What A Day – "Trump Takes Down US Immigration System"
Date: September 25, 2025
Host: Jane Coaston
Guest: Katie Blankenship, Immigration Attorney
Episode Overview
This episode examines how the Trump administration is fundamentally reshaping the US immigration system through mass deportations, the politicization and hollowing out of the immigration judge corps, and the deterioration of detention conditions and due process for migrants. Host Jane Coaston speaks with immigration lawyer Katie Blankenship to reveal what these changes look like on the ground—spotlighting the lived consequences for families, the growing entanglement with private detention profit motives, and the deeply intentional policy shifts driving the system’s current crisis.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Mass Deportations and “Disappeared” Detainees
[00:02–04:30]
- DHS announced 2 million people have been removed or have self-deported since Trump took office (Jan 2025).
- Many remain stuck in detention: 58,766 in ICE custody, most without criminal records and being denied bond.
- Detention conditions widely described as "dirty and decrepit."
- The closure of the Everglades facility after a judge’s order led to confusion about detainees’ whereabouts.
- Families lose contact, and detainees are sometimes literally untraceable using ICE databases.
- Opening of new detention sites (e.g., Baker Correctional Institute in Florida) replicates failed models:
- “It's literally just a recipe book. They just did the exact same thing they did with the Everglades camp, and they're having all the same issues.”
– Katie Blankenship [02:44]
- “It's literally just a recipe book. They just did the exact same thing they did with the Everglades camp, and they're having all the same issues.”
Memorable Moment
“You can't find them on the court website. You can't file documents for them in court the way you can for other clients. And they're literally being disappeared from their families.”
— Katie Blankenship [03:28]
2. Purging and Politicization of Immigration Judges
[04:30–06:32]
- Nearly 100 immigration judges have been fired in 2025; more experienced judges are being let go, reportedly for granting “too much asylum.”
- Some are replaced with military lawyers or attorneys lacking immigration expertise, politicizing the bench.
- Dismissals and mass firings skew asylum outcomes drastically.
“Meaning the Trump administration basically said, you're granting too much asylum. And just based on those numbers, we're canning you. ... you're just blatantly politicizing these offices.”
— Katie Blankenship [05:06]
Host Observation
“It just seems like the administration is replacing more experienced judges who know what asylum is and how to grant it with lawyers who don't have experience, who are just going to deny every single claim and make sure more people are deported.”
— Jane Coaston [06:08]
3. Denial of Due Process and Access to Relief
[06:32–09:39]
- Parole and bond options have been nearly eliminated—immigrants remain in detention for months awaiting hearings.
- Even strong asylum claims are being denied; denial rates have shot up due to direct pressure from above.
- Government lawyers now aggressively appeal any bond grants or favorable rulings.
- Judges pressured to dismiss cases, allowing for deportation without hearings.
- Detainees have little to no chance to defend themselves:
“I'm losing cases on such strong asylum claims that I was winning three months ago, even under the Trump administration.”
— Katie Blankenship [07:39]
4. Profit Motive and Ideological Shifts in Policy
[09:53–11:30]
- The administration’s actions reflect “anti-immigrant animus made into policy” and are tied directly to financial and political incentives.
- Suggests that the goal is the maximum number detained, with profits flowing to private detention operators (e.g., Geo Group).
- Questions about who would fill detention centers if the administration actually achieved "zero" immigration—pointing to the system’s design for perpetual operation and profit.
Notable Quote
“It is much more about the political power and the profit than even the racism. ... We're gonna use racism as a political tool. ... By the way, we just gave ourselves $43 billion. By the way, Geo Group is laughing to the bank.”
— Katie Blankenship [10:35]
5. Immediate and Projected Consequences
[11:30–11:50]
- The machinery of detention builds on itself, seeking more people to lock up and more revenue, regardless of human cost.
- Host and guest reflect on how all these policies combine to create a system hostile not just to undocumented immigrants, but to immigration as a whole, legal or not.
“Do you have any sense of what they're going to do next? … My interpretation is no more immigration. ... Even if they are … seeking asylum because they've experienced discrimination or experiencing death threats ... it's still nope.”
— Jane Coaston [09:53]
Notable Quotes & Timestamps
- “It's gotten worse. ... I had to fight with a guard yesterday about the concept of legal mail.”
— Katie Blankenship [02:44] - “They're literally being disappeared from their families.”
— Katie Blankenship [03:28] - “You're just blatantly politicizing these offices.”
— Katie Blankenship [05:06] - “Parole's gone, bond's gone. ... The government's like, oh, guess what? We're appealing and staying it. So, no.”
— Katie Blankenship [08:46–09:22] - “If you don't like that, we’ll fire you and find a military officer who will sit in your cloak and do it for us.”
— Katie Blankenship [08:22] - “All of this anti-immigrant animus fueling everything for profit … Geo Group is laughing to the bank, you know that.”
— Katie Blankenship [10:35]
Important Segment Timestamps
| Segment | Timestamp | |---------------------------------------------------|-------------| | Episode Introduction & News Headlines | 00:02–02:28 | | Detention Facility Crisis & “Disappeared” Detainees| 02:31–04:30 | | Mass Firing of Immigration Judges | 04:30–06:08 | | Politicization: Military Lawyers as Judges | 06:08–06:58 | | Bond, Parole, & Blocking Legal Relief | 06:58–09:39 | | Anti-Immigrant Policy as Profitable Agenda | 09:53–11:50 |
Tone & Language
Jane Coaston maintains a direct, wry, and incredulous tone, using questions to both clarify and underscore the severity of the situation. Katie Blankenship is candid and urgent, at times acerbic in her assessment of both systemic failures and the calculated cruelty of current immigration policy.
Conclusion
This episode presents a sobering, ground-level account of the Trump administration’s immigration overhaul: deliberate mass removals, vanishing detainees, an undone system of judicial review and due process, and a system incentivized to perpetuate cruelty for corporate profit. Coaston and Blankenship expose how these initiatives separate families, undermine justice, and turn anti-immigrant sentiment into an ongoing, lucrative policy reality.
Listen On
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For more on Katie Blankenship’s advocacy, refer to the episode show notes.