To expose the opaque transformation of the U.S. immigration court system, the AP launched a sweeping, cross-country investigation led by Joshua Goodman and Tim Sullivan — a multiformat logistical feat involving nearly two dozen journalists and direct court observation in 21 cities.
The team uncovered how the Trump administration systematically remade the long-backlogged immigration courts, deploying strategies such as mass case dismissals to enable hallway arrests, and replacing ousted judges with military lawyers with little immigration experience.
Goodman secured sensitive internal communications through trusted government sources, while Sullivan synthesized 127 pages of internal reporting to decode 52 sweeping policy directives. Photographer Olga Fedorova spent three months documenting arrests and court scenes in New York, bringing essential humanity to the structural overhaul.
The resulting package was hailed by immigration experts as a “masterpiece,” earning a feature on PBS NewsHour and wide praise for its depth, ambition and clarity. The investigation showed that only AP’s geographic reach could have fully captured such a complex and consequential transformation of the justice system.
Related articles
