Now seems like a swell time to point out that Frontline just released this excellent 11-minute mini-documentary about what happened inside CECOT.

What's it like to come w/ permission then have it taken away? "To tell them their safety has an expiration date while their home country remains mired in the same crisis they fled — and is now in the crosshairs of the U.S. military — is a painful contradiction. " www.propublica.org/article/stat...

...and speaking of this volatile industry, I know a lot of super talented folks are looking for work so reminder that we have SIX open positions right now across different departments, including a reporting job in Texas: job-boards.greenhouse.io/propublica

Started reading this story by @gingerthompson.bsky.social as soon as I woke up this morning and am gripped. Have now switched to the beautifully narrated audio version on Spotify. Here’s the link: projects.propublica.org/albany-georg...

The Data Doesn’t Lie: How ProPublica Reports the Truth in an Era of False Claims, by @propublica.org Editor-in-chief @sengelberg.bsky.social

We need to talk about this nightmarish week. Join me Saturday on WCPT/ @heartlandsignal.bsky.social with: + Lavora Barnes + @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social of @propublica.org + @bbkogan.bsky.social of @americanprogress.bsky.social + @rachelleingang.bsky.social 🤳Stream 1-4 CT bit.ly/3DAcG8s

So very excited for this tour de force by @gingerthompson.bsky.social!

donate so you can get a bag and become a walking advertisement for our tip line 🤓😆🤭

In Congress, Pete Hoekstra warned of tariffs causing job loss + price increases. Especially for furniture makers in his Michigan district. One of them is citing tariffs as it closes after 99 years. 195 jobs will be lost. But Hoekstra — Trump’s ambassador in Canada — now sings a different tune.

NEW: With dwindling oversight, cattle are grazing where they’re not supposed to and in greater numbers or for longer periods than permitted. This can spread invasive plants, pushing out native species and worsening wildfire risk.

1/ It should be forgiven. It should be forgotten. If she spoke of it again, the sins would be hers, she was told. But she could never forget. And neither could the other girls. This is the story of how her church enabled a child abuser for years 👇 [content warning: sexual abuse]

We updated this story to add that DHS acknowledges at least 4 of the Venezuelans detained in raid are a low public safety risk. A judge the. ordered them released. We were about to publish a story about this… then an appeals court stayed order. The men will remain in detention or may be deported

Reporter @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social speaks to @npr.org about @propublica.org's report on the South Shore Chicago apartment building raid. www.npr.org/2025/11/18/n...

Meet one of the Venezuelans detained in the South Shore raid www.tiktok.com/t/ZTMo89D5n/

1/ The night of the raid, Jonahyker López awoke to the sound of a helicopter over his building and federal agents yelling, “Open the door!” López told me he sat on the edge of his bed, wishing that his own door would become invisible. But the door came down and agents burst in. 🧵

16/ I hope you will read the full story. It was a team effort by @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social, @tchristianmiller.bsky.social @mariamelba.bsky.social, Sebastian Rotella, me and many more, part of a collaboration between @propublica.org/ @frontlinepbs.bsky.social www.propublica.org/article/chic...

15/ A Chicago judge decided the building was too unsafe. She appointed a new property manager and said the tenants should be relocated. All the people who lived at 7500 S. South Shore Drive when the raid began — immigrants and U.S. citizens — may soon be gone.

14/ She was among the tenants who attended a recent online court hearing about the future of the building. Tenants and city inspectors described ongoing horrible conditions: mice and gnats, exposed wires, leaking pipes, squatters.

12/ As for the U.S. citizens living in the building? Greg Bovino, the Border Patrol commander of the Chicago operation, said it would make their lives safer. But tenants told us that building conditions have only gotten worse.

13/ We met a woman living in a 3rd floor apartment whose legs are amputated. She relies on a wheelchair. The building elevators were broken — again — last week, and she said she is unable to leave the building. “I am trying to move out,” she said.

11/ The Department of Homeland Security did not answer our questions about the raid. In a statement, it said the operation was “performed in full compliance of the law.”

10/ A woman and her three young daughters are in a shelter in Chicago while her husband is detained in Kentucky. She has been given a few months to get U.S. passports for two of her kids, who are citizens, before they leave the country.

9/ Some are now back in Venezuela. Others remain detained. Several have described being hungry, lonely and sick. At least one man has been diagnosed with tuberculosis since being locked up, his attorney told me this week.

8/ We have observed immigration court hearings for 8 of the men. Not once has a government attorney mentioned any pending criminal charges or membership in a gang. Judges have granted some voluntary departure — reserved for people not considered a safety threat.

7/ During a video call with Jean Carlos Antonio Colmenares Pérez, from a jail in Kentucky, he showed us the room where he was being held with other men. There were 10 sets of bunk beds and 2 toilets. One of the toilets didn’t work. Video from @frontlinepbs.bsky.social:

6/ She spoke with Ludwing Jeanpier Parra Pérez, whom the government identified as a gang member. He denied it. Our review showed arrests for drug possession and driving w/o a license, charges that were dropped. “I’m very worried. I don’t know why they are saying that,” he said.

5/ We sent letters to the men detained in Indiana and in Kentucky, where some were transferred. They began calling. Over the past few weeks, @propublica.org reporter @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social has communicated in Spanish with a dozen Venezuelans taken that night.

4/ We learned that at least 17 men were bused to a county jail in Indiana — 3 ½ hours away. Records show they were booked by noon the day of the raid. The women and children were taken to an immigration processing center in suburban Chicago.

3/ So far, we have identified 21 of them. That allowed us to examine their backgrounds and search for any criminal history. There are limitations to this kind of search because there is no universal database of charges or convictions, but this is what we found:

2/ Their names were not made public, yet @dhsgov said it had detained terrorist gang members and called the operation a success. We @propublica.org set out to determine whether that was true. To do that, we needed to figure out who they were.

1/ I’d like to share what’s happened since Sept. 30, the night of the most dramatic raid of the Trump administration’s Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago. Under the cover of darkness, 37 immigrants were taken from an apartment complex …🧵

NEW: We’ve uncovered the first known example of taxpayer money flowing from DHS to businesses controlled by Kristi Noem’s allies and friends. It’s part of a money trail that’s been shrouded in secrecy—and involves $220 million, a mysterious Delaware LLC & a horse named Gill.

We at @propublica.org looked into the immigration raid that happened in Chicago's South Shore in late September. We found many of the Venezuelans detained in that raid, looked into them, and spoke to several of them.

You probably saw videos of a nighttime raid in Chicago. Agents rappelling from a helicopter, bursting down doors, questioning brown-skinned immigrants. We investigated -- and found little evidence to support the government’s claims about Tren de Aragua. www.propublica.org/article/chic...

The government doesn’t track how many citizens are held by immigration agents. @nicolefoy.bsky.social @propublica.org found more than 170 cases this year where citizens were detained at raids and protests. www.propublica.org/article/immi...

“I don’t want to be here anymore… What am I supposed to do?” Trump wants them to self deport. They want to self deport. But many Venezuelans cannot leave … like this woman who told me she now plans to try to turn herself into ICE to get out of USA. www.propublica.org/article/trum...

Attorney for woman shot by Border Patrol claims officer said 'Do something bitch’ before shooting chicago.suntimes.com/news/2025/10...

1/ In August 2020, the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, made an extraordinary request to President Trump’s ambassador, Ronald Johnson. A previously undisclosed report tells what happened next, according to a new ProPublica investigation. 🧵 ⬇️

A little bit of rainbow to welcome me to Providence, RI 🥰

Looking forward to this convo tomorrow with such great journalists!!

Speaking at Brown Wednesday, Oct 1st with a panel of amazing reporters. @arelisrhdz.bsky.social @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social Sophia Wotman, University News Editor for The Brown Daily Herald Looking forward to a great conversation.

Meanwhile the other one fills my reporter notebooks with gifts like this

So the kid was trying to make fun of us but omg I love this…. Beep-boop

1/ I’m Till Eckert, a ProPublica reporter. For the past 2 weeks, I’ve been going to the same NY immigration courthouse. Nearly every time, I see ICE agents arresting immigrants. Today, a woman was slammed to the ground after begging officials not to take her husband away. Thread 👇

NEW: Kristi Noem has been widely criticized for slowing down FEMA's response to natural disasters. But she fast-tracked $11 million+ to fix a Florida tourist attraction — after one of her big donors reached out. www.propublica.org/article/kris...

Some bright news from the federal government: $37 million toward research to reduce stillbirths.... Really stunning development due to reporting by @deldeib.bsky.social www.propublica.org/article/nih-...

Seen on the DC metro:

Come join us @propublica.org We are hiring an investigative reporting fellow in Washington D.C. for a two-year position to cover the ever expanding world of immigration news. Apply here! grnh.se/dpwvle3d6us

Come join us at @chihacknight.org to talk about our project on the Trump administration's deportation of Venezuelan men to a foreign prison -- starting now! chihacknight.org/events/2025/...