Gaby Goldstein
@gabygoldstein.bsky.social
Founder, State Futures. Building power in the states. Lawyer + health policy PhD. Thinking/reading/writing about federalism, state politics, and regulation in the public interest. statefutures.org
Absolutely essential read for all — and further affirmation that if you haven’t switched from Google to DuckDuckGo you should without a second’s further delay.
Rachel Holliday Smith@rachelholliday.bsky.social · 4w agorelated, I have sent this @drewmagary.bsky.social column to so many people lately. it really speaks to the moment of what ALL publishers — of any size, content type, funding model — are up against right now
An lawyer for the Institute for Justice says that new lawsuits against federal agents for violating state laws are serving as a test for the legal theory that these state-level statutes can constrain ICE agents. “There is a kind of a bellwether feel here.”
This Maine Lawsuit is Testing the Boundaries of Suing Federal Immigration Agents - Bolts
Federal law makes it very difficult to file lawsuits against federal officers, but some states have adopted their own laws to give people a so-called cause of action to sue.
boltsmag.org
In January, ICE agents in Maine stopped Juan Sebastián Carvajal-Muñoz on his way to work and detained him for hours, refusing to look at his work visa. Carvajal-Muñoz is now suing those agents, alleging that they violated a state civil rights law.
This Maine Lawsuit is Testing the Boundaries of Suing Federal Immigration Agents - Bolts
Federal law makes it very difficult to file lawsuits against federal officers, but some states have adopted their own laws to give people a so-called cause of action to sue.
boltsmag.org
I wrote about how state constitutions played a critically important role in the American Founding -- and help tell the ongoing story American progress, backlash, and contention. Re-upping before July 4 weekend! statecourtreport.org/our-work/ana...
250 Years of State Constitutions
Early state charters are essential to understanding the American founding.
statecourtreport.org
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s Worker Protection Unit is treating wage theft as a crime.
He Went After Trump. Now He’s Going After Bad Bosses. -
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s Worker Protection Unit is treating wage theft as a crime.
documentedny.com
"This is a moment in time that will require all of our active participation." @justinjpearson.bsky.social joined our founder @gabygoldstein.bsky.social on @legalafmtn.bsky.social to speak to the value of collective state action in the face of an antagonistic federal government.
States have a LOT of authority to regulate detention facilities... NJ has good ideas - including imposing 50% tax on gross receipts of private immigrant detention facilities and sending proceeds to an “Immigrant Protection Fund.” Recent report from State Futures: www.statefutures.org/research/iss...
State Legislators Address Immigration Detention Facilities — STATE FUTURES
In response to ongoing changes in federal immigration policy and enforcement, states are taking an active role in shaping how immigration laws are carried out within their borders. As federal agencies...
statefutures.org
Lex McMenamin (they/them)@lexmcmenamin.com · 2mo agoreporting live from Delaney Hall in NJ, where protesters are out in droves (along with the media) in support of hunger striking detainees, in a movement spreading to other detention centers in Texas, California and NM
Props to the Hawaii state legislature on a bold approach to get corporate spending out of their elections entirely. The powers of a corporation are authorized by the state – there’s really no need to grant them the power to wreck our democracy. (1/2)
After languishing in state legislatures across the country, a novel approach to curtailing money in politics becomes law in Hawaii
The new law was crafted allow the state to curb corporate political spending.
abcnews.com
Such a great chat with @gabygoldstein.bsky.social today! Here’s a lil history lesson — difficult to imagine in our present moment, but the left historically had a head start on state legislative infrastructure, but then conservatives got a clue and …welp, here we are
Carolyn Fiddler@cfidd.bsky.social · 3mo agoJoin me when I go live with @gabygoldstein.bsky.social in an hour! open.substack.com/live-stream/...
New polls show voters favor Dems for the House by 11 points, boosting hopes of flipping key Southern seats blue. Popok talks with Gaby Goldstein & Rep. Pearson, who tells the Legal AF audience he’s confident TN's new map could turn a red seat blue by creating three competitive Democratic districts.
Trump SCREWED as POLL COLLAPSE Sets FIRE to CONGRESS MAPS Redrawing Plan?!?!
YouTube video by Legal AF
youtube.com
TN Rep. Justin Pearson: They're doing everything they can to dilute our political power because they know that once we recognize who's really benefiting from this injustice, we'll be able to actively do something about it.
As SCOTUS dismantles key protections of the Voting Rights Act, Tennessee has become an example of what comes next. I go live with Rep. Justin J. Pearson & Gaby Goldstein of State Futures to discuss racist redistricting and the coordinated MAGA attack on Black political power.
MAGA Rigs Maps. We Fight Back.
Live with Tennessee Rep. Justin J. Pearson and Gaby Goldstein of State Futures as SCOTUS and MAGA gut the Voting Rights Act to return our nation to the Jim Crow era
qasimrashid.com
From our dear @gabygoldstein.bsky.social on the impact of Callais in the states.
TPM@talkingpointsmemo.com · 3mo ago@gabygoldstein.bsky.social: What's coming next "is a redistricting war unlike anything we have seen, fought not primarily in Congress, but in state capitols, where the stakes are higher and the spotlight dimmer." talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/we-aren...
Protests erupted on Wednesday in Nashville as Republicans in Tennessee raced to slice up their state's sole Democratic district covering the majority-Black city of Memphis. Mother Jones’s @garrisonhayes.bsky.social is on the ground at the State Capitol covering the upheaval:
WATCH: “No racial data was used in the drawing of this map.” 🤔 Speaker Sexton also pretends not to know if MEMPHIS is predominantly Black, insists with a straight face to @rep.jesse.chism race wasn’t a factor in carving the city into thirds- precisely splitting the Black vote
WALTER BAILEY: “Dr. King took a bullet in the neck. They were shot. Killed. Murdered. Advancing voting rights… it’s an insult to their legacy. To their deaths.” @GovBillLee @MarshaBlackburn SenJohnson BrentTaylorTN #Memphis
@gabygoldstein.bsky.social: What's coming next "is a redistricting war unlike anything we have seen, fought not primarily in Congress, but in state capitols, where the stakes are higher and the spotlight dimmer." talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/we-aren...
We Aren’t Paying Enough Attention to What the SCOTUS VRA Decision Means for State Legislatures
This post is a part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news...
talkingpointsmemo.com
REP. @brotherjones.bsky.social : “You’re spitting on the graves of our civil rights elders.” Republicans just rejected Jones’ proposed rules around transparency re: new racist maps diluting the Black vote in Memphis with white power for Trump. Racially gerrymandered maps nobody has seen.
“It's your state legislators who have the ideas. They want to organize together.” Our founder @gabygoldstein.bsky.social spoke on @courtacctability.bsky.social to map out state legislative, legal, and collective action to reign in harmful ICE detention centers. www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHSK...
State REVOLT Delivers DEVASTATING BLOW to Trump SCHEME
YouTube video by Legal AF
youtube.com
Our federal leaders are sitting on their hands. It's up to state leaders to step in and work together to protect the American people. Our conversation with State Futures' @gabygoldstein.bsky.social on detention centers, the Iran War, & state leaders coming together: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHSK...
At least 71% of election officials have engaged in preparation or planning for scenarios that could disrupt election administration ahead of the midterms. Learn more in our latest survey of local election officials: bit.ly/41pYmNr
Local Election Officials Survey 2026
75 percent of local election officials have not received additional resources from their state or local government to address federal cuts to election security services. At least 71 percent of officials have done some preparation or planning for scenarios that could disrupt election administration.
brennancenter.org
The bills seeking to shield oil companies from lawsuits send the message that “you can pollute with impunity,” said Carly Phillips of the Union of Concerned Scientists. “It’s really a thumb in the eye of places that are affected by climate change.”
“Economic Civil War”: States Push Laws to Shield Oil and Gas Companies From Accountability
Most of the 15 bills being considered are part of a coordinated effort by groups linked to right-wing activist Leonard Leo.
propublica.org
"States are moving — aggressively, creatively, and increasingly together — to impose accountability on a detention system explicitly designed to avoid it." Encouring note to end the week, from @gabygoldstein.bsky.social @state-futures.bsky.social talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/trump-w...
Trump Wants to Build Massive New Detention Centers. States Are Blocking Their Construction.
This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis....
talkingpointsmemo.com
In an op-ed in @talkingpointsmemo.com, our founder @gabygoldstein.bsky.social charts how states are protecting people held in mass detention facilities. This follows State Futures’ release of a new Issue Brief on detention facilities. Op-ed: tinyurl.com/bdh4ejvh Issue Brief: tinyurl.com/na89jdk6
Trump Wants to Build Massive New Detention Centers. States Are Blocking Their Construction.
This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis....
tinyurl.com
@gabygoldstein.bsky.social : "States are moving—aggressively, creatively, and increasingly together—to impose accountability on a detention system explicitly designed to avoid it." talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/trump-w...
Trump Wants to Build Massive New Detention Centers. States Are Blocking Their Construction.
This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis....
talkingpointsmemo.com
We are not helpless in the face of what's going on with ICE and the terrorizing of communities across our state. Yesterday, I signed 3 bills to protect the rights of immigrants in Washington — ensuring that workers receive notice when federal immigration authorities...
Our founder, @gabygoldstein.bsky.social joined Alex Aronson on Legal AF’s @courtacctability.bsky.social to announce the Federal Response Coalition - 104 members from 34 states. They discuss the coalition and the importance of state collective action. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ft2y...
Trump CRUMBLES as LEGISLATURES FIGHT BACK
YouTube video by Legal AF
youtube.com
The power struggle over data center regulation has come to statehouses across the country. Policymakers in a dozen states are leading in the fight to keep their residents’ utility costs down by proposing pauses or bans on data center construction. stateline.org/2026/03/06/t...
Temporarily banning data centers draws more interest from state, local officials • Stateline
As communities’ concerns grow over rising electricity prices and the environmental effects of data centers, some local and state officials want to halt development of the facilities.Lawmakers in at le...
stateline.org