Edited by Steve Volk ([email protected])
Oberlin Community Supporting Immigrants (OCSI) does not endorse or oppose candidates for elected office. We aim to provide information, education, and analysis regarding the U.S. immigration system.
Know Your Rights: You can’t protect your rights unless you know what they are. Here’s a 2-page handout prepared by OCSI. If you want a comprehensive resource library of KYR information, updated for 2026, Austin Kocher provides one here.
OCSI Corner
Do you need a speaker on immigration of “know your rights” for your local church, synagogue, or community group? Contact us at the email below. We can help! Save The Date: KNOW YOUR RIGHTS/KNOW YOUR RISKS: What to Do When ICE Shows Up: Training and updates for newcomers and experienced folks. Oberlin Public Library (65 S. Main Street, Oberlin), Thursday, Feb. 12, 7:00PM. Co-sponsored by OCSI and Lorain County Rising.
ACTION ITEMS
Seven Actions Americans Can Take Right Now (Lisa Gonzalez Substack, January 26, 2026): A detailed list of the actions you can take right now.
Oppose Ohio House Bill 42. The bill would require the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce to report data to the federal government about the citizenship and immigration status of students in every public school in Ohio. TYou can find a Sample resolution here. Contact Government Oversight Committee: Ask Chair Thomas Hall not to give HB 42 any more hearings: (614) 644-5094 or [email protected]
Ask Committee Vice Chair Ron Ferguson to help stop HB 42: (614) 466-3735 or [email protected].
PICK THREE (No time for all the reporting? Here are three important stories from the past week that you might have overlooked):
A Crisis of Confidence for ICE and Border Patrol as Clashes Escalate (New York Times, January 26, 2026): Current and former officials describe growing frustration and disillusionment with the Trump administration’s approach, even as they support the goal of immigration enforcement.
At Least 32 People Died in ICE Custody Last Year, as Fatal Shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti Spur National Outrage (Janelle Griffith, People Magazine, January 26, 2026): The deaths occurred during a year of intensified immigration enforcement and preceded recent fatal encounters involving federal agents.
The Battle for Minneapolis (Emily Witt, New Yorker, January 25, 2026): As Donald Trump brings his retribution to a liberal city, citizens, protesters, and civic leaders try to protect one another.
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
In the frozen streets of Minneapolis, something profound is happening (Photograph by Philip Cheung, story here.)
Fear, Faith and Preparation as ICE Closes in on an Ohio Community (Ohio Capital Journal, January 30, 2026): In Springfield, faith-based coalitions are creating emergency hubs to care for children — and churches are preparing for their sanctuaries to be breached.
Clark County Police Say They Won’t Enforce Overstay of Haitian TPS Status (Columbus Dispatch, January 30, 2026): As Springfield and Clark County brace for a possible surge of immigration enforcement in early February, local law enforcement agencies say they will not be involved.
Where Ohio Lawmakers in Washington Stand on Funding ICE (Morgan Trau, Ohio Capital Journal, January 28, 2026): Senator Moreno: all in on funding; Senator Husted: hedging his bets.
‘Any One of Us Can Be a Target,’ Cleveland Immigrants on Alert after ICE Crackdowns (Cleveland.com, January 25, 2026): As immigration officials intensify tactics and clash with protesters, members of Cleveland’s immigrant community are all wondering the same thing. Could the crackdown come to Cleveland?
MINNEAPOLIS: MURDER AND OCCUPATION
The Schoolchildren of Minneapolis (Emily Witt, New Yorker, January 30, 2026): As thousands of ICE agents arrived, kids started staying home from school. A local principal, teachers, and parent volunteers have banded together to keep the families safe.
Border Patrol Commander to Leave Minneapolis after Shooting of Alex Pretti (Guardian, January 27, 2026): Gregory Bovino said to have been stripped of ‘commander at large’ title.
In One Image: An American Street (David Guttenfelder and Thomas Gibbons-Neff, New York Times, January 27, 2026): A detailed photographic analysis of ICE action in Minneapolis.
Cardinal Tobin: Pray, Mourn and Say ‘No’ to ICE Funding (National Catholic Reporter, January 26, 2026): Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, urged people of faith not to shy away from the news and to use their voices to say, “No.”
New Video Analysis Reveals Flawed and Fatal Decisions in Shooting of Pretti (New York Times, January 26, 2026): A frame-by-frame assessment of actions by Alex Pretti and the two officers who fired 10 times shows how lethal force came to be used against a target who didn’t pose a threat.
Watching America Unravel in Minneapolis (Charles Homans, New York Times, January 25, 2026): What I saw, as federal agents stormed the city and residents banded together to protect themselves, was a dark, dystopian future becoming reality.
January 24, 2026 (Heather Cox Richardson, Letters from an American, January 25, 2026): This morning, on a street in Minneapolis, at least seven federal agents tackled and then shot and killed Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse for the local VA hospital.
In Court Filings, Witnesses Describe Fatal Minneapolis Shooting of Alex Pretti (New York Times, January 25, 2026: The filings raise further questions about the federal government’s narrative of what happened before federal agents shot Alex Jeffrey Pretti on Saturday.
‘It’s Time to Start Doing Something.’ Despite Risks of Violence, Minnesotans Step Up to Take on ICE (Reuters, January 24, 2026): Activists say they have been overwhelmed by new volunteers – despite the potential for violence – since Good was killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross.
Editorial Boards React
The Unjust Killing of Alex Pretti Marks a Turning Point in Trump’s Second Term (Washington Post, January 25,2026).
The Trump Administration Is Lying to Our Faces. Congress Must Act (New York Times, January 25, 2026).
Time for ICE to Pause in Minneapolis (Wall Street Journal, January 25, 2026).
It’s Time to De-Escalate in Minneapolis, Mr. President (New York Post, January 25, 2026).
RESISTING, PROTESTING, AND ORGANIZING FOR CHANGE
Anti-ICE Protests Touch Every Corner of the US as Minnesota Officials Stand Off with the Trump Administration (CNN, January 31, 2026): Restaurant tables sat empty, business windows went dark and students’ desks were abandoned in several cities across the country Friday amid a nationwide strike in protest of the federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota.
Democratic Governors Scramble to Build a Legal Wall Against Trump’s Deportation Agenda (Politico, January 30, 2026): Alarmed by shooting deaths and rapidly shifting public opinion, blue state governors want legal barriers to curb federal immigration operations.
The Immigration Battle Comes, Loudly, to Budget Hotels (New York Times, January 29, 2026): “No sleep” protests have used noise and other tactics to target ICE agents at hotels, leaving the owners, often immigrants themselves, caught in the middle.
Catholic Church Emerges as a Bulwark of Resistance (Axios, January 28, 2026): Trump’s immigration crackdown and aggressive foreign policy has put him on a collision course with the Catholic Church.
These Patches Are Clues to Identifying Immigration Agents (Nick Turse, The Intercept, January 28, 2026): A guide to patches worn by ICE and CBP to help the public determine which federal agents are in their communities.
Immigration Activists Stage Protests at Philly Target Stores, Demand the Company Reject ICE (Philadelphia Inquirer, January 27, 2026): The group No ICE Philly has led demonstrations against ICE and against the arrests of immigrants outside the city’s Criminal Justice Center as well.
Minnesota Proved MAGA Wrong (Adam Serwer, The Atlantic, January 26, 2026): The pushback against ICE exposed a series of mistaken assumptions.
The Best Weapon You Have in the Fight Against ICE (Julia Angwin, New York Times, January 26, 2026): Now that our phones are the primary weapons of today’s information war, we should be as zealous about our right to bear phones as we are about our right to bear arms.
Boston Police Ignored All of the Requests Received from ICE in 2025 to Detain Immigrants, Officials Say (Boston Globe, January 26, 2026): The Boston Police Department received 57 requests from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain immigrants in 2025 — and ignored all of them, according to the agency.
Democrats Vow to Oppose Homeland Security Funds after Minnesota Shooting as Shutdown Risk Grows (AP, January 25, 2026): Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said that Democrats “will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included.”
Immigrant Families Protest Inside Texas Facility Housing 5-Year-Old Boy, Father Detained in Minnesota (Texas Tribune, January 24, 2026): Liam Conejo Ramos and his father were detained in Minnesota in an incident that’s further inflamed tensions over the Trump administration’s hardline immigration enforcement.
Minneapolis Trump Voter Now Helps Move Immigrants’ Kids to Safe Houses to Keep Them Away from His Federal Agents (Fortune, January 24, 2026): When federal immigration agents pounded on the door of his Minneapolis home, the oldest son in a family of 10 knew he had to move his siblings to a safer place.
Clergy Members Arrested at MSP While Protesting ICE in Minneapolis (CBS News, January 23, 2026): Dozens of faith leaders were arrested while protesting at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Friday, organizers say, as part of an effort to call for an end to Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests in the area.
THE COURTS
U.S. Appeals Court Says Noem’s Decision to End Protections for Venezuelans Was Illegal (NBC News, January 29, 2026): A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem exceeded her authority in taking the action.
Trump-Appointed Judges Are Letting His Immigration Enforcement Blitz Continue (CNN, January 30, 2026): A series of rulings from the Supreme Court and federal appeals courts have overturned early victories secured by opponents of Trump’s immigration blitzes in California, Chicago and Minnesota.
Judge in Minnesota Says ICE Has Violated Nearly 100 Court Orders (New York Times, January 28, 2026): A federal judge said ICE had disobeyed more judicial directives this month than “some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence.”
Judge Blocks Trump Officials from Detaining Refugees in Minnesota (Guardian, January 28, 2026): Ruling follows arrests under DHS ‘re-vetting’ operation of more than 100 refugees who had been lawfully resettled.
US Federal Judge Blocks Deportation of Five-Year-Old Boy and His Father (Guardian, January 27, 2026): Texas judge says Liam Ramos and his father cannot be removed as litigation challenging their detention proceeds.
Courts Struggle to Contain ICE (Robert Kuttner, American Prospect, January 27, 2026): Maybe an appalled judiciary will increasingly be allies, but we need to save ourselves.
Minneapolis Court Considers Whether Trump’s Deployment of ICE Agents Violates Constitution (Guardian, January 26, 2026): Lawyers argue that surge ordered by Trump administration amounts to an illegal occupation of the state.
Supreme Court to Decide Whether Immigration Agents Can Presume Guilt (Scotusblog, January 26, 2026): In Bondi v. Lau, the justices are likely to consider whether border officials can rely on criminal charges alone to decide that permanent residents have committed an offense that can allow the government to remove them from the country.
Appeals Court Rejects Justice Dept. Push for Arrest Warrant for Don Lemon (New York Times, January 24, 2026): The department had made an extraordinary request for the appeals court to force a judge to issue warrants for Mr. Lemon and four other people in connection with a church protest in Minneapolis.
US Judge Rules ICE Raids Require Judicial Warrants, Contradicting Secret ICE Memo (Wired, January 23, 2026): The ruling in federal court in Minnesota lands as Immigration and Customs Enforcement faces scrutiny over an internal memo claiming judge-signed warrants aren’t needed to enter homes without consent.
Judge Warns Administration Against Changing Immigration Status of Students Who Sued Over Free Speech (ABC News, January 23, 2026): He ruled last year that the government had targeted pro-Palestinian activists.
EMERGING POLICY AND THREATS TO IMMIGRANTS
Targeting Toddlers and Minors
‘It’s Been Heavier than Ever’: Dozens of Parents of Columbia Heights Students Detained by ICE (KARE11, January 30, 2026): An elementary school in Columbia Heights has had three of its students and at least 25 parents detained by ICE.
‘I Don’t Have Words’: 2 More Kids from Liam Ramos’ Columbia Heights School Taken into ICE Custody (MPR News, January 29, 2026): A second grader and a fifth grader — were taken into custody with their mother on Thursday by ICE agents.
‘I Want My Mom’: Kindergartner Left without Her Mother for Several Days as ICE Detains Parents in Main (Boston Globe, January 27, 2026): Mayra Vaca Latacunga, 25, had dropped Camila off at the Biddeford Primary School that morning, then was stopped and detained by ICE.
Warrantless Arrests
ICE Expands Power of Agents to Arrest People without Warrants (New York Times, January 30, 2026): An internal memo changed the standard from whether people are unlikely to show up for hearings to whether they could leave the scene.
Detention and Deportation and Death
ICE Claim that a Man Shattered His Skull Running into Wall Triggers Tension at a Minnesota Hospital (ABC News, January 31, 2026): Nurses in Minneapolis doubted federal immigration officers’ claims about a Mexican immigrant’s severe injuries.
Shooting Deaths Climb in Trump’s Mass Deportation Effort (PBS.org, January 29, 2026): At least eight other shootings, besides the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, have led to injury.
Targeted Cities
Immigration Raids Pick Up in LA as Federal Tactics Shift. Arrests Happen in ‘As Fast as 30 Seconds’ (LA Times, January 29, 2026): While the scope of the sweeps and the number of arrests in Los Angeles appear to be down overall compared with last summer, daily immigration operations are being documented across the city, from street corners in Boyle Heights to downtown L.A.’s Fashion District.
‘Our Cities Are No Longer Safe’: GOP Mayors Condemn Trump Immigration Enforcement (Politico, January 28, 2026): At a gathering of mayors in Washington on Wednesday, Republicans criticized the White House’s recent immigration crackdown as chaotic and damaging.
Maine’s Immigrant Students Stay Home as ICE Operation Ramps Up (New York Times, January 26, 2026): When a class in Portland went out for recess on Thursday, their teacher recalled, some of the 6-year-old students anxiously asked, “What about the ICE people?”
Authoritarianism, Lawlessness, Racism, and Cruelty
Disabled Man Dies as Caretaker Father Remains in ICE Custody in Dallas (FOX4, January29, 2026): The man’s father and primary caretaker, Maher Tarabishi, says he came here legally in the 90s and has been making annual immigration check-ins up until his arrest in October.
The Cruel Conditions of ICE’s Mojave Desert Detention Center (Oren Peleg, New Yorker, January 28, 2026): How immigration authorities have weaponized medical neglect to encourage self-deportations.
FBI to Investigate Minneapolis Activists after Far-Right Claim about Signal Chats (Guardian, January 27, 2026): The FBI director, Kash Patel, said the inquiry followed a far-right influencer’s post about anti-ICE Signal chats.
Bondi’s Injection of Voter Roll Demands into Minneapolis ICE Tensions Draws Claims of ‘Ransom’ (CNN, January 27, 2026): “Is the executive trying to achieve a goal through force that it cannot achieve through the courts?” district Judge Kate Menendez asked the Justice Department directly during a hearing Monday.
Hegseth Boosts Minneapolis Immigration Siege, Approving Use of Military Base (San Francisco Chronicle, January 26, 2026): In what could be a sign of President Donald Trump’s Minnesota immigration siege digging in, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth approved a request Monday by the Department of Homeland Security to further support its efforts in the Twin Cities.
Technology and Immigration Enforcement
ICE Launches Nationwide Program for Covert Surveillance of Immigrants (Washington Post, January 30, 2026): A subsidiary of the French company Capgemini signed a contract for some of the work, but after pressure from French officials, Capgemini now says it is no longer executing the contract.
The Powerful Tools in ICE’s Arsenal to Track Suspects – and Protesters (Washington Post, January 29, 2026): Biometric trackers, cellphone location databases and drones are among the surveillance technologies that federal agents are tapping in their deportation campaign.
WTF?
Trump Admin Sues Woman Who Failed to Self-Deport for Nearly $1 Million (Politico, January 29, 2026): The new lawsuit is part of a wave of litigation seeking fines for undocumented immigrants for failing to depart the country.
Italian Officials Voice Outrage at the Presence of U.S. Ice Agents at the 2026 Olympics (NPR, January 27, 2026): Are they going to prevent defections of U.S. athletes to Italy?
Ecuador Says ICE Agent Tried to Enter Consulate in Minneapolis (Reuters, January 27, 2026): A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent tried to get into Ecuador’s consulate in Minneapolis on Tuesday but was prevented from entering the premises by consulate staffers, the country’s Foreign Ministry said.
BY THE NUMBERS
How Americans See Immigration Officers’ Behaviors and Civilian Actions (Pew Research, January 29, 2026): 74% say it’s acceptable for people to record immigration arrests and warn others where enforcement efforts are happening
U.S. Population Growth Slows Sharply as Immigration Numbers Plunge (New York Times, January 27, 2026): The new census estimates reflect President Trump’s anti-immigration policies.
Trump’s Immigration Approval Drops to Record Low, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds (Reuters, January 26, 2026): 58% say ICE crackdown has gone too far; only 38% approve.
BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
The Border Patrol’s Legacy of Violence (Emma Janssen, American Prospect, January 30, 2026): To understand the brutality in Minneapolis, look to the agency that has a history of fomenting it.
A Helper and a Patriot: Alex Pretti’s Family and Friends on the Life of Nurse Killed by Federal Agents (Guardian, January 29, 2026): People who knew Pretti describe him as ‘generous with his time’ and denounce the Trump administration’s assessment of him.
I Was a Combat Soldier in Iraq. Here’s the 1 Question Everyone Should be Asking about ICE Right Now (Diana Oestreich, HuffPost, January 28, 2026): In the span of weeks, ICE and Border Patrol operations in Minneapolis have resulted in the deaths of two Minnesotans. In over a year of combat in Iraq, my battalion of 500 soldiers did not kill a single person.
When the State Kills, Budgets Are Not Neutral (Lisa Gonzalez, January 27, 2026): Congress is voting this week on whether to fund a killing machine.
Hearing My Own Scream (Rümeysa Öztürk, rsn.org, January 27, 2026): For months, she’s been haunted by the cries of ICE detention — of scared children, of grieving mothers — and her own.
The Rise and Fall of Gregory Bovino, US Border Patrol’s Menacing Provoker-in-Chief (Robert Tait, Guardian, January 27, 2026): Official who said Alex Pretti wanted to ‘massacre’ agents relegated to bench as White House appears to change tack.
Whom Is ICE Actually Recruiting? (Kali Holloway, The Nation, January 27, 2026): ICE has lowered standards to facilitate a massive hiring spree. Many of the new recruits are plainly unqualified. Are some also white supremacists or domestic terrorists?
The Truth About ICE’s Recruiting Push (Nick Miroff, The Atlantic, January 24, 2026): Trump officials are touting 12,000 new hires in four months. Getting them onto U.S. streets may take longer.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT Oberlin Community Supporting Immigrants (OCSI): https://oberlincommunitysi.org/
IF YOU KNOW OF OTHERS WHO WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE THIS WEEKLY BULLETIN: Send an email to: [email protected]