Following last week’s grave defeat at the polls where 60% of voters disapproved of the administration’s immigration enforcement tactics, President Trump briefly raised hopes in a “60 Minutes” that we could see a change in approach after saying that his deportation agenda has been “too tough” and opening up the possibility that he could work with the new Congress to reach a deal on immigration. He quickly dashed those hopes with the announcement a few hours after the “60 Minutes” interview was taped that Stephen Miller would be his new Chief of Staff. Miller is regarded as largely responsible for Trump’s immigration agenda in both his terms, and his appointment has drawn condemnation from both sides of the aisle. As Chief of Staff, Miller will be responsible for implementing administration policies; we are unlikely to see any softening of immigration enforcement under his watch, and instead are likely to see the administration doubledown on their violent tactics. Trump’s comments about immigration enforcement also drew blowback from his anti-immigrant supporters, leading the administration to quickly pivot away from any suggestion that an “amnesty” deal would be negotiated with a Congress looking to pass serious reform.
ICE is establishing a new 287(g) Call Center in Nashville to further entwine local law enforcement with the administration’s deportation agenda. The number of 287(g) agreements have skyrocketed under the 2nd Trump Administration, going from 135 in January of 2025 to 2,246 agreements by the end of September. DHS expects the new Call Center to handle up to 7,000 calls a day and aims to support enforcement targeting those on the non-detained docket and unaccompanied minor while also exploring how technology such as Flock cameras and other tracking devices can assist with widespread enforcement efforts.
With sharp increases in both arrests and detentions of immigrants under the current administration, we have also seen a sharp increase in habeas petitions filed to demand the release of those detained unjustly. Over 91,000 habeas petitions have been filed to review the legality of these detentions, and the Department of Justice has been struggling to keep up with the workload. DOJ attorneys for the Western District of Washington just gave up, sending a letter to the District Court informing them that they can no longer defend the administration in every habeas case and will be effectively conceding to habeas petitioners. The DOJ has already been struggling with staffing shortages, and the increased immigration workload could mean that we see more US Attorneys offices choosing not to defend against habeas petitions as they prioritize their resources. While this could lead to more people being released from detention, we have seen that DHS has not honored these court orders, often swiftly rearresting those released on a habeas petition.
