Latest news with #TRAC
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Opinion - Deportation nation: Trump 2.0 is gunning for new records in immigration prosecutions
By March 2025 — in just the second full month of President Trump's second term — the number of criminal immigration prosecutions jumped by 36 percent over the month prior, reaching 4,550 charges per month. According to TRAC, this marks the sharpest monthly increase in recent years. The first shot has been fired. After years of 'catch and release,' the deportation machine is running again at full steam, and Southern states have become the main battleground. From Texas to Florida, sheriffs are bracing for full jails, and everyone knows this is just the beginning. Unlike Biden's slow-moving policy, Trump's forces are moving fast — 70 percent of all cases are now initiated by Customs and Border Protection. Back in 2019, the number peaked at 10,000 per month. He was already halfway back to that level in just his second full month in office. What happens by fall? Republicans have tasted blood. Governors are already demanding more funding. The return of priority enforcement and pressure on ICE to deliver faster results with less bureaucracy has pushed the system into high gear — 36 percent growth in just one month. The Trump administration is building up a new pressure system. Beyond simply reviving its old rhetoric on illegal immigration enforcement, it is building a more aggressive structure, handing real power to field-level actors. The fact that 70 percent of cases are being opened by CBP, not ICE, shows how federal power is being pushed down to those counties with the most hardline politics. The new rule is already clear: less paper, please, and pass the handcuffs. At the same time, border crossings fell to just 7,181 in March — a 95 percent drop compared to the same month last year. While some say it's seasonal, the sharp rise in prosecutions seems to be acting as a strong warning. Meanwhile, ICE is quietly speeding up deportations, processing hundreds of thousands of migrants through faster removals in recent months, showing how the system is working behind the scenes to reduce border crossings. In practice, this means that counties are once again becoming testing grounds, where new rules come as a blank check. Governors in Texas, Florida, and Louisiana are pushing to expand jurisdiction. Sheriffs are rebuilding the jail-to-deportation pipeline. Even minor charges are turning into ICE cases. This mechanism is familiar to those who remember 2018 and 2019, but this time it started from day one and has been moving even faster. As Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) put it: 'Our National Guard is helping ICE with arrests and deportations.' That's the level of coordination now at play. This is less a return to immigration policy and more a rush into pre-conflict mode. If this pace continues, we could hit 10,000 prosecutions per month by fall. For now, they are testing the limits. The real goal is not law enforcement, but a broad demonstration of strength. America has restarted a machine that works not just for justice but also for power. First blood is a test — a signal of how ready the system is to obey. And if the course stays unchanged, a full-scale wave of deportations is coming. Artem Kolisnichenko writes on crime, immigration, and border policy across the American South and Southwest. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
4 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Deportation nation: Trump 2.0 is gunning for new records in immigration prosecutions
By March 2025 — in just the second full month of President Trump's second term — the number of criminal immigration prosecutions jumped by 36 percent over the month prior, reaching 4,550 charges per month. According to TRAC, this marks the sharpest monthly increase in recent years. The first shot has been fired. After years of 'catch and release,' the deportation machine is running again at full steam, and Southern states have become the main battleground. From Texas to Florida, sheriffs are bracing for full jails, and everyone knows this is just the beginning. Unlike Biden's slow-moving policy, Trump's forces are moving fast — 70 percent of all cases are now initiated by Customs and Border Protection. Back in 2019, the number peaked at 10,000 per month. He was already halfway back to that level in just his second full month in office. What happens by fall? Republicans have tasted blood. Governors are already demanding more funding. The return of priority enforcement and pressure on ICE to deliver faster results with less bureaucracy has pushed the system into high gear — 36 percent growth in just one month. The Trump administration is building up a new pressure system. Beyond simply reviving its old rhetoric on illegal immigration enforcement, it is building a more aggressive structure, handing real power to field-level actors. The fact that 70 percent of cases are being opened by CBP, not ICE, shows how federal power is being pushed down to those counties with the most hardline politics. The new rule is already clear: less paper, please, and pass the handcuffs. At the same time, border crossings fell to just 7,181 in March — a 95 percent drop compared to the same month last year. While some say it's seasonal, the sharp rise in prosecutions seems to be acting as a strong warning. Meanwhile, ICE is quietly speeding up deportations, processing hundreds of thousands of migrants through faster removals in recent months, showing how the system is working behind the scenes to reduce border crossings. In practice, this means that counties are once again becoming testing grounds, where new rules come as a blank check. Governors in Texas, Florida, and Louisiana are pushing to expand jurisdiction. Sheriffs are rebuilding the jail-to-deportation pipeline. Even minor charges are turning into ICE cases. This mechanism is familiar to those who remember 2018 and 2019, but this time it started from day one and has been moving even faster. As Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) put it: 'Our National Guard is helping ICE with arrests and deportations.' That's the level of coordination now at play. This is less a return to immigration policy and more a rush into pre-conflict mode. If this pace continues, we could hit 10,000 prosecutions per month by fall. For now, they are testing the limits. The real goal is not law enforcement, but a broad demonstration of strength. America has restarted a machine that works not just for justice but also for power. First blood is a test — a signal of how ready the system is to obey. And if the course stays unchanged, a full-scale wave of deportations is coming. Artem Kolisnichenko writes on crime, immigration, and border policy across the American South and Southwest.
Scoop
4 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
TRAC Applauds Minister For Ignoring Treasury Advice
TRAC applauds the Minister of Rail, Winston Peters for standing up to Treasury's blinkered anti-rail view. Treasury appears to be colluding with the road transport industry in some theoretical belief that road transport is cheap, and, therefore, good for the New Zealand economy. Gareth Dennis, a UK rail engineer and rail advocate says in his book, 'How the Railways Will Fix the Future', '…two strips steel rail, - remain our most powerful yet under utilised tool for societal transformation.' Dennis goes on to say, that there are achievable goals of increasing rail's share of passenger transport to 25% and freight to 40%. TRAC national coordinator, Niall Robertson says, 'Currently, the so-called cheap road transport vehicles weighing over 3.5 tonnes which cause 93% of all road damage pay just 14% of the cost of building and maintaining roads, and get boosts of $4b for pothole repairs and $5b for resurfacing work'. Robertson adds that most Roads of National Significance have benefit cost ratios of about 21c which is very low. Robertson says, 'This is technically a significant loss in transport investment'. TRAC chair, Guy Wellwood feels that Treasury has a myopic, short term view of what is economically good for the country and just look at what is cheap in the short term with little thought for the long term value to the economy. Wellwood says, 'There was a time when New Zealand needed to change its economy to a liberal free market one, but things have changed in the last forty years'. Robertson says, 'We now have an economic system that frets about the 'fiscal deficit', but this is to the detriment of the infrastructure and social deficits which are chronically ignored.' Robertson adds that this short term approach has meant that New Zealand's productivity is continuing to go backwards and wages and salaries are getting lower by world standards'. Wellwood says New Zealand needs to lift its game. He says, 'Rail infrastructure is cheaper than roading infrastructure and a railway from Levin directly to Marton via Foxton and Greatfod would cost $950m with a BCA of $1.57, which compares with the Otaki to north of Levin motorway at a cost of $1.5b with a BCA of just 21c!' Rail should be moving 40% of the freight task, but is doing barely 10% currently. That is fine for treasury as KiwiRail in their trimmed down form offer the Treasury a reasonable return as an SOE, but Robertson says, 'There needs to be a rethink of land transport funding, starting with the removal of the below wheel infrastructure from KiwiRail and that part of the industry be funded through the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF), then offering open access to other railway organisations to offer services that KiwiRail can't or won't offer such as a line to Gisborne'. There is a list of bouquets for rail which are brickbats for road transport that will incentivise motorists to prefer more funding to go to rail and these include; road safety, road congestion, road damage, CO2 emissions, road particulate matter from tyres, brakes and road dust that pollute the air, waterways and oceans, small land footprint as rail can move people and freight using a lot less land, improved green credentials with our trading partners and the fact the 30% of the population require public transport as they are young, elderly, disabled or on low incomes'. Gareth Dennis who regularly speaks on sustainable transport matters, skills and strategy, as well as more specialist engineering subjects and makes a compelling case that railways, 'are capable of carrying tens of thousands of people per hour or tens of millions of tonnes of freight per year on just two strips steel rail'. Robertson adds, 'More road safety, less congestion, smaller road bills, less pollution, better land utilisation, greater green standing with our trading partners and more transport equity and connectivity'. Dennis says, 'Rail is both the past and the future of mass transit. Anyone who suggests otherwise probably doesn't have your best interests at heart'. Dennis also says that we need to,'…counter those generous party donations from the roading lobbies and the trucking companies and put pressure on the Treasury away from short-termism in financial planning'. The Minister of Rail appears to have a profound and insightful grasp of these flaws and has made a very nuanced decision in the interests of the New Zealand people to buy rail enabled ferries.
Axios
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Axios
More agencies are helping ICE in Pennsylvania
More law enforcement agencies in Pennsylvania are assisting federal efforts to arrest and remove undocumented immigrants this month, according to an Axios analysis. The big picture: The removal of unauthorized immigrants has accelerated in Pennsylvania since the start of the year, per the latest data from the nonpartisan Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC). This comes as President Trump ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over the weekend to " expand efforts to detain and deport" undocumented immigrants in Democratic-run cities. By the numbers: Nearly 860 removal orders were issued to Pennsylvanians in April, about 28% of which were for Philadelphians, the TRAC data shows. The number of Pennsylvania removal orders has been steadily ticking up each month from 567 in January. In April 2024, Pennsylvanians received about 440 removal orders. Zoom out: Roughly 46,800 removal orders were issued nationwide in April, per TRAC. And now, Trump's team is demanding that agents arrest 3,000 undocumented immigrants a day — an unprecedented pace ICE is still trying to reach. Immigration advocates have warned that these wide sweeps could lead to citizens and legal immigrants being wrongfully detained or deported. State of play: Roughly 700 local law enforcement agencies are cooperating with ICE through deals known as 287(g) agreements, per federal data as of Monday. The agreements allow such agencies to carry out immigration enforcement and supplement federal officers, who have limited resources, according to Trump border czar Tom Homan. Virginia, Texas, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina have been most cooperative with immigration enforcement. Zoom in: As of Monday, ICE had 14 deals in place with local law enforcement agencies in Pennsylvania, which include the Bucks County Sheriff's Office and the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office. That's three more than last week. Another three agreements with agencies in the state are pending. Between the lines: In Philly, local police don't enforce immigration law but can cooperate with federal enforcement if an individual is being released for certain violent crimes and a detainer request is backed up by a warrant.
Axios
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Virginia is a hot spot for immigration enforcement
Virginia is one of five states where efforts to arrest and remove unauthorized immigrants appear most aggressive, according to an Axios analysis. Why it matters: Over 2,000 Virginians received removal orders in March, the fifth-highest number nationwide, per data from the nonpartisan Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC). By the numbers: Of the 42,000 removals of immigrants ordered in March, over 300 were from the Richmond area, according to an analysis of TRAC data. Richmond had 126, followed by Chesterfield (116) and Henrico (81). And Fairfax County was in the top 10 U.S. localities for most immigrants ordered removed (504). The big picture: Our review of removal orders and agreements between immigration officials and local law enforcement agencies shows where the Trump administration is dispatching resources for mass deportations. Local law enforcement agencies in Virginia, Texas, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina have been most cooperative with immigration enforcement in rounding up immigrants through deals known as 287(g) agreements, per our analysis. Virginia has a fraction (over 3%) of the 629 agreements in place nationwide, but it has the fifth-highest number signed or pending. Between the lines: Virginia's 21 signed and pending agreements are still less than 10% of the hundreds of localities and state agencies throughout the commonwealth. Most, except for Loudoun, are concentrated in Republican-leaning counties. Others are among state agencies, including the Virginia Department for Wildlife Resources and the Marine Resources Commission. And some police officials, including Richmond's chief of police, have said they have no interest in signing and potentially undermining the communities' trust. Zoom in: Gov. Youngkin, like governors in other GOP-led states, directed state law enforcement to partner with ICE and assist in arresting immigrants back in February via these agreements. It has since led to a series of high-profile raids, including hundreds in Northern Virginia and a few in an Albemarle courthouse, that have rattled immigrant communities. In February, Virginia also launched the first task force in the country that partners with federal agencies to target illegal immigration and international gangs. In May, Youngkin announced that the task force had arrested over 1,000 alleged unauthorized immigrants within two months. Reality check: Neither Youngkin or federal officials have publicly disclosed who these people are or how they're identifying that they have ties to gangs like MS-13 or Tren de Aragua.
