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.
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!
Join Commit to Democracy and Dr. Steven Volk, Professor Emeritus of Oberlin College, for this important training to make sure you know your rights and are actively working to protect them. April 16, 7-8 PM (EDT); 4-5 PM (PDT). Sign up here.
ACTION ITEMS
Congress must act immediately to stop detaining DACA recipients and pass a pathway to citizenship for immigrant youth. Send a message to your members of Congress to act NOW.
No Warehouses for ICE Detention Centers! 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):
Trump’s MAGA Allies Have a New Plan for Mass Deportations. It Could Splinter the Coalition (Politico, April 1, 2026): Surpassing 1 million deportations this year hinges on worksite enforcement — which would enrage farm and construction groups (and possibly voters).
Trump’s Justice Department Dropped 23,000 Criminal Investigations in Shift to Immigration (ProPublica, March 31, 2026): The administration abandoned hundreds of investigations into terrorism, white-collar crime, drugs and other offenses as it shifted resources to pursue immigration cases.
A Running List of Judges Who Have Rules on ICE’s Mass Detention Policy (Politico, March 24, 2026): POLITICO is keeping track of the federal judges across the country who have ruled on the new policy, along with links to their key opinions.
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
Trump Officials Cite White Supremacists in Bid to End Birthright Citizenship (Story here)
LOCAL AND OHIO NEWS
ICE Officials Now Present at 13 U.S. Airports, Including Cleveland Hopkins International (Oberlin Review, April 3, 2026): “The fact that we’re like, ‘Wow, I’m in, supposedly, the best country in the world.’ And here we are questioning, ‘Am I going to be racially profiled at the airport? Maybe I shouldn’t travel,’” said Eleonor Ramirez, a Latina former immigration lawyer who lived in Cleveland for many years.
ACLU Decries Expanding ICE Partnerships with Ohio Law Enforcement (Ohio Capital Journal, April 1, 2026): No local law enforcement agency in Ohio had such a contract at the start of 2025. At least 12 did a year later.
Immigrants accuse feds of unlawful arrests as ICE enforcement increases in Ohio (Toledo Blade, March 30, 2026): José Armando de Leon Zapata, who has lived in Toledo since October 2022, and is married to a U.S. citizen, was arrested as a passenger in a ride-share vehicle on Sept. 30, according to the lawsuit filed in federal court in Ohio.
Detained Immigrants Flood Federal Courts with Cases Seeking Release (Columbus Dispatch, March 29, 2026): ICE agents are arresting record numbers of immigrants. The number of beds to house them has increased 12-fold in Ohio since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025.
RESISTING, PROTESTING, AND ORGANIZING FOR CHANGE
Mexico Pressures U.S. Over Deaths of Its Citizens in ICE Custody (New York Times, March 30, 2026): Claudia Sheinbaum, president of Mexico, said her country would take legal steps to demand better conditions at immigration detention facilities, where she said 14 Mexican citizens had died since President Trump took office.
THE COURTS AND LEGAL ACTIONS
Birthright Citizenship
On Birthright Citizenship, Trump’s Restrictive Immigration Agenda Hits a Rare Roadblock (Reuters, April 2, 2026): With Trump looking on from the public section of the courtroom, most of the nine justices seemed unwilling on Wednesday to let him proceed with what may be the most audacious piece of his restrictive immigration agenda.
The Long Odds of Undoing Birthright Citizenship (Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, April 1, 2026): In arguments at the Supreme Court, a clear majority of the Justices seemed inclined to uphold the right.
The Decision That Would Create a Permanent American Underclass (Padma Lakshmi, New York Times, April 1, 2026): Birthright citizenship “gets at the heart of American values and culture.”
Babies Are an Afterthought in the Birthright Citizenship Case, Advocates Say (NPR, March 31, 2026): Without birthright citizenship, the parents of every baby born in the U.S. would need to establish their citizenship status to have access to standard supports.
In Their Words: What Judges Have Said about Birthright Citizenship (AP, March 30, 2026): Any child born on U.S. soil has a right to citizenship as established by the 14th Amendment in 1868 and affirmed by the U.S. Supreme court 128 years ago. On Wednesday, the high court is set to hear oral arguments in a case that could narrow or even end birthright citizenship in Trump v. Barbara.
How a SCOTUS Decision on Birthright Citizenship Could Impact Education Access (NPR, March 30, 2026): “Birthright citizenship is fundamental for child wellbeing,” says Wendy Cervantes of The Center for Law and Social Policy, a nonpartisan organization focused on helping people with low incomes. “It has helped ensure that all children in the U.S. can start off life with some sort of equal footing and opportunity.”
Supreme Court Fight Over Birthright Citizenship Threatens ‘Chaos’ in Proving Newborns’ Status (CNN, March 29, 2026): Most of the court’s arguments this week will deal with the history of the 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause, which makes clear that “all persons born” in the United States who are “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” are citizens.
Other Court News
Federal Judge Rules DHS Illegally Stripped Immigration Status from Thousands who Entered through CBP One App (NPR, April 1, 2026): A federal judge in Boston Tuesday ruled that the Trump administration violated the law when it ended the immigration status of nearly 900,000 migrants who came to the U.S. through a Biden-era parole program called CBP One.
CONCENTRATION CAMPS – WAREHOUSE DETENTION CENTERS
Feds Plan ‘Mega Center’ that Could House 10,000 Immigrant Detainees, Salt Lake Mayor Says (KSL.com, March 30, 2026): ICE officials hope to start work “in the weeks and months ahead” on the 24.9-acre site in an industrial area west of Salt Lake City International Airport, where an unused 833,000-square-foot warehouse sits.
ICE BUCKET
TSA Sharing Passenger Data with ICE Draws Opposition. What to Know (USA Today, April 4, 2026): The deportation of a Guatemalan mother and daughter who were detained before boarding a flight raises new questions about how the Trump administration is using government databases for immigration enforcement.
Hospitalizations, Car Crashes, and Kavanaugh Stops Continue with ICE (LA Taco, March 31, 2026): ICE has continued targeting courthouses, jails, sending folks to hospitals still, crashing their vehicles, and performing Kavanaugh stops still, which, if you’re still unfamiliar with the term, are basically Supreme Court-endorsed racial profiling stops.
‘Papers Please’ at Marine Boot Camp Graduation: ICE to Check IDs at Parris Island Family Days (LA Taco, March 31, 2026): ICE agents will be stationed at the access points of Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island during Recruit Family Days and Graduation ceremonies to conduct enhanced screening and check visitors’ lawful immigration status.
Arrests Behind Closed Doors: How ICE Traps Immigrants at Routine Appointments (Mission Local, March 26, 2026): At least 539 people were arrested at routine immigration appointments in the first nine months of Trump’s administration.
Florida ICE Numbers Reveal an Inconvenient Truth (Miami Herald Editorial Board, March 24, 2026): Is this what Miami voted for?
EMERGING POLICY AND THREATS TO IMMIGRANTS
Targeting Toddlers and Minors
President of Wisconsin’s Largest Mosque Detained by US Immigration Agents (Guardian, April 2, 2026): Attorneys for Salah Sarsour, a Palestinian-born US green card holder, say he was targeted for criticizing Israel.
Federal Government Appealing Order Releasing 5-year-old from Immigration Custody (CBS News, April 1, 2026): The federal government may gry to send 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos back to detention.
Two-Year-Old Held by ICE Sick and Not Getting Adequate Care, Democrat Warns (Guardian, March 30, 2026): Congressman Joaquin Castro calls for release of boy, Kaleth, and mother from much-criticized detention Dilley facility.
Detention and Deportation and Death
Trump Wants to Make Deportation Deals. Autocrats Are Ready to Listen (New York Times, April 4, 2026): The White House has turned deportations, a signature domestic issue, into a major piece of foreign policy. Here’s what we know about the program.
Despite Signaling Change, ICE Still Arrests Many Immigrants with No Record (Washington Post, April 3, 2026): Trump officials indicated that agents would take a more targeted approach after Minneapolis. New figures show large numbers with no criminal history are still detained.
Drive-by Detention: 800 New Yorkers Swept Up in ‘Collateral’ ICE Arrests (The City, April 2, 2026): One in four ICE arrests were of people who weren’t targeted, and three quarters of targeted arrests involved people with no criminal convictions or pending charges.
Inspection Finds Dozens of Violations of Detention Standards at a Major Immigration Camp in Texas (AP, April 2, 2026): A recent inspection at the nation’s largest immigration detention facility in El Paso found dozens of violations of national standards that potentially exposed detainees to excessive force, disease, and other unsafe conditions.
Immigrants Seeking US Asylum Are Being Ordered to Countries They’ve Never Been To, But End Up Stuck in Limbo (AP, April 2, 2026): More than 13,000 immigrants living legally in the US, waiting for asylum rulings, were ordered deported to countries where most had no ties.
Mexican Immigrant Died in US Immigration Custody, ICE Says, Marking 14 Deaths in 2026: (Reuters, March 30, 2026): Jose Guadalupe Ramos was found unconscious and unresponsive in his bunk by security staff at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, ICE said in a press release.
Only 11 Arrested during ICE’s Maine Surge Had Criminal Records, New Data Show (Bangor Daily News, March 30, 2026): Only 11 of the nearly 200 people detained in Maine during a massive January immigration enforcement surge were recorded as having a criminal record, according to federal data released Monday.
A First Look at the Latest ICE Arrest Data Published by the Deportation Data Project (Austin Kocher Substack, March 30, 2026): ICE arrest data just arrived with incredibly useful new fields, updated trends in who ICE is targeting and where, deeper understanding of the enforcement system, and some quality issues.
Deaths in ICE Custody Are Growing. ‘They Let Him Rot in There’ (New York Times, March 29, 2026): As immigrant detainee deaths have increased, conditions in detention facilities nationwide are coming under more scrutiny.
Authoritarianism, Lawlessness, Racism, and Cruelty
States Say ICE Pulled Medicaid Data Despite Court Order (Ohio Capital Journal, April 2, 2026): A coalition of 22 states told a federal court that the Trump administration appears to have violated a court order that limited the types of health data that could be shared with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation proceedings.
MAGA’s Latest Campaign of Cruelty Targets Immigrant Kids’ Education (Svante Myrick, The Hill, March 30, 2026): The Heritage Foundation is angling to get the Supreme Court to overturn Plyler v. Doe, a 44-year-old ruling that states cannot deny a free public education to children based on their immigration status.
Attacks on All Immigrants
A Slowdown in US Visa Processing Is Wreaking Havoc on Foreign Doctors’ Lives (Politico, April 1, 2026): Physicians from countries Trump deemed national security threats are reaching the end of their visas without responses to their renewal applications.
Trump Administration Scaling Back Asylum Crackdown Enacted after DC National Guard Shooting, Sources Say (CBS News, March 29, 2026): The Trump administration is scaling back a crackdown on asylum that brought hundreds of thousands of immigration applications to a halt, two Department of Homeland Security officials told CBS News.
IMMIGRATION AND THE ECONOMY
The impact of Immigrants on the US Economy (Tara Watson, Brookings, March 30, 2026): Empirical evidence indicates that immigrants have historically contributed more in tax revenue than they receive in public benefits, creating a substantial fiscal surplus for the U.S. government over time.
BY THE NUMBERS
Support for Trump’s Immigration Agenda Craters with All Faith Groups, Especially Mainline Protestants (Religious News Service, March 26, 2026): The new survey finds support for Trump’s immigration agenda weakened even among his steadfast supporters: white evangelicals and white Catholics.
BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
Born in the USA (David Cole, New York Review of Books, April 23, 2026): For the Supreme Court to accept the Trump administration’s attempt to revoke birthright citizenship, it would have to repudiate the Constitution, its own precedents, and the long-standing position of all three branches of the US government.Kristi Noem Is Gone. Now Mass Deportations Can Really Begin (Nick Miroff, The Atlantic, March 27, 2026): DHS has a new leader and a big pot of money to deliver on Trump’s campaign promise.