Elliot Spagat, Author at The Rapid City Post

Hotels and highways are seen around Universal Volcano Bay water park, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Orlando, Fla., which saw an influx of migrants in recent years drawn by warm temperatures, a vibrant migrant community, and plentiful job opportunities. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Where immigrants went during an unprecedented influx at the US border, by the numbers

October 1, 2025

Salt Lake City, Denver and Fort Myers, Florida, were hot places to settle. California lost some of its appeal. The Associated Press obtained data by state and metropolitan area on self-reported destinations of nearly 2.5 million people who were released in the United States for humanitarian reasons or with notices to appear in immigration court to pursue asylum. They crossed illegally or they came legally through an online appointment app called CBP One. While many may have moved, the data opens a window into how an unprecedented surge in immigration played out across the U.S.

FILE - Masked federal agents wait outside an immigration courtroom, July 8, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Olga Fedorova, File)

Immigration agency flexes authority to sharply expand detention without bond hearing

July 15, 2025

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is moving to detain far more people than before, tapping a legal authority to jail anyone who entered the country illegally. Todd Lyons, ICE’s acting director, wrote employees on July 8 that people in deportation proceedings would be ineligible for a bond hearing before an immigration judge. Instead, they cannot be released unless the Homeland Security Department makes an exception. The directive signals wider use of a 1996 law to detain people who had previously been allowed to remain free while their cases wind through immigration court.

Elliot Spagat.

Where immigrants went during an unprecedented influx at the US border, by the numbers

Immigration agency flexes authority to sharply expand detention without bond hearing

Finance.