On January 3rd, 2026, a 55-year-old man named Geraldo Lunas Campos was standing in line at an immigration detention facility in El Paso, Texas, waiting for his asthma medication. He never got it. Instead, he was taken to a solitary confinement cell, held down by guards, and died. He said "I can't breathe" — in Spanish — more than once. The government said he tried to kill himself. The county medical examiner said otherwise. The official cause of death: asphyxia due to neck and torso compression. Manner of death: homicide. He is one of 47 people who have died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody since January 2025 — the deadliest period in the history of the American immigration detention system in more than two decades. In this episode of The Raid, investigative journalist John Carlos Frey goes inside the numbers, the names, and the cover stories. From Geraldo Lunas Campos to Roxsana Hernández — a transgender asylum seeker beaten in a New Mexico private prison — to a 19-year-old indigenous Mexican teenager who died weeks after being detained on charges his family says were fabricated, Frey documents a pattern of medical neglect, physical abuse, deliberate obstruction, and institutional impunity that spans administrations and has never been fully reckoned with.

The Raid is independently produced and available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, Audible, and all major platforms. New episodes every week.

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Dr. Paul Ong is a Professor Emeritus at UCLA. He has been analyzing the data from across the country pertaining to the ICE raids. Dr. Ong discusses his findings in detail with John Carlos Frey in this illuminating podcast. According to Ong, the current administration is not only reshaping our immigration system with the ongoing mass deportation campaign, but also the demographic make-up of the United States. This podcast is in depth and eye opening.

https://luskin.ucla.edu/person/paul-ong

https://luskin.ucla.edu/ong-on-the-current-state-of-immigration-enforcement

https://theraidpodcast.org/

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The statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants on this program are solely their own and do not necessarily represent those of the distributor of the program and any person or entity affiliated with said distributor ("distributor's affiliates"). The distributor and distributor's affiliates are not responsible for, and shall not be liable for, the statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants, or for any content that appears on the program.

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Flock cameras, ring cameras, face recognition technology and license plate readers are just some of the technology ICE is using to surveil people across the country. Technology coupled with shared data with federal agencies and law enforcement create an unprecedented surveillance state and dragnet. It appears this vast system is not just for locating undocumented immigrants.

Wendy Fry is a seasoned reporter for Cal Matters investigating the use of license plate readers throughout Southern California and their implications. She joins John Carlos Frey on this eye-opening podcast to discuss her reporting and questionable tactics used by the federal government.

https://calmatters.org/justice/2026/02/alpr-border-patrol-caltrans/

https://theraidpodcast.org/

Disclaimer:

The statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants on this program are solely their own and do not necessarily represent those of the distributor of the program and any person or entity affiliated with said distributor ("distributor's affiliates"). The distributor and distributor's affiliates are not responsible for, and shall not be liable for, the statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants, or for any content that appears on the program.

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John Carlos Frey takes a look at the history of the top three officials within the Department of Homeland Security running the mass deportation campaign after the firing of Kristi Noem. Each has a questionable past making confidence in DHS questionable. Frey contends not much will change now that Noem is gone.

https://theraidpodcast.org/

https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/letter_to_dhs_regarding_rodney_scottpdf.pdf

https://rollcall.com/2018/08/10/ethics-committee-orders-markwayne-mullin-to-pay-back-40000/#:~:text=The%20Office%20of%20Congressional%20Ethics,Fontelo%20contributed%20to%20this%20report.

https://nevadacurrent.com/2025/02/27/repub/private-prison-giant-sees-1b-ice-contract-as-start-of-unprecedented-opportunities-under-trump/#:~:text=By:%20Ariana%20Figueroa%20%2D%20February%2027%2C%202025%202:45%20pm&text=WASHINGTON%20%E2%80%94%20U.S.%20Immigration%20and%20Customs,and%20executive%20chairman%20of%20GEO.

https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48704

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The statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants on this program are solely their own and do not necessarily represent those of the distributor of the program and any person or entity affiliated with said distributor ("distributor's affiliates"). The distributor and distributor's affiliates are not responsible for, and shall not be liable for, the statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants, or for any content that appears on the program.

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Over the past year, through a series of executive orders, asylum cases have all but halted. Asylum was a legal method of fleeing persecution and fear of life to find safe harbor in the United States. In the recent past, the process to gain asylum had been lengthy and grueling for most applicants with the vast majority of applicants being rejected but now it appears the doors have closed, altogether. In this episode of the The Raid, Maria Salguero an attorney from Immigrant Legal Defense Center specializing in asylum law, speaks candidly about the ever-changing landscape for asylum seekers and how many are now being barred from applying or detained and even deported.

https://www.sbimmigrantdefense.org/

https://theraidpodcast.org/

Disclaimer:

The statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants on this program are solely their own and do not necessarily represent those of the distributor of the program and any person or entity affiliated with said distributor ("distributor's affiliates"). The distributor and distributor's affiliates are not responsible for, and shall not be liable for, the statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants, or for any content that appears on the program.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the nation’s leading authority on child health, has repeatedly and unequivocally opposed the detention of children for immigration purposes; in fact, the AAP’s leadership recently reiterated that all children held in immigration detention should be immediately released, and these facilities should be permanently shuttered.”

On the podcast is Barbara Rodriguez. She's the health reporter for the digital publication, "The 19th". She recently published an article entitled, " These pediatrician moms have a shared message: Release all children in immigration detention" The article is a conversation with pediatrician moms who see the inherent dangers in incarcerating children.

Barbara has been a journalist for nearly 20 years, reporting from statehouses, a presidential campaign trail and doctor's offices during the early days of the global pandemic.

https://19thnews.org/2026/03/pediatrician-moms-children-health-immigration-detention/

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/614d500305bc5541f50c3baf/t/69a1effc5cc09a2d4ea92656/1772220412407/End+Child+Detention+Letter+with+signatures+Feb+26+2026.pdf

https://theraidpodcast.org/

Disclaimer:

The statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants on this program are solely their own and do not necessarily represent those of the distributor of the program and any person or entity affiliated with said distributor ("distributor's affiliates"). The distributor and distributor's affiliates are not responsible for, and shall not be liable for, the statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants, or for any content that appears on the program.

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John Carlos Frey takes a deep look into the separation of parents from their children during the mass deportation effort. Children are being abandoned against what used to be standard procedure that considered the plight of children during deportation proceedings. The numbers are alarming and worse than any other family separation tactic in the past.

https://theraidpodcast.org/

https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/report/family-separation-policy/#:~:text=In%20the%20spring%20and%20summer,been%20reunited%20with%20their%20parents.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/19/trump-deportation-children-trauma https://www.ilrc.org/community-resources/know-your-rights/step-step-family-preparedness-plan#:~:text=Make%20sure%20to%20write%20down,find%20someone%20in%20ICE%20custody.

https://phr.org/our-work/resources/what-about-my-children-family-separation-among-parents-deported-to-honduras/

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The statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants on this program are solely their own and do not necessarily represent those of the distributor of the program and any person or entity affiliated with said distributor ("distributor's affiliates"). The distributor and distributor's affiliates are not responsible for, and shall not be liable for, the statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants, or for any content that appears on the program.

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Alvaro Huerta is the Director of Litigation and Advocacy for Immigrant Defenders Law Center. The organization has recently filed suit against the Adelanto immigrant detention facility in Southern California. The lawsuit alleges, "People have been forced to live in unsanitary conditions and subjected to punitive isolation and neglect, conditions that would be considered abuse in almost any other setting. It specifically challenges the denial of basic necessities at the facility—including medical and mental health care, access to the outdoors, adequate nutrition and water, and sanitary living conditions."

Alvaro is on the podcast to talk about the lawsuit, conditions at the Adelanto detention facility and in general, the way migrants are treated in facilities across the country.

https://www.immdef.org/blog/ltvice_filing

https://theraidpodcast.org/

Disclaimer:

The statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants on this program are solely their own and do not necessarily represent those of the distributor of the program and any person or entity affiliated with said distributor ("distributor's affiliates"). The distributor and distributor's affiliates are not responsible for, and shall not be liable for, the statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants, or for any content that appears on the program.

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