Isabela Dias
@isabelaalhadeff.bsky.social
Reporter at Mother Jones covering immigration, Latin America, and more. Falo português.
Pinned
Isabela Dias
@isabelaalhadeff.bsky.social
· Nov 11
Then they came for the Dreamers
Immigrants brought here as children were told they wouldn’t be deported. Now, they’re being targeted anyway.
www.motherjones.com
Catalina “Xóchitl” Santiago spent nearly two months in ICE detention—despite having protection under DACA—until a federal judge ruled that the government had no reason to keep her in custody and ordered her release.
DHS is still vowing to "explore every available option to remove" her. My latest:
DHS is still vowing to "explore every available option to remove" her. My latest:
Steven Tendo is a pastor and asylum seeker from Uganda who has survived unimaginable harm and persecution back home. He has been fighting his case for years and reporting to ICE regularly. Yesterday, he was taken into custody—days before a scheduled check-in—and moved from Vermont to New Hampshire.
The (almost) unbelievable tortures of Steven Tendo
A snake pit. Severed fingers. COVID. A US immigration judge.
www.motherjones.com
February 6, 2026 at 1:06 AM
Steven Tendo is a pastor and asylum seeker from Uganda who has survived unimaginable harm and persecution back home. He has been fighting his case for years and reporting to ICE regularly. Yesterday, he was taken into custody—days before a scheduled check-in—and moved from Vermont to New Hampshire.
“It’s not at all surprising that this is happening with these ICE [removal] officers being sent out to basically treat people terribly,” a one-time deputy chief counsel with the agency told me, anticipating more escalation of violence. My latest for @motherjones.com:
Former members of ICE say recent violence is "by design"
"What has changed is there has been an encouragement from the top to be much more aggressive in enforcement."
www.motherjones.com
January 14, 2026 at 3:54 PM
“It’s not at all surprising that this is happening with these ICE [removal] officers being sent out to basically treat people terribly,” a one-time deputy chief counsel with the agency told me, anticipating more escalation of violence. My latest for @motherjones.com:
“Mass deportation will be a labor-market disruption celebrated by American workers,” Stephen Miller said in late 2023.
But as I wrote here before Trump's re-election, researchers estimated that large-scale deportations would result in fewer jobs for Americans, not more.
But as I wrote here before Trump's re-election, researchers estimated that large-scale deportations would result in fewer jobs for Americans, not more.
January 12, 2026 at 3:16 PM
“Mass deportation will be a labor-market disruption celebrated by American workers,” Stephen Miller said in late 2023.
But as I wrote here before Trump's re-election, researchers estimated that large-scale deportations would result in fewer jobs for Americans, not more.
But as I wrote here before Trump's re-election, researchers estimated that large-scale deportations would result in fewer jobs for Americans, not more.
"We have voted. We have protested. We have been killed. We have been persecuted. We have been imprisoned. We have been tortured. We have done everything in our power to have a path to democracy—and we deserve that opportunity.”
They fled Maduro and cheered his downfall. But they fear deportations, too.
"Until there is true justice in Venezuela and the economic means to return and rebuild the country, I don't believe Venezuelans can go back."
www.motherjones.com
January 7, 2026 at 5:00 PM
"We have voted. We have protested. We have been killed. We have been persecuted. We have been imprisoned. We have been tortured. We have done everything in our power to have a path to democracy—and we deserve that opportunity.”
Finally, in December, I reported on the fallout of the administration's crackdown on legal immigration following the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC.
More to come in 2026.
More to come in 2026.
Trump is “basically shutting down the legal immigration system”
In response to the DC shooting, the administration is blocking pathways for rule-following and vulnerable immigrants.
www.motherjones.com
December 29, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Finally, in December, I reported on the fallout of the administration's crackdown on legal immigration following the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC.
More to come in 2026.
More to come in 2026.
And I profiled a Navy veteran who chases ICE on a scooter across the neighborhoods of Baltimore.
Meet the veteran who chases ICE on a scooter
Clifford “Buzz” Grambo patrols the streets of Baltimore to keep his neighbors safe—and make federal agents uncomfortable.
www.motherjones.com
December 29, 2025 at 7:51 PM
And I profiled a Navy veteran who chases ICE on a scooter across the neighborhoods of Baltimore.
In November, I also wrote about the Trump administration's active targeting of DACA recipients with valid protection for arrest, detention, and deportation.
Then they came for the Dreamers
Immigrants brought here as children were told they wouldn’t be deported. Now, they’re being targeted anyway.
www.motherjones.com
December 29, 2025 at 7:51 PM
In November, I also wrote about the Trump administration's active targeting of DACA recipients with valid protection for arrest, detention, and deportation.
For the November/December issue, I reported on a one-time prison town in Colorado that has gotten divided over potential plans to open an ICE detention center in their backyard.
"Godsend" or "concentration camp"? A lucrative ICE deal divides a Colorado town.
Trump has unleashed a gold rush among immigrant-detaining private prison companies. In cash-strapped cities, residents aren’t sure the money is worth it.
www.motherjones.com
December 29, 2025 at 7:51 PM
For the November/December issue, I reported on a one-time prison town in Colorado that has gotten divided over potential plans to open an ICE detention center in their backyard.
In October, I followed up on my March piece about the US immigration courts with detailed accounts from fired immigration judges.
“Fired for no reason”: Former immigration judges speak out against Trump’s assault on the courts
The Trump administration’s push for more deportations is upending immigration courts. Recently terminated judges fear the changes imperil due process.
www.motherjones.com
December 29, 2025 at 7:51 PM
In October, I followed up on my March piece about the US immigration courts with detailed accounts from fired immigration judges.
For the September/October issue of the magazine, I reported on Trump's attack on Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans and the largest de-legalization push in modern US history.
Trump is making thousands of rule-abiding immigrants undocumented
Inside the largest delegalization campaign in modern US history.
www.motherjones.com
December 29, 2025 at 7:51 PM
For the September/October issue of the magazine, I reported on Trump's attack on Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans and the largest de-legalization push in modern US history.
@nlanard.bsky.social and I talked to some of the Venezuelans after they were released from CECOT and sent back to Venezuela and documented their stories about what they endured in El Salvador.
“What they did there was torture us”
Now free, the Venezuelan men the Trump administration sent to El Salvador want the world to know what they lived through.
www.motherjones.com
December 29, 2025 at 7:51 PM
@nlanard.bsky.social and I talked to some of the Venezuelans after they were released from CECOT and sent back to Venezuela and documented their stories about what they endured in El Salvador.
In July, I reported on ICE's arrest of a Brazilian-born high schooler and how it galvanized a Massachusetts town.
How ICE’s arrest of a high school student activated a Massachusetts town
“We’re trying to find ways the community can defend itself.”
www.motherjones.com
December 29, 2025 at 7:51 PM
In July, I reported on ICE's arrest of a Brazilian-born high schooler and how it galvanized a Massachusetts town.
In June, I wrote about how several of the men sent to CECOT had their pending asylum cases in the United States dismissed by immigration judges.
Trump disappeared them to El Salvador. Now, they're being erased by immigration courts.
At least 14 cases of Venezuelans sent to a Salvadoran megaprison have been dismissed by US immigration judges.
www.motherjones.com
December 29, 2025 at 7:51 PM
In June, I wrote about how several of the men sent to CECOT had their pending asylum cases in the United States dismissed by immigration judges.
I also looked back at my previous reporting on "Remigration" in light of Trump's proposal to create a Remigration Office within the State Department.
The worrying backstory of Trump’s proposed “Office of Remigration”
The State Department is reportedly creating an office for "remigration": a far-right policy that calls for what has been described as "soft-style ethnic cleansing."
www.motherjones.com
December 29, 2025 at 7:51 PM
I also looked back at my previous reporting on "Remigration" in light of Trump's proposal to create a Remigration Office within the State Department.
In May, I worked on an article about the Trump administration's attack on a legal services program for detained immigrants with serious mental health needs and cognitive disabilities.
Trump's DOJ stripped lifeline legal services from the most vulnerable detained immigrants
"Without a lawyer, people don't have a prayer. They don't have a chance in hell."
www.motherjones.com
December 29, 2025 at 7:51 PM
In May, I worked on an article about the Trump administration's attack on a legal services program for detained immigrants with serious mental health needs and cognitive disabilities.
@nlanard.bsky.social and I also reported on the detained migrants who were at risk of being sent to El Salvador next.
More Venezuelans face imminent deportation under the Alien Enemies Act
“The Trump administration appears afraid to give people due process."
www.motherjones.com
December 29, 2025 at 7:51 PM
@nlanard.bsky.social and I also reported on the detained migrants who were at risk of being sent to El Salvador next.
In April, I followed up on our original investigation with an in-depth story about another Venezuelan sent to CECOT, Julio Zambrano, and the impact his removal had on his family.
Her husband is trapped in a Salvadoran prison. She has no idea how to get him back.
Ripped apart by Trump, one Venezuelan family endures another hell: silence.
www.motherjones.com
December 29, 2025 at 7:51 PM
In April, I followed up on our original investigation with an in-depth story about another Venezuelan sent to CECOT, Julio Zambrano, and the impact his removal had on his family.
Also in March, @nlanard.bsky.social and I interviewed the relatives, friends, and lawyers of 10 Venezuelans sent to El Salvador's CECOT without due process and on flimsy allegations of gang membership due to innocuous tattoos. One man, Neri Alvarado, had an autism awareness tattoo for his brother.
The men disappeared to El Salvador because of their tattoos
The Trump administration sent Venezuelans to El Salvador’s most infamous prison. Their families are looking for answers.
www.motherjones.com
December 29, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Also in March, @nlanard.bsky.social and I interviewed the relatives, friends, and lawyers of 10 Venezuelans sent to El Salvador's CECOT without due process and on flimsy allegations of gang membership due to innocuous tattoos. One man, Neri Alvarado, had an autism awareness tattoo for his brother.
I also talked to descendants of survivors of the World War II internment camps about Trump's revival of the infamous Alien Enemies Act.
The US used the Alien Enemies Act to detain their families. Now, they are watching history repeat.
The statute justified the imprisonment in World War II of thousands like Heidi Gurcke Donald. She is horrified as Trump invokes it for mass deportation.
www.motherjones.com
December 29, 2025 at 7:51 PM
I also talked to descendants of survivors of the World War II internment camps about Trump's revival of the infamous Alien Enemies Act.
March was a BUSY month. I wrote the first of many pieces about the purge of the immigration courts.
“The entire system will collapse”: Inside the purge of US immigration courts
The "nonsensical" firings of immigration judges, managers, and senior officials spell more trouble for an already faltering system.
www.motherjones.com
December 29, 2025 at 7:51 PM
March was a BUSY month. I wrote the first of many pieces about the purge of the immigration courts.
In February, I partnered with @hurwitz.bsky.social to chronicle how immigration enforcement impacted students in the Boston area.
“Half my students were gone”: How Trump’s immigration agenda is disrupting education
In Boston-area schools, more than 1,000 students stayed home fearing deportation. Their teachers want to know what to tell them.
www.motherjones.com
December 29, 2025 at 7:51 PM
In February, I partnered with @hurwitz.bsky.social to chronicle how immigration enforcement impacted students in the Boston area.
This year felt like a decade. I wanted to highlight some of the immigration reporting I've done over the past 12 months:
In January, I wrote about the big money fueling the right's plot to end birthright citizenship.
In January, I wrote about the big money fueling the right's plot to end birthright citizenship.
The big-money right-wing push to upend the Constitution—and kill birthright citizenship
“We’re in totally uncharted territory.”
www.motherjones.com
December 29, 2025 at 7:51 PM
This year felt like a decade. I wanted to highlight some of the immigration reporting I've done over the past 12 months:
In January, I wrote about the big money fueling the right's plot to end birthright citizenship.
In January, I wrote about the big money fueling the right's plot to end birthright citizenship.
All asylum decisions paused. Naturalization ceremonies canceled. Green card applications on hold.
The Trump administration's blanket restrictions on legal immigration "don’t just disrupt paperwork, they derail lives.” My latest for @motherjones.com:
The Trump administration's blanket restrictions on legal immigration "don’t just disrupt paperwork, they derail lives.” My latest for @motherjones.com:
Trump Is “basically shutting down the legal immigration system”
In response to the DC shooting, the administration is blocking pathways for rule-following and vulnerable immigrants.
www.motherjones.com
December 12, 2025 at 6:45 PM
All asylum decisions paused. Naturalization ceremonies canceled. Green card applications on hold.
The Trump administration's blanket restrictions on legal immigration "don’t just disrupt paperwork, they derail lives.” My latest for @motherjones.com:
The Trump administration's blanket restrictions on legal immigration "don’t just disrupt paperwork, they derail lives.” My latest for @motherjones.com:
Reporter @dfriedman.bsky.social asked the Pentagon about Pete Hegseth’s mentor. Then the threats began.
I asked the Pentagon about Pete Hegseth's mentor. Then the threats started.
Journalism in the second Trump administration gets personal.
ow.ly
December 11, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Reporter @dfriedman.bsky.social asked the Pentagon about Pete Hegseth’s mentor. Then the threats began.
Reposted by Isabela Dias
“Asian wife sharing,” Pentagon press policy, and me: Journalism in the second Trump administration gets personal. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
I asked the Pentagon about Pete Hegseth's mentor. Then the threats started.
Journalism in the second Trump administration gets personal.
www.motherjones.com
December 11, 2025 at 2:17 PM
“Asian wife sharing,” Pentagon press policy, and me: Journalism in the second Trump administration gets personal. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...