Since Donald Trump returned to the White House, more than 100 immigration judges have been fired in an unprecedented purge — with a similar number resigning or retiring. In their place, the administration has installed over 140 new judges, many with no immigration law experience and as little as three weeks of training. Investigative journalist John Carlos Frey examines who these new judges are, what they've been hired to do, and what it means for the millions of immigrants waiting for their day in court. From a divorce lawyer who fights exclusively for men, to a judge rebuked for deciding a gay man didn't look gay enough for asylum protection — this is the story of how America's immigration courts are being reshaped to serve one goal: deport one million people a year.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2026/04/27/justice-department-immigration-judges-deportation/

https://newrepublic.com/post/209532/donald-trump-terrifying-new-immigration-judges-experience

https://theraidpodcast.org/

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Izzy Ramirez didn't start as a journalist. He started as someone who refused to look away.

When ICE raids swept through Los Angeles last summer, Izzy was on the streets — phone in hand, posting real-time alerts, telling people where federal agents were, which neighborhoods to avoid, where families were being torn apart. He wasn't working for a newsroom. He was working for his community. And people listened. LA Taco was listening too.

The Los Angeles-based independent publication — one of the most important outlets covering immigration enforcement in Southern California — recognized what Izzy already was: a reporter. They asked him to make it official. He said yes. And he hasn't stopped since. In just a few months as a staff reporter, Izzy has covered ICE operations, deaths in detention, political corruption, and the day-to-day reality of what he doesn't hesitate to call what it is — the kidnapping of people from their homes, their jobs, their families, across Southern California. He is twenty-something years old. He has no journalism school on his résumé. What he has is the trust of the people most at risk, the instincts of someone who learned by doing, and a publication behind him that understands why that matters.

This is what accountability journalism looks like when it comes from the inside.

https://lataco.com/author/izzy-ramirez

https://theraidpodcast.org/

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The statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants on this program are solely their own and do not necessarily represent those of the distributor of the program and any person or entity affiliated with said distributor ("distributor's affiliates"). The distributor and distributor's affiliates are not responsible for, and shall not be liable for, the statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants, or for any content that appears on the program.

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At just 18 years old, Cesar Vasquez is already a veteran organizer on California's Central Coast. As a Rapid Response Organizer for 805 Undocufund — a nonprofit providing emergency financial relief and real-time immigration enforcement alerts to undocumented residents across Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo Counties — Cesar is on the front lines of one of the most vulnerable communities in the country: the largely undocumented farmworker population that feeds much of the nation. But his activism didn't start there. At 14, Cesar founded La Cultura Del Mundo, a youth-led organization built on a simple but radical premise — skip the red tape and ask families directly, "How much do you need?" No forms, no status checks, just rapid mobilization of cash, groceries, rent assistance, and whatever else a family needs to survive. Today, Cesar joins us to speak about the ongoing ICE raids devastating his region. According to 805 Undocufund, over 1,800 people have been taken since the raids began — a number that continues to grow.

https://www.805undocufund.org/

https://laculturadelmundo.org/es

https://theraidpodcast.org/

Disclaimer:

The statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants on this program are solely their own and do not necessarily represent those of the distributor of the program and any person or entity affiliated with said distributor ("distributor's affiliates"). The distributor and distributor's affiliates are not responsible for, and shall not be liable for, the statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants, or for any content that appears on the program.

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Over the past ten months, federal immigration agents and Border Patrol officers have arrested more than three hundred American citizens at immigration protests across the country — charging them with serious federal crimes like assaulting an officer, conspiracy, and interfering with law enforcement. In more than a third of those cases, the charges were dropped, dismissed, or lost at trial. Because the evidence wasn't there. Because in many cases, video footage directly contradicted what arresting officers put in their reports. John Carlos Frey examines the findings of a landmark ProPublica and PBS FRONTLINE investigation.

ProPublica: https://www.propublica.org/article/caught-in-crackdown-ice-cbp-immigration-protests-arrests-convictions

PBS FRONTLINE: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/caught-in-crackdown-ice-cbp-immigration-protests-arrests-convictions

https://theraidpodcast.org/

Disclaimer:

The statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants on this program are solely their own and do not necessarily represent those of the distributor of the program and any person or entity affiliated with said distributor ("distributor's affiliates"). The distributor and distributor's affiliates are not responsible for, and shall not be liable for, the statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants, or for any content that appears on the program.

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On this episode of The Raid is Marc Philpart. He is the Executive Director of the Black Freedom Fund, bringing more than a decade of leadership in grassroots organizations to build power for racial justice. Marc serves on several boards and advisory committees, including the California Immigrant Policy Center, Partners for Dignity and Rights, and the University of Southern California’s Equity Research Institute. Marc is on the podcast to discuss how the lessons of black empowerment and the civil rights struggles of the past can help inform the immigration rights movement of today.

https://fundblackfreedom.org/

https://theraidpodcast.org/

Disclaimer:

The statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants on this program are solely their own and do not necessarily represent those of the distributor of the program and any person or entity affiliated with said distributor ("distributor's affiliates"). The distributor and distributor's affiliates are not responsible for, and shall not be liable for, the statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants, or for any content that appears on the program.

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Actress and activist, Diane Guerrero candidly reveals details of the night immigration officials deported her parents, leaving her without her family at age 14. Diane Guerrero is an actress and activist best known for her roles in Orange Is the New Black, Jane the Virgin, Doom Patrol and Encanto — but her most important story has nothing to do with Hollywood. When she was fourteen years old, she came home from school to find her parents gone. Immigration officers had arrested them while she was away. No government agency called to check on her. No social worker came to the door. As the only U.S. citizen in her immediate family, she was left to navigate the rest of her childhood alone, taken in by friends' parents, building a life from nothing. For years she kept it secret. Today she is one of the most prominent voices in the country on the human cost of deportation, and what it means to be left behind.

https://www.instagram.com/dianexguerrero/

https://theraidpodcast.org/

Disclaimer:

The statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants on this program are solely their own and do not necessarily represent those of the distributor of the program and any person or entity affiliated with said distributor ("distributor's affiliates"). The distributor and distributor's affiliates are not responsible for, and shall not be liable for, the statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants, or for any content that appears on the program.

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Former Border Patrol Agent, Jenn Budd is back on the podcast to offer her new book that dives into the federal law enforcement agencies known as ICE and US Border Patrol as only an insider can. She helps to explain why we are seeing so much violence and lawlessness by these agencies and offers methods to abolish or reform them.

The book is entitled, ICE - What Everyone Needs to Know and available here: https://www.booktopia.com.au/ice-jenn-budd/ebook/9781956474954.html

https://theraidpodcast.org/

Disclaimer:

The statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants on this program are solely their own and do not necessarily represent those of the distributor of the program and any person or entity affiliated with said distributor ("distributor's affiliates"). The distributor and distributor's affiliates are not responsible for, and shall not be liable for, the statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants, or for any content that appears on the program.

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On the podcast is Victor Picard. He's the Edwin Baker Professor of media policy and political economy at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for communication, where he co-directs the Media Inequality and Change Center. His research explores the intersections of U.S. and global media, activism and politics, media history, democratic theory, and communications policy. John Carlos Frey and Victor discuss the current media landscape and how the very fabric of democracy is being threatened by a suppression of the First Amendment and unprecedented multi-media merger deals. Accurate information about the immigration raids and news in general is getting harder to come by. An eye-opening episode of The Raid by industry insiders.

https://www.asc.upenn.edu/people/faculty/victor-pickard-phd

https://theraidpodcast.org/

Disclaimer:

The statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants on this program are solely their own and do not necessarily represent those of the distributor of the program and any person or entity affiliated with said distributor ("distributor's affiliates"). The distributor and distributor's affiliates are not responsible for, and shall not be liable for, the statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants, or for any content that appears on the program.

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