Critical State: ICE without Oversight
If you read just one thing this week … read about the dismantling of ICE's oversight bodies.
At The New Republic, Edith Olmstead reported on immigrant detainee deaths following Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s dismantling of key oversight bodies within the Department of Homeland Security.
In March 2025, employees at three watchdog offices — Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman and the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman (OIDO) — were suspended, with full separation by May.
Noem’s 2026 budget eliminated funding for OIDO entirely. The Trump administration claimed the cuts were efficiency-driven, but critics warned they removed vital accountability mechanisms amid expanding immigration enforcement.
The move comes as deaths in ICE custody have surged.
Since Trump’s January inauguration, 60 facilities have detained immigrants, and at least 12 detainees died in custody — matching 2024’s total within half the year.
Former officials said the real toll could be higher. Oversight staff were reduced to one person, while complaints and investigations continued without adequate staffing. Critics argued the administration prioritized deportation over civil rights, risking lives in custody and undermining legal protections.
Noem’s actions drew condemnation from former DHS advisors and immigrant rights advocates.
If You Read One More Thing: Trump’s the Last Word on Gaza
At Drop Site News, Jeremy Scahill reported on the stalled indirect Gaza ceasefire negotiations with Qatar as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met President Trump in Washington. The Israeli delegation lacked authority to make decisions and rejected Hamas’s aid distribution proposals, insisting on mechanisms Palestinians called “death traps” following hundreds of casualties after the Israeli military fired on people at aid distribution sites. Netanyahu’s office claimed progress, while Hamas labeled the talks a propaganda effort.
Hamas’s ceasefire amendment proposals — centered on aid oversight and Israeli troop withdrawal — were rejected; Israel demanded unilateral control and denied UN leadership.
Hamas has sought clear guarantees from the US that they will force Israel, which has unilaterally ended ceasefires in the past, to continue negotiating.
Palestinian officials told Drop Site they know Trump has the final say.
All in the Family
The Swedish anti-racist outlet Expo revealed that a government minister’s close relative was actively involved in far-right extremist and white supremacist groups. Expo reported that the underage family member collaborated with neo-Nazi activists from the Nordic Resistance Movement and Aktivklubb Sverige (Active Club Sweden). Swedish security police (Säpo) claimed they were unaware of the connection, raising concerns about national vulnerabilities.
The minister’s relative managed anonymous accounts spreading racist content, some followed by the minister and far-right figures.
Security expert Kim Hakkarainen called it a potential threat, warning it could be exploited by hostile actors.
Swedish media withheld the minister’s name to protect the child’s identity, aligning with strict publicity guidelines.
Deep Dive: Guatemala’s Manufactured Indigenous Water Crisis
Human Rights Watch’s July 2025 report, “Without Water, We Are Nothing,” documented Guatemala’s severe water crisis and its disproportionate impact on Indigenous communities, particularly women and children. Despite having more freshwater per capita than most countries, Guatemala failed to provide safe, reliable access to water and sanitation, with 40% of the population lacking indoor running water. The report underscored how decades of structural discrimination, poverty, and government neglect — rooted in racist policies — left Indigenous people especially vulnerable.
Researchers interviewed 108 residents across Indigenous-majority departments like Totonicapán, Jalapa, and Santa Rosa. Many described exhausting routines to collect water from contaminated wells or ravines. María Osorio Osorio, a 41-year-old Indigenous Maya woman, said, “Sometimes we each only drink one glass of water [a day] … There is no more water than that.” Her family bathed once a week and shared a blind pit latrine with seven others. Her children frequently suffered from diarrhea and flu-like symptoms.
The report revealed that 50% of Indigenous Guatemalans lacked indoor running water, compared to 33% of non-Indigenous citizens. Indigenous people were nearly three times more likely to rely on unsanitary latrines or blind pits, while non-Indigenous households were twice as likely to have toilets connected to sewage systems. These disparities reflected entrenched racism in Guatemala’s public service delivery and infrastructure planning.
Human Rights Watch emphasized that the Guatemalan military’s legacy of racist policies continued to shape water access. During the country’s civil war, military campaigns targeted Indigenous communities, destroying infrastructure and displacing populations. Post-war reconstruction efforts largely excluded Indigenous areas, perpetuating inequality. The report stated, “The Guatemalan military’s historical role in marginalizing Indigenous communities laid the groundwork for today’s water crisis. Infrastructure development has consistently prioritized urban, non-Indigenous regions.”
In addition to historical neglect, the report criticized current governance failures. Guatemala lacked a national water law, despite constitutional recognition of water as a common good. Multiple ministries held overlapping responsibilities, creating inefficiencies and undermining accountability. The absence of regulation allowed businesses and local authorities to divert or contaminate water sources with impunity. Over 90% of surface water was contaminated, and only 42% of households had toilets connected to drainage networks.
Women bore the brunt of the crisis. Two-thirds of adults who collected water daily were women. Rosalía Maribel Osorio Chivalan, a 24-year-old mother, described waking at 5 a.m. for a two-hour round trip to fetch water, followed by a 40-minute walk to take her children to school. “Sometimes I despair to see them walking, carrying water,” she said. Children often drank the water they carried before reaching home due to thirst.
The health consequences were dire. Guatemala had the highest under-five mortality rate in Central America, with diarrhea accounting for nearly 8% of deaths. Chronic malnutrition affected nearly half of children under five. In 2019, the World Health Organization reported Guatemala’s mortality rate from unsafe water and sanitation at 15.3 deaths per 100,000 — more than double that of neighboring countries.
Human Rights Watch called on President Bernardo Arévalo’s administration to urgently pass a comprehensive water law. The proposed legislation should guarantee the human rights to water and sanitation, establish clear regulatory frameworks, and enforce penalties for contamination and resource diversion. It should also recognize Indigenous rights under international instruments like ILO Convention 169 and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch, stated, “Guatemala’s authorities should urgently approve a national water law as a key step to guarantee safe, reliable, and universal access to water and sanitation services for all.” The report concluded that meaningful reform must center Indigenous voices and address the racist legacy embedded in Guatemala’s water governance.
As one Indigenous woman told researchers, “Without water, it is an impossible life… What I am suffering, my children are going to overcome.”
Show U the Receipts
Inkstick’s Patrick Strickland reported on the public alarm following courts began releasing members of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party on parole less than five years after Greece convicted them. Ilias Kasidiaris, sentenced to 13 years for leading the group, was among those granted conditional release. Critics, including anti-racist activists and lawyers, warned that the move could revive far-right influence in Greek politics. Kasidiaris had remained politically active from prison, founding new parties and endorsing candidates. His release followed similar decisions for other Golden Dawn figures, including former MPs and the party’s founder. Migrant rights groups expressed concern over renewed threats, citing ongoing racist violence and far-right organizing.
For Inkstick, Sarah Hartley, Michael E. Picard and Calibre Obscura reported on the looting of Syria’s armories looted following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2024. The looting unleashed tens of thousands of weapons into civilian and militant hands. Between December 2024 and March 2025, authorities recorded over 120 major arms seizures in Syria and 32 in Lebanon, where trafficking incidents tripled. The looting, compounded by prisoner releases and militia defections, created a security vacuum. Transitional authorities launched recovery operations and amnesty campaigns to collect the weapons, but experts warn that Syria could become a global source of diverted arms, echoing Libya’s post-2011 crisis.
At The World, host Carolyn Beeler interviewed Michelle Gavin, a senior fellow for Africa Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, about a US-brokered peace agreement between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. The deal, signed in Washington on June 27, 2025, aimed to ease tensions but excluded the M23 rebel group, which evidence suggests Rwanda supports, that continues to occupy eastern DRC territory. The agreement lacked provisions for Rwandan troop withdrawal and failed to address the root causes of conflict, raising doubts about its longevity. The US also pursued separate mineral access agreements with DRC, raising concerns about legitimizing Rwandan control over Congolese resources.
We’re Calling on You, Folks
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Critical State is written by Inkstick Media in collaboration with The World.
The World is a weekday public radio show and podcast on global issues, news, and insights from PRX and GBH.
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Critical State is made possible in part by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.