Good morning. A student arrested in the street for accusing Israel of genocide; a father of an autistic son, deported by mistake only for the authorities to say there was no way to bring him back; tourists held in solitary confinement with no explanation; and a scientist expelled for daring to be critical of Donald Trump. As the consequences of the White House’s hardline immigration policies unfold, they increasingly look like the behaviour of a police state.
“The lawlessness is the point,” Greg Sargent wrote for the New Republic: “these ‘errors,’ as you might have gathered by now, appear to be fully part of the design.” But it is also true that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) has been criticised for its treatment of immigrants for a long time.
Today’s newsletter takes four stories that highlight the fallout of Trump’s immigration policy. That’s right after the headlines.
Five big stories
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Ukraine | Donald Trump has issued a rare rebuke to Moscow for an air attack that killed 12 people in Kyiv, telling the Russian president in a social media post: “Vladimir, STOP!” The US president’s remarks come as he makes a renewed push to end the Ukraine war, reportedly on terms favourable to Russia.
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UK news | Cyclists who kill pedestrians by dangerous cycling could face life imprisonment in England and Wales under new amendments to the crime and policing bill.
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World news | India’s army chief was set to lead a high-level security review in Srinagar on Friday, days after militants opened fire on tourists in Indian-held Kashmir, killing 26 civilians in one of the worst such attacks in years. The Indian Army has launched sweeping “search-and-destroy” operations, deployed surveillance drones, and ramped up troop numbers across the Kashmir Valley. A manhunt is underway for three suspects – one Indian national and two Pakistanis.
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Economy | Consumer confidence in the UK has fallen to the lowest level for more than a year amid concern that Donald Trump’s trade wars could further drive up living costs for British households.
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Emergency services | Ambulance staff are facing “horrendous” levels of violent assault and abuse as incidents rise to the highest on record, according to new data.
In depth: ‘The cruelty has ushered in a new era of widespread fear’
It is not clear yet the full impact of Trump’s immigration crackdown. Between 20 January, inauguration day, and 10 March, Ice made 32,809 migrant arrests, according to government figures – more than double the daily rate under Joe Biden. Some 1,800 student visas have been revoked. More than 200 Venezuelans are languishing in a supermax prison called the Terrorism Confinement Center without any due process or way of getting home. Joanna Walters has a comprehensive rundown of the status of some of the most high profile cases that have captured the worlds attention.
The Trump administration wants the public to believe that all of this is in service of his mass deportation plan. In reality however, deporting people is complicated and often takes time. Deportations overall are actually down from a year ago, but that is in large part because many fewer people are attempting to cross the border from Mexico. Either way, the cruelty and seemingly arbitrary nature of the tactics has ushered in a new era of fear.
The man in the Chicago Bulls hoodie
Kilmar Ábrego García is a Salvadoran sheet metal apprentice, who lives in Maryland with his wife and five-year-old son. He has had protected legal status since 2019, because a judge ruled that he was likely to be harmed if he was deported. Despite that, he was stopped by Ice officers on 12 March, and then sent to Cecot, a notoriously brutal mega-prison in El Salvador.
Officials accused him of being a member of MS-13, a violent Salvadoran gang, on the basis of an accusation from an anonymous informant and the fact that he was wearing a Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie. No other evidence for the claim has been provided, although JD Vance made the false claim that he was a convicted MS-13 gang member.
The Trump administration has admitted that García was sent to Cecot by mistake, though officials have since reversed course. Despite a supreme court order to “facilitate” his return that was issued over two weeks ago, the White House has refused to bring him back. In a particularly chilling display of intransigence, El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, visited the Oval Office, flanked by the entire Trump cabinet and said “Of course, I’m not going to do it,” when asked by reporters if he would return García. In that same meeting, Trump was caught on a hot mic saying: “The homegrowns are next”.
Either way, the lead lawyer for the administration said in legal fillings that if García were returned to the US, the justice department would simply deport him to a different country or move to terminate the order blocking his removal to El Salvador.
The claim that there is no way to secure García’s return looks particularly questionable because the US has paid El Salvador about $6m to receive the deportees. García was sent to El Salvador alongside hundreds of Venezuelan immigrants. The Trump administration used a 1798 law, the Alien Enemies Act, which allows deportations in times of war; the attorney general, Pam Bondi, has described the deportations as part of “modern-day warfare” against narco-terrorists.
Earlier this week, a federal court castigated the Trump administration, accusing it of ignoring court orders, obstructing the legal process and acting in “bad faith”. García’s case has become a lightning rod story, bringing much needed attention to the issue. However, it has also attracted significant ire from the government, with Trump directly attacking García. His wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, has had to flee to a secret location after US officials posted a court document on social media that contained the address of her family.
The PhD student
Rümeysa Öztürk, a Turkish-born PhD student and former Fulbright scholar at Tufts University in Massachusetts, co-wrote an op-ed for the student newspaper last year calling on her university to “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide” and divest from companies linked to Israel. That was enough for the Department of Homeland Security to say that she “engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organisation that relishes the killing of Americans”.
Öztürk was detained by Ice officers on 25 March. She was on her way to an Iftar meal to celebrate Ramadan. The video of her panicking as she is seized in the street by a group of plainclothes Ice agents with their faces covered, and then taken away in an unmarked car, is among the most unsettling examples of the Trump administration’s approach.
A federal judge ordered that Öztürk be transferred back to Vermont as she seeks to challenge what her lawyers call her “unconstitutional detention” in an Ice detention centre in Louisiana. The justice department has filed an appeal and requested that the judge pause the transfer in the meantime. Her attorneys have challenged this appeal, saying that, “Only one party—Ms. Öztürk—would suffer any harm from a stay, and that harm is irreparable”.
The US citizen
The case of 19-year-old US citizen Jose Hermosillo was first reported by NPR affiliate Arizona Public Media. Hermosillo was visiting Tucson from Albuquerque, but says he got lost, so he reportedly approached a border patrol officer to get some help. He was shortly wrongfully arrested for illegally entering the country. Hermosillo was held for 10 days at Florence Correctional Center, during which time his family provided evidence showing his American citizenship. He was released last Thursday.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) argued that Hermosillo’s arrest and detention were “a direct result of his own actions and statements.” According to DHS, “Jose Hermosillo approached Border Patrol in Tucson Arizona stating he had ILLEGALLY entered the U.S. and identified himself as a Mexican citizen.” Hermosillo denies ever saying this.
DHS posted a copy of the 19-year-old’s sworn statement on X in which he responded “yes” when asked if he had entered the country illegally and showed a signature that read “Jose.”
What the government did not mention is that, according to his family, Hermosillo has intellectual disabilities, cannot read or write and has trouble speaking. They argue that he could not have known what he was signing. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes wrote on X, “my office has reached out to Ice for answers on how this was allowed to happen to an American citizen. It is wholly unacceptable to wrongfully detain U.S. citizens”.
The green card holder
The case of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and former graduate student at Columbia University in New York, is probably the most infamous example of a legal permanent resident being arrested and threatened with deportation for supposed antisemitism.
Khalil was targeted for his leading role in protests against Israel’s assault on Gaza on the Columbia campus, although the Trump administration is yet to set out the charges against him. He was detained at his home on 8 March in front of his wife, who is eight months pregnant. He is being held at a detention centre in Louisiana.
The constitutional right to freedom of speech extends to green card holders such as Khalil as well as citizens – but the government is seeking to use an obscure 1952 law which allows for the deportation of lawful permanent residents if their actions are deemed to threaten US national security. There is no allegation that he has committed a crime – but a government charging document said that his role in the protests mean that he presents “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States”.
Earlier this month, an immigration judge ruled that Khalil is eligible to be deported from the US. Khalil’s lawyers are appealing this decision to the board of immigration appeals, which is part of the justice department. His case will likely appear before the supreme court.
Khalil wrote a public letter, published in the Guardian last month, that summarises his situation like this: “I am a political prisoner”.
“At stake are not just our voices, but the fundamental civil liberties of all,” he added. “Knowing fully that this moment transcends my individual circumstances, I hope nonetheless to be free to witness the birth of my first-born child”.
Khalil’s wife, Noor Abdalla, gave birth to their son 1,000 miles away without him. In a statement released on Monday evening, Abdalla wrote: “I welcomed our son into the world earlier today without Mahmoud by my side. Despite our request for Ice to allow Mahmoud to attend the birth, they denied his temporary release to meet our son. This was a purposeful decision by Ice to make me, Mahmoud, and our son suffer.”
What else we’ve been reading
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Amelia Gentleman profiles Charlotte Proudman, the barrister who has received both praise and acrimony for exposing misogyny in the family court system on her fight for relentless defence of women and children. Annie Kelly
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“You used to be fun, at least: a guilty-ish pleasure, aware of its own over-the-top silliness,” Rebecca Nicholson writes on Netflix’s serial killer series. “But as the seasons have ticked away, the satire has seeped out, leaving a mess of its own making that it tries, and inevitably struggles, to clear up”. Nimo
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Sam Woolaston braves an under 11’s Saturday football match to explore the rage and angst of the nation’s touchline dads. Annie
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You’ve heard of the manosphere, but Anna Silman takes us deep into the “womanosphere,” a parallel world populated by gender essentialist, anti-feminist influencers and organisations urging women to be “thin, straight, fertile [and] traditionally feminine”. Nimo
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Labour’s “great nature sellout” outlined in its new planning and infrastructure bill is bitterly condemned in this opinion piece by George Monbiot. Annie
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Sport
Football | Jamie Vardy, arguably Leicester City’s greatest ever player, will leave the club after 13 years at the end of the season but insists he is not returning. Vardy was pivotal in Leicester City’s stunning Premier League victory in 2016 and the FA cup in 2021.
Cricket | Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff has spoken about the years of trauma and despair he faced after his horrific car crash whilst filming Top Gear in 2022 and credits his return to cricket coaching as “the one thing that saved me”.
NFL | As this year’s NFL draft gets underway, Guardian sports writers look at the contenders and future stars of the field and make their predictions.
The front pages
“‘Vladimir, stop!’: Trump in rare rebuke to Putin after Kyiv strike,” is the splash on the Guardian today in the wake of a deadly Russian missile attack in Kyiv.
“Starmer challenges Trump peace plan,” says the Daily Telegraph, while the Financial Times runs with: “China tells White House to ‘cancel all unilateral tariffs’ if it wants trade talks.” Over at the Times, the lead story is: “‘One in, one out’ plan to open up EU to the young.”
“Jail if they fail: polluting water bosses finally face prison for covering up sewage spills,” is the lead story at the i, as the Mail highlights the new Ofcom rules with: “New online safety rules ‘will leave children in danger’”.
“Justice for Jill,” says the Mirror of the Jill Dando murder case. The Express looks at the Southport murders, with the headline: “‘Our daughters will be with us always’”.
Something for the weekend
Our critics’ roundup of the best things to watch, read, play and listen to right now
Music
Self Esteem: A Complicated Woman | ★★★☆☆
Since 2017, Rebecca Lucy Taylor has completely reinvented herself into a kind of on-her-own-terms pop star. Her success has meant that she was finally afforded a recording budget sufficient to do what she always wanted: grand ambitions involving choirs and orchestras. The music reaches for feel-good stadium singalongs, evokes sweaty dancefloors and aims itself at the dead centre of 21st-century mainstream pop. But for the most part, the songs thrash about and contradict themselves as if Taylor is, right in front of your ears, working out exactly how she feels about ageing, drinking or her career. This approach sometimes feels brave and fascinating, but doesn’t always come off with the efficacy she might have hoped. Alexis Petridis
TV
Andor season two | ★★★★☆
Welcome back to the revolution. Andor is the Star Wars TV show with the sharpest political acumen: yes, like everything in the franchise, it’s about an underdog rebel movement fighting against a totalitarian empire in space, and it has plenty of thrilling battle sequences, but here there are no Jedi mind powers or cute green backwards-talking psychics. It’s the Star Wars spin-off with the strongest claim to being a proper drama – but, in season two’s opening triple bill, it shows it can do sly, wry comedy too. Andor is Star Wars for grownups. This rebellion is a serious business. Jack Seale
Film
Freaky Tales | ★★★★☆
Ryan Coogler is not the only film-maker to have cashed in his Marvel card and made something savagely unexpected. Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, who burst onto the US indie scene with the lean, hard-edged drama Half Nelson and went on to direct Captain Marvel, return with this grungy homage to exploitation flicks. With its VHS bargain-bin aesthetic, this is scuzzily enjoyable stuff that pits punks against neo-Nazis, Pedro Pascal’s beaten-up debt collector against Ben Mendelsohn’s chilling corrupt cop; a girl rap duo called Danger Zone against the hip-hop patriarchy. Plus, there’s the added bonus of Tom Hanks clearly having the time of his life as a know-it-all clerk at a video rental store. Wendy Ide
Game
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (PC, PlayStation 5) | ★★★★☆
Once a year the Paintress, a giant god-like woman, wakes, paints a number on a large monolith, and in the peaceful town of Lumière, everyone whose age corresponds with the number dies. Following a heart-wrenching goodbye, Clair Obscur’s protagonist Gustave and his adopted sister Maelle set out to defeat the Paintress and end her gruesome cycle. For the most part, Clair Obscur is the adult fantasy that Final Fantasy XVI tried to be. But it’s also an enigma wrapped in a mystery, and for hours and hours, it adds new questions and characters. From combat to enemy design to music, it has a flair for the epic, but too much subterfuge, too many tears, too many fights ultimately made for a seriously fumbled ending. Malindy Hetfeld
Today in Focus
‘They excavated a nightclub!’: uncovering Black British history beyond London
From struggles over miscarriages of justice to groundbreaking music, Lanre Bakare looks at the places and events that shaped Black Britain in the Thatcher years.
Cartoon of the day | Ben Jennings
The Upside
A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad
The phrase, “Make Do and Mend”, first launched as a government resource-saving campaign in 1942, has come to symbolise the post-war generation’s frugal mentality and aversion to waste.
Fast forward to 2025 and the mending-not-spending mantle has been taken up by Fashion Revolution, a non-profit social enterprise, which is encouraging people across the world to attend one of a network of Mend in Public Day community classes to learn mending, stitching and upcycling skills.
Unlike the post-war years, we now live in an era of vast overconsumption where it can now be cheaper to buy a new piece of clothing than to dry-clean an old one. The organisation argues that while the problems of fast fashion are global, solutions can be local and that participants should see learning to mend their clothing as an act of revolution and defiance.
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Bored at work?
And finally, the Guardian’s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.
