Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Kathleen Bush-Joseph @kathleenbush.bsky.social · 7h

ICE Accused Of Warrantless Arrests In Colorado Suit

Homeland Security Secretary Noem & ICE directors were named in a proposed class action in Colorado federal court Thursday accusing immigration officials of making illegal, warrantless arrests

www.law360.com/immigration/articles/2398195

ICE Accused Of Warrantless Arrests In Colorado Suit - Law360

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and two directors with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were named in a proposed class action in Colorado federal court Thursday accusing immigration...

www.law360.com

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Kathleen Bush-Joseph @kathleenbush.bsky.social · 7h

Feds' E-Verify System Resumes Operation During Shutdown

the system for employers to check people's eligibility to work in the US has resumed operation, a little over a week after it went offline with the start of the ongoing government shutdown

www.law360.com/corporate/articles/2398243

Feds' E-Verify System Resumes Operation During Shutdown - Law360

The federal E-Verify system for employers to check people's eligibility to work in the U.S. has resumed operation, a little over a week after it went offline with the start of the ongoing government s...

www.law360.com

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Kathleen Bush-Joseph @kathleenbush.bsky.social · 7h

The internal DHS records obtained by ProPublica show nearly 3,700 departures of Venezuelans via CBP Home through late September. It’s unclear how many Venezuelans have applied.

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Kathleen Bush-Joseph @kathleenbush.bsky.social · 7h

Applications for voluntary departures—an alternative to deportation granted to some immigrants who leave at their own expense—have skyrocketed to levels not seen since at least 2000, reaching more than 34,000 since Trump’s second administration began, immigration court data shows

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Kathleen Bush-Joseph @kathleenbush.bsky.social · 7h

There have been ~25,000 departures of immigrants via CBP Home, according to DHS data obtained by ProPublica

The data indicates that of those 25,000, a little more than half of them returned home with DHS assistance; nearly all the others ended up returning on their own

Chris Morran @themorrancave.bsky.social · 11h

In July, Pérez got a call from CBP Home telling her she’d be on a flight out of the US in August.

She began packing.

Then, after weeks of silence, somebody called to say there might be a delay.

Then no more info, and no plane tickets.

by @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social @mariamelba.bsky.social

“I Don’t Want to Be Here Anymore”: They Tried to Self-Deport, Then Got Stranded in Trump’s America

Venezuelan immigrants signed up for a Trump-promoted app called CBP Home, which promised a safe and easy way to leave the country, and prepared to leave on their given departure dates. Those dates hav...

www.propublica.org

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Reposted by Kathleen Bush-Joseph

Chris Morran @themorrancave.bsky.social · 11h

In July, Pérez got a call from CBP Home telling her she’d be on a flight out of the US in August.

She began packing.

Then, after weeks of silence, somebody called to say there might be a delay.

Then no more info, and no plane tickets.

by @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social @mariamelba.bsky.social

“I Don’t Want to Be Here Anymore”: They Tried to Self-Deport, Then Got Stranded in Trump’s America

Venezuelan immigrants signed up for a Trump-promoted app called CBP Home, which promised a safe and easy way to leave the country, and prepared to leave on their given departure dates. Those dates hav...

www.propublica.org

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Kathleen Bush-Joseph @kathleenbush.bsky.social · 7h

Oregon’s congressional Democrats press feds on treatment of immigrants, protestors at ICE facility

Members of Oregon’s congressional delegation raised concerns in letters following a visit to the Portland ICE processing facility

oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2025/10/09/o...

Oregon’s congressional Democrats press feds on treatment of immigrants, protestors at ICE facility • Oregon Capital Chronicle

Members of Oregon’s congressional delegation raised concerns in letters following a visit to the Portland ICE processing facility that’s been a lighting rod for Trump officials.

oregoncapitalchronicle.com

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Kathleen Bush-Joseph @kathleenbush.bsky.social · 7h

Judge blocks federal agents from using force on journalists in Chicago

www.axios.com/2025/10/10/t...

Judge blocks federal agents from using force on journalists in Chicago

A White House spokesperson told Axios "we expect to be vindicated by a higher court."

www.axios.com

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Kathleen Bush-Joseph @kathleenbush.bsky.social · 7h

Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks National Guard Deployment in Illinois

Judge April M. Perry said the Trump administration had not established that sending in troops over the governor’s objection was legally justified. The government is appealing

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/u...

Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks National Guard Deployment in Illinois

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Kathleen Bush-Joseph

Mike Watkins @watkinsimmigration.bsky.social · 1d

USCIS Q3 data dropped today and woof, it's not pretty. Total pending cases at a new record high of 11.5m, net backlog increased from 4.9m to 5.4m cases, and "frontlog" bizarrely increased to 60K cases.

A lot of red flags in this data.

www.uscis.gov/tools/report...

Immigration and Citizenship Data

These reports provide data on various aspects of USCIS operations. In addition, certain tables list the USCIS office responsible for the adjudication.

www.uscis.gov

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Kathleen Bush-Joseph @kathleenbush.bsky.social · 7h

Amid Trump's enforcement push, the administrative side of the US immigration system hasn't received as much attention, but it remains in crisis.

USCIS has been dealing with huge backlogs for years & the firing of large numbers of staff has not helped!

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 1d

Yikes indeed. After multiple quarters of success in bringing down backlogs, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is taking a turn for the worse.

The latest data shows that in the first six months of 2025, total net backlogs rose 26%, up by 1.1 million pending applications (of all kinds).

A bar chart showing Total Net USCIS Immigration Application Backlog by quarter, Fiscal Year 2023 Q4 through Fiscal Year 2025 Q3. The chart shows that total applications pending dropped from a bit over 4 million in FY 2023 Q4 to 3.8 million in FY 2024 Q4. In FY 2025, every quarter there has been an increase, with the sharpest increase from Q1 to Q2 and then a smaller but still significant increase from Q2 to Q3, peaking at 5.4 million pending cases.

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Reposted by Kathleen Bush-Joseph

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 1d

Yikes indeed. After multiple quarters of success in bringing down backlogs, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is taking a turn for the worse.

The latest data shows that in the first six months of 2025, total net backlogs rose 26%, up by 1.1 million pending applications (of all kinds).

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Reposted by Kathleen Bush-Joseph

Zoe Tillman @zoetillman.bsky.social · 1d

"The court is required to continue its constitutional functions"

US judges so far have rejected the Justice Department’s requests to delay more than a dozen legal challenges to Trump administration policies as the government shutdown enters its second week:
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

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Reposted by Kathleen Bush-Joseph

Brad Heath @bradheath.bsky.social · 1d

A woman who was shot multiple times by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents did not ram them with her car and had her weapon stored in her purse at the time of the incident, according to her lawyer, contradicting accounts by the Department of Homeland Security.

www.reuters.com/world/us/bod...

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Reposted by Kathleen Bush-Joseph

Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 1d

NEW: A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order barring Chicago-area fed agents from several violent actions they’ve taken against journalists, activists and “religious practitioners” protesting ICE — including Rev. Black, a plaintiff in the case. www.courtlistener.com/docket/71559...

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Reposted by Kathleen Bush-Joseph

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 1d

MAJOR new restrictions on federal government use of riot control weapons -- and even requiring them to display identification in many circumstances. I expect a very rapid appeal and request for a stay from the 7th Circuit.

Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 1d

NEW: A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order barring Chicago-area fed agents from several violent actions they’ve taken against journalists, activists and “religious practitioners” protesting ICE — including Rev. Black, a plaintiff in the case. www.courtlistener.com/docket/71559...

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Reposted by Kathleen Bush-Joseph

Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 1d

👀"Oklahomans would lose their mind if Pritzker in Illinois sent troops down to Oklahoma during the Biden administration.” - GOP Gov. Kevin Stitt, the current chairman of the National Governors Association.

Maybe @governor.ca.gov @govpritzker.illinois.gov's notices to the NGA are having impact?

Oklahoma’s Republican Governor Criticizes National Guard Deployment in Chicago

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Kathleen Bush-Joseph

Migration Policy Institute @migrationpolicy.bsky.social · 4d

En los últimos 15 años, el Caribe ha logrado avances importantes en la integración migratoria.

Pero Haití, el principal país de origen de migrantes en la subregión y también el más golpeado por la crisis, ha quedado sistemáticamente excluido.

https://bit.ly/48Jjd2P

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Reposted by Kathleen Bush-Joseph

Migration Policy Institute @migrationpolicy.bsky.social · 3d

El Tapón del Darién es el único tramo terrestre que separa América del Sur y América Central. De la noche a la mañana, se transformó en un corredor clave de migración regional

¿Qué papel juega hoy el Darién en los movimientos migratorios?
➡️ https://bit.ly/48Jjd2P

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Reposted by Kathleen Bush-Joseph

Julian Hattem @jmhattem.bsky.social · 1d

Albuquerque brought in the Nat'l Guard a while ago, but required them to be in plainclothes, get training, etc, says the city's police chief at #immconf, all of which led to local buy-in

More on ABQ'S experience : www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...

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Kathleen Bush-Joseph @kathleenbush.bsky.social · 1d

The public is engaging with legal news with a sense of powerlessness, says @klasfeldreports.com

But says yes, the courts remain a significant check on power in the US still

Points to the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Secretary Noem said he wouldn't step foot on US soil again, but he has

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Kathleen Bush-Joseph @kathleenbush.bsky.social · 1d

The courts do stop some govt. actions. He highlights the fact that the courts have stopped Trump's use of Alien Enemies Act

& on birthright citizenship, "not a single baby has been stripped of citizenship" despite Trump's day 1 order

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Kathleen Bush-Joseph @kathleenbush.bsky.social · 1d

ACLU Immigrant's Rights Project Director @omarjadwat.bsky.social thinks the judicial system overall has failed to vigorously enforce the legal limits on the government's behavior

but says emphatic yes, the courts do matter

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Kathleen Bush-Joseph @kathleenbush.bsky.social · 1d

5th Circuit Appellate Court will hear Alien Enemies Act case en banc, meaning the whole court will hear the case

In JGG case, SCOTUS made clear courts do have a review role

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Kathleen Bush-Joseph @kathleenbush.bsky.social · 1d

& drug smuggling amounted to an invasion

Trump 2.0 is saying that Tren de Aragua presence in the US counts as an invasion, allows for use of Alien Enemies Act & that gives him authority to detain & deport people w/out due process, & then send them to prison in El Salvador

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