DHS releases year-end enforcement statistics claiming ICE arrested the “worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens” including individuals convicted of heinous crimes. The announcements use inflammatory language describing arrests of people convicted of “raping a child under …
Department of Homeland SecurityU.S. Immigration and Customs EnforcementKristi Noemimmigrationenforcement-statisticsmass-deportationpropaganda
The Department of Homeland Security published a final rule replacing the random H-1B visa lottery with a “weighted selection process” that favors higher-paid workers. Effective February 27, 2026, registrations will be entered multiple times based on wage level: Level IV wages (4 …
Donald TrumpDepartment of Homeland Securityimmigrationh1b-visalabor-policyregulatory-change
Washington Post analysis of government data reveals a fundamental shift in ICE enforcement strategy under the Trump administration: federal officers have moved away from arresting immigrants already held in local jails to aggressively tracking them down on streets and in communities across the …
U.S. Immigration and Customs EnforcementDepartment of Homeland SecurityKristi Noemimmigrationice-raidsmass-deportationenforcement-tacticscommunity-terror
New DHS regulations take effect requiring mandatory biometric data collection from all non-citizens entering and leaving the United States at airports, land ports, seaports, and other authorized points of departure. The rule expands facial recognition technology and authorizes CBP to photograph—and …
Department of Homeland SecurityCustoms and Border Protection (CBP)Kristi Noemimmigrationsurveillancebiometricsprivacyborder-control
CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss pulls a 60 Minutes investigative segment about deportee abuse at El Salvador’s CECOT prison approximately three hours before its scheduled Sunday night broadcast. The segment, reported by veteran correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, featured interviews with …
Bari WeissCBS News60 MinutesSharyn AlfonsiStephen Miller+3 moremedia-captureself-censorshipimmigrationcecot-prisondeportation+3 more
Seven people die in ICE custody in December 2025, with four deaths occurring within a four-day span from December 12-15, making it the deadliest month of Trump’s second term. The deaths occur as ICE holds a record 68,000+ people in detention, and 2025 becomes the deadliest year for ICE custody …
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)Department of Homeland SecurityJean Wilson BrutusFouad Saeed AbdulkadirNenko Stanev Gantchevice-detentiondeaths-in-custodyimmigrationhuman-rightstrump-administration
On Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 2025, President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social his intention to “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries” in response to the National Guard shooting two days earlier. The announcement, using terminology widely considered …
Donald TrumpJoseph EdlowDepartment of Homeland SecurityUSCISCouncil on American-Islamic Relations+2 moreimmigrationracismcivil-rightsexecutive-powerrefugees+5 more
On November 27, 2025, USCIS Director Joseph Edlow announced that the agency would halt all asylum decisions for Afghan nationals indefinitely, declaring the pause would continue “until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.” The announcement …
Joseph EdlowMarco RubioDonald Trumpuscisimmigrationcollective punishmentafghan refugeesdue process+1 more
Federal officials told faith leaders gathered outside the Broadview ICE detention center in Illinois that ’there is no more prayer in front of building or inside the building because this is the state and it’s not [of a] religious background.’ The directive marked the third time …
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)Department of Homeland SecurityMichael PflegerThomas MillsTricia McGlaughlin+1 moreicereligious-freedomfirst-amendmentdetentionimmigration+4 more
Pope Leo XIV delivered a powerful critique of American political hypocrisy on October 1, 2025, declaring that support for harsh immigration enforcement is fundamentally incompatible with pro-life values. Speaking in the context of the controversy surrounding Senator Dick Durbin receiving an award …
Pope Leo XIVTrump AdministrationWhite HouseSenator Dick DurbinCatholic Churchpope-leo-xivimmigrationpro-lifecatholic-churchchicago+4 more
President Trump signed Executive Order 14351 establishing the ‘Gold Card’ visa program, requiring foreign nationals to make ‘unrestricted gifts’ of $1 million to the Department of Commerce ($2 million if a corporation gives on behalf of an individual) to obtain residency. The …
Donald TrumpWhite HouseDepartment of Commerceexecutive-powerexecutive-ordersimmigrationcorruption
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unit signs a $3 million contract with Magnet Forensics, the Canadian firm that acquired Grayshift in 2023 following its $1.35 billion acquisition by investment firm Thoma Bravo. The contract continues ICE’s …
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)Homeland Security InvestigationsMagnet ForensicsGrayshiftThoma Bravosurveillancemobile-forensicsimmigrationlaw-enforcementencryption
In a 6-3 decision in DHS v. D.V.D., the Supreme Court allowed DHS to deport immigrants to “third countries”—nations they’re not from—without meaningful opportunity to contest deportation. The ruling stayed a Massachusetts district court order that had required 15 days notice and …
Supreme CourtDepartment of Homeland SecuritySonia Sotomayorsupreme-courtdeportationdue-processimmigrationcivil-rights
On June 18, 2025, a Department of State cable delivered guidance to consulates worldwide requiring implementation of new expanded screening protocols within five business days, after which they could begin reopening visa appointments that had been halted since May 27, 2025. The fifth business day …
Department of StateTrump Administrationimmigrationvisa-processingtravel-restrictionsbureaucratic-obstacles
President Trump signed an executive order expanding travel restrictions to 19 countries, while simultaneously ordering that students and scholars from Harvard University be barred from entering the United States. The Harvard ban represented an unprecedented use of immigration authority to punish a …
Donald TrumpTrump AdministrationHarvard UniversityDepartment of Statetravel-banimmigrationacademic-freedomretaliationexecutive-overreach
Trump declared national emergency at southern border citing “invasion” by cartels, criminal gangs, and “unvetted military-age males.” Deployed 1,500 active-duty troops (1,000 Army, 500 Marines) with helicopters and intelligence analysts. Ordered Pentagon to develop 10-day …
Donald TrumpDepartment of DefenseDepartment of Homeland SecurityPentagonMexican President Claudia Sheinbaumimmigrationnational-emergencybordercapture-patternsenergy
The Supreme Court allowed Texas’s SB 4 immigration law to take effect pending further proceedings, before subsequent Fifth Circuit action. A 6-3 ruling temporarily permitted Texas to criminalize border crossings and allow state police to arrest and potentially deport migrants, creating a …
Supreme Court of the United StatesState of TexasBiden AdministrationJustice Samuel AlitoJustice Sonia Sotomayor+2 moreemergency-docketimmigrationstate-preemptionsupreme-courtjudicial-conflict
A damning report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General revealed on January 17, 2019 that the Trump administration had separated thousands more children from their parents than previously disclosed, beginning as early as summer 2017—nearly a year before the …
HHS Office of Inspector GeneralDonald TrumpKirstjen NielsenJeff SessionsStephen Miller+1 morefamily-separationhuman-rightschild-abuseimmigrationcrimes-against-humanity+1 more
In the lead-up to the 2018 midterm elections, President Trump began routinely describing immigration as an ‘invasion,’ bringing white nationalist conspiracy theory language into mainstream Republican politics. The ‘invasion’ rhetoric is closely linked to the Great Replacement …
Donald TrumpRepublican Partyracial-politicswhite-nationalismconspiracy-theoriesimmigrationrepublican-party+3 more
After weeks of international condemnation and bipartisan criticism, President Trump signed an executive order on June 20, 2018 ostensibly ending the family separation policy his administration had deliberately implemented. The order came after intense public pressure, including from many …
Donald TrumpKirstjen NielsenJeff SessionsStephen Millerfamily-separationhuman-rightschild-abuseimmigrationdisinformation
In June 2018, at the height of the Trump administration’s family separation crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, Amazon Web Services officials met with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) representatives in Redwood City, California to pitch Rekognition facial recognition technology for …
AmazonAWSImmigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)Department of Homeland SecurityJeff Bezossurveillancefacial-recognitionamazonrekognitionice+4 more
The Trump administration’s ‘zero tolerance’ family separation policy forcibly removed over 5,500 children from their parents at the border, detaining them in cages at facilities described as ‘concentration camps’ by historians. Children as young as 4 months were taken, …
Donald TrumpStephen MillerJeff SessionsDepartment of Homeland SecurityImmigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)+2 morefamily-separationhuman-rightschild-abuseimmigrationcrimes-against-humanity
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen explicitly acknowledged in a May 10, 2018 NPR interview that the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance policy would necessarily separate families, defending the practice as equivalent to standard law enforcement. Yet within weeks, Nielsen would …
Kirstjen NielsenJeff SessionsStephen MillerDonald TrumpDepartment of Homeland Securityfamily-separationhuman-rightschild-abuseimmigrationdisinformation
On April 6, 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a “zero tolerance” policy for unauthorized border crossings that was explicitly designed to separate children from their parents as a deterrent to asylum seekers and migrants. The policy marked a deliberate escalation from …
Jeff SessionsDonald TrumpStephen MillerDepartment of Homeland SecurityImmigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)family-separationhuman-rightschild-abuseimmigrationcrimes-against-humanity
During a bipartisan meeting with senators in the Oval Office to discuss immigration, President Trump asked why the United States would want people from ‘shithole countries’ while being briefed on changes to the visa lottery system. Trump questioned why America would want immigrants from …
Donald TrumpDick DurbinU.N. Human Rights OfficeAfrican Unionracial-politicsimmigrationrepublican-partyxenophobiainstitutional-racism+2 more
President Trump traveled to Long Island to deliver a speech linking MS-13 gang violence to immigration policy, using the gang to justify harsh deportation policies. In his 2018 State of the Union, Trump highlighted the murders of teenagers Kayla Cuevas and Nisa Mickens, stating ‘Six members of …
Donald TrumpMS-13racial-politicsdog-whistle-politicsimmigrationrepublican-partyxenophobia+2 more
President Trump signed Executive Order 13780 on March 6, 2017—“Travel Ban 2.0”—revising his original Muslim ban after federal courts blocked Executive Order 13769. The new order placed a 90-day restriction on entry to the U.S. by nationals of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and …
Donald TrumpDerrick WatsonDoug ChinRudy Giulianimuslim-banreligious-discriminationauthoritarianismimmigrationrule-of-law
President Trump signed Executive Order 13769, titled “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States,” banning citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries—Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen—from entering the United States for 90 days. …
Donald TrumpRudy GiulianiJim MattisState Departmentmuslim-banauthoritarianismreligious-discriminationimmigrationrule-of-law+1 more
NBCUniversal announces on June 29, 2015, that it is ending its business relationship with Donald Trump, firing him from “The Apprentice” and cancelling the Trump-produced Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants in response to Trump’s racist comments about Mexican immigrants during his …
Donald TrumpNBCUnivisionthe apprenticenbcracismimmigrationpresidential campaign+1 more
Donald Trump formally announced his presidential candidacy with a speech demonizing Mexican immigrants in explicitly racist terms. Trump declared: ‘When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re …
Donald Trumpracial-politicsdog-whistle-politicsimmigrationrepublican-partyxenophobia+2 more
At a December 2009 meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)’s Public Safety and Elections Task Force, Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce sits behind closed doors with executives from Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) and lobbyists from the for-profit bail industry …
ALECCorrections Corporation of America (CCA)Russell PearceJan BrewerGEO Group+2 morealecprivate-prisonprison-industrial-compleximmigrationarizona+4 more
Donald Trump founds Trump Model Management (originally T Models), which would bring approximately 250 international models to the United States. Investigative reporting later revealed systematic H-1B visa fraud, with models instructed to lie to customs officials and work illegally on tourist visas. …
Donald TrumpTrump Model ManagementAlexia PalmerRachel Blaiscorruptionexploitationimmigrationlabor-violations
Section 287(g) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) takes effect, creating a program allowing the Immigration and Naturalization Service to deputize state and local law enforcement officers to perform immigration enforcement functions. Under 287(g) agreements, …
U.S. CongressImmigration and Naturalization ServiceDepartment of JusticeLocal law enforcement agenciesimmigrationlocal-enforcementpolice-collaborationracial-profilingiirira
President Bill Clinton signs the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) in response to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, despite the attack having no connection to immigration. While primarily focused on death penalty procedures and terrorism prosecution, the law contains sweeping …
Bill ClintonU.S. CongressDepartment of JusticeImmigration and Naturalization Serviceimmigrationdeportationjudicial-reviewretroactive-punishmentterrorism+1 more
The Clinton administration launches Operation Gatekeeper, deploying additional Border Patrol agents, surveillance equipment, and barriers along the San Diego sector of the U.S.-Mexico border. Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner Doris Meissner implements the “prevention through …
Bill ClintonJanet RenoDoris MeissnerImmigration and Naturalization ServiceU.S. Border Patrolimmigrationborder-militarizationenforcementdeathdeterrence+1 more
Zoe Baird withdraws her nomination as Attorney General after revelations that she employed undocumented immigrants as household workers and failed to pay required Social Security taxes. The scandal, dubbed “Nannygate,” generates intense public backlash despite the commonplace nature of …
Bill ClintonZoe BairdU.S. SenateKimba WoodJanet Renoimmigrationpolitical-scandalattorney-generalenforcement-hypocrisyemployer-sanctions
Following the acquittal of Los Angeles police officers in the Rodney King beating and the subsequent civil unrest, the Immigration and Naturalization Service collaborates with the LAPD to conduct sweeping arrests targeting undocumented immigrants among those detained during the riots. INS officials …
Immigration and Naturalization ServiceLos Angeles Police DepartmentPete WilsonGeorge H.W. Bushimmigrationdeportationcivil-unrestracial-profilingenforcement-escalation
President George H.W. Bush signs the Immigration Act of 1990 (IMMACT), the most significant expansion of legal immigration since the Hart-Celler Act of 1965. The law increases annual immigration limits from 500,000 to 700,000 for the first three years and 675,000 thereafter, creates the Diversity …
George H.W. BushEdward KennedyAlan SimpsonU.S. Congressimmigrationlegal-immigrationdiversity-visah1bemployment-visas
President Ronald Reagan signs the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, introducing the “aggravated felony” concept into immigration law for the first time. Initially defined narrowly to include murder, federal drug trafficking, and illicit trafficking in certain firearms or destructive devices, …
Ronald ReaganU.S. CongressDepartment of JusticeImmigration and Naturalization Serviceimmigrationdeportationwar-on-drugsmandatory-minimumdue-process+1 more
President Ronald Reagan issues Executive Order 12324, authorizing the U.S. Coast Guard to interdict vessels carrying undocumented migrants in international waters and return passengers to their country of origin without asylum screening. Though framed neutrally, the order specifically targets …
Ronald ReaganU.S. Coast GuardImmigration and Naturalization ServiceJean-Claude DuvalierDepartment of Stateimmigrationasylumracisminterdictiondetention+1 more
Between April and October 1980, approximately 125,000 Cubans flee to the United States in the Mariel Boatlift after Fidel Castro opens the port of Mariel to emigration. Simultaneously, thousands of Haitians fleeing the brutal Duvalier dictatorship arrive in Florida by boat, creating a natural …
Jimmy CarterFidel CastroCuban refugeesHaitian refugeesImmigration and Naturalization Service+1 moreimmigrationrefugee-policyracismdetentioncold-war+1 more
President Jimmy Carter signs the Refugee Act of 1980, the first comprehensive reform of U.S. refugee policy since the Displaced Persons Act of 1948. The legislation adopts the United Nations definition of refugee as anyone with a “well-founded fear of persecution” based on race, …
Jimmy CarterEdward KennedyU.S. CongressUnited Nations High Commissioner for RefugeesDepartment of Stateimmigrationrefugee-policyasylumcold-warinstitutional-capture
Dr. John Tanton, a Michigan ophthalmologist and former Sierra Club population committee chair, founds the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) in Washington, D.C., establishing the organizational infrastructure for the modern nativist movement. Initially framing immigration restriction …
John TantonFederation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)Pioneer FundCordelia Scaife MayRoger Connerimmigrationnativismwhite-nationalismthink-tankinstitutional-capture+1 more
President Jimmy Carter signs legislation establishing the Select Commission on Immigration and Refugee Policy (SCIRP), a sixteen-member bipartisan body charged with conducting a comprehensive review of U.S. immigration policy and recommending reforms. Chaired by Father Theodore Hesburgh, president …
Jimmy CarterTheodore HesburghU.S. CongressAlan SimpsonRomano Mazzoliimmigrationpolicy-reformbipartisancommissionamnesty
President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (Hart-Celler Act) into law at the base of the Statue of Liberty, abolishing the National Origins Formula that has governed U.S. immigration policy since the 1920s. The legislation dismantles the racist quota system that …
President Lyndon B. JohnsonSenator Philip HartRepresentative Emanuel CellerSenator James EastlandSenator Samuel Ervin+1 moreimmigrationcivil-rightsinstitutional-resistancecongressional-obstruction
Congress passes the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (McCarran-Walter Act) over President Truman’s veto on June 27, 1952, codifying a racialized immigration quota system that allocates 85 percent of the 154,277 visas available annually to individuals of northern and western European …
Pat McCarranFrancis E. WalterHarry S. TrumanU.S. CongressHerbert Lehmanimmigrationracial-discriminationquota-systemlegislative-overrideanticommunism
Sheriff James Martin and 150 armed deputies open fire on 300-400 unarmed striking coal miners marching to support a newly formed United Mine Workers union at Calvin Pardee’s Lattimer mine near Hazleton, Pennsylvania. The peaceful demonstration consists mostly of Polish, Slovak, Lithuanian, and …
Sheriff James MartinLuzerne County deputiesUnited Mine WorkersImmigrant minersPennsylvania National Guard+1 morelabor-suppressiongilded-agepolice-violenceimmigrationmining-industry+1 more
Congress passes and President George Washington signs the Naturalization Act of 1790 (1 Stat. 103), the first federal law establishing uniform rules for granting United States citizenship through naturalization. The Act limits naturalization eligibility to “free white person(s)… of good …
First CongressGeorge Washingtonracial-exclusioncitizenshipimmigrationinstitutional-racismlegal-framework+1 more