ICE List:News/latest

2026-05-26: Immigration courts launch mass mega-master hearings to speed deportations — DOJ has begun holding mass "mega master" immigration hearings of more than 100 people at once in Chicago, Boston, and Chelmsford, Massachusetts, with Dallas next, NPR reported. The push coincides with EOIR swearing in its largest immigration judge class in agency history, a combined 82 judges announced May 21, bringing FY 2026 hires to a record 153.

2026-05-25: DHS accuses New Jersey Democrats of staging a political stunt at Delaney Hall — In a press release, DHS named eight Democratic officials and denied that any hunger strike was occurring at Delaney Hall, asserting that ICE maintains higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons. Secretary Markwayne Mullin asked whether the "sanctuary politicians" would house the detained criminals in their own homes. The statement directly contradicts on-the-record accounts from detainees' attorneys and lawmakers who entered the facility.

2026-05-25: Gov. Sherrill denied entry to Delaney Hall, Sen. Kim pepper-sprayed — Gov. Mikie Sherrill was formally denied access to Delaney Hall while accompanied by Sen. Andy Kim and four members of Congress, ABC7 and CBS New York reported. Kim was admitted only after personally calling DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, and was later pepper-sprayed during a second clash in which agents deployed pepper balls and batons. Sherrill said the refusal suggested "there is some 'there' there."

2026-05-25: NBC News documents surge in fake-ICE impersonator attacks — An NBC News and Noticias Telemundo investigation documented at least 31 cases in 2025 of impostors posing as immigration agents, a sharp increase from an average of 5.3 incidents per year over the prior decade. The reporters identified 84 instances between 2014 and 2025, with 38 percent of 2025 cases involving physical violence, and cited the December arrest of a Galveston, Texas man found with a fake badge and ID.

2026-05-24: Protesters clash with ICE agents at Delaney Hall over detainee transfer — Protesters blocked an unmarked van that organizers said was removing striking detainee Martin Alonso Soto Hernandez for transfer, leading to the week's first physical clash, CNN reported. DHS said ICE removed 70 protesters and used pepper spray and gas canisters; protesters said they were also struck with rubber bullets. Soto Hernandez was moved to the Elizabeth Contract Detention Facility, where his attorney said he was placed in isolation.

2026-05-24: Judge sanctions CoreCivic for destroying evidence in ICE death suit — A federal judge issued what appears to be the first known spoliation sanction against a private prison corporation in an ICE wrongful-death case, finding CoreCivic responsible for destroying video evidence relating to detainee Kesley Vial's death, The Intercept reported. ACLU New Mexico attorney Rebecca Sheff said the practice of letting video evidence be overwritten was one the organization had documented and unearthed.

2026-05-23: Lawmakers visit Delaney Hall as hunger strike continues — Sen. Andy Kim and Rep. Rob Menendez Jr. entered the Delaney Hall facility as the detainee hunger strike continued, Gothamist reported. Kim said on X that he saw a carton of congealed milk and spoke with detainees who said they were arrested at scheduled green-card interviews; an attorney told CNN her client had been served spoiled food described as containing worms.

2026-05-22: Roughly 300 detainees launch hunger and labor strike at Delaney Hall — Approximately 300 detainees at the GEO Group-run, 1,000-bed Delaney Hall facility in Newark began a coordinated hunger and labor strike, alleging spoiled food, inadequate medical care, and arrests at scheduled USCIS interviews, according to The Jersey Vindicator and Insider NJ. The strike was announced at a rally organized by Gabriela Soto, whose husband Martin Alonso Soto Hernandez has been detained since February.

2026-05-22: Tucson DACA recipient Karla Toledo released on bond after ICE arrest — Karla Toledo, a 31-year-old DACA recipient brought to the U.S. at age one, was released on a 1,500 dollar bond after being arrested at her Tucson home on May 18 by agents who doorbell video shows never produced a warrant, the Tucson Sentinel reported. DHS said she assaulted an officer; Rep. Adelita Grijalva noted Toledo has active DACA status and no criminal history.

2026-05-21: Senate leaves for recess without voting on ICE funding package — The Senate adjourned for its Memorial Day recess without a floor vote on a reconciliation package providing roughly 71.7 billion dollars in additional ICE and CBP funding, CBS News reported. Sen. Jeff Merkley noted at the May 20 Budget Committee markup that ICE and CBP were still sitting on 103 billion dollars in unobligated funds as of the end of March, arguing no new money was warranted.

2026-05-21: Bloomberg finds lasting economic damage from Charlotte ICE raids — A Bloomberg Businessweek analysis found that foot traffic and sales along Charlotte's Central Avenue corridor remain depressed six months after the November 2025 raids known as Operation Charlotte's Web. The piece profiles a local bakery owner left with uncollected birthday cakes, illustrating the chilling effect of the enforcement surge on immigrant neighborhoods.

2026-05-20: ICE reports 18th detainee death in four months — ICE has reported 18 deaths in custody in the first four months of 2026, putting the agency on pace to exceed the 31 deaths CBS News confirmed for 2025, itself a two-decade high. The most recent reported death was Denny Adan Gonzalez, 33, of Cuba, an apparent suicide at the GEO Group-run Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia.

2026-05-19: Detainees at Adelanto launch hunger strike over conditions — Between 20 and 40 immigrants at the GEO Group-run Desert View Annex of the Adelanto complex began a hunger and economic strike protesting mold, contaminated water, denied medical care, and reduced food portions, LA Public Press and Mission Local reported. A California Department of Justice inspection released May 15 documented severe overcrowding, delayed medical care, and excessive use of force; DHS denies a strike is occurring.

2026-05-13: David Venturella, former GEO Group executive, named acting ICE director — DHS confirmed that David Venturella, a longtime ICE career official and former senior vice president for client relations at the private prison company GEO Group, will become acting director on June 1, replacing acting director Todd Lyons, who was never Senate-confirmed. The Washington Post, NPR, and NBC News reported the appointment, which drew criticism over conflicts of interest given Venturella's detention-contract background.