Kansas counties hit by raids swung Democratic as ICE touted record deportations
Summary
- The Trump administration's mass deportation campaign set records in fiscal 2026, days after Trump told 60 Minutes the crackdown had been 'too tough.'
- DHS announced ICE made more than 491,000 arrests and deported 483,200 people in fiscal 2026, surpassing the prior year's record of 442,640.
- Trump promoted campaign architect Stephen Miller to White House chief of staff after Republican midterm losses that exit polls tied partly to immigration.
- Exit polling found 58 to 59 percent of voters said the crackdown had gone too far, including 68 percent of Hispanic voters.
- Congress has given the administration nearly a quarter-trillion dollars for immigration enforcement; Democrats taking over in January plan investigations.
- Late-September raids in southwestern Kansas meatpacking country helped swing three Republican counties and elect a Democratic senator from Kansas.
Reactions
- DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said ICE had been 'unleashed' under Trump and that he 'couldn't be prouder' of its officers.
- Trump told 60 Minutes it was tough seeing hotel maids and cleaners removed, and said he might be open to a deal but ruled out amnesty.
- Democrats said promoting Stephen Miller showed Trump was 'doubling down'; Rep. Robert Garcia called him the architect of 'unconstitutional ICE raids.'
- Immigration hard-liners welcomed Miller's promotion as a chance to step up workplace enforcement; some Republicans were frustrated.
- Rep. Delia Ramirez urged Democrats to pass the most comprehensive immigration reform bill they can and send it to Trump, calling his softened rhetoric gaslighting.
- Dodge City organizer Amy Soberanes credited ICE with turning her county blue; Commissioner Rick Sowers said officials never got answers about the detained.
Timeline newest first
In the November 2026 midterms, three Republican-stronghold counties in southwestern Kansas swung left, helping elect a Democratic U.S. senator from Kansas for the first time in nearly a century.
Exit polling found 58 percent of midterm voters said Trump's immigration agenda had gone too far; another exit poll found 59 percent, including 68 percent of Hispanic voters.
Rep. Delia Ramirez, who won reelection on November 3, 2026, introduced a proposal creating citizenship for undocumented immigrants and pledged DHS investigations from a Homeland Security oversight gavel she is pursuing.
ICE announced on November 12, 2026, that it made more than 491,000 arrests and deported 483,200 people in fiscal 2026, surpassing fiscal 2025's record of 442,640.
DHS said nearly 475,000 of the fiscal 2026 arrests were administrative, and that more than 3 million migrants have left the United States since Trump returned to office.
San Antonio sued in October 2026 to halt conversion of a $66 million warehouse into a detention center for 1,500 immigrants, arguing DHS skipped required environmental reviews.
Sources newest first
ICE agents came to meatpacking country in Kansas. Then voters went to the polls
The Associated Press reports from Dodge City, Kansas, that late-September immigration raids turned long-apathetic residents like Army veteran Jose Del Real into determined voters, helping swing three Republican strongholds left and elect a Democratic U.S. senator from Kansas for the first time in nearly a century. Local organizer Amy Soberanes credits ICE itself — saying the county would still be red otherwise — while commissioner Rick Sowers says officials never got answers about the detained, and the Wichita Eagle found none of the five "heinous criminals" the administration named were actually caught.
Trump Clearly Hasn't Gotten The Message From Voters On His Nasty Immigration CrackdownHuffPost argues that despite an election loss and Trump's own admission that his immigration crackdown was "too tough," the administration shows no signs of relenting: it announced ICE made 491,000 arrests and 483,000 deportations in fiscal 2026, and Trump promoted crackdown architect Stephen Miller to chief of staff. Exit polling found 58% of voters felt the agenda had gone too far.
Delia Ramirez wants Democrats to meet the momentMother Jones interviews Rep. Delia Ramirez of Illinois, who argues that after the midterms gave Democrats the House, they should meet the moment by passing the most comprehensive immigration reform bill they can and sending it to Trump rather than negotiating down. She calls Trump's softened 60 Minutes rhetoric gaslighting given his promotion of Stephen Miller, urges clawing back ICE funding while building toward dismantling the agency, and, vying for the Homeland Security oversight gavel, promises investigations into detention conditions, due process violations, and officials including Noem, Miller, Homan, and Bovino.
ICE touts record deportations as polls show voters soured on Trump’s crackdown
A Politico article reports that ICE touted record fiscal 2026 figures — more than 491,000 arrests and 483,200 deportations, it says — the week after midterm losses, as polls found most voters, and 68% of Hispanic voters, felt Trump's immigration crackdown went too far. Trump called his policy "too tough" for some voters while promoting Stephen Miller to chief of staff.
ICE Touts Record Arrest Numbers Days After Trump Called Policy ‘Too Tough’Newsweek reports that days after President Trump called his administration's immigration enforcement "too tough" in a 60 Minutes interview, Homeland Security touted record fiscal 2026 figures: 483,200 deportations and more than 491,000 ICE arrests, the agency's highest annual totals, which Newsweek has not independently verified. Secretary Markwayne Mullin's press release credited the records to Trump's leadership, while American Immigration Council's Aaron Reichlin-Melnick noted removal comparisons can mislead because Biden-era Title 42 expulsions went uncounted, and internal records obtained by Newsweek showed 148 open misconduct allegations from fiscal 2023 through 2025.
Cities Have a New Tactic to Block ICE Jails: Run Out the ClockSan Antonio is suing to stall the Trump administration's plan to turn a $66 million warehouse into a detention center for 1,500 immigrants, hoping to run out the clock until a Democratic Congress takes over in January 2027; ICE has paused or dropped similar conversions in at least five other states.
An 8-Year-Old Was Separated From Family and Taken by ICE at a Check-InA New York Times article reports that ICE took an 8-year-old Haitian boy into custody alone at a San Diego check-in, deeming him an unaccompanied minor despite his uncle's notarized caregiver letter, after Temporary Protected Status for Haitians was revoked. A video of the boy, apparently restrained, spread widely, and California Democrats demanded answers from the Trump administration, while DHS defended the removal and the family mourns.
Background newest first
Just for Skeets and Giggles (11.14.26)substack.com· 4h
In a news roundup, Jay Kuo surveys the week after the 2026 election: votes still being counted, Democrats at 56 Senate seats, Lauren Boebert's loss in Colorado, and Trump's stalled press secretary search. He also covers Jensen Huang's Nvidia resignation, an FAA grounding that stranded tens of thousands, Stephen Miller's elevation to chief of staff, and a runaway corgi race.
Dr. Ann Lawani controversy explained as anger grows over ICE arrestA Newsweek article explains the controversy around Dr. Ann Lawani, a 39-year-old California nurse and University of San Francisco nursing professor held in ICE custody for nearly two months after her September 16 arrest in Lodi, California, and transfer to Louisiana. A federal judge on September 29 rejected moving her habeas case, barred her removal, and ordered the Department of Homeland Security to justify her detention, while Rep. Josh Harder and National Nurses United have called for her release. A DHS spokesperson said she received due process under a 2013 final removal order; her attorney says an immigration judge granted her withholding of removal and her work authorization runs through April 2029.
FAA crisis sparks questions over billions allocated to ICENewsweek reports that a nationwide air traffic control outage led Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to ask Congress for $50 billion, prompting Democrats including Senator Brian Schatz to call for redirecting ICE funding, of which about $61 billion remained unobligated. Any such transfer would need congressional authorization, and Democrats may pursue it in January.
16 Totally Plausible Deals Trump Could Make With DemocratsPolitico lays out 16 bipartisan deals Donald Trump could plausibly strike with the Democrats who won the House in the 2026 midterms, from capping credit card rates, codifying his most-favored-nation drug pricing deals, and restoring enhanced Obamacare subsidies to legalizing recreational marijuana, repealing the Canadian tariffs, mandating anti-collision aviation tech, and an immigration deal on border security and a citizenship pathway. It cautions that hardliners like new chief of staff Stephen Miller show little interest in deal-making and that the looming 2028 race could push both sides to sharpen differences instead.
Will Trump’s lame duck presidency push him further beyond constraints of the law?theguardian.com· 10h
The Guardian examines whether Donald Trump's presidency, weakened by the Democrats' 13-point 2026 midterm landslide, will push further past legal constraints in his final two years, citing an eight-month Iran war, immigration raids and cost-of-living pressures as the rout's causes. Miles Taylor warns Trump may defy court orders and escalate abroad, while Newt Gingrich predicts an aggressive comeback and Hillary Clinton expects him to become "even weirder and, sadly, more dangerous".
Guest Column | Stephen Miller’s suits make the radical look reassuringly routinewashingtonpost.com· 10h
In a Washington Post guest column, Robin Givhan argues that Stephen Miller's suits make the radical look reassuringly routine. She writes that Trump's new chief of staff has crafted an image blending gentleman policy wonk with urgent Cassandra, trading in stereotypes and clichés to define himself in the present.
ICE Agent Accused of Offering Woman Green Card for Sex Before Alleged AssaultRahaf Ali Almerhij, a 21-year-old Lebanese woman, accuses ICE deportation officer Markell Wallace of sexually assaulting her at the El Valle Detention Facility in Texas and offering a green card for sex, allegations the Department of Homeland Security rejects and Newsweek could not independently verify. The article also details her complaints about denied specialist eye care, a judge's dismissal of her habeas petition, and her October 2026 sworn declaration to federal oversight bodies.
ICE compared to "serial killers" by farm unionA Newsweek article reports that ICE arrested 2,500 people in Washington state between March and August, with Yakima County logging 445 arrests in three months, and cites United Farm Workers' Elizabeth Strater saying agents pick farm workers off "like serial killers." Many arrested are dairy workers, and claims say fear of deportation is keeping avian-flu-infected workers from seeking treatment as the outbreak kills one and infects 33 herds.
DHS messages back up allegations that Lewandowski operated as shadow secretaryA Politico article by Eric Bazail-Eimil reports that internal DHS emails and Signal messages, obtained by American Oversight through a FOIA request, show Corey Lewandowski wielding wide-ranging authority over immigration enforcement as an unpaid special government employee with no official role, including in deportation planning and the Kilmar Ábrego García case, and being treated as Kristi Noem's equal. The article judges the messages to raise new questions about the power Lewandowski exerted on Noem's behalf, and American Oversight's executive director says Congress has a duty to investigate.
