Management
ICE Is Making Sure Migrant Kids Don’t Have COVID-19 — Then Expelling Them to 'Prevent Its Spread'
The administration has used infection risk to justify expelling thousands of children without legal protections. But it’s only expelling kids who’ve tested negative.
Oversight
After a Year of Investigation, the Border Patrol Has Little to Say About Agents’ Misogynistic and Racist Facebook Group
The Border Patrol vowed a full accounting after ProPublica revealed hateful posts in the private Facebook group. Now congressional investigators say the agency is blocking them and revealing little about its internal investigation.
Management
Immigration Judges Union Survives, For Now
Federal Labor Relations Authority regional director rejects arguments by the Justice Department that immigration judges are managers and therefore their union should be decertified.
Workforce
USCIS Pleads for Money to Avoid Furloughs, Democrats Float Making the Funds Contingent on Policy Changes
"Don't send us home," employee implores lawmakers at hearing.
Workforce
ICE May Be Giving Senior Execs Preferential Treatment on Disciplinary Matters
Agency may be incentivizing rank-and-file workers to engage in misbehavior, IG says.
Workforce
Homeland Security Agency Delays Widespread Furloughs
Agency still leaves unpaid time off on the table for later this year.
Workforce
Homeland Security Moves Forward With 13,000 Furloughs Despite Its Improving Financial Situation
Lawmakers say the furloughs, set to begin in August, are now unnecessary.
Management
Federal Immigration Officials Announce Plans for Resuming 'Remain in Mexico' Hearings during the Coronavirus Pandemic
Texas must continue to reopen safely and the U.S. Department of State and the Centers for Disease Control must lower their global health advisories before hearings resume.
Management
ICE Detention Operators Defend Coronavirus Response Amid Growing Concerns
More than 3,000 immigrants in federal custody have tested positive for COVID-19.
Oversight
Trump Says He 'Disagreed' With Privately Funded Wall, So Why Did His Administration Award the Builder $1.7 Billion in Contracts to Erect More Walls?
President Trump now claims this privately funded border wall — touted as the “Lamborghini” of fences — was built to “make me look bad,” even though the project’s builder and funders are Trump supporters.
Oversight
Eroding Private Border Wall to Get an Engineering Inspection Just Months After Completion
Months after the “Lamborghini” of border walls was built along the Rio Grande, the builder agreed to an engineering inspection of his controversial structure. Experts say the wall is showing signs of erosion that threatens its stability.
Oversight
South Texas Landowners Are Hoping to Use President Trump's Own Words Against Him in a New Border Wall Lawsuit
Landowners are alleging that the construction of the barrier is driven by little more than racism and politics and is therefore unconstitutional, according to a new lawsuit.
Management
He Built a Privately Funded Border Wall. It’s Already at Risk of Falling Down if Not Fixed.
Trump supporters funded a private border wall on the banks of the Rio Grande, helping the builder secure $1.7 billion in federal contracts. Now the “Lamborghini” of border walls is in danger of falling into the river if nothing is done, experts say.
Management
Immigration Judges Sue Justice Department Over Gag Rule
The Trump administration is in violation of the First and Fifth Amendments, judges say.
Pay & Benefits
Furlough Notices in Hand, Citizenship and Immigration Employees Look for New Jobs
Facing at least 30 days without pay, employees are frustrated. "Like it or not, I have to go," one says.
Management
ICE Struggles to Protect Detained Immigrants as Coronavirus Spreads in Its Facilities
Hundreds of employees are also calling out from work as they say physical distancing is impossible and personal protective equipment is in insufficient supply.
Oversight
Reps. Sylvia Garcia, Joaquin Castro Call on ICE to Release Migrants in Immigration Detention Centers as Coronavirus Cases Surge
As cases surge in Texas and the pandemic rages on, the representatives said ICE should release all detainees who are not a safety risk and who are more vulnerable to contracting the virus.
Management
In Zapata County, Local Government Is Fighting the Federal Government to Stop One Piece of the Border Wall
The rural border county is digging in and challenging the Department of Homeland Security in court over the government’s attempt to gain access to small tract of county-owned land.
Oversight
Watchdog: HHS Hasn't Done Enough to Catalog Reports of Sexual Misconduct in Migrant Children Facilities
In a six month period in 2018, the Health and Human Services Department IG found more than 700 possible sexual incidents of varying severity, including 48 incidents of misconduct by an adult against a minor.
Management