In Episode 56 of Immigration Uncovered, host James Pittman is joined by returning guest Dr. Austin Kocher, a geographer and research faculty member at Syracuse University, whose work focuses on immigration enforcement, public records transparency, and legal geography.

Dr. Kocher shares updates on the data projects he’s been working on recently, including his continued efforts to uncover how U.S. immigration agencies operate—both at the border and in the interior of the country. Together, James and Austin explore how immigration data is collected, controlled, and challenged and its role in shaping public narratives.

With a focus on how attorneys, researchers, and journalists can better access and interpret immigration data, the conversation also unpacks the widening gap between public claims and on-the-ground realities—and how the use of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is increasingly being constrained by institutional opacity.

Key Topics Discussed

• Austin’s current research and projects
• How immigration enforcement is evolving post-2025, from border control to interior surveillance
• What’s broken in the FOIA process and why transparency is getting harder, not easier
• The mismatch between official immigration enforcement stats and lived/legal realities
• Tips for using open data to support advocacy, litigation, and journalistic reporting
• Reflections on what a more transparent immigration system would actually look like