Dara Lind

Reporter

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Dara Lind covered immigration policy for ProPublica in Washington, DC.

Before coming to ProPublica, she spent five years as Vox's immigration reporter; she remains a regular cohost of the Vox podcast "The Weeds." She's been covering immigration in some form since the end of the George W. Bush administration.

A Secretive Counterterrorism Team Interrogated Dozens of Citizens at the Border, Government Report Finds

A report by a federal watchdog shows how the Trump administration flagged at least 51 citizens for interrogation at the border based on evidence as flimsy as once having ridden in a car with someone suspected of aiding the migrant “caravan.”

These Afghans Won the Visa Lottery Two Years Ago — Now They’re Stuck in Kabul and Out of Luck

President Donald Trump’s ban on the visa lottery was ruled to be illegal, but the government says it can’t help hundreds of Afghans who won it for at least another year.

Immigration Prosecutors Were Told Not to Push for Deportation in Cases Like His. He Was Ordered Deported the Next Day.

Under a new Biden policy, more than 100,000 immigrants could have their cases dropped. But that discretion is left to individual prosecutors, and many are letting the deportation machine roll on.

The U.S. Is Closing a Loophole That Lured Mexicans Over the Border to Donate Blood Plasma for Cash

Selling blood plasma in the U.S. could net Mexican residents hundreds of dollars a month — if they donated often enough. But some were putting their health at risk to do so.

“Shadow Wins”: How ICE Avoids Judicial Accountability by Quietly Releasing Immigrants Who Challenge Being Detained

ICE helps maintain the status quo of prolonged detentions by releasing immigrants without having their cases vindicated in court, according to a new report.

Documents Show Trump Officials Used Secret Terrorism Unit to Question Lawyers at the Border

In newly disclosed records, Trump officials cited conspiracies about Antifa to justify interrogating immigration lawyers with a special terrorism unit. The documents also show that more lawyers were targeted than previously known.

“No Good Choices”: HHS Is Cutting Safety Corners to Move Migrant Kids Out of Overcrowded Facilities

After ignoring signs that shelters were filling quickly, agencies are scrambling to get thousands of kids out of Border Patrol jails. But new “emergency” facilities skirt safety standards, while facilities accused of abuse are still getting grants.

Biden abrió el estatus legal temporal a miles de inmigrantes. Estas son las formas en que podrían quedar atrapados.

Miles de inmigrantes venezolanos y birmanos acaban de solicitar el Estatus de Protección Temporal. Sin embargo, mientras los congresistas demócratas trabajan en una trayectoria hacia la ciudadanía para inmigrantes que tienen esa calidad migratoria desde hace décadas, los nuevos beneficiarios podrían quedar fuera del proceso.

Biden Opened Temporary Legal Status to Thousands of Immigrants. Here’s How They Could End Up Trapped.

Thousands of Venezuelan and Burmese immigrants just got to apply for temporary protected status. But as congressional Democrats work on a path to citizenship for immigrants who’ve had the status for decades, new grantees could be left out.

What the Horrific Crash on the Border Says About U.S. Immigration Policy

For all the attention on Biden’s changes to border policy, there are plenty of factors out of the U.S.’s control — which might make migrants increasingly desperate.

Who Biden Is Putting in Power

Here’s ProPublica’s running list of Joe Biden’s picks to run the federal government.

A Once-in-a-Lifetime Chance for Liberian Immigrants Has Been “Hamstrung” by COVID — and Trump’s Dysfunctional Immigration Bureaucracy

Last year, Congress quietly passed a bill allowing thousands of Liberian immigrants to apply for green cards. But the Trump administration hardly made it easy, and now the application window is closing.

Tracking the Trump Administration’s “Midnight Regulations”

The administration is rushing to implement dozens of policy changes in its final days. We’re following some of the most consequential and controversial.

Una clave que podría decidir la elección: si el Partido Republicano logra impedir que los votantes subsanen boletas rechazadas

Muchos estados permiten a los votantes corregir y entregar de nuevo las boletas que fueron rechazadas por razones técnicas. Se llama “subsanar” votos, y el partido Republicano está intentado impedir que se cuenten porque podrían ayudar a Biden a ganar.

Whether the GOP Can Stop Voters From Legally Fixing Rejected Mail-In Ballots Could Decide the Election

Many states allow voters to fix and resubmit ballots rejected for technical reasons. It’s called “curing” votes, and the GOP is trying to prevent them from being counted because they could help Biden win.

Trump Got What He Wanted at the Border. Would Biden Undo It?

Democrats agree that Trump’s caused asylum-seekers unacceptable misery. But the goal of deterring people from migrating to the U.S. — which has motivated Trump’s complex web of border policies — has seduced some Democrats, too.

Internal Memo Shows Trump Administration Expects Drastic Drop in Demand for U.S. Visas for Years to Come

The Trump administration is predicting years of dramatically reduced international demand for American visas and planning for large budget cuts to visa services worldwide as a result, according to an internal document seen by ProPublica.

ICE Is Making Sure Migrant Kids Don’t Have COVID-19 — Then Expelling Them to “Prevent the Spread” of COVID-19

The administration has used infection risk to justify expelling thousands of children without legal protections. But it’s only expelling kids who’ve tested negative.

Portland Protesters No Longer Being Banned From Attending Protests to Win Release From Jail

After a ProPublica report, federal prosecutors and defenders made a joint request to the court that the practice be stopped.

“Defendant Shall Not Attend Protests”: In Portland, Getting Out of Jail Requires Relinquishing Constitutional Rights

A dozen protesters facing federal charges are barred from going to “public gatherings” as a condition of release from jail — a tactic one expert described as “sort of hilariously unconstitutional.”

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