As President Donald Trump’s administration aggressively pursues its mass deportation campaign , the number of immigrants challenging the legality of their detention at ICE facilities in Louisiana – a state that has become a major detention hub in recent years – has surged.

In the roughly 10 months before Trump took office in January, 23 habeas petitions – a type of lawsuit that claims a person is being illegally detained – were filed in federal courts in the state.

Between Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration and Nov. 1, that number soared, with at least 95 Louisiana ICE detainees challenging their detention here, a review of federal court records found.

Among the petitioners are a Pakistani man with an American wife and kids who took a wrong turn after visiting Niagara Falls and ended up

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