Ximena Bustillo

Wrapping snow in blankets. Can it save the ski season? Warming temperatures and snow droughts in the West threatens a billion-dollar industry. One ski area is experimenting with insulated blankets to keep snow from melting.

Everyone at @boisestatepublicradio.org is SOOOO proud of our intern Jaime Geary, who just had a feature air on @npr.org's All Things Considered. A major professional achievement for anyone in the business, let alone someone so early in their career. A name to watch.
www.npr.org/2026/02/18/n...

U.S. has a quarter fewer immigration judges than it did a year ago. Here's why The continued drain of personnel from the already strained immigration court system has contributed to depleted staff morale, mounting case backlogs — and floundering due process.

Immigration courts by the #’s:
- 25% less judges
- 400 less legal assistants + clerks
- 12 courts lost over half their judges, two have no full time IJs
- supervisors spread across several locations

We break down a clear picture of what is happening across the country:

www.npr.org/2026/02/23/g...

Refugees in the U.S. could be arrested under new immigration memo The move is another Trump administration effort to limit legal pathways to migration or resettlement, after already curbing the number of admitted refugees and re-reviewing those admitted under the Bi...

Last week I spoke on the NPR Politics podcast about how USCIS was largely ignored during Congress's two oversight hearings.

This week, USCIS and ICE issue a joint memo saying refugees could be detained if they are not granted a green card within a year. www.npr.org/2026/02/19/g...

ICE's chief testified today that dozens of agents have been investigated for abuse in the last year.

So how many have actually been punished and fired?

He wouldn't say.

www.npr.org/2026/02/12/g...

DHS expected to shut down as immigration talks falter Senate Democrats blocked two Republican-backed measures Thursday to keep the department open, including a short-term funding extension for two weeks as negotiations continue.

Ticktock on DHS’s shutdown: the Senate has left the building. The next set of votes are not until Monday, Feb 23.

www.npr.org/2026/02/12/n...

ICE conducted 37 investigations into officer misconduct in last year The disclosure from the agency's acting director came after immigration officers shot two U.S. citizens, intensifying questions about ICE officers' tactics, training and use of force.

Not often a Congressional hearing really breaks news. But today Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said there were nearly 40 investigations into ICE use of force in the last year.

www.npr.org/2026/02/12/g...

Top 5 takeaways from the House immigration oversight hearing The hearing underscored how deeply divided Republicans and Democrats remain on top-level changes to immigration enforcement in the wake of the shootings of two U.S. citizens.

Three hours of testimony for the top three leaders of Trump’s immigration enforcement agencies. There were some moments of bipartisan concern but there are still wide gaps on solutions. Read my wrap before we do it again Thursday:

www.npr.org/2026/02/10/n...

Immigration courts fast-track hearings for Somali asylum claims Their lawyers fear the notices are merely the first step toward the removal without due process of Somali asylum applicants in the country.

SCOOP: Immigration courts rapidly scheduled and rescheduled Somali asylum seekers to have hearings suddenly within the next four weeks.
The move could fast-track their deportation and limit due process, multiple lawyers with over 100 cases affected tell me.

www.npr.org/2026/02/09/n...

Will calls to 'abolish ICE' sway voters in 2026? The strategy has Democrats split The Trump administration's immigration efforts have led some Democrats to call for abolishing ICE. Others won't go as far, wary of appearing out of step with voters who want immigration laws enforced.

Democrats want to make immigration their issue. But it's a balancing act: calling for reforms of tactics while wary of appearing out of step with voters' want of enforcement of immigration laws.

My latest w/ @elenamoore.bsky.social www.npr.org/2026/02/04/n...

DHS keeps making false claims about people. It's part of a broader pattern Trump administration officials have falsely linked Alex Pretti and Renee Macklin Good to domestic terrorism. It's part of a larger pattern by the Department of Homeland Security.

Trump administration officials have falsely linked Alex Pretti and Renee Macklin Good to domestic terrorism. It's part of a larger pattern by the Department of Homeland Security. n.pr/45Arnsg

Thousands of new Americans opt for 'ultimate act of inclusion' despite obstacles Three citizenship ceremonies NPR attended in the Washington, D.C. area in January were largely celebratory experiences, despite a year of hurdles and changes to the naturalization process.

Three citizenship ceremonies NPR attended in the Washington, D.C. area in January were largely celebratory experiences, despite a year of hurdles and changes to the naturalization process.

Confirming reporting on WH Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller’s latest statement RE the shooting of Alex Pretti:

In case you’re wondering:

I’m told DHS did not classify the death of Renee Macklin Good as a “death in custody” like they did Pretti. As such, that gives ICE 30 days to send a review or notice to Congress hence the faster timeline for this one.

Internal review contradicts White House narrative of Pretti's death The preliminary assessment from Customs and Border Protection makes no mention of Alex Pretti attacking officers or threatening them with a weapon — as the administration first described the incident.

TONIGHT: A preliminary DHS review contradicts the Trump admin's initial narrative of the shooting of Alex Pretti. The review makes no mention of Pretti attacking officers or threatening them with a weapon, or that he was the one initially disturbing them.

www.npr.org/2026/01/27/g...

Minneapolis killings put a focus on use of body cameras Federal immigration enforcement authorities are facing scrutiny and criticism over their tactics, including the lack of body-worn cameras, following the killing of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis.

The surge of immigration agents in Minneapolis show just how strained resources are as pressures increase. Court documents show that the ICE field office is not equipped w/ body cameras + definitely not ready to give them to all the agents on the ground. My latest:

www.npr.org/2026/01/27/n...

SCOOP: 27 military lawyers are expected to onboard as temporary immigration judges this week. They will train with 6 new permanent judges.

I previewed the move in my story regarding the closure of courtrooms in San Francisco.

New judges will go to CO, MA, AZ, CA, UT, MD, + LA.

Trump administration to shutter an immigration court, adding to judges' backlog The planned closure of the San Francisco Immigration Court comes as immigration judges spent the last year facing pressure to move through their caseloads faster and streamline deportations.

The San Francisco Immigration Court is slated to close by year’s end. That leaves 120,000 cases in limbo. Per our count, SF is down to 4 judges from 21

The closure comes as the admin terminated 100 judges in 2025 + more JAGs start this week.

My latest w scoopy nuggets: www.npr.org/2026/01/13/g...

ICE officer accused of excessive force, then sent back to work despite active probe DHS's handling of the incident raises questions about the department's oversight mechanisms to investigate employee misconduct.

SCOOP: @repdangoldman.bsky.social received a letter from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem outlining an investigation into an ICE officer put on leave after pushing a woman to the ground.

But the letter raises questions about how DHS investigates employee misconduct. www.npr.org/2025/12/24/n...

NPR analysis shows skyrocketing number of 'no-shows' in immigration court More immigrants are not showing up for their mandatory immigration court hearings compared to prior years, an NPR analysis shows, allowing the government to order their immediate deportation.

The number of people not showing up to court + being ordered deported skyrocketed, according to our early analysis of the data. Lawyers cite a few reasons: fear of being detained, DOJ sending notices to wrong places, other hiccups in delivery.

My latest: www.npr.org/2025/12/22/n...

How Trump is remaking one agency to aid his deportation push The Trump administration's changes to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services are taking an axe to the agency's traditional mission of ensuring people lawfully immigrate and stay in the U.S.

This year, the Trump admin has taken an axe to USCIS, the agency where people go to seek things like green cards, as they look to reduce legal migration.

It's rocking the agency from the inside, crushing morale and prompting resignations.

My latest: www.npr.org/2025/12/10/n...

Democrats seek limits on who can serve as immigration judges amid mass layoffs The legislation comes after the White House authorized up to 600 military lawyers to be temporary immigration judges and scrapped requirements for them to have immigration law experience.

The legislation comes after the White House authorized up to 600 military lawyers to be temporary immigration judges and scrapped requirements for them to have immigration law experience.

I talked to @ximenabustillo.bsky.social about the firing of immigration judges

I noted that the way the Trump administration is approaching the immigration courts reflects a really high prioritization of immigration enforcement & its whole of govt. approach to increasing deportations

A deep dive into the Trump administration's firing of immigration judges The Trump administration is firing scores of immigration judges, and bringing on dozens of others, as it seeks to boost mass deportations. NPR analyzed patterns in hiring and firing.

Thank you as always to those who share their stories with me, have me in their courtrooms and take the time to explain the nuances. Have a listen to the radio: www.npr.org/2025/11/05/n...

But the patterns in hiring, rehiring + firing do highlight priorities for this administration as they know more people will go through immigration courts as more are arrested. And they have criticized the makeup of the court as “inferior” and not committed to upholding the law.

There are exceptions to the patterns (as in most trends) and the patterns don’t indicate intent, since we still don’t know. But 11 new permanent judges, with long law enforcement backgrounds, were recently added to the bench. To be clear - that doesn’t mean they’re not fair.

Fired immigration judges tell me they weren’t given a reason for their terminations. 12 were terminated after their 2 year probationary period. For months, dozens told me they worried their background in immigrant defense resulted in terminations. So I wanted to do the math.

Immigration judges come from various backgrounds. Historically, they did come from an enforcement (ICE) legal career. These courts are under the DOJ, which experts say has always limited the separation between policy enforcement and adjudication of cases. Now that’s being tested.

The DOJ has been firing judges with immigrant defense backgrounds NPR's data analysis shows that the DOJ has tended to fire judges with immigrant defense backgrounds in its recent rounds of dismissals.

Immigration judges with prior immigrant defense work make up the largest share of those fired by the Trump admin. NPR identified 70 fired immigration judges. The changes have at least shifted perception of fairness in these courts

My latest investigation: www.npr.org/2025/11/06/g...

DOJ hires immigration judges after months of layoffs Judges will soon take the bench across 16 states, the Justice Department said. These include courts that saw the biggest losses of judges this year.

After over 125 immigration judges have been fired or quit, DOJ has brought on 36 to the bench -- including 25 military lawyers.

Their backgrounds (at least what DOJ has promoted) shows a priority for those with prior DHS experience.

My latest:
www.npr.org/2025/10/24/g...