A look back at The Intercept’s must-read immigration stories from 2019.
Border Patrol Chief Carla Provost Was a Member of Secret Facebook Group
By Ryan Devereaux
Thousands of Immigrants Suffer in Solitary Confinement in ICE Detention
By Spencer Woodman, Maryam Saleh, Hannah Rappleye, Karrie Kehoe
Scott Warren Worked to Prevent Migrant Deaths in the Arizona Desert. The Government Wants Him in Prison.
By Ryan Devereaux
Journalists, Lawyers, and Activists Working on the Border Face Coordinated Harassment From U.S. and Mexican Authorities
By Ryan Devereaux
Border Patrol Arrest Reports Are Full of Lies That Can Sabotage Asylum Claims
By John Washington
The Tragic Story of Jimmy Aldaoud, Deported From the Streets of Detroit to His Death in Iraq
By Chris Gelardi
A Honduran Asylum-Seeker Was Brutally Murdered After Being Deported — From Mexico
By Eileen Grench
Migrant Children Trapped in Mexico Are Leaving Their Families and Crossing the Border Alone
By Debbie Nathan
How Solitary Confinement Kills: Torture and Stunning Neglect End in Suicide at Privately Run ICE Prison
By José Olivares, Video by Travis Mannon
Honduran Teen Fled Gangs at Home Only to Be Murdered While Stranded at the U.S.-Mexico Border
By Julia Gavarrete, Heather Gies
IT’S EVEN WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT.
What we’re seeing right now from Donald Trump is a full-on authoritarian takeover of the U.S. government.
This is not hyperbole.
Court orders are being ignored. MAGA loyalists have been put in charge of the military and federal law enforcement agencies. The Department of Government Efficiency has stripped Congress of its power of the purse. News outlets that challenge Trump have been banished or put under investigation.
Yet far too many are still covering Trump’s assault on democracy like politics as usual, with flattering headlines describing Trump as “unconventional,” “testing the boundaries,” and “aggressively flexing power.”
The Intercept has long covered authoritarian governments, billionaire oligarchs, and backsliding democracies around the world. We understand the challenge we face in Trump and the vital importance of press freedom in defending democracy.
We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?
IT’S BEEN A DEVASTATING year for journalism — the worst in modern U.S. history.
We have a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government’s full powers to dismantle the free press. Corporate news outlets have cowered, becoming accessories in Trump’s project to create a post-truth America. Right-wing billionaires have pounced, buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.
In this most perilous moment for democracy, The Intercept is fighting back. But to do so effectively, we need to grow.
That’s where you come in. Will you help us expand our reporting capacity in time to hit the ground running in 2026?
We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?
I’M BEN MUESSIG, The Intercept’s editor-in-chief. It’s been a devastating year for journalism — the worst in modern U.S. history.
We have a president with utter contempt for truth aggressively using the government’s full powers to dismantle the free press. Corporate news outlets have cowered, becoming accessories in Trump’s project to create a post-truth America. Right-wing billionaires have pounced, buying up media organizations and rebuilding the information environment to their liking.
In this most perilous moment for democracy, The Intercept is fighting back. But to do so effectively, we need to grow.
That’s where you come in. Will you help us expand our reporting capacity in time to hit the ground running in 2026?
We’re independent of corporate interests. Will you help us?
Contact the author:
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