Amy Qin
@amyqin.bsky.social
data reporter @us.theguardian.com previously in your ears at @wbez.org
ICE agents engaged in a high speed chase forced a car containing a mother and child into a ditch with their reckless driving, then handcuffed a U.S. citizen. It's business as usual for the agency in South Texas:
ICE Never Stopped Chasing People in Cars in the Rio Grande Valley
Immigration agents sped after a vehicle through a residential neighborhood on the same day of the agency’s traffic stop pause, reportedly endangering a mother and son—before pulling a gun on and…
texasobserver.org
New @ms.now: Five anonymous federal workers filed a class-action lawsuit in DC federal court this morning challenging the Trump administration’s policy to prohibit federal employees’ health insurance from covering gender-affirming care.
Federal workers sue over rule barring gender-affirming care coverage
The lawsuit argues the rule amounts to sex-based discrimination and is causing “significant financial hardship” for impacted federal workers and their families.
ms.now
new: officials are building a $7 million “trauma-informed” visitation center at the cook county jail, part of at least $400 million in projects planned at the jail over the next decade. it’s supposed to make for a more “humane” experience—but it’ll do little to address the dismal conditions at ccj.
The Cook County jail’s new $7 million visitation center
Cook County wants to create an oasis inside the infamous jail. But the renovation will do little to address the harm of incarceration itself
chicagoreader.com
A potential, first-in-a-generation rewrite of Chicago's renters' rights ordinance boils down to two different plans sure to impact the city's 600,000-plus renters.
Chicago renters’ rights are at stake in dueling City Hall proposals
chicago.suntimes.com
NEW: 25 states and D.C. are suing FEMA and DHS for allegedly withholding billions in disaster funds in an attempt to coerce states into implementing Trump's anti-voting policies. The aid is meant to provide a vast range of disaster services, from mitigating earthquakes to managing wildfires.
States sue Trump admin for withholding $148M in disaster aid over ‘unlawful' election demands
While many red states have raced to enact President Donald Trump's policy goals -- even ones that have been blocked by the courts -- blue states have persistently refused.
democracydocket.com
NEWS: Taylor Farms gave *$2 million* to Trump & Republicans as they postponed a rule that could've limited the spread of outbreaks like the ongoing Cyclospora epidemic. And, years ago, the industry *also* successfully lobbied to cut a program that handled ~80% of federal produce pathogen testing.
‘Explosive Diarrhea’: Company Tied to Outbreak Donated to Trump as He Delayed Food Safety Rule
Taylor Farms contributed $2 million to Trump and Republicans as they postponed a rule to help the government limit the spread of foodborne illnesses.
zeteo.com
ICE published updated arrest and detention statistics for the first time since April 4. - 43,138 arrests in June: the highest number in Trump's second term - 65,765 people in detention as of July 11 - 590k + deported since Jan 2025 www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
ICE hasn’t released its semimonthly “Detention Management” report on arrests, detentions and deportations since April 9 from @laurenvillagran.bsky.social and @themarshallproject.org www.themarshallproject.org/2026/07/15/i...
Amid Increased Scrutiny, ICE Detention and Deportation Data Goes Dark
ICE says ‘millions’ of immigrants have left or been deported in Trump’s crackdown. But where are the receipts?
themarshallproject.org
A human rights lawyer who fled China, applied for asylum in the US, and was delivering packages for Amazon when ICE took him this week:
ICE arrests human rights lawyer who fled Chinese crackdown
Arrest in Pennsylvania of Wu Shaoping, who is awaiting asylum decision, raises fears of deportation and persecution
theguardian.com
As millions of Americans prepare for another brutal heatwave, it’s now harder to find information about ways to stay cool while saving energy and keeping utility costs down. At least 1,662 Department of Energy webpages with guidance on protecting the electrical grid during heatwaves have gone dark.
As most of the US prepares for another round of extreme heat, thousands of federal webpages on how to save energy/keep utility bills down have gone dark; coincidentally, dozens appear to have been removed right before proposed energy efficiency rollbacks www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
Over 1,600 energy department webpages on utility bill savings removed as US temperatures soar
Guardian analysis found the removals coincided with the Trump administration’s push to weaken efficiency rules
theguardian.com
Joan Sebastian Guerrero. Say his name.
Neighbor IDs man shot by an immigration agent in Biddeford
An immigrant advocacy group also confirms Joan Sebastian Guerrero is the 26 year-old man from Colombia killed by law enforcement. Officials haven't verified the name after repeated requests. <br>
pressherald.com
Marisa Kabas@marisakabas.bsky.social · 3w agoThe person ICE shot and killed in Biddeford, Maine has been ID'd as a 26-year-old Colombian man.
On Tuesday morning, ICE agents shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. Now, as hundreds march in Houston and Salgado’s family demands an impartial investigation, DHS is using a familiar playbook: They are blaming Salgado for his own death by asserting he “weaponized his vehicle."
ICE keeps using the same justification for killing drivers
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was shot dead by immigration agents on the way to work. DHS claims he was using his vehicle as a weapon.
motherjones.com
I'll summarize this: Mamdani asked NYers to keep air conditioning at 78 degrees. A wave criticism hit online. A MSNBC broadcast pointed out the US Department of Energy recommends that 78 degree figure. Immediately after, the US Department of Energy deleted 6,000 web pages related to energy saving.
Our access to historical records is directly affected by this closure. Thanks @chicagoarchivists.bsky.social for their attention to this. blockclubchicago.org/2026/07/06/c...
Chicago National Archives Closure Will Be Loss For Historians, Researchers — Even Deep-Sea Divers
The closure of the South Side center will take place “over the next few years.” The records and documents will be relocated, but it’s unclear where and how many employees are affected.
blockclubchicago.org
Ahead of America’s 250th anniversary,Trump wanted to erase any “disparaging” history in the national parks. We documented + visualized the vast scale of this unprecedented censorship campaign. Very proud of this months-long team effort for @us.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
‘A sanitized view of America’: inside Trump’s campaign to erase US history from national parks
Critics say the Trump administration is trying to rewrite and whitewash history by removing and altering scores of signs on public lands
theguardian.com
A map of American ancestry shows how people described their backgrounds to the Census Bureau. There are nearly 200 distinct identities represented; blend them — as 340 million Americans do — and we arrive at a jumbled, overlapping, story-filled infinity. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
How a Nation of Immigrants Traces Its Roots (Gift Article)
Melting pot, tapestry, mosaic, kaleidoscope, salad bowl. Every cliché is true.
nytimes.com
New from @juanpab.bsky.social, @keertigopal.bsky.social, and me: Chicago has the most lead pipes of any U.S. city... and pays wildly more than anyone else to replace them: ~$31,000 per line, more than 6x the EPA's nat'l est. of $4,700. Officials can't fully explain why. grist.org/accountabili... 1/n
Why is it so unusually expensive to replace lead pipes in Chicago?
The city with the most lead pipes in the nation is paying way above average to fix them. Officials can't fully explain why.
grist.org
Starting in 2030, all public school students in Texas will be required to read passages from the Bible in class
The Bible Is About To Become Required Reading In Texas Public Schools
About 5 million kids in K-12 schools will be reading from Bible passages within a few years.
huffpost.com
“The decision comes months after some Woodburn residents expressed fears that the information collected from the cameras would be used to arrest immigrants or invade people’s privacy.”
Oregon’s most Latino city removes Flock cameras after audit confirms immigration agencies accessed data
The city installed 23 license plate cameras in spring 2025 to target crime, but that’s not all they did.
oregonlive.com
really excellent reporting from @lexmcmenamin.com and visuals from my colleague flavio pessoa - and if you're like me, your jaw will drop, and then keeping dropping as you scroll through each new insane detail in this story
Lex McMenamin (they/them)@lexmcmenamin.com · last mo.Liz Soto and Savanna Batten are 2 of those sentenced to 50 years in prison for Prairieland. I visited them in a north Texas jail—11 months into their incarceration over a July 4 noise demo—to meet the Trump admin’s “Antifa terrorists”. from behind glass, Soto said, “They didn’t like my book club.”
Tens of millions of voters have had their data run through the Trump administration's revamped SAVE tool. A judge just found it unlawful.
A federal judge finds a Trump data system to verify voters is unlawful
Tens of millions of voters have had their data run through the Trump administration's revamped SAVE tool. A judge just found it unlawful.
n.pr
The Trump admin appears to have quietly revised language in an obscure grant program, redefining frozen embryos as children. Repro health experts described the move as “a Trojan horse” — creating a precedent that could threaten access to fertility treatments like IVF and ban abortion nationwide.
Trump Administration Quietly Changes Language To Refer To Embryos As Children
Reproductive health care experts described the move as “a Trojan horse” — creating a precedent that could threaten access to fertility treatments like IVF and ban abortion nationwide.
huffpost.com
Joint statement from some of the big statistical and demography groups: Commerce Dept's new ban on common statistical privacy measures means we'll get a lot less data on neighborhoods, counties, rural areas. But the order is "so vague" nobody really knows exactly how it will be carried out yet.
COPAFS@copafs.bsky.social · 2mo agoJoint Statement from @apduorg.bsky.social @popassocamerica.bsky.social @icpsr.bsky.social @copafs.bsky.social & APC on new Disclosure Avoidance Rules from Commerce. copafs.org/apc-apdu-cop...
New: We've been tracking reports of ICE activity across Chicagoland for five weeks. In that time, rapid responders have seen an escalation as feds have abducted dozens, caused at least two car crashes, threatened community members with weapons and flouted state courthouse protections. Read more:
“ICE never really left:” car crashes and courthouse arrests mark spring escalation
Videos show federal agents pointing weapons at bystanders and trying to access state property as rapid response groups have reported at least 80 detainments across Chicagoland in the last five weeks.
unraveledpress.com
My colleague @hannahalothman.bsky.social is in Belfast tonight. This is what she’s seen. www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...
This CPD program is supposed to connect victims to community service providers. They even have a list to work off of. But..."Block Club reached out to all 56 community service providers on the program’s list...Only four organizations said they received any referrals."
Patrick Smith@pksmid.bsky.social · 2mo agoSurvivors begged Chicago for help to address a deadly surge in domestic violence. The city's answer was to give millions to a police program that no one asked for and that so far hasn't done anything. @minabloom.bsky.social reports. @blockclubchi.bsky.social blockclubchicago.org/2026/06/10/t...
New @themarshallproject.org @ms.now report shows since Trump returned to office, ICE has taken a total of more than 500 babies and toddlers into custody: www.themarshallproject.org/2026/06/09/b...
Trump Has Put 500 Babies and Toddlers In Immigration Jails
Young children in detention stopped eating, began hitting themselves and became ill, according to parents.
themarshallproject.org
Medicaid work requirements were always going to be cruel. Then, the White House intervened (likely) and made the definition of who can be exempt based on disabilities/health much stricter. This is going to kill people. New from me at @motherjones.com. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
The White House just made Medicaid work requirements even worse
"It’s hard not to think that the cruelty of the policy is the point."
motherjones.com
