← This American Life
882: Give a Little Whistle
Mar 8, 2026 · 1 hr 2 min
Two lawyers who work for ICE step forward and lift the curtain on what is really happening inside our immigration system right now.
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- Prologue: Two lawyers dive into the details of what they’ve witnessed behind the scenes in different parts of the immigration system. (2 minutes)
- Act One: Former ICE attorney Ryan Schwank explains the chaos and dysfunction he observed at an ICE training academy, which led him to whistleblow to Congress two weeks ago. (12 minutes)
- Act Two: A federal judge orders the government to immediately release a bunch of people from detention. Days pass, and the government doesn’t comply. So the judge calls a hearing to figure out what’s going on. The lawyer's response is not what he or anybody expected. (25 minutes)
Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.org
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