May 19, 2026 · court_ruling
Judge Castel blocks ICE courthouse arrests after DOJ admits directive did not apply
On May 19, 2026, Senior U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel barred ICE from making civil immigration arrests at 26 Federal Plaza, 201 Varick Street, and 290 Broadway while African Communities Together v. Lyons moves forward. Castel acted after Justice Department lawyers admitted in March that ICE Directive 11072.4 never authorized arrests in immigration courts, undercutting months of federal arguments. ICE agents arrested a 21-year-old Honduran man at Federal Plaza the next morning anyway, turning a courthouse-access fight into a direct test of whether DHS would obey a federal court order (NYCLU; The City; amNewYork; ICE directive text; Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse).
May 4, 2026 · regulatory_action
ICE detention guards used force 780 times in Trump second-term year one
Internal ICE records obtained by the Washington Post documented 780 use-of-force incidents in ICE detention centers during the first year of the Trump second term, compared to 229 in the final year of the Biden administration — a 241% increase. Incidents included pepper spray deployment, restraint chairs, and physical takedowns of asylum seekers and civil immigration detainees. The DHS Inspector General announced eight oversight investigations into ICE operations including excessive force, but 41 Democratic lawmakers questioned IG independence and demanded expedited audits.
Apr 17, 2026 · policy_change
Abbott threatens $200M in funding cuts to Texas cities over ICE cooperation
Governor Greg Abbott threatened on April 17, 2026 to revoke approximately $200 million in state public safety grants from Houston, Dallas, and Austin unless the cities changed policies limiting police cooperation with ICE detainer requests. Houston faced potential loss of $114 million, Dallas $32 million, and Austin $2.5 million in state grants. Within days, Dallas and Austin updated their police general orders to remove bans on prolonging detentions to hold people for ICE, demonstrating how state governments can coerce cities into participating in federal immigration enforcement.
Apr 16, 2026 · government_formation
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons resigns without Senate confirmation
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons announced his resignation on April 16, 2026, effective May 31, saying he would take a private-sector job. Lyons had led ICE through the largest enforcement expansion in the agency's history — overseeing aggressive arrest operations, expanded detention, and the push toward 3,000 arrests per day — without ever facing a Senate confirmation hearing, as he was appointed in an acting capacity. ICE has been without a Senate-confirmed director since the Obama administration, allowing successive presidents to install enforcement chiefs without congressional vetting.
Apr 9, 2026 · executive
ICE spent $1 billion on detention warehouses without notifying states or Congress
In early 2026, the Trump administration purchased 11 massive warehouses across the country for $1.074 billion, a secret project designed to rapidly expand Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention capacity.
The plan involved eight mega-centers, each designed to hold 7,000 to 10,000 migrants, plus 16 smaller regional processing centers and 10 converted existing detention facilities. Federal officials made most acquisitions without consulting state or local leaders, keeping communities in the dark until purchases were finalized.
Republican and Democratic governors, mayors, and senators united against the expansion despite disagreements on immigration policy broadly. Days after taking office in late March 2026, new Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin paused all new warehouse purchases and ordered reviews of predecessor Kristi Noem's contracts after discovering evidence of dramatic overpayment and poor planning.
ICE paid premiums of 11-13% for the buildings according to CoStar analysis. The funds came from the $75 billion allocation in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
