On October 28, 2025, while President Trump was returning from a three-country Asia trip, the administration executed a major purge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) leadership, reassigning 12 field office directors across the country and replacing them with Customs and Border Protection …
Donald TrumpGregory BovinoKristi NoemStephen MillerTodd Lyons+1 moreborder-patrolcbpconstitutional-violationsescalationice+4 more
During the fourth week of the October 2025 government shutdown affecting over 700,000 federal employees, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced that approximately 70,000 Department of Homeland Security law enforcement officers—including ICE deportation officers, CBP border patrol agents, Secret Service …
Kristi NoemDepartment of Homeland SecurityImmigration and Customs EnforcementCustoms and Border ProtectionSecret Service+2 moregovernment-shutdowninstitutional-captureimmigration-enforcementaccountability-crisisbudget-reconciliation+1 more
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced the department is purchasing additional Chicago real estate to expand ICE operations, stating ‘We’re doubling down’ on federal control amid strong local opposition from Governor JB Pritzker. The property purchases represent federal overreach into …
Kristi NoemDHSICEJB PritzkerCity of Chicagoimmigration-enforcementfederal-overreachlocal-opposition-overridesystematic-corruption
ICE furloughed its entire Office of Detention Oversight despite detention capacity surpassing 100,000 beds, eliminating monitoring of facility conditions while detainee numbers reach historic highs. The shutdown of oversight occurred simultaneously with the largest expansion of immigration detention …
ICEOffice of Detention OversightDHSaccountability-dismantlingsystematic-corruptionimmigration-enforcementhuman-rights-violations
CoreCivic, a private prison company, secured nearly $300 million in new ICE contracts to add 5,700 detention beds across California, Kansas, and Oklahoma, effectively doubling agency capacity by 2026. The contracts include $130 million annually for California City Correctional Facility, $60 million …
The Trump administration escalated tensions with Democratic-led cities by threatening to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago, targeting the city over its sanctuary policies. This action aligns with Project 2025’s aggressive immigration enforcement strategy, which includes mass …
Donald TrumpHeritage FoundationChicago City GovernmentStephen MillerSarah Parshall Perryproject-2025immigration-enforcementurban-policysanctuary-citiesnational-guard+1 more
Immigration and Customs Enforcement contracted Clearview AI for $9.2 million to expand facial recognition surveillance capabilities, ostensibly for child exploitation investigations and officer ‘assault’ cases. ICE has already spent $3.7 million of the contract. Clearview AI’s …
ICE lifted the stop work order on its $2 million contract with Israeli spyware maker Paragon, granting the agency access to ‘Graphite’ spyware capable of bypassing encryption on WhatsApp, Signal, and Facebook Messenger. The software uses ‘zero-click exploits’ that force …
ICEParagonHomeland SecurityWhatsAppsurveillanceprivacy-violationencryptionspywarecivil-liberties+1 more
Flock Safety publicly admits that federal immigration agents have had direct access to automated license plate reader data through a previously undisclosed pilot program with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), giving federal authorities access to more …
Flock SafetyICECustoms and Border ProtectionU.S. Department of Homeland SecuritysurveillanceALPRimmigration-enforcementICEwarrantless-surveillance+1 more
ICE detention facilities hold approximately 59,000 immigrants, exceeding capacity by 140%. Over 70% of detainees have no criminal record, and 93% have never been convicted of a violent crime, contradicting Trump’s repeated claims of targeting violent criminals. The overcrowding has led to …
ICEDHSKristi NoemDonald Trumpimmigration-enforcementice-detentionovercrowdinghumanitarian-crisismass-incarceration+3 more
ICE denied multiple members of Congress access to immigration detention facilities across the country, including Rep. Jason Crow at Aurora, Colorado and six Maryland Democrats at Baltimore’s Fallon Federal Building. Despite a 2019 law guaranteeing congressional access for oversight, ICE …
ICEDepartment of Homeland SecurityRep. Jason CrowSen. Chris Van HollenSen. Angela Alsobrooks+5 morecongressional-oversightice-detentiontransparency-failurerule-of-lawimmigration-enforcement
Federal Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong issued a landmark ruling ordering the Trump administration to stop indiscriminate immigration sweeps in Southern California. The ruling came after the ACLU brought a case alleging unconstitutional arrests and denial of attorney access. The judge found …
Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah FrimpongICEDHSU.S. District Court Central District of CaliforniaACLU of Southern Californiaimmigration-enforcementicejudicial-interventionracial-profilingconstitutional-violation+4 more
Joe Rogan publicly criticized President Trump’s immigration enforcement tactics on his July 2, 2025 podcast episode, calling ICE raids “insane” and expressing feeling “betrayed” by Trump’s broken campaign promises. Rogan stated: “There’s two things …
Joe RoganDonald TrumpBernie SandersBonojoe-roganice-raidstrump-criticismimmigration-enforcementlibertarian-principles+1 more
The Department of Homeland Security ended a long-standing policy that restricted ICE agents’ ability to arrest undocumented people at sensitive locations including houses of worship, schools, and hospitals. DHS stated “Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools …
DHSKristi NoemICEDonald Trumpiceschoolssanctuary-violationshospitalschurches+3 more
Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) was forcibly removed from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s press conference at Los Angeles FBI headquarters on June 12, 2025. After interjecting with a question six minutes into Noem’s remarks about immigration protests, uniformed FBI police forced him to his …
Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA)DHS Secretary Kristi NoemFBI police officersU.S. Secret ServiceGen. Gregory Michael Guillot (NORTHCOM)congressional-memberfederal-detentionimmigration-enforcementpolitical-suppressionsenator
David Huerta arrested near an LA garment warehouse during a federal operation; later charged with felony conspiracy to impede an officer; released on bond
David HuertaICESEIUFederal Law Enforcementlabor-suppressionarrestimmigration-enforcementunion-leaderfelony-charges
Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem issued a directive to ICE to arrest up to 3,000 immigrants each day - a more than fourfold increase from the previous daily average. This unprecedented quota system for immigration arrests represents a fundamental shift …
Stephen MillerKristi NoemICEDHSenforcement-escalationicemass-deportationarrest-quotaskristi-noem+2 more
In May 2025, ICE launched “Operation At Large,” a massive nationwide plan to dramatically increase arrests of unauthorized immigrants. The operation includes more than 5,000 personnel from across federal law enforcement agencies and a requested 21,000 National Guard troops, representing …
ICENational GuardDHSKristi NoemStephen Miller+1 moreimmigration-enforcementicenational-guardmilitary-deploymentoperation-at-large+4 more
During President Trump’s first 100 days, ICE arrested over 65,000 individuals, including 2,288 gang members from Tren de Aragua, MS-13, 18th Street and other gangs. Additionally, 1,329 were accused or convicted of sex offenses, and 498 were accused or convicted of murder, marking the most …
ICEDonald TrumpDHSKristi Noemiceenforcement-milestone100-dayscriminal-aliensmass-deportation+2 more
On March 27, 2025, after posting an AI-generated image in Studio Ghibli anime style showing a crying Dominican woman being arrested by ICE, White House Deputy Communications Director Kaelan Dorr responded to criticism by establishing what would become the administration’s defining …
Kaelan DorrAbigail JacksonWhite HouseDonald Trumpwhite-housekaelan-dorrabigail-jacksontroll-culturegovernment-communications+4 more
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced 32,809 enforcement arrests in the first 50 days of the Trump Administration (January 21 - March 12, 2025), demonstrating a dramatic acceleration of immigration enforcement. The arrests included 14,000 convicted criminals, 9,800 migrants with …
ICEDHSKristi NoemDonald TrumpTodd Lyonsimmigration-enforcementicemass-deportationenforcement-milestonetrump-administration+1 more
Under President Trump, ICE made over 20,000 arrests in a single month - a 627% increase compared to just 33,000 at-large arrests for all of last year under Biden. This dramatic escalation marks the beginning of the administration’s mass deportation campaign.
Donald TrumpICEDHSKristi Noemenforcement-escalationstatistical-milestoneicemass-deportationimmigration-enforcement
On February 18, 2025, the official @WhiteHouse social media account posted a video titled “ASMR: Illegal Alien Deportation Flight” showing immigrants in shackles being transported on a deportation flight, with audio prominently featuring the sound of jingling chains being laid out on …
White HouseDonald Trumpdeporteeswhite-houseasmrdeportationtroll-culturedehumanization+2 more
Anduril Industries announced deployment of its 300th Autonomous Surveillance Tower (AST) along the southern U.S. border, significantly expanding its AI-powered surveillance infrastructure for Customs and Border Protection. The deployment includes the Extended Range Sentry Tower, featuring an 80-foot …
Anduril IndustriesU.S. Customs and Border ProtectionDepartment of Homeland SecurityPalmer LuckeyBorder MilitarizationSurveillanceAI SurveillanceImmigration EnforcementAutonomous Weapons
U.S. Customs and Border Protection awarded Anduril Industries a $25 million contract for autonomous surveillance towers (ASTs) along the U.S.-Mexico border, with plans to deploy 200 towers by 2022 in a relationship worth more than $200 million. The AST system combines Anduril’s radar-equipped …
Anduril IndustriesU.S. Customs and Border ProtectionDepartment of Homeland SecurityPalmer LuckeyBorder MilitarizationSurveillanceAutonomous WeaponsImmigration EnforcementAI Surveillance
Largest single-state immigration enforcement action in U.S. history with 680 arrests. Raids proceeded with standard agent identification protocols, contradicting later claims about masked operations being historical practice. Occurred on first day of school, causing significant community disruption, …
Operation Guardian Support mobilized over 4,000 National Guard troops from nine states for border support, operating under Title 32 authority while maintaining careful legal constraints against law enforcement activities.
National GuardBorder PatrolPentagonmilitary-deploymentborder-militarizationnational-guardimmigration-enforcement
CBP awarded Accenture $297M contract to hire 7,500 border agents/officers to meet Trump’s executive order. Delivered only 2 agents first year, 22-58 total hires by termination. $40K per hire cost exceeded average officer salary. Contract terminated April 2019 ‘for convenience’ …
Accenture Federal ServicesCustoms and Border Protection (CBP)ICEDHS Office of Inspector GeneralTrump Administrationcontracting-fraudadministrative-failuretaxpayer-wasteimmigration-enforcement
GAO reports document ICE’s reliance on a complex network of contracted detention facilities, including Intergovernmental Service Agreements (IGSAs) with guaranteed-minimum payment structures. In FY2019, ICE maintained contracts with 230+ facilities for longer‑term detention, alongside …
ICEPrivate contractors (CoreCivic)Department of Homeland SecurityU.S. Marshals ServiceState and local governments+1 moredetention-networkprocurement-violationsimmigration-enforcementigsa-contractsguaranteed-minimums+1 more
Despite Trump’s executive order 5 days after inauguration calling for 10,000 additional ICE officers, hiring collapsed 50% to just 371 deportation officers total in 2017. Congress denied specific funding for hiring expansion, providing only $15.7M for 65 agents instead of requested $186M for …