This Week by the {Immigration} Numbers (May 1, 2026)

Welcome to my weekly segment called This Week by the {Immigration} Numbers. Each Friday, I highlight some of the main takeaways from the week’s news that you might have missed, but do it in a unique way. Rather than try to summarize everything, I'll pick a handful of figures each week that best capture where things are moving, explain why they matter, and provide a source where you can learn more. If you have a number to add to the mix or have a question about any of the numbers here, let me know in the comments.

67%

The share of the Trump administration's newly hired immigration judges who have no relevant legal experience in immigration listed in their public biographies.

The Trump administration’s politicization of the immigration courts might fly under most Americans’ radars, but its damaging effects will long outlast these four years. In addition to firing (and pre-firing) new immigration judges at a time when the court backlog is well over 3 million cases, the administration has been hiring “deportation judges” off the proverbial street with the same characteristic lack of vetting shown elsewhere. Over 140 new immigration judges have been rushed onto the bench, and according to a Washington Post analysis, two-thirds of those new appointees have no immigration law experience listed in their public biographies, only 24 percent had previously worked at ICE, the immigration courts, or the Department of Homeland Security, and the standard training program for new hires has been cut from five weeks to three. The Great Immigration Court Experiment might be over.

• Sacchetti, M. (2026, April 27). Many DOJ ‘deportation judges’ lack experience and training. The Washington Post.

• Learn about the Trump administration’s politicization of the immigration courts at my previous post about “deportation judges.”

One of those newly-appointed immigration judges, Melissa Isaak, went viral this week with previous comments about women and her lack of relevant experience.

258

The number of days Carlos Della Valle spent in ICE detention before being released to his wife Angela, son Alessandro, and their community of supporters.

Angela Della Valle fought for her husband Carlos’s release from detention for eight months. They have been married for nearly 24 years and live in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, where Carlos has worked and paid taxes. Carlos was arrested by ICE while returning from a Christmas vacation in the Virgin Islands, found not guilty by a jury of unlawful reentry, then put into detention despite outstanding immigration applications. Sitting next to Carlos at a press conference hosted by American Families United and the American Business Immigration Coalition on Wednesday, Angela said, “I was not coming home without him.” Carlos and Angela will return to their community in Pennsylvania while his case continues.

• Ndonwie, C. (2026, April 30). A father is freed after 8 months in detention and an American family reunites. Miami Herald.

• Pitts, A. (2026, April 29). Downingtown man released after 258 days in ICE custody; family credits community support. ABC6.

• Watch the press conference and see the press release online at Facebook.com/AmericanFamiliesUnited.

505,000

The estimated number of DACA recipients whose deportation protections were weakened by a new BIA ruling.

The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), an appellate body above immigration judges, says that DACA status is not sufficient grounds to terminate removal proceedings. The case centered on Catalina Xóchitl Santiago, a DACA recipient and community organizer who was detained while boarding a domestic flight in El Paso last August, then released. An immigration judge terminated her case, but the BIA said a different judge needed to further consider ICE’s objections—which means her case is still up in the air. The first Trump administration tried and failed to terminate DACA; this time, the administration is chipping away at DACA protections in ways that could harm half a million people.

• Bustillo, X. (2026, April 25). Justice Department makes it easier to deport those with DACA status. NPR.

• Malleck, J. (2026, April 27). Immigration news today: DOJ makes it easier to deport DACA recipients. Documented NY.

93%

The percentage of federal judges who have rejected ICE’s absurd claim that it can strip immigration judges from the ability to consider immigration bonds.

That near-unanimous rebuke by the federal courts after astronomical growth in habeas corpus lawsuits is in response to one of the most aggressive procedural moves of the Trump administration's second-term enforcement push. Beginning in mid-2025, ICE began reclassifying virtually everyone arrested in the interior as an "applicant for admission" under Section 235 of the Immigration and Nationality Act rather than under Section 236(a), a simple change with huge implications. ICE claims that it can strip immigration judges of the authority to consider bond and, instead, lock detainees up indefinitely—including people who have been in the United States for decades. In court, 373 judges have ruled against the administration and only 28 have upheld it (93%, actually). The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit became the latest, and most consequential, court to weigh in this week, holding that the no-bond regime raises "serious constitutional questions" and setting up a Supreme Court showdown.

• Boone, R. (2026, April 28). 2nd Circuit court rejects Trump’s no-bond immigration detentions. AP News.

• See my previous discussion on The Suspension of Habeas Corpus.

• Read the 2nd Circuit opinion.

350,000

The number of Haitians who could lose work authorization and face deportation if the Supreme Court allows the Trump administration to terminate their TPS.

This Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case challenging the Trump administration’s decision to terminate Temporary Protected Status for roughly 350,000 Haitians and about 6,000 Syrians. A lower court blocked the TPS termination, sending the case to the Supreme Court. Many experts think the Court will rule largely in favor of the administration by the end of June, which means that Haitians who have lived and worked legally in the U.S. for years (many for over a decade following the 2010 earthquake and subsequent political crises) would lose their work authorization and protection from deportation. The ruling would also set a precedent giving the executive branch nearly unreviewable power to end TPS for any nationality, which could affect more than a million people overall.

• Totenberg, N. (2026, April 29). Supreme Court appears to lean toward ending TPS for some migrants. NPR.

• Howe, A. (2026, April 29). Court considers whether Trump administration properly ended temporary protected status for Haitian and Syrian nationals. SCOTUSblog.

To learn more and support and organization working in the trenches of this struggle, visit Haitian Bridge Alliance website and follow them on social media.

12,000+

The number of subscribers to this Substack, a threshold crossed just this week.

I like finding excuses to celebrate, especially in this dark political moment, which is why I was excited to see this newsletter cross 12,000 readers this week. I’m deeply grateful to each of you for believing in this work and continuing to read and share immigration analysis at a time when we need levelheaded, data-driven discussion more than ever. I still remember when I was writing for 50 people and I wrote then with the same enthusiasm I write now. What has changed beyond the number of subscribers is the feedback I get—some of it public but most of it not public. I hear from reporters who use my work to think through immigration stories, staffers in Congress who rely on data here to inform their offices, academics who use these Substack posts for teaching, and people across the country who use my data and analysis to inform community—or even family—conversations. That’s all I ever hoped for: to help everyone, regardless of background or ideology, get involved in an informed immigration conversation. Thank you so much for the support.

If you haven't taken the leap to become a paid subscriber, I'd ask you to consider supporting this work. I’m honored that this Substack continues to drive media reporting, research, and public debate—but it does require effort and expense. If you can pitch in a few bucks a month or year, it would help enormously. Find an option that fits your budget at austinkocher.substack.com/subscribe.