'Alligator Alcatraz' Contracts Disappeared From a Florida State Database
A state official says the contracts contained "proprietary information," so they were scrubbed and replaced with bare-bones summaries.
Immigration
Report Alleges Degrading Treatment and Medical Neglect at South Florida ICE Detention Centers
One former ICE detainee says he and a group of men were forced to kneel with their hands tied behind their backs and eat "like dogs."
How Trump's Travel Crackdown Is Hurting Americans at Home and Abroad
From trade wars to visa restrictions, policies aimed at foreigners are backfiring on U.S. travelers—raising costs, shrinking freedoms, and souring global goodwill.
Trump's Alien Enemies Act Deportees Sent Back to Venezuela in Shameful Hostage Deal [Updated]
After being ilegally deported and imprisoned in El Salvador, they will now be sent back to the oppressive regime they fled in the first place, in exchange for ten Americans detained by the Venezuelan government.
ICE Is Shipping Detainees to Hawaii as Bed Space on the U.S. Mainland Fills Up
Immigrant detainees transferred thousands of miles from where they were first arrested face unique challenges in immigration court.
Major League Soccer Struggles With Free Speech as Fans Protest Trump's Immigration Policies
Recent protests at MLS matches and the ensuing bans for some fans have put the league in a delicate position, balancing tolerance and enforcement.
Judicial Nominee Emil Bove Can't Recall Whether He Said the DOJ Might Say 'Fuck You' To Court Orders
The alleged incident goes to the heart of the objections raised by critics who worry about Bove's respect for the rule of law.
As ICE Agents Hide Their Faces, ICE Attorneys Are Hiding Their Names in Immigration Courts
One immigration judge referred to an ICE attorney as merely “Department” during a hearing.
'Alligator Alcatraz' Detainees Say in New Lawsuit They're Being Denied Access to Their Attorneys
The lawsuit says attorneys have been repeatedly turned away from the detention camp and had virtual meetings mysteriously canceled.
Afghan Allies Under Pressure to Self-Deport: Voices from Camp As Sayliyah
"We have no criticism of the U.S. government—on the contrary, we are truly thankful. However, we are deeply afraid of the possibility of being returned to Afghanistan."
A Compelling Defense of Immigration Parole Programs
My Cato Institute colleague David Bier presented it in testimony before a congressional committee.
Leaked Blueprint Reveals ICE Plan To Use IRS Data To Increase Detentions
ICE wants to access confidential IRS data to locate tax-paying undocumented immigrants and boost detention numbers.
Lawyers and Families Report Squalid Conditions and Lack of Legal Access at Alligator Alcatraz
Numerous accounts of lack of showers, overflowing toilets, and inability to meet with lawyers are emerging from the detention center in the middle of the Everglades.
Immigrant Rights Group Says Its Billboards Opposing Alligator Alcatraz Were Taken Down Under Political Pressure
The Florida Immigrant Coalition's new billboards were restored less than a day after being taken down, but why were they removed in the first place?
MAGA's Epstein Files Fight Shows the Long Tail of QAnon
Like sex trafficking panic more broadly, the Epstein files are a useful political tool—as long as they remain hidden.
Leaked Memo: ICE To Block Bond Hearings for Millions of Undocumented Immigrants. Detentions To Skyrocket.
Immigrants who arrive illegally in the U.S. may be detained for months or years as they await a resolution to their immigration cases.
Americans Want Order, not Cruelty, at the Border
Trump promised to target violent criminals. He lost support when he went after harmless immigrants.
The Class Action Threat to Trump's Birthright Citizenship Order
Plus: A fond farewell to Black Sabbath.
Life as an Academic Defender of the Intuitively Obvious
Academics are supposed to discover nonobvious, counterintituitive truths. But, especially in recent years, much of my work involves defending positions that seem obvious to most laypeople, even though many experts deny them.
The Original Alcatraz Closed for Costing Too Much. Alligator Alcatraz Should Too.
Florida’s elected officials should learn from the original facility that inspired the state’s newest immigrant detention center's name, and change course before it’s too late.
Hundreds of 'Alligator Alcatraz' Detainees Don't Have Criminal Records
Trump said the prison camp would hold "some of the most vicious people on the planet," but a list obtained by the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Tribune shows otherwise.
Federal Court Rules Against Racial Profiling in "Roving" Immigration Enforcement Raids
Racial profiling is a longstanding problem, exacerbated by Trump Administration deportation policies.
Can American Citizens Lose Their Citizenship?
Yes, but only if they intend to relinquish it (or, if they are naturalized citizens and committed fraud during the naturalization process).
Digital Nomads Are Getting Caught in the War on Tourism
Countries are welcoming remote workers with digital nomad visas—while cracking down on the very lifestyle that makes nomadism possible.
Bill Kristol Is Alarmed That a President Would Ship Accused Foreign Enemies to an Overseas Prison
The hawkish defender of Guantanamo Bay and the post-9/11 security state worries President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown is threatening civil liberties.
Federal Court Issues Class Action Injunction Against Trump's Birthright Citizenship Executive Order [Updated]
This ruling was widely expected in the wake of the Supreme Court's decison barring nationwide injunctions.
The Department of Homeland Security Says Trump's Immigration Enforcers Are on a Mission From God
A DHS video lionizing Customs and Border Protection quotes the Bible and includes a song promising that "God's gonna cut you down."
Courts Can Check, and Have Checked, Executives' Military Judgment
Katherine Yon Ebright and Leah Tulin of the Brennan Center make the case against judicial deference to Trump's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
ICE Is Snooping on Your Medical Bills
The immigration agency has reportedly gained access to a private database designed to fight insurance fraud.
Leaked Documents Show 'Alligator Alcatraz' Could Cost Over $600 Million
More questions arise over how Florida’s newest immigration detention center is being funded by the Trump administration.
The 'Big Beautiful Bill' Funds an Expensive Immigration Crackdown
Billions upon billions of dollars are allocated for border screening technology, immigration detention facilities, more ICE agents, and building a border wall.
The Trump Administration Says Its Speech-Based Deportation Policy 'Does Not Exist'
The government’s lawyers also say that supposedly nonexistent policy is perfectly consistent with the First Amendment.
Trump Reiterates His Promise To Protect Farm and Hospitality Workers From 'Pretty Vicious' Deportation
The president is torn between the economic concerns of his supporters and the demands of immigration hardliners.
There's No Good Reason for Cities and States To Build or Subsidize Sports Stadiums
“There's no such thing as a free stadium,” says J.C. Bradbury. “You can't just pull revenue out of thin air.”
The Republican-Appointed Judge Decrying Trump's 'Deeply Disturbing' Attacks on the Rule of Law
When Arizona Supreme Court Justice Clint Bolick is worried about our constitutional order, we should all pay heed.
Why Are Immigrants From Tropical Countries Coming to This Arctic Outpost?
"Why not here?" says the owner of a Lebanese restaurant in Canada's semiautonomous Nunavut Territory.
The Insanity of Trump's Big Beautiful Bill
Plus: Trump's E.U. trade deadline, masked ICE agents, and Elon Musk's third party
Writings on the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution
Links to some of my previous writings on these topics, which remain relevant today.
Trump vs. the Declaration of Independence
Several of the items on the Declaration's list of grievances against King George III also apply to Donald Trump today.
Independence Day Reminds Us You Can Be American by Choice
Despite our problems, the U.S. offers the sort of freedom, liberty, and opportunity that is anathema to many places around the world.
A Broad Ruling Against Trump's Immigration Policies Illustrates Alternatives to Universal Injunctions
Class actions and Administrative Procedure Act claims can achieve much the same result as the nationwide orders that the Supreme Court rejected.
The Everglades Jetport Was Supposed To Be a World Wonder. Now It's 'Alligator Alcatraz.'
Our dreams have fallen from supersonic world travel to jailing migrants who've hurt no one.
Cincinnati's Beer-Loving Germans Endured Anti-Immigrant and Anti-Alcohol Resistance
The city's German immigrant experience suggests that immediate assimilation isn't necessary to eventual assimilation.
Federal Court Rules Against Trump's "Invasion" Executive Order
But, notably, the court chose not to rule on the issue of what qualifies as an "invasion."
Florida Plans To Deputize 9 National Guardsmen as Immigration Judges To Increase Deportations
Legal experts are concerned that immigration judges with only six weeks of training will not uphold constitutional protections for migrants.
The First Amendment Protects CNN's Reporting on ICEBlock and Iran
The Justice Department cannot constitutionally prosecute a news outlet for covering the news.
Trump Visits $450 Million 'Alligator Alcatraz,' Suggests Taxpayers Should Fund More of Them
Only eight days after construction began, Florida’s new immigration detention center in the Everglades is set to officially open this week.
