Source: https://www.adamkinzinger.com/p/ices-terror-campaign-now-takes-place
New DHS Head Markwayne Mullin tries to keep ICE out of the headlines, but the deportations continue
They changed the headlines—not the policy. ICE isn’t in the spotlight anymore… but the raids, detentions, and family separations never stopped.
…. Most recently, between 100 and 200 immigration judges have either been fired or left their positions. These judges, who technically work for the administration, handle appeals made by detained immigrants. Trump has focused his firings on judges who approve a higher rate of asylum petitions. Today, the already clogged system has a greater backlog than ever, leaving increasing numbers of immigrants in fearful limbo. And the rate of asylum approvals has dropped from 42 percent during the Biden administration to 10 percent. ….As ICE has shifted its focus from major urban centers to smaller cities and towns, some of the anti-immigrant action is moving from the federal level to the states. This week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has threatened to withdraw police funding from Houston, Austin, and Dallas if they don’t step-up their cooperation with ICE. Meanwhile, lawmakers in several “red” states, among them Texas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee, have considered or already ordered the tracking of public school students’ immigration status.
