Representative Joaquin Castro has been repeatedly visiting the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, a privately-run ICE detention facility holding immigrant families, and is calling conditions there a "national scandal." Castro has described a range of alleged problems at the facility, including a measles outbreak, inadequate food and water, delayed medical care for pregnant women, and an alleged sexual assault, while the Department of Homeland Security maintains the facility provides comprehensive care. The facility, reopened under the Trump administration after being closed under Biden, holds up to 2,400 people, many of whom Castro says entered the U.S. legally through official CBP channels. Castro recently escorted viral figure 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father back to Minnesota after a federal judge ruled their detention was unconstitutional, and plans to return to Dilley with other members of Congress to continue drawing attention to conditions there.
A recently released DHS document reveals that the planned ICE processing center in Upper Bern Township, Berks County, is one of 16 such facilities nationwide, each designed to hold 1,000–1,500 detainees for an average of three to seven days, with all facilities expected to be operational by December as part of a new $38 billion detention model. The federal government claims the Hamburg facility will create over 1,300 jobs and contribute $146.7 million to local GDP, but local officials dispute these projections, noting the figures are based on income and sales taxes rather than property taxes, which fund county, municipal, and school district budgets. Berks County Commissioner Christian Leinbach and Upper Bern Township officials say they have not been provided access to community impact studies referenced by DHS, and have raised concerns about the facility's strain on local sewer systems, water supply, emergency services, and loss of property tax revenue. Township officials noted that the facility could more than double the township's population of 1,600 and that the additional load on its wastewater treatment plant could exceed capacity.
Families released from the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas face significant hardships after leaving detention, including being dropped at a shelter in Laredo with few resources, no money for travel, and sometimes missing medications and key documents. About 45% of families detained at the 2,400-bed facility are released to await immigration court proceedings, often hundreds or thousands of miles from where they were arrested or where they live. Advocates and lawyers note that many detainees were originally arrested while complying with immigration court requirements, and are released with their cases unchanged but in far worse physical, psychological, and financial condition. Medical experts warn that even brief detention causes lasting trauma in children, with accounts from released families describing symptoms including severe anxiety, behavioral changes, and fear of uniformed individuals.
In Minneapolis, volunteer doctors and nurses have formed underground healthcare networks to provide medical care directly in the homes of immigrant families who are afraid to seek help at medical facilities due to fears of immigration enforcement. These informal networks aim to ensure vulnerable families can still access healthcare despite concerns about ICE.
The Midnight Hour, a record store in San Fernando, California, has become a community hub and center of resistance against ICE immigration enforcement in the San Fernando Valley. Owned by Sergio Amalfitano and Alyssa Castro Amalfitano, the store hosts "know your rights" workshops, organizes student walkouts, and provides a safe space for immigrant communities, drawing parallels to the pachuco subculture's resistance against discrimination in the 1940s. Despite growing community engagement and event attendance, the store faces serious financial strain due to declining vinyl sales, rising debt, and reduced foot traffic as families fear leaving their homes amid immigration raids. The store's lease expires in January, putting its future in jeopardy.
Following the deaths of Minneapolis residents Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good at the hands of federal immigration agents in January, San Francisco's west side businesses responded with strikes, donations, and other forms of activism. On January 30, thousands marched in San Francisco in solidarity with Minneapolis communities, with numerous local businesses — including Pasta Supply Co., Green Apple Books, and Devil's Teeth Bakery — participating through closures, fundraising, or community outreach. Devil's Teeth Bakery raised $10,000 for the Community Action Network Minnesota through anti-ICE cookie sales, though the bakery also faced review-bombing in retaliation for its stance. Business owners reported becoming more informed about their legal rights and taking steps to protect their employees amid heightened immigration enforcement activity.
In Minneapolis, volunteer networks of doctors and nurses are providing in-home medical care to immigrant families who are afraid to seek treatment at traditional healthcare facilities due to fears of immigration enforcement. These underground healthcare networks aim to fill the gap for those avoiding clinics or hospitals out of concern over potential ICE encounters.
In an opinion piece for Global Sisters Report, a religious sister reflects on finding hope amid rapid political and cultural changes by drawing on the writings of Teilhard de Chardin. She argues that hope should be forward-facing and rooted in faith and love, rather than focused on past outcomes. As an example, she highlights community responses to ICE raids in Minneapolis, where neighbors — both citizens and immigrants — have organized to provide food, transportation, and whistle-blowing alert networks to protect vulnerable residents. She frames these acts of neighborly solidarity as expressions of collective, faith-driven hope and calls on others to contribute their part to building a more just future.
The article draws a parallel between the Trump administration's current immigration enforcement — including incentivized "self-deportations" — and the forced repatriation of Japanese Americans during World War II. It traces the story of George Hasuike, a successful Japanese immigrant whose family was imprisoned and ultimately pressured onto a ship to Japan in 1943, despite most family members being U.S. citizens, as part of a civilian exchange program. The author argues that these historical "voluntary" repatriations were coerced through imprisonment, asset seizure, and the denial of due process — conditions she likens to those facing immigrants today. Written by journalist Evelyn Iritani, the piece contends that both eras reflect the use of racial prejudice and fear to justify the removal of people with deep roots in the United States.
Eight months after Congress approved approximately $191 billion for President Trump's immigration enforcement agenda, the Department of Homeland Security has spent relatively little, with an estimated $150 billion still remaining, according to an analysis by immigration policy group FWD.us. The largest single allocation is $45 billion designated for immigrant detention facilities, many of which have yet to be opened or even sited. The analysis also notes that $22 billion was appropriated for unspecified immigration enforcement with no line items or oversight requirements. White House advisor Stephen Miller reportedly expressed frustration in December over what he viewed as DHS's slow pace of spending on detention centers.
Approximately 1,800 people gathered in Roxbury Township, New Jersey on February 28 to protest a new ICE detention and processing center being established in the area. The rally, organized by the No Ice North Jersey Alliance (Project NINJA) and the Sussex Visibility Brigade, took place across three locations near the 470,000-square-foot warehouse off Route 46 that the Department of Homeland Security purchased earlier this month for approximately $130 million. Speakers at the event included Democratic congressional candidate Analilia Mejia, and some protesters called for the resignation of Roxbury Township Attorney Anthony Bucco, who also serves as the state Republican senate minority leader.
ICE has been detaining hundreds of children and their parents at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas, frequently holding them well beyond the 20-day limit established by a longstanding court order, with some children confined for more than 100 days. Families and advocates report serious concerns about conditions at the facility, including inadequate medical care, lights kept on around the clock, poor food quality, and severe mental health deterioration among children, including at least one reported suicide attempt by a 13-year-old girl. ICE and facility operator CoreCivic deny allegations of mistreatment, stating that detainees receive proper medical attention and appropriate services. The increased detentions come after the Trump administration reopened Dilley and eliminated a DHS oversight office responsible for monitoring conditions at family detention facilities.
