iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Eunice Cho @eunicehcho.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

I’m also serving as a Senior Legal Advisor at the James H Binger Center for New Americans at @umnlawschool.bsky.social, where I'm working with the Detainee Rights Clinic, and am guiding the planning of a national conference on deaths in detention in Spring 2027. (Stay tuned!)

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Eunice Cho @eunicehcho.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

Some personal news, as they say: I’m excited to share that I’ve recently started two new professional roles! I’ve joined @immigrantjustice.bsky.social as Associate Litigation Director, where I look forward to defending the rights of immigrants nationwide, particularly those in detention. /1

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Eunice Cho @eunicehcho.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Detained people have reported these stories of abuse, as ICE denies them, parroting talking points that all detainees receive the highest standard of care. Believe detained people. But even more, demand their freedom from these facilities, and demand that ICE shut down its detention machine.

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Eunice Cho @eunicehcho.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

As the report notes, ICE continues to lock people up in "state-run" facilities such as the Baker County detention center in Florida. It also continues to lock up tens of thousands of people in similarly abusive facilities each day. /11

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Eunice Cho @eunicehcho.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

It's not lost upon observers that this report was published only after the facility was shut down, after a federal court ordered ICE and the State of Florida to allow full attorney access at the facility--which would allow for further documentation and litigation over conditions of confinement. /10

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Eunice Cho @eunicehcho.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

And as ICE made arguments to disclaim responsibility of the facility, it continued to send and lock up thousands of people in dangerous conditions of which its own inspectors were fully aware. /9

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Eunice Cho @eunicehcho.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

As a lawyer who led a successful federal lawsuit on access to counsel at the facility, these revelations are not shocking. Detainees and their families regularly reported these abuses to attorneys, human rights organizations, and members of congress. /8

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Eunice Cho @eunicehcho.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Officials also concluded that the facility failed to comply with medical standards, did not comply with food service standards, and deprived detainees of clean drinking water. It confirmed limited opportunities for showers and personal hygiene; showers were infested with bugs and vermin. /7

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Eunice Cho @eunicehcho.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

ICE officials also locked at least 79 people in metal cages used as “calming areas.” Detained people frequently reported deprivation of food and water in these cells. /6

photo of small, rusted, metal cage with a lock used to confine immigrants in detention at Alligator Alcatraz

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Eunice Cho @eunicehcho.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Inspectors found that space was less than half of what is required, effectively trapping hundreds of people together in cramped, windowless cages. /5

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Eunice Cho @eunicehcho.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

OIG inspectors confirm what detainees told us throughout the litigation I led: the facility had no clear set of detention standards by which it operated, and one official stated it was “so gray as to whose place this is…and which standards to follow.” /4

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Eunice Cho @eunicehcho.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

The report is shocking in its critique of conditions at the facility: government oversight reports on detention conditions, even from the DHS OIG’s office, are famously weak and fail to uncover the true abuses that take place. /3

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Eunice Cho @eunicehcho.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

The OIG conducted its inspection in January 2026, after several lawsuits had been filed against ICE and the State of Florida, and Congressional inquiries into the facility. But it did not release the report until months after the facility closed. www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/defaul... /2

oig.dhs.gov

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Eunice Cho @eunicehcho.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

The DHS's Office of Inspector General just issued a scathing new report about conditions of confinement at ICE's infamous "Alligator Alcatraz" detention facility. As the NYT reports, officials used metal cages as "calming areas" to hold detainees. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/14/u... /1

nytimes.com

‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Used Small Cages to Confine Migrants, DHS Watchdog Report Says

The Department of Homeland Security’s internal watchdog provided new details about conditions at the now-shuttered Florida detention center.

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Eunice Cho @eunicehcho.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Do I know (or do you know) any abolitionist archivist/librarians? If so, please let me know! Working on a new project related to immigration detention and would love to talk through some ideas.

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Eunice Cho @eunicehcho.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

“This case stands out as an example of the enormity of the tragedy pregnant women and families are facing because of the Trump administration,” Cho said, of Monterroso Lemus’s experience. “The bottom line is: No one deserves to be treated like this.” theintercept.com/2026/08/27/t...

theintercept.com

Trump Admin Said She Was Lying About Stillbirth in ICE Custody. New Evidence Points to Lack of Prenatal Care.

The Trump administration claimed Iris Dayana Monterroso Lemus received “FULL medical, prenatal care” in ICE custody.

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Eunice Cho @eunicehcho.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

@pogo.org has put together an excellent report on ICE's system for inspecting detention facilities, quantifying what advocates have said for years: the inspection system is a sham to enable the continued detention of people in dangerous and abusive conditions. www.pogo.org/investigates...

pogo.org

Inside ICE’s Broken System for Inspecting Detention Facilities

New data reveals a twisted ICE detention oversight system where facilities get glowing grades, even amid deadly conditions.

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Eunice Cho @eunicehcho.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Here's an excellent expose of LaSalle Corrections, a privately-held private prison corporation that is expanding its reach into the ICE detention system--information that is difficult to find because LaSalle is not publicly-traded. Great job @truth.bsky.social! hntrbrk.com/investigatio...

hntrbrk.com

LaSalle Corrections: The Accountability Shell Game

ICE money is turbocharging LaSalle Corrections' private prison business

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Eunice Cho @eunicehcho.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Powerful visualization of horrifying conditions of confinement in ICE's holding room cells, based on testimony of brave detainees who came forward to sue ICE and challenge abuses at 26 Federal Plaza. Great reporting by @douglasmac.bsky.social as usual! wapo.st/3R6bdmr

wapo.st

ICE officials warned of dangerous crowding. See how they kept packing people in.

Dozens were held for days in small rooms last year with no beds, showers or full-time medical staff, records analyzed by The Post show.

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Hamed Aleaziz @haleaziz.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

SCOOP: ICE is planning to offload seven warehouses purchased for more than $700 million by either giving them to other federal agencies or selling them outright, according to documents obtained by The New York Times. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/18/u...

nytimes.com

ICE Spent $700 Million on 7 Warehouses. Now It Wants to Get Rid of Them.

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Eunice Cho @eunicehcho.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

www.nytimes.com/2026/06/18/u...

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Andrea Ritchie @dreanyc123.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Let’s be sure to show up for Minneapolis today and every day like they have been showing the way & showing up for us across the country. We’re with you Twin Cities!❤️‍🔥

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Reposted by Eunice Cho

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 16/06/2026

Daphy Michel, a Haitian asylum seeker with untreated mental health issues, died of hypothermia after being released by ICE. Security footage shows Michel sitting on a bus stop bench for days in cold temperatures. Her death has been ruled a homicide.

washingtonpost.com

Death of woman released by ICE on a winter day is now ruled a homicide

Security footage shows Daphy Michel, a 31-year-old asylum seeker from Haiti, sitting on a bus stop bench for days in cold temperatures.

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Eunice Cho @eunicehcho.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Great reporting by @douglasmac.bsky.social. GEO's push to change ICE standards is a direct response to successful lawsuits brought by immigrant detainees finding minimum wage violations and unjust enrichment for their $1/day "voluntary" work program. The swamp just got deeper. wapo.st/4giIJjm

wapo.st

ICE removed detainee protections after private outreach from top contractor

In new federal standards released Monday, the agency appeared to make changes that could benefit Geo Group’s legal defense.

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Reposted by Eunice Cho

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

For many years, there were allegations that ICE would “release” critically ill people in hospitals so that their deaths wouldn’t be recorded as in ICE custody. To fix this, in 2021 the Biden admin required ICE to report deaths occurring up to 30 days after release. Now that rule has been dropped.

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molly conger @socialistdogmom.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

they’re shooting crowd control munitions at crowds that include multiple members of congress, the governor, and a sitting united states senator. they fired pepper balls at the senator. they cannot and will not be reigned in by democracy, whatever’s left of it.

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Project Salt Box @projectsaltbox.com · 20/05/2026

NEW: A review of DHS forecasting records shows a quick heads-up to vendors for a $10M–$20M contract to keep mothballed ICE warehouses "in serviceable condition pending reactivation" at unspecified locations, on a compressed timeline, and with no public solicitation in sight.

projectsaltbox.com

ICE Moves to Pay Contractor to Maintain Mothballed Warehouses

The procurement notice surfaces as the agency's plan to convert warehouses into detention centers has stalled in court — and as it pivots toward buying existing facilities from private operators.

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Reposted by Eunice Cho

Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost @frost.house.gov · 13/05/2026

BREAKING: "Alligator Alcatraz," the internment camp in the Everglades, is closing. Here's what you need to know:

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Eunice Cho @eunicehcho.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

This is a fascinating development. One thing to note: even where ICE has purchased detention facilities in the past, it has relied heavily on private prison corporations to actually *operate* facilities themselves.

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Mike Hixenbaugh @mikehixenbaugh.com · 03/04/2026

It’s not just Ms. Rachel. The biggest names in children’s educational programming are coming out in force to call for kids to be freed from ICE detention. Here’s “Reading Rainbow” host @mychal3ts.bsky.social outside the Dilley Immigration Processing Center.

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NPR @npr.org · 03/04/2026

ICE inspectors in February found 49 violations to detention standards at Camp East Montana, including failure from staff to"accurately document required checks to prevent significant self-harm and suicide." n.pr/4sa0F1S

n.pr

ICE detention deaths are on a record pace. One Texas facility bears the brunt

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Project Salt Box @projectsaltbox.com · 01/04/2026

"'If it weren't for Miller pushing, this would be dead by now,' the source told me. A new DHS secretary may not be the obstacle many wish it were." Read more to learn why now is the time to be making noise.

projectsaltbox.com

DHS Pauses Warehouse Purchases as Internal Revolt, Legal Challenges, and Political Infighting Cloud the Program's Future

Career officials call it unworkable. Communities are suing to stop it. Congress is investigating. And Stephen Miller is still pushing.

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