The border and beyond

A Nebraska judge ruled that a former state work camp can be used to house up to 300 unauthorized migrants, effectively clearing the way for the “Cornerhusker Clink” to open. Gov. Jim Pillen said that the facility would generate about $14 million for the state annually.

During protests in Portland against immigration actions at the city’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, SAN analyzed and found evidence that a Stingray or IMSI-catching device was possibly used. These devices establish a connection with smartphones by broadcasting a stronger cell signal and passively collect a phone’s identifying information, possibly allowing law enforcement to track who attended the protests and raising concerns over privacy and security.

Federal immigration authorities shot a woman in Chicago during “Operation Midway Blitz” in the Windy City, with DHS Assistant Secretary Trisha McLaughlin saying that enforcement officers were “rammed by vehicles and boxed in by 10 cars” prior to the shooting. This is the second time that someone has been shot during the Chicago operation, and local news outlets reported that she was hospitalized but in “fair condition.”

In a high-profile arrest, immigration authorities detained Ian Roberts, superintendent of Iowa’s largest public school system. ICE said that Roberts had been living and working in the U.S. without proper authorization, pointing to a deportation order from May 2024 and the fact that he had entered the U.S. on a student visa in 1999.

During President Donald Trump’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly, he told world leaders that their “countries are going to hell” because of immigration. He also thanked Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele for jailing several unauthorized immigrants at CECOT, an infamous prison designed to hold terrorists, and said he cleaned up the border after the Biden administration.

ICE and the Department of Homeland Security raided the construction site of a Hyundai-LG Energy battery plant in Georgia, with more than 30 South Korean nationals arrested. The incident tested relations between the two countries, with South Korean officials expressing “concern and regret” over the incident.

The Trump administration has revived a long-suspended policy, reintroducing “neighborhood checks” for immigrants applying for U.S. citizenship. This means that USCIS officers will be authorized to be on the ground, in some cases questioning neighbors and colleagues of applicants for citizenship.

The Pentagon, on Aug. 7, confirmed the planned construction of the nation’s largest federal migration detention facility, set up to be a short-term processing center. The facility, dubbed Camp East Montana, has been set up for 5,000 beds.

59,000 people were detained in ICE facilities at the end of June, far exceeding the detention capacity authorized by Congress. However, nearly 47% of those detained have no criminal record, and fewer than 30% have ever been convicted of a crime. The Biden administration held nearly 39,000 through its end in early 2025.

President Donald Trump signed a memorandum sending 2,000 National Guardsmen to Los Angeles, California after protests broke out following federal immigration raids in the area. California Gov. Gavin Newsom called the move unlawful.

United States Customs and Border Protection data released in April indicated the U.S. experienced the lowest number of crossings since 2000 in March 2025.

Shortly after he was inaugurated for a second term, President Donald Trump signed an executive order barring birthright citizenship – even though the Constitution grants citizenship to anyone born inside the United States. A court blocked the order while the issue was litigated.

Donald Trump won a second term in the White House after making an immigration crackdown a major theme of his campaign. He promised to close the nation’s southern border and to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.

Before the 2024 presidential election, thousands of immigrants were hoping to get to the United States before potentially facing a second Trump presidency. Nearing the end of former President Joe Biden’s presidency and halfway through 2024, 1.8 million encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border were reported by U.S. Border Patrol.

Faced with a surge in illegal border crossings, President Joe Biden announced a new policy that allowed the deportation of asylum-seekers who entered the United States illegally. The new policy put Biden at odds with some Democrats, who said it resembled restrictions imposed during the first Trump administration.

The Department of Homeland Security planned for a surge in illegal immigration to accompany the expiration of Title 42, a Trump-era order that required migrants to wait in Mexico because of the COVID-19 pandemic.