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At The Border Chronicle, Melissa Del Bosque [ [link removed] ]spoke [ [link removed] ] with longtime advocates who shared how they and their communities were coping with trauma and uncertainty amid intensifying border enforcement from the administration of President Donald Trump.
Pedro Rios, a longtime human rights advocate and the director of the US-Mexico Border Program at the American Friends Service Committee, described widespread fear and “social paralysis,” as families grappled with ICE raids, deportations, and loss.
Jenn Budd, a former US Border Patrol agent who became a prominent immigration rights activist and whistleblower, detailed her own PTSD from serving as a Border Patrol agent, emphasizing the moral injury felt across the system.
Amerika Garcia-Grewal, a border human rights advocate and co-founder of both Border Vigil and the Frontera Federation, focused on mourning, disaster management, and biometrics work that brought closure to grieving families.
Alma Maquitico, the co-director of the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights highlighted, growing militarization and the normalization of racial animus and constitutional violations.
Despite profound sorrow, each advocate found solace in action — community organizing, photography, therapy, and documentation. They warned that sustained violence required new emotional and political frameworks, urging grassroots resilience.
The Border Chronicle invited readers to share their own stories of hope and coping, reinforcing the human toll of border policies and the collective effort to protect civil and immigrant rights.
If You Read One More Thing: Israel’s Deadly Starvation Campaign
At Drop Site News, Abdel Qader Sabbah Sharif Abdel Kouddous [ [link removed] ]reported [ [link removed] ] on the dire situation Gaza’s residents face as Israel’s onslaught has led to over 59,000 Palestinian deaths and widespread famine. Aid seekers faced deadly violence at distribution hubs, including mass killings near the Zikim crossing and at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites. Hospitals were overwhelmed, and starvation deaths have surged — especially among children.
Civilians were forced into militarized zones to access scarce aid. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation oversaw restricted aid distribution under US-Israeli influence. Israel expanded ground operations, carving corridors and issuing mass displacement orders, placing 86% of Gaza under combat or evacuation zones.
The UN and humanitarian officials condemned the blockade as man-made and preventable. Available aid sits untouched just kilometers away. Journalists described collapse from starvation and emotional trauma. Despite global awareness, there was no significant international intervention to stop the assault.
Navy’s Ship Shortage Could Get Worse
The US Navy is facing mounting scrutiny over persistent delays and cost overruns in shipbuilding, prompting internal discussions about reducing the number of admirals overseeing construction programs, according to Paul McLeary and Jack Detsch’s [ [link removed] ]report [ [link removed] ] at Politico. The move reflects broader concerns about accountability and efficiency within naval leadership.
Major vessels like the USS John F. Kennedy and USS Enterprise have faced multi-year delays, while amphibious assault ships are behind schedule due to labor shortages and technical setbacks.
The Navy is reportedly evaluating whether to cut the number of flag officers involved in shipbuilding, aiming to streamline decision-making and improve program outcomes amid growing pressure from Congress and defense analysts.
Deep Dive: Immigrants Face Abuse at Florida Detention Centers
Human Rights Watch’s July 2025 [ [link removed] ]report [ [link removed] ], “You Feel Like Your Life is Over,” documented widespread abuse and neglect at three Florida immigration detention centers — Krome North Service Processing Center, Broward Transitional Center (BTC), and the Federal Detention Center (FDC) in Miami — following a surge in detentions under the second Trump administration.
The report revealed that detainees were subjected to overcrowding, medical neglect, degrading treatment, and punitive isolation, violating both international human rights standards and ICE’s own detention guidelines.
By mid-2025, the US immigration detention population had reached a record high of over 56,000 people per day, with nearly 72% having no criminal history. At Krome, the detained population increased by 249% from pre-inauguration levels, often exceeding triple its operational capacity. One detainee described the intake cell as “so cold … I thought I was going to experience hypothermia,” while another recalled sleeping next to a toilet in a room so crowded “people had to step over each other to move.”
Women were held at Krome, a facility historically used for men, without access to gender-appropriate care or privacy. One woman said, “If the men stood on a chair, they could see right into our room and the toilet.”
Another recounted arriving late at night and being confined for days with dozens of other women in a cell with a single filthy toilet. “We begged the officers to let us clean it, but they just said sarcastically, ‘Housekeeping will come soon.’ No one ever came.”
Medical neglect was pervasive. Detainees with chronic conditions like diabetes, asthma, and kidney disease were routinely denied medication and access to doctors. A woman with gallstones lost consciousness after being denied care for days and was returned to her cell post-surgery without medication. Another man collapsed from a strangulated hernia after repeated pleas for help. “The doctor at the hospital told me that if I had not come in then, my intestines would have likely ruptured,” he said.
Mental health care was also weaponized. At BTC, detainees who sought emotional support were placed in solitary confinement. One woman explained, “If you ask for help, they isolate you. If you cry, they might take you away for two weeks. So, people stay silent.” Another detainee described being punished for seeking mental health care and returned from a hospital stay without follow-up treatment.
The report detailed incidents of physical abuse and humiliation. At FDC, detainees were forced to eat while shackled with their hands behind their backs. “We had to bend over and eat off the chairs with our mouths, like dogs,” said Harpinder Chauhan, a British entrepreneur detained during a routine immigration appointment. Chauhan, who suffers from diabetes and heart disease, was denied insulin for nearly a week at BTC and collapsed before being hospitalized.
Deaths in custody were linked to medical neglect. One detainee witnessed the death of Marie Ange Blaise, a 44-year-old Haitian woman, after staff delayed calling for help. “We started yelling for help, but the guards ignored us,” she said. “By the time the rescue team came, she was not moving.”
The report also highlighted how lockdowns, surprise transfers, and limited phone access disrupted legal representation and family contact.
Educational and vocational activities were virtually nonexistent, aside from occasional painting sessions at BTC and library visits at Krome. Lockdowns were sometimes imposed simply due to staff shortages, further isolating detainees and denying them medical care.
Human Rights Watch concluded that these abuses were not isolated incidents but part of a systemic failure.
“People in immigration detention are being treated as less than human,” said Belkis Wille, associate crisis and conflict director. The report called for an end to mass detention, urging the US government to adopt community-based alternatives and enforce independent oversight of detention facilities
Show Us the Receipts
At Inkstick, Danaka Katovich [ [link removed] ]wrote [ [link removed] ] that Donald Trump’s second-term foreign policy has contradicted his promise to be a “peace president.” Despite campaign rhetoric favoring diplomacy, Trump escalated military spending, backed weapons sales to Europe for Ukraine, and continued arming Israel amid its blitz in Gaza. His administration bypassed Congress to send billions in arms, benefiting US defense contractors. Critics argued that profit motives, not peace, drove policy decisions. Public opposition to further militarization grew, even among Trump’s base. The article questioned whether any president could truly pursue peace within a system dominated by corporate interests and war profiteering. Ultimately, meaningful change might require grassroots pressure rather than top-down leadership, the entry argued.
The latest “Adults in the Room” series at Inkstick [ [link removed] ]discusses [ [link removed] ] whether war is ever truly worth it. While some defined success narrowly — based on military or political objectives — others considered long-term costs, post-conflict stability, and second-order effects. Surprisingly, wars like Libya and the Yom Kippur War received mixed evaluations despite their complex outcomes. The lack of consensus underscored how subjective and politically fraught war assessments remain. The article argued for “broader understanding of postwar effects on citizens and countries when evaluating the costs and benefits of military action.” Without clear metrics, policymakers risk repeating costly mistakes, driven more by emotion and assumptions than empirical analysis.
At The World, Michael Fox reported [ [link removed] ] on Brazil’s affirmative action policies and how they have flourished. Implemented in 2003 and upheld by Brazil’s Supreme Court in 2012, racial quotas transformed public universities by increasing access for Black, Indigenous, and low-income students. At Rio de Janeiro State University, sociologist Wescray Portes Pereira and urban planner David Gomes credited the system with enabling their academic and professional success. Critics warned of division, but educators reported improved diversity and social mobility. Federal universities allocated half of their seats to quota students, helping over 100,000 in 2022 alone. Supporters argued the policy was reshaping Brazil’s education system and lifting millions from poverty.
Call for Essay Pitches
Inkstick is on the lookout for solid essay pitches that fit our editorial mandate of human-focused writing related to global security issues, including conflict, migration, the weapons industry, and authoritarianism. Writers with ideas that might fit the bill can reach out to managing editor Patrick Strickland at pstrickland [at] inkstickmedia (dot) com and editor Allyn Gaestel at agaestel (at) inkstickmedia [dot] com. Payment will be negotiated based on the nature of the proposed piece.
Critical State is written by Inkstick Media in collaboration with The World.
The World is a weekday public radio show and podcast on global issues, news, and insights from PRX and GBH.
With an online magazine and podcast featuring a diversity of expert voices, Inkstick Media is “foreign policy for the rest of us.”
Critical State is made possible in part by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

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