With ICE arrests and detentions at their highest levels, immigration remains a key issue for voters less than two weeks before election day.

• From mass raids to quiet crackdown: a timeline of Trump’s strategic ICE pivot

Cheryl Bath, Wisconsin asks in a callout question: During covid I was surprised to learn how many foreign workers, especially from Mexico, worked in the Wisconsin farm fields. And now, I was more surprised to learn that these workers would also be deported and not allowed to work any longer at these fields even though it was all legal with paperwork. These foreign workers paid into the federal government taxes and social security system which was a plus for U.S. social security. I’ve been wondering how these Wisconsin farms are dealing with the absence of these workers seeing how it is harvesting time right now. Propublica had a article a year or so ago about the effects of this immigration sweep on the workers and the farms but that was still when the workers were still here. I can’t find any follow up or information on this anywhere. I think the farmers really feel left out to deal with this on their own and no one is asking questions. Maybe you can?

Maanvi: Cattle ranchers and dairy farmers have indeed been pushing for immigration reform, not only recently, but for years – because the industry relies so heavily on immigrant labor. In September, the the Texas Cattle Feeders Association, Kansas Livestock Association, and Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association issued a joint warning that ICE operations were threatening their industy, and would have “a massive chilling effect on the legal, documented, skilled workers that put beef on the table and keep the supply chain moving”. I recently spoke with Matt Teagarden, CEO of the Kansas Livestock Association, who said that the US cattle herd has shrunk to its lowest numbers in 75 years – and ranchers are struggling to keep up with consumer demand. Farms aren’t able to expand operations without immigrant labor – and Teagarden said that this could mean that US consumers will increasingly be eating imported beef. He also noticed that ICE crackdowns are having a systemic impact on agriculture – it’s not only dairy or cattle industry workers who are impacted, but also farmworkers who grow the feed for cows, and immigrant workers who process the dairy and meat before it gets to grocery stores. Two-thirds of farm workers are non-citizen immigrants. As the administration targets these workers, food producers could struggle to keep up operations, and prices are expected to increase steeply, according to a study by the thinktank Fwd.us.

José: Many people caught up in the Trump administration’s dragnet are workers in the US — they pay taxes and contribute to Social Security, while receiving almost none of the benefits. The process to gain asylum or remain in the US can be long and arduous — oftentimes, as undocumented people go through the process, they will receive work permits, Social Security numbers and, in certain states, driver’s licenses. Now, many people with those legal work permits have been arrested by federal immigration officials and sit in detention centers, waiting for their immigration cases to proceed.

President claims Russia has been barely involved in Iran war despite evidence to the contrary

‘HSI is actively rooting out and investigating election fraud wherever it can be found,’ a DHS spoksperson said

Incumbent Mike Lawler is fending off a challenge from Democrat Cait Conley in state’s 17th congressional district

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Elon Musk’s Super Pac has spent more than $500,000 in New York’s highly competitive 17th congressional district race to help Mike Lawler, the Republican incumbent, hold on to his seat.

Lawler, a moderate Republican, is fending off a challenge from Democrat Cait Conley in the Hudson valley. It is among the most-watched races that could determine whether Republicans hold on to their majority in Congress.

Wedgewood Polls said project was designed to highlight lack of scrutiny over polling sector by mainstream media

A polling firm has admitted to using fabricated data in surveys that were picked up by national media outlets in the US, claiming the project was a “social experiment” designed to expose the lack of scrutiny over the sector.

Wedgewood Polls released a statement on Tuesday on social media, after the polling and election analysis site FiftyPlusOne reached out for comment on an investigation it had conducted into their surveys and data.

Trump directed his outburst at The Independent's White House correspondent Andrew Feinberg

Flights to third countries where the detainees have no ties are scheduled as early as Wednesday, relatives detail

• Send us your questions about immigration and the midterms

Relatives of gravely ill detainees at two Florida immigration jails say authorities are about to deport their loved ones to unknown countries in Africa despite worsening medical conditions.

Flights are scheduled as early as Wednesday, according to the families and the immigration advocacy group the Workers Circle, which has been monitoring conditions and speaking with detainees inside two Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities in south Florida.

SEIU Local 1000, representing nurses and teachers, pushing for higher wages, telework and affordable healthcare

Thousands of California state workers began a sweeping one-day strike on Wednesday, with workers set to rally outside government buildings in several cities, as tensions boiled over lapsed contract negotiations with Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration.

SEIU Local 1000, a union that represents roughly 100,000 public employees, including nurses and teachers, has been pushing for higher wages, flexible telework and affordable healthcare.

Russia frees Stephen Hubbard after US request while Steve Witkoff praises Putin, wanted by ICC as war criminal, as a ‘humanitarian’

Vladimir Putin ordered the release of an American man from a Russian jail as he met Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg on Wednesday for fresh talks on ending the war in Ukraine, amid increasingly close relations between Moscow and Washington.

Trump had previously asked Putin to free Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old former teacher who had spent more than four years in Russian jails on charges of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine.

Russia frees Stephen Hubbard after US request while Steve Witkoff praises Putin, wanted by ICC as war criminal, as a ‘humanitarian’

Vladimir Putin ordered the release of an American man from a Russian jail as he met Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg on Wednesday for fresh talks on ending the war in Ukraine, amid increasingly close relations between Moscow and Washington.

Trump had previously asked Putin to free Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old former teacher who had spent more than four years in Russian jails on charges of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine.

In his book The Nerd Reich, journalist Gil Durán examines how Silicon Valley’s wealthiest investors are extending their influence over American politics, democratic institutions and national sovereignty. His warnings come amid unprecedented political spending by technology billionaires and growing concern over private control of strategic infrastructure.

Elon Musk has contributed more than $276 million since July to Republican political causes ahead of the United States midterm elections on 3 November. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said decisions over Ukraine’s access to SpaceX satellite communications rest with the company rather than the White House. Both developments demonstrate how private technological and financial resources can influence decisions traditionally associated with government.

For journalist Gil Durán, author of The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy, published by Avid Reader Press in August 2026, the issue extends beyond campaign donations. In a recent interview, he argued that a group of Silicon Valley investors is using its financial influence and control of technology to challenge the authority of elected governments.

“We’re at a decisive stage of that race,” Durán said when asked about the contest between technology and democracy described by venture capitalist Peter Thiel. His argument is that wealth alone no longer satisfies some of the industry’s most influential figures; they also want a direct role in determining how societies are governed.

The ideological origins of billionaire power

Durán places Thiel at the centre of this movement. In a 2009 essay, The Education of a Libertarian, the PayPal co-founder wrote that he no longer believed freedom and democracy were compatible. He argued that technological innovation could allow individuals to escape the constraints of conventional politics.

Thiel subsequently clarified that he was not advocating disenfranchisement. His stated position was that majority rule often frustrated individual liberty. Durán, however, interprets the essay and Thiel’s subsequent political investments as evidence of a sustained interest in diminishing democratic constraints on private power.

The book also examines The Sovereign Individual, a 1997 work by James Dale Davidson and William Rees-Mogg that anticipated how digital currencies and technological change might weaken the power of nation states. Durán sees its influence in later arguments for privately organised alternatives to traditional government.

One example is The Network State, developed by entrepreneur Balaji Srinivasan. It proposes that online communities could acquire territory and eventually obtain diplomatic recognition. Advocates describe a voluntary model of political organisation; Durán regards the prospect of corporate-financed jurisdictions as a challenge to public accountability.

From venture capital to the White House

The relationship between Thiel and Vice-President JD Vance illustrates how venture capital can translate into political influence. Thiel supported Vance’s early investment career and contributed $15 million to a super PAC backing his successful 2022 Senate bid. Durán attributes much of Vance’s political ascent to that support, although voters, party endorsements and Vance’s own campaigning also shaped the result.

Musk’s latest contributions offer a more immediate example. His donations since July include $158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund and more than $76 million to America PAC. Such spending is lawful under the rules governing independent political committees, which cannot coordinate their expenditure with candidates.

Durán contends that similar pressures affect Democrats, arguing that wealthy donors can exercise influence across party lines. His criticism therefore concerns the political system’s dependence on private funding as much as any particular administration.

Technology as an instrument of strategic power

The consequences extend beyond elections. Ukraine’s dependence on satellite communications has exposed how a privately owned service can become essential to military operations. Restrictions affecting Starlink-related services have prompted competing accounts from US officials and SpaceX over responsibility for the decision. Rubio’s latest remarks point towards commercial control, while earlier reporting attributed the decision to Washington.

Artificial intelligence raises comparable questions of ownership and oversight. Durán argues that investors promoting transformative AI may also seek regulatory conditions that protect their substantial financial commitments. His prediction of a possible investment bubble remains a judgement, not an established outcome.

In Europe, the debate has immediate regulatory consequences. The EU’s Digital Services Act requires major online platforms to assess risks to elections and civic debate, while enforcement of important provisions of the AI Act began in August 2026. These measures address the influence of companies whose platforms and systems operate across borders.

Durán’s interpretation of Silicon Valley as a coherent anti-democratic movement remains contested. The entrepreneurs he discusses have differing interests, and their political influence does not itself establish a common plan to dismantle democratic government.

Their influence is nevertheless measurable in campaign finances, government contracts and control over infrastructure essential to national security. None of these forms of power requires holding elected office.

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Reporting from Jerusalem

The Israeli military has detained about 80 US, Israeli and British volunteers helping Palestinians harvest olives near Bethlehem, including the New York Democratic congressional nominee Brad Lander, several rabbis and Israel’s former deputy attorney general.

What was supposed to be an announcement on fraud quickly devolved into Trump vs The Independent. Andrew Feinberg details how it all happened in the Oval Office

What was supposed to be an announcement on fraud quickly devolved into Trump vs The Independent. Andrew Feinberg details how it all happened in the Oval Office