A troubling statistic has emerged from the latest ICE data: more than 800 people with no criminal record were arrested on an average day in July. It was a busy month for the agency, with more than 49,000 arrests overall as its workforce and detention system continued to grow.
A 22-year-old Filipino nurse is among those now in ICE custody, despite having valid work authorization, according to her boyfriend. We’re also covering Chinese American lawmakers’ response to talk of wartime internment, the latest court fight over mail voting and new cancer data showing Native Hawaiian women had the highest breast cancer rate in the country.
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Most people swept up by ICE in July had no criminal record
July was ICE’s busiest month yet under Trump’s second term, with arrests climbing above 49,000. What changed was the makeup of those arrests: civil immigration violators with no criminal record became the majority for the first time.
That pattern has already hit Asian and Pacific Islander communities hard. Nearly 15,000 AAPIs were arrested nationally between January 2025 and March 2026, according to a Stop AAPI Hate analysis, and most had no criminal history. ICE is expected to keep expanding its detention system as more facilities open this fall.
What else we’re tracking
Filipino nurse detained by ICE despite valid work permit, boyfriend says
Mariae Elysse Nacu, a 22-year-old Filipino registered nurse in Phoenix, is being held in ICE detention despite having valid employment authorization, according to her boyfriend. Nacu has no criminal record and a pending immigration case. A GoFundMe campaign is currently collecting donations for the potential bond and other legal fees.
Trump admin appeals judge’s block on mail voting limits
President Donald Trump’s attempt to tighten mail-voting rules is back in court. Judge Indira Talwani temporarily blocked several provisions after finding the Postal Service likely exceeded its authority and noting the record still lacked evidence of fraudulent mail voting. The administration appealed Friday, making another Supreme Court fight increasingly likely.
Right-wing podcast’s calls for Chinese American internment condemned by Asian American lawmakers
Chinese American Reps. Grace Meng, Ted Lieu and Judy Chu are condemning a “Timcast IRL” discussion in which a panelist asked whether the U.S. should “intern all the Chinese Americans we can find” during a hypothetical war with China. The lawmakers said the remarks “invoke centuries-old racist tropes that cast Chinese Americans as perpetual foreigners and question their loyalty to the United States.”
Native Hawaiian women have highest breast cancer rate in U.S., new report finds
Native Hawaiian women recorded the highest breast cancer incidence from 2018 through 2022, at 177.2 cases per 100,000 women in the U.S., according to a new American Cancer Society report. “Behind aggregated Asian American and NHPI data are populations experiencing some of the highest cancer incidence rates in the country,” lead author Nikita Wagle said.
Why read Issue #252?
“You have nothing to fear if you follow the law.” We’ve all heard some version of it from people who defend aggressive immigration enforcement, including those whose own communities are vulnerable to its consequences.
While it may be tempting to believe the government will stop where it says it will, that’s a lot of trust to place in whoever gets to decide how far it can go. How many times does that line have to move before we know better?
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