Austin Kocher, PhD
@austinkocher.com
I study immigration enforcement. Assistant Professor at Syracuse University and Research Fellow at the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies at American University. https://linktr.ee/austinkocher
Pinned
Investigating ICE's Mass Detention System: A Conversation with Doug MacMillan of The Washington Post
Few reporters have done more to expose what’s happening inside America’s sprawling immigrant detention system than Doug MacMillan.
austinkocher.substack.com
Investigating ICE's Mass Detention System: A Conversation with Doug MacMillan of The Washington Post. Tuesday, February 17, 2026, at 1:00 PM Eastern. Zoom Registration required.
austinkocher.substack.com/p/investigat...
austinkocher.substack.com/p/investigat...
The fact that Turning Point USA poured so much more money and energy into counter-programming against a 15 minute concert than did to raise awareness of, and fight back against, gun violence speaks volumes.
February 9, 2026 at 10:43 PM
The fact that Turning Point USA poured so much more money and energy into counter-programming against a 15 minute concert than did to raise awareness of, and fight back against, gun violence speaks volumes.
Reposted by Austin Kocher, PhD
Reposted by Austin Kocher, PhD
Thank you NM Leg and Gov for ICE detention action. For the 5 facilities with ICE detentions in NM, 87% or 1,326 people being held are non-criminal and just 202 (13%) have criminal classification.
Detention Reports has been updated to include a national map of all active ICE detention facilities that link to individual facility reports. Learn about this new feature and other new features at my latest post: austinkocher.substack.com/p/the-best-s...
February 9, 2026 at 9:06 PM
Thank you NM Leg and Gov for ICE detention action. For the 5 facilities with ICE detentions in NM, 87% or 1,326 people being held are non-criminal and just 202 (13%) have criminal classification.
Reposted by Austin Kocher, PhD
Northwest Ohio. Lucas county commissioner Pete Gerken has been outspoken about keeping an eye on operations here. Will be interesting (or appalling) to see what other jails get pulled in if ice does head for Springfield
February 9, 2026 at 8:39 PM
Northwest Ohio. Lucas county commissioner Pete Gerken has been outspoken about keeping an eye on operations here. Will be interesting (or appalling) to see what other jails get pulled in if ice does head for Springfield
Reposted by Austin Kocher, PhD
I have an idea..when they are GONE for good. These can be turned into Housing for the unhoused..
Detention Reports has been updated to include a national map of all active ICE detention facilities that link to individual facility reports. Learn about this new feature and other new features at my latest post: austinkocher.substack.com/p/the-best-s...
February 9, 2026 at 7:20 PM
I have an idea..when they are GONE for good. These can be turned into Housing for the unhoused..
Reposted by Austin Kocher, PhD
This is worse than Nazi Germany and Japanese-American internment here in the USA.
Detention Reports has been updated to include a national map of all active ICE detention facilities that link to individual facility reports. Learn about this new feature and other new features at my latest post: austinkocher.substack.com/p/the-best-s...
February 9, 2026 at 7:51 PM
This is worse than Nazi Germany and Japanese-American internment here in the USA.
Reposted by Austin Kocher, PhD
Horrific. ON TOP of the unjust and racist US prison-industrial complex that ALREADY exists and disproportionately imprisons Black American men (and women, increasingly).
Detention Reports has been updated to include a national map of all active ICE detention facilities that link to individual facility reports. Learn about this new feature and other new features at my latest post: austinkocher.substack.com/p/the-best-s...
February 9, 2026 at 7:53 PM
Horrific. ON TOP of the unjust and racist US prison-industrial complex that ALREADY exists and disproportionately imprisons Black American men (and women, increasingly).
Reposted by Austin Kocher, PhD
Liberate the camps
Detention Reports has been updated to include a national map of all active ICE detention facilities that link to individual facility reports. Learn about this new feature and other new features at my latest post: austinkocher.substack.com/p/the-best-s...
February 9, 2026 at 7:54 PM
Liberate the camps
Reposted by Austin Kocher, PhD
Really appreciate the work @austinkocher.com is doing to document the geography of ICE detention facilities
Detention Reports has been updated to include a national map of all active ICE detention facilities that link to individual facility reports. Learn about this new feature and other new features at my latest post: austinkocher.substack.com/p/the-best-s...
February 9, 2026 at 7:17 PM
Really appreciate the work @austinkocher.com is doing to document the geography of ICE detention facilities
Reposted by Austin Kocher, PhD
“At 237 facilities, the network has roughly doubled in size since the start of the Trump administration. The geography of ICE’s national detention network has expanded dramatically alongside a nearly $50 billion influx of funding from Congress late last year.”
Detention Reports has been updated to include a national map of all active ICE detention facilities that link to individual facility reports. Learn about this new feature and other new features at my latest post: austinkocher.substack.com/p/the-best-s...
February 9, 2026 at 7:11 PM
“At 237 facilities, the network has roughly doubled in size since the start of the Trump administration. The geography of ICE’s national detention network has expanded dramatically alongside a nearly $50 billion influx of funding from Congress late last year.”
Reposted by Austin Kocher, PhD
This map is horrifying
Detention Reports has been updated to include a national map of all active ICE detention facilities that link to individual facility reports. Learn about this new feature and other new features at my latest post: austinkocher.substack.com/p/the-best-s...
February 9, 2026 at 7:13 PM
This map is horrifying
I can't believe they let a Puerto Rican perform in Spanish at the Super Bowl. The CIA really needs to arrest the president of Puerto Rico and throw him into jail until we can sort this whole thing out.
February 9, 2026 at 6:58 PM
I can't believe they let a Puerto Rican perform in Spanish at the Super Bowl. The CIA really needs to arrest the president of Puerto Rico and throw him into jail until we can sort this whole thing out.
Detention Reports has been updated to include a national map of all active ICE detention facilities that link to individual facility reports. Learn about this new feature and other new features at my latest post: austinkocher.substack.com/p/the-best-s...
February 9, 2026 at 6:54 PM
Detention Reports has been updated to include a national map of all active ICE detention facilities that link to individual facility reports. Learn about this new feature and other new features at my latest post: austinkocher.substack.com/p/the-best-s...
ICE’s Dilley facility centralizes family detention in rural south Texas, sending parents and children 1,000+ miles from lawyers and family. Distance here operates as policy; restricting access, oversight, and due process.
Learn more in my latest substack : open.substack.com/pub/austinko...
Learn more in my latest substack : open.substack.com/pub/austinko...
Family Detention at Dilley Triples in Size Amid Growing Controversy Over Conditions
ICE's Dilley family detention center has nearly tripled since October to 1,332 people, including an estimated 800 children, amid protests, measles outbreak, and criticism from lawmakers.
open.substack.com
February 9, 2026 at 6:10 PM
ICE’s Dilley facility centralizes family detention in rural south Texas, sending parents and children 1,000+ miles from lawyers and family. Distance here operates as policy; restricting access, oversight, and due process.
Learn more in my latest substack : open.substack.com/pub/austinko...
Learn more in my latest substack : open.substack.com/pub/austinko...
Reposted by Austin Kocher, PhD
New @nber.org paper with @caitlinpatler.bsky.social &
@elizabethacox.bsky.social out!
We examine how ICE arrests differ in Trump 2.0 vs. 1.0
Key Findings 🧵
1) MANY more arrests in Trump 2.0 than 1.0
2) When arrests spike, % arrested w criminal conviction falls
www.nber.org/papers/w3479...
@elizabethacox.bsky.social out!
We examine how ICE arrests differ in Trump 2.0 vs. 1.0
Key Findings 🧵
1) MANY more arrests in Trump 2.0 than 1.0
2) When arrests spike, % arrested w criminal conviction falls
www.nber.org/papers/w3479...
February 9, 2026 at 3:48 PM
New @nber.org paper with @caitlinpatler.bsky.social &
@elizabethacox.bsky.social out!
We examine how ICE arrests differ in Trump 2.0 vs. 1.0
Key Findings 🧵
1) MANY more arrests in Trump 2.0 than 1.0
2) When arrests spike, % arrested w criminal conviction falls
www.nber.org/papers/w3479...
@elizabethacox.bsky.social out!
We examine how ICE arrests differ in Trump 2.0 vs. 1.0
Key Findings 🧵
1) MANY more arrests in Trump 2.0 than 1.0
2) When arrests spike, % arrested w criminal conviction falls
www.nber.org/papers/w3479...
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to bring back 3 families deported in recent months, ruling their removals relied on “lies, deception, and coercion.” The government must also pay for their return.
www.ocregister.com/2026/02/06/b...
www.ocregister.com/2026/02/06/b...
Judge orders Trump administration to bring back 3 families deported to Honduras, other countries
The judge said the government relied on “lies, deception and coercion” to deport them.
www.ocregister.com
February 9, 2026 at 3:48 PM
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to bring back 3 families deported in recent months, ruling their removals relied on “lies, deception, and coercion.” The government must also pay for their return.
www.ocregister.com/2026/02/06/b...
www.ocregister.com/2026/02/06/b...
Rep. Joaquin Castro says ICE should be disbanded after warrantless entry guidance, fatal shootings, and lack of accountability. “When you become that lawless, I don’t think you should have a role in immigration enforcement.”
www.notus.org/democrats/ca...
www.notus.org/democrats/ca...
Rep. Joaquin Castro Says Congress Should ‘Disband’ ICE
“I think that we have to build up a separate organization from scratch,” the Democrat from Texas said.
www.notus.org
February 9, 2026 at 2:09 PM
Rep. Joaquin Castro says ICE should be disbanded after warrantless entry guidance, fatal shootings, and lack of accountability. “When you become that lawless, I don’t think you should have a role in immigration enforcement.”
www.notus.org/democrats/ca...
www.notus.org/democrats/ca...
After months of pressure, Essex County added a tent for Delaney Hall visitors—without heat. Families still wait hours in dangerous cold while GEO Group runs a $1.2B ICE facility nearby. Advocates call the conditions “cruel and inadequate.”
documentedny.com/2026/02/09/v...
documentedny.com/2026/02/09/v...
Visitors to Delaney Hall Wait for Hours in an Unheated Tent to See Their Loved Ones - Documented
The tent, purchased by county officials, was installed after complaints about the lack of protection against cold temperatures.
documentedny.com
February 9, 2026 at 1:03 PM
After months of pressure, Essex County added a tent for Delaney Hall visitors—without heat. Families still wait hours in dangerous cold while GEO Group runs a $1.2B ICE facility nearby. Advocates call the conditions “cruel and inadequate.”
documentedny.com/2026/02/09/v...
documentedny.com/2026/02/09/v...
I don’t have the energy to figure out what happened at that Halftime “alternative” klan rally over at Turning Point USA so I hope someone will fill me in with oppo research when they get a chance.
February 9, 2026 at 2:03 AM
I don’t have the energy to figure out what happened at that Halftime “alternative” klan rally over at Turning Point USA so I hope someone will fill me in with oppo research when they get a chance.
👏👏👏 🇵🇷
"God Bless America" and then lists every country in the Americas. Bad Bunny crushed the Super Bowl.
February 9, 2026 at 1:55 AM
👏👏👏 🇵🇷
Incredible halftime show, so many messages, symbols and celebration of Puerto Rican + Latine culture. More of that, please.
February 9, 2026 at 1:50 AM
Incredible halftime show, so many messages, symbols and celebration of Puerto Rican + Latine culture. More of that, please.
The whole controversy over Bad Bunny boils down to the simple fact that extreme social conservatism is incapable of producing interesting and compelling art of any kind, and so its adherents must use inferior artists to try to convince themselves that they aren't out of touch.
February 8, 2026 at 9:53 PM
The whole controversy over Bad Bunny boils down to the simple fact that extreme social conservatism is incapable of producing interesting and compelling art of any kind, and so its adherents must use inferior artists to try to convince themselves that they aren't out of touch.
Conservatives absolutely Streisanded the F out of the Bad Bunny halftime show.
February 8, 2026 at 7:45 PM
Conservatives absolutely Streisanded the F out of the Bad Bunny halftime show.
Investigating ICE's Mass Detention System: A Conversation with Doug MacMillan of The Washington Post. Tuesday, February 17, 2026, at 1:00 PM Eastern. Zoom Registration required.
austinkocher.substack.com/p/investigat...
austinkocher.substack.com/p/investigat...
Investigating ICE's Mass Detention System: A Conversation with Doug MacMillan of The Washington Post
Few reporters have done more to expose what’s happening inside America’s sprawling immigrant detention system than Doug MacMillan.
austinkocher.substack.com
February 8, 2026 at 2:45 PM
Investigating ICE's Mass Detention System: A Conversation with Doug MacMillan of The Washington Post. Tuesday, February 17, 2026, at 1:00 PM Eastern. Zoom Registration required.
austinkocher.substack.com/p/investigat...
austinkocher.substack.com/p/investigat...
Reposted by Austin Kocher, PhD
Trumpworld assumed MAGA-adjacent parts of the culture would thrill to ICE brutality. ICE recruits among fans of UFC, Nascar, military tactical equipment.
But even MAGA-friendly constituencies and parts of the culture are now rejecting ICE and mass deportations. 5/
newrepublic.com/article/2062...
But even MAGA-friendly constituencies and parts of the culture are now rejecting ICE and mass deportations. 5/
newrepublic.com/article/2062...
February 8, 2026 at 1:46 PM
Trumpworld assumed MAGA-adjacent parts of the culture would thrill to ICE brutality. ICE recruits among fans of UFC, Nascar, military tactical equipment.
But even MAGA-friendly constituencies and parts of the culture are now rejecting ICE and mass deportations. 5/
newrepublic.com/article/2062...
But even MAGA-friendly constituencies and parts of the culture are now rejecting ICE and mass deportations. 5/
newrepublic.com/article/2062...