Beyond the Border: ICE at airports, detained parents and spouses fighting to free their partners
Here's what happened this week in immigration news.
Written by Kate Morrissey, Edited by Lauren J. Mapp
Welcome to another edition of Beyond the Border, which summarizes immigration news from across the country in a weekly roundup. Did I miss something? Message me via kate@daylightsandiego.org or on Instagram.
Want to support this work? Consider donating to Daylight San Diego or email maya@daylightsandiego.org if you're interested in sponsoring this newsletter.
ICE at airports
As the partial government shutdown over funding for the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement's tactics drags on, Transportation Security Administration workers are going without pay, and lines have grown long at airports around the country. President Donald Trump decided to send ICE officers to some airports this week since they are still getting paid because of a separate funding bill passed last year.
CNN published a list of 13 airports where ICE would be in the security areas. Protesters appeared at some airports, including in Atlanta, as seen in an Instagram video from ATLSCOOP.
L.A. Taco made a guide to help travelers determine who is and is not ICE.
The Washington Post reported that ICE's presence has not helped shorten lines.
TSA officials passed information about a mother and daughter to ICE officers at the San Francisco Airport, The New York Times reported. Videos of ICE officers arresting the pair have gone viral.
Detention conditions
In a court filing, lawyers accused of immigration officials of forcing Minnesota hospital workers to heavily sedate a man with bipolar disorder so that they could take him from the hospital to ICE custody in Texas, Sahan Journal reported.
ICE is violating longstanding guidelines about how to treat pregnant women, The New York Times found in an investigation.
The San Diego Sheriff has a memorandum of understanding with CoreCivic, the private prison company that holds people in ICE custody at Otay Mesa Detention Center, that says the facility's warden will decide whether to have deputies investigate rape allegations inside the facility, CalMatters reported.
In a court filing, California Attorney General Rob Bonta detailed inhumane conditions he and his team witnessed during an inspection of Adelanto ICE Processing Center, East Bay Times reported.
The Colorado Times Recorder identified locations around the country, including the federal building in downtown San Diego, where ICE holds people in what is supposed to be temporary custody before either releasing them or transferring them to a long-term detention facility. The outlet found that many people stayed in these temporary holding spaces long past the time allowed.
San Luis Obispo Tribune reported that about 70% of ICE detainees in California have no criminal convictions.
Sierra Sun Times reported that a bill that would limit the markup that private companies can make on products sold inside ICE detention centers is making its way through the California legislature.
The Guardian profiled the wife of a man in ICE custody who has struggled for months to get appropriate accommodations as a double amputee.
The husband of a woman held at Baker County Detention Center in Florida posted a video on TikTok of his wife and several other women showing the conditions ICE is holding them in. The husband told more of his family's story in a GoFundMe fundraiser.
A Guatemalan man with a U.S. citizen wife and children received permanent residency status after spending months in ICE custody, the Miami Herald reported.
In the latest newsletter for Daylight San Diego, I wrote about why people in immigration custody make art. You can see more examples of their art on our Instagram.
Immigration arrests
ICE field offices in Miami, Dallas, Atlanta and San Antonio made the most arrests in 2025, The New York Times reported.
Under the Trump administration, immigration officials have detained the parents of more than 11,000 U.S. citizen children, ProPublica reported.
The New York Times posted a video on Instagram about how ICE raids are affecting construction businesses in South Texas.
Reuters reported that a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from implementing a policy memo that involved detaining thousands of refugees after they had been in the country for one year.
Animal rescue groups around the country are working to re-home pets left behind when immigration officials suddenly detained and deported their owners, The New York Times reported.
ICE admitted that it had chased the wrong person in a Vermont raid that led to a car crash, and later, officials busting into a home and detaining several people, Vermont Public reported.
Immigration court and legal representation
NPR took a deep dive into changes made by the Board of Immigration Appeals during the Trump administration. The outlet found that the board sides with the Department of Homeland Security more frequently when Trump is in office.
Because of the increase in ICE detentions, San Diego County's immigration legal services program for people in ICE custody may run into funding shortages soon, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
The Department of Justice quietly dismantled a program that has helped immigrants get free or low-cost support with their proceedings, CBS News reported.
Targeting protesters
ICE officers are taking DNA samples from protesters they arrest, NPR reported.
The New Yorker took a detailed look at how the Trump administration ended up convicting several anti-ICE protesters as terrorists.
Other stories to watch
Vanity Fair interviewed family members of ICE officers about how their relationships have changed under the Trump administration.
A Trump administration rule took away commercial drivers licenses from about 200,000 immigrants, a move that could cause consumer prices to increase further, The Washington Post reported.
The state of Minnesota has sued the Trump administration for access to investigation documents related to the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, POLITICO reported.
Border Patrol leader Gregory Bovino told the Associated Press that he is retiring.
ABC7 reported that a New York superintendent traveled to Guatemala to deliver a cap, gown and diploma to a teen whom ICE deported shortly before his high school graduation.
The Supreme Court heard arguments on Tuesday in a case about federal officials turning away asylum seekers from ports of entry that started in San Diego in 2017. The New York Times reported that a majority of the justices seemed inclined to side with the Trump administration. I wrote about the upcoming hearing a couple of weeks ago.
HBO's emergency room drama The Pitt recently aired an episode in which ICE officers bring someone in their custody to the hospital, which Forbes reviewed.
ICE is trying to deport the wife of a U.S. Army reservist helicopter pilot in Texas, the Houston Chronicle reported.
An investigation from The Border Chronicle and The War Horse found that the military's presence at the border hasn't had an impact on the number of crossings.
The Arizona Republic profiled twins whose lives were uprooted by their father's deportation years ago but who found a way forward in music.
Thanks for reading! Take care and stay well.
— Kate
