Just have a minute? Here are the top stories you need to know about immigration. This summary was featured in Documented’s Early Arrival newsletter. You can subscribe to receive it in your inbox three times per week here.
Around the U.S.
Pathway to legal status expands for horse racing industry workers:
A Biden administration regulatory change that took effect just three days before President Trump’s inauguration could help workers in the industry trade temporary visas for green cards. — NPR
Tracking private equity detention and surveillance:
The average cost of incarcerating someone increased from $150,000 per year in 2011 to over $500,000 as of 2021. There are nearly two million people detained by the U.S. immigration and criminal legal systems. — Private Equity Detention and Surveillance Tracker
DHS subpoenas California’s immigrant assistance program:
The legal action centers on California’s Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants, which provides cash assistance to “certain aged, blind, and disabled legal immigrants” ineligible for social security payments due to their immigration status. — CBS News
12-year-old boy left alone on sidewalk after ICE raid in Massachusetts:
ICE agents were seen on camera leaving the boy by himself on a sidewalk after arresting the person he was with on Felton Street on Sunday, May 4. Neighborhood Watch volunteers were able to get the boy home safely. — CBS News
Massachusetts resident ordered to be released from ICE detention remains in custody:
A Guatemalan man detained last month in New Bedford, Massachusetts, after immigration agents used an axe to break through his car window. He is still being held at a New Hampshire detention facility despite a judge’s order to dismiss his case. – WBUR
New York
Trump officials ‘created confrontation’ that led to arrest of Newark mayor:
Democratic Congress members say U.S. Homeland Security officials “created that confrontation” at the Newark immigration jail,” while U.S. officials accuse them of a “bizarre political stunt.” — The Guardian
A mother took her sons to an ICE check-in. She never saw them again:
Alma Lopez Diaz was sitting in a waiting room of 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan when an officer came out with one of her son’s wallets and another’s debit card, and said they wouldn’t be returning. — New York Magazine
Washington D.C.
FBI ordered to prioritize immigration, as DOJ scales back white collar cases:
The FBI ordered agents to prioritize immigration investigations over white-collar crime, while the Justice Department’s Criminal Division told prosecutors to scale back investigations of white-collar cases. — Reuters
Arizona Democratic Sen. Gallego wades into immigration debate with new plan:
Gallego’s plan calls for beefing up border security, as well as granting legal status to some people already in the country illegally. — ABC News
Immigrant detention numbers decline slightly, but ICE arrests continue to grow:
While 62% all current detainees were arrested by ICE, 38% were taken into custody by CBP. The reason for ICE’s dominance is connected to the decline in migrant crossings at the border. — Read Austin Kocher’s analysis of the data via Substack
What is Habeas Corpus and how is it under threat by the Trump Administration?
Habeas corpus gives a person the ability to challenge detention in court. This right also extends to noncitizens held within the U.S., and in the case of those migrants who have been detained by the federal government, those pending removal from the country. — TIME
The terrible optics of ICE enforcement are fueling a Trump immigration backlash:
The president was elected, in part, on a pledge to crack down on immigration. But he may be overinterpreting his mandate. — The Atlantic
