A few months ago, I wrote about a DACA case I worked on many years ago, for a teenager from Mongolia who hadn't seen her parents in years. It is, as the title makes clear, what a broken system looks like ⤵️ maxwellcommons.substack.com/p/what-a-bro...

An entire society dedicating a massive amount of political, social, and material capital to manifest white supremacy.

During Q&A, Vásquez said she wanted to see more "proactive enforcement" of IL court access law, not just inside court but as people are coming and going. She cited the importance of safe parking lots. "It is very clear these ICE agents are, for lack of a better word, stalking residents," she said.

Kevin’s dying wish is to reunite with his parents one last time. Still, this administration denied his parents a humanitarian visa and put his family through the pain, stress, & fear of separation. I am proud to be part of a coalition that fought to secure the release and return of Kevin's parents.

You may have seen the story of Kevin González, the 18-year old with terminal colon cancer. While Kevin is a Chicago resident, his parents returned to their native Mexico when they were deported several years ago. 🧵⤵️ www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

Rubio gifting the Pope, a noted White Sox fan from Chicago, a glass football with the State logo is Veep-level parody. Not even a Bears logo? Airport trinket-ass gift.

And *I* think there was well over $50,000 in that Cava takeout bag, you giant toenail. www.newyorker.com/news/the-led...

The latest escalation in ICE's renewed spring campaign in Chicago + its suburbs: a coordinated effort to stalk and disappear people outside of FOUR Cook County courts today.

Happening now: Cook County officials, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights and other immigrant advocacy groups are holding a presser outside the county's Domestic Violence Court in Chicago, re: federal immigration agents being spotted at 4 separate Cook County courthouses today.

Just got a message from the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights: they plan to hold a presser today at 2 pm outside the domestic violence court over ICE presence at Cook County courthouses. ICIRR claims ICE sighted today at four separate county courthouses.

As of 11:30 a.m. today, rapid responders are reporting federal immigration agents present in multiple Chicago neighborhoods and suburbs, including outside the domestic violence court in downtown Chicago. RR groups report 1 detention in Belmont Cragin.

ICE appears particularly active across Chicago today. Reports of arrests at: 1️⃣ A bus stop outside the court on Grand/Central (Belmont Cragin) 2️⃣ Near Erie Family Health on Superior/Paulina (West Town) 3️⃣ Thomas/Monitor (South Austin) Also reports of ICE at the DV court on W Harrison. iceout.org/en/

Chicago folks: ICE activity has steadily ramped up over the past few weeks in the city and the western/NW suburbs. This morning, someone was taken from a bus stop. ICE has also been reported at Cook County circuit courts downtown and in the suburbs over the last few days.

Federal agents detained someone at the bus stop at grand and central. This is why some of us have taken interest in examining the intersection of transit and immigration enforcement. We can see how some residents no longer feel safe waiting for a bus.

👀 This is interesting...six 287(g) agreements were removed from ICE's published list this morning, which is the most I've seen in one day. Five of these were county-level agreements with Kentucky sheriffs' offices. datastudio.google.com/s/nx5pNrWXKM8

BTW, to our readers — if you want to really dive into just how deep the 287(g) rabbit hole goes, @tituslegaldesign.com has an impressive and exhaustive breakdown of ICE's data. It's a must-bookmark. We refer to it frequently.

Likely the best public indicator right now is to look at @tituslegaldesign.com's 287(g) county map and focus on agencies using the Task Force Model. DHS has specifically said trained Task Force Model officers are eligible for full salary, benefits and overtime reimbursement under the new program.

Another great day to get loud and fight back against our federal government's violent, illegal enforcement and mass deportation campaign.

My only recommendation for how to handle SCOTUS in our next Reconstruction...

BIG NEWS. This expands the circuit split, which is now 2-2 (a 7th Circuit panel split 1-1-1). And importantly, it's a decision out of the 11th Circuit, in which multiple large detention centers sit (Georgia, Florida, and Alabama); meaning more people detained there should be able to get bond.

Again, the idea of hundreds of thousands of missing migrant kids is MADE UP. This whole thing came from a misinterpreted DHS OIG report that said that from 2019 to 2023 (half Trump, half Biden), ICE failed to start removal proceedings for 291,000 unaccompanied kids — not that they were "lost."

They're forgetting what happened the day before, you say? Interesting accusation, sir.

Brief summary of today's Chicagoland ICE activity as of 12:30 pm, per rapid response groups: Report of people detained this morning in Wheaton (see below) and in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood. Further activity reported in Mount Prospect, Hoffman Estates, Chicago Medical District

This tracks with the incredible spending ICE has done in recent months for digital forensics tools — specifically for phone cracking.

This is what Mullin means by "quiet", by the way. bsky.app/profile/azrw...

Mullin wants to be quiet about it, which means the rest of us need to be a lot louder. 18 people have died in ICE custody since January 1st — more people died in ICE detention in the first 4 months of 2026 than any full calendar year from 2007 to 2019.

“We're going to go find your entire family your network anybody you spoke to on a phone,” CBP’s Rodney Scott said while talking about surveillance. He also described third-country removals as “funny” but walks it back “well maybe not funny but it doesn’t mean they’re deported to their own country.”

FYI: the Illinois State Police may* have killed 3 people in the last 2 weeks. Two by gunshot, one by a squad car hitting a pedestrian. * The "missing person who was reportedly experiencing a mental health crisis" was fired at by another PD in addition to ISP. Unclear whose bullet killed him.

"Franklin Park police asked ISP to investigate on Thursday, when a state commission released a damning report detailing the actions of federal agents during President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation campaign in the Chicago area last year."

Another $39B for ICE, after Congress already gave it $75B under OBBBA? USASpending shows ICE has obligated about $4B in FY26. OMB records show about $2B more apportioned. At that pace, it would take ICE years to spend what it already has before adding any more.

👀 "Robert Bage, police chief for Fort Walton Beach in the Florida panhandle, says his department received about $150,000 from ICE for a new vehicle and equipment. The state has approved nearly $300,000 for officer bonuses and an AI software platform." www.npr.org/2026/05/05/n...

A bottomless slush fund. www.npr.org/2026/05/05/n...

Speaking of slush funds...that's exactly what the 287(g) program has become. For sheriffs and local PDs in rural communities, especially in areas where the idea of 'immigration enforcement' is practically laughable, 287(g) is now just easy cash from the feds. Take Owyhee County, Idaho 🧵

Speaking of slush funds...that's exactly what the 287(g) program has become. For sheriffs and local PDs in rural communities, especially in areas where the idea of 'immigration enforcement' is practically laughable, 287(g) is now just easy cash from the feds. Take Owyhee County, Idaho 🧵

Update: Chicago guy with laptop has added more context on the report's data and methodology here ⤵️ www.tituslegaldesign.com/immigration-...

Until she left ICE earlier this year, Madison Sheahan was responsible for signing 287(g) partnership agreements with local police. I first wrote about Sheahan in January, in a piece on the new financial incentives added to the DHS program last year ⤵️ maxwellcommons.substack.com/p/the-new-28...

As Clausewitz famously argued in 'On War': "You must always track the threshold for restarting major combat operations when you're pretending there's a ceasefire to avoid getting permission to wage your useless, self-inflicted war." (There's no "threshold")

Internal ICE records reveal widespread use of force in detention centers The reports detail how guards have increasingly used chemical agents and physical tactics on detainees, including groups demanding adequate water, food and medical care. Gift link: wapo.st/4tdgBRA

Legal folks: @free.law just released a natural language search feature on CourtListener (and its API)! If you're looking to move your firm's legal research budget away from companies who do business with ICE/DHS, check it out ⤵️

Reminder: Deaths are not climbing in detention simply because there are more people detained. The death *rate* has skyrocketed because conditions are getting worse inside ICE hellholes. Chart: www.sfchronicle.com/projects/202...

"The incident was one of at least 780 in which staff members at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities used physical force or chemical agents to control immigrant detainees during the first year of the Trump administration." Gift link: wapo.st/4tdgBRA

Love from Baltimore, Andrew! What far too many people miss is that the people behind this work — ours included — are normal, average, every day citizens that are trying to improve transparency so that people can more meaningfully engage in the democratic process. We aren’t anything fancy…!

Last week, my 287(g) program report was highlighted by @poynterinstitute.bsky.social as one of several new tools available to journalists in need of timely data re: immigration enforcement and ICE's expanded operations. www.poynter.org/reporting-ed...

"But prosecutors under State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke are fighting to keep Williams from getting the certificate, arguing he can’t prove his innocence." From @boltsmag.org + @injusticewatch.org ⤵️

At this point, it's clear Eileen O'Neill Burke is unfit for the office she leads. And yet, I'm not holding my breath for Chicago's business community to rally around a "Recall Burke" campaign anytime soon, as we saw with Kim Foxx. I wonder what the difference is... boltsmag.org/chicago-cook...

I'm a broken record here but I think the visual scale of the 287(g) growth is worth sharing ⤵️ Over 8% of all law enforcement agencies in the country now partner with ICE — 1,502 unique agencies. Only 132 were participating (0.73% of all LEAs) last January.

So to review: This ICE flight left El Paso, stopped in Baltimore for fuel, did two (illegal) chain refoulements of Ukrainians to Poland and Russians to Moldova, then deported people to Armenia, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Georgia. They were shackled the whole time. No stretching, no walking around.

I'm a broken record here but I think the visual scale of the 287(g) growth is worth sharing ⤵️ Over 8% of all law enforcement agencies in the country now partner with ICE — 1,502 unique agencies. Only 132 were participating (0.73% of all LEAs) last January.

ICE has created a public records catch-22: Local law enforcement says only ICE can respond to records requests about 287(g) partnerships, but ICE says only local law enforcement has access to the info. Here’s how they’re dodging accountability for their work. americanoversight.org/ice-287g-foi...

Totally unrelated: ICE's partnership program with local police reached a new high yesterday — 1,500 law enforcement agencies, or about 8.3% of the total LEAs in the US, have at least one active 287(g) agreement with ICE. www.tituslegaldesign.com/immigration-...