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The Trump administration is seeking to spend tens of billions of dollars to set up the machinery to expand immigrant detention on a scale never before seen in the United States, according to a request for proposals posted online by the administration last week. ... Facilities under the contract will not have to meet the standards for services and detainee care that ICE has typically set for large detention providers. Instead, they can operate under the less rigorous standards the agency uses for contracts with local jails and prisons. These facilities typically do not include comprehensive medical care, like access to mental health services, nor do they offer access to information about immigrants’ legal rights. (McCann, Berzon and Aleaziz, 4/7)

Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi are home to 14 of the 20 largest immigration detention centers in the country. Democratic and Republican administrations have long used them as a hub for immigrant detention. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's decision to quickly ship several of the academics arrested in the last few weeks to Louisiana has brought heightened awareness to how crucial the state has become in the process since Donald Trump's first term. And it has revived concern about a longstanding practice called "forum shopping," a strategy lawyers for the detained say the government is using to have these deportation cases heard before more conservative courts. (Diaz and Florido, 4/8)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Trump’s Immigration Tactics Obstruct Efforts To Avert Bird Flu Pandemic, Researchers Say

Aggressive deportation tactics have terrorized farmworkers at the center of the nation’s bird flu strategy, public health workers say. Dairy and poultry workers have accounted for most cases of the bird flu in the U.S. — and preventing and detecting cases among them is key to averting a pandemic. But public health specialists say they’re struggling to reach farmworkers because many are terrified to talk with strangers or to leave home. (Maxmen, 4/10)

Federal immigration officials will begin screening social media for antisemitic activity to block immigration benefits, immigration officials announced on Wednesday. A U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services news release said this included “antisemitic activity on social media and the physical harassment of Jewish individuals.” The guidance immediately affects people applying for lawful permanent status, foreign student visas and others affiliated with educational institutions, according to the release. (Cuevas, 4/9)

The acting head of the IRS plans to resign after being bypassed over a new agreement to share the tax data of undocumented immigrants with Homeland Security personnel, according to two people familiar with the situation. Acting IRS commissioner Melanie Krause — the tax agency’s third leader since President Donald Trump’s inauguration — will participate in the deferred resignation program the Trump administration offered to agency employees in recent days, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. (Bogage and Najmabadi, 4/9)

Almost 600 children in Pennsylvania, many fleeing abuse or persecution, are being forced to navigate the immigration court system without legal representation, according to immigrant advocacy groups. Recent federal funding cuts have left more than 26,000 unaccompanied minors nationwide without legal aid. Cathryn Miller-Wilson, executive director of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society-Pennsylvania, said federal funding unexpectedly stopped four weeks ago, leaving attorneys without support to help migrant children in shelters in Bethlehem and northwestern Pennsylvania. (Smith, 4/9)

Debate over a bill to deny certain immigrant children the right to an education was disrupted Monday as two Lutheran pastors knelt in front of a House committee room and recited the Lord’s Prayer. Others in the audience soon joined from their seats. The bill (HB793/SB836) by Sen. Bo Watson of Hixson and House Majority Leader William Lamberth of Portland — both Republicans — would give public school districts the option of verifying student immigration status, charging tuition of students who cannot prove they are legal residents or barring enrollment entirely. (Wadhwani, 4/8)

In the New York village of Sackets Harbor, teachers launched a days-long effort to secure the release of three students. Less than two weeks later, the students were back in their classrooms. (Rodriguez, 4/10)