Austin Kocher, PhD
@austinkocher.com
I study immigration enforcement. Assistant Professor at Syracuse University and Research Fellow at the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies at American University. https://linktr.ee/austinkocher
Refugees from Haiti, Venezuela, or Somalia are described in the most dehumanizing way and treated horribly by this administration. But if you're a white Afrikaner, you are welcomed into the family. I wonder what's different.
www.amerikaners.com
www.amerikaners.com
January 12, 2026 at 6:38 PM
Refugees from Haiti, Venezuela, or Somalia are described in the most dehumanizing way and treated horribly by this administration. But if you're a white Afrikaner, you are welcomed into the family. I wonder what's different.
www.amerikaners.com
www.amerikaners.com
Just a reminder that research from social scientists and historians for years has shown that the modern conservative movement can be largely traced to racial integration. See Kevin Kruse’s book “White Flight” for one of the best example of this work. @kevinmkruse.bsky.social
January 12, 2026 at 4:08 PM
Just a reminder that research from social scientists and historians for years has shown that the modern conservative movement can be largely traced to racial integration. See Kevin Kruse’s book “White Flight” for one of the best example of this work. @kevinmkruse.bsky.social
Got a shout out from Chris Hayes yesterday. Data can drive public narrative.
www.facebook.com/share/v/19MZ...
www.facebook.com/share/v/19MZ...
January 10, 2026 at 4:36 PM
Got a shout out from Chris Hayes yesterday. Data can drive public narrative.
www.facebook.com/share/v/19MZ...
www.facebook.com/share/v/19MZ...
"The Cost of Being Undocumented" is 💯: Alix shares unforgettable scenes from undocumented life while Antero helps frame the inhumane math of a system that extracts labor and taxes while denying basic protections.
penguinrandomhouse.com/books/780981/the-cost-of-being-undocumented-by-alix-dick/
penguinrandomhouse.com/books/780981/the-cost-of-being-undocumented-by-alix-dick/
January 10, 2026 at 1:25 AM
"The Cost of Being Undocumented" is 💯: Alix shares unforgettable scenes from undocumented life while Antero helps frame the inhumane math of a system that extracts labor and taxes while denying basic protections.
penguinrandomhouse.com/books/780981/the-cost-of-being-undocumented-by-alix-dick/
penguinrandomhouse.com/books/780981/the-cost-of-being-undocumented-by-alix-dick/
ICE is detaining 68,442 people, the highest number ever recorded. The fastest growth in detention isn’t among people with serious criminal convictions, but people with no criminal history.
Full data and analysis on my substack: austinkocher.substack.com/p/record-num...
Full data and analysis on my substack: austinkocher.substack.com/p/record-num...
January 8, 2026 at 1:02 PM
ICE is detaining 68,442 people, the highest number ever recorded. The fastest growth in detention isn’t among people with serious criminal convictions, but people with no criminal history.
Full data and analysis on my substack: austinkocher.substack.com/p/record-num...
Full data and analysis on my substack: austinkocher.substack.com/p/record-num...
Trump campaigned on “America First”: no regime change, no nation-building, fewer foreign entanglements. So how do U.S. military actions in Venezuela fit that promise? That contradiction is now impossible to ignore. 🧵
January 8, 2026 at 7:18 AM
Trump campaigned on “America First”: no regime change, no nation-building, fewer foreign entanglements. So how do U.S. military actions in Venezuela fit that promise? That contradiction is now impossible to ignore. 🧵
I wonder if withdrawing from these organizations is a sign of anything.
January 8, 2026 at 2:05 AM
I wonder if withdrawing from these organizations is a sign of anything.
Here’s @FoxNews right on cue with yet another version of the story:
January 7, 2026 at 8:28 PM
Here’s @FoxNews right on cue with yet another version of the story:
Try to wrap your mind around this utterly disgusting statement coming out of DHS today. I cannot fathom the depths of moral degeneracy that would compel a human being to say this after what happened today.
January 7, 2026 at 8:16 PM
Try to wrap your mind around this utterly disgusting statement coming out of DHS today. I cannot fathom the depths of moral degeneracy that would compel a human being to say this after what happened today.
Latest polling across the country show Democrats up over Republicans across the board, but Trump's focus on gerrymandering his way out of ignoring the economy will somewhat blunt these margins in the midterm election.
January 7, 2026 at 1:09 PM
Latest polling across the country show Democrats up over Republicans across the board, but Trump's focus on gerrymandering his way out of ignoring the economy will somewhat blunt these margins in the midterm election.
See the Vera Project's ICE Detention Trends, updated on December 18, 2025, to reflect newer data. www.vera.org/ice-detentio...
January 6, 2026 at 4:08 PM
See the Vera Project's ICE Detention Trends, updated on December 18, 2025, to reflect newer data. www.vera.org/ice-detentio...
Core finding: Undocumented immigrants were arrested at less than half the rate of native-born U.S. citizens for violent crimes (96.2 vs 213 per 100,000) and drug crimes (135 vs 337.2 per 100,000). For property crimes, it was about a quarter the rate (38.5 vs 165.2).
January 5, 2026 at 6:32 PM
Core finding: Undocumented immigrants were arrested at less than half the rate of native-born U.S. citizens for violent crimes (96.2 vs 213 per 100,000) and drug crimes (135 vs 337.2 per 100,000). For property crimes, it was about a quarter the rate (38.5 vs 165.2).
The National Institute of Justice, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Justice, published this summary of an NIJ-funded study on immigrant crime rates using Texas arrest data from 2012-2018. The findings contradict common political claims. 🧵
January 5, 2026 at 6:32 PM
The National Institute of Justice, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Justice, published this summary of an NIJ-funded study on immigrant crime rates using Texas arrest data from 2012-2018. The findings contradict common political claims. 🧵
I've written about this issue quite a bit over on Substack in the past few years. Visit that work for some context and for data about ATD in the United States.
austinkocher.substack.com/t/tech
austinkocher.substack.com/t/tech
January 5, 2026 at 4:08 PM
I've written about this issue quite a bit over on Substack in the past few years. Visit that work for some context and for data about ATD in the United States.
austinkocher.substack.com/t/tech
austinkocher.substack.com/t/tech
Major new report on immigration surveillance technology from the Kaldor Centre, IDC, and Refugee Law Lab. Based on consultations with 158 participants across 8 global regions, it's the most comprehensive analysis I've seen of how digital tools are reshaping detention worldwide.
January 5, 2026 at 4:08 PM
Major new report on immigration surveillance technology from the Kaldor Centre, IDC, and Refugee Law Lab. Based on consultations with 158 participants across 8 global regions, it's the most comprehensive analysis I've seen of how digital tools are reshaping detention worldwide.
The scale: ~300 people are returned to Honduras daily. Many children left behind are US citizens. One mother was separated from her 2-month-old baby. Another from a disabled child who depends entirely on her care.
January 5, 2026 at 2:44 PM
The scale: ~300 people are returned to Honduras daily. Many children left behind are US citizens. One mother was separated from her 2-month-old baby. Another from a disabled child who depends entirely on her care.
Key finding: Most parents said ICE never asked if they had children when arrested or before deportation. Some signed written statements requesting to be deported with their children, yet were removed alone. This violates ICE's own 2025 Detained Parents Directive.
January 5, 2026 at 2:44 PM
Key finding: Most parents said ICE never asked if they had children when arrested or before deportation. Some signed written statements requesting to be deported with their children, yet were removed alone. This violates ICE's own 2025 Detained Parents Directive.
New documentation from Honduras: Over 6 days interviewing deportees, researchers found more than half of parents were deported without being given an opportunity to bring their children with them. Most deportees were longtime US residents, not recent border crossers. 🧵
January 5, 2026 at 2:44 PM
New documentation from Honduras: Over 6 days interviewing deportees, researchers found more than half of parents were deported without being given an opportunity to bring their children with them. Most deportees were longtime US residents, not recent border crossers. 🧵
There's a reason they tried to silence everyone talking about the role of settler colonialism in the accumulation and exercise of political power in the United States and my colleague Niiyokamigaabaw Deondre Smiles said it as clear as you can say it. @niiyokamigaabaw.bsky.social
January 5, 2026 at 3:35 AM
There's a reason they tried to silence everyone talking about the role of settler colonialism in the accumulation and exercise of political power in the United States and my colleague Niiyokamigaabaw Deondre Smiles said it as clear as you can say it. @niiyokamigaabaw.bsky.social
ICE is gross. In a lawsuit over inhumane detention conditions on floor 6 of ICE building in San Francisco resulted in a preliminary injunction. So ICE moved detainees to floor 5, claiming that skirts the injunction. Judge says, no way.
www.courthousenews.com/judge-rips-t...
www.courthousenews.com/judge-rips-t...
January 2, 2026 at 9:35 PM
ICE is gross. In a lawsuit over inhumane detention conditions on floor 6 of ICE building in San Francisco resulted in a preliminary injunction. So ICE moved detainees to floor 5, claiming that skirts the injunction. Judge says, no way.
www.courthousenews.com/judge-rips-t...
www.courthousenews.com/judge-rips-t...
The study controlled for GDP per capita, population size, urbanization, foreign investment, and fertility rates. Regional disparities persisted. African rejection rates remained ~70% higher than European rates even after accounting for all measured country-level differences.
January 2, 2026 at 6:32 PM
The study controlled for GDP per capita, population size, urbanization, foreign investment, and fertility rates. Regional disparities persisted. African rejection rates remained ~70% higher than European rates even after accounting for all measured country-level differences.