Status Pending

“ Abolish ICE” is a call that dates back to the birth of the agency. It's only gotten louder as ICE's enforcement tactics have become more brazen. In the final episode of our deep dive into ICE, we look into the history of this movement, the challenges with imagination and why this moment is different. 

Detention centers are proliferating thanks to ICE’s ballooning budget and ever-expanding mission. In our continued deep dive into ICE, we look at where and how the agency is housing its detainees – a process that’s been shrouded in secrecy.

ICE has launched another huge hiring campaign. Our deep dive into ICE continues by looking into who the agency is hiring, the issues in its recruiting and vetting process and how agents are trained before hitting the streets.

Our deep dive into ICE begins with a brief history of the agency and a look at how it’s changed over time. As ICE ramps up its aggressive tactics under the second Trump administration, just how much of what we’re seeing is legal?

In the coming months, Status Pending is diving deep into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. We’ll look into how this relatively new agency came to be and how some experts say it went rogue. We’ll find out who ICE has been employing and what we know about detention centers. And finally, we’ll spend time looking into the surprising history of calls to abolish ICE.

There's been a boom of Yemeni and Middle Eastern coffee shops in Milwaukee and across the country. Many of them are run by immigrants. They’ve become a gathering place for Muslim Americans and others looking for a late-night hangout that doesn’t revolve around alcohol.

President Trump has ramped up an aggressive immigration policy – one that targets people without criminal records, and even people with pending asylum claims or visa applications. In Milwaukee, there may not be a clearer example than Yessenia Ruano.

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has become an important figure in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, forming an alliance that is shaping deportation efforts in the U.S. A journalist covering El Salvador and a human rights advocate share what we know about what's happening.

Fifty years ago, the face of immigration in the U.S. was undergoing a major shift, from largely European immigrants to many more from Asia and Latin America. It was because of the “the bill of unintended consequences” -- a 1965 law that reshaped who was allowed to immigrate to the U.S., and who was criminalized.

Our series about the U.S.’s immigration history continues, with a look back 100 years ago. That’s when many immigrants migrated north from Mexico for the promise of a better life. What waited for people at this new border? And what did it take to fulfill the promise of a new America?

This week, the U.S. is set to celebrate its 250th birthday. What did immigration look like 250 years ago, in 1776? That’s when the largest driver of immigration to this country was forced migration, or slavery. Our series looks at what happens when you take a long view of immigration, and include all our country’s history.

The World Cup started across the U.S., Mexico and Canada last week. In Milwaukee, a soccer program is working to close an access gap for Latina girls and provide a safe space for Latino families to come together and play.

A survey of low-cost childcare provider Head Start shows that families are keeping their children home as ICE enforcement ramps up. Kids who come to childcare are acting out and showing signs of stress.

Last week there was a shooting at San Diego’s Islamic Center. Three people were killed and the shooting is being investigated as a hate crime. A few days later in Milwaukee, there was a panel event celebrating the new book Muslims in Milwaukee, a deep study into the history, placemaking and challenges in Milwaukee’s Muslim community, which includes fighting Islamophobia. Dr. Anisah Bagasra is an a...

During President Trump’s second term, the U.S. refugee program has been decimated. The number of new arrivals has plummeted, and refugees already in the country are now facing a freeze on green card processing and cuts to public benefits. Last year, we talked with two brothers from Afghanistan about building a new life in Milwaukee, and how refugee resettlement providers have helped them.

We’re listening back to a conversation with one of Milwaukee’s celebrated labor leaders who fought for migrant workers’ rights: Jesus Salas. Salas co-founded Obreros Unidos (Workers United), which led a historic march in 1966, demanding lawmakers address violations of the state’s minimum wage laws and housing codes. For Salas, defending migrant laborers and their rights is a personal call to actio...

Paleteros, or traditional Mexican ice cream vendors, are a fixture on Milwaukee south side. Here's the story of one of the vendors, told by a local artist, Paula Lovo, who has a lifelong love of paleteros.

Artist Christie Tirado's life is defined by migration. Her parents moved from Mexico to the U.S. in search of better job opportunities. Growing up, Tirado frequently traveled to visit family in Mexico. On these trips, she became fascinated with how culture is passed down. That’s the subject of her art exhibit in Milwaukee. You can see some of Tirado’s work here .

In January, the Trump administration paused visa processing for people from 75 mainly African, Asian and Latin American countries. It left a lot of refugees already living in the U.S. in limbo. Some of their employers laid them off, wrongly thinking that they weren’t authorized to work.

Two young organizers, one undocumented and one not, share how their personal experiences led them to advocate for immigrant rights and immigration reform. They’re part of Comité Sin Fronteras, an advocacy group in Milwaukee.

Janeth and Lizeth Zorrilla are originally from Mexico, but have lived in the U.S. since they were children. In 2017, they opened La Finca Coffee House in a suburb of Milwaukee. The business is inspired by their Mexican heritage and even features coffee beans from their grandfather’s farm in Oaxaca. In 2024, WUWM asked them to share their story as immigrant entrepreneurs.

Her father was in critical condition in a hospital in Mexico, after a tragic motorcycle accident. But as an immigrant and DACA recipient, she was concerned about traveling to see him. We talk to one woman who is watching how ICE in airports could affect people like her. And, an immigration attorney shares the air travel advice she’s giving her clients.

A recent piece in Milwaukee Magazine digs into how life has changed for immigrants in the Milwaukee area, amid the federal immigration crackdown. It shares the stories of DACA recipients, undocumented parents, asylum seekers and more as they navigate legal hoops to build lives, families and careers in the U.S.

In February, the Trump administration announced the end of its immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities. But some ICE operations there continue, and the surge of ICE agents also spilled over into western Wisconsin.

ProPublica reporters have been looking into the living conditions inside the Dilley detention center in Texas, where immigrant families and children are held.