Community-Built Map Tracks ICE Activity Across Tucson, Arizona
Source: US News & World Report/AP
May 8, 2026, at 5:55 p.m.
Tucson migrant advocates have designed a new tool to help track immigration-related enforcement in and around the city as arrests surge under President Donald Trump’s mass deportation initiative. Tucson Migra Map allows people to document and visualize enforcement activities by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies.
While revealing patterns, the tool also raises questions about safety, transparency and the limits of public tracking tools. “It indicates the level of chaos and how disruptive it is to our community,” activist Lucia Vindiola said in a statement. Vindiola launched the mutual aid group La Bodega to provide groceries and other help to people affected by increased enforcement. “We are seeing firsthand the impact on families, limiting them from shopping for groceries and supplies,” Vindiola said.
In the year since Trump took office, immigration-related detentions have more than tripled in fiscal year 2025 — surging from less than 200 in late 2024 to more than 800 by June 2025. The response in communities nationwide has been swift, with groups such as the Tucson Rapid Response network organizing to monitor and track federal immigration action on the street.
Geographer Dugan Meyer, one of the map’s creators, is a Ph.D. student at the University of Arizona who volunteers with Tucson Rapid Response and other related organizations.
Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/arizona/articles/2026-05-08/community-built-map-tracks-ice-activity-across-tucson-arizona