Dear Reader,
On the campaign trail, Donald Trump promised to “launch the largest deportation program of criminals in the history of America.” And since Inauguration Day, ProPublica reporters have been doggedly tracking his administration’s sweeping changes in immigration policy.
This year our reporters have documented the increasingly aggressive tactics deployed by immigration agents making arrests, counted more than 170 U.S. citizens held by immigration agents and revealed how the failures of a farmworker visa program in Georgia led one woman into a nightmare.
We’ve also worked hard to fact-check the claims made by the administration as to who is being deported, and why.
After 238 Venezuelan immigrants were deported to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, we published a first-of-its-kind, case-by-case investigation that examines the Trump administration’s claims that these immigrants are all “sick criminals” and “terrorists” and that shows what they suffered during months in one of the region’s most notorious facilities.
In partnership with The Texas Tribune and Venezuelan media outlets Alianza Rebelde Investiga (Rebel Alliance Investigates) and Cazadores de Fake News (Fake News Hunters), reporters examined each of the deportees’ cases, along with interviews with lawyers and family members, and revealed another jarring reality: Most of the men were not hiding from federal authorities but were instead moving through the U.S. immigration system. Reporters went further, finding that the government’s own records showed that it knew the vast majority of the men had not been convicted of violent crimes in the U.S. The reporting team also conducted interviews, nearly all in Spanish, with relatives of more than 100 of the men; reviewed thousands of pages of court records from the U.S. and South America; and analyzed federal immigration court data.
Following the July 18 release of the Venezuelan immigrants from the Salvadoran prison, ProPublica, the Tribune, Alianza Rebelede Investiga and Cazadores de Fake News interviewed nine men who shared their experiences. They were bewildered, frightened and angry. Some said their feelings about what happened were still so raw they had trouble finding words to describe them. In a short film produced by the news organizations, some of the men spoke out poignantly about the abuses they suffered. In another film, some of the families that had been reunited opened up about the harm they experienced. Over the course of the monthslong reporting project, photojournalist Adriana Loureiro documented the lives of five families whose sons had been imprisoned in El Salvador, including their long-awaited reunions. (The administration has continued to defend its actions.)
When misinformation is pervasive and institutional trust is eroding, independent, nonprofit journalism is one of the last xxxxxxs of accountability. Here at ProPublica, we have over 150 editorial staffers devoted to cutting through misinformation and surfacing the facts. For nearly two decades, we have exposed abuses of power and betrayals of the public trust, and we have seen how those facts inspire action and, eventually, reform.
We can dig deep into the most powerful people and institutions because we answer to the public. Our nonprofit structure sets us apart from many of our media colleagues, as we aren’t beholden to a corporate owner, shareholders, page views or advertisers. Our supporters help preserve ProPublica’s editorial independence, so that we can continue to report without fear or favor, following the facts wherever they lead. Join 80,000 ProPublicans with a gift of any amount, and fuel journalism for the people, not for profit.
Thanks so much,
Tova Genesen
Proud ProPublican
