Virginia State Police have jurisdiction over 78,000 miles of highways and conduct hundreds of thousands of traffic stops a year. Governor Spanberger recently ended a policy that allowed them to make civil immigration arrests.

“I think [Governor] Murphy had the power to protect immigrants on his last day, and he chose not to use it, and it’s a failure of leadership when we need it the most,” says a New Jersey immigrant rights advocate.

Iowa courts charge people $73 to $83 per hour for court-appointed lawyers. The law specifically allows for such charges when a defendant is found guilty or is acquitted, but not for dismissed cases—something prosecutors want to change.

“People are more willing to talk about banning a hypothetical 287(g) with a hypothetical police department than they are a real 287(g) with the Massachusetts Department of Correction,” says an attorney who represents detained immigrants in Massachusetts.

Tomorrow, a crowded field of candidates is running to fill the Georgia congressional seat left vacant by Marjorie Taylor Green’s resignation. With more than 20 contenders, the election could go to a runoff next month.

📬 Did you know that Bolts has a weekly newsletter? Sign up for updates on local elections and a list of our latest deep-diving stories about criminal justice and voting rights, along with other local news stories that our team is talking about.

Chris Taylor, a candidate in next month’s Wisconsin Supreme Court election, has promised to protect ballot access in the state. “We cannot be fatigued when it comes to democracy,” she told Bolts.

What’s the state with the strongest restrictions against coordination with ICE? Experts point to Illinois, which has a vast array of restrictions that immigrants rights’ advocates want other states to emulate.

Conservatives are currently pursuing a national strategy to ban grace periods for ballots sent through the mail. The U.S. Supreme Court will issue a ruling that could eliminate grace periods across the country.

On Tuesday, voters in Pima County, Arizona, will decide whether or not to approve a spending plan of more than $2 billion to fund local transportation. Our elections guide has more:

Last year, a federal judge ordered Mississippi lawmakers to redraw the districts it uses to elect state Supreme Court justices, finding the current map illegally diminishes Black voting power. A U.S. Supreme Court ruling could soon undo that directive.

“While this supreme court race may seem like a sleeper contest, from the democracy perspective, it’s anything but low-stakes,” says an expert on this court who is closely watching the April election for a seat on the court.

Could local officials block ICE from building more detention facilities? How could one find out if one’s local police department is cooperating with ICE? You asked, we answered nine questions on how localities are responding to ICE.

Many states require that mail ballots be postmarked by a specific day. But due to new USPS rules, voters may need to put their ballot in a mailbox days in advance.

As a result of new state laws in North Carolina, people arrested on low-level crimes who once would have been quickly released are now stuck in the local jails, where they are sitting ducks for ICE.

Confusion over whether American Samoans—who are U.S. nationals, not citizens—can vote in local elections is common in Alaska, says a community leader. “The people interpreting the laws don’t even understand the damn laws.”

The leaders of several blue states have recently passed or introduced bills to limit ICE activity in “sensitive locations,” such as schools and healthcare facilities. But how much federal agents will abide by the rules remains a question.

The upcoming Wisconsin Supreme Court election could be critical for voting rights, but it has had a lower profile compared to previous races. A recent poll found that 93 percent of voters in the state have heard “little” or “nothing” about it.

In Nevada, local voting rights advocates expanding an election observer program amid concerns about the potential for ICE deployments at polling sites:

A Massachusetts bill would require judges to reduce someone’s sentence or offer pretrial diversion if they find that the person’s actions were directly related to their experiences of abuse. Advocates hope lawmakers can move it forward this year.

ICE’s 287(g) program, which allows local and state law enforcement to assist the federal agency, has exploded in popularity in President Trump’s second term. A growing list of blue states has passed bans on participating in the program. boltsmag.org/marylan...

A generational battle is playing out in a Democratic primary for Mississippi’s 2nd congressional district on Tuesday. If the U.S. Supreme Court guts the Voting Rights Act, the state GOP could eventually eliminate this district.

Are you wondering if your police department is coordinating with ICE? Our research editor Ethan Corey explains how to find out. Many local agencies have visible contracts to hold detainees for ICE, but other forms of cooperation are more subtle.

In next month’s Wisconsin Supreme Court election, liberals could lock down a majority on the court through 2030 and secure a critical voting rights backstop during the next presidential election.

Mississippi has the highest Black population share of any state but there have only ever been four Black justices in the state’s history, and none of them have ever served at the same time. A judge recently took issue with the state’s “bleak” history.

New USPS rules have voting experts worried. One advocate told Bolts, “There is more friction and more barriers being injected into our system in terms of registering to vote and accessing the ballot.”

How are local and state officials responding to the federal immigration crackdown? Our team answers nine reader-submitted questions about local leaders’ responses to ICE, from whether zoning rules could apply to ICE to what powers local prosecutors have.

CalMatters reports on the Border Patrol’s network of hidden surveillance cameras in California:

Residents of Asheville, North Carolina, are concerned that federal deployments like those recently seen in Durham and Charlotte will come to their city this year. “There’s just general nervousness,” says a local civil rights lawyer.

President Trump has reviewed a plan to claim emergency powers in order to issue an executive order that would mandate voter ID and ban mail ballots, The Washington Post reported last week. www.washingtonpost.c...

Wisconsin liberals have a chance next month to go up 5-2 on the state supreme court for the first time in modern history. If they succeed, they'll also block conservatives from earning a court majority through the next presidential election and until at least 2030. New preview in @boltsmag.org:

Today, Virginia is the only U.S. state where someone convicted of any felony loses their right to vote for life, unless it is personally restored by the governor. Lawmakers this year advanced a constitutional amendment to repeal that rule.

NEW in Bolts: In an election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court next month, liberals are hoping to expand their majority on a body that could be a critical backstop for voting rights during the next presidential race.

Tempe, Arizona, has a contract with Flock, a surveillance company that shares data with law enforcement, including ICE. Ending that contract is one candidate’s priority in next week’s city council election there.

our whole staff at Bolts worked together to tackle reader questions about local and state responses to the federal immigration dragnet. lots of info here: boltsmag.org/how-state-an...

New Mexico’s parole board granted Jesse Tooker parole for the life sentence he received at 17 years old because of the state’s Second Chance Act, passed in 2023. But they still wouldn’t let him leave prison. “It was just devastating,” his sister says.

The Maryland Democratic House majority leader says that he is well aware of the risks of federal retaliation for the state’s efforts to restrict local collaboration with ICE. “But nevertheless, we’ve got to do the right thing,” he says.

Last week, Denver’s mayor announced a new executive order that bans ICE agents from city property, citing the killing of protesters by federal agents in Minneapolis this year as motivation for the measure.

The Q&As at @boltsmag.org are such great service journalism! Love this overview on state and local responses to ICE.

A pending U.S. Supreme Court case could weaken a key part of the Voting Rights Act critical to challenging racial discrimination in election maps. In Mississippi, a Democrat lawmakers says Black communities are bracing for “devastation.”

An incarcerated writer explains why New York’s broken system of clemency matters in The Marshall Project:

Next week, New Hampshire voters will elect a state representative to replace a GOP lawmaker who resigned last fall. Democrats are hoping to score another flip, after gaining a legislative seat in Arkansas last Tuesday.

NEW in Bolts: How are states restricting ICE activity? Can local prosecutors charge federal officers? How can local leaders prepare for ICE deployments? Our team answers questions about local responses to the immigration crackdown.

A regional airline in Wisconsin has begun providing charter services for federal immigration authorities:

Pro-ICE sheriffs in competitive counties all over, including Maryland, New York, Montana, and Wisconsin, are up for reelection in 2026. These races will test voters’ appetite for complying with Trump’s deportation agenda.

Martin Moore yesterday won the Democratic primary for district attorney in Buncombe County, North Carolina, home to the liberal enclave of Asheville. No Republican filed for this office, so he's poised to be the next DA.

Felony conspiracy charges are increasingly being used to quash protest, says a legal scholar. They are “now really effective at going after social movements and coordinated action amongst activists.”

Utah lawmakers are preparing to overhaul state election laws as the session draws to a close, Deseret News reports.

In North Carolina, new laws are jailing more people, keeping them incarcerated for longer, and exposing them to ICE agents. So how are local officials in a liberal enclave trying to navigate these constraints? Bolts reports:

Yesterday, Rodney Sadler defeated state Representative Carla Cunningham in a North Carolina Democratic primary. Cunningham had provided the state GOP with the decisive vote last year to pass a bill forcing compliance with ICE. Read more about the race: