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The Cost

Topic

Immigration

Deportation operations, detention, travel bans, refugee and asylum policy, and the legal fights over them - each decision documented with its measured effect on communities, labor, and the courts.

decisions
24
severe or critical
16
sources cited
147

All immigration decisions, newest first

  1. A second try at birthright limits, five weeks later

    After losing at the Supreme Court, Trump signed a narrower order denying citizenship to some US-born children, and a judge blocked it.

  2. Two killed, then the President overruled the safety pause

    After ICE fatally shot two men during traffic stops, DHS paused the tactic - Trump reversed it within a day.

  3. A second $69.5B for immigration enforcement

    Signed June 10, 2026, the Secure America Act adds ~$69.5B on top of the ~$170B in the 2025 megabill - nearly $240B in under a year.

  4. Nationwide asylum freeze imposed

    After a DC shooting, USCIS halted Afghan processing and paused all asylum nationwide; courts vacated the freeze in June 2026.

  5. $100,000 fee added to H-1B

    A proclamation conditioned new H-1B petitions on a $100,000 payment; courts blocked it in 2026, but it was extended to 2027 and a $103,265 fee was proposed by rule.

  6. ICE kills immigrant and US citizen

    ICE officers fatally shot a Mexican immigrant and a US citizen amid disputed official accounts.

  7. Reconciliation law funds $45B ICE detention buildout

    $45B for detention could fund at least 116,000 beds, and ICE's detention budget rises 308% to $14B+ a year.

  8. Florida's Everglades detention camp

    A state-run camp for federal immigration detainees drew reports of inhuman conditions; it was emptied and demobilized in June 2026 at an estimated $1.2B total cost.

  9. Migrants sent to unrelated nations

    After the Supreme Court lifted notice rules, the US deported migrants to South Sudan, Eswatini, and Ghana.

  10. DOJ prioritizes stripping citizenship

    A June 2025 memo directs attorneys to maximally pursue civil denaturalization of naturalized Americans.

  11. Travel ban hits dozens of countries

    A June 2025 ban on 19 countries expanded to roughly 39 nations by January 2026.

  12. Farm groups say ICE raids are keeping workers away

    Farm groups said raids kept workers from the fields; a preprint modeled billions in crop losses in Oxnard.

  13. ICE arrests inside courthouses nationwide

    ICE arrested people at their immigration hearings, driving absenteeism and lawsuits, until a federal judge vacated the policies nationwide.

  14. Military takes control of 800+ miles of border

    National Defense Areas placed border territory under Pentagon control, enabling civilian arrests.

  15. Parole ended for 532,000

    DHS ended humanitarian parole for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans; about 532,000 had been paroled under the programs.

  16. Abrego Garcia wrongfully deported to CECOT

    A man with legal protection was deported; the Supreme Court unanimously ordered return.

  17. Venezuelans deported to CECOT without hearings

    Flights went ahead despite a court order to halt them; the 252 held at CECOT were sent to Venezuela in a July 2025 prisoner swap.

  18. 6,000+ student visas revoked; SEVIS records restored

    Abrupt visa revocations - many for alleged infractions, a subset tied to campus protests - disrupted studies; SEVIS terminations were reversed, visa revocations were not.

  19. TPS stripped from 1.5 million residents

    TPS terminations for Venezuela, Haiti and other countries affected more than 1.5 million people with legal work authorization.

  20. 170+ US citizens wrongfully detained

    Database errors and mass enforcement led to detention of US citizens and children.

  21. Record 33 deaths in ICE custody

    Deaths tripled from 2024 as detention population surged 70% and inspections fell 36%.

  22. ICE arrests surge; 290,000 removed

    Most people in ICE detention in November 2025 had no criminal conviction; removals ran only 7% above FY 2024.

  23. Refugee admissions suspended; cap at 7,500

    The suspension forced resettlement-agency layoffs and left pre-vetted families stranded.

  24. Supreme Court rules against birthright-citizenship order

    An order denying citizenship to US-born children whose parents are neither citizens nor permanent residents was blocked within days.