Immigration News Today: Lawyers Band Together to Fight Trump’s Deportation Machine

Plus: Trump officially signs $70 billion immigration funding bill into law

Julia Malleck

Jun 12, 2026

A man walks down a quiet street in Queens. Trump’s deportation campaign is causing irreversible damage to the community in Queens and beyond. Photo: Lam Thuy Vo for Documented.

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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.

New York

NYC rolls out “know your rights” blitz ahead of World Cup:
The $130,000-campaign, rolling out in multiple languages, is intended to inform immigrant New Yorkers and workers about how to interact with ICE, according to a press release from City Hall. —Gothamist, NYC.gov 

Brad Lander found not guilty in trial over immigration court arrest:
The former NYC comptroller was arrested and issued a citation in September for allegedly blocking the elevators at 26 Federal Plaza. His defense argued that he was there to inspect the conditions of the ICE holding cells on the 10th floor. —CBS News

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Over 600 protest plans for ICE detention facility in Rochester:
Plans were announced in May to build new holding cells in the city’s Federal Building, sparking opposition from local lawmakers and residents. —Spectrum Local News

[Long read] How ICE uses mystery ‘shuffle flights’ to move — and break — detainees forced from NJ:
The Trump administration is increasingly flying individuals in ICE detention to new locations without telling them where they are going or why. Experts are calling the practice a “form of terror.” —NJ.com

Around the U.S.

Federal judge orders deportation of pro-Palestinian activist:
Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia University graduate student and Vermont resident, is appealing the ruling. He was arrested in March last year during a citizenship interview. —POLITICO, NBC5, WCAX

Advocacy groups speak out, prepare communities ahead of ICE presence at World Cup:
Canvassing and organizing has picked up in communities across the country, along with the rollout of the national “No Ice in the Cup” campaign. —KUOW, Borderless, News from the States 

Detainees on hunger strike in California ICE jail allege unsafe water, food:
At least 40 individuals in the Adelanto detention facility are on strike, and have faced retaliation from ICE, according to immigration advocates. Meanwhile, community members have also begun striking in solidarity. —LA Times [Paywall], Claremont Courier, San Bernardino Sun

[Long read] Lawyers are building a new infrastructure to fight Trump’s deportation machine:
Advocates and attorneys are banding together to create so-called “habeas projects” in an effort to get immigrants detained without due process out of detention. —Truthout

Washington, D.C.

ICE wasted millions of dollars, endangered detainees’ health in country’s largest detention facility, “damning” report finds:
The Government Accountability Office (GAO), a federal watchdog, found serious health and safety issues at Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas, where at least three deaths have occurred since it opened in August 2025. —NPR, 📄Report

Trump officially signs $70 billion immigration funding bill into law:
Of that amount, $38 billion will go to ICE, $26 billion to CBP and $5 billion will be set aside for “unforeseen costs,” according to the Trump administration. —CNBC  

Julia Malleck

Julia Malleck is a journalist based in NYC. She writes Documented's flagship newsletter, Early Arrival, which tracks national and local developments in immigration policy. (And my handle on X/Twitter is @txt_julia)

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