Category archive

Deportation & Immigration

Mass deportations, wrongful removals, asylum denial, and immigration abuses

Records in this lens

24 incidents

Phase II Mass Deportation: Expansion to Workplace Raids and 92,000-Bed Warehouse Detention System

The administration moved toward a second phase of mass deportation operations, shifting from criminal-focused enforcement to broad workplace raids, backed by a $170 billion budget, an expanding …

  • Pro-Trump immigration coalition publicly called for 'Phase II' — expanding from targeting criminals to workplace raids across the country.
  • The administration spent $895 million on 10 warehouses for mass detention, with seven additional purchases in progress.

Immigration Rocket Dockets: Mass Fast-Tracked Hearings and In Absentia Removal Orders

An accelerated immigration court system that fast-tracks cases through mass remote hearings, with two-thirds of all Somali cases nationwide rescheduled on short notice. The process systematically …

  • Two-thirds (66.25%) of all Somali noncitizens with open immigration court cases were scheduled for hearings with new judges on short notice, …
  • Hearings are conducted entirely remotely, with immigrants in Minnesota while judges and government attorneys are in other states. Observers …

Midnight Deportation of 76 Guatemalan Children: Labor Day Weekend Mass Removal Attempt

The administration attempted a mass deportation of unaccompanied minor children in the middle of the night during a holiday weekend, circumventing legal protections that require children to appear …

  • On August 31, 2025 (Labor Day weekend), 76 unaccompanied Guatemalan children in US government custody were roused from their beds around …
  • HHS began contacting shelter care providers around 10:00 PM Central time on August 30, ordering them to prepare children for immediate …

Pattern of Wrongful Deportations: US Citizens and Protected Individuals Removed Despite Court Orders

Multiple US citizens and legally protected individuals have been wrongfully deported, often in direct defiance of federal court orders. The pattern includes deportation of a man with explicit judicial …

  • In less than six months, courts directed the Trump administration to bring back at least four people it had wrongfully deported, …
  • Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvador despite a 2019 immigration judge order granting him protected status that specifically …

CBP One App Shutdown: 30,000 Asylum Appointments Cancelled, 270,000 Stranded

The immediate shutdown of the CBP One asylum scheduling app on Inauguration Day cancelled 30,000 appointments and stranded 270,000 asylum seekers, eliminating the primary legal pathway to request …

  • On January 20, 2025, at noon EST, CBP removed the scheduling functionality from the CBP One app, instantly cancelling approximately 30,000 …
  • An estimated 270,000 migrants continued logging into the app seeking appointments after the shutdown, indicating the scale of people relying …

Systematic Elimination of Bond Hearings and Indefinite Immigration Detention

An ICE directive and BIA precedential decision eliminated bond hearings for millions of immigrants, creating a system of indefinite detention without judicial review. 71.7% of the 57,861 ICE detainees …

  • On July 8, 2025, Acting ICE Director Todd M. Lyons issued a memo declaring that immigrants who entered without inspection are no longer …
  • On September 5, 2025, the BIA ruled in Matter of Yajure Hurtado that immigration judges lack authority to conduct bond hearings for anyone …

Third-Country Deportations to Rwanda, Ghana, and South Sudan

The US paid Rwanda, Ghana, Eswatini, and South Sudan to accept deportees who are not their nationals, in deals a federal judge ruled unconstitutional. HRW called the expulsion agreements violations of …

  • Rwanda agreed to accept up to 250 deportees from the US under a deal involving approximately $7.5 million in US financial support. Eswatini …
  • US District Judge Brian Murphy ruled the third-country deportation policy violates federal immigration law and migrants' constitutional …

Rescission of ICE Sensitive Locations Policy — Churches, Schools, and Hospitals Open to Raids

The rescission of the sensitive locations policy removed decades-old protections for churches, schools, hospitals, courthouses, and shelters from immigration enforcement. The change unleashed a …

  • On January 20, 2025, the Trump administration rescinded the DHS Protected Areas policy via executive order 'Protecting the American People …
  • Arrests of people with no criminal record surged 2,450% in Trump's first year — from 6% of ICE detainees in January 2025 to 41% by December …

Deportation and Medical Neglect of Pregnant Women in ICE Custody

ICE deported 363 pregnant, postpartum, and nursing women in 13 months and recorded 16 miscarriages in detention. Women were shackled while miscarrying, denied prenatal care, and subjected to invasive …

  • 363 pregnant, postpartum, and nursing immigrants were deported between January 1, 2025 and February 16, 2026.
  • 16 miscarriages were recorded in ICE custody by late September 2025.

Family Separations and Prolonged Child Detention Under Immigration Enforcement

Immigration enforcement separated at least 11,000 US citizen children from their parents, with children held in government custody for an average of six months while officials used reunification …

  • At least 11,000 US citizen children had a parent detained by ICE in the first seven months of Trump's second term -- an average of more than …
  • Children in ICE detention jumped more than sixfold compared to the Biden administration, from ~25 per day to ~170 per day.

Mass Termination of Temporary Protected Status Across 11 Countries

TPS was terminated or targeted for termination across 11 countries, de-documenting over 1 million people. Federal courts have blocked or paused several terminations. The State Department maintains 'Do …

  • 1.6 million people lost their legal right to stay in the United States in 2025 across all TPS and parole terminations -- the largest mass …
  • TPS was terminated or targeted for 11 countries: Venezuela, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Nepal, Afghanistan, Cameroon, Syria, Somalia, …

Record Expansion of ICE Deportation Flights to 79 Countries

ICE Air conducted 2,253 deportation flights to 79 countries in one year -- a 46% increase over the Biden era -- including to 25 countries that had never received ICE flights. Domestic transfer flights …

  • 2,253 deportation flights to 79 countries from January 20, 2025 to January 20, 2026 -- a 46% increase in flights and 76% increase in …
  • Removal flights included 25 countries that had never previously received ICE deportation flights.

Deportations to Haiti Despite Gang Control and Humanitarian Collapse

The US deported Haitians to a country the FAA banned US airlines from landing in due to gang gunfire, where 90% of the capital is under gang control and 1.4 million are displaced. DHS terminated TPS …

  • 90% of Port-au-Prince is under gang control as of July 2025 according to the United Nations.
  • The FAA banned US airlines from landing at Port-au-Prince airport after deportation planes came under gang gunfire; flights were rerouted to …

ICE Workplace Raids and Mass Arrests at Job Sites

ICE conducted at least 40 workplace raids with over 1,100 arrests in seven months, including the largest single-site raid in DHS history at a Hyundai plant in Georgia (475 arrests). The raids …

  • At least 40 publicly reported ICE worksite enforcement actions in the first seven months of the administration, resulting in over 1,100 …
  • The Hyundai Metaplant raid in Ellabell, Georgia (September 4, 2025) was the largest single-site immigration raid in DHS history, with 475 …

Deportation Traps at Immigration Court Hearings and Systematic Denial of Due Process

ICE turned mandatory immigration court hearings into arrest traps, coordinating in real time with government attorneys to arrest immigrants whose cases were dismissed. Record-setting asylum denials, …

  • ICE agents arrested immigrants at mandatory immigration court hearings, using case dismissals as triggers for arrest in a coordinated …
  • Government attorneys and ICE officers coordinated in real time, with agents in hallways waiting to identify and arrest individuals whose …

Deportation of US Military Veterans

The administration deported US military veterans including Purple Heart recipients wounded in combat, after replacing Biden-era protections that required ICE to consider military service. An estimated …

  • An estimated 94,000 US military veterans lack citizenship, leaving them vulnerable to detention and deportation.
  • In April 2025, the Trump administration replaced Biden-era guidance requiring ICE to consider military service before arrests with a memo …

Surge in Solitary Confinement in Immigration Detention

10,500+ people subjected to solitary confinement in immigration detention over 14 months, with usage surging under the Trump administration. Nearly 75% of placements exceeded the UN's 15-day torture …

  • Over 10,500 people were placed in solitary confinement in immigration detention centers between April 2024 and May 2025.
  • The monthly rate of solitary confinement use under the second Trump administration was twice the rate from 2018-2023 and more than six times …

Indefinite Suspension of US Refugee Admissions Program and Record-Low Resettlement Cap

The administration indefinitely suspended refugee resettlement and set the lowest admissions cap in US history at 7,500, prioritizing white Afrikaners, while stranding refugees mid-transit including …

  • Executive order on January 20, 2025 indefinitely suspended the US Refugee Admissions Program effective January 27.
  • The FY 2026 refugee cap was set at 7,500 -- the lowest in US history, down from 125,000 under Biden -- with priority given to white South …

Termination of Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelan Nationals

DHS Secretary Noem terminated Venezuela TPS, and the Supreme Court allowed it to take effect, de-documenting approximately 350,000 people and exposing them to removal to a country the State Department …

  • DHS Secretary Noem terminated TPS for Venezuela under the 2023 designation on February 5, 2025.
  • Approximately 350,000 Venezuelans lost legal status and work authorization.

Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to Accelerate Venezuelan Deportations

The administration invoked a rarely used 1798 wartime statute to justify accelerated removals of Venezuelan nationals, including transfers into El Salvador's detention system, prompting immediate …

  • The proclamation treated Tren de Aragua activity as an 'invasion' or 'predatory incursion' under the Alien Enemies Act.
  • The government used the proclamation to argue for removals with sharply reduced individualized process.

Reimposition of 'Remain in Mexico' Migrant Protection Protocols

The administration reinstated 'Remain in Mexico,' forcing asylum seekers to wait in Mexican cities that the US State Department itself rates as 'Level 4: Do Not Travel' due to kidnapping and violence. …

  • DHS reinstated MPP on January 21, 2025, forcing asylum seekers to wait in Mexican border cities while their cases are processed in US …
  • MSF documented that in one border city, 75% of MPP patients had been kidnapped while waiting in Mexico under the policy.

Suspension of Asylum at the Southern Border

The administration imposed an unprecedented total ban on asylum claims at the southern border, shutting down the CBP One app and eliminating all avenues for protection. A federal judge ruled the …

  • Executive order signed January 20, 2025 suspended all asylum processing at the southern border and shut down the CBP One scheduling app.
  • The order declared an 'invasion' at the southern border and invoked emergency powers to bypass statutory asylum protections.

Termination of CHNV Humanitarian Parole for 532,000 People

DHS terminated humanitarian parole for 532,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, stripping legal status effective April 24, 2025. The Supreme Court allowed the mass revocation in a …

  • Approximately 532,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela had been granted humanitarian parole under the CHNV programs …
  • DHS published a Federal Register notice on March 25, 2025 terminating all CHNV parole, with parole expiring April 24, 2025.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia Deported to El Salvador Despite Withholding Order

Federal officials removed Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador despite a preexisting withholding order barring that destination, then spent weeks litigating what it meant to 'facilitate' his return …

  • An immigration judge had already barred Abrego Garcia's removal to El Salvador.
  • Public reporting said he was transferred into El Salvador's CECOT prison system.