🚨HOLY CRAP. An ICE whistleblower just revealed a secret memo authorizing ICE officers to break into homes without a judicial warrant, which DHS's own legal training materials say is unconstitutional! ICE then hid the memo from the public, passing it along by word of mouth and private conversation.

“A 21-year-old woman who is eight months pregnant and in a state of medical distress is being deported from Atlanta on Wednesday afternoon. Her attorney says her client has shooting pain in her abdomen and her back, and is suffering nausea and vomiting.”

The sixth immigrant to die in custody.

The fifth detainee to die this year.

In a time of crisis for U.S democracy, CBS News under new right-wing management just committed one of the worst acts of journalism in American history What's so terrible about its unverified, unlikely Trump propaganda over the the MLPS killing by ICE My new column www.inquirer.com/opinion/cbs-...

Three people (from Guatemala, Cuba, and Nicaragua) are known to have died at Camp East Montana since Dec. 3. The facility held 3,080 people as of Dec. 19, according to U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar. The faculty is projected to hold 5,000 people. (Photo taken by me today, 18, Jan at 12:42 p.m.)

Today, I was notified of yet another death at Camp East Montana. This is the 3rd person who has died in the $1.24 billion privately-run facility that focuses on profits instead of meeting basic standards. www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/i...

🚨 This is one of my messier and nerdier Substack posts, but TRUST ME: don't cite the Trump administration's deportations numbers as truth until you read this. You need to know why their math doesn't seem to math. austinkocher.substack.com/p/dhs-claims...

In the last 18 days alone: - Two men in ICE custody have killed themselves (jails are supposed to protect against this) - Two men died of cardiac-related issues - One man was reportedly choked to death by a guard - One man died of fentanyl withdrawal (family question the medical care provided)

A third immigrant held at Camp East Montana has died, reportedly by suicide. Victor Manuel Díaz was detained in Minnesota. He is the sixth migrant to die since Jan. 1 in ICE detention. My story: www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/i...

Six weeks into the immigration enforcement surge in the Twin Cities, observers say federal agents are employing violence more frequently and with little apparent restraint against citizens and noncitizens alike. (1) www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

The Washington Post just reported that the death of Geraldo Lunas Campos at the detention facility in El Paso known as Camp East Montana on January 3 may have been a homicide. Coroner reports suggest that he died from asphyxiation — possibly from a choke hold. www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

Mexican Consulate of Atlanta Reports New Death in ICE Custody, Fifth in First 15 Days of 2026. At the current rate of one death every three days, 2026 could see 122 deaths in custody. austinkocher.substack.com/p/mexican-co...

When you combine today's announcement with the June and December travel bans, the Trump administration has now banned or indefinitely suspended immigrant visas* for 90 different countries, including 70% of African countries. *visas that provide a green card and a path to eventual citizenship

Yes, immigration agents not only took Arnoldo's phone, the 10th grader had to use Find My Phone to locate it — in a vending machine for used electronics, close to an ICE detention center. Read the full story here: www.propublica.org/article/vide...

NEW: Police—sheriffs, Texas state cops, and even ICE—can follow the location of your smart phone without a warrant. Yet, we know little about how this software has been used. via @texasobserver.org + @pulitzercenter.org www.texasobserver.org/texas-police...

Another video "showed a young man, who identified himself as Native American, dragged from his car by ICE agents. The man was detained by ICE shortly after he and his aunt were stopped and questioned in the parking lot of a Hy-Vee in Robbinsdale..." www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

I spoke with U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, about her unannounced visit to the Camp East Montana in December. She said she met people who were begging to be deported and half frozen food. Last night DHS issued a new policy that bars unannounced congressional visits to ICE facilities.

Breaking News: Portland City Council was in session Thursday afternoon and abruptly recessed due to a security concern. City Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney interrupted the meeting by saying: “Councilors, we actually need to recess immediately.”

Using imagery online of the shooting by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, we’ve created an animated sequence which highlights the approximate positioning of officers and vehicles at the scene. The red dot represents the agent who fired the shots. Yellow dots are other agents who arrived at the scene.

"An analysis of footage from three camera angles shows that the motorist was driving away from—not toward—a federal officer when he opened fire." Great video analysis of Minneapolis shooting from NYT. These frames show drawing of gun and exact moment of first shot. www.nytimes.com/video/us/100...

Avelo Airlines will stop flying deportation charters for the Department of Homeland Security after facing protests, boycotts and backlash from travelers, flight attendant unions, local politicians and immigration activists.

U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar issued a statement today condemning the killing of a woman in Minneapolis by an ICE agent. My story for the El Paso Times:

Guatemalans abroad sent home $25.530 billion as remittances in 2025, a historic amount of money. This money helps families survive in a country that has seen a massive cost of living increase over the last decade.

NEW: More than 300 judges — including 33 appointed by Trump himself — have now rebuffed the Trump administration’s bid to dramatically expand efforts to lock people up while they fight deportation. www.politico.com/news/2026/01/05/trump-administration-immigrants-mandatory-detention-00709494

For the first time in my life I entered a book store in Guatemala City and found my work. I was not the author, but I took the photo in September 2014. I am so honored that my photographic work can grace the cover of Liza Grandia’s book.

Eleven years ago I accompanied two friends to the anniversary of the Indigenous community Snuq Jolom Konob in Santa Eulalia, Huehuetenango. In 2015, the radio station was censored by a corrupt mayor (I was there for that too). This last week the radio marked its 28th anniversary.

Francisco Gaspar Cristóbal Andrés’ body was returned to Santa Eulalia, Huehuetenango yesterday, his wife, Lucía Pedro Juan, told me. He had died in ICE detention on Dec. 3. I met his wife at the home they built for his parents just over a week ago.

"I know they killed him" Lucía Pedro Juan was detained with her husband, Francisco Gaspar Cristóbal Andrés, on Sept. 1. She was held for almost 3 months in Camp East Montana. She was deported to Guatemala. Her husband died on Dec. 3. I traveled to speak with her for the El Paso Times.

On a bitterly cold Sunday, Adriana Rivera left to reunite with her deported husband in Michoacán. Theirs had been a story, at one time, of hope and American aspiration. Her friends who are still here are selling the last of the eggs she sold for a living. www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/28/c...

I’ve been worried about this. People who signed up for a US ‘self-deportation’ scheme say their payoffs were delayed, misdirected or never arrived – leaving them empty-handed in their home countries.

Authorities have reported the death of a Nicaraguan immigrant in ICE custody in a hospital in Natchez, Mississippi, the seventh reported death of an immigrant in ICE custody this month. buff.ly/NntUdNz

DHS said that accusations of abuses in Camp East Montana are “clickbait.” But 911 emergency calls from the massive detention center I obtained paint a different picture, with emergency being made for life-threatening illnesses and acute mental health crises. My story:

Lucía Pedro Juan’s husband died in ICE custody in El Paso on Dec. 3. She was deported back to Guatemala on Nov. 28. They were both detained in Camp East Montana in El Paso. The time she saw him was on Sept 1 when they were detained in Florida. “I know the killed him,” she told me. My story:

Lucía Pedro Juan’s husband died in ICE custody in El Paso on Dec. 3. She was deported back to Guatemala on Nov. 28. They were both detained in Camp East Montana in El Paso. The time she saw him was on Sept 1 when they were detained in Florida. “I know the killed him,” she told me. My story:

“Camp East Montana” is the tent camp on Fort Bliss in El Paso. It was supposed to be where people would be held for max 14 days. She was held there three months.

DHS said that accusations of abuses in Camp East Montana are “clickbait.” But 911 emergency calls from the massive detention center I obtained paint a different picture, with emergency being made for life-threatening illnesses and acute mental health crises. My story:

There have been nearly 90 emergency calls made on behalf of immigrants held at the Camp East Montana, according to call logs I obtained. The calls include reports of suicide attempts, vomiting blood and chest pain. At no point was U.S. Veronica Escobar informed on her visits. My story:

98-99% of abuses ICE/DHS agents and contractors commit against detained migrants will go unnoticed—and unaccountable—unless there's infrastructure in destination countries to hear victims' testimonies after deportation. Here, @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social shows the power of this essential monitoring.

Francisco Gaspar Cristóbal Andrés was the first immigrant to die at the Trump's Camp East Montana. His wife, Lucía Pedro Juan, was held in the same facility. She detailed abuses and hunger. She said her husband was not ill when he was detained in September. Now she is in Guatemala. My exclusive:

"I know they killed him" Lucía Pedro Juan was detained with her husband, Francisco Gaspar Cristóbal Andrés, on Sept. 1. She was held for almost 3 months in Camp East Montana. She was deported to Guatemala. Her husband died on Dec. 3. I traveled to speak with her for the El Paso Times.

Today I received FOUR death notifications for people in ICE custody. That's 30 deaths since Trump took office. It's appalling & unacceptable.   ICE is required—by law—to ensure detainees are safe & their basic needs are met. It's clear this isn't the case. We NEED answers.

Within 15 minutes today, I got two back-to-back notifications of deaths at ICE facilities. 28 people have died in ICE custody since Trump took office. These facilities are overcrowded & are putting their own profits over health and safety. We need oversight & accountability NOW.

NEW: President Trump is expanding the previous 19-country travel ban to a whopping 39 countries (plus the Palestinian Authority), and appears to expand a block on legal immigration to now include spouses, children, and parents of U.S. citizens, who were previously exempted.

The Trump admin, in its quest to eliminate the entire concept of asylum from the law and get rid of all asylum applicants without hearing their cases, wants to deport a Chinese dissident to Uganda, despite the fact that he has a slam-dunk asylum claim.

The governor of Washington State is having to make an announcement that state National Guard troop were deployed by him during a major emergency. This is where we are at when the federal branch deploys National Guard troops in cities for political reasons…

The Trump administration has ended a program that reunified families from seven countries in Latin America, including Guatemala. This program is what I believe is was used in 2024 by the far right to say there was “human trafficking.”

I had the chance to tour the new border security nerve center in Ciudad Juárez. The 20-story building will become a high-technology center for responding to crime and violence along the border. I have personally called it the "leaning tower of Juárez" and the "Borderland Eye of Sauron."

NEW: this morning the Trump admin moved to terminate legal status for ~20,000 people: - Temporary Protected Status for Ethiopia, in place since 2022, with ~5,000 beneficiaries - Family Reunification Parole Programs, in place since 2023 and some legacy cases from earlier, covering ~15,000 people.

MAGAZINER: How many veterans have you deported? NOEM: We haven't deported veterans MAGAZINER: We are now joined on Zoom by a combat veteran you deported to Korea