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Nayna Gupta

@naynagupta.bsky.social

Policy Director, American Immigration Council. Imm defender & civil rights lawyer. Stanford Law School, Northwestern Univ.

80 Posts919 Follower135 Folgt
Gabe Ortíz@tusk81.bsky.social · 3d ago

Immigration attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, who represents wrongfully deported Maryland dad Kilmar Ábrego García, “said before 2025, he had handled around three illegal deportation cases in a 17-year career. Now, his firm takes on about three per month.” #AbuseofPowerWatch

Gabe Ortíz@tusk81.bsky.social · 3d ago

"Since last year, judges have ruled that the Trump admin has deported more than 170 people in in violation of court orders, in defiance of legally mandated due process protections, or to countries from which they had sought or received protection from torture and persecution.” #AbuseofPowerWatch

Joshua Eaton@joshuaeaton.bsky.social · 3d ago

EXCLUSIVE: When elected officials and advocates in Danbury, Connecticut, said ICE arrested a parent at a school bus stop Aug. 26, federal officials denied their accounts. I got video that appears to show such an arrest. My latest at @ctinsider.bsky.social — www.ctinsider.com/news/article...

Video appears to show ICE arrest near CT school bus stop, despite federal denials

ICE has denied it made an arrest at a school bus stop, but confirmed it made 118 arrests in Connecticut that week.

ctinsider.com

jamelle@jamellebouie.net · 3d ago

the truly crazy making part of all of this is that voter fraud EFFECTIVELY DOES NOT EXIST. you have a better chance of finding an actual leprechaun at the end of the rainbow than of finding evidence of voter fraud that influences an election

Jay Willis@jaywillis.net · 3d ago

Genuinely an insane paragraph from Sam Alito. “Voter fraud is real and scary and we have to stop it, so the fact that implementing Trump’s mail ballot rule will disenfranchise millions is legally irrelevant.” Brain melted. A right-wing podcaster in a robe. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...

___, (slip op., at 9) (internal quotation marks omitted). As for the equities, the Government has a strong interest in enforcing the rule, and implementing it will also “en- hance the visibility of Federal Ballot Mail” in order to better detect election fraud. 91 Fed. Reg. 54972. On the other side of the balance, the plaintiff States invoke the practical ef- fects of implementing the rule close to the midterm elec- tions. I take that problem very seriously, but it is not enough to convince me to deny the application. First, as the District Court acknowledged, the States dis-
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3d ago

Ossoff: "We are witnessing people drunk with power who are utterly reckless, utterly corrupt, and obviously believe that they live with impunity. They believe they're untouchable. They believe they're invincible. Let's prove them wrong."

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 3d ago

According to the whistleblower: - Agents have to investigate 40 voter records a day, leaving just 11.25 minutes per investigation. - Agents are using state voter registration in a way that may be illegal. - Agents are using source data that many think is completely unreliable.

The identity of the whistle-blower is not known to The Times. Democracy Defenders Fund said in its report that the whistle-blower requested anonymity because of “an extreme fear of retaliation but they feel an obligation to speak up about the misconduct and gross mismanagement they have witnessed.” According to the whistle-blower, agents are expected to complete at least 40 reviews in each eight-hour day, giving them scant time to determine each voter’s citizenship and voting history. The consequence of the investigation is potentially vast, according to the account, because each review is recorded in a database that could affect individuals’ immigration status or legal permanent residency.The agents plugged those names and personal data into public-facing state websites to find a subject’s voter history. Some states, such as Virginia, declare explicitly that only individual voters may use the search tool to look up their own records. Others, such as California, require specific information such as a driver’s license number or partial Social Security number in an effort to limit the use of the tool to individuals. Worried about the potential legal ramifications of such actions, the whistle-blower “expressed concerns” to those leading the investigation within Homeland Security’s Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate, according to the account. The office of the chief counsel at D.H.S. said it was permissible for agents to use the state databases for operations such as the Unlawful Voter Initiative. Yet leadership appeared to acknowledge the potential for legal liability, responding to internal questions that agents “are not personally liable for conducting these searches when done as part of their official duties and properly documented.”Core to the operation is a compilation of data on hundreds of thousands of voters from across the country, described to agents as “source data,” according to previous reporting by The Times. Agents were given little to no information about where the source data originated; at one point, D.H.S. officials said some immigration information had been added to their source data using “supplemental magic,” according to the whistle-blower account. The mysterious origins of the “source data” comes as voting rights groups and election officials have condemned the Trump administration’s many efforts to compile a national voter file and citizenship list. The whistle-blower report, however, indicates that the data is likely filled with errors. According to a transcript of a training video included in the account, the investigation has relied on data from multiple sources, including public voter files obtained from states, Department of Justice data and queries of records compiled by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The data also includes what are known as alien identification numbers, the training video says, which are numbers assigned to a noncitizen that stay in their Homeland Security files permanently, even if they subsequently become citizens who are eligible to vote. If the investigation is using the existence of an alien number to flag that a voter is ineligible, many legal citizens are likely to be improperly ensnared as unlawful voters.
Kyle Griffin@kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 3d ago

BREAKING NYT: Investigators may have broken state laws under the direction of top Trump Homeland Security leaders by posing as voters as part of an expansive effort to find noncitizens on the nation's voter rolls, according to a federal whistleblower's account just released.

Hamed Aleaziz@haleaziz.bsky.social · 3d ago

Scoop: Investigators may have broken state laws under the direction of top Homeland Security leaders by posing as voters as part of an expansive effort to find noncitizens on the nation’s voter rolls, according to a federal whistle-blower’s account released on Monday.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 3d ago

In response to this, the DeSantis administration releases a statement saying that they'd make this outrageous cage "even smaller if we could." The Department of Homeland Security's own Inspector General said it violated every detention standard and posed a significant danger to health and safety.

"At least ten million illegal aliens entered our country under the Biden administration. Florida decided to do something about it," Lanfranconi said. "The left-wing media wants to focus on a confinement area for violent criminal aliens who have proven they cannot remain peaceful while awaiting deportation. While it adheres to all federal standards for criminal confinement, we'd make it even smaller if we could."
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 3d ago

NEW: DHS's Inspector General releases a scathing report about the Everglades detention camp known as "Alligator Alcatraz." The OIG finds that the now-closed camp, violated multiple ICE standards. The OIG also confirms detainees were punished with placement in a metal cage in the Florida heat.🧵

OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL U.S. Department of Homeland Security Staff also reported that time spent in the small metal enclosures is closely monitored, and detainees are not locked in, even though we observed locking mechanisms on the enclosures. Figures 11 and 12. Small Metal Enclosures; Observed January 21, 2026 Underneath is a picture of a metal cage that is 4 feet 3 inches wide by 4 feet 3 inches long, and 7 feet 9 inches high. The cage itself is placed on a tiny spot of fake turf, and then surrounded by another chainlink fence with razor wire on top. The cage is covered by a roof, but it's entirely exposed to the outside otherwise, meaning mosquitos and no air conditioning.
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 3d ago

NEW: DHS's Inspector General releases a scathing report about the Everglades detention camp known as "Alligator Alcatraz." The OIG finds that the now-closed camp, violated multiple ICE standards. The OIG also confirms detainees were punished with placement in a metal cage in the Florida heat.🧵

OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL U.S. Department of Homeland Security Staff also reported that time spent in the small metal enclosures is closely monitored, and detainees are not locked in, even though we observed locking mechanisms on the enclosures. Figures 11 and 12. Small Metal Enclosures; Observed January 21, 2026 Underneath is a picture of a metal cage that is 4 feet 3 inches wide by 4 feet 3 inches long, and 7 feet 9 inches high. The cage itself is placed on a tiny spot of fake turf, and then surrounded by another chainlink fence with razor wire on top. The cage is covered by a roof, but it's entirely exposed to the outside otherwise, meaning mosquitos and no air conditioning.
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 6d ago

On Wednesday the Trump admin did something bizarre: they told 170,000 Salvadorans who have been living and working legally here for 25 years that their status was… TBD? I wrote about what this means for so many people stuck in limbo. www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/tps-for...

Trump Administration Throws TPS for El Salvador Into Limbo: Here’s What You Need to Know - American Immigration Council

Despite being some of the most-vetted immigrants in the nation, most Salvadorans with TPS have no path to permanent status in the U.S.

americanimmigrationcouncil.org

American Immigration Council@immcouncil.org · 4w ago

The U.S. wants high-skilled immigrants to treat patients, drive innovation, conduct research... But what happens when those workers want to build a more permanent life in the U.S.? They face increased uncertainty and mounting obstacles. (1/7) www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/press-releas...

New Data: Workers Seeking Green Cards Face Uncertain Path

New data shows that workers seeking employment-based green cards are facing greater uncertainty and mounting obstacles.

americanimmigrationcouncil.org

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 3w ago

In 2018, President Trump stood in the Oval Office and said that people seeking asylum should “do it the legal way” by coming here without crossing a border illegally. Now his admin is set to punish people who did exactly that; came on a visa and then applied for asylum.

Unless challenged or revised, the State Department is expected to announce in the coming weeks the revocation of so-called B1 and B2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026 whose holders have sought asylum or are now seeking asylum, according to State Department documents obtained by The Associated Press and two U.S. officials. The action will be taken in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security.
The Associated Press@apnews.com · 3w ago

BREAKING: The U.S. is preparing to rescind up to 200,000 business and tourism visas in the largest mass visa revocation ever, officials say.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 3w ago

My guess is that ICE is going to argue it wasn't in relationship to an "immigration enforcement action" as defined in the preliminary injunction.

i. The term “Immigration Enforcement Action” shall mean any action by Defendants that is planned, conducted, undertaken, or executed, in whole or in part, to enforce the immigration laws of the United States, including any arrest, seizure, search, interrogation, questioning, interview, or investigation.
Josh Gerstein@joshgerstein.bsky.social · 3w ago

JUST IN: Judge Dennis Saylor (GWBush/MA) takes 1st step towards holding DHS in contempt over ICE undercover operation in and near Minneapolis church gym. Orders response by Friday to show cause motion, conference on 9/4. Earlier: www.politico.com/news/2026/08...

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 3w ago

Thousands of Cubans like this man have been dumped in southern Mexico since 2025, as @hrw.org documented earlier this year. Many are elderly men (often with chronic health issues) who were suddenly sent far from their homes, their families, and their jobs. www.hrw.org/report/2026/...

“Casting Us Aside to Die”

The 66-page report, “‘Casting Us Aside to Die:’ Cuban and Other Third-Country Nationals Deported from the US to Mexico,” documents US government abuses against Cubans and other third-country nationals...

hrw.org

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 3w ago

For 50 years, Cuba didn't take deportations. Now the Trump admin is dumping elderly Cubans ordered deported decades ago into southern Mexico, many who have been complying with immigration check-ins since before ICE existed. There should be a statute of limitations/expiration date on removal orders.

A picture of an elderly man with grey hair sitting in a small room, next to a cot and a shelving unit with a few clothes on it. He is in a white tank top. Underneath is the following text: "Julio Borrell, originally from Cuba, in Tapachula, on July 30, 2026 (Lisette Poole for The Atlantic) Borrell told me that he’d come to the United States when he was 26 as part of the Mariel boatlift, the mass exodus of Cubans who traveled on crowded boats to Miami in 1980. He had seven American children, 11 grandchildren, and a great-grandchild. He had run a mechanic shop and renewed his visa each time it neared expiration. He could feel his body breaking down after years of physical labor and had been looking forward to retirement and more time with his family in South Florida."
Nick Miroff@nickmiroff.bsky.social · 3w ago

In Tapachula, @theatlantic.com's Kevin Sieff finds a city that "looks and feels the way towns in northern Mexico along the U.S. border once did—a dumping ground for those expelled from the United States and a gathering place for those snagged on their way north." www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 3w ago

NEW: Last week, DHS's Office of Inspector General came out with a report confirming the concerns that myself and others have raised for over a year, declaring that "As ICE shifted priorities toward immigration enforcement, HSI’s level of effort on fentanyl declined from fiscal years 2024 to 2025."

Screenshot of first page of DHS OIG report: DHS OIG HIGHLIGHTS ICE Homeland Security Investigations Hindered in Countering Fentanyl Entering the United States. What We Found U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations’ (HSI) technologies, intelligence, and information sharing did not effectively enable it to counter fentanyl entering the United States, based on our audit, which included interviews with 100 HSI agents across the country. Given HSI’s unique role in disrupting fentanyl supplies into the United States, failure to address these issues may lead to an increase in illicit fentanyl available to the public and additional overdose deaths. We found: • HSI’s technologies did not meet the needs of agents and analysts conducting fentanyl investigations. HSI users did not widely adopt analytical tools due to technical limitations, and HSI, after spending millions to develop these tools, decommissioned them 3 years after launch. • HSI’s counter-fentanyl mission was hindered by delays in agents obtaining funds to purchase information and evidence (i.e., drugs) during an investigation; a lack of independent authority to investigate fentanyl-related offenses; and low, inconsistent referral of fentanyl cases from U.S. Customs and Border Protection to HSI. • As ICE shifted priorities toward immigration enforcement, HSI’s level of effort on fentanyl declined from fiscal years 2024 to 2025. Fentanyl investigations decreased by 24 percent, investigative hours spent countering fentanyl decreased by approximately 30 percent, and fentanyl seizures decreased by 39 percent. ICE Response ICE concurred with all four recommendations. Appendix C contains ICE’s response in its entirety.
Austin Kocher, PhD@austinkocher.com · 3w ago

So it wasn't about fentanyl after all? The Trump admin sold mass immigration enforcement as a way to fight fentanyl. DHS's own Inspector General now reports HSI fentanyl investigation hours down 31 percent, seizures down 39 percent, and immigration enforcement hours up more than 800 percent.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 3w ago

NEW: Last week, DHS's Office of Inspector General came out with a report confirming the concerns that myself and others have raised for over a year, declaring that "As ICE shifted priorities toward immigration enforcement, HSI’s level of effort on fentanyl declined from fiscal years 2024 to 2025."

Screenshot of first page of DHS OIG report: DHS OIG HIGHLIGHTS ICE Homeland Security Investigations Hindered in Countering Fentanyl Entering the United States. What We Found U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations’ (HSI) technologies, intelligence, and information sharing did not effectively enable it to counter fentanyl entering the United States, based on our audit, which included interviews with 100 HSI agents across the country. Given HSI’s unique role in disrupting fentanyl supplies into the United States, failure to address these issues may lead to an increase in illicit fentanyl available to the public and additional overdose deaths. We found: • HSI’s technologies did not meet the needs of agents and analysts conducting fentanyl investigations. HSI users did not widely adopt analytical tools due to technical limitations, and HSI, after spending millions to develop these tools, decommissioned them 3 years after launch. • HSI’s counter-fentanyl mission was hindered by delays in agents obtaining funds to purchase information and evidence (i.e., drugs) during an investigation; a lack of independent authority to investigate fentanyl-related offenses; and low, inconsistent referral of fentanyl cases from U.S. Customs and Border Protection to HSI. • As ICE shifted priorities toward immigration enforcement, HSI’s level of effort on fentanyl declined from fiscal years 2024 to 2025. Fentanyl investigations decreased by 24 percent, investigative hours spent countering fentanyl decreased by approximately 30 percent, and fentanyl seizures decreased by 39 percent. ICE Response ICE concurred with all four recommendations. Appendix C contains ICE’s response in its entirety.
Yael Schacher@yaelschacher.bsky.social · 3w ago

It’s not just that Cuba didn’t take Cubans back. It’s that no Democratic or Republican administration has targeted Cubans for removal like this before. Complete disconnect of immigration/refugee policy from foreign policy. Rubio wants regime change in Cuba AND turns away people fleeing that regime

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 3w ago

For 50 years, Cuba didn't take deportations. Now the Trump admin is dumping elderly Cubans ordered deported decades ago into southern Mexico, many who have been complying with immigration check-ins since before ICE existed. There should be a statute of limitations/expiration date on removal orders.

National Immigration Law Center@nilc.org · 4w ago

BREAKING: A federal court struck down the Trump administration's nationality-based ban on immigrant visa processing for people from 75 countries. We’re proud to bring this case with partners on behalf of @cliniclegal.bsky.social, @africansus.bsky.social, and impacted individuals.

Judge Strikes Down Trump’s 75-Country Visa Ban

The ruling from the Southern District of New York found that the policy went beyond Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s legal authority.

nytimes.com

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 4w ago

For the last seven months straight, the U.S. government has refused to process immigrant visas for nationals of 75 countries around the world; including visas for spouses of U.S. citizens. Today, a federal judge ruled the policy flagrantly illegal.

Map of the world, with the 75 countries impacted highlighted in yellow. They include countries in South America like Brazil and Venezuela, about half of all African countries, and most Middle Eastern countries.
Bloomberg Law@bloomberglaw.com · 4w ago

The State Department’s sweeping suspension of immigrant visas to nationals from 75 countries violated federal immigration law and exceeded Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statutory authority, a district court ruled Friday.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · last mo.

This is absolutely WILD. Here's the dashboard video posted by @fritschner.bsky.social. Fast forward to about 1 minute. An ICE officer jumps out of a van and pulls a gun on this woman immediately before lying and claiming she "almost ran us over." *profanity warning if watching in public.

Aaron Fritschner@fritschner.bsky.social · last mo.

Video of an ICE agent pulling a gun on a wife and mother, who is a US citizen born and raised in the area, near Bailey's Crossroads in Northern Virginia yesterday. Chillingly, they claimed she “almost ran them over” until she told them she had video proving that was a lie.

Dara Lind@daralind.bsky.social · last mo.

NEW FROM ME: The Great Delegalization. There are now (almost certainly far more than) 1M immigrants who were protected from deportation on Jan 20, 2025, and no longer are. It’s the result of a problem that’s been building for 30 years—& now only Congress can fix. www.newyorker.com/news/the-led...

These Immigrants Lived in the U.S. Legally. Now Trump Is Changing Their Status.

More than a million immigrants are seeing protections that granted them safe lives in the U.S. suddenly swept away.

newyorker.com

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · last mo.

Last year the Trump admin made a startling claim; that a 1996 law had, unbeknownst to anyone for the last 30 years, mandated the detention without bond of millions of undocumented immigrants. The resulting chaos has drowned federal courts, overwhelmed the DOJ, and spread misery.

Rachel Maddow@maddow.bsky.social · last mo.

"Judge Biery's courthouse typically gets 1500 civil lawsuits a year. This year, they hit 4000 by May — a deluge driven by the thousands of people locked up under a novel legal theory that even Trump’s first administration declined to adopt..." www.politico.com/news/2026/08...

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · last mo.

The U.S. has AGAIN sent people to a foreign country where they get imprisoned. This time, it’s to get around laws barring the deportation of people who face persecution/torture in their home countries. The U.S. gets paper-thin assurances that the below won't happen, which it knows will be ignored.

Three people deported from the U.S. to Equatorial Guinea - including a Phoenix man whose family fled Egypt when he was 4 - told the Arizona Daily Star their lives are in danger at the hotel. All agreed to have their full names published, despite the risks to their safety in speaking out. In a recent late-night incident, all three say they were dragged from their rooms at gunpoint, handcuffed, assaulted and threatened by armed men guarding the decommissioned Hotel Bamy. "They said if we leave the hotel grounds, they will shoot us and bury us across the street," said Peta-Gaye Chambers, 35, whose parents brought her to the U.S. from Jamaica when she was 5. A U.S. immigration judge granted Chambers "withholding of removal" to her home country of Jamaica in 2013, agreeing she'd face persecution there.
Emily Bregel@emilybregel.bsky.social · last mo.

Immigrants confined in a decommissioned hotel in Equatorial Guinea, after the U.S. deported them there without notice/due process, report worsening, dangerous conditions: "We’re living a nightmare." tucson.com/news/local/s...

American Immigration Council@immcouncil.org · last mo.

What happens when people follow all the rules asked of them from an immigration system, and still have no way to make a permanent home in this country? @daralind.bsky.social new piece for @newyorker.com examines our ongoing “Great Delegalization”: www.newyorker.com/news/the-led...

These Immigrants Lived in the U.S. Legally. Now Trump Is Changing Their Status.

More than a million immigrants are seeing protections that granted them safe lives in the U.S. suddenly swept away.

newyorker.com

American Immigration Council@immcouncil.org · last mo.

Another tragic death in ICE custody. The U.S. immigration detention system has been plagued by inhumane conditions for decades. Edwin Lopez-Cornejo's family deserves answers and accountability. We need an immigration system grounded in humanity, not detention at any cost.

Immigrant held at New Jersey ICE facility dies, officials say | CNN

A Salvadoran man being held at a controversial immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, has died, federal officials said Monday, marking the latest death of an immigrant in ICE custody.

cnn.com

Steve Vladeck@stevevladeck.bsky.social · 2mo ago

On Tuesday, the full Fifth Circuit granted DOJ's request for a "precedential stay" of district court rulings holding that the Due Process Clause requires bond hearings for immigration detainees w/in 90 days of their arrest. Today's "One First" explains why that's a really big (and problematic) deal:

Bonus 239: The Fifth Circuit's "Precedential Stay" in Sosnava Rodriguez

The Fifth Circuit once again did the government's bidding on immigration detention—this time through an unexplained procedural move I've never seen before.

stevevladeck.com