This is a very good story about what 287(g) enforcement looks like on the ground, and the prong of Trump-era immigration enforcement that doesn’t look like ICE agents doing raids on the streets of Minneapolis or Chicago.

Francesca D'Annunzio@francescadnunz.bsky.social · 18h ago

Early this year, I visited Ingram, a TX town of ~1,900, to check out a tip. The area was starting to recover from its worst flood in a century. But as Latino workers drove to jobsites to help rebuild, the tipster said, a cop in a black Dodge Charger kept stopping them ... 🧵

“Armed and in uniform, federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security have been knocking on doors in several states to ask residents about their immigration status — and to inquire if they have registered to vote or cast votes in past elections.” www.cbsnews.com/news/federal...

Federal agents knock on doors to track down possible noncitizen voters ahead of midterms

Armed and in uniform, agents from the Department of Homeland Security have been knocking on doors to ask residents about their immigration status whether they're registered to vote.

cbsnews.com

Leftish funders need to invest in media. It is an obvious deficit & urgent need. To all the folks “strategic planning” about what to do with their money-here’s a flashing red sign 🚨🚨Media helps people make sense of themselves in the world. Give them options that aren’t feeding them fear or fascism.

Oliver Willis@owillis.bsky.social · 4d ago

oligarch media all the way down and the democrats wont invest in any. we're fucked. www.semafor.com/article/10/2...

There's a lot of talk right now about what happens *after* votes are cast. So a reminder: Bolts has a state-by-state, 50-state resource on WHO COUNTS AND CERTIFIES the results. Always with the hope that it doesn't end up useful to know, but bookmark it:

Who Counts Our Elections? - Bolts

Who are the local and state officials who are responsible for counting, canvassing, and certifying elections?

boltsmag.org

Stories like these, about the daily reality of immigrants living in justifiable fear that they or a friend/relative will be disappeared from their community at any moment, will feel quite familiar to anyone who has read Anne Frank. Important reporting on something we should not look away from:

Alma Campos@almacampos.bsky.social · 4d ago

For some Chicago immigrants, nighttime feels safer. Fear of ICE is changing when they work, shop and do laundry—and how they care for their families. My latest: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

I wrote this story about Frederick County, Maryland—a viciously anti-immigrant sheriff stands now for re-election there—but versions of it could be told all over the country right now: Many immigrants are in hiding, going hungry, holding kids out of school, and unable to work.

We’ve got a great new voter resource @boltsmag.org, breaking down the 35 states (plus DC) where the midterms will decide who runs elections. These contests are important in setting the tone of election administration for 2028, but also for so many other reasons: boltsmag.org/guide-to-con...

These 35 States Are Deciding Who’ll Run Their Elections - Bolts

The midterms will usher in a new cast of characters to oversee the next presidential race. They’ll decide how to answer Trump’s orders and how to shape mail voting and registration.

boltsmag.org

If nothing else, just read the opening paragraphs of the new @vevalenz.bsky.social piece. This sort of casual cruelty, and worse, is so common in U.S. jails/prisons that to most it barely registers as scandalous—but it is, and this reporting really matters: boltsmag.org/california-p...

One of the first things Trump did in Feb. 2017 was set up an office in DHS to *exclusively* publicize crimes committed by immigrants — just as the Nazis used Der Stürmer to publish a special section only highlighting “Jewish crimes.” See this article from 2017: www.thewrap.com/der-sturmer-...

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3w ago

Trump on migrants: "They kill old. They kill young. They kill them all."

The US has a long history of suffering and death as public spectacle and the administration has been tapping into that vein of US tradition since their return.

Phil Lewis@phillewis.bsky.social · 2w ago

The Pentagon says it will livestream the firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan

ICYMI, this is a superb article by @boltsmag.org about Virginia’s proposed constitutional amendment to automatically restore voting rights for people with felony convictions when they exit prison. boltsmag.org/virginia-con...

“It’s Time”: Virginians Will Decide Whether to Repeal Jim Crow-Era Lifetime Ban on Voting - Bolts

Voters will decide this year whether to end Virginia’s uniquely harsh felony disenfranchisement rules. They'll also vote on abortion, gay marriage, and redistricting.

boltsmag.org

Because of Idaho's women's prison overcrowding, some women can’t access the programming required of them to make parole - and end up incarcerated longer, even when a state commission has decided they're otherwise fit for parole. @wbryen.bsky.social reports - www.investigatewest.org/prison-overc...

Idaho’s women’s prison overcrowding is fueling parole delays

State agencies don’t know how many inmates face more prison time because they couldn’t access programs prescribed by parole commissioners

investigatewest.org

A year ago, @propublica.org told you immigration agents had detained more than 170 U.S. citizens. We’ve updated our count, and we’ve got all the receipts. The tally: At least 506 citizens detained. Sometimes held at gunpoint, handcuffed, or even deported. projects.propublica.org/american-cit...

More Than 500 U.S. Citizens Have Been Detained, Including Handcuffed or Held at Gunpoint, in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown — ProPublica

The government doesn’t track how often immigration officers detain U.S. citizens. So ProPublica did. We’ve found more than 500 Americans who were held against their will during this Trump administrati...

projects.propublica.org

Can you serve as the peoples' attorney and the city's attorney at the same time – and what about when those two roles come into conflict with one another? For my latest for Bolts, I explored this question: boltsmag.org/los-angeles-...

The Most Overlooked But Wide-Reaching Office on the Los Angeles Ballot - Bolts

In June, when Hydee Feldstein Soto became the first Los Angeles city attorney to lose a primary reelection race in nearly 100 years, her ouster put the spotlight on an... Read More

boltsmag.org

Demonstrably false—they are mostly disenfranchised, but when and where incarcerated people are granted meaningful ballot access, they very often do vote freely.

James Hell Brooks@kleinman.bsky.social · 3w ago

This take actually seems pretty popular on Bluesky but I don't think anyone living in a coercive environment like prison has the ability to cast a free and fair ballot.

People in jail have the right to vote, but it's rarely accessible. I wrote about how Dallas election officials basically mocked the rights of the legally innocent. boltsmag.org/dallas-count...

Dallas County Jail Adds Election Day Polling Place After Pressure from Activists - Bolts

Last summer, Dallas County Sheriff Marian Brown sat inside her car to record a video to post on social media talking about voting inside her jail. Progressive activists had been... Read More

boltsmag.org

Alex Ip 葉清霖@alexip718.com · 3w ago

All prisoners should have the right to vote while in prison

just wanna re-up the part where I wrote that many immigrants in Maine have been sheltering in place since January for their own safety, with ICE still operating in the area. it is October.

Lex McMenamin (they/them)@lexmcmenamin.com · 4w ago

whether or not it stayed in the headlines, ICE's on-the-ground presence “shocked the whole system” (in one advocate's words), changing life for Maine communities. many immigrants have been effectively sheltering in place since Jan, relying on grocery drop-offs and volunteers to take kids to school.

The annual, gigantic, always-indispensable @taniel.bsky.social November election guide is out today. There is no better place to learn about the downballot, so bookmark and share widely: boltsmag.org/whats-on-the...

Your Cheat Sheet to the 2026 General Elections - Bolts

Congressional races will take center stage on Nov. 3, but they’re just the tip of what to watch. Prosecutors and governors, attorneys general and sheriffs, school boards and mayors, utility... Read Mo...

boltsmag.org

Pretty amazing photography and writing by Marc Lester for @adn.com: www.adn.com/alaska-news/...

‘Very joyful times’: 3 whaling crews deliver excitement and traditional food to the shores of Utqiaġvik

A day of good weather ended with a flurry of late-night activity. Portions of the whales will be distributed to the community in the days to come and during winter feasts, crews say.

adn.com

Over a 20-year period, people were sentenced to prison more often, and for longer terms, in years when prosecutors were up for election, a Northwestern Law study finds. In other words, prosecutors were more eager to rob people’s freedom when they thought it would help them politically.

Prison admissions rose 3% in district attorney election years during 'tough on crime' era

New research from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law suggests that public sentiment associated with “tough on crime” politics may be tied to increases in the number of people admitted to state prison...

news.northwestern.edu

Tennessee plans to execute a woman tomorrow. She was 18 when she committed the crime. She's now 50. Like most on death row, she's also a victim. And like most on death row, she's a far different person now than she was then. No one humanizes the condemned better than @lilianasegura.bsky.social.

The “Satanic Panic” Made Her a True-Crime Obsession. The Truth Is More Haunting.

After 30 years on death row, Christa Pike faces execution for a grisly murder she committed at 18.

theintercept.com

The powerful generally do not want a free press to exist. This is not a matter of political partisanship so much as it is an observation of reality. And a more urgent one to acknowledge today, because they are closer to winning. www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/the-free-a...

The Free and Unfree Press

Journalism, and its adversaries.

hamiltonnolan.com

Daniel has eyes on literally every county in every state, so you should trust the curation here and bookmark this:

Taniel@taniel.bsky.social · last mo.

Sheriffs & DAs have huge powers over criminal justice, e.g.: often deciding how much local assistance ICE gets. So I worked all year on whittling down the thousands (!) of these races happening in 2026 to find the ones that matter most. NEW TODAY: Learn about the 25 most pivotal November races.

More on ERIC, an election verification system Republicans demanded, and then abandoned when it wasn’t generating the evidence of fraud they wanted via @michaelmechanic.bsky.social www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

States already have a good way to ensure election integrity—and MAGA hates it

The rejection of ERIC by GOP officials has, ironically, undermined their own voting systems.

motherjones.com

A downballot race to circle for November: In a Harris +9 county in Maryland, far-right sheriff who boasts about funneling 2,000 people into deportation faces seeks a sixth term. I wrote about him, and ICE, and immigrant rights organizing, in @boltsmag.org: boltsmag.org/frederick-co...

“We're Afraid on a Daily Basis”: How a Maryland Sheriff Targeted Immigrants Long Before ICE Raids Spiked - Bolts

Frederick County’s sheriff turned his office into a force multiplier for ICE before such collaboration became commonplace. As he again faces voters this year, the harm to immigrant communities is impo...

boltsmag.org

“Terrible things are happening outside. Poor helpless people are being dragged out of their homes. Families are torn apart. Men, women, and children are separated. Children come home from school to find that their parents have disappeared.” Diary of Anne Frank January 13, 1943

Alex Burness@burness.bsky.social · last mo.

People are hiding at home, afraid to go outside and encounter ICE. They're struggling to find food and holding kids out of school, as friends and family are disappeared in bunches. This is now the reality of daily life across the U.S., and I took a snapshot of what it looks like in one community:

I wrote about solitary confinement, penal isolators, and "the box."

There is always a box

And authoritarians will put everyone they can inside it.

degenerateart.beehiiv.com

I’ve been a Frederick boy pretty much my whole life, and this is as clean a piece you will ever read on the evil ass Sheriff in the county. @boltsmag.org continues to be vital for understanding local politics.

Alex Burness@burness.bsky.social · last mo.

People are hiding at home, afraid to go outside and encounter ICE. They're struggling to find food and holding kids out of school, as friends and family are disappeared in bunches. This is now the reality of daily life across the U.S., and I took a snapshot of what it looks like in one community:

People are hiding at home, afraid to go outside and encounter ICE. They're struggling to find food and holding kids out of school, as friends and family are disappeared in bunches. This is now the reality of daily life across the U.S., and I took a snapshot of what it looks like in one community:

“We're Afraid on a Daily Basis”: How a Maryland Sheriff Targeted Immigrants Long Before ICE Raids Spiked - Bolts

Frederick County’s sheriff turned his office into a force multiplier for ICE before such collaboration became commonplace. As he again faces voters this year, the harm to immigrant communities is impo...

boltsmag.org

This comes amid a broader attack on voting rights for trans Kansans: New ID requirements at best make voting harder and potentially more dangerous for many, and in some cases will outright block people from voting. boltsmag.org/kansas-trans...

A New Law Voids IDs of Transgender Kansans. It Also Threatens Their Voting Access. - Bolts

Almost as soon as Kansas lawmakers passed a new law targeting transgender people in late February, state officials started invalidating some people’s driver’s licenses without warning. The law, which ...

boltsmag.org

Gillian Branstetter@gbbranstetter.bsky.social · last mo.

The Kansas Republican Party attempted to use a new state law requiring driver's license to only list sex at birth to invalidate the voter registration and candidacy of a transgender woman running against a Republican for a state House seat. They were rebuffed by the Secretary of State.