Immigration Crackdown

Deportation operations, asylum restrictions, and border policy court battles.

2026
25 items
Jun 5
Federal court vacates USCIS asylum freeze for 39 countries
Federal court erases six-month immigration freeze for 39 countries nationwide
J
J
S
M
+3
8 figures
Jun 5
Senate passes $70B ICE funding bill, rejects anti-weaponization limits
Senate funds ICE through 2029, bypassing 60-vote threshold
L
C
B
+4
9 figures
Jun 5
Senate blocks SAVE Act citizenship voting requirement 48-50
Four Republicans blocked a citizenship voting requirement even Republicans couldn't majority-pass
L
S
L
M
T
+4
9 figures
Jun 3
Senate advances $72B ICE and CBP funding bill
Senate moves $72B to ICE and CBP using reconciliation, bypassing Democrats
C
B
S
L
+3
8 figures
Jun 2
NJ sues GEO Group after inspectors blocked at ICE jail
GEO Group blocked NJ inspectors as 300 detainees hunger-struck
J
M
R
P
+3
8 figures
Jun 1
GOP senators kill Trump's anti-weaponization fund
Senate Republicans reject $1.776B DOJ fund, forcing White House to drop it
L
T
C
+1
6 figures
May 31
GEO Group executive takes over ICE as contract profits hit record $254M
A GEO Group veteran now runs ICE as the contractor posts record profits
D
T
T
+3
8 figures
May 30
DHS threatens to halt international flights at sanctuary city airports
CBP pullout would devastate international travel, airlines warn
A
S
Z
N
+7
12 figures
May 28
DOJ sues four states for blocking ICE undercover license plates
Four states blocked ICE license plates. The DOJ says that's unconstitutional.
B
M
S
A
+7
12 figures
May 27
Record ICE detainee suicides expose private prison oversight failures
10 men dead by suicide in ICE custody, a federal record, as private prison profits soar
T
D
D
+4
9 figures
May 26
DOJ schedules 100+ immigrants per hearing to generate mass deportation orders
DOJ reschedules immigrants without notice, flooding hearings to generate deportation orders
D
V
K
+3
8 figures
May 22
Third Circuit splits 6-5, clearing path to deport Khalil
Green card holder faces deportation as appeals court splits over speech rights.
M
M
C
M
4 figures
May 21
Trump DOJ goes 0-8 as Maine and Wisconsin dismiss voter roll suits
States beat DOJ 8 times as courts reject federal voter data grab
S
D
3 figures
🏛️
May 20
Virginia bars ICE from state property without a warrant
Spanberger signs executive order as ICE arrests in Virginia surged sevenfold
A
T
C
S
+4
9 figures
May 20
Trump uses anti-money-laundering law to flag immigrant bank accounts
Trump order tells banks to flag immigrant ITIN accounts as risky
D
E
5 figures
May 20
Trump order makes immigration status a banking risk factor
Trump tells banks to weigh immigration status when judging financial risk
R
N
+2
7 figures
May 14
Judge orders U.S. to return Colombian woman deported to Congo
Federal judge finds deportation to Congo likely illegal after DRC refused to accept sick woman
R
A
L
S
5 figures
May 14
Federal judge blocks Texas SB 4 reentry and deportation provisions
Reagan-appointed judge blocks Texas from creating state deportation system
D
G
K
E
D
+3
8 figures
May 14
Border Patrol chief resigns after misconduct report and 37-year career
Third DHS leadership exit in weeks raises accountability and revolving-door questions
M
D
T
+6
11 figures
May 14
Senate parliamentarian strikes down GOP immigration enforcement funding
Budget rule blocks $19.1B in border enforcement from fast-track passage
E
C
J
+3
8 figures
May 9
Trump fires 113+ immigration judges, installs military lawyers
DOJ fires 113+ judges, installs military lawyers to speed deportations
R
N
C
M
+6
11 figures
May 8
Secret ICE memo tells local police not to disclose 287(g) records without federal approval
ICE tells 287(g) local partners in TX and FL to clear FOIA releases and press statements with federal officials first
T
M
R
N
4 figures
May 5
Senate Republicans drop $72B ICE bill via reconciliation
Republicans bypass filibuster to spend $72B on ICE and CBP
C
R
J
L
+3
8 figures
⚖️
May 1
Judge blocks Trump from ending TPS for 2,800 Yemenis
2,800 Yemenis keep work permits as judge blocks May 4 deadline
D
3 figures

People

Key figures in Immigration Crackdown

133 figures

Donald Trump

President of the United States (2025-present)

John Thune

U.S. Senate Majority Leader (R-SD), elected Nov. 13, 2024

Kristi Noem

Former Secretary of Homeland Security (served until March 2026)

Markwayne Mullin

Secretary of Homeland Security (confirmed by Senate 54-45, March 23, 2026)

Todd Blanche

Acting U.S. Attorney General, 2025-2026

Tom Homan

Trump administration Border Czar / Acting ICE Director

Rand Paul

U.S. Senator (R-KY)

Chuck Schumer

U.S. Senate Minority Leader (D-NY)

Lisa Murkowski

U.S. Senator (R-AK), serving since 2002; won 2022 reelection via ranked-choice vote

Monae Johnson

Speaker of the House

Thom Tillis

U.S. Senator (R-NC)

Bill Cassidy

U.S. Senator (R-LA)

David Venturella

Acting ICE Director (effective June 1, 2026)

Kevin Kiley

U.S. Representative - CA District 3

Susan Collins

U.S. Senator (R-ME)

Todd Lyons

ICE Acting Director through May 31, 2026

Dick Durbin

U.S. Senator (D-IL); Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee

Eric Rodriguez

Senior Vice President of Policy and Advocacy, UnidosUS

George Zoley

Executive Chairman, The GEO Group, Inc.

Greg Abbott

Governor of Texas

Jamie Raskin

Ranking Member, House Judiciary Committee (D-MD)

Jeff Merkley

Ranking Member, Senate Budget Committee

Lindsey Graham

U.S. Senator (R-SC), Chair of the Senate Budget Committee

Michael Bennet

U.S. Senator (D-CO)

Pam Bondi

U.S. Attorney General (confirmed February 2025)

Robert Byrd

Former Senator (D-WV)

Robert Nichols

President and CEO, American Bankers Association

Scott Bessent

Secretary of the Treasury

Shenna Bellows

Maine Secretary of State (since January 2023)

Aaron Frey

Maine Attorney General (since January 2019)

Abigail Spanberger

Governor of Virginia (January 2026–present)

Adriana Maria Quiroz Zapata

Colombian asylum seeker

Adriana Piñon

Legal Director, ACLU of Texas

Alex Padilla

U.S. Senator (D-CA)

Amy Baggio

U.S. District Judge, District of Oregon (Obama appointee)

Amy Joyce

Oregon DMV Administrator (2026)

Andy Biggs

U.S. Representative - AZ District 5

Andy Kim

U.S. Senator, Democrat, New Jersey

Antonin Scalia

Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court (1986–2016)

Beth Ford

CEO of Land O'Lakes and chair of National Business Roundtable immigration committee

Bob Ferguson

Governor of Washington (since January 2025)

Brandon Jaroch

Former Immigration Judge (fired February 2025), Federal Circuit appellant

Brayan Rayo Garzon

ICE detainee, died April 2025 (age 26)

Brett Shumate

Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, DOJ (2026)

Brian Olsen

Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Brooke Rollins

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture

Carla Espinoza

Former Immigration Judge, Chicago Immigration Court (fired July 2025)

Chaofeng Ge

ICE detainee, died 2025 (Chinese citizen, Moshannon Valley Processing Center)

Cheryl Ann Krause

U.S. Circuit Judge, Third Circuit Court of Appeals

Chip Roy

U.S. Representative (R-TX-21)

Chris Kaiser

Policy Director, ACLU of Virginia (2026)

Chuck Grassley

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair (R-Iowa)

Colleen Ogilvie

Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles Registrar (2026)

Corey Lewandowski

DHS Adviser under Secretary Noem

Dale Ho

U.S. District Judge, Southern District of New York (Biden appointee, confirmed 2022)

Dan Goldman

U.S. Representative (D-NY-10) (2026)

Dana Leigh Marks

Former President, National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ); retired immigration judge, 2022-present

Daren K. Margolin

Director, Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), 2025-present

Daryl Gates

Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (1978–1992)

David Bier

Immigration Policy Director, Cato Institute

David Donatti

Staff Attorney, ACLU of Texas

David Ezra

Senior U.S. District Judge, W.D. Texas (designated), D. Hawaii (appointed 1988)

Deidre Henderson

Utah Lieutenant Governor

Diane Thompson

Deputy Director and Chief Advocacy Officer, National Consumer Law Center

Dilawar Syed

Former Deputy Administrator, Small Business Administration; immigration attorney, 2025-present

Earl Warren

U.S. Senator (D-MA)

Edgar Saldivar

Senior Staff Attorney, ACLU of Texas

Efrén Olivares

Vice President of Litigation and Legal Strategy at the National Immigration Law Center

Elizabeth MacDonough

Senate Parliamentarian

Gary Peters

Ranking Member, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee; U.S. Senator, Democrat, Michigan

Gavin Newsom

California Governor

Glenn Youngkin

Former Governor of Virginia (January 2022–January 2026)

Hank Johnson

U.S. Representative (D-GA-04), House Judiciary Committee (2026)

Hans von Spakovsky

Senior Legal Fellow, Heritage Foundation; constitutional scholar, Advancing American Freedom (2026)

Jeff Sessions

U.S. Attorney General, 2017-2018

Jennifer Davenport

New Jersey Attorney General (since February 24, 2026)

Jennifer Lee Koh

Professor of Law, Pepperdine Caruso School of Law; immigration law scholar

John Fetterman

U.S. Senator (D-PA)

John J. McConnell Jr.

Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island (nominated by President Obama, confirmed by Senate, serves D.R.I.)

Joseph Edlow

Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (confirmed by Senate, July 2025)

Julie Fedorchak

U.S. Representative (R-ND-AL)

Kara Morillo

Organizer, Eyes on ICE coalition

Karen Keys-Gamarra

Delegate, Virginia House of Delegates, D-Fairfax (2026)

Kash Patel

FBI Director

Ken Paxton

Attorney General of Texas

Kica Matos

President, National Immigration Law Center (NILC), 2023-present

LaMonica McIver

U.S. Representative (NJ-10)

Lance

Chief U.S. District Judge in Maine

Lauren O'Neal

Immigration Attorney

Leonie M. Brinkema

U.S. District Judge, Eastern District of Virginia (Clinton appointee, 1993)

Long

AP Investigative Reporters

Mahmoud Khalil

Petitioner and Columbia University Graduate

Marco Rubio

Secretary of State

Maura Healey

Governor of Massachusetts (since January 2023)

Megan Jackler

Former Immigration Judge (fired February 2025), Federal Circuit appellant

Merrick Garland

Former Attorney General, United States Department of Justice, 2021-2025

Michael Banks

U.S. Border Patrol Chief (Jan 2025 - May 2026)

Michael E. Farbiarz

U.S. District Judge, District of New Jersey

Mike Lee

U.S. Senator (R-UT)

Mikie Sherrill

Governor of New Jersey (since January 2026)

Milagro Sique

Chief Executive Officer, Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island

Mitch McConnell

U.S. Senator (R-KY), former Senate Majority Leader

Monica Tibbits-Nutt

Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation (since January 2023)

Monique O. Madan

Reporter, Florida Tribune and Two Can Be True newsletter

Naureen Shah

Director of Government Affairs for Immigration, ACLU

Nicholas Anthony

Research Fellow at the Cato Institute Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives

Nick Calio

President and CEO, Airlines for America

Nina Froes

Former Immigration Judge, Chelmsford Immigration Court (fired April 2026)

O-J-M

Transgender asylum seeker from Mexico, petitioner in habeas corpus case (2025)

Pete Hegseth

U.S. Secretary of Defense (2025–present)

Priscilla Richman

Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Ralph Ventura

City Attorney, Sweetwater, Florida

Ras Baraka

Mayor of Newark, New Jersey

Richard J. Leon

Senior U.S. District Judge

Rick Garcia

Ranking Member, House Oversight Committee

Rob Bonta

California Attorney General leading resistance

Rob Menendez

U.S. Representative, Democrat, New Jersey

Roopal Patel

Former Immigration Judge, Boston Immigration Court (fired April 2026)

Russell Vought

Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Director of the Office of Management and Budget

Ryan Cooper

Lead plaintiffs' counsel, Democracy Forward (argued for plaintiffs at May 21, 2026 hearing)

Saddam Azlan Salim

State Senator, D-Fairfax (2026)

Sandra Day O'Connor

Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court (1981–2006)

Scott Surovell

Senate Majority Leader, Virginia General Assembly, D-Fairfax (2026)

Sean Duffy

Secretary of Transportation (2025-present)

Skye Perryman

President and CEO, Democracy Forward

Sonia Sotomayor

Supreme Court Justice

Stephen Manning

Executive Director, Innovation Law Lab; O-J-M's attorney (2025)

Tim Burchett

U.S. Representative - TN District 2

Trent Lott

Former Senate Majority Leader

United Food and Commercial Workers Union

Labor organization

Vanessa Dojaquez-Torres

Practicing Policy Counsel, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), 2026

Zane Kerby

President and CEO, U.S. Travel Association

Zoe Lofgren

U.S. Representative (D-CA-18), House Judiciary Committee (2026)

Immigration Crackdown

2026

Federal court vacates USCIS asylum freeze for 39 countries

Senate passes $70B ICE funding bill, rejects anti-weaponization limits

Senate blocks SAVE Act citizenship voting requirement 48-50

Senate advances $72B ICE and CBP funding bill

NJ sues GEO Group after inspectors blocked at ICE jail

GOP senators kill Trump's anti-weaponization fund

GEO Group executive takes over ICE as contract profits hit record $254M

DHS threatens to halt international flights at sanctuary city airports

DOJ sues four states for blocking ICE undercover license plates

Record ICE detainee suicides expose private prison oversight failures

DOJ schedules 100+ immigrants per hearing to generate mass deportation orders

Third Circuit splits 6-5, clearing path to deport Khalil

Trump DOJ goes 0-8 as Maine and Wisconsin dismiss voter roll suits

Virginia bars ICE from state property without a warrant

Trump uses anti-money-laundering law to flag immigrant bank accounts

Trump order makes immigration status a banking risk factor

Judge orders U.S. to return Colombian woman deported to Congo

Federal judge blocks Texas SB 4 reentry and deportation provisions

Border Patrol chief resigns after misconduct report and 37-year career

Senate parliamentarian strikes down GOP immigration enforcement funding

Trump fires 113+ immigration judges, installs military lawyers

Secret ICE memo tells local police not to disclose 287(g) records without federal approval

Senate Republicans drop $72B ICE bill via reconciliation

Judge blocks Trump from ending TPS for 2,800 Yemenis

Judge Dale Ho issues preliminary injunction blocking Yemen TPS termination

Key figures in Immigration Crackdown