Search About Newsletters Donate
From the bridge, migrants are taken to a nearby office where Customs and Border Protection officers ask their names, check databases for any criminal or terrorist history, and interview them to learn more about their fear of returning to their countries. Although the numbers of asylum-seekers were down in 2017 from the previous year, the office is always busy. Two women from Cuba told officers why they did not want to go back to the communist nation.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Kirsten Luce for The Marshall Project
Closing Argument
For Trump Administration, Fighting Crime Takes a Backseat to Immigration Arrests
“It’s a good time to be an American-born criminal,” said one expert, as ICE’s dragnet now includes thousands of agents from other federal law enforcement.
A photo shows the back of a light-skinned officer wearing glasses, a black T-shirt, gray jeans and a vest with the words "police federal agent." One police officer stands next to them. A person and a child walk down a hallway standing in the background.
A woman, wearing a black and white plaid jacket, kneels in between a row of blue chairs. Three signs of Bible verses translated into Spanish hang on the wall.
Closing Argument September 27
In ICE Detention, Rising Deaths and Neglect: ‘They Wouldn’t Really Do Anything’
Recent incidents include a man who died awaiting surgery in Georgia and a woman’s miscarriage in California. Meanwhile, suicide attempts are rising.
By
A side profile of a woman sitting on a bed, in a dark room with a black-blue slate background. She is singing, as tears flow down her left cheek and as the flow descends down her left shoulder, it begins to widen into a wider flow. In the flow are pictured memories of her hugging her children.
Feature September 16
‘Unbearable’: How ICE Is Locking More Immigrants in Solitary Under Trump
A mother of three said she hallucinated after weeks in an ICE segregation cell in Louisiana. She’s one of thousands now facing the psychological toll of isolation.
By , The Marshall Project, and Patricia Clarembaux, Univision Noticias
A person wearing a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) cap has fabric wrapped around their face and is seen through the window of an open vehicle door at a checkpoint. To their left stands someone wearing a head covering, and to their right stands another person wearing a head covering. Someone else stands behind the person with the HSI cap.
Analysis September 12
A New Front in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown: ICE Checkpoints Far From the Border
Checkpoints have long run near the southern border, but their recent use in other parts of the country has ignited strong responses.
By
A white police SUV is parked behind a gray car during a traffic stop. Four police officers stand the left side of the car while two officers stand on the right.
Feature September 5
How Encounters With Police Can Lead to ICE Arrests — Even In Sanctuary Cities
Even without a formal agreement for police to help with immigration enforcement, the ways local and federal agencies work can result in ICE arrests.
By
An aerial photo shows a prison facility composed of over half a dozen buildings, with trees surrounding much of the property. In the foreground, there are activists gathered with signs and banners near the facility.
Analysis August 29
‘Zombie Prisons’: How ICE Detention Is Raising Troubling Facilities From the Dead
ICE needs more detention space, and it’s faster to open old facilities than to build new ones.
By
A person in a National Guard uniform stands next to a tan military vehicle parked on a red brick pavement. Three people walk in front of the military vehicle. The U.S. Capitol Dome and various trees can be seen in the background.
Closing Argument August 23
What Trump’s D.C. Takeover Looks Like on the Ground, Two Weeks On
Promising to take over police to fight crime, Trump’s effort has instead morphed into mostly an immigration dragnet.
By
A prison tower and grounds are seen behind a chain-link fence in the foreground.
Feature August 22
The Next Alligator Alcatraz Could Be in Your State
Plans to use Indiana’s “Speedway Slammer,” Louisiana’s Angola and other state prisons to house ICE detainees raise problematic questions, attorneys say.
By and
An illustration in blue tones shows a man with glasses watching four masked officers in tactical vests detaining a man in a greenish T-shirt, at the other end of a hallway with an empty chair against the wall. The man in glasses, seen from behind, is holding a piece of paper showing a butterfly wing.
Life Inside August 22
The Heartbreak, Rage — and Discipline — of Immigration Court Watching
As an observer, Tim Murphy must calmly prepare immigrants to face masked ICE agents. “You’re witnessing unspeakable cruelty, but you can’t lash out.”
By Tim Murphy
A photograph of an olive-skinned man with long brown hair and a beard smiling while looking at the camera.
Feature August 15
ICE Is Deporting Thousands With Minor Offenses — From Traffic Violations to Weed Possession
Many people with little or no criminal record have been swept into the administration’s immigration dragnet since January, an analysis of deportation data shows.
By and
About
People
Jobs
Sitemap
Funders