Ernesto Castañeda

@drernestocast.bsky.social

9K followers 1.9K following 2.4K posts

Director, The Immigration Lab; & The Center for Latin American & Latino Studies; Full Professor, Sociology, American University, DC. Immigration and the politics of the possible. Author of multiple books & articles. Public scholar. .. more

Videos

Political science 36%

Sociology 30%

Posts Replies Media Videos

Pinned

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · Nov 11

"Immigration Realities" is a thorough, research-based #analysis that debunks widespread #myths surrounding #immigration. Its well-supported #insights make it valuable for readers interested in a thoughtful public #dialogue @columbiaup.bsky.social Review here:
www.populismstudies.org/immigration-...

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · Nov 11

Get beyond myths and lies and learn about Immigration Realities.
www.amazon.com/Immigration-...
@columbiaup.bsky.social

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · 12h

Maduro was taken by force by U.S. forces a month ago (January 3, 2026).

On Monday, February 9, I will discuss the causes and consequences at a
Profs and Pints event in downtown DC.

Join a great, curious, and engaged crowd that is always open to learn.

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · 12h

events.ticketleap.com/tickets/prof...

Profs & Pints DC: Venezuela’s Future—and Ours

Profs and Pints DC presents: “Venezuela’s Future—and Ours,” an analysis of how the Trump administration’s intervention in Venezuela will affect that nation, the U.S., and the rest of the world, with E...

urldefense.com

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · 13h

donde había menos testigos y menos resistencia y oposición de los ciudadanos. La gente que estaba alejada de las comunidades de migrantes no conocía de estas operaciones, pero desde el segundo mandato de Trump las redadas se han politizado y el tema migratorio se ha vuelto partidista”, añade.

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · 13h

Para Ernesto Castañeda las redadas de ICE no son algo nuevo, solo que han sido politizadas por la actual admin. “Los operativos y las deportaciones de ICE se realizaron con Obama, Biden y también en el primer mandato de Trump. Pero antes ocurrían de madrugada, en lugares de trabajo, 1/2

Para Ernesto Castañeda, director del Laboratorio de Inmigración de American University, en Washington DC, las redadas de ICE no son algo nuevo, solo que han sido politizadas por la actual administración. “Los operativos y las deportaciones de ICE se realizaron con Obama, Biden y también en el primer mandato de Trump. Pero antes ocurrían de madrugada, en lugares de trabajo, donde había menos testigos y menos resistencia y oposición de los ciudadanos”, señala a France 24. “La gente que estaba alejada de las comunidades de migrantes no conocía de estas operaciones, pero desde el segundo mandato de Trump las redadas se han politizado y el tema migratorio se ha vuelto partidista”, añade.

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · 14h

Maduro was taken by force by U.S. forces a month ago (January 3, 2026).

On Monday, February 9, I will discuss the causes and consequences at a @profsandpints.bsky.social event in downtown DC.

Join a great, curious, and engaged crowd always open to learn.

www.pennsocialdc.com/event-detail...

Profs & Pints DC: Venezuela’s Future—and Ours | Penn Social

An analysis of how the Trump administration’s intervention in Venezuela will affect that nation, the U.S., and the rest of the world, with Ernesto Castañeda, Director of the Center for Latin American ...

www.pennsocialdc.com

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · 18h

-Current immigration laws create family separations.
-A closed border, along with no asylum, and less legal immigration is not something to celebrate.

You can read more here:
theimmigrationlab.org/blog/f/immig...

Immigration Myths Die Hard

One Year into Trump 2.0, Some Immigration Myths are Shattering, but Some of the Big Lies from the 2024 Trump Campaign Continue

theimmigrationlab.org

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · 18h

Mass deportations cannot be taken as a normal campaign promise. The level of violence and violation of rights needed to conduct mass deportations from U.S. communities is not compatible to a society that is democratic and protest the Bill of Rights.

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · 18h

Multiple factual misunderstandings persist in the way that immigration is often framed and discussed in media coverage and political commentary. Here some recurring new and old myths.

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · 20h

Wrote this piece for minors and beginners to understand why deportations happen. Still relevant because kids are justifiably afraid.
theimmigrationlab.org/blog/f/under...

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · 20h

"The climate in DC remains especially volatile for mixed status families, who must live with the fear that their loved one will be detained while doing their daily tasks. A member of the Sacred Heart Church was detained by ICE while selling fruits and vegetables at the family owned fruit stand."

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · 20h

"Churchgoers are ‘fearful to leave their homes, get food, medical care or attend Mass’. The Archdiocese of Washington describes these mass deportations as “instruments of terror” for the Latino community of DC.
aulablog.net/2026/01/29/m...

Misconceptions, Latino Youth, and the Path Ahead: The Immigration Realities for Latino Communities in Washington, DC

By Maria Muradyan Most of the narratives about immigration are wrong. They are simplistic, outdated, and dangerous. — Ernesto Castañeda. This quote carries particular weight here in Washing…

aulablog.net

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · 20h

politicsrights.com/family-separ...

Family Separation: The Reality of Child Migration to the U.S.

Explore how migration policies enforce family separation, impacting unaccompanied minors' mental health and legal challenges.

politicsrights.com

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · 21h

Escalation and excessive force continues in Minneapolis.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 23h

happening this morning in Minneapolis -- ICE agents drawing guns on observers. I reiterate again that it is only a matter of time before DHS kills more innocent people in Minnesota. Congress needs to shut this shit down right now.

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · 21h

Implicaciones de las politicas sobre inmigracion del Presidente Trump. Entrevista con Juan José Martínez de France 24 en relacion o los operativos de ICE en Minneapolis y otras ciudades conducida el 15 de enero.
#ICE #ReneeGood #AlexPretti #Paramilitares
www.spreaker.com/episode/ice-...

ICE brazo armado del ejecutivo - El Podcast de Ernesto Castañeda

www.spreaker.com

Reposted by Stephan Lewandowsky, Joe R. Feagin, Brendan Nyhan , and 25 more Stephan Lewandowsky, Joe R. Feagin, Brendan Nyhan, Linda J. Skitka, John Horgan, Bill Bowring, John Foot, Daniel W. Drezner, Trevon D. Logan, Janet Murray, David R. Miller, Gerald Friedman, Rebecca M. Bratspies, Michael D. McDonald, Erol Akçay, Henry Jones, Sharon Erickson Nepstad, Greg Linden, Andrew Rudalevige, Cullen S. Hendrix, Christina Pagel, Olivier Mannoni, Nathan P. Kalmoe, Jaap Kooijman, Virginia Sapiro, Ernesto Castañeda, David Darmofal, Jesse R. Lasky

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 23h

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · 1d

www.texastribune.org/2026/02/02/t...

How Democrats flipped a ruby red Senate seat in North Texas

Observers of the race said Rehmet’s working-class appeal, along with Latino and suburban backlash to GOP policies, fueled his win in a district Donald Trump carried by 17 points.

www.texastribune.org

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · 1d

Union leader, Taylor Rehmet won big by reaching out Hispanic voters and opposing mass deportations affecting the Fort Worth - Dallas metro region. Many union members and volunteers helped reach out people and knock door to door.

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · 1d

"Rehmet decided last summer to run in a special election for a ruby red Texas Senate that Trmp won by > 17 points in 2024. When Romero mobilized to help Rehmet court Latino voters, he saw a serious 1st-time candidate talking to voters on front porches & running like he could win." Alejandro Serrano

How Democrats flipped a ruby red Senate seat in North Texas

Observers of the race said Rehmet’s working-class appeal, along with Latino and suburban backlash to GOP policies, fueled his win in a district Donald Trump carried by 17 points.

www.texastribune.org

Reposted by Björn Heile, Ernesto Castañeda

Dan Sohege @danielsohege.bsky.social · 1d

Regularisation policies have been shown, repeatedly, to tackle exploitation and boost domestic economies. While Labour makes it harder for migrants to be recognised, policies like Spain's are better for everyone. Tougher immigration policies are counterproductive
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

Spanish PM defends plans to regularise half a million undocumented migrants

Responding to critics of policy, Pedro Sánchez says Spain is choosing path of ‘dignity, community and justice’

www.theguardian.com

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · 1d

Correct @rhodesben.bsky.social
Important OpEd.

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · 1d

"Twenty-five years into it, the war on terror has become a war against ourselves. That forever war must come to an end. Enough with the military gear. Enough with the mass surveillance. Enough with the constant fear of an ever-shifting Other." www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/o...

Opinion | The Rot Goes Deeper Than ICE

www.nytimes.com

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · 1d

"After Congress failed to pass immigration reform, it plowed resources into enforcement — in the Obama years, we saw this as a down payment on legislation that would create a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. We were wrong."

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · 1d

"End immigration enforcement at the D.H.S. & return it to the Department of Justice so that it is embedded in the rule of law. This goes beyond abolishing ICE in its current form; we must fundamentally overhaul D.H.S. and end the securitization of American life." @benrhodes.bsky.social

The renewed calls to abolish ICE are an understandable reaction to an intolerable reality. ICE has become dangerous and unaccountable by design under the second Trump administration, with its deportation quotas, dehumanizing rhetoric about immigrants and extrajudicial pronouncements that agents have “absolute immunity.” The assault on Minneapolis has demonstrated what can happen when that toxic mix of incentives is unleashed on a community. ICE has operated more like an invading army than a force for public safety.

But the rot goes deeper at the Department of Homeland Security, the behemoth that controls ICE, Customs and Border Protection (C.B.P.) and myriad other federal agencies, from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to the Secret Service. Since its founding in 2002, a combination of organizational flaws and mission creep has allowed D.H.S. to evolve into the out-of-control domestic security apparatus we have today, one that views the very people it is supposed to protect as threats, not humans.

The last time we had a true debate about how the U.S. government should be organized to protect Americans and to protect what it means to be American was almost a quarter century ago. After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, politicians sparred over how to balance security and liberty, as if they sat on opposite sides of a scale. Our obsession with security — aided by politicians determined not to appear “weak” and Supreme Court decisions that empowered the presidency — has obliterated that balance. As it has in other countries, the pursuit of security paved the way for the consolidation of power. Now, Minnesota has neither security nor liberty.

Unwinding this will take time and is unlikely during the Trump administration. But the time to start this debate is now, and there is one answer available if you look to the not-too-distant past: End immigration enforcement at the D.H.S. and return it to the Department of Justice so that it is embedded in the rule of law. Thi…

Reposted by Ernesto Castañeda

LatinoWorld @latinoworld.bsky.social · 1d

📣 Join us for "Venezuela's Future and ours"

Ernesto Castañeda will discuss the possible motivations behind the U.S. operation that removed Nicolás Maduro from power, and its implications for Latin America and beyond.

Register here: 👉https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1981798567865?aff=oddtdtcreator

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · 2d

On Thursday, January 29, I explained the case of #LiamConejoRamos & predicted he would soon be released. He was today! See here how & why many people like him are detained with no conviction, for an unknown time, with few rights & oversight. #NoticiasCaracolAhora #ICE
youtube.com/shorts/J4eEX...

Liam Ramos sera liberado por la presion publica

YouTube video by ErnestoCast

youtube.com

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · 2d

On Thursday, January 29, I explained the case of Liam Conejo Ramos & predicted he would soon be released. He was today! See here how & why many people like him are detained with no conviction, for an unknown time, with few rights & oversight. #NoticiasCaracolAhora #ICE
youtube.com/shorts/J4eEX...

Liam Ramos sera liberado por la presion publica

YouTube video by ErnestoCast

youtube.com

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · 2d

Liam Cornejo Ramos and his dad have been released. Hundreds of children are still detained. Our current immigration laws create family separations due to deportation and prevent many working-class families from migrating together.
#immigrationrealities #familiesbelongtogether #ReuniteThem

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · 2d

politicsrights.com/family-separ...

Family Separation: The Reality of Child Migration to the U.S.

Explore how migration policies enforce family separation, impacting unaccompanied minors' mental health and legal challenges.

politicsrights.com

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · 2d

For more on the history of this. Reasons for migration, and potential that minors have once in the U.S. read and listen to:
www.amazon.com/Reunited-Sep...

Ernesto Castañeda @drernestocast.bsky.social · 2d

including 20 infants, were arrested & detained by immigration authorities. Since March 2025, hundreds of families w children in federal immigration custody, with more than 1,700 children in custody since family detention centers reopened. Some for nearly half a year.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/01/o...

Opinion | Liam Ramos Was Just One of Hundreds of Children at This Detention Center. Release Them All.

Add to Home Screen

Light up
your news

Add to Home Screen

Light upyour news

Sign in to Lightnews

Sign up to start reading

Connect Bluesky

Connect with Bluesky

Light up
your news