🚨 New work requirements for Medicaid will take effect in 2027. This change will fall heavily on formerly incarcerated people—who already face job discrimination—and push stability for people reentering society further out of reach. www.vera.org/news/the-cha...

Los Angeles jails are a death trap that have claimed 37 lives this year. It's been over four years since the LA Board of Supervisors committed to closing Men’s Central Jail. How many more people have to lose their lives before they take concrete action?

Ten states have repurposed or are considering turning shuttered prisons into ICE facilities to accommodate unprecedented levels of detention. These “zombie prisons” highlight the troubling entanglement of the criminal legal and immigration systems. www.themarshallproject.org/2025/08/29/m...

GOOD NEWS: A #NewYork state judge has struck down an order from Mayor Eric Adams that would have allowed ICE to illegally operate on Rikers Island, a disgraced jail with a history of violence and abuse. This is a win for all New Yorkers and a rejection of President Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

🚨ICE’s public reports obscure the expanse of its detention network. Vera's latest data analysis reveals that in early June 2025, ICE detained people in 436 facilities, but acknowledged just 163 on its website. www.vera.org/ice-detentio...

From arrests in homes, workplaces, traffic stops, and even immigration court, ICE is detaining an unprecedented number of people in inhumane conditions, the majority of whom have no access to lawyers. apnews.com/article/immi...

Yesterday, in a 6–3 decision, #SCOTUS ruled to allow immigration raids without reasonable suspicion—a dangerous expansion of government power that opens the door to racial profiling: calmatters.org/justice/2025...

Vera’s ICE Detention Trends dashboard paints an alarming picture: ICE is tearing apart, detaining, and deporting immigrant communities across the United States. On August 10, 2025, a record-high 59K+ people were held in ICE detention. For more: www.vera.org/ice-detentio...

The California Department of Justice is suing Los Angeles County over deadly, inhumane conditions in its jails—calling it a "humanitarian crisis." People incarcerated in the nation's largest jail system are forced to endure overcrowding, neglect & inadequate health care.

People who follow the law and attend immigration court proceedings should be able to do so safely and encounter a fair system. But right now, that’s far from the reality for our communities. 1/3 www.pbs.org/newshour/pol...

Right now, thousands of people in our communities face: ▪️ Arrests at routine ICE check-ins and court hearings ▪️ Inhumane detention with little to no access to lawyers ▪️ Separation from their families and communities ▪️ Fast-tracked deportations and unjust case dismissals

From arrests in homes, workplaces, traffic stops, and even immigration court, ICE is detaining an unprecedented number of people in inhumane conditions, the majority of whom have no access to lawyers. apnews.com/article/immi...

People who follow the law and attend immigration court proceedings should be able to do so safely and encounter a fair system. But right now, that’s far from the reality for our communities. www.pbs.org/newshour/pol...

Right now, our communities are being arrested at routine court hearings, fast-tracked for deportation, and held in inhumane detention, often without a lawyer to represent them. This is an INSULT to our nation’s values of fairness and due process.

“We have seen the Department of Justice weaponized to be in service of President Trump’s political agenda and weaponized to go after his opponents and critics and enemies.” —Vera’s Insha Rahman

Last month, traffic stops for equipment violations like broken taillights dropped to zero in Ann Arbor. Despite this progress, Black drivers are still disproportionately stopped by the police. Work to end racial disparities in traffic stops must continue.

"We know that bail reform works: Community safety, not personal wealth, best determines who is released and who is detained." @bailproject.org makes the case for ending money bail via @nytopinion.nytimes.com

Trump's executive orders attempting to end "cashless bail" are an attack on safety, accountability, and justice that will disproportionately harm Black people and people experiencing poverty. Let's be clear: money bail does NOT make communities safer.

🚨 The Trump administration announced that the Department of Justice is loosening hiring qualifications and tapping military lawyers to serve as civil immigration judges, adding to the long list of their attacks on due process. A statement from the Fairness to Freedom campaign ⬇️

ICE is detaining migrants in record numbers under a veil of secrecy, inflicting unjust and inhumane harm with little oversight. A group of lawmakers are challenging this, citing urgent need to oversee poor detention conditions and alleged medical neglect. www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...

As Trump ramps up his threats against safety and justice in cities that oppose his agenda, it is time for Los Angeles to show the country how to protect our communities. From cash aid to funding immigration legal representation, here's how local leaders can help keep LA safe for all:

The increased presence of ICE agents at immigration hearings and check-ins has thrown New York immigration courts into chaos. These escalating aggressive tactics are an affront to due process, making it increasingly difficult to protect basic fairness. www.npr.org/2025/08/25/n...

"Even as violent crime reaches historic lows across the country, Trump prefers a narrative of chaos that will allow him to advance his own destructive agenda." Vera's Ed Chung explains how Trump's orders on bail punish poverty without making us safer in an op-ed for @msnbc.com:

As ICE terrorizes Los Angeles and instills fear in communities, local leaders must step up to keep the city safe, vibrant, and thriving for all. Here's how city leaders can set a national example for how to rebuild trust and protect our communities:

No child should ever have to live with the fear of being shaken awake in the middle of the night, ordered to pack their belongings, and told they're going back to a place they're afraid of returning to.

Celebrating #LaborDay, a time to honor the contributions and achievements of workers, is a reminder to push for change. We must continue to fight for fair wages and conditions in prison and defend the dignity of all incarcerated people until mass incarceration is ended for good.

New York City’s notorious jail system has claimed another life. Ardit Billa, 29, is the tenth person to die in NYC DOC custody or shortly after being released this year. On Saturday, officers found Billa “unresponsive in his cell” in a Rikers Island jail complex.

This week, Trump signed a baseless executive order aimed at ending “cashless bail” across the country. Here's the truth: Money bail punishes people who can't afford to buy their freedom, undermines fairness, and fails to make communities safer.

Twenty years ago, Hurricane Katrina taught us that safety and dignity rise and fall together. The hurricane also exposed deep flaws in our justice system, as the sheriff's department chose to abandon incarcerated people without food or water—forcing them to face the floodwaters alone.

Vera’s recent report, “Steps Toward Justice,” evaluates prosecution reform in #NewOrleans from 2017 to 2022. Here’s are a few key facts from our evaluation ⬇️ www.vera.org/publications...

Fear and uncertainty: This is the unsettling reality for New York’s immigrant communities, living on edge as the Trump administration escalates its promises of mass deportation and lets cruelty unfold. documentedny.com/2025/08/20/i...

For over two months, masked and heavily armed federal agents have descended upon Los Angeles. The result: Overcrowded detention centers with limited access to lawyers, aggressive responses to protests, and empty streets as people fear leaving their homes.

ICE is withholding information on transgender people in detention, a move that undermines oversight and makes it harder to advocate for people’s rights. Congress must hold ICE accountable to comply with its obligation for data transparency to the public.

For transgender immigrants in ICE detention like Alexa, the Trump administration’s continued attacks on our most vulnerable neighbors is resulting in needless, cruel trauma and suffering. Read Alexa’s story: www.freep.com/story/news/l...

Yesterday, President Trump signed a baseless executive order that threatens to cut federal funding from jurisdictions that have ended or limited cash bail. No one should be held in jail simply because they cannot afford to pay for their freedom.

Three more people have died in the custody of Los Angeles County’s decrepit and overpacked jails, bringing this year’s death toll to 33, surpassing 2024’s total of 32 with a third of the year still remaining. The number of deaths now stands at 110 since 2023. www.vera.org/news/la-coun...

Addressing the root causes of crime promotes accountability while ending cycles of incarceration. Investment in #JusticeThatWorks builds lasting safety through hope. That’s why we are calling on the California legislature to pass #AB1231, the #SaferCommunitiesAct.

California spends over $133,000 a year to lock up one person. That money could go towards job training, housing, and mental health care. That’s why we need our legislators to pass #AB1231, a bill that will help people get back on track while making our communities safer. #SaferCommunitiesAct

Today, survivors of crime, community organizers, elected officials, and more are gathered at the California state Capitol to rally in support of #AB1231, a cost-effective reform that strengthens communities by addressing root causes of crime rather than perpetuating cycles of harm.

Behind every missing data point is a person who is often isolated and suffering. Vera’s interactive data tool—the “ICE Detention Trends” dashboard—reveals an unprecedented level of detail about ICE detention populations, uncovering alarming patterns that ICE’s public reporting obscures.

Despite claims of focusing immigration enforcement on specific criminal offenders, ICE is contradicting its own words: people with no criminal convictions make up two-thirds of the more than 120,000 people deported between January and May this year. www.themarshallproject.org/2025/08/15/i...

Survivors deserve safety, support, and dignity, not ICE at the door. Imagine fleeing abuse, then being denied help because of your immigration status. That is what the Department of Justice’s new VOCA (Victims of Crime Act) conditions would do. www.motherjones.com/criminal-jus...

Felony convictions create barriers to economic stability. By connecting people to supportive services, like job trainings, #AB1231 will help end cycles of incarceration in #California. Tell CA legislators to pass the #SaferCommunitiesAct: win.newmode.net/picoca/ab123...

Violent crime is falling across the U.S., driven by greater investments in community infrastructure, from treatment programs to community violence intervention. 📉 If Trump was serious about reducing crime, he wouldn't have cut funding for these vital programs in favor of punitive crackdowns.

DC is safer than it’s been in decades following investments in proven public safety strategies, like community violence intervention—the very programs and services now in jeopardy because of Trump’s funding cuts. Get the facts from Vera's Insha Rahman:

The United States already has the largest detention system in the world. And according to an internal planning road map obtained by @washingtonpost.com, ICE plans to double its capacity by the end of the year. www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...

Robert Brooks and Messiah Nantwi’s murders, understaffing across carceral facilities, and well-documented violence at the hands of corrections staff: New York State’s prison system is in crisis. And its culture of violence cannot be denied. www.nbcnews.com/video/with-p...

Let’s break cycles of harm & build safer neighborhoods. #AB1231 is a smart, cost-effective #California bill that empowers judges to choose rehabilitation over incarceration for low-level felonies. Tell CA lawmakers to pass this crucial bill: win.newmode.net/picoca/ab123...

Everyone wants to be safe. And we deserve real solutions to prevent crime, respond to crisis, and stop violence—not Trump’s scare tactics like the ones we’re seeing in DC and California:

States like Hawaii and California are trying a new approach to youth justice: investing in girls' freedom, instead of their incarceration. And it's working. Take a look at some of the programs working to make ending girls' incarceration a reality: