Immigration News Today: Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act’ Plans to Spend $6 Billion to Expand U.S.-Mexico Border Surveillance

Plus, more immigration judges are being fired amid Trump's efforts to speed up deportations, and more of the latest immigration news.

Documented

Jul 16, 2025

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at the Border Security Expo in Phoenix, Arizona, April 8, 2025. (DHS photo by Tia Dufour)

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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.

Washington D.C.

Trump administration seeks to end bond hearings for immigrants without legal status:
Under the new policy, such immigrants would not be able to request bond from immigration judge before deportation — opening the door to the indefinite detention of millions while their deportation proceedings are underway. –The Guardian and The New Republic

More immigration judges are being fired amid Trump’s efforts to speed up deportations: 
“It’s outrageous and against the public interest that at a time when the Congress has authorized 800 immigration judges, we are firing large numbers of immigration judges without cause,” said Matt Biggs, president of the IFPTE union. –NPR and The Associated Press

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Two-thirds of the DOJ unit defending Trump policies in court have quit: 
Attorneys cited widespread concern of being forced to make arguments that could violate attorney ethics rules or refuse assignments and risk being fired, particularly in immigration cases.  –Reuters

Immigration authorities demand landlords turn over tenant information:
Some legal experts and property managers say the demands they reviewed pose serious legal questions because they’re not signed by a judge and may violate a housing discrimination law. –NBC News

Trump’s tax bill funds $6 billion expansion of US-Mexico border surveillance, report finds:
‘The spending is not about safety’: rights groups concerned as funding for data centralization increases. –The Guardian

New York

New York City immigration arrests just shot through the roof, new data shows:
Newly obtained federal records offer the clearest picture yet of how aggressively the Trump administration has pursued its mass deportation agenda — with a sixfold increase in arrests in early June. –THE CITY

ICE lawyers are hiding their names in immigration court: 
ICE attorneys fighting to deport immigrants are able to obscure their identities – no masks required. –The Intercept

Brooklyn senior center that provided community and care is now shut amid a lease dispute: 
United Senior Citizens Center of Sunset Park, which has been operating for 51 years, was hit with a planned 70% rent hike that the organization could not afford. –Gothamist

NYC youth baseball coach confronts ICE: ‘I may die here, but they will not take one of these kids’:
Since the beginning of the Trump administration, fewer places are off-limits to agents. –Scripps News

Around the U.S

Immigrants in overcapacity ICE detention say they’re hungry, raise food quality concerns: 
As the Trump administration ramps up immigration arrests, recent detainees and advocacy groups are raising concerns about food in ICE facilities nationwide. –NBC News

Deaf Mongolian immigrant held by ICE in California for 4 months with no access to interpreter: 
A disabled immigrant’s detention underscores the shift in asylum policies at the Mexico border since President Trump took office . –CalMatters

Man wrongfully detained by ICE claims officers discarded his wallet, immigration documents:
A judge ruled Roble Salad, a refugee from Somalia, was unlawfully detained and issued an order for his release, but when he asked for his wallet back, ICE officials said they didn’t have it. –Alaska Public Media

Living ‘A Day Without a Mexican’ in L.A., 21 years later:
The 2004 indie film imagined an absurd, Latino-less California. As fears of immigration raids empty out parts of Los Angeles, the film’s premise feels all too real, its creators say. –The New York Times

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