Isa Peña

Isa Peña is Director of Strategy at Innovation Law Lab, a Portland-based nonprofit focused on immigrant and refugee justice. She is a longtime Oregon immigrant-rights organizer, former Interim Executive Director of Causa, and advocate involved in policy, community engagement, and rapid-response work for immigrant Oregonians.

ICE Courthouse Arrests Turn Case Dismissals Into Fast-Track Deportations

Bloomberg Investigates follows Portland legal aid group Innovation Law Lab as it challenges the Department of Homeland Security over President Donald Trump’s deportation campaign. The lawyers argue that ICE is turning immigration court appearances into arrest opportunities by seeking dismissals, detaining people after hearings and moving them into faster deportation proceedings with fewer rights. Executive director Stephen Manning frames the fight as a due-process battle over whether immigrants can still use the legal system without being exposed to detention.

Bloomberg OriginalsMay 19, 20266 min read