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.

A section of the U.S.-Mexico border wall near El Paso, Texas, on June 6, 2024. (Photo by Ariana Figueroa/States Newsroom)
National

US Supreme Court to decide on Trump ban on asylum claims at the border

Nov 13, 2026
Ariana Figueroa
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court Friday granted the Trump administration's request to decide whether the federal government can ban asylum claims at the southern border. One of President Donald Trump’s first proclamations he signed at the start of his...
U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat, shown on Feb. 3, 2025, is trying during Congress’ lame-duck session to provide legal protections for Afghanistan immigrants who aided the U.S. military for years, but now face swift deportations. (Photo by Chase Woodruff/Colorado Newsline)
National

Extended legal protections for Afghans sought in US House discharge petition

Nov 13, 2026
Ariana Figueroa
WASHINGTON — Colorado Democratic Rep. Jason Crow, a military veteran, is making an attempt during Congress’ lame-duck session to provide legal protections for Afghanistan immigrants who aided the U.S. military for years, but now face swift deportations. Earlier this week...
Hundreds gathered outside the U.S. Supreme Court on May 15, 2025, to protest the Trump administration's effort to strip birthright citizenship from the Constitution. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
National

Trump administration pursues a second round in the courts on birthright citizenship

Nov 12, 2026
Ariana Figueroa
WASHINGTON — A federal judge in the District of Columbia on Thursday seemed weary of the Trump administration’s arguments that it should be allowed to proceed with its second attempt to redefine the constitutional right to birthright citizenship. During the...
U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., speaks outside the U.S. Capitol during a press conference with business leaders to push for work protections for immigrants on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026. (Photo by Ariana Figueroa/States Newsroom)
National

Democrats, industry groups press for immigration changes post-midterms

Nov 11, 2026
Ariana Figueroa
WASHINGTON — Democrats and business leaders publicly lobbied the Trump administration Wednesday to prioritize work permits and other protections for long-term immigrants during the lame-duck session of Congress and beyond. Citing the midterm elections, when Democrats flipped the U.S House...
U.S. Senate Republican Leader John Thune, of South Dakota, speaks to reporters during a press conference in the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
National

US Senate GOP leader Thune reelected for next 2 years even after election losses

Nov 10, 2026
Jennifer Shutt Ariana Figueroa
WASHINGTON — South Dakota Sen. John Thune will remain Republican leader next Congress despite the GOP’s loss of the chamber’s majority in this year’s midterm elections. GOP senators voted behind closed doors Tuesday to keep Thune at the helm and...
U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio speaks to members of the media as he arrives for a House Republican Conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 3, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
National

US House Republicans elect Ohio firebrand Jim Jordan to lead party in next Congress

Nov 10, 2026
Ariana Figueroa Shauneen Miranda
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans voted behind closed doors Tuesday to elect Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio as their leader after the party’s stunning losses in the midterm elections, the House Republican Conference announced. It was a 106-73 vote, according...
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., center, poses for a photo with newly elected Democratic senators in his office in the U.S Capitol on Nov. 9, 2026 in Washington, D.C. From left to right: Sens.-elect Sherrod Brown of Ohio, James Talarico of Texas, Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan, Josh Turek of Iowa, Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Juliana Stratton of Illinois, Chris Pappas of New Hampshire, Annie Andrews of South Carolina, Troy Jackson of Maine, Peggy Flanagan of Minnesota and Adam Hamilton of Kan
National

The US Senate’s 11 Democratic freshmen arrive at the Capitol

Nov 09, 2026
Ariana Figueroa
WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer Monday welcomed 11 newly elected Senate Democrats at the U.S. Capitol, following midterm elections in which his party flipped both chambers in Congress. “Last week the American people put Donald Trump and the...
Ross Douthat speaking with President Trump in the Oval Office. It was Mr. Trump’s first interview since the midterm elections.Credit..."60 Minutes"/CBS News
National

Trump open to immigration deal, calls crackdown ‘too tough,’ despite Miller promotion

Nov 09, 2026
Ariana Figueroa
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said in an interview that aired Sunday his mass deportation campaign, which helped propel his return to the Oval Office, had gone too far and potentially led to Republicans losing the U.S. House and Senate...
Voters line up to cast their ballots on the last day of early voting for the midterm election at the Pulaski County Regional Building in Little Rock, Arkansas on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026 (Photo by Ainsley Platt/Arkansas Advocate)
National

Latino voters singled out by top Democrat for credit in congressional victories

Nov 06, 2026
Ariana Figueroa
WASHINGTON — The chair of the campaign arm for U.S. House Democrats said during a Friday press conference that this week's midterm elections resulted in an overwhelming blue wave because of Latinos. Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Suzan DelBene said...
President Donald Trump speaks during an event in the Oval Office of the White House on Nov. 5, 2026. Trump signed an executive order establishing the Oval Office and White House Cabinet Room as a national monument. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
National

Still focused on D.C. projects, Trump signs order preserving Oval Office

Nov 05, 2026
Ariana Figueroa
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday to establish the Oval Office and White House Cabinet Room as a national monument in order to prevent any major renovations to those spaces that are not approved by Congress...
U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed speaks to Democratic supporters at a unity rally held at Renaissance High School in Detroit. Aug. 7, 2026 | Photo by Ben Solis/Michigan Advance
National

Midterm winners include several who made history

Nov 04, 2026
Ariana Figueroa
WASHINGTON — Winners of more than a dozen congressional and gubernatorial races have broken longstanding barriers of race, gender and sexuality. The results set records for the most Black governors and most women governors, and the first Black woman governor...
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) greets volunteers during a midterm election night watch party with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) at the AC Hotel Washington DC Capitol Hill Navy Yard on November 03, 2026 in Washington, DC. Democrats are hoping to flip the GOP hold over the U.S. House and Senate as a handful of closely contested races shape the 2026 midterm elections. (Tom Brenner/Getty Images)
National

Democrats win sizable US House majority amid sweep of close races

Nov 03, 2026
Jennifer Shutt Ariana Figueroa
WASHINGTON — Democrats will regain control of the U.S. House early next year, after voters throughout the country rejected the policies that Republicans and President Donald Trump implemented during the last two years. The Associated Press, which States Newsroom looks...