Ari Figueroa

Ariana Figueroa

[email protected] https://twitter.com/arianalfigueroa https://bsky.app/profile/arianalfigueroa.bsky.social

Ariana covers the nation's capital for States Newsroom. Her coverage areas include immigration, congressional policy and legal challenges with a focus on how those policies impact the lives of immigrants and migrants coming to the U.S.

Before joining States Newsroom, Ariana covered public health and chemical policy on Capitol Hill for E&E News. As a Florida native, she's worked for the Miami Herald and her hometown paper, the Tampa Bay Times. Her work has also appeared in the Chicago Tribune and NPR.

She is a graduate of the University of Florida.

NYPD officers walk down a street in downtown Manhattan as part of the 25th anniversary of 9/11 memorial on Sept. 11, 2026. (Photo by Shalina Chatlani/ Stateline)
National

Frustrations, remorse and pain surface on 25th anniversary of Sept. 11 attacks

Sep 11, 2026
Ashley Murray Shalina Chatlani Shauneen Miranda Ariana Figueroa
Powerful U.S. officials past and present faced families, survivors and first responders Friday at ceremonies to honor the 25th anniversary of the day 2,977 Americans died in terrorist attacks in Virginia, New York and Pennsylvania. At the Pentagon, Condoleezza Rice...
Voters head into a polling site at Grand Park in Westfield, Indiana, on May 5, 2026. (Photo by Tom Davies/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
National

Suit challenges Trump administration move to allow some ICE presence at polling places

Sep 10, 2026
Ariana Figueroa
WASHINGTON — Latino advocacy groups and voting rights organizations Thursday filed a suit in federal court challenging the Trump administration's policy of allowing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to enter polling locations in certain circumstances to conduct immigration enforcement...
A Trump administration plan for overhauling the census could mean major changes for how millions in federal funding is allocated to states. (Photo courtesy U.S. Census Bureau)
National

Trump administration aims to exclude many noncitizens from the census

Sep 09, 2026
Ariana Figueroa
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration wants to overhaul the U.S. census to exclude noncitizens who don’t have a green card from the country’s next population count in 2030, according to a Wednesday notice in the Federal Register. The document, which...
President Donald Trump shakes hands with newly sworn in Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin during a ceremony in the Oval Office at the White House on March 24, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
National

Salvadorans await word on protected status as midnight deadline approaches

Sep 09, 2026
Ariana Figueroa
WASHINGTON — Temporary protected status for 170,000 Salvadorans is set to expire at midnight Wednesday, but the Department of Homeland Security said protections will remain in place until the Trump administration makes a decision to extend or terminate El Salvador’s...
Olympian David Hearn, center left, walks out of District of Columbia Superior Court with his attorneys after a hearing on Sept. 4, 2026. (Photo by Ariana Figueora/States Newsroom)
National

Judge criticizes Trump pressure on prosecutors on reflecting pool vandalism charges

Sep 04, 2026
Ariana Figueroa
WASHINGTON — A District of Columbia Superior Court judge Friday seemed inclined to bar any new felony charges against former Olympian David Hearn, after the Trump administration accused the Maryland man of damaging part of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool...
Jose Palma holds the work authorization cards of a Salvadoran member of the National TPS Alliance. The individual has renewed work permits 14 times since TPS was granted for El Salvador in 2001, submitting a background check and fingerprints with each renewal cycle. (Photo by Ariana Figueroa/States Newsroom)
National

As the Trump administration dismantles Temporary Protected Status, Salvadorans may be next

Sep 04, 2026
Ariana Figueroa
WASHINGTON — For years, Jose Palma has advocated for immigrants with Temporary Protected Status who hail from countries deemed too unstable for return. But as the Trump administration has stripped those humanitarian protections for nearly a million people, the Salvadoran...
The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 29, 2024. (Photo by Jane Norman/States Newsroom)
National

Trump’s newest order on birthright citizenship blocked in federal court

Sep 02, 2026
Ariana Figueroa
A federal judge in Maryland Wednesday blocked President Donald Trump’s second attempt to redefine birthright citizenship. In a preliminary injunction, U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman barred the Trump administration from carrying out the president's executive order that would deny citizenship...
Biden administration provides guidance on diversity in college admissions 
North Carolina

Biden administration provides guidance on diversity in college admissions 

Aug 14, 2023
Ariana Figueroa
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice and Department of Education jointly released guidance on Monday to colleges and universities about how to consider race in admissions decisions, following the Supreme Court’s summer decision that struck down affirmative action in higher...
A 10-year-old Honduran immigrant who came into the United States as an unaccompanied minor carries her baby cousin on April 25, 2021, after reuniting with extended family in Sellersburg, Indiana. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
National

Legal aid for immigrant kids remains in question after Trump administration pulls contract

Sep 01, 2026
Ariana Figueroa
WASHINGTON— More than 20,000 unaccompanied immigrant youth remain at risk of losing their legal representation, one month after the Trump administration ended a federal contract with an organization that provided legal services to migrant children, advocates and attorneys said Tuesday...
A federal judge will allow the Department of Justice to begin force-feeding the man charged with the shooting last November of Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, a member of the West Virginia National Guard. Beckstrom's casket is displayed at a funeral home in her hometown of Webster Springs, West Virginia, on Dec. 5, 2025. (Photo courtesy of the Department of Defense)
National

Judge rules Justice Department can force-feed defendant in National Guard shooting

Aug 31, 2026
Ariana Figueroa
WASHINGTON — A federal judge over the weekend allowed the Trump administration to force-feed the man charged with shooting two National Guard members, killing one and injuring another, in the District of Columbia in November. For months, Rahmanullah Lakanwal has...
Ahead of the May 2024 primary, a drop box for mail-in ballots sits outside the Shelby County Courthouse Annex in Shelbyville. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley)
National

Postal Service pushes ahead on Trump order limiting vote-by-mail

Aug 27, 2026
Ariana Figueroa
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service took another step Thursday in implementing a Trump administration policy to restrict mail-in voting, even as a high-stakes legal battle plays out and midterm elections approach. The agency published an FAQ about its new...
Republicans in Congress delay Mayorkas impeachment proceedings
Ohio

Republicans in Congress delay Mayorkas impeachment proceedings

Apr 11, 2024
Ariana Figueroa
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans will delay until next week their delivery to the Senate of the two articles of impeachment against Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a spokesperson for House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday. “To ensure the Senate has...