About 8-in-10 Americans, 79%, say immigration is “a good thing” for the country today, up sharply from 64% a year ago and a high point in a nearly 25-year trend. In contrast, only two in 10 U.S. adults say immigration is a bad thing, down from 32% last year.
Many Americans in positions of power, including corporate executives and members of Congress, seem too afraid of President Trump to stand up to his anti-democratic behavior. Federal judges have shown themselves to be exceptions. “Judges from across the ideological spectrum are ruling against administration policies at remarkable rates,” said Adam Bonica, a political scientist at Stanford University.
These rulings have halted Mr. Trump’s vengeful attempts to destroy law firms, forestalled some of his budget cuts and kept him from deporting additional immigrants. Yes, the Supreme Court has often been more deferential to the president. Still, it has let stand many lower-court rulings and has itself constrained Mr. Trump in some cases.
The bipartisan alarm from federal judges offers a roadmap for others to respond to Mr. Trump’s often illegal behavior. His actions deserve to be called out in plain language for what they really are. And people in positions of influence should do what they can to stand up for American values, as many judges have done.
Here, we’ve compiled quotations from judges’ recent rulings and bench comments.
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J. Harvie Wilkinson III, Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
Appointed by Ronald Reagan
On the refusal to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia from El Salvador:
“This is a path of perfect lawlessness, one that courts cannot condone.”
Leonie M. Brinkema, Eastern District of Virginia
Appointed by Bill Clinton
On an ICE official’s inconsistent affidavit:
“This is a terrible, terrible affidavit. If this were before me in a criminal case and you were asking to get a warrant issued on this, I’d throw you out of my chambers.”
James E. Boasberg, District of Columbia District
Appointed by Barack Obama
On a judge’s order blocking deportations:
“In an egregious case of cherry-picking, defendants selectively quote only a fragment of the court’s response here to mischaracterize its position.”
President Donald Trump and his administration continue to bet big on the issue that, more than any other, appeared to help him win him a second term in 2024: immigration.
The administration and its allies have gleefully played up standoffs between federal immigration agents and protesters, such as the one Thursday during a raid at a legal marijuana farm in Ventura County, California.
And as congressional Republicans were passing a very unpopular Trump agenda bill last month, Vice President JD Vance argued that its historic expansion of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and new immigration enforcement provisions were so important that “everything else” was “immaterial.”
But this appears to be an increasingly bad bet for Trump and Co.
It’s looking more and more like Trump has botched an issue that, by all rights, should have been a great one for him. And ICE’s actions appear to be a big part of that.
The most recent polling on this comes from Gallup, where the findings are worse than those of any poll in Trump’s second term.
The nearly monthlong survey conducted in June found Americans disapproved of Trump’s handling of immigration by a wide margin: 62% to 35%. And more than twice as many Americans strongly disapproved (45%) as strongly approved (21%).
It also found nearly 7 in 10 independents disapproved.
These are Trump’s worst numbers on immigration yet. But the trend has clearly been downward – especially in high-quality polling like Gallup’s.
An NPR-PBS News-Marist College poll conducted late last month, for instance, showed 59% of independents disapproved of Trump on immigration. And a Quinnipiac University poll showed 66% of independents disapproved.
Trump has managed to become this unpopular on immigration despite historic lows in border crossings. And the data suggest that’s largely tied to deportations and ICE.
To wit:
- 59% overall and 66% of independents disapproved of Trump’s handling of deportations, according to the Quinnipiac poll.
- 56% overall and 64% of independents disapproved of the way ICE was doing its job, according to Quinnipiac.
- 54% overall and 59% of independents said ICE has “gone too far” in enforcing immigration law, per the Marist poll. (Even 1 in 5 Republicans agreed.)
- Americans disapproved 54-45% of ICE conducting more raids to find undocumented immigrants at workplaces, according to a Pew Research Center poll last month.
Americans also appear to disagree with some of the more heavy-handed aspects of the deportation program:
- They disapproved 55-43% of significantly increasing the number of facilities to hold immigrants being processed for deportation, per Pew – even as the Trump administration celebrates Florida’s controversial new “Alligator Alcatraz.”
- They said by a nearly 2-to-1 margin that it’s “unacceptable” to deport an immigrant to a country other than their own, per Pew – another key part of the administration’s efforts.
- They also disapproved, 61-37%, of deporting undocumented immigrants to a prison in El Salvador – the place where the administration sent hundreds without due process, in some cases in error (such as with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who has since been returned).
There’s a real question in all of this whether people care that much. They might disapprove of some of the more controversial aspects of Trump’s deportations, but maybe it’s not that important to them – and they might even like the ultimate results.
That’s the bet Trump seems to be making: that he can push forward on something his base really wants and possibly even tempt his political opponents to overreach by appearing to defend people who are in the country illegally.
But at some point, the White House has got to look at these numbers and start worrying that its tactics are backfiring.
Gallup shows the percentage of Americans who favor deporting all undocumented immigrants dropping from 47% last year during the 2024 campaign down to 38% now that it’s a reality Trump is pursuing.
And all told, Trump’s second term has actually led to the most sympathy for migrants on record in the 21st century, per Gallup. Fully 79% of Americans now say immigration is a “good thing,” compared with 64% last year.
The writing has been on the wall that Americans’ support for mass deportation was subject to all kinds of caveats and provisos. But the administration appears to have ignored all that and run headlong into problems of its own creation.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/13/politics/deportations-backfiring-trump-analysis
In partnership with more than a dozen left-wing activist groups, the “sanctuary city” of Providence, Rhode Island, is sending illegal immigrants instructions by mail on how to navigate Immigration and Customs Enforcement encounters and effectively evade capture.
According to a press release announcing the citywide direct-mail campaign, the all-Democrat Providence City Council created the postcard advisories in response to “the brutal and unconstitutional enforcement tactics currently being undertaken by the far-right federal administration.”
“By taking this unprecedented action to protect our immigrant communities, councilors are sending a clear message: every Providence resident has a right to lead a dignified life free from state-sponsored intimidation and terrorization,” the announcement said.
Once processed, the informational “Know Your Rights” flyers will be directly distributed via postal service to every household in Providence. Printing and postage reportedly cost $17,000 for the over 62,500 residences expected to receive the postcards.
The 6×11 cards consist of two sections. In the top portion, illegal immigrants are advised of actions to take if an ICE agent appears at their home. “DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR,” the instructions say. “DO NOT ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR SIGN ANYTHING.”
The lower pocket-sized segment, which declares “I will not open the door for an ICE administrative warrant,” can be cut off, stored in a wallet, and presented to immigration officers. “If you are inside your home, slide it under the door or press it against a window,” the notice tells illegal immigrants.
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“By taking this unprecedented action to protect our immigrant communities, councilors are sending a clear message: every Providence resident has a right to lead a dignified life free from state-sponsored intimidation and terrorization,” the announcement said.
Once processed, the informational “Know Your Rights” flyers will be directly distributed via postal service to every household in Providence. Printing and postage reportedly cost $17,000 for the over 62,500 residences expected to receive the postcards.
The 6×11 cards consist of two sections. In the top portion, illegal immigrants are advised of actions to take if an ICE agent appears at their home. “DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR,” the instructions say. “DO NOT ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR SIGN ANYTHING.”
The lower pocket-sized segment, which declares “I will not open the door for an ICE administrative warrant,” can be cut off, stored in a wallet, and presented to immigration officers. “If you are inside your home, slide it under the door or press it against a window,” the notice tells illegal immigrants.
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At a federal immigration building in downtown Los Angeles guarded by U.S. Marines, daughters, sons, aunts, nieces and others make their way to an underground garage and line up at a door with a buzzer at the end of a dirty, dark stairwell.
It’s here where families, some with lawyers, come to find their loved ones after they’ve been arrested by federal immigration agents.
For immigrants without legal status who are detained in this part of Southern California, their first stop is the Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in the basement of the federal building. Officers verify their identity and obtain their biometrics before transferring them to detention facilities. Upstairs, immigrants line up around the block for other services, including for green cards and asylum applications.
On a recent day, dozens of people arrived with medication, clothing and hope of seeing their loved one, if only briefly. After hours of waiting, many were turned away with no news, not even confirmation that their relative was inside. Some relayed reports of horrific conditions inside, including inmates who are so thirsty that they have been drinking from the toilets. ICE did not respond to emailed requests for comment.
Just two weeks ago, protesters marched around the federal complex following aggressive raids in Los Angeles that began June 6 and have not stopped. Scrawled expletives about President Donald Trump still mark the complex’s walls.
Those arrested are from a variety of countries, including Mexico, Guatemala, India, Iran, China and Laos. About a third of the county’s 10 million residents are foreign-born.
Many families learned about the arrests from videos circulating on social media showing masked officers in parking lots at Home Depots, at car washes and in front of taco stands.
Around 8 a.m., when attorney visits begin, a few lawyers buzz the basement door called “B-18” as families wait anxiously outside to hear any inkling of information.
9 a.m.
Christina Jimenez and her cousin arrive to check if her 61-year-old stepfather is inside.
Her family had prepared for the possibility of this happening to the day laborer who would wait to be hired outside a Home Depot in the LA suburb of Hawthorne. They began sharing locations when the raids intensified. They told him that if he were detained, he should stay silent and follow instructions.
Jimenez had urged him to stop working, or at least avoid certain areas as raids increased. But he was stubborn and “always hustled.”
“He could be sick and he’s still trying to make it out to work,” Jimenez said.
After learning of his arrest, she looked him up online on the ICE Detainee Locator but couldn’t find him. She tried calling ICE to no avail.
Two days later, her phone pinged with his location downtown.
“My mom’s in shock,” Jimenez said. “She goes from being very angry to crying, same with my sister.”
Jimenez says his name into the intercom – Mario Alberto Del Cid Solares. After a brief wait, she is told yes, he’s there.
She and her cousin breathe a sigh of relief — but their questions remain.
Her biggest fear is that instead of being sent to his homeland of Guatemala, he will be deported to another country, something the Supreme Court recently ruled was allowed.
9:41 a.m.
By mid-morning, Estrella Rosas and her mother have come looking for her sister, Andrea Velez, a U.S. citizen. A day earlier, they saw Velez being detained after they dropped her off at her marketing job at a shoe company downtown.
“My mom told me to call 911 because someone was kidnapping her,” Rosas said.
Stuck on a one-way street, they had to circle the block. By the time they got back, she says they saw Velez in handcuffs being put into a car without license plates.
Velez’s family believes she was targeted for looking Hispanic and standing near a tamale stand.
Rosas has her sister’s passport and U.S. birth certificate, but learns she is not there. They find her next door in a federal detention center. She was accused of obstructing immigration officers, which the family denies, but is released the next day.
11:40 a.m.
About 20 people are now outside. Some have found cardboard to sit on after waiting hours.
One family comforts a woman who is crying softly in the stairwell.
Then the door opens, and a group of lawyers emerge. Families rush to ask if the attorneys could help them.
Kim Carver, a lawyer with the Trans Latino Coalition, says she planned to see her client, a transgender Honduran woman, but she was transferred to a facility in Texas at 6:30 that morning.
Carver accompanied her less than a week ago for an immigration interview and the asylum officer told her she had a credible case. Then ICE officers walked in and detained her.
“Since then, it’s been just a chase trying to find her,” she says.
12:28 p.m.
As more people arrive, the group begins sharing information. One person explains the all-important “A-number,” the registration number given to every detainee, which is needed before an attorney can help.
They exchange tips like how to add money to an account for phone calls. One woman says $20 lasted three or four calls for her.
Mayra Segura is looking for her uncle after his frozen popsicle cart was abandoned in the middle of the sidewalk in Culver City.
“They couldn’t find him in the system,” she says.
12:52 p.m.
Another lawyer, visibly frustrated, comes out the door. She’s carrying bags of clothes, snacks, Tylenol, and water that she says she wasn’t allowed to give to her client, even though he says he had been given only one water bottle over the past two days.
The line stretches outside the stairwell into the sun. A man leaves and returns with water for everyone.
Nearly an hour after family visitations are supposed to begin, people are finally allowed in.
2:12 p.m.
Still wearing hospital scrubs from work, Jasmin Camacho Picazo comes to see her husband again.
She brought a sweater because he had told her he was cold, and his back injury was aggravated from sleeping on the ground.
“He mentioned this morning (that) people were drinking from the restroom toilet water,” Picazo says.
On her phone, she shows footage of his car left on the side of the road after his arrest. The window was smashed and the keys were still in the ignition.
“I can’t stop crying,” Picazo says.
Her son keeps asking: “Is Papa going to pick me up from school?”
2:21 p.m.
More than five hours after Jimenez and her cousin arrive, they see her stepfather.
“He was sad and he’s scared,” says Jimenez afterwards. “We tried to reassure him as much as possible.”
She wrote down her phone number, which he had not memorized, so he could call her.
2:57 p.m.
More people arrive as others are let in.
Yadira Almadaz comes out crying after seeing her niece’s boyfriend for only five minutes. She says he was in the same clothes he was wearing when he was detained a week ago at an asylum appointment in the city of Tustin. He told her he’d only been given cookies and chips to eat each day.
“It breaks my heart seeing a young man cry because he’s hungry and thirsty,” she says.
3:56 p.m.
Four minutes before visitation time is supposed to end, an ICE officer opens the door and announces it’s over.
One woman snaps at him in frustration. The officer tells her he would get in trouble if he helped her past 4 p.m.
More than 20 people are still waiting in line. Some trickle out. Others linger, staring at the door in disbelief.
A legal group co-founded by top White House aide Stephen Miller has filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, seeking an investigation of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
The America First Legal complaint, filed on Monday, claims that the Dodgers’ DEI policies “appear to discriminate against employees, or prospective employees, solely because of their skin color or sex.” They cite a reference on the team’s DEI page that outlines recruitment efforts, including “sponsoring programs geared toward women and people of color.”
The complaint follows an incident on June 19 in which masked agents appeared near one of the Dodgers’s gates to its parking lot. Protesters gathered in the area, and the Los Angeles Police Department arrived at the scene, and the agents left. The Dodgers posted that that morning, “ICE agents came to Dodger Stadium and requested permission to access the parking lots. They were denied entry to the grounds by the organization.”
https://deadline.com/2025/07/dodgers-dei-complaint-ice-1236447419
Former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance wants an immediate and full congressional investigation into the latest death of a detainee in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the Trump administration.
The detainee, a 75-year-old Cuban national named Isidro Perez, was reported to Congress by ICE officials, with news on the incident saying that “the death appears to have been caused by a heart attack.”
That explanation didn’t suffice for Vance.
“‘Appears’ is doing a lot of heavy, lifting here given what we know about how other detainees, including a woman who lost her baby in ICE detention have experienced,” wrote Vance. “Especially with ICE trying to prevent Congress from oversight, there should be a full investigation into this.”
In a series of social media posts, Vice President JD Vance said the cost of the GOP spending bill, including the effect of the largest cuts to Medicaid in history, are “immaterial” compared to the money he says it will save through expanded funding for immigration enforcement.
“The thing that will bankrupt this country more than any other policy is flooding the country with illegal immigration and then giving those migrants generous benefits. The (bill) fixes this problem. And therefore it must pass,” Vance said in a June 30 post on the social media site X, a few hours before he cast the tie-breaking vote to move the spending bill back to the House.
“Everything else ‒ the (Congressional Budget Office) score, the proper baseline, the minutiae of the Medicaid policy ‒ is immaterial compared to the ICE money and immigration enforcement provisions,” he said in a second post.
Recent weeks have seen the Trump administration’s “mass deportation” program kick into overdrive.
Militarized federal agents are working hard to meet the White House’s sky-high arrest quotas, and the number of people in immigration detention is surging past record highs. That means focusing even more on otherwise law-abiding people who happen to have irregular immigration statuses ― people who pay taxes, show up to court dates and check-ins, work hard to provide for their families, and followed previous administrations’ rules to apply for humanitarian protections. It also means interrogating people at swap meets, and underground parties, or those who just have brown skin.
The nation disapproves, polling shows. Massive protests around the country ― in both large urban areas and small towns ― have showcased Americans’ fury at having their loved ones and neighbors ripped out of their communities at random.
Across the country, people are also taking action to slow down what they see as the egregious over-enforcement of immigration law, attempting to starve Trump’s mass deportation machine of fuel and to throw sand in its gears.
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But activists and community organizers have worked for generations to slow down deportations ― and, as it turns out, Trump’s deportation agenda relies upon some crucial choke points. Here they are.
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One key opportunity for bystanders to intervene in the deportation process comes during the actual moments where immigration agents may be making an arrest.
Take the case of Bishop-elect Michael Pham, Pope Leo XIV’s first bishop appointment in the United States. On World Refugee Day last week, Pham and other faith leaders visited an immigration court. The ICE agents who in recent weeks have been arresting immigrants showing up to routine hearings in the building “scattered” and did not take anyone into custody, Times of San Diego reported.
In Chicago, two National Guard soldiers appeared in uniform with their mother at her immigration appointment, alongside two members of Congress. The soldiers’ mother returned home without incident.
Not everyone has the star power to discourage detentions by their mere presence. But at courthouses and ICE check-ins where Trump has taken advantage of a legal maneuver known as “expedited removal” to arrest and deport people without due process, volunteers accompanying immigrants can document arrests and sometimes provide informal legal information to people who might not know about ICE’stactics.
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Spreading information about people’s legal rights during interactions with law enforcement, known as “know your rights” information, has also grown enormously popular.
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Getting Everyone Legal Representation: The data is clear. Legal representation is associated withbetter outcomes in immigration court.
That’s because the deck is stacked against people in the immigration legal system. Unlike in criminal court, people in the immigration process are not guaranteed free legal representation if they can’t afford it, even if they’re detained behind bars.
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Opposing Local Cooperation With The Feds: Even though immigration enforcement is a federal job, local cooperation is a crucial part of the operation.
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Fighting Trump’s Massive DHS Budget Increase
But on Thursday, the Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, said the Republicans’ plan to cap a tax that states use to raise money for Medicaid did not pass the narrow rules of budget reconciliation, known as the “Byrd rule,” which determines what can be included in a reconciliation bill.
To make matters worse for Republicans, MacDonough’s office struck key parts of the immigration provisions in the bill. Specifically, she killed a $1,000 fee for anyone applying for asylum, a $100 minimum fee to advance a continuance in an immigration court, a $250 minimum fee to apply for the diversity visa lottery, a mandatory $400 processing fee for the same visa, a $5,000 minimum fee to sponsor a child who comes to the United States unaccompanied and money to expand the expedited removal of noncitizen immigrants arrested for crimes.
