Trump Action Archive

Supporting reports

• Guardian publishes explainer on 145 statewide ballot measures across 39 states in midterm elections — The Guardian reports on 145 statewide referendum measures voters will face in 39 states during the upcoming midterm elections. Key ballot initiatives include California's proposed billionaire wealth tax (Proposition 40), property tax measures in Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and Tennessee, trans athlete and medical care restrictions in five states, noncitizen voting requirements in six states, and abortion rights protections in Idaho, Nevada, and Virginia. The article notes the long-run passage rate for referendums is approximately 41%.

Supporting reports

• Marine Le Pen's political fortunes rise amid civil unrest — As rioting and disorder began in France, the political prospects of anti-immigration right-wing candidate Marine Le Pen improved significantly, as measured by prediction markets. In contrast, left-wing candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon's chances remained unchanged despite his promises of increased social spending. The public shift reflects growing attribution of disorder to immigration and migration issues.

Supporting reports

• JD Vance campaigns against Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan — Vice President JD Vance campaigned in Michigan against Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed, calling him "a little weasel who should shut his mouth and show a little gratitude to the country that gave him everything." El-Sayed responded by defending his commitment to America, noting he was born in the country and criticizing Republican policies on healthcare, unions, and election integrity.

Supporting reports

• Trump makes dehumanizing comments about Minnesota and Somali Americans — At a rally, Trump made dehumanizing comments about Minnesota, stating "Look at what's happening in the once great state of MN. What a mess. Somalia - all they do is kill each other in the streets. They cheat on everything." The crowd then chanted "De-port! De-port!" in response to Trump's remarks, which targeted Somali Americans and immigrants in Minnesota.

Supporting reports

• DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin responded to Mamdani — DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin held a press conference to respond to Mayor Mamdani's criticism of ICE. While flexing his fist on a rubber stress ball throughout, Mullin called Mamdani's words "dangerous and incite hostility" and called the shooting subject "a thug, an absolute worst of the worst." When asked whether it was clear to the subject that he was being stopped by ICE given that agents were in plain clothes and vehicles were unmarked, Mullin responded that undercover investigations necessarily involve unmarked cars and uniforms.

Supporting reports

• Trump made inflammatory statements targeting Somali immigrants in Minnesota — Trump accused Somali immigrants of taking over Minnesota and associated them with crime and violence. He repeatedly urged residents to "fight back" and mentioned that the federal government could intervene if requested by Governor Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey. His statements followed reports of criminal investigations involving Somali American individuals, including an alleged plot against the Mall of America.

Supporting reports

• ICE collected tens of millions of voter records for deportation targeting — Immigration and Customs Enforcement, under direction of Deputy Assistant Secretary Heather Honey, collected approximately 48.4 million voter records through undisclosed "independent sources" and obtained an additional 50.6 million records from the Department of Justice. Records from ten states—Texas, Pennsylvania, California, New Jersey, Minnesota, Michigan, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, and Ohio—were prioritized. The data was sent to HSI's Innovation Lab and is pending entry into Palantir's ELITE system, used to identify and locate people for deportation. This effort targets noncitizen voters, though noncitizen voting is extremely rare.

Supporting reports

• ICE agents shot man in car with 5-year-old in Manhattan — ICE agents surrounded a vehicle in Marble Hill in northern Manhattan and fired multiple rounds into the vehicle, shooting a man in the neck. The vehicle also contained a 5-year-old child. The man was taken to a hospital, remained conscious, and was in stable condition as of Thursday night.
• ICE agent shoots man in New York City during enforcement operation with child in vehicle — An ICE agent shot and wounded a 28-year-old man during an enforcement operation in the Marble Hill neighborhood of Manhattan on Thursday afternoon. Early reports indicated agents surrounded the man and a five-year-old child in a car before firing multiple rounds. The child was physically unharmed. NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani stated he negotiated unsuccessfully with President Trump and DHS Secretary Mullin for the man's release and demanded ICE cease enforcement in the city. The shooting sparked immediate protests and clashes between demonstrators and NYPD at a nearby hospital.
• ICE officer shoots man in neck during arrest in Manhattan's Marble Hill neighborhood — On Thursday afternoon, a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot Oscar Belgal, 28, in the neck with an assault-style rifle during an arrest in Manhattan's Marble Hill neighborhood. Belgal's young child was in the back of his car at the time. Residents reported the officers were not clearly identified and expressed fear and anger. Belgal was detained and booked into the federal Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn. A federal judge ordered ICE to keep him in the area after his attorneys filed emergency motions requesting release.
• WIRED reported on ICE agent Brenden Cuni's history of unlawful arrests — WIRED reported that an ICE agent on the scene of the Manhattan shooting, identified as Brenden Cuni, has repeatedly been accused in federal court of unlawful arrests and using force during arrests in New York City and Minneapolis. Cuni was photographed at the scene in a high-visibility yellow construction vest brandishing a modified AR-15-style rifle. Federal court cases, social media, and public records reviewed by WIRED suggest Cuni has repeatedly been at the center of illegal ICE street arrests. Court filings accuse him of using a Taser on a handcuffed man, while activists allege he forced a pregnant woman to the ground during a Minneapolis operation. In recent months, federal judges have repeatedly found arrests involving Cuni unlawful, with one judge calling an arrest warrant he signed "fraudulent," another saying video evidence contradicts his sworn account, and a third case where the government withdrew his sworn statements as inaccurate.

Supporting reports

• NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani called for ICE removal from city — NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani held a press conference expressing anger at ICE following the shooting in Manhattan. Mamdani called for ICE to be removed from the city, schools, hospitals, and streets, stating that ICE operates with impunity, sows chaos and terror, and has killed more people than it has saved. He criticized the shooting tactics as having no explanation, particularly firing multiple rounds into a car with a 5-year-old. Mamdani noted that ICE agents in plain clothes and unmarked vehicles create confusion about whether they are law enforcement or attackers. He stated he made clear to the president and secretary that ICE agents should leave the scene and cease enforcement actions in NYC, arguing these actions make the city less safe and terrify New Yorkers.

Supporting reports

• Bo French tweets outrage at Indian American children at University of Texas football game — Bo French, the Republican nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner, posted a tweet expressing outrage at a group of Indian American children attending a University of Texas football game. The tweet sparked a weeks-long social media debate and received grassroots support from the Right, contributing to a broader wave of anti-Indian sentiment in online conservative spaces.

Supporting reports

• Stephen Miller accelerates removal of undocumented children and plans ICE detention facility — Stephen Miller is accelerating the removal of undocumented children at what the article describes as a "mind-numbing rate" and planning an ICE detention facility designed to hold 3,000 children. The article notes that children are appearing in immigration court without legal representation and facing deportation alone.

Supporting reports

• North Carolina state agencies sign ICE cooperation agreements — Multiple North Carolina state agencies have signed cooperation agreements with ICE, according to a Raleigh News and Observer article cited in the text. The article contrasts this with New York State's sanctuary laws, which enabled local officials to successfully intervene in an ICE enforcement action in Oswego, New York.

Supporting reports

• California Governor Newsom signs immigration restrictions and oversight legislation — California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a package of immigration-related legislation on Tuesday establishing new restrictions and oversight for law enforcement and immigration detention. The measures include a prohibition on electric-shock gloves used by law enforcement, expanded detention-facility oversight, and a 25% tax on private detention facilities. The "No Kings Act" creates a state law avenue for civil lawsuits against federal officers accused of violating constitutional rights. Within hours, three California residents amended lawsuits against federal immigration officers to invoke the new law, alleging unconstitutional detention and excessive force.
• Three California residents amend lawsuits under new "No Kings Act" — Within hours of Governor Newsom signing California's new "No Kings Act," three California residents amended existing lawsuits against federal immigration officers to invoke the new state law. The plaintiffs allege unconstitutional detention and excessive force; these allegations remain unresolved by the courts.

Supporting reports

• Immigration judge rules Wisconsin mosque president Salah Sarsour removable under Cold War-era law — An immigration judge ruled that Salah Sarsour, president of Wisconsin's largest mosque and a US permanent resident for nearly three decades, is "removable" under a Cold War-era statute. Sarsour was detained by ICE in March 2026; a federal judge had found his detention likely retaliatory for his Palestinian rights advocacy. Despite that ruling, the Trump administration fast-tracked his immigration case on a separate legal track. Judge Jayme Salinardi, brought in from out of state, issued the removal ruling and announced his retirement shortly after.

Supporting reports

• Republican senator criticizes Trump immigration enforcement agenda — Senator Jim Justice of West Virginia, a Trump ally, publicly criticized the administration's aggressive immigration enforcement agenda, urging it to "step back" and reassess. His comments followed condemnation from three rancher associations citing ICE operations' negative impact on agricultural communities, and an ACLU investigation finding that approximately 75% of 593 people arrested by ICE in West Virginia during "Operation Country Roads" in January had no criminal record. Justice stated the administration may be "doing something wrong" and dragging away long-term residents.

Supporting reports

• Family of Renee Good files wrongful death lawsuits against ICE agent and Trump officials — The family of Renee Good, a U.S. citizen and mother of three killed by an ICE agent on January 7, 2026, during Minneapolis immigration protests, filed two federal lawsuits on September 30, 2026. The suits name the agent who shot her, Jonathan Ross, and senior Trump administration officials including former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. The lawsuits allege wrongful death, civil rights violations, and conspiracy, claiming Good was shot while steering her vehicle away from the agent, contradicting DHS claims of self-defense and domestic terrorism.
• Lawsuits filed over death of Renee Good during Operation Metro Surge — The family and partner of Renee Good, killed during a federal immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota, filed two lawsuits—one against ICE agent Jonathan Ross and senior Trump administration officials, the other against the federal government. The complaint alleges Operation Metro Surge was a "violent and discriminatory campaign" targeting Minnesotans based on race and national origin, resulting in two deaths, one shooting, one death in detention, and over $200 million in economic damage. The lawsuit documents that federal officials immediately blamed Good for her own death without investigation, with DHS and the President calling her a "domestic terrorist" and "professional agitator," while the Deputy AG announced no investigation would occur and the FBI was pressured to abandon a civil rights inquiry into the shooter.

Supporting reports

• SCOTUS grants stay and certiorari in DHS v. D.V.D. immigration removal case — The Supreme Court granted an emergency stay of a February 2026 District Court order from Massachusetts that had invalidated the Government's guidance on third-country removals. The Court also granted certiorari and directed the parties to brief four questions, including whether the district court had jurisdiction, whether it had authority to enter classwide declaratory relief and APA vacatur, whether the Government's removal guidance violates 8 U.S.C. §1231(b), the Due Process Clause, or FARRA/CAT regulations, and such other questions the Government deems appropriate. The case is scheduled for argument in December 2026. Three Justices (Sotomayor, Kagan, Jackson) would have denied the stay.
• US Supreme Court lifts lower-court restrictions on third-country deportations — The US Supreme Court's six-justice conservative majority temporarily lifted a lower-court decision requiring the Trump administration to provide immigrants notice and opportunity to claim fear of torture or persecution before deporting them to third countries. The administration had argued the requirement prevented efficient removals. The ruling takes effect while the Court considers the larger case, with oral arguments scheduled for December. The administration has deported over 25,000 immigrants to at least 29 countries under these agreements.
• Supreme Court temporarily permits third-country deportations to continue — The Supreme Court approved the Trump administration's request to suspend a lower court ruling that restricted deportations to countries other than immigrants' countries of origin. A federal district judge had ruled against the administration's procedures for carrying out these removals, including treatment of notice and opportunities to raise fears of persecution or torture. The Supreme Court's order temporarily permits the contested procedures to continue while the case proceeds; oral arguments are scheduled for December. The Court has not yet issued a decision establishing whether the policy is lawful.

Supporting reports

• U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan criticized ICE for inhumane detention conditions — U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement for ignoring his previous orders and continuing to hold people in "inhumane and unconstitutional" conditions at Manhattan's 26 Federal Plaza. The judge found detainees were deprived of "sleep, sanitary living conditions, basic personal hygiene needs, sufficient food and water, and adequate medical care." Kaplan required ICE to provide adequate space and humane conditions for detainees.

Supporting reports

• Trump administration petitions Supreme Court to overturn third-country deportation ban — Attorney General Todd Blanche announced that the Department of Justice filed a petition with the US Supreme Court on Thursday, September 25, 2026, seeking to overturn a federal appeals court ruling that blocked the Trump administration's policy of deporting immigrants to countries other than their own. The administration has already deported over 25,000 migrants to at least 29 third countries, including dangerous locations such as the Central African Republic and South Sudan. The lower court had declared the Department of Homeland Security's policy unlawful, and the appeals court upheld that decision in a class-action lawsuit brought by migrants subject to deportation orders.

Supporting reports

• Solicitor General D. John Sauer asked Supreme Court to permit third-country deportations — Solicitor General D. John Sauer filed an emergency petition with the Supreme Court asking the Court to permit the Trump administration to resume sending migrants to third countries. The request came after a federal appeals court stopped the practice, finding that the short timeline for renditions stripped deportees of their right to due process. Sauer argued that disruption of the administration's "plans…imposes massive costs on the government and invariably requires new rounds of diplomatic engagement."

Supporting reports

• Mario David Coronado Juarez dies in car crash during ICE traffic stop in Michigan — Mario David Coronado Juarez, a 36-year-old Guatemalan national, died on Sunday in Grand Rapids when his vehicle struck a tree at high speed and burst into flames shortly after ICE officers attempted a traffic stop. The driver fled at high speed after the stop was initiated; ICE stated agents discontinued pursuit in the interest of public safety. Democratic officials including Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Congresswoman Hillary Scholten have demanded transparency and investigation into the circumstances.

Supporting reports

• ICE agents assault and arrest independent photographer John Abernathy during Minneapolis immigration protest — During a Trump administration immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, ICE agents tackled independent photographer John Abernathy while he documented a protest. A photograph showed him on the ground with pepper spray running down his face. The incident exemplified ICE's aggressive tactics against both immigrants and US citizens defending them, and demonstrated that journalists were not immune to the agency's violence. Abernathy managed to toss his camera to another photographer to preserve his images.

Supporting reports

• Trump administration deports 25,000+ migrants to third countries via 35 bilateral agreements — Since returning to office in 2025, the Trump administration has deported more than 25,000 migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers to countries where they have no connections, using 35 bilateral deals struck with foreign governments. The policy, led by White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller through a newly created Office of Remigration, has sent approximately 20,000 people to Mexico and at least 5,000 to Latin America, Africa, central Asia, and the Caribbean. The US has pledged at least $410 million to secure these agreements. A federal appeals court ruled the policy unlawful on procedural grounds (lack of due process notice and contestation), but the administration stated it would appeal and continue deportations during the 90-day appeal window.
• State Department pledged $410 million for third-country deportations — The Washington Post reported that the State Department's "Office of Remigration" pledged at least $410 million to facilitate third-country renditions to expel migrants that U.S. courts say cannot be returned to their home countries for fear of harm or death. The U.S. has sent more than 25,000 people to at least 28 third countries, including Eswatini, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, and Sierra Leone, for a fee. The money includes $81 million in direct payments to 13 foreign governments. Those countries either imprison the migrants or send them back to their home countries, circumventing the prohibition on direct U.S. deportations. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller ordered the deals, and State Department official Christian Ehrhardt secured them.

Supporting reports

• ICE agents beat and injured US citizen in mistaken arrest attempt in Evanston, Illinois — On September 20, 2026, ICE agents in Evanston, Illinois, allegedly beat a Black US citizen during a botched arrest, mistaking him for a fugitive. Eyewitnesses reported the man was pinned down, punched, and had his face scraped against the sidewalk while shouting he was a citizen. The agents left after realizing their error. The victim was hospitalized with head, neck, and teeth injuries. DHS stated the agents encountered someone resembling their target, who was "not cooperative," but eyewitnesses contradicted the official account.
• ICE agents wound US citizen during mistaken detention in Evanston, Illinois — Federal immigration agents detained a US citizen in Evanston, Illinois on Sunday morning, believing he resembled a fugitive they were seeking. When the man refused to provide identification and resisted detention, agents injured him during an attempted handcuff, causing head, neck, and teeth injuries. After fingerprinting determined he was a US citizen and not the person they sought, he was released and hospitalized. Witnesses identified the agents as ICE personnel; the incident occurred as ICE faces scrutiny over violent tactics in Trump's immigration crackdown.
• ICE agents attempt arrest of U.S. citizen in Evanston, Illinois in apparent mistaken identity case — Two ICE agents in Evanston, Illinois attempted to arrest a U.S. citizen in an apparent case of mistaken identity, resulting in injuries requiring hospital treatment. The incident occurred on the same day as the Coronado death and the Austin shooting, contributing to concerns about aggressive and error-prone enforcement operations.

Supporting reports

• Guatemalan national dies after crashing car while fleeing immigration officers in Michigan — On September 20, 2026, a 36-year-old Guatemalan national died after crashing his car into a tree at high speed in Michigan while reportedly attempting to flee immigration officers attempting to detain him. Authorities are investigating the death as part of a pattern of violent immigration enforcement incidents that day.
• ICE agent shot and seriously wounded Venezuelan man during traffic stop in Austin, Texas — On September 20, 2026, an ICE agent shot and seriously wounded a 28-year-old Venezuelan man in Austin, Texas, during a traffic stop while the man was working as a DoorDash delivery driver. The incident was one of three violent encounters involving federal immigration officers that day and is under investigation.
• ICE agent shoots and wounds Venezuelan DoorDash driver in Austin, Texas — An ICE agent shot and wounded Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez, a Venezuelan man working as a DoorDash delivery driver, in Austin, Texas on the same day as the Coronado death. The incident is cited as part of a pattern of increasingly aggressive ICE enforcement tactics in support of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
• ICE agent shot Venezuelan food delivery driver in Austin — An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez, a Venezuelan food delivery driver, in the back in Austin, Texas. With a bullet still lodged in his body, he was discharged from a hospital to ICE custody, where he spent the night in pain on a cold floor. The officer was a recent hire who was not wearing a body camera, despite Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin's promise that all ICE agents would wear cameras. Officials took Garcés Pérez back to the hospital on Monday after public outcry. His lawyer said he had a valid work permit and is an asylum seeker, and that the deportation order came because notice of his immigration court hearing was sent to the wrong address.