Ted Hesson

Ted Hesson

@tedhesson.bsky.social

Immigration Reporter Washington, DC linkedin.com/in/ted-hesson/

1.5K followers167 following270 posts

Pinned

Ted Hesson
@tedhesson.bsky.social

I'm excited and humbled to share that I'll be joining The Washington Post in early July as an immigration reporter. If we've previously been in touch, I hope we can continue that. If you would like to connect or share tips, I'm on Signal at tedhesson.23. cc: @washingtonpost.com

Ted Hesson
@tedhesson.bsky.social

With citizenship approvals slowing, would-be voters are left in limbo: backlogs in naturalization applications rose from about 500,000 cases at the start of the second Trump administration to more than 800,000 as of August www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

washingtonpost.com72 percent drop in approving new citizens leaves would-be voters in limboA sharp slowdown in naturalizations has left hundreds of thousands of immigrants waiting — and some turning to federal courts for help.
Ted Hesson
@tedhesson.bsky.social

Some 100,000 Ukrainians were scheduled Monday to lose temporary protected status but the Trump administration is expected to extend those protections, striking a softer approach before midterms. W/ @laurenkaorigurley.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

washingtonpost.comTrump officials soften approach to key immigration policy ahead of midtermsUkrainian immigrants, due to lose humanitarian protections from deportation today, are the latest group expected to get a reprieve.
Ted Hesson
@tedhesson.bsky.social

The federal investigation that prompted the search of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s D.C. residence centers on claims that she or her late father may have lied on decades-old immigration paperwork to secure legal status and eventually citizenship @jeremyrroebuck.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

washingtonpost.comU.S. probe of Rep. Ilhan Omar focuses on birth date, citizenship papers, people familiar sayThe Department of Homeland Security declined to move forward with an investigation years ago based on similar allegations, said one person, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss informatio...
Ted Hesson
@tedhesson.bsky.social

Federal authorities searched the D.C. home of Rep. Ilhan Omar on Monday morning, three people familiar with the matter said, intensifying long-standing immigration-related accusations from Republicans regarding the nation’s first Somali American lawmaker www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/...

washingtonpost.comFederal agents search Rep. Ilhan Omar’s D.C. homeHomeland Security Investigations, the investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, executed the search.
Ted Hesson
@tedhesson.bsky.social

An affidavit unsealed Tuesday said that the ICE officer who shot Venezuelan delivery driver Wilber Garcés Pérez in Austin was not wearing a body camera and that another officer turned his camera off www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

washingtonpost.comImmigrant shot by ICE in Austin is charged with assaultAn affidavit unsealed on Tuesday said the officer who shot Wilber Garcés Pérez was not wearing a body camera and that another officer turned his camera off.
Ted Hesson
@tedhesson.bsky.social

Inside Trump’s asylum crackdown: our analysis of immigration court records shows immigration judges have ordered more than 440,000 asylum seekers removed during Trump’s first 19 months back in office — more than during the previous eight years combined www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

washingtonpost.comAsylum seekers thought they had a haven in the U.S. Then Trump returned.More than 440,000 people have been ordered removed since the president returned to office — more than during the previous eight years combined.
Ted Hesson
@tedhesson.bsky.social

The Trump admin policy on deporting immigrants to third countries is unlawful, a federal appeals court ruled Friday, a decision that could halt a program that has already sent thousands of people to countries that are not their own @davidnakamura.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

washingtonpost.comAppeals court says Trump administration’s third-country deportation policy is unlawfulThe decision marks a major setback for the administration, which has removed tens of thousands of unauthorized immigrants to countries where they are not citizens.
Ted Hesson
@tedhesson.bsky.social

DOJ has taken few visible steps to investigate the dozens of documented shootings involving DHS personnel participating in Trump's immigration crackdown www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202... @jeremyrroebuck.bsky.social @silviafosterfrau.bsky.social

washingtonpost.comRare charges against ICE agent highlight DOJ’s broader retreat from shooting probesThe case against Christian Castro is unprecedented in President Donald Trump’s second term, as ICE agents face little fallout from shootings of protesters and others.
Ted Hesson
@tedhesson.bsky.social

"“He felt like he was treated like an animal:" a Haitian immigrant who had grown distraught after losing his deportation protection and being outfitted with an ankle monitor died in what his family believes was a suicide www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/... @arelisrhdz.bsky.social

washingtonpost.comCollege student steps into traffic, is killed after losing immigration statusPierre Damas Bel’s family said he took his own life on a busy highway after the Trump administration canceled protections for thousands of Haitian immigrants and ICE officers placed him in an ankle mo...
Ted Hesson
@tedhesson.bsky.social

White South Africans who come to the United States as refugees could get up to $4,500 per person in initial federal support beginning Oct. 1, nearly double the current amount, four people familiar with the change in policy said www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

washingtonpost.comWhite South Africans could get $4,500 in aid if they come to U.S. as refugeesThe assistance, which helps pay for basic needs such as housing and food, would nearly double under a new policy.
Ted Hesson
@tedhesson.bsky.social

ICE is detaining more immigrants who do not have a criminal record than at any other point since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year, according to newly released government data www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/... @davidnakamura.bsky.social

washingtonpost.comICE is arresting soaring numbers of immigrants with no criminal recordFederal immigration officers are shifting their targets and tactics to increase arrests. More than half of those detained last month did not have a criminal record.
Ted Hesson
@tedhesson.bsky.social

Hundreds of federal immigration officers responsible for vetting the applications of people seeking a legal status in the United States are being reassigned to search for potential voter fraud, the latest step in Trump's voter fraud push www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

washingtonpost.comImmigration officers are being diverted to Trump’s voter-fraud effortThe reassignment is the latest step to marshal the federal government behind Trump’s unsupported claim that noncitizens vote enough to change U.S. elections.
Ted Hesson
@tedhesson.bsky.social

Ex-ICE agent’s group awarded $158 million to represent migrant children: The Trump administration gave the contract to Our Rescue, which former agent Tim Ballard left in 2023 before being accused of sex trafficking www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

washingtonpost.comEx-ICE agent’s group awarded $158 million to represent migrant childrenThe Trump administration gave the contract to Our Rescue, which former agent Tim Ballard left in 2023 before being accused of sex trafficking.
Ted Hesson
@tedhesson.bsky.social

For weeks, U.S. immigration officials alerted their colleagues about dangerous overcrowding at 26 Federal Plaza, where detainees were held in small rooms with no beds, showers or full-time medical staff. See what it looked like inside: www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

washingtonpost.comICE officials warned of dangerous crowding. See how they kept packing people in.Dozens were held for days in small rooms last year with no beds, showers or full-time medical staff, records analyzed by The Post show.
Ted Hesson
@tedhesson.bsky.social

An ICE officer fatally shot a Mexican man in Houston on Tuesday during an attempted traffic stop, federal authorities said, what appeared to be the first deadly ICE shooting since Minneapolis in January. W/ @davidnakamura.bsky.social @arelisrhdz.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

washingtonpost.comICE officer fatally shoots Mexican man in Houston during traffic stopThe incident appears to mark the first deadly shooting by federal immigration officers since Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed in Minneapolis in January.
Ted Hesson
@tedhesson.bsky.social

Death rate in ICE immigrant detention centers more than doubles under Trump, w/ @kristinacooke.bsky.social @mashatsvetkova.bsky.social www.reuters.com/legal/govern...

reuters.comDeath rate in ICE immigrant detention centers more than doubles under Trump, Reuters analysis findsSome 50 people have died in U.S. immigration detention since President Donald Trump launched his mass deportation campaign in January 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement records show.
Ted Hesson
@tedhesson.bsky.social

Even as Trump looks to further ramp up the ​entry of South Africans, an internal U.S. government ​email reviewed by Reuters showed that ⁠at least four refugees already in the U.S. have returned to South Africa

Ted Hesson
@tedhesson.bsky.social

Exclusive: The FBI warned US state and ​local law enforcement of an elevated threat posed by Iran's government last month even as ‌the White House sought to downplay the likelihood of an attack, w/ @kristinacooke.bsky.social www.reuters.com/world/us/int...

reuters.comExclusive: Intelligence report warned of Iran's 'persistent threat' to US as White House downplayed the riskThe FBI warned U.S. state and ​local law enforcement of an elevated threat posed by Iran's government to targets in the United States last month even as ‌the White House sought to downplay the likelih...