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.
CONTACT OCSI:
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://oberlincommunitysi.org/
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.
ACTION ITEMS
Add your name to say NO to ICE converting warehouses in our communities into inhumane deportation centers—and demand elected officials act NOW to stop it. Sign the MoveOn petition here.
PICK THREE (No time for all the reporting? Here are three important stories from the past week that you might have overlooked):
Logjam of U.S. Immigration Applications Puts Millions at Greater Risk of Deportation (NPR, April 17, 2026): An NPR review of shows that nearly 12 million applications for immigration services, such as applying for citizenship, a work permit or other permission to live in the U.S., await a decision.
The Return of Family Detention (Sarah Stillman, New Yorker, April 13, 2026): Under the Trump Administration, thousands of immigrant children have been detained and many have suffered from medical neglect. [Click here for the article in Spanish]
DHS Paying Local Police Millions in Quieter Approach to Immigration Enforcement (Jamiles Lartey, The Marshall Project, April 11, 2026): Facing public backlash, the Trump administration is outsourcing more immigration enforcement to local agencies and politically connected contractors.
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
Photo by Hadley Tomicki (L.A. Taco, April 13, 2026)
LOCAL AND OHIO NEWS
ICE No Longer Present at CLE Hopkins TSA Checkpoints; Northern Ohio Continues to Organize in Solidarity with Immigrants (Oberlin Review, April 17, 2026): The Northeast Ohio Worker Center, in partnership with Young Latino Network and the immigration firm Bartell, Georgalas & Juarez, is hosting monthly wage theft clinics in Cleveland.
Internal Emails Show DHS Employee’s Concerns about Info Used to Justify Haiti TPS Termination (Dayton Daily News, April 14, 2026): An email from a USCIS official says her supervisor was “forcing” her to include a section in a report on Haiti about how TPS was a “pull factor” for unlawful migration even though the employee said there was no empirical evidence to support that claim.
RESISTING, PROTESTING, AND ORGANIZING FOR CHANGE
Tufts University Student Targeted by Trump Administration Completes Her PhD (Guardian, April 17, 2026): Rümeysa Öztürk, who faced deportation over pro-Palestinian op-ed, travels back to Turkey to begin career.
House Passes Bill Extending Protections for Haitian Migrants in the U.S. (NPR, April 16, 2026): 10 Republicans joined the Democrats in approving the resolution to extend TPS for Haitian migrants through 2029. The bill now heads to the Senate where it faces an uphill battle.
Caught in the Crackdown: As Arrests at Anti-ICE Protests Piled Up, Prosecutions Crumbled (A.C. Thompson and Gabrielle Schonder, ProPublica, April 14, 2026): Prosecutors quickly dismissed charges that couldn’t be sustained, refused to file charges at all, or lost at trial.
Philadelphia ‘ICE Out’ Legislation: Here’s What to Know as City Council Weights Bills (WHYY, April 13, 2026): A majority of Philadelphia City Council supports the measures, which would restrict federal immigration enforcement activities in the city.
States Change Custody Laws to Keep Children of Detained Immigrants Out of Foster Care (19thNews, April 13, 2026): As parents become separated from their children because of ICE arrests, legal advocates worry immigrants’ children are at risk of being placed in foster care systems.
The Anti-ICE Resistance Is Working (Judith Levine, Guardian, April 12, 2026): A mass movement defending immigrants has slowed the Trump administration’s abuses.
FBI Extracts Suspect’s Deleted Signal Messages Saved in iPhone Notification Database (404media.co, April 9, 2026): The case was the first time authorities charged people for alleged “Antifa” activities after President Trump designated the umbrella term a terrorist organization.
THE COURTS AND LEGAL ACTIONS
They’ve Been Detained by ICE and Ordered Deported. Judges Are Releasing Them from Custody (Kyle Cheney, Politico, April 17, 2026): Judges, including those appointed by Trump, have found that some detainees have been illegally held despite their deportation orders.
Court Orders DC Judge to End Criminal Contempt Inquiry into Trump Officials Involved in Deportation Flights (CNN, April 14, 2026): A pair of Trump appointees on the federal appeals court ordered US District Judge James Boasberg to end his efforts to hold Trump administration officials accountable for flouting his orders in a high-stakes immigration case.
Immigrants Who Care for Seniors Under Threat in Trump Court Fight, Nursing Homes Say (Washington Post, April 14, 2026): Lower courts blocked the effort to send home Haitian immigrants, part of an already shrinking workforce in nursing homes. The Supreme Court will hear the case this month.
Judges Fired after Blocking Deportations of Pro-Palestinian Students (New York Times, April 11, 2026): The immigration judges’ abrupt dismissals marked the latest efforts by the Trump administration to reshape the country’s immigration courts.
CONCENTRATION CAMPS – WAREHOUSE DETENTION CENTERS
Judge Extends Pause on Work to Turn Maryland Warehouse into Immigrant Detention (AP, April 15, 2026): A federal judge extended a pause on transforming a massive Maryland warehouse into a processing facility for immigrants in a development that comes as federal immigration officials review a plan to house tens of thousands in converted industrial buildings.
McAllen Area [TX] Residents Push Back Against Any ICE Detention Facility in Their Community (Texas Tribune, April 13, 2026): Residents are urging city officials to use their local authority to stop or disincentive ICE’s use of warehouses for the detainment of immigrants.
ICE BUCKET
ICE Went on a Hiring Spree. Sterling Credentials Were Not Required, AP Investigation Finds (AP, April 17, 2026): The agency has said the majority of new hires are police and military veterans. But evidence is mounting that applicants with questionable histories were either not fully vetted before they were brought on or were hired in spite of their past.
Lawsuit Plaintiff Arrested by ICE; Attorneys Alleging ‘Shocking Act of Retaliation’ (Los Angeles Times, April 17, 2026): ICE on Thursday arrested a plaintiff involved in a class action lawsuit challenging raids in Los Angeles, prompting concerns from lawyers of retaliation and calls for his release.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons to Step Down from Agency (CNN, April 16, 2026): It’s unclear who would step into the role after Lyons departs. ICE has been without a Senate-confirmed leader since the Obama administration.
Immigration Enforcement to Be Funded for 3 Years under US Senate GOP Plan (Ohio Capital Journal, April 15, 2026): Using reconciliation process to fund ICE and Border Patrol without Democratic votes.
Homan: Catholic Church Should Stay Out of Immigration (The Hill, April 14, 2026): “I wish they’d stay out of immigration because they don’t know what they’re talking about,” said White House border czar Tom Homan.
How a $75 Billion Windfall from Congress Has Insulated ICE (NPR, April 13, 2026): The “Big Beautiful Bill Act” included $75 billion in new funding for ICE, on top of the agency’s annual funding, which is usually only about $10 billion. The infusion made ICE the highest-funded federal law enforcement agency.
Minnesota Authorities Investigate Arrest by ICE of a Hmong American Man as a Possible Kidnapping (AP, April 13, 2026): ICE officers bashed open the front door of ChongLy “Scott” Thao’s St. Paul home at gunpoint — without a warrant as far as Choi and Fletcher have been able to determine — then led him outside in just his underwear and a blanket in freezing conditions.
EMERGING POLICY AND THREATS TO IMMIGRANTS
Detention and Deportation and Death
Deaths of Migrants in ICE Custody Hit Record High Under Trump (NPR, April 17, 2026): Twenty-nine people have died in ICE custody since October, the start of the federal government’s fiscal year, already surpassing 2004’s toll of 28, the previous record, according to government data.
Aled Damien Carbonell-Betancourt Is the 17th Reported ICE Detention Death of 2026 (Austin Kocher Substack, April 17, 2026): Aled Damien Carbonell-Betancourt, a 27-year-old man from Cuba, died on April 12, one day after the 16th death of the year. The pace of detention deaths holds at an average of 1 every 6 days.
Death Rate in Immigration Detention Has Reached a 22-Year-High, Raising Physicians’ Concerns (NBC News, April 16, 2026): A report in the medical journal JAMA said the most recent spike in deaths took place in a system with “longstanding failures” that were compounded by Trump administration policies.
France Seeks Release of 86-Year-Old French Widow Detained by ICE (Guardian, April 15, 2026): Agents detained Marie-Therese Ross in Alabama on 1 April after she overstayed her 90-day visa, according to DHS. [Update: Ross was released after 16 days in ICE detention.]
Longtime Immigration Court Interpreter Arrested by ICE at South Texas Airport (Texas Observer, April 15, 2026): The state’s only licensed Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu legal interpreter is now languishing in a Raymondville detention center. She’s lived in America for 35 years.
As Immigrant Deaths in Custody Grow, ICE Reduces What Details Are Made Public (NBC News, April 15, 2026): This week, ICE reported the 16th immigrant detainee death in 2026. During all of 2024, 11 people died in custody.
‘Psychological Torture’: Outcry Over Conditions at ICE Desert Detention Camp (Guardian, April 15, 2026): Detainees tell of abuse at sprawling Texas facility whose giant generators gobble energy and fuel climate crisis.
California Man Shot by ICE Arrested by FBI and Charged with ‘Assault’ (Guardian, April 14, 2026): DHS accused of false and misleading statements about Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez who was shot in face.
A Man Died in a Mississippi ICE Facility. Do We Know Everything We Need to Know? (Mukta Joshi, Ohio Capital Journal, April 14, 2026): Delvin Francisco Rodriguez died four months ago in ICE detention; his family is still trying to find out what happened to him.
ICE Reports 16th Detained Death of 2026 at Winn Correctional Center in Louisiana (Austin Kocher Substack, April 13, 2026): Alejandro Cabrera Clemente, a 49-year-old man from Mexico, died on April 11 at a private prison in rural Louisiana. The pace of one death every 6 days continues to hold.
Why the Trump Administration Is Struggling to Deport Migrants to Unfamiliar Countries (CNN, April 12, 2026): Of more than 675,000 deported, only 15,000 have gone to third countries, 13,000 of whom were sent to Mexico.
A Valencia College Student Was Leaving for Work. ICE Was Waiting Outside (Orlando Sentinel, April 12, 2026): A.G., a Venezuelan national with a pending asylum case, a valid driver’s license, work permit, Social Security card, and no criminal charges, is nonetheless in ICE detention.
ICE Is Detaining DACA Recipients – and It’s Growing Harder for Them to Get Out (Times of San Diego, April 11, 2026): The administration has given conflicting information about how many DACA recipients are being detained. In February, ICE informed Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin that 261 had been detained and 86 deported last year.
Authoritarianism, Lawlessness, Racism, and Cruelty
A Protester Threw a Snowball. Federal Agents Responded with Tear Gas and Pepper Balls (ProPublica, April 17, 2026): “We see, just, use of excessive force after use of excess force,” one expert said.
Gov. Greg Abbott Threatens $200 Million in Funding from Major Texas Cities over ICE Policies (Texas Tribune, April 16, 2026): The governor’s letter to Austin, Dallas and Houston say the state will pull back state grants because of local policies that deter police from fully cooperating with immigration officials.
Minnesota Has Charged an ICE Officer with Assault for Alleged Actions During Immigration Surge (NPR, April 16, 2026): The charge is against Gregory Donnell Morgan, Jr, who pointed a black handgun directly at the driver and the passenger of a car who he confronted.
A Journalist Filmed an ICE Protest at a Minnesota Church. Then Federal Agents Showed Up at Her Door (Guardian, April 16, 2026): After Georgia Fort and Don Lemon reported from a church whose pastor reportedly works for ICE, agents arrested Fort in front of her children.
When ICE Enforcement and the First Amendment Collide (Ohio Capital Journal, April 13, 2026): A 30-minute podcast following the case of journalist Estefany Rodríguez who was arrested and detained ICE agents on March 4, 2026 in Tennessee. The Nashville Noticias reporter was held in ICE custody for 15 days.
Attacks on All Immigrants
Trump’s ICE Crackdown Is Hurting America’s Armed Forces (The Hill, April 16, 2026): Immigrants and the children of immigrants are a crucial source of personnel for the U.S. military.
Trump Has Cut Legal Immigration More than Illegal Immigration (David J. Bier, Cato, April 13, 2026): The cut to legal entries was 2.5 times as large as cuts to unauthorized entries.
A Decade of Student Visa Denials and What Comes Next (Shorelight, April 6, 2026): Globally, one in three F-1, or student, visa applications resulted in a denial in fiscal year 2025 with most denials from Southeast Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, or parts of the Middle East.
IMMIGRATION AND THE ECONOMY
Mounting Fear of ICE Disrupts Early Childhood Education Centers (Boston Globe, April 16, 2026): Early childhood education programs rely heavily on immigrant labor, and fear of federal agents has forced the programs to change how they operate.
‘I Don’t Go Out’: Vermont’s Undocumented Dairy Workers Live in Fear after Immigration Raids (Austyn Gaffney, Guardian, April 16, 2026): A tenfold increase in the number of immigration detentions has compelled many workers to barely leave the farms where they work.
‘They Want to Keep Denying Us Our Rights’: Workers in Vermont’s $5.4bn Dairy Industry Fight for Basic Labor Protections (Austyn Gaffney, Guardian, April 15, 2026): Migrant labor fuels much of Vermont’s dairy industry, but workers are exempt from minimum wage rules, overtime protections and the right to unionize.
America’s Worker Shortage Is Now a Crisis (Editorial Board, Washington Post, April 14, 2026): Amid an immigration crackdown, restaurants and hotels are struggling to provide quality service.
Immigrants Are Scared to File Taxes. It Could Cost the US Billions (New York Times, April 14, 2026): Fears that the I.R.S. could share their data with ICE have turned tax season into a gamble for people who are in the country illegally.
ICE Deportations Are Pushing Central Texas Families toward Financial Collapse (Austin American-Statesman, April 12, 2026): As ICE arrests rise in Central Texas, wives and daughters are often left scrambling to replace lost income — risking foreclosure, hunger and basic needs.
BY THE NUMBERS
ICE Detention and Deportation by the Numbers (Austin Kocher Substack, April 15, 2026): A full explanation of the data ICE published last week.
ICE Deported 442k People in Fiscal Year 2025 (Axios, April 15, 2026): The top-line figure is about 171,000 people more than the fiscal year before, but far short of Trump’s campaign promise to deport one million people a year.
Nearly Half of ICE Arrests in Massachusetts Involve Immigrants with No Criminal Record (MassLive, April 13, 2026): In Massachusetts, nearly half of the 7,031 ICE arrests have been of immigrants without any criminal record.
Data Finds Only 2% of February Immigrant Court Filings Were Based on Alleged Criminal Activity (Texas Public Radio, April 8, 2026): In February 2026, the Department of Homeland Security sought the basis of removal for 741 individuals, or 2% of the total, based on what the agency said was alleged criminal activity.
BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
The Death of Asylum (Tanvi Misra, Jewish Currents, Spring 2026): How centuries of efforts to deny refuge to persecuted people paved way for authoritarianism.
Immigration Proposal Could Strip Asylum Seekers of Legal Employment (Yakima Herald-Republic, April 17, 2026): Proposed changes by DHS could deprive asylum seekers of opportunities to work legally and provide for their families, exacerbating the financial burden on social service agencies, according to local and state experts.
ICE and the Absence of Accountability (Joyce Vance Substack, April 17, 2026): ICE’s acting director, Todd Lyons’, departure is one more step toward whitewashing ICE’s illegal conduct during this administration.
Map the Impact (American Immigration Council, April 16, 2026): A graphic analysis of legal immigrant voters in each state, county, metro area and district in the United States.
The View from Inside Trump’s DHS (Emily Bazelon and Matthew Purdy, New York Times, April 14, 2026): Dozens of agents and officials share their stories about working in the Department of Homeland Security during the harsh crackdown on illegal immigration.