The Conversation: When ICE ramped up enforcement, US‑born workers didn’t see any economic gains

Kevin R. Johnson

30 May 2026

Chloe N. East and Elizabeth Cox write for The Conversation that, contrary to the belief that an immigration crackdown would lead to more jobs for US-born workers, ICE enforcement has not produced economic gains for Americans. The bottom line: "[A]s our most recent research shows, mass deportations don’t create new job opportunities for American citizens. Presidents seeking to strengthen the labor market will need to look elsewhere."

Read AILA's Response to the DHS Open Letter to Immigration Attorneys

Last month, James Percival, DHS's General Counsel, wrote an open letter to AILA purporting to blame immigration attorneys for the asylum backlog and characterizing asylum applications as "meritless." AILA's Executive Director Benjamin Johnson's thoughtful response is available here. In it, he writes:

More Deportation Judges

Today, the U.S. Department of Justice announced another class of judges: 22 permanent and 4 temporary. The names and biographies of the new judges are available here.

There’s been an uptick in ICE arrests in the Bay Area, immigration attorneys warn

As election day nears, ICE operations appear to be on the rise. Several attorneys report that several ICE arrests across the Bay Area "reflect increasingly aggressive immigration enforcement." "Bay Area `rapid response' hotlines monitoring immigration arrests have seen an uptick in reports since this weekend, said

Seattle U Students Support Immigration Detainees Through Legal Aid and Advocacy

Read here about the good work of Seattle University law school students for immigrants

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Read AILA's Response to the DHS Open Letter to Immigration Attorneys

More Deportation Judges

There’s been an uptick in ICE arrests in the Bay Area, immigration attorneys warn

Seattle U Students Support Immigration Detainees Through Legal Aid and Advocacy