title: 882: Give a Little Whistle
author: This American Life
contenttype: podcast
publication: This American Life
published: 2026-03-08T23:00:00+00:00
sourceurl: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/give-a-little-whistle
word_count: 125
Two lawyers who work for ICE step forward and lift the curtain on what is really happening inside our immigration system right now.
Prologue: Two lawyers dive into the details of what they’ve witnessed behind the scenes in different parts of the immigration system. (2 minutes)
Act One: Former ICE attorney Ryan Schwank explains the chaos and dysfunction he observed at an ICE training academy, which led him to whistleblow to Congress two weeks ago. (12 minutes)
Act Two: A federal judge orders the government to immediately release a bunch of people from detention. Days pass, and the government doesn’t comply. So the judge calls a hearing to figure out what’s going on. The lawyer's response is not what he or anybody expected. (25 minutes)