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Welcoming people fleeing religious persecution was a bipartisan American tradition. I talked with Matthew Soerens of World Relief about the Trump administration ending it. Listen here: austinkocher.substack.com/p/president-... @matthewsoerens.bsky.social

Quote card. Austin Kocher, from his post President Trump Bans Christians Fleeing Persecution: “There is an American tradition here that, until now, has transcended both parties, and abolishing that tradition should set off major alarm bells, even for people who otherwise support this president’s agenda.” austinkocher.substack.com

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An attorney who saw the Detention Mortality Map told me about a client with medical problems who was deported to Pakistan anyway and died three days later. I talked about it on The Project Censored Show. www.projectcensored.org/the-detentio... @projectcensored.bsky.social

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On The Project Censored Show, I talked about why the Detention Mortality Map keeps the names of people who die in ICE custody, so the scope of the problem is visible and the names are not lost. www.projectcensored.org/the-detentio... @projectcensored.bsky.social

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Matthew Soerens of World Relief on who the Trump administration's refugee ban leaves out: Christians facing real persecution for their faith. Watch or listen to our full conversation: austinkocher.substack.com/p/president-... @matthewsoerens.bsky.social

Quote card. Matthew Soerens, World Relief: “When we talk about Christians persecuted for their faith, we’re not talking about, like, your Starbucks cup didn’t say Merry Christmas. … There are parts of the world where Christians are martyred.” From the conversation President Trump Bans Christians Fleeing Persecution, austinkocher.substack.com

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ICE has not paid outside medical bills since October 2025, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. On The Project Censored Show, I talked about a president who skips his bills setting the standard for ICE. www.projectcensored.org/the-detentio... @projectcensored.bsky.social

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When Matthew Soerens of World Relief tells Christians the Trump administration has banned persecuted Christians, many don't believe him. We talked about why. Listen to the whole conversation: austinkocher.substack.com/p/president-... @matthewsoerens.bsky.social

Quote card. Matthew Soerens, World Relief: “Occasionally, they do not believe this data, because they’ve heard so much rhetoric about Donald Trump being a great champion of persecuted Christians. It just is so dissonant with the rhetoric.” From the conversation President Trump Bans Christians Fleeing Persecution, austinkocher.substack.com

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The Trump administration's $84 billion in fines on noncitizens rests on a decades-old law. On The Project Censored Show, I talked about the undemocratic tools already built into the legal system. www.projectcensored.org/the-detentio... @projectcensored.bsky.social

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Refugees used to be the immigrants everyone agreed on. Matthew Soerens of World Relief and I talked about how the Trump administration came to ban persecuted Christians. Listen here: austinkocher.substack.com/p/president-... @matthewsoerens.bsky.social

Quote card. Matthew Soerens, World Relief: “I remember the first decade or so that I worked at World Relief, that was, like, the easy, safe category of immigrants that everyone agreed upon.” From the conversation President Trump Bans Christians Fleeing Persecution, austinkocher.substack.com

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Getting there: SIPA is at 420 W 118th St, a short walk from the 116 St-Columbia stop on the 1 train. Registration is required. @unitedwedream.org @iamcristinajimenez.bsky.social

Map of Columbia University's Morningside campus in Manhattan. SIPA's building at 420 W 118th St is highlighted at the east side of campus near Amsterdam Avenue. The 1 train runs under Broadway on the west side, with the 116 St-Columbia stop at West 116th Street. An inset locates Columbia in New York City.

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Full panel for The Truth Tellers in NYC: Pamela Yates, Paco de Onís, Cristina Jimenez, Eileen Grench and me, with Nara Milanich. Organized by Documented. Tue, Oct 20, 6 to 7:30 p.m., Columbia SIPA. Tickets: givebutter.com/Documented-T... @documentedny.bsky.social

Event banner. Film preview and conversation. The Truth Tellers: Documenting the Persecution of Immigrants for Future Accountability. Tuesday, October 20, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. ET, Columbia SIPA, 420 W 118th St, Room 1512. Registration required at givebutter.com/Documented-Truthtellers. Organized by Documented. A still from the film Borderland shows a girl waving in front of the border wall. Panel: Pamela Yates and Paco de Onís, filmmakers, Skylight; Cristina Jimenez, founder of United We Dream, Shared Future; Austin Kocher, Relevant Research; Eileen Grench, immigration enforcement reporter, Documented; Nara Milanich, Barnard College, facilitator.

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The Trump administration has banned Christians fleeing persecution, and many people of faith don't know it. I talked with Matthew Soerens of World Relief about how it happened. Listen here: austinkocher.substack.com/p/president-... @matthewsoerens.bsky.social

Quote card. Austin Kocher, from his post President Trump Bans Christians Fleeing Persecution: “It’s not opinion or conjecture to call this a Trump ban. The president unilaterally sets the number and priority for refugee resettlement.” austinkocher.substack.com

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Most of what ICE does is case management in a civil system rather than enforcement. On The Project Censored Show, I talked about how ICE could be cut to 5 percent of its current work. www.projectcensored.org/the-detentio... @projectcensored.bsky.social

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Matthew Soerens of World Relief on the Bible verses many churches never taught, from our conversation about the Trump administration's ban on persecuted Christians. Listen to all of it: austinkocher.substack.com/p/president-... @matthewsoerens.bsky.social

Quote card. Matthew Soerens, World Relief: “I memorized a lot of Bible verses, but never the ones about how to treat immigrants. Like, those were just not the verses that we learned.” From the conversation President Trump Bans Christians Fleeing Persecution, austinkocher.substack.com

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Matthew Soerens of World Relief on immigration enforcement at churches, from our conversation about the Trump administration's ban on persecuted Christians. The full conversation: austinkocher.substack.com/p/president-... @matthewsoerens.bsky.social

Quote card. Matthew Soerens, World Relief: “We’re not saying no immigration enforcement. We’re saying it shouldn’t happen on Sunday morning at church, unless you’ve got a really compelling public safety reason.” From the conversation President Trump Bans Christians Fleeing Persecution, austinkocher.substack.com

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The Detention Mortality Map (detentionmortality.com) covers ICE custody deaths back to 2003. On The Project Censored Show, I explained why it leaves out cause of death and unverified criminal history claims. www.projectcensored.org/the-detentio... @projectcensored.bsky.social

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I talked with Matthew Soerens of World Relief about the first year the U.S. will likely resettle no Christians fleeing persecution. Listen to the whole conversation: austinkocher.substack.com/p/president-... @matthewsoerens.bsky.social

Quote card. Austin Kocher, from his post President Trump Bans Christians Fleeing Persecution: “FY 2026 will likely be the first year in modern immigration history that the United States will resettle not a single Christian fleeing religious persecution.” austinkocher.substack.com

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Matthew Soerens of World Relief on what he is asking of President Trump, from our conversation about the administration's ban on persecuted Christians. Listen to the whole thing: austinkocher.substack.com/p/president-... @matthewsoerens.bsky.social

Quote card. Matthew Soerens, World Relief: “We’re not asking him to be Joe Biden or to be Barack Obama or to be George W. Bush. We’re just asking him to be Donald Trump from 2020.” From the conversation President Trump Bans Christians Fleeing Persecution, austinkocher.substack.com

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Out today! Thanks to @projectcensored.bsky.social for having me back on to talk about the Detention Mortality Map, which tracks deaths in ICE custody. I also talked about medical neglect in ICE detention and the INS roots of ICE. www.projectcensored.org/the-detentio...

Graphic styled like the Project Censored episode page. Header: The Project Censored Show, The Detention Mortality Map, featuring Austin Kocher, September 29, 2026, 31 minutes 22 seconds. Below, an audio player with a black-and-white photo of people standing at a chain-link fence topped with razor wire at night, level meters, and a red Listen button.

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The Taco Bell crunch wrap supreme is more supreme than this Supreme Court. #SubpremeCourt

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No refugee fleeing religious persecution was resettled in the U.S. in fiscal year 2026 through July, per World Relief and Open Doors US, likely the first such year in at least a quarter century. austinkocher.substack.com/p/this-week-...

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Austin Kocher, PhD @austinkocher.com · 27/09/2026

El Colegio de México, where I gave a talk in September, is a masterpiece of mid-century brutalism, a style that too often gets a bad rap. My field notes from Mexico City are in my new post. austinkocher.substack.com/p/notes-from...

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Jill Williams of the Acacia Center for Justice at "Habeas for Children," my Sept. 18 talk on kids in ORR custody: ICE took an 8-year-old Venezuelan boy and his father, both with TPS, and separated them. austinkocher.substack.com/p/no-child-s... @acaciajustice.org

Quote card. Jill Williams of the Acacia Center for Justice says:

“There's one case of an eight-year-old little boy that him and his father were [from] Venezuela, they had temporary protected status. For an unknown reason, not in the filing, [ICE] showed up at their house, and they apprehended the little boy and his dad at the same time. They then took them into custody, separated the father from the child.”

Watch or listen to the full conversation, “Habeas for Children: A New Legal Strategy to Free Kids from Prolonged ORR Detention,” at austinkocher.substack.com.

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Becky Wolozin of the National Center for Youth Law at "Habeas for Children," my Sept. 18 talk on kids in ORR custody: sponsoring a child now risks ICE detention, and the risk falls on a whole household. austinkocher.substack.com/p/no-child-s... @acaciajustice.org

Quote card. Becky Wolozin of the National Center for Youth Law says:

“ORR is increasingly enmeshed with ICE and with DHS, and so we have come to a point where becoming a sponsor places that sponsor at enormous risk of having ICE show up and detain the sponsor … Many people's sponsors, their mom is also home with two other kids. So it's not just these two individuals, one detained and one who is sponsoring. These are whole family units.”

Watch or listen to the full conversation, “Habeas for Children: A New Legal Strategy to Free Kids from Prolonged ORR Detention,” at austinkocher.substack.com.

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More than 50,000 people are on ICE ankle monitors, up from about 20,000 when this administration began. On September 24 I talked with three attorneys about what the devices do to the people wearing them. austinkocher.substack.com/p/this-is-re...

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ICE's ankle monitors are one of several tools used to track immigrants. Lesley Nash of @justfutureslaw.bsky.social spoke about who else that surveillance reaches at my September 24 conversation on the monitors. austinkocher.substack.com/p/this-is-re...

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Austin Kocher, PhD @austinkocher.com · 25/09/2026

More than 50,000 people are on ICE ankle monitors. Anthony Enriquez of @kennedyhrc.bsky.social spoke about the long fight against them at my September 24 conversation on the monitors. austinkocher.substack.com/p/this-is-re...

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ICE policy calls for an ankle monitor on anyone released from detention whenever possible. Evan Benz of the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights explained it at my September 24 conversation on ICE ankle monitors. austinkocher.substack.com/p/this-is-re...

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Austin Kocher, PhD @austinkocher.com · 21/09/2026

Becky Wolozin on what prolonged ORR custody does to a child. These aren't ICE centers, but reports of sexual/physical abuse inside them are on record, and a child who can only talk to the people holding them can't report. Full conversation at austinkocher.substack.com/p/habeas-for-children-acacia

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Austin Kocher, PhD @austinkocher.com · 21/09/2026

The National Immigration Forum's CBP One resource directory points readers to my peer-reviewed article on the app. Good to see it where people looking for answers will find it. forumtogether.org/article/cbp-...

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I’m still not fully settled in my place yet while I do some remodeling. So my books are scattered across half opened boxes left over from some unremembered day when I went digging to find something particular. The worlds they contain. 📚

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I joined the Hope In Action Podcast to talk about immigration history, the data behind enforcement and detention, and government transparency. Thanks to Tracie L. Morgan and Ashley Glimasinski. www.hopeinactionpodcast.com/post/immigra...

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AZ Luminaria wrote about the new database tracking deaths in ICE detention, including the four recorded in Arizona. Thanks to Yana Kunichoff. azluminaria.org/2026/09/01/n...

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The Sacramento Bee covered the detention mortality data and deaths in California ICE facilities. Six people have died in the state under this administration, the most in twenty years. Thanks to Mathew Miranda. www.sacbee.com/news/califor...

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Austin Kocher, PhD @austinkocher.com · 15/09/2026

Newsweek cited my arrest-pace figures in its story on Rep. Don Bacon. ICE arrests averaged about 1,474 a day in early July, up from roughly 1,300 in June. Thanks to Steve Mollman. www.newsweek.com/don-bacon-tr...

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Nothing better captures the United States in 2026.

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Austin Kocher, PhD @austinkocher.com · 15/09/2026

Unaccompanied children are being held in ORR custody longer than at any point in the available data. The fiscal year average went from 30 days in 2024 to 117 in 2025. The monthly average is now 187 days. austinkocher.substack.com/p/habeas-for...

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Austin Kocher, PhD @austinkocher.com · 27/08/2026

It was never about criminals. austinkocher.substack.com/p/ices-summe...

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$250 = What ICE proposes to pay each local officer per year so they can carry liability insurance for making immigration arrests. The coverage runs up to $500,000. Reporting by the Associated Press.

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$2,500,000,000 = What ICE obligated in contract awards in July, its largest month of the year. Roughly $1.5 billion of it bought two CoreCivic detention centers outright, which CoreCivic still runs. Reporting by Project Salt Box.

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78,882 = Removal orders immigration judges issued in June, the highest monthly total on record. About 68 percent were entered in absentia, meaning the person was not in the room. Data from TRAC.

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132,167 = Asylum applications USCIS expects to send to immigration court each year without ever interviewing the applicant. Four organizations sued on August 19 to vacate the rule. Reporting by @immcouncil.org.

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38 = The days Ana Kikabidze’s two children had been detained when she gave up their case and accepted deportation. The family held green cards. ICE returned them, unexpired, on the way out. Reporting by The Marshall Project.

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3,000 = The top of the bed range the government is asking contractors to be ready to supply for detained migrant children. No site has been chosen and no contractor named. Reporting by Reason.

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23,000 = People the United States has sent to countries that are not their own since January 2025, across 26 third countries. Nearly 20,000 of them went to Mexico. Reporting by Human Rights First and Refugees International.

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60% = The top of the sales decline one Brooklyn restaurant owner reports since Haitian TPS ended. He lost about half his staff, and that range is his own estimate. Reporting by Documented.

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