illnesses, which spread quickly in crowded places like detention centers. There is an extensive list of best practices for detained pregnant and postpartum people, Sufrin said, including but not limited to regular access to comprehensive physical and mental health care, nutrition, the ability to exercise and adequate housing. But from a medical standpoint, she said, “The best practices would be not to detain them.” For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.

ICE Confirms Third Custody Death in 12 Days

Three individuals in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody have died within 12 days, according to several news releases issued by the agency. Why It Matters The latest deaths have sparked renewed concerns about medical care and oversight for detainees in ICE custody. Newsweek has revealed several allegations of abuse at ICE-run detention centers operated by CoreCivic and Geo Group, including cases of medical neglect and mistreatment of migrants. ICE has come under increased scrutiny amid the Trump administration’s efforts to expand immigration enforcement, with overcrowding in detention facilities emerging as a persistent concern. Homeland Security police prepare to transport immigrants pictured on June 4, 2025 in Chicago. What To Know A 67-year-old Jordanian national in ICE custody died on October 11 at Larkin Community Hospital (LCH) in Miami, Florida, according to a press release. ICE said Hasan Ali Moh'D Saleh was pronounced dead by medical professionals at 7:13 p.m. on October 11. The agency said a preliminary cause of death determined by a hospital physician was cardiac arrest. The agency said Saleh had been taken to LCH on October 10 due to a fever and was admitted for further treatment and evaluation. On October 11, LCH medical staff found Saleh unresponsive and began cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) at approximately 6:32 p.m. Saleh was briefly resuscitated, but later lost his pulse again, according to the news release. ICE said hospital staff reinitiated CPR, but Saleh ultimately died. Saleh had a medical history that included hypertension, heart disease, renal disease, and diabetes, according to the agency. ICE said Saleh had first entered the United States on March 8, 1994, in Miami as a non-immigrant with authorization to remain in the U.S. for six months. ICE said he later gained lawful permanent resident status following a 1994 conviction for welfare fraud in Broward County, Florida. Read More News Thunder Cut Ties With Son of Hall of Fame Coach Ahead of Season Thunder Cut Ties With Son of Hall of Fame Coach Ahead of Season Steelers vs. Bengals Betting Odds, Player Props, Best Bets Steelers vs. Bengals Betting Odds, Player Props, Best Bets DOJ Indicts John Bolton: What to Know DOJ Indicts John Bolton: What to Know More Related Stories In 2018, Saleh was found guilty in federal court for conspiracy related to food stamps and wire fraud and sentenced to 24 months in prison, according to ICE. The agency said it encountered Saleh in 2019 after his release from prison, based on prior felony convictions, and subsequently detained him at the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center. An immigration judge ordered Saleh removed from the United States in February 2020, according to an ICE press release. ICE said Saleh was released under an Alternatives to Detention program in June 2020 but was taken back into custody on September 14, 2025, in Pompano Beach, Florida, during an enforcement action related to his final order of removal. ICE said he was then transferred to the Krome Detention Center for removal proceedings. Leo Cruz-Silva, a 34-year-old Mexican national, died on October 4 at the Ste. Genevieve County Jail in Missouri, in "what looked like a suicide attempt," ICE said. He was pronounced dead at 3:47 p.m. by Ste. Genevieve County emergency medical personnel, according to ICE. Cruz-Silva had entered the United States at an unknown date and location and had a prior history of arrests and removals dating back to 2010, the agency said. On July 14, 2011, an immigration judge in Memphis, Tennessee, ordered him removed to Mexico, according to ICE. He was again removed on April 18, 2017, following another arrest in Tennessee, ICE said. Cruz-Silva later reentered the United States multiple times after removal. On September 30, 2025, Festus Police in Missouri arrested him for public intoxication and notified ICE. The agency took him into custody on October 1, 2025, pending reinstatement of a prior removal order, per the ICE release. Huabing Xie, a Chinese national, passed away on September 29, after being transported from the Imperial Regional Detention Facility to El Centro Regional Medical Center in California, the agency said in a news release. Staff at the Calexico-area detention center reported that Xie suffered a seizure and became unresponsive at about 2:13 p.m.; medical personnel on site performed CPR and used a defibrillator before he was taken to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, according to ICE. U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested Xie near Tecate, California, on December 31, 2023, ICE said. He was served a notice to appear before the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review and placed into removal proceedings, then released the same day on an order of recognizance, the agency said. Xie was taken into custody again on September 12 in Indio, California, and transferred to ICE the following day, the agency announced. According to ICE, he remained in detention while his immigration case was being processed. ICE’s public announcement did not include information about any preexisting medical conditions. The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) and ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility typically review every in-custody death to determine whether detention standards were followed, according to agency policy. ICE has reported at least 20 in-custody deaths during the 2025 fiscal year, according to the Detention Watch Network, an advocacy group. What People Are Saying ICE wrote in a press release: "ICE remains committed to ensuring that all those in its custody reside in safe, secure and humane environments. Comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment individuals arrive and throughout the entirety of their stay." For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.

Trump Administration Imposes $1,000 Fee on Immigrants Seeking Parole

Immigrants paroled into the United States will have to start paying $1,000 as part of a provision from President Donald Trump’s tax and spending package that goes into effect Thursday. The measure is aimed at immigrants requesting temporary permission to enter and live in the U.S. while they seek an avenue to remain in the country lawfully. It also comes as parole approval is sharply declining and pending applications accumulate. freestar From April through June, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services approved 73% of the parole requests it processed, compared to 82% during the same time frame last year, according to the agency’s latest data. The predominantly bureaucratic agency has made efforts to expand its immigration enforcement operations during the second Trump administration. In the third quarter of this fiscal year, USCIS saw a 58% decrease in the number of parole applications it processed compared with the same period last year, with 410,416 applications still pending. The agency’s Wednesday press release about the fee going into effect states that the agency’s “critical work does not stop during the Democrats’ government shutdown.” While fees immigrants pay fuel most of USCIS’ operations, the agency’s director, Joseph Edlow, said on X prioritization of national security concerns may impact processing times during the lapse in government funding. Entering the country with parole has become increasingly difficult during Trump’s second term, but Ukrainians and Afghans who fled the wars in their countries are some of the immigrants still eligible for temporary permission to live in the U.S. “It’s a lot harder for people outside the United States to get humanitarian parole to come to the United States, even if they could afford the fee,” said Julia Gelatt, associate director of the U.S. immigration policy program at the Migration Policy Institute. “I just think that’s a pathway that is much narrower under the Trump administration, especially than it was under President Biden.” The agency plans to notify immigrants that they must pay the $1,000 fee before their parole application is granted, according to the agency’s press release. People seeking entry into the country to receive medical treatment, attend a funeral, participate in a law enforcement investigation, or those coming back from temporary travel won’t have to pay the fee. Once granted parole, immigrants can then apply for work authorization. In September, the Trump administration announced a $100,000 visa fee for companies hiring high-skilled foreign workers. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.

5 Immigrants To America Won 2024 And 2025 Nobel Prize In Economics

In a remarkable achievement, five immigrants to America have been awarded the Nobel Prize in economics in 2024 and 2025; four of the five were former international students. In 2025, three of the six U.S. winners in the Nobel Prize science categories immigrated to the United States. The awards highlight the continued contributions made by immigrants, even as the Trump administration has enacted or proposed new immigration restrictions on H-1B visa holders, employment-based immigrants, international students and others. The 2025 Immigrant Nobel Prize Winners In Economics Joel Mokyr, an immigrant to America born in the Netherlands, was awarded half of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences “for having identified the prerequisites for sustained growth through technological progress.” The other half of the award was given “for the theory of sustained growth through creative destruction” to Peter Howitt, an immigrant to the United States from Canada and a professor at Brown University, and Philippe Aghion, born in France, who is affiliated with the Collège de France and INSEAD, Paris, France and the London School of Economics and Political Science in the United Kingdom. Immigrants have been awarded 33% of the Nobel Prizes won by Americans in economics, including 31% since 2000, according to a National Foundation for American Policy analysis. Aghion, like Mokyr and Howitt, was also an international student in the United States, earning a Ph.D. at Harvard University. He is not listed as an immigrant in the NFAP research for purposes of identifying U.S. Nobel Prize winners. However, it is likely that he received a green card since his CV lists Aghion as a professor at Harvard from 2000 to 2015, and he was also a professor at MIT. At a minimum, Philippe Aghion contributed to American economic research and teaching for approximately two decades. PROMOTED Since the beginning of the 20th century and over the past 25 years, immigrants have excelled in scientific fields. “Immigrants have been awarded 40% of the Nobel Prizes won by Americans in chemistry, medicine and physics since 2000,” according to an NFAP analysis. Between 1901 and 2025, immigrants have been awarded 36% of the Nobel Prizes won by Americans in chemistry, medicine and physics, according to NFAP’s research. In 2024, three immigrants to America won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. “This year’s laureates in the economic sciences—Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson—have demonstrated the importance of societal institutions for a country’s prosperity,” according to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Acemoglu immigrated from Turkey, and Johnson and Robinson immigrated from the United Kingdom. Johnson and Robinson were international students in the United States. MORE FOR YOU New Trump Immigration Policy: Ending The H-1B Visa Lottery Snubbing Trump, Immigration Nominee Would End Student Practical Training Trump Deals A New Immigration Blow To International Students Daron Acemolu Portrait Session Nobel Prize in Economics Laureate Daron Acemolu during a press conference and interview on December 7, 2024 in Stockholm Sweden. (Photo by Nils Petter Nilsson/Getty Images) Getty Images Joel Mokyr’s Immigrant Story And Optimistic Economic Outlook Joel Mokyr was born in the Netherlands. “The darkness of Mr. Mokyr’s family history contrasts with his optimism for the future,” reported the Wall Street Journal in a 2024 article about economic debates. “His parents were Dutch Jews who survived the Holocaust. His father, a civil servant, died of cancer when Mr. Mokyr was a year old. He was raised by his mother in a small apartment in the port city of Haifa in Israel.” Mokyr said, “My mother was not an optimist. She had lived a very tough life.” CEO: C-suite news, analysis, and advice for top decision makers right to your inbox. Email Address Sign Up By signing up, you agree to receive this newsletter, other updates about Forbes and its affiliates’ offerings, our Terms of Service (including resolving disputes on an individual basis via arbitration), and you acknowledge our Privacy Statement. Forbes is protected by reCAPTCHA, and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Mokyr received a B.A. in economics and history from Hebrew University of Jerusalem before coming to the United States as an international student. He was an instructor at Yale for a year before becoming an economics professor at Northwestern University, where he continues to teach and conduct research. “The drivers of technological progress and eventually economic performance were attitude and aptitude,” wrote Mokyr in his book A Culture of Growth: The Origins of the Modern Economy, which examines Europe from 1500 to 1700. “The former set the willingness and energy with which people try to understand the natural world around them; the latter determines their success in turning such knowledge into higher productivity and living standards.” Mokyr disagrees with those who argue that human beings have invented almost all that will be invented, and economic progress will therefore stall. “I think the rate of innovation is just getting faster and faster,” Mokyr told the Wall Street Journal. “One of the main missions I have in life is to point out to my students how lucky they are to be born in the 20th century,” he said. “Compared to what life was like 100 or 200 years ago, we’re incredibly fortunate.” Economist Mark Regets, an NFAP senior fellow, notes that economics has shifted from focusing solely on labor and capital to the significance of innovation and technology in fostering growth. “The winners of the 2025 Nobel Prize have furthered our understanding of the role that innovation and technology play in economic growth and improved living standards.” Analysts note that recent Nobel Prize announcements highlight the significant role played by immigration laws and regulations. Five of the six Nobel Prize winners in economics came to America as international students. Mokyr might not have earned his Ph.D. in economics at Yale in the United States if the rule proposed by the Trump administration had been in place limiting international students to fixed admission periods. He first earned a master’s degree and would have needed to receive government approval from the Department of Homeland Security to continue his studies for a Ph.D. or to have completed his program within four years under the DHS student rules proposed in August. Daron Acemoglu came to America from Turkey in 1993 to be a professor at MIT and shared the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2024. If MIT had to pay a $100,000 fee to sponsor his H-1B visa, now required under a September 2025 presidential proclamation for new H-1B visa holders outside the United States, the university is unlikely to have hired Acemoglu. The Wall Street Journal, commenting on immigrant Nobel Prize winners, editorialized, “Anecdotes matter because the contributions of individuals matter.” The 2025 Nobel Prize winners illustrate this point through their life stories and research. Their research shows that innovation originates from the actions and acquired knowledge of individuals, and individuals are more likely to innovate under the right conditions within a country. In a 1994 article with Joseph Ferrie, Joel Mokyr wrote about the role of individual immigrant entrepreneurs. “The immigrant entrepreneur is ubiquitous in the U.S. of the 1990s,” according to Ferrie and Mokyr. They cited the example of Subramonian Shankar, an Indian immigrant who founded a company in America with sales of $570 million and employed 130 workers. “Though only a handful have enjoyed the success of a Subramonian Shankar, a majority of Americans view immigrants as hard-working, enterprising additions to the U.S. economy.” For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.

Meta scraps Facebook page tracking ICE agents in Chicago after Justice Dept. asked it to

Meta has removed a Facebook page used to track the presence of immigration agents in Chicago at the request of the Department of Justice, the company confirmed on Tuesday. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a post on X that "following outreach" from the DOJ, Facebook removed a "large group page" that was being used to target Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the city. In the post, Bondi said the page was part of an effort to "dox and target" the ICE agents. Attorney General Pam Bondi Announces Sinaloa Cartel Co-Founder Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada Garcia Guilty Plea Attorney General Pam Bondi during a press conference on August 25, 2025. Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images Some 200 ICE agents are there as part of President Trump's immigration enforcement drive. Doxxing is the sharing of personal information about people online. Meta said in a statement that the group "was removed for violating our policies against coordinated harm." Meta is the latest tech company to restrict tools used to track ICE agents on its platform. Earlier this month, Apple and Google blocked downloads of phone apps that flag sightings of U.S. immigration agents, just hours after the Trump administration demanded that one particularly popular iPhone app be taken down. Bondi has said such tracking puts ICE agents at risk. But users and developers of the apps say it's their First Amendment right to capture what ICE is doing in their neighborhoods, and they maintain that most users turn to these platforms in an effort to protect their own safety as Mr. Trump steps up aggressive immigration enforcement across the country. While a Facebook group for ICE sightings in Chicago does appear to have been taken down, as of Tuesday evening, dozens of other groups, some with thousands of members, remained visible on Facebook. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.

Gun crime cases fall as agents shift to immigration crackdown

WASHINGTON (AP) — After months of aggressive immigration enforcement measures from the Trump administration, Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander adults are more likely to hold a negative view of President Donald Trump’s handling of immigration, a new AAPI Data/AP-NORC poll finds. About 7 in 10 AAPI adults nationwide disapprove of Trump’s approach on immigration, according to the survey from AAPI Data and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, an increase from 58% in March. The new poll also finds that a solid majority of AAPI adults say the Republican president has overstepped on deporting immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, and most oppose several specific tactics used by the administration, such as using the military and National Guard to carry out arrests or deportations. The findings come as federal immigration agents expand a crackdown in the Chicago area, where more than 1,000 immigrants have been arrested since last month. The escalation in Chicago is just part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to boost deportations, which has been a high priority for the president since he took office at the beginning of the year. This approach does not seem to be landing well among AAPI adults, a diverse and rapidly growing group where many were born outside the U.S. Even among foreign-born AAPI adults, who tend to be more conservative, most disapprove of the president’s handling of immigration. Related Stories Chicago police face challenges as Trump expands immigration raids Chicago police face challenges as Trump expands immigration raids Trump's strongest issues have changed from first term, poll finds Trump's strongest issues have changed from first term, poll finds California expands immigrant privacy protections as Trump pushes deportations California expands immigrant privacy protections as Trump pushes deportations Joie Meyer, 25, was born in China and adopted as an infant. The Miami resident, who identifies as a Democrat, supports secure borders but Trump’s recent actions have made her wonder what would happen if she suddenly lost her citizenship. “If I was at risk of like being stripped away from my home, family, friends, everything I knew because of like a technicality, which is what some people are facing, that’s just heartbreaking,” Meyer said, adding that she finds Trump’s methods “punitive.” Members of the Texas National Guard stand outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) processing facility in Broadview, Ill. on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Talia Sprague) Members of the Texas National Guard stand outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) processing facility in Broadview, Ill. on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Talia Sprague) Most think Trump has ‘gone too far’ on immigration enforcement AAPI adults are particularly likely to think Trump has crossed a line on immigration enforcement. About two-thirds say Trump has “gone too far” when it comes to deporting immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, compared to about 6 in 10 Black and Hispanic adults in a separate AP-NORC poll conducted in September. In that survey, less than half of white adults thought Trump had overstepped on immigration. The finding, combined with AAPI adults’ increased disapproval of Trump on immigration, signals that the president’s handling of the issue over the past few months may have turned some people off. Some may be finding “a big difference in terms of what policy support looks like in theory and how it plays out,” said Karthick Ramakrishnan, AAPI Data executive director and researcher at the University of California, Berkeley. Immigration is frequently in the local news for 38-year-old Peter Lee of Tacoma, Washington, where there is an active Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center. He sees Trump as hastily meeting deportation quotas without compassion. ADVERTISING “One, there doesn’t seem to be a clear game plan for what he’s doing in terms of immigration enforcement other than just pure numbers. Second it seems like his directives come from just gut, not fact-based,” said Lee, a Democrat, who is Korean American. “The fact that he’s deporting people to third-party countries not of their origin, I think that it’s ridiculous.” Foreign-born AAPI adults likelier to approve of Trump on immigration and crime American-born and foreign-born AAPI adults are equally likely to think Trump has overstepped on immigration overall. But they’re more divided on issues related to illegal immigration. Just over half of foreign-born AAPI adults, who tend to be older and more conservative than other AAPI adults, support deporting immigrants living in the U.S. illegally who have been charged with misdemeanors, compared to 41% of American-born AAPI adults. AAPI adults who were born outside the U.S. are also more likely than American-born AAPI adults to support deporting all immigrants who are in the country illegally. More than half of AAPI adults are foreign-born, Ramakrishnan said, adding that American-born AAPI adults may be less “attuned in terms of what it takes to maintain one’s status.” Tyrone Tai, 65, who has homes in Tampa and Lauderhill, Florida, was born in Jamaica. The half-Chinese and half-Jamaican immigrated with his parents to New York City when he was 12. He recalls how they struggled but eventually gained U.S. citizenship. He indicated Trump has “not gone far enough” when it comes to arresting those who “jump the line.” AAPI adults who were born outside the U.S. are more likely than American-born AAPI adults to approve of Trump’s handling of immigration, although they still don’t rate him especially highly on the issue. They’re also more likely to approve of his handling of crime, suggesting that the president’s efforts to link illegal immigration with crime may be resonating with some among this group. Most AAPI adults oppose workplace raids and National Guard involvement Some of the Trump administration’s tactics are particularly unpopular among AAPI adults, the poll found. For example, about 6 in 10 AAPI adults oppose conducting large-scale immigration enforcement operations in neighborhoods with high populations of immigrants, deploying the military or National Guard to carry out arrests and deportations, detaining immigrants at their workplaces, or allowing agents to cover their faces during arrests. Videos of ICE officers wearing masks and snatching people while they are at work or on a public street has rattled Michael Ida, a 56-year-old resident of Honolulu. An independent and Christian, Ida believes that some immigrants in the country illegally may deserve to stay. “When it comes down to justice or mercy, we should err on the side of mercy. It’s very disturbing to me,” Ida said. “As an Asian American especially, I feel like there’s a little bit of anxiety to travel outside of Hawaii.” Tai, however, says that ICE agents should be allowed to wear masks. “Those poor ICE agents, they’re doing their job there and people are basically threatening their families. That shouldn’t be,” Tai said. Ida, who is half Korean and half Japanese, sees parallels with World War II, when in 1942 the U.S. government began forcing Japanese Americans from their homes and into incarceration camps. “History doesn’t repeat but it rhymes. There’s kind of echoes of what happened in the past.” For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.