Hi Reader,

Immigration enforcement in the United States changed drastically this year. Masked immigration agents conducted sweeping and high-profile raids in cities and towns across the country. The government often released little information about the people who were arrested, what they were charged with or where they were detained. But when government transparency is absent, independent journalism steps in.

Throughout this year, ProPublica’s reader-supported investigations worked hard to document what was happening, who was exerting influence and who was being harmed as President Donald Trump implemented his immigration policy agenda.

In February, we identified nearly a dozen immigrants who were flown to Guantanamo Bay, where attorneys were denied access to their clients.

In April, we brought readers inside ICE Air, where flight attendants on deportation planes are saying disaster is “only a matter of time.” And we delved into the privately held company making billions running tent detention facilities to hold immigrants entering the U.S. at the border.

In July, 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 prisons.

In October, we revealed that more than 170 U.S. citizens have been held by immigration agents. Among the citizens detained are nearly 20 children, including two with cancer. And more than 20 citizens have reported being held for over a day without being able to call their loved ones or a lawyer.

In November, we chronicled how multiple Republican-led state and local governments have altered parole policies in order to deport prisoners without legal status more quickly.

And a few weeks ago, we reported that ICE sent 600 immigrant kids to detention in federal shelters this year. That figure is a new record — higher than the tally for the previous four years combined. And it is the highest number since recordkeeping began a decade ago. New data also suggests that families are being separated, again.

All year, you’ve seen ProPublica reporters expose one injustice after another. Because our newsroom is funded largely by individual donations from our readers, we’re in a unique position to pivot and expand our investigations as they unfold. As policies shift with unexpected quickness, with little to no oversight, our reporters are there to doggedly follow the story and expose the facts.

ProPublica exists because readers like you choose to fund it. Your donation ensures that the truth gets out, no matter who it challenges. Join us, and help keep investigative journalism strong, independent and accountable only to the facts.

Thanks so much,

Megan Martenyi

Proud ProPublican

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