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
I spoke with Sandra Sanchez of Border Report about the key takeaways from research I conducted with American Families United about mixed-status couples. Watch the excerpt or full interview, then head on over to austinkocher.substack.com to learn more.
www.borderreport.com/border-repor...
www.borderreport.com/border-repor...
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to provide due process to Venezuelan migrants deported to El Salvador in March. The court says the deportations violated the law and ignored a judge’s order.
www.wccsradio.com/rss/boasberg...
www.wccsradio.com/rss/boasberg...
Boasberg orders Trump to bring back CECOT migrant class deported in March
A federal judge on Monday ordered the Trump administration to provide due process to a class of Venezuelan mig...
www.wccsradio.com
December 26, 2025 at 2:44 PM
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to provide due process to Venezuelan migrants deported to El Salvador in March. The court says the deportations violated the law and ignored a judge’s order.
www.wccsradio.com/rss/boasberg...
www.wccsradio.com/rss/boasberg...
A federal judge has blocked ICE from making civil arrests at immigration courthouses across Northern and Central California. The ruling says people shouldn’t have to risk arrest just to show up for court.
manigi.io.vn/article/ice-...
manigi.io.vn/article/ice-...
ICE Arrests at Northern California Courts Blocked: What You Need to Know (2025)
A Federal Judge's Landmark Decision: Blocking ICE Arrests in Northern California Courts In a significant legal victory for immigrants' rights, a federal judge in San Francisco has issued a ruling…
manigi.io.vn
December 26, 2025 at 1:57 PM
A federal judge has blocked ICE from making civil arrests at immigration courthouses across Northern and Central California. The ruling says people shouldn’t have to risk arrest just to show up for court.
manigi.io.vn/article/ice-...
manigi.io.vn/article/ice-...
The EEOC is prioritizing discrimination cases involving white men and reviewing corporate diversity, equity and inclusion policies for race- or sex-based decisions.
www.asianhospitality.com/u-s-tightens...
www.asianhospitality.com/u-s-tightens...
U.S. tightens job, asylum rules
Legal experts flag threats to civil rights and immigration protections
www.asianhospitality.com
December 26, 2025 at 11:09 AM
The EEOC is prioritizing discrimination cases involving white men and reviewing corporate diversity, equity and inclusion policies for race- or sex-based decisions.
www.asianhospitality.com/u-s-tightens...
www.asianhospitality.com/u-s-tightens...
The Washington Post found ICE now runs like a social media influencer operation. Arrests are filmed, edited, and posted to “flood the airwaves” with images of detention, at White House direction.
www.washingtonpost.com/technology/i...
www.washingtonpost.com/technology/i...
www.washingtonpost.com
December 26, 2025 at 7:18 AM
The Washington Post found ICE now runs like a social media influencer operation. Arrests are filmed, edited, and posted to “flood the airwaves” with images of detention, at White House direction.
www.washingtonpost.com/technology/i...
www.washingtonpost.com/technology/i...
Doctors interviewed 21 deported mothers. More than half said ICE never asked if they had children before deporting them, leaving babies and young children behind in the U.S.
sanfernandosun.com/2025/12/24/d...
sanfernandosun.com/2025/12/24/d...
Deportations Have Caused Growing Crisis of Family Separations - The San Fernando Valley Sun
Last month, a young woman stepped off a plane and set foot in her native Honduras for the first time in at least 15 years. But this wasn’t a happy […]
sanfernandosun.com
December 26, 2025 at 1:25 AM
Doctors interviewed 21 deported mothers. More than half said ICE never asked if they had children before deporting them, leaving babies and young children behind in the U.S.
sanfernandosun.com/2025/12/24/d...
sanfernandosun.com/2025/12/24/d...
Lucía Pedro Juan was deported after 20 years in the U.S. A few days later, her husband Francisco died from medical complications while detained by ICE in El Paso. She went home alone.
www.usatoday.com/picture-gall...
www.usatoday.com/picture-gall...
She survived ICE detention, her husband didn't
Lucía Pedro Juan shared a loving embrace and encouraging words with her husband. It was the last time she saw him alive.
www.usatoday.com
December 25, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Lucía Pedro Juan was deported after 20 years in the U.S. A few days later, her husband Francisco died from medical complications while detained by ICE in El Paso. She went home alone.
www.usatoday.com/picture-gall...
www.usatoday.com/picture-gall...
Catholics represent fewer than 20% of U.S. adults, however, they make up 61% of the population at risk of deportation. Trump’s immigration crackdown is disproportionately hitting Catholic communities.
chico.newsreview.com/2025/12/24/t...
chico.newsreview.com/2025/12/24/t...
Trump’s War on ICE-Fearing Catholics • Chico News & Review
We are a group of award-winning free alternative weekly newspapers published by Chico Community Publishing, Inc. We publish the Chico News & Review in Chico, California, the Sacramento News & Review…
chico.newsreview.com
December 25, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Catholics represent fewer than 20% of U.S. adults, however, they make up 61% of the population at risk of deportation. Trump’s immigration crackdown is disproportionately hitting Catholic communities.
chico.newsreview.com/2025/12/24/t...
chico.newsreview.com/2025/12/24/t...
A grandmother will spend Christmas with her family after ICE held her for nearly five months. She’s had a green card for 30+ years and lived in the U.S. since childhood. Her detention ended only after public and congressional pressure.
www.star-telegram.com/news/nation-...
www.star-telegram.com/news/nation-...
www.star-telegram.com
December 25, 2025 at 4:08 PM
A grandmother will spend Christmas with her family after ICE held her for nearly five months. She’s had a green card for 30+ years and lived in the U.S. since childhood. Her detention ended only after public and congressional pressure.
www.star-telegram.com/news/nation-...
www.star-telegram.com/news/nation-...
ICE documents describe warehouse detention sites designed to speed removals and cut costs, raising serious questions about human dignity and oversight.
www.commondreams.org/news/inside-...
www.commondreams.org/news/inside-...
'Beyond Dehumanizing': ICE Docs Expose Plan to Hold 80,000 People in Warehouses | Common Dreams
ICE's plan to warehouse tens of thousands of immigrants in massive storage facilities is "beyond dehumanizing."
www.commondreams.org
December 25, 2025 at 2:44 PM
ICE documents describe warehouse detention sites designed to speed removals and cut costs, raising serious questions about human dignity and oversight.
www.commondreams.org/news/inside-...
www.commondreams.org/news/inside-...
Rep. LaMonica McIver visited Newark’s Delaney Hall ICE facility after a 41-year-old Haitian man died in custody. She described “horrible” conditions, citing lack of food, healthcare, mental health care, and basic services.
shinemycrown.com/rep-lamonica...
shinemycrown.com/rep-lamonica...
Rep. LaMonica McIver Puts Spotlight on 'Horrible' Conditions at Newark ICE Detention Center Following Recent Death
U.S. Representative LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) conducted an oversight visit this week to the Delaney Hall ICE facility in Newark.
shinemycrown.com
December 25, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Rep. LaMonica McIver visited Newark’s Delaney Hall ICE facility after a 41-year-old Haitian man died in custody. She described “horrible” conditions, citing lack of food, healthcare, mental health care, and basic services.
shinemycrown.com/rep-lamonica...
shinemycrown.com/rep-lamonica...
Bishops say deportations are tearing apart parishes, families, even clergy. The Vatican says it’s “inconsistent with the Gospel.” The White House says it’s policy.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Have the American Pope and American administration fallen out?
Why the Catholic Church and Donald Trump’s government are at odds over immigration policy.
www.bbc.com
December 25, 2025 at 11:09 AM
Bishops say deportations are tearing apart parishes, families, even clergy. The Vatican says it’s “inconsistent with the Gospel.” The White House says it’s policy.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
ICE might not be slowing down for the holidays. At the rate of arrests for the first half of the month, December could see the highest number of immigration arrests in 2025. See the analysis below. 
Record Number 68,442 Immigrants Will Spend Christmas in Cages
ICE's aggressive enforcement agenda across the country reflected in latest data: record high detention numbers, most have no criminal history, arrests increase in December.
open.substack.com
December 25, 2025 at 7:18 AM
ICE might not be slowing down for the holidays. At the rate of arrests for the first half of the month, December could see the highest number of immigration arrests in 2025. See the analysis below. 
Getting my holiday cheer on in Columbus Ohio (despite being good-n-sick). Merry Christmas, y’all! 🎄
December 25, 2025 at 3:51 AM
Getting my holiday cheer on in Columbus Ohio (despite being good-n-sick). Merry Christmas, y’all! 🎄
Reposted by Austin Kocher, PhD
Of course
I’ve been worried about this. People who signed up for a US ‘self-deportation’ scheme say their payoffs were delayed, misdirected or never arrived – leaving them empty-handed in their home countries.
‘They tricked me’: Migrants were promised $1,000 to voluntarily leave the US. Some never received it
People who signed up for a US ‘self-deportation’ scheme say their payoffs were delayed, misdirected or never arrived – leaving them empty-handed in their home countries
www.theguardian.com
December 25, 2025 at 1:35 AM
Of course
I’ve been worried about this. People who signed up for a US ‘self-deportation’ scheme say their payoffs were delayed, misdirected or never arrived – leaving them empty-handed in their home countries.
‘They tricked me’: Migrants were promised $1,000 to voluntarily leave the US. Some never received it
People who signed up for a US ‘self-deportation’ scheme say their payoffs were delayed, misdirected or never arrived – leaving them empty-handed in their home countries
www.theguardian.com
December 25, 2025 at 1:25 AM
I’ve been worried about this. People who signed up for a US ‘self-deportation’ scheme say their payoffs were delayed, misdirected or never arrived – leaving them empty-handed in their home countries.
It must be incredible to live in Republican’s delusional legal universe where every prosecution of a right-wing nut job is actually a deep state conspiracy perpetrated by the Biden Crime Family but every prosecution of an immigrant is Good and Right and Totally Just.
December 25, 2025 at 12:10 AM
It must be incredible to live in Republican’s delusional legal universe where every prosecution of a right-wing nut job is actually a deep state conspiracy perpetrated by the Biden Crime Family but every prosecution of an immigrant is Good and Right and Totally Just.
President Donald Trump is more of a criminal than the people he is deporting.
President Donald Trump is more of a criminal than the people he is deporting.
President Donald Trump is more of a criminal than the people he is deporting.
President Donald Trump is more of a criminal than the people he is deporting.
President Donald Trump is more of a criminal than the people he is deporting.
December 24, 2025 at 11:33 PM
President Donald Trump is more of a criminal than the people he is deporting.
President Donald Trump is more of a criminal than the people he is deporting.
President Donald Trump is more of a criminal than the people he is deporting.
President Donald Trump is more of a criminal than the people he is deporting.
President Donald Trump is more of a criminal than the people he is deporting.
A disabled Army veteran spent months in ICE detention after a routine interview. A federal judge said that never should have happened and ordered his release.
www.idahostatesman.com/news/nation-...
www.idahostatesman.com/news/nation-...
www.idahostatesman.com
December 24, 2025 at 9:03 PM
A disabled Army veteran spent months in ICE detention after a routine interview. A federal judge said that never should have happened and ordered his release.
www.idahostatesman.com/news/nation-...
www.idahostatesman.com/news/nation-...
While it is a sad reality that we have to fight for a living wage for working Americans, what we really should be talking about is how we create a thriving wage for all Americans. A prosperous economy should mean that more people get to live a full and meaningful life, not just barely surviving.
December 24, 2025 at 6:34 PM
While it is a sad reality that we have to fight for a living wage for working Americans, what we really should be talking about is how we create a thriving wage for all Americans. A prosperous economy should mean that more people get to live a full and meaningful life, not just barely surviving.
Texas district attorneys say deportations are undercutting public safety. When witnesses vanish, justice doesn’t happen and defendants can walk free.
www.texastribune.org/2025/12/22/t...
www.texastribune.org/2025/12/22/t...
Texas prosecutors say deportations are harming criminal cases
District attorneys in Harris, El Paso and other counties say some cases, including murders, have been hobbled or lost because witnesses were detained, deported or too scared to come to court.
www.texastribune.org
December 24, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Texas district attorneys say deportations are undercutting public safety. When witnesses vanish, justice doesn’t happen and defendants can walk free.
www.texastribune.org/2025/12/22/t...
www.texastribune.org/2025/12/22/t...
A judge ruled that members of Congress can show up at ICE detention centers without warning. The goal is to see real conditions, not a cleaned-up version.
www.kjzz.org/fronteras-de...
www.kjzz.org/fronteras-de...
Members of Congress can make unannounced visits to ICE facilities for oversight, judge rules
A dozen House lawmakers filed suit earlier this year in response to an ICE memo requiring members of Congress to provide at least a week’s notice if they plan to visit a site where detainees are held.
www.kjzz.org
December 24, 2025 at 4:08 PM
A judge ruled that members of Congress can show up at ICE detention centers without warning. The goal is to see real conditions, not a cleaned-up version.
www.kjzz.org/fronteras-de...
www.kjzz.org/fronteras-de...
Someone died in ICE custody at the Moshannon detention center. Advocates responded by blocking roads in Clearfield County to make sure the death wasn’t ignored.
radio.wpsu.org/2025-12-22/d...
radio.wpsu.org/2025-12-22/d...
Another death at Moshannon ICE detention center has advocates calling for it to be shut down
After another man died while in ICE custody at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Clearfield County, immigrant advocates held a press conference Monday, renewing their calls for the facility…
radio.wpsu.org
December 24, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Someone died in ICE custody at the Moshannon detention center. Advocates responded by blocking roads in Clearfield County to make sure the death wasn’t ignored.
radio.wpsu.org/2025-12-22/d...
radio.wpsu.org/2025-12-22/d...
This is how pressure works. Advocates say Jeanette Vizguerra may not have to stay in ICE detention while her case moves forward. ICE detention is often framed as inevitable. In reality, it’s discretionary.
sentinelcolorado.com/metro/immigr...
sentinelcolorado.com/metro/immigr...
Immigration activist Jeanette Vizguerra released on bond from Aurora ICE jail - Sentinel Colorado
Vizguerra gained prominence after she took refuge in churches in Colorado to avoid deportation during the first Trump administration.
sentinelcolorado.com
December 24, 2025 at 1:57 PM
This is how pressure works. Advocates say Jeanette Vizguerra may not have to stay in ICE detention while her case moves forward. ICE detention is often framed as inevitable. In reality, it’s discretionary.
sentinelcolorado.com/metro/immigr...
sentinelcolorado.com/metro/immigr...
An Oregon coast city is suing the federal government to stop a new ICE detention center. City leaders say the project would harm the community and go against local values.
www.oregonlive.com/politics/202...
www.oregonlive.com/politics/202...
Oregon coast city sues feds to halt ICE detention center
The city's lawsuit lands the same day a federal judge ordered a U.S. Coast Guard rescue helicopter to remain in Newport.
www.oregonlive.com
December 24, 2025 at 11:09 AM
An Oregon coast city is suing the federal government to stop a new ICE detention center. City leaders say the project would harm the community and go against local values.
www.oregonlive.com/politics/202...
www.oregonlive.com/politics/202...
How does a U.S. Army veteran end up in ICE detention?
This report details the case of a Georgia veteran caught in the immigration system, with no clear way out.
www.military.com/daily-news/i...
This report details the case of a Georgia veteran caught in the immigration system, with no clear way out.
www.military.com/daily-news/i...
Georgia Army Veteran Stuck in ICE Detention Center
Godfrey Wade, an Army veteran, has lived in the U.S. for over 50 years. He's spent the past three months in a detention center, fearing deportation to Jamaica.
www.military.com
December 24, 2025 at 7:18 AM
How does a U.S. Army veteran end up in ICE detention?
This report details the case of a Georgia veteran caught in the immigration system, with no clear way out.
www.military.com/daily-news/i...
This report details the case of a Georgia veteran caught in the immigration system, with no clear way out.
www.military.com/daily-news/i...