Beyond the Border: ICE's quiet tactics, new California laws protecting immigrants and cancelled concerts
Here's what happened this week in immigration news.
Written by Emma Chen, Edited by Kate Morrissey
Welcome to another edition of Beyond the Border, which summarizes immigration news from across the country in a weekly roundup. Did we miss something? Message us via kate@daylightsandiego.org or on Instagram.
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ICE-related deaths
USA Today reported that the Department of Homeland Security acknowledged that 35-year-old Mario David Coronado Juárez, who died after crashing his vehicle while fleeing an attempted Immigration and Customs Enforcement traffic stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan, was not the person agents had intended to stop.
The Guardian looked back at a 24-hour period in July during which three people died in incidents connected to immigration enforcement in three different states.
An official familiar with the investigation identified Gregory Feathers as the ICE officer who witnesses said fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston after the federal government declined to publicly name him, The Texas Tribune reported.
The Los Angeles Times reported that 21-year-old Samuel Gonzalez Terrones died by suicide two months after ICE arrested his mother, whose detention a federal judge later ruled unlawful.
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis or considering suicide, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. The service is available 24/7 and provides free, confidential support.
Immigration arrests and deportations
ICE arrests climbed to record levels this summer as the administration shifted from highly visible citywide operations toward quieter arrests at workplaces, homes, hospitals, airports and other locations nationwide, The New York Times reported.
Verite News reported that Min Khant Zaw, a Myanmar national and Georgia Tech graduate researcher who applied for asylum after his family warned him against returning home, spent seven weeks in ICE custody after agents arrested him at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.
The Texas Tribune profiled five immigrants detained in Texas among the thousands arrested by ICE. The group includes people who entered with permission, sought asylum and applied for green cards.
ICE agents arrested a 41-year-old Colombian immigrant at an Alaska Airlines gate inside Portland International Airport as he prepared to return to his home in New Jersey with his boyfriend, The Oregonian reported.
A Minneapolis educator filed a federal administrative claim alleging Border Patrol agents assaulted, arrested and wrongfully detained him on Roosevelt High School property during a January enforcement operation, Sahan Journal reported. That claim is the first step in being able to sue the agency over what happened.
MPR News reported that immigration authorities deported Adam Abdullah, a 31-year-old Minnesota auto mechanic who had been legally authorized to work while his asylum application was pending, to Somalia along with seven other men after holding the group at Guantánamo Bay.
ICE's expansion
Project Salt Box reported that draft federal contracting documents show ICE plans to place 142 intelligence analysts across field offices and national centers to research individuals, analyze networks and support immigration enforcement operations.
ICE is considering using a network of vans that would follow enforcement teams in Pennsylvania and temporarily hold people detained during immigration operations as “mobile detention facilities,” NPR reported.
ICE expanded detention capacity without sufficient planning and spent millions of dollars on projects it later abandoned or scaled back, including more than $20 million in unrecoverable warehouse costs, The New York Times reported.
Third-country removals
CNN reported that the Supreme Court temporarily allowed the Trump administration to resume deportations to countries other than immigrants’ homelands without the process required by a lower-court ruling, while agreeing to hear arguments in the case in December.
The Trump administration has reached dozens of agreements to send immigrants to countries where they are not citizens and may have no previous connection, with the U.S. committing hundreds of millions of dollars to the arrangements, The Guardian reported.
The Trump administration transformed a State Department bureau traditionally responsible for refugee assistance into an operation that negotiated third-country deportation agreements and committed more than $410 million toward them, The Washington Post reported.
Community
Mpls.St.Paul Magazine reported that Minnesota residents created a 12,500-square quilt made from more than 11,000 fabric squares to represent people deported during federal immigration enforcement in the state, unveiling it at the Minnesota State Capitol as a memorial and call to support immigrant communities.
Community members in Grand Rapids held a vigil and demanded answers about Coronado Juárez’s death while DHS said agents discontinued their enforcement action after he drove away and denied that officers pursued him, Michigan Advance reported.
Residents and community organizers in Leavenworth, Kansas, continue organizing against an ICE detention facility operated by CoreCivic while also seeking greater oversight of conditions for people held there, Kansas Reflector reported.
New California bills
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of immigration-related laws that expands state oversight of detention facilities, allows certain civil lawsuits against federal agents and restricts some immigration enforcement practices on state property, CalMatters reported.
According to the California governor’s office, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed 21 bills aimed at strengthening protections for immigrant communities, increasing oversight of immigration enforcement and detention and limiting some cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
Musician visa woes
Drummer Salin announced on Instagram that the U.S. dates of her Autumn Tour were canceled because delays in U.S. visa processing made rescheduling difficult. She said ticket holders would receive refunds.
K-pop artist Taemin postponed the six-city North American leg of his world tour because key touring and production staff were still awaiting U.S. visas with no clear timeline for approval, Billboard reported. Organizers planned to reschedule the shows and offer refunds.
Ongoing consequences of Operation Midway Blitz
Block Club Chicago reported that immigration enforcement fears following Operation Midway Blitz prompted some Chicago families to postpone, scale back or cancel quinceañeras which reduced business for vendors who rely on the celebrations.
One year after Operation Midway Blitz began, Chicago immigrant neighborhoods continue to report economic losses, reduced street activity and lasting fear while community members maintain networks that monitor federal immigration enforcement, The Chicago Tribune reported.
Other stories to watch
Documented reported that a federal judge permanently ordered the Department of Homeland Security to improve overcrowded and unsanitary detention conditions at 26 Federal Plaza in New York after finding that ICE violated detainees’ constitutional rights.
Borderless Magazine reported that interpreter shortages, mistranslations and other language barriers in Chicago immigration court can prevent immigrants from fully understanding or presenting their cases, potentially affecting asylum and deportation decisions.
Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and former Border Patrol official Greg Bovino prompted speculation about possible 2028 political plans after Bovino posted a hunting video of the pair and responded to comments about running for office, although neither announced a candidacy, the Irish Star reported.
La Playa Taco Shop in Mission Beach closed after 30 years following owner Victor Rodriguez Ocampo Sr.’s deportation to Mexico in January, Times of San Diego reported.
The Nashville Business Journal reported that CoreCivic CEO Patrick Swindle resigned because of health issues less than a year after taking the position to replace Damon Hininger, who retired at the end of 2025. Longtime executive Lucibeth Mayberry has taken over leadership of the private prison and detention company.
NPR reported that elected officials, business leaders and community advocates in southwest Kansas have urged ICE to scale back enforcement near meat-processing plants over concerns about workforce disruptions, community fear and potential effects on beef production.
Rep. Jamie Raskin questioned Apple’s justification for removing ICEBlock and similar ICE-tracking apps from the App Store after Apple said concerns about agents’ safety contributed to its decision, CNN reported.
Thanks for reading! Take care and stay well.
— Emma
