Josh Page
@joshpage.bsky.social
Sociology prof. at Univ. of Minnesota. Law, Criminal Punishment, Politics, and Labor. New book: Legal Plunder: The Predatory Dimensions of Criminal Justice.
This sure is a...choice, for several reasons. 1) It was built by the city of Appleton at the height of the early 90s prison boom as a economic booster. It was sold to CoreCivic in 1997. It was not built for its practicality; it was built to be provide jobs for the very small, rural town.
daviss@daviss.org · yesterdayCoreCivic announced today they've finalized a 5 year contract with ICE to re-open it’s long closed prison in Appleton, Minnesota to hold up to 1,600 detainees.
I’m a defense attorney that specializes in white collar cases. Most of my clients are conservatives. And almost all of them are chock full of reasons why they’re different from everyone in the system. “I’m not a criminal.” “You stole $4 million.” “You know what I mean.” “Yup.”
I worry that most cynical among us, hopped up on 30 years of law and order rhetoric, will say "this is the system working: he didn't do anything wrong and now he's free." As if the terror and wide-scale publicity of an arrest and federal prosecution is not a horrible punishment in and of itself.
CNN@cnn.com · 5d agoThe Justice Department is admitting that a $14 million renovation on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, DC, was flawed, and is dropping the criminal case against a former Olympian that accused him of damaging the pool, according to a new court filing. https://cnn.it/3RJJnwj
BIG DEAL on voting rights this morning: Governor Spanberger just restored the voting rights of some 60,000+ Virginians. Her move reverses Youngkin's abrupt decision in 2023 to end automatic voting rights restoration, which brought Virginia back to a system of default lifetime disenfranchisement.
Virginia Governor Restores Voting Rights for Thousands With Past Felony Convictions - Bolts
This is the only state that, absent action by the governor, bans people convicted of any felony from voting for life. Virginians have an opportunity to end that system for good in November.
boltsmag.org
I wrote about how immigration arrests are at all-time highs, even as ICE is trying to assume a lower public profile. How are they doing this? Look to your local police.
ICE’s Secret Weapon Is in Your Community
While attempting to maintain a relatively lower profile, ICE is managing to arrest record numbers of people. Here’s how it’s doing that.
newrepublic.com
How did a Boston developer mired in lawsuits, who is being chased down by creditors for tens of millions in debt, come to play a key role in securing billion-dollar deals for ICE? I wrote about the real estate moguls behind DHS's detention infrastructure buildout www.levernews.com/the-failed-d...
How Troubled Boston Developer James Grossmann Came To Broker ICE’s Billion-Dollar Prison Deals
As his construction empire collapsed under lawsuits and unpaid debts, James Grossmann found a lucrative new role in ICE’s multibillion-dollar detention buying spree.
levernews.com
Something I don't think most people know is that the rules for bankruptcy were substantially changed around 2008, which made it harder. (nearly impossible) to discharge all their debt. www.npr.org/2026/07/29/n...
More Americans are going bankrupt. What does that mean?
The bankruptcy rate has risen about 48% between 2022 and 2025, although it's still below pre-pandemic levels.
npr.org
"In 2004, when I was 16 years old, I spent 78 days in Savannah Regional Youth Detention Center. Twenty-two years later, I am still reeling from the effects, most often in the form of violent flashbacks."
I Spent 78 Days in a Violent Youth Jail. I Have PTSD for Life.
Vivid flashbacks, extreme anxiety and feelings of isolation continue to plague me 22 years later.
themarshallproject.org
Homicides of white and wealthy people get more press attention. In this excellent new study, @jbenmenachem.com interviews journalists to understand why. Short version: journalists often recognize the inequity but feel constrained by resources and demands for novelty. doi.org/10.1111/1745...
Which deaths count? Debating homicide coverage amidst newsroom scarcity
Past research documents disparities in which homicides receive news coverage and how victims are portrayed, yet the organizational processes producing these patterns remain understudied. This paper a...
doi.org
My paper is out today in PNAS documenting how ICE activity in Trump 2.0 compares to the last 10 years and the mismatch between the action and the rhetoric. Joint with the fabulous @caitlinpatler.bsky.social and @elizabethacox.bsky.social www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
The Trump admin's latest strategy to mass generate removal orders is diabolical: - Take a huge group of people with hearings scheduled in late 2026, 2027, or 2028. - Send them a physical letter rescheduling all of their cases to next week. - Those who inevitably miss court get ordered deported.
Deportation Orders Soar in NYC as Trump 'Mega Master' Hearings Accelerate
A new report finds removal orders for people who missed hearings more than doubled in New York City in June, as a new tactic of hastily scheduled court dates rolled out.
thecityreporter.nyc
ICE is quietly arresting more people than ever. After months of releasing no detention data at all, the new numbers show a record 1,474 arrests a day in early July, the highest daily pace of the entire Trump administration. 🧵 austinkocher.substack.com/p/ice-quietl...
ICE Quietly Arresting More People Than Ever According to Latest Data
NEW DATA ALERT 🚨 After months of data silence, ICE's new numbers show 65,765 people in immigration detention, deportations near 1,250 a day, and arrests now at 1,473 a day.
austinkocher.substack.com
The @prisonpolicy.org's "Mass Incarceration, The Whole Pie: 2026" is such an incredible resource. Huge thanks to the good folks at PPI.
Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2026
The big picture on how many people are locked up in the United States and why
prisonpolicy.org
🚨 My friend Carlos has been detained by ICE and is slated for expedited removal. He has been instrumental in the efforts at DHH Church in Minneapolis to support vulnerable neighbors with mutual aid. His deportation is an unspeakable loss. To learn more, please visit and share: gofund.me/5a1f6199b
Donate to Standing with Carlos in This Difficult Time, organized by River Hollows
Beloved community, Our dear friend and family member, Carlos,… River Hollows needs your support for Standing with Carlos in This Difficult Time
gofund.me
White-collar prosecutions actually are at an all-time low, so
Has anyone written a paper comparing unionization of prison guards across states? Am currently reading @joshpage.bsky.social‘s excellent book on CA’s guard union, but also know that unions are often weaker/non-existent in other states, curious what explains the variation?
Woody Harrelson Says 'Thanks, Friend'
Alt: Woody Harrelson Says 'Thanks, Friend'
static.klipy.com
I wrote about Florida Governor DeSantis' getting rebuked by the 11th Circuit for his tyrannical (and unconstitutional) "Stop WOKE Act." Hopefully, this will serve as a warning to other GOP states (but I doubt it). www.ms.now/opinion/flor...
Florida's so-called Stop WOKE Act gets the legal rebuke it deserves
Victor Ray: Ron DeSantis' loss in court is a win for education
ms.now
The Uses and Abuses of the “Worst of the Worst”Bby @joshpage.bsky.social and Keramet Reiter via @dissentmag.bsky.social
The Uses and Abuses of the “Worst of the Worst” - Dissent Magazine
While the “worst of the worst” was already part of the lexicon of immigration enforcement before Donald Trump, his administration has routinely wielded it as a tool for advancing a radical, white-nati...
dissentmagazine.org
From UMN sociologist @joshpage.bsky.social dissentmagazine.org/online_artic...
The Uses and Abuses of the “Worst of the Worst” - Dissent Magazine
While the “worst of the worst” was already part of the lexicon of immigration enforcement before Donald Trump, his administration has routinely wielded it as a tool for advancing a radical, white-nati...
dissentmagazine.org
Are immigrants targeted by ICE “the worst of the worst”? New from @joshpage.bsky.social: how a simple phrase is used to justify extraordinary measures, ratcheting up cruelty and pushing legal boundaries while hand-waving away scrutiny
Dissent Magazine@dissentmag.bsky.social · 4w agoWhile the phrase “worst of the worst” was already part of the lexicon of immigration enforcement before Donald Trump, his administration has routinely wielded it as a tool for advancing a radical, white-nationalist agenda.
While the phrase “worst of the worst” was already part of the lexicon of immigration enforcement before Donald Trump, his administration has routinely wielded it as a tool for advancing a radical, white-nationalist agenda.
The Uses and Abuses of the “Worst of the Worst” - Dissent Magazine
While the “worst of the worst” was already part of the lexicon of immigration enforcement before Donald Trump, his administration has routinely wielded it as a tool for advancing a radical, white-nationalist agenda.
dissentmagazine.org
This is FALSE. ICE data showed DHS averaging 1,259 deportations/day through April 4. There is ZERO sign deportations rose by 154% since. Mullin also mixes up DHS's (also FALSE) claim that 70% arrested have any criminal record at all, and claims that 70% are felons. Wildly wrong.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last mo.Markwayne Mullin says DHS is deporting over 3,200 people a day
An advocate to end forced prison labor hopes a court ruling from this spring will finally stop Colorado prisons from sending people to solitary confinement for refusing to work. But, she cautions, “there’s going to have to be a lot more pushing.” boltsmag.org/colorado-rul...
Judge Orders Colorado to Stop Throwing Prisoners in Solitary for Refusing to Work - Bolts
Years after voters amended the state's constitution to ban forced labor in prison, a court ruling could finally make Colorado change how prison guards "compel and coerce" work.
boltsmag.org
The Trump admin loves to claim it's targeting the "worst of the worst" and that the people they've detained have pending criminal charges against them. But here's the reality: Most people shuffled into ICE detention are accused of minor things that wouldn't typically send a U.S. citizen to jail.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last mo.Homan on undocumented people: "There are some who say we should be arresting everybody. Well, we are."
In Louisiana, which has more ICE lockups than almost any state, a crisis of prolonged detention is accelerating. Data suggests that the number of immigrants in ICE custody for more than a year has spiked five-fold since 2024. Our story with The Lens Nola: boltsmag.org/louisia...
These people need to be put in prison themselves. Chilling work from @andreapitzer.bsky.social degenerateart.beehiiv.com/p/forced-lab...
