Immigration
Afghan deportation flight scheduled for Tuesday faces court fights and a plea from Congress
A sworn ICE court declaration confirms a charter flight scheduled for Tuesday, November 3, would land in Pakistan before Afghan detainees are moved overland to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan — as one detainee was freed, another awaited an emergency ruling, and 66 members of Congress urged the flights be canceled.
ICE is re-arresting immigrants right after courts order them freed, report finds
The Guardian identified at least 20 cases in the past year in which immigrants freed through habeas corpus petitions were detained again by ICE, sometimes before they even left the building — a pattern judges in several states are now pushing back against.
Taliban government urges U.S. to 'act responsibly' on Afghan deportations as first flights loom
Kabul's foreign ministry said Monday it is prepared to engage constructively with Washington on deportations, as the first flights in a reported plan to deport more than 150 Afghans via Pakistan were expected as soon as Monday.
Federal judge bars immigration stops based on Latino appearance across Southern California
A Los Angeles federal judge's preliminary injunction, signed October 23 and made public October 29, bars detentive immigration stops based on racial stereotyping across seven Southern California counties.
Federal judge orders U.S. to bring back Nicaraguan man deported to Central African Republic
A Minnesota federal judge ordered the government to arrange the return of Kenis Adalberto Lopez Gonzalez, deported in August to a country he has never visited, ruling ICE revoked his supervised release without following its own rules.
U.S. plans to deport more than 150 Afghans via Pakistan, with first flight possible Monday
The Trump administration plans to deport more than 150 Afghan immigrants detained in the U.S., routing them through Pakistan toward Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, according to The New York Times and Reuters. The first flight could leave as early as Monday, November 2.
ICE deportation flights to end at Akron-Canton Airport on November 30
Avflight will stop providing ground-handling services for Homeland Security deportation flights at Akron-Canton on November 30, ending nearly daily ICE flights that have operated there since late April, usually bound for Alexandria, Louisiana.
ICE activity surges across the U.S. ahead of midterms, NPR reports — and early voting is surging too
NPR reports a surge in immigration enforcement from New Jersey to Portland in the weeks before the November 3 midterms; voting-rights advocates warn of intimidation, but early voting is surging in targeted communities.
Data on 41,000+ Homeland Security workers published in searchable leak
A transparency group published a searchable database with records for more than 41,000 Homeland Security employees, including ICE and Border Patrol staff, drawing warnings about employee safety and questions about how the data was obtained.
Civil rights groups sue to block DHS hunt for noncitizen voters
Civil rights groups sued the Department of Homeland Security on October 28, asking a California federal court to shut down its Unlawful Voter Initiative, which they say targets naturalized citizens with flawed data weeks before the midterms.
Canada drops the 90-day clock for work permits stuck behind employer assessments
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada updated its instructions on October 28 so officers will no longer decide a temporary foreign worker's permit application while the employer's Labour Market Impact Assessment is still pending — ending the previous 90-day hold limit.
Report: deputized local officers now outnumber ICE's own deportation force more than two-to-one
More than 29,000 state and local officers are now deputized by ICE under the 287(g) program — roughly double February's count and far above ICE's roughly 11,600 deportation officers, according to a new FWD.us analysis reported by NPR.
ICE operation at Monterey County Jail draws protesters as facility locks down
Federal immigration agents launched a targeted operation at the Monterey County Jail in Salinas on Tuesday, prompting the Sheriff's Office to lock down the facility and drawing about 50 protesters to its gates.
Judge blocks rule cutting refugees' time to contest loss of status to 10 days
A federal judge in Boston temporarily blocked a USCIS rule cutting refugees' time to contest loss of legal status from 30 days to 10 days, holding it through November 6.
Supreme Court leaves in place the end of immigration judges' power to shelve deportation cases
In a one-sentence order on Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to restore immigration judges' authority to temporarily postpone deportation cases, leaving in place a deal between the Trump administration and Texas that ended the practice known as administrative closure.
Oshkosh teacher on unpaid leave after ICE arrest in missed-hearing deportation case
Wendy Mendez, a Spanish teacher at Vel Phillips Middle School in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, was arrested by ICE on October 14 after an immigration judge ordered her removed for missing a hearing; her school district says she is an employee in good standing on unpaid leave.
AP: Mentally ill man said to be a U.S. citizen has been in ICE detention since January
An Associated Press review found immigration authorities have detained for nearly 10 months a mentally ill man whose mother, lawyers and public records say was born in the United States, not Jamaica as he himself claims.
ICE deports Guyana murder suspect after decade on the run, agency says
Kanand Ojha, 45, was deported September 18 and charged with murder in Guyana on September 21, ICE announced Monday; his alleged accomplice drew 20 years in 2017.
Man from El Salvador dies in ICE custody in Georgia; death under investigation
Luis Sandoval, 48, was found with a ligature around his neck at 1:46 a.m. Friday at the Folkston center and pronounced dead at 2:28 a.m.; an autopsy is pending.
DHS says detained Ohio blogger Samuel Sey will be deported; supporters call it a clerical error
DHS says Sey overstayed his admission by more than four years and accepted voluntary departure; his supporters say a paperwork mistake is behind the Columbus airport arrest.
Deported Texas father says Ghana sent him on to Mali despite a judge's ruling
CBS News' 60 Minutes reported that Moussa Diawara, deported to Ghana in July, says Ghanaian officials then put him on a flight to Mali — a country a U.S. judge had ruled he could not be sent to. ICE disputed the program's framing.
Ex-judge says she was pressed over bond rulings as immigration bench shrinks
A Washington Post investigation reports former judge Karen Donoso Stevens faced pressure over bond decisions before her dismissal, as about 100 of roughly 700 judges have been removed.
ICE agents point pepper spray at feminist collective members filming raid in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico paper reports
El Nuevo Día reports an agent aimed a pepper spray canister at a Colectiva Feminista member recording an operation on Saturday afternoon; ICE had not responded at publication.
D.C. youth baseball coach in ICE custody after paperwork error derailed citizenship bid, family says
Known as “Coach A” for 20-plus years, Amaury Monsalve was transferred to an ICE center in Louisiana after a missed court date and a detainer, his wife told NBC4.
Justice Department presses California counties to flag suspected noncitizen voters
Counties were given 48 hours to help determine the citizenship of people on federal lists; unconfirmed mail ballots are to be segregated, not canceled, pending checks.
One of India's most wanted fugitives is in ICE custody in Nevada, facing possible deportation
Himanshu Bhau, under an Interpol Red Notice since 2023, was arrested in Las Vegas on October 22 and is listed at the Henderson Detention Center.
Ukrainians and Sudanese keep protected status — for now — as DHS stays silent on extension
DHS said protections remain in place past the October 19 expiry, but no formal extension or termination has been announced.
Deportation advocate Samuel Sey arrested in Ohio, held for possible removal
The Ghanaian-Canadian activist who backed the deportation campaign is in Butler County custody; the charge behind the hold is not yet public.
Amnesty urges Sierra Leone to halt return of three U.S. deportees
Agba, Kamara and Traore lived in the U.S. for over 20 years and had protection from removal. Amnesty calls the onward returns a “revolving door.”
5th Circuit: detained migrants have no constitutional right to bond hearings
In a 10-7 ruling affecting Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, the appeals court rejected a constitutional guarantee of bond hearings for detainees.
ICE launches nationwide operation targeting SNAP fraud
DHS named its first five arrests in a nationwide ICE operation against alleged SNAP fraud. Secretary Mullin called it 'just a drop in the bucket.'
Federal judge blocks DHS voter-fraud field sweeps in nine states
The preliminary injunction takes effect today and runs through the Nov. 3 midterms. The judge called the government's target lists 'voluminous and unreliable.'
980,000 deportations in 18 months under Trump, new report finds — below the 1 million target
Only 20% involved a criminal conviction. The pace runs about 660,000 a year — short of the administration's 1 million goal.
Trump revokes over 300,000 visas, the fastest pace of any administration
The State Department says revocations target criminal activity, fraud and public safety threats. Rights groups condemn the crackdown.