Signs of torture in ICE custody, Kavanaugh stops and noise protests
The City Council in Dublin, California, voted to oppose a potential ICE facility.
Hello dear reader,
This is the last news roundup I will send out this year. I think we could all use a little rest to reset as we move into 2026. I will send one more newsletter next week with the final reported piece for the year.
I’ve said it before, but I’m so grateful to you for your support and continued attention to these important stories. Journalism doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It requires a community to do it well. Thank you for being a part of that.
I’ve got some ideas for what I’d like to do with this newsletter in 2026. You’ll be hearing more about that soon, and if you’d like to support those efforts, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. In the meantime, I hope you find something that gives you joy over the next couple of weeks.
And now for the news.
Immigration detention
An Amnesty International report found evidence of torture and other human rights violations in Florida facilities that hold immigrants in custody for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. That includes both longtime ICE detention facility Krome North Service Processing Center and the notorious facility recently constructed by the state in the Everglades and dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”
“These findings confirm a deliberate system built to punish, dehumanize, and hide the suffering of people in detention,” said Ana Piquer, Amnesty International’s regional director for the Americas. “Immigration enforcement cannot operate outside the rule of law or exempt itself from human rights standards. What we are seeing in Florida should alarm the entire region.”
At Krome, staff from the human rights organization witnessed a guard slam a door on a detainee’s already injured hand, according to the report.
I’ve spoken with people transferred from Krome to other facilities around the country, and they, too, have shared stories of inhumane conditions caused at least in part by overcrowding due to the state’s zealous attempts to use local law enforcement to arrest immigrants.
The City Council in Dublin, California, voted to oppose converting a former federal women’s prison into an ICE facility, KQED reported.
The Texas Tribune reported that immigrants held at the detention center in Fort Bliss said ICE coerced them into crossing the desert into Mexico.
KPBS interviewed a Ukrainian woman about conditions in immigration detention after she was detained for several days at her green card interview and later released.
A for-profit virtual education company accused of defrauding investors will run a new school at an immigration detention facility in Texas, The American Prospect reported.
The Marshall Project investigated ICE’s resumption of family detention under the Trump administration and found that thousands of children, including infants, have gone into federal custody, many held beyond the legal limits.
CBS News reported that federal Judge Jia Cobb has blocked the Trump administration’s policy requiring seven days’ notice for members of Congress to visit ICE detention facilities.
Militarization of the border region
The Guardian reported that the Trump administration has created a militarized zone along parts of the California border.
Drones like those used in the war in Ukraine are now being implemented along the U.S.-Mexico border, including in a pilot program with Arizona law enforcement, according to the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting.
The Texas Department of Public Safety has more than doubled its drone fleet in recent years in its efforts to work with Border Patrol to catch people crossing into the country, the Texas Observer reported.
Customs and Border Protection released a statement about its version of events regarding a Border Patrol agent who recently shot and killed someone crossing the border.
Arrests and deportations
404 Media and Reveal reported that ICE used a facial scanner to identify a U.S. citizen after detaining him.
L.A. Taco reported that ICE held a U.S. citizen in custody after coming across him at the construction site where he worked.
L.A. Taco reported that immigration officials continue to target Home Depots in Southern California, including in Santa Ana, where disguised officials told day laborers they were in need of workers before other agents rushed in to arrest them. The outlet also reported that immigration officials have detained more than 1,000 people since the Supreme Court allowed Border Patrol to resume roving patrols that target people based on race. Those arrests are now being called “Kavanaugh stops,” and L.A. Taco documented at least 15 U.S. citizens affected by them.
A video is circulating on Instagram, including on the account of CNN News 18, of ICE officials dragging a woman along a street and then pinning her in the snow. I’ve seen some reports that the woman was pregnant, but it is not clear if that has been confirmed. The Minneapolis police chief spoke out against ICE’s violent tactics in a video put together by WCCO News.
Minnesota residents protested by making noise overnight outside a hotel where immigration officials were believed to be staying, the Sahan Journal reported.
ICE detained a father and soccer coach in Utah who is married to a U.S. citizen and had come for his green card interview, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.
The Orange County Register profiled a photographer who was traveling to take pictures at a wedding when ICE detained and deported him to El Salvador.
Other stories to watch
The 19th* reported that ICE arrests have reduced the number of childcare workers, causing many mothers to leave their jobs.
The Los Angeles Times reported on a study from University of California Los Angeles and University of California Riverside that found the current climate of immigration arrests has led to increased bullying and more absences of immigrant children in schools across the state.
Mother Jones profiled a soccer team of newly arrived immigrant teens.
KPBS reported on the fear in immigrant communities that is changing holiday plans this year.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services continues to cancel naturalization ceremonies for people on the verge of becoming U.S. citizens, including in San Diego, ABC 10 reported.
The Trump administration expanded its list of nationalities who are blocked from entering the U.S. to include people from Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria, NBC News reported.
More than 40 people — a group of faith leaders and immigrant rights activists — were arrested after blocking the entrance to the San Francisco Immigration Court, including by chaining themselves to the building, El Tecolote reported.
Did I miss something? Let me know in the comments.
Thanks for reading. As always, I welcome your questions and feedback.
Take care and stay well.