"Campaigns of cruelty" - Fellows share lessons from ICE operations

Over the past 18 months, ICE operations have expanded across the country as the administration pushes for mass deportations. Large-scale enforcement efforts have left communities fractured and scared.

For many of our Fellows, these operations have been in their own communities, in Minneapolis, New Orleans and others. We asked four of our Fellows to share their experiences working through these operations, the impact the ICE presence had on their work and clients, and what they have taken away from the past year and a half. 

Read those stories below.

“As everything shifted under our feet, the city of New Orleans responded to Operation Catahoula Crunch with resilience and a whole lot of heart.“

Haley Todd Newsome

2025 Justice Fellow

Project Ishmael

University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law

“I couldn’t tell my clients that everything would be okay, and I didn’t try to. But, like everyone on my team at Mid-Minnesota Legal, I did what I could to help them feel safer.“

Perry Keziah 

2025 Justice Fellow

Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid

University of Minnesota Law School

“The day my client was released is one I will never forget. Getting the call—’Abogada, ya salí!’—is a moment that stays with me. It’s the feeling I return to, especially on the harder days, when the losses feel heavy.“

Alycia Jameson

2025 Justice Fellow

The Resurrection Project

University of Arkansas Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law

“As ICE carried out a campaign of cruelty, the people of Maine responded with a systematic and coordinated resistance effort in terms of both community organizing and legal advocacy.”

Anna C. Everett 

2025 Justice Fellow

Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project 

University of Connecticut School of Law

To read more stories from Fellows and IJC alumni, visit our News page.