Caitlin Patler
@caitlinpatler.bsky.social
Associate Professor of Public Policy, UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy. Research on #immigration #immigrationpolicy #daca #immigrationdetention #health
Pinned
Caitlin Patler
@caitlinpatler.bsky.social
· Nov 19
Opinion | What Will Indefinite Detention Do to Migrant Kids? (Published 2019)
The evidence is clear: No detention center is safe and healthy for children.
www.nytimes.com
My Op-Ed in @nytimes.com on why & how immigration detention is extremely harmful for child development. www.nytimes.com/2019/08/27/o...
Reposted by Caitlin Patler
Will it be national news? Will it cause performative outrage? Will he be censured?
Nope. Forgotten by tomorrow.
Nope. Forgotten by tomorrow.
February 16, 2026 at 1:19 AM
Will it be national news? Will it cause performative outrage? Will he be censured?
Nope. Forgotten by tomorrow.
Nope. Forgotten by tomorrow.
My heart absolutely breaks for these children and their families. And for all of us.
A child dying of cancer spent her final days fighting to free her wrongfully detained father from ICE custody.
This comes just weeks after a mother from Maryland was denied the right to be at her son’s side as he died from cancer.
Not one dime for this cruelty.
www.cbsnews.com/amp/chicago/...
This comes just weeks after a mother from Maryland was denied the right to be at her son’s side as he died from cancer.
Not one dime for this cruelty.
www.cbsnews.com/amp/chicago/...
Ofelia Torres, teen who fought to have her father released from ICE custody, dies from rare cancer
Ofelia Torres, 16, died on Friday from Stage 4 alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer, her father's lawyer confirmed.
www.cbsnews.com
February 16, 2026 at 1:16 AM
My heart absolutely breaks for these children and their families. And for all of us.
Reposted by Caitlin Patler
A child dying of cancer spent her final days fighting to free her wrongfully detained father from ICE custody.
This comes just weeks after a mother from Maryland was denied the right to be at her son’s side as he died from cancer.
Not one dime for this cruelty.
www.cbsnews.com/amp/chicago/...
This comes just weeks after a mother from Maryland was denied the right to be at her son’s side as he died from cancer.
Not one dime for this cruelty.
www.cbsnews.com/amp/chicago/...
Ofelia Torres, teen who fought to have her father released from ICE custody, dies from rare cancer
Ofelia Torres, 16, died on Friday from Stage 4 alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer, her father's lawyer confirmed.
www.cbsnews.com
February 15, 2026 at 9:20 PM
A child dying of cancer spent her final days fighting to free her wrongfully detained father from ICE custody.
This comes just weeks after a mother from Maryland was denied the right to be at her son’s side as he died from cancer.
Not one dime for this cruelty.
www.cbsnews.com/amp/chicago/...
This comes just weeks after a mother from Maryland was denied the right to be at her son’s side as he died from cancer.
Not one dime for this cruelty.
www.cbsnews.com/amp/chicago/...
Reposted by Caitlin Patler
ICE is still in my Minneapolis neighborhood today.
February 14, 2026 at 7:44 PM
ICE is still in my Minneapolis neighborhood today.
Reposted by Caitlin Patler
Every day it becomes clearer that capitulation (Columbia, Perkins Coie, etc) was the wrong strategy
This is a genuinely huge, sweeping victory today for the University of California—or rather, for us, its faculty, acting through our faculty associations, while the UC itself maintained a strict policy of deer-in-headlights silence.
The Trump admin has given up its appeal of a powerful injunction:
The Trump admin has given up its appeal of a powerful injunction:
Trump administration drops appeal of court order blocking $1.2-billion UCLA settlement
The Trump administration dropped its appeal of a major higher education case in which a federal judge blocked its $1.2-billion settlement proposal to UCLA over alleged civil rights violations. It will...
www.latimes.com
February 14, 2026 at 4:17 PM
Every day it becomes clearer that capitulation (Columbia, Perkins Coie, etc) was the wrong strategy
Reposted by Caitlin Patler
Police departments across the US are quietly leveraging school district security cameras to assist Donald Trump’s mass immigration enforcement campaign, an investigation by @the74.bsky.social reveals.
February 13, 2026 at 2:31 PM
Police departments across the US are quietly leveraging school district security cameras to assist Donald Trump’s mass immigration enforcement campaign, an investigation by @the74.bsky.social reveals.
Reposted by Caitlin Patler
Another memorable ruling out of West Virginia, where Judge Goodwin — a Clinton appointee — excoriates the treatment of ICE detainees.
"This is not what civil enforcement looks like in a humane system of government under law."
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
"This is not what civil enforcement looks like in a humane system of government under law."
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
February 11, 2026 at 3:11 AM
Another memorable ruling out of West Virginia, where Judge Goodwin — a Clinton appointee — excoriates the treatment of ICE detainees.
"This is not what civil enforcement looks like in a humane system of government under law."
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
"This is not what civil enforcement looks like in a humane system of government under law."
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Reposted by Caitlin Patler
An immigration court dropped its case against Turkish graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk, a little less than a year after federal agents arrested her on a street near Tufts University
Immigration Court Drops Case Against Tufts Student Rumeysa Ozturk
The Turkish national had been arrested by plainclothes federal officers outside her apartment.
on.wsj.com
February 9, 2026 at 11:53 PM
An immigration court dropped its case against Turkish graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk, a little less than a year after federal agents arrested her on a street near Tufts University
Reposted by Caitlin Patler
Super Bowl viewers Sunday speculated that 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos appeared in the halftime show. In fact, he has been in hiding with his family.
“He can’t sleep well at night. He wakes up three or four times a night screaming, ‘Daddy, Daddy,’” Liam's father Adrian Conejo Arias, said.
“He can’t sleep well at night. He wakes up three or four times a night screaming, ‘Daddy, Daddy,’” Liam's father Adrian Conejo Arias, said.
‘He’s not the same’: Father of Liam Conejo Ramos says 5-year-old continues to suffer
Some people thought they say the 5-year-old during the Super Bowl halftime show. But Liam is still in hiding with his family, after he and his father were detained and then released from a Texas deten...
www.mprnews.org
February 10, 2026 at 1:11 AM
Super Bowl viewers Sunday speculated that 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos appeared in the halftime show. In fact, he has been in hiding with his family.
“He can’t sleep well at night. He wakes up three or four times a night screaming, ‘Daddy, Daddy,’” Liam's father Adrian Conejo Arias, said.
“He can’t sleep well at night. He wakes up three or four times a night screaming, ‘Daddy, Daddy,’” Liam's father Adrian Conejo Arias, said.
Reposted by Caitlin Patler
Important & timely working paper from East, Cox, and my colleague @caitlinpatler.bsky.social
Trump II systematically using "community arrests" (ICE arrests on the street, workplace, in the community, etc) and not targeting immigrants w/ criminal convictions
NBER link: www.nber.org/system/files...
Trump II systematically using "community arrests" (ICE arrests on the street, workplace, in the community, etc) and not targeting immigrants w/ criminal convictions
NBER link: www.nber.org/system/files...
February 9, 2026 at 10:16 PM
Important & timely working paper from East, Cox, and my colleague @caitlinpatler.bsky.social
Trump II systematically using "community arrests" (ICE arrests on the street, workplace, in the community, etc) and not targeting immigrants w/ criminal convictions
NBER link: www.nber.org/system/files...
Trump II systematically using "community arrests" (ICE arrests on the street, workplace, in the community, etc) and not targeting immigrants w/ criminal convictions
NBER link: www.nber.org/system/files...
Reposted by Caitlin Patler
ICE has now spent over half a BILLION dollars just on purchasing warehouses around the country to convert into detention camps.
If these mega-camps are utilized to the full capacity ICE intends, they'll be the largest prisons in the country, with little real oversight. www.ajc.com/politics/202...
If these mega-camps are utilized to the full capacity ICE intends, they'll be the largest prisons in the country, with little real oversight. www.ajc.com/politics/202...
ICE to begin detaining immigrants inside Social Circle warehouse in April
Homeland Security plans to build warehouse detention facilities in other cities being met with opposition.
www.ajc.com
February 9, 2026 at 5:56 PM
ICE has now spent over half a BILLION dollars just on purchasing warehouses around the country to convert into detention camps.
If these mega-camps are utilized to the full capacity ICE intends, they'll be the largest prisons in the country, with little real oversight. www.ajc.com/politics/202...
If these mega-camps are utilized to the full capacity ICE intends, they'll be the largest prisons in the country, with little real oversight. www.ajc.com/politics/202...
Just how unprecedented is the ongoing immigration enforcement crackdown? We answer those questions and more in our new NBER working paper.
www.nber.org/papers/w34794
www.nber.org/papers/w34794
February 9, 2026 at 7:26 PM
Just how unprecedented is the ongoing immigration enforcement crackdown? We answer those questions and more in our new NBER working paper.
www.nber.org/papers/w34794
www.nber.org/papers/w34794
Reposted by Caitlin Patler
NEW: A baby held in immigration detention became so sick, she had to be rushed to a hospital in severe respiratory distress.
“She was at the brink of dying,” a lawyer told me.
But the girl didn’t go home after her 10-day hospital stay; instead, ICE put her and her mother back in lock up at Dilley.
“She was at the brink of dying,” a lawyer told me.
But the girl didn’t go home after her 10-day hospital stay; instead, ICE put her and her mother back in lock up at Dilley.
Toddler hospitalized with respiratory failure was returned to ICE detention without prescribed medication, lawsuit says
The 18-month-old was sent back to a South Texas facility after days in intensive care with severe respiratory distress, according to a federal lawsuit.
www.nbcnews.com
February 7, 2026 at 8:25 PM
NEW: A baby held in immigration detention became so sick, she had to be rushed to a hospital in severe respiratory distress.
“She was at the brink of dying,” a lawyer told me.
But the girl didn’t go home after her 10-day hospital stay; instead, ICE put her and her mother back in lock up at Dilley.
“She was at the brink of dying,” a lawyer told me.
But the girl didn’t go home after her 10-day hospital stay; instead, ICE put her and her mother back in lock up at Dilley.
Reposted by Caitlin Patler
"The new law forbids counties and local law enforcement from contracting with ICE. It mandates that public bodies terminate any existing immigration detention agreements and prohibits the use of public property for federal civil immigration detention..."
kfoxtv.com/news/local/n...
kfoxtv.com/news/local/n...
New Mexico governor signs Immigrant Safety Act among other bills into law
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has signed four bipartisan bills into law, focusing on improving health care access, investing in statewide infrastructur
kfoxtv.com
February 7, 2026 at 9:05 PM
"The new law forbids counties and local law enforcement from contracting with ICE. It mandates that public bodies terminate any existing immigration detention agreements and prohibits the use of public property for federal civil immigration detention..."
kfoxtv.com/news/local/n...
kfoxtv.com/news/local/n...
Reposted by Caitlin Patler
Devastating decision from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals last night endorsing the Trump Bureau of Immigration Appeals 2025 ruling that undocumented immigrants “apprehended anywhere in the United States are ineligible for release on bond, regardless of how long they have resided in the U.S.”
February 7, 2026 at 3:20 PM
Devastating decision from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals last night endorsing the Trump Bureau of Immigration Appeals 2025 ruling that undocumented immigrants “apprehended anywhere in the United States are ineligible for release on bond, regardless of how long they have resided in the U.S.”
Reposted by Caitlin Patler
Maybe, just maybe, people should start to understand that there is no such thing as non punitive detention. And so the entire premise of immigration law— that this is civil and isn’t meant to punish or coerce— is a tremendous lie
“They’re basically torturing people into signing off on their own deportation,” said one attorney.
Superb, deeply reported story, via @charpentier.bsky.social
Superb, deeply reported story, via @charpentier.bsky.social
Concentration camps: stories of as many as 50 people to a cell — men and women in some cases — with no windows and limited airflow, a single camera-monitored toilet, aluminum blankets, no showers and poor quality food.
February 7, 2026 at 3:47 PM
Maybe, just maybe, people should start to understand that there is no such thing as non punitive detention. And so the entire premise of immigration law— that this is civil and isn’t meant to punish or coerce— is a tremendous lie
Reposted by Caitlin Patler
Under current law, ICE doesn't have to report detainee numbers at "hold rooms" or administrative offices. What the public knows about overcrowding comes from local reporting and then later from case records obtained via FOIA. www.pressherald.com/2026/02/07/i...
ICE detainees from Maine being held under ‘inhumane’ conditions in Mass. facility, attorneys say
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson said the allegations of overcrowding and lack of access to lawyers are false.
www.pressherald.com
February 7, 2026 at 4:14 PM
Under current law, ICE doesn't have to report detainee numbers at "hold rooms" or administrative offices. What the public knows about overcrowding comes from local reporting and then later from case records obtained via FOIA. www.pressherald.com/2026/02/07/i...
Reposted by Caitlin Patler
Breaking MS NOW:
The Department of Homeland Security *unsuccessfully* sought to expedite deportation proceedings against the family of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, according to a local school official.
At an asylum hearing Friday, the family was granted a continuance.
www.ms.now/news/dhs-rep...
The Department of Homeland Security *unsuccessfully* sought to expedite deportation proceedings against the family of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, according to a local school official.
At an asylum hearing Friday, the family was granted a continuance.
www.ms.now/news/dhs-rep...
Judge denies DHS bid to rush removal of Liam Ramos and his family
Kristen Stenvik, superintendent of the district where Liam goes to school, said the ruling provides both “additional time” and “continued uncertainty.”
www.ms.now
February 7, 2026 at 12:25 AM
Breaking MS NOW:
The Department of Homeland Security *unsuccessfully* sought to expedite deportation proceedings against the family of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, according to a local school official.
At an asylum hearing Friday, the family was granted a continuance.
www.ms.now/news/dhs-rep...
The Department of Homeland Security *unsuccessfully* sought to expedite deportation proceedings against the family of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, according to a local school official.
At an asylum hearing Friday, the family was granted a continuance.
www.ms.now/news/dhs-rep...
Reposted by Caitlin Patler
JUST IN: A federal judge has barred ICE and DHS from using taxpayer information provided by the IRS.
Judge Talwani says that DHS' view that noncitizens lack 4th amendment rights — combined with ICE use of administrative warrants — is a recipe for abuse.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Judge Talwani says that DHS' view that noncitizens lack 4th amendment rights — combined with ICE use of administrative warrants — is a recipe for abuse.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
February 5, 2026 at 9:55 PM
JUST IN: A federal judge has barred ICE and DHS from using taxpayer information provided by the IRS.
Judge Talwani says that DHS' view that noncitizens lack 4th amendment rights — combined with ICE use of administrative warrants — is a recipe for abuse.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Judge Talwani says that DHS' view that noncitizens lack 4th amendment rights — combined with ICE use of administrative warrants — is a recipe for abuse.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Still undefeated.
February 4, 2026 at 5:00 AM
Still undefeated.
Reposted by Caitlin Patler
Federal judge blocks end of Temporary Protected Status for some 300,000 Haitians, staving off an expected surge of ICE targeting Springfield, Ohio.
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
Federal judge postpones Trump admin's termination of TPS for Haitians
Temporary Protected Status for more than 300,000 Haitians was set to end Tuesday. The Trump administration said it will take the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court.
www.nbcnews.com
February 3, 2026 at 5:44 AM
Federal judge blocks end of Temporary Protected Status for some 300,000 Haitians, staving off an expected surge of ICE targeting Springfield, Ohio.
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
Reposted by Caitlin Patler
Judge Biery signed the order with a photo of Liam and two bible verses: The first is "But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven." The second is simply "Jesus wept."
Astonishing thing for a judge to do.
Astonishing thing for a judge to do.
![Philadelphia, September 17, 1787: "Well, Dr. Franklin, what do we have?" "A republic, if you
can keep it."
With a judicial finger in the constitutional dike,
It is so ORDERED.
SIGNED this 31st day of February, 2026.
_________________________________________________
FRED BIERY
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
[photo of Liam]
Credit: Bystander
Matthew 19:14
John 11:35](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:73t3muu2pudsajp7a2fj3aly/bafkreigfz6fzbu65haq7nfqgaoe7m42gsaonpinpmaaptuzd5atkqvya4i@jpeg)
January 31, 2026 at 8:38 PM
Judge Biery signed the order with a photo of Liam and two bible verses: The first is "But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven." The second is simply "Jesus wept."
Astonishing thing for a judge to do.
Astonishing thing for a judge to do.
Reposted by Caitlin Patler
Yesterday, five-year-old Liam and his dad Adrian were released from Dilley detention center. I picked them up last night and escorted them back to Minnesota this morning.
Liam is now home. With his hat and his backpack.
Liam is now home. With his hat and his backpack.
February 1, 2026 at 3:49 PM
Yesterday, five-year-old Liam and his dad Adrian were released from Dilley detention center. I picked them up last night and escorted them back to Minnesota this morning.
Liam is now home. With his hat and his backpack.
Liam is now home. With his hat and his backpack.
Reposted by Caitlin Patler
A little girl in Portland, OR after being tear gassed by ICE. what the actual fuck.
February 1, 2026 at 2:14 AM
A little girl in Portland, OR after being tear gassed by ICE. what the actual fuck.
Reposted by Caitlin Patler
A significant majority of the $75 billion that Congress gave ICE in the OBBBA will go to private companies that operate most of the machinery of mass deportations; they staff and provide the prisons, they drive the buses, and they own and fly the planes. They are all set to cash in massively.
NEW: Meet the private-equity firm -- and its billionaire immigrant CEO -- making millions off some of ICE's cruelest deportation flights.
After a five-month investigation, my story for @motherjones.com:
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
After a five-month investigation, my story for @motherjones.com:
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
ICE Deportation Flights Are Getting Longer and Crueler
A private equity-owned airline profits off Trump’s migrant crackdown.
www.motherjones.com
January 30, 2026 at 11:19 PM
A significant majority of the $75 billion that Congress gave ICE in the OBBBA will go to private companies that operate most of the machinery of mass deportations; they staff and provide the prisons, they drive the buses, and they own and fly the planes. They are all set to cash in massively.