Ariana Figueroa | Florida Phoenix

Kilmar Abrego Garcia speaks to a crowd of people who held a prayer vigil and rally on his behalf outside the ICE building in Baltimore on Aug. 25, 2025. Lydia Walther Rodriguez with CASA interprets for him.

The 5 biggest legal fights in the first year of Trump’s mass deportation push

The first year of President Donald Trump’s return to the White House was defined by clashes with the judiciary branch, as the president and his administration pushed forward with an aggressive immigration agenda.

Immigration

Judge slams Noem over termination of temporary legal status for 60,000 immigrants

Ariana Figueroa | Florida Phoenix

A federal judge in California Wednesday found the Trump administration unlawfully terminated temporary protections for more than 60,000 nationals from Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua.

Criminal Association: Venezuelans in Doral on Monday, May 19, 2025, protest the Supreme Court's ruling that the Trump administration can revoke the Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, that shields them from deportation.

Immigration

Trump canceled temporary legal status for more than 1.5 million immigrants in 2025

Ariana Figueroa | Florida Phoenix

Since Inauguration Day, more than 1.5 million immigrants have either lost or will lose their temporary legal status, including their work authorizations and deportation protections. It’s the most rapid loss in legal status for immigrants in recent United States history.

The entrance to the 'Alligator Alcatraz' immigrant detention center, in the Everglades.

Government & Politics

Democrats argue in court for unannounced visits to immigration detention facilities

Ariana Figueroa | Florida Phoenix

Attorneys on behalf of a dozen U.S. House Democrats Thursday pushed for a federal judge to force the Trump administration to comply with an appropriations law that allows for unannounced oversight visits at Department of Homeland Security facilities that detain immigrants.