From Making Sense…
What we are seeing in Minneapolis right now is horrendous, frightening, and heartbreaking. But it is not a surprise. Over the past year, the Trump administration has deliberately escalated immigration enforcement – expanding funding and capacity for ICE, normalising violent and racist rhetoric, and expanding legal support for immigration enforcement while stripping back oversight. On the ground, federal immigration agents have grown bolder and more aggressive.
Where we are now traces directly back to the very beginning of Trump’s second term. In this post I trace out the actions since January 2025, highlighting the key events that tell the story of how we ended up here.
Below is a chart of actions over the last year – I’ve logged almost 200 and so have only been able to label the most significant on the chart below (high resolution version). The full list, along with links to relevant news stories, can be accessed here.
Christina Pagel is Professor of Operational Research in Health Care at University College London, UK.
More content from this blog
- In Sudan, the People’s Revolution Versus the Elite’s Counterrevolution, by Sara Abbas, Nisrin Elamin, Rabab Elnaiem and Abdelraouf Omer – 23 July 2024
- Haftar and Hemedti: Patriots or Pawns in Trans-Saharan Business Interests?, by Musab Mohamed Ali Hassan Alnaser – 21 July 2025
- Toxic Pacifism. Interview with Mira – 17 March 2026
- Is Trump’s Venezuela Operation a ‘Gift to Putin’, and What Is the State of Russia’s ‘Shadow Fleet’? – 9 January 2026
- When Movements Become Cults, by SAFTU – 16 February 2026
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