‘Rotten Apple’ Nets 2,100+ ICE Arrests; Memphis Adds 121

KEMETIC MINDS
ICE Watch — Daily Update — September 02, 2026

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ICE Watch — September 2, 2026. The agency’s enforcement publicists are touting blockbuster arrest totals in New York and Memphis, while NPR’s reporting on a detainee who died in Saipan puts the number of deaths in ICE custody at 57 since President Trump’s second term began. Here is what the sourced record shows — and where the official claims still need independent proof.

• ICE reported more than 2,100 arrests across New York in “Operation Rotten Apple,” announced at a press conference hosted by DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin (HSToday, 2026).
• DHS said more than 120 people were arrested during an ICE raid at a Memphis nightclub over the weekend (MSN, 2026).
• The death of 51-year-old Lianyong Wei in Saipan is the 57th immigrant detainee death recorded since the start of President Trump’s second term — 24 of them since Jan. 1 (NPR, 2026).
• ICE has not paid for detainee medical care since October, owes hospitals millions, and in some cases detainees themselves have been directly billed for care (MSN, 2026).
• The California Legislature passed a bill forcing disclosure of information about emergency calls at immigrant detention centers; it now goes to Gov. Newsom (MSN, 2026).
• With Temporary Protected Status expired, about 350,000 Haitians are newly at risk of deportation as Haitian-owned businesses in Springfield, Ohio, close their doors (PBS NewsHour, 2026).

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1. Enforcement Actions

More than 2,100 people were arrested across New York as part of an operation ICE calls “Operation Rotten Apple,” according to Homeland Security Today (HSToday, 2026). DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin hosted the New York City press conference announcing the operation’s results.

DHS separately said more than 120 people were arrested during an ICE raid at a Memphis nightclub this past weekend (MSN, 2026). The agency’s brief announcement does not say how many of those arrested were charged, held, or released.

Administration officials are framing the numbers as record-setting: Tom Homan told Newsmax that ICE’s “strategic hits” are fueling record arrests (MSN, 2026). Mullin separately argued that Democrats and “fear-mongering” make ICE look bad, and insisted federal agents would only deploy to polling locations to address active threats (MSN, 2026).

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2. Detention & Facility Conditions

NPR reports that Lianyong Wei, a 51-year-old Chinese immigrant, was found unresponsive by a corrections officer during morning checks at a Saipan facility run by the Northern Mariana Islands Department of Corrections (NPR, 2026). Wei, whose legal immigration status ended in 2019, had been arrested Aug. 21 by the CNMI Department of Public Safety after allegedly attacking a family in their home; ICE took him into custody the next day “without incident, pending his removal proceedings” (NPR, 2026). He was pronounced dead at approximately 7:30 a.m. local time on Aug. 23.

NPR counts Wei as the 57th death of an immigrant detainee held in government care since the start of President Trump’s second term, based on ICE’s own detainee death notifications; 24 of those deaths have occurred since Jan. 1 (NPR, 2026). ICE says he was taken to the Commonwealth Health Care Corporation Emergency Room and that life-sustaining interventions were initiated — his official cause of death remains under investigation (NPR, 2026).

NPR also notes that the government’s death tally does not include Jose Chajon-Raxon, a Guatemalan man detained at Newark’s Delaney Hall Detention Center on July 18 (NPR, 2026). DHS told NPR that a day after intake he suffered “seizure-like activity,” was transferred to a hospital, and was released from ICE custody on July 22 (NPR, 2026).

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3. Deportations & Court Rulings

PBS NewsHour reports that in June the Supreme Court cleared the way to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians and Syrians living in the U.S. (PBS NewsHour, 2026). The Trump administration let TPS expire last month, and overnight about 350,000 Haitians became at risk of deportation.

The impact is hitting Springfield, Ohio — a city PBS describes as “long a political flashpoint in the debate around immigration” (PBS NewsHour, 2026). Within the past six years, thousands of Haitians settled there, working, starting businesses, and transforming the community, while some locals said new arrivals were straining social services and changing the city’s culture (PBS NewsHour, 2026).

The crackdown’s human toll is also being documented: Capital B News reports that Pierre Damas Bel, a 20-year-old honors graduate of Springfield High School and JROTC member who emigrated from Haiti in 2024, died amid ICE’s crackdown on Haitian immigrants (Capital B News, 2026). He had just started his first year at Wright State University, where he planned to study neuroscience and eventually attend medical school (Capital B News, 2026).

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4. Policy & Funding

Records obtained by MSN show that ICE has not paid for detainee medical care since October: the agency owes millions in unpaid bills to hospitals, and in some cases detainees themselves have been directly billed for care (MSN, 2026).

Advocates have labeled the practice a “death policy” (MSN, 2026). Asked whether Wei received the basic health screening that DHS regulations require for all immigrant detainees within 12 hours of intake, DHS declined to respond — instead offering standard language: “Comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment individuals arrive and throughout the entirety of their stay” (NPR, 2026).

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5. Local & State Pushback

In Springfield, Ohio, the streets have become quieter, and some businesses catering to the city’s Haitian community have shut their doors (PBS NewsHour, 2026). Estenson Clervil, a Haitian-American passing through from Columbus, found the door locked at Rose Goute Creole Restaurant, once a busy gathering place for Haitian food: “It’s not like these people came here illegally. No, they came here legally. So, why is there all this oppression going on in Ohio right now?” (PBS NewsHour, 2026).

At the state level, the California Legislature passed a bill that would force disclosure of information about emergency calls at immigrant detention centers; the measure now goes to Gov. Newsom (MSN, 2026).

What’s Disputed or Unconfirmed

• The New York and Memphis arrest totals are DHS’s own announcements; the coverage does not include independent verification of individual arrests, charges, or custody outcomes (HSToday, 2026; MSN, 2026). One headline counts 121 Memphis arrests while the DHS statement says “more than 120” (MSN, 2026).
• Wei’s alleged attack on a family is described as an allegation by officials, and his cause of death is still under investigation (NPR, 2026).
• Mullin’s claims that Democrats and “fear-mongering” make ICE look bad, and that agents would only go to polling locations for active threats, are administration assertions with no independent documentation in the sourced reports (MSN, 2026).
• NPR reports the government’s death tally excludes Jose Chajon-Raxon’s case; the report text does not fully explain the exclusion (NPR, 2026).
• Capital B News identifies the circumstances of Pierre Damas Bel’s death only as occurring amid the ICE crackdown on Haitian immigrants; no further details on how or where he died appear in the available report summary (Capital B News, 2026).

How to Verify This Yourself

• Compare DHS press releases on “Operation Rotten Apple” and the Memphis nightclub raid against court records and local jail rosters in New York and Shelby County, Tennessee.
• Track ICE’s own detainee death notifications on ICE.gov to verify the 57-death count NPR cited, and watch for updates on Wei’s cause of death.
• Search California’s legislative information portal for the 911-call disclosure bill and monitor Gov. Newsom’s office for a signature or veto.
• Review the Supreme Court’s June TPS ruling and DHS’s TPS pages to confirm the expiration dates affecting Haitian and Syrian holders.

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References

1. MSN. (2026, September 1). DHS: 121 people arrested during ICE raid. msn.com
2. Hstoday. (2026, September 2). ICE Arrests More Than 2,100 Across New York in Operation Rotten Apple. hstoday.us
3. MSN. (2026, September 1). Homan to Newsmax: ICE 'Strategic Hits' Fuel Record Arrests. msn.com
4. MSN. (2026, September 1). DHS head claims Democrats and 'fear-mongering' make ICE look bad. msn.com
5. MSN. (2026, September 2). ICE hasn't paid for detainee medical care since October. Advocates call it the ‘death policy'. msn.com
6. MSN. (2026, September 1). Data from 911 calls at ICE detention centers must be released under bill going to Gov. Newsom. msn.com
7. Npr. (2026, September 2). ICE detainee dies just hours after he was admitted into detention. npr.org
8. Capital B News. (2026, n.d.). College Student Dies Amid ICE Crackdown on Haitian Immigrants. capitalbnews.org
9. Black Enterprise. (2026, n.d.). Patrice ‘Sway’ McKinney Turns Salon Suites Into A Blueprint For Black Wealth. blackenterprise.com
10. PBS NewsHour. (2026, n.d.). Springfield's Haitian community braces for deportations after protected status ends. pbs.org
11. Equal Justice Initiative. (2026, n.d.). Virginia Removes Last Three Confederate Monuments From Capitol. eji.org

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