Sofya Aptekar | Lightnews

Sofya Aptekar @sofaptekar.bsky.social · 5d

This would be transformative. To invest in publicly developed and owned learning management systems at CUNY instead of extractive and shitty Brightspace, Blackboard etc.

Matt Gold @mkgold.bsky.social · 5d

Huge thanks to @mattseybold.bsky.social for writing this great post, which highlights CUNY's transformative potential to build open educational infrastructure

theamericanvandal.substack.com/p/mamdani-wi...

Matt Gold @mkgold.bsky.social · 5d

Huge thanks to @mattseybold.bsky.social for writing this great post, which highlights CUNY's transformative potential to build open educational infrastructure

theamericanvandal.substack.com/p/mamdani-wi...

Eman Abdelhadi @emanabdelhadi.bsky.social · 7d

Every time one of these mass murderers dies without having faced any consequence for the massacres they ordered, the lives they destroyed, the societies they razed to the ground… I realize how far we are from a world with justice. Rest in hell Dick Cheney. Your legacy is death.

Sofya Aptekar @sofaptekar.bsky.social · 11d

Nov. 14: BU Law Review Symposium on The University and Democracy.
I'll be in PLENARY #2: The Political Economy of the Modern University, speaking about debt financing of public higher ed, credit ratings, and Wall Street governing our universities, building on Lend & Rule www.bu.edu/law/engageme...

Fall 2025 Law Review Symposium | The University and Democracy | School of Law

www.bu.edu

Sofya Aptekar @sofaptekar.bsky.social · 11d

Nov 13: honored to be invited by the talented and committed @lizbethdsantana.bsky.social to participate in a panel on deported veterans at Baruch College, drawing on my research for Green Card Soldier.

Honoring Our Own. Veterans Day Event Program. November 13, 2025. 12:30-2:30. Baruch College NVC, Multi-purpose Room 107. 12:30-2:30 deported veterans photo exhibit by Dr. Lizbeth De La Cruz Santana. 1pm-1:30pm Bring Them Home (2022) film screening 1:30-2:15 hybrid panel with Juan Garcia (deported veteran), Rob Young (Excuse My Accent), Dr. Sofya Aptekar (CUNY), Margaret Cargioli (Immigrant Defenders Law Center), and James Smith (Black Deported Veterans of America), Background of the flyer is a photograph of the border wall painted with names of deported veterans and crosses.

Sofya Aptekar @sofaptekar.bsky.social · 11d

How are we already entering November... Amidst it all, it feels a bit weird to do normal things like talks, but here I go:
11/3: Wake Forest sociology department visit
11/13: Baruch College panel on deported vets
11/14: Boston University Law Review Symposium
More details in thread

Speaker Series: Technologies of the State. Green Card Soldier: Betwen Model Immigrant and Security Threat. Professor Sofya Aptekar. CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies. November 3, 2025. 3:30-5:00pm ZSK Room 404.
In the corner, there is a photograph of the speaker, white woman with long gray-brown hair against a black background and image of the book cover in a circle, black outline of the United States against a camo background

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 14d

🚨BIG changes happening -- ICE leadership is being purged tonight. The old guard, which prioritized targeted enforcement operations aimed at people with criminal records, is being replaced with Border Patrol and Gregory Bovino's "Midway Blitz" style.

Think things are bad now? It'll get worse.

Bill Melugin
@BillMelugin_
BREAKING: Per four senior DHS & Trump admin sources, a mass removal of ICE leadership around the country is underway, with up to 12 ICE field office chiefs being removed & reassigned in an effort to increase deportation numbers. I'm told the move is spearheaded by Corey Lewandowski, and a handful of the ICE Chiefs will likely be replaced by Border Patrol & CBP officials, some of whom will be hand-picked by aggressive & controversial Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino. I'm told some of the ICE leadership removed from their positions include the ICE Field Office Directors in:

- Los Angeles
- Phoenix
- Philadelphia
- Denver
- El Paso
- San Diego
- Seattle/Portland
- New Orleans

Border Patrol officials taking over ICE leadership positions would be extremely significant, as Border Patrol and ICE do different things, and I've done numerous ride-alongs/embeds with both.

Generally speaking, ICE typically conducts very targeted operations, largely going after criminal illegal aliens or those with deportation orders, but almost always knowing who they are targeting for arrest, often conducting surveillance to learn their schedules before and waiting hours before arresting them if needed.

Border Patrol, under Trump 2.0, while sometimes doing their own targeted operations, has been extremely aggressive and has been at the forefront of some of the most controversial immigration enforcement operations we've seen so far, carrying out roving patrols in Los Angeles, Chicago, etc, often at Home Depot, car washes, flea markets etc, leading to a handful of federal judges around the country issuing injunctions against them. A majority of the viral videos you see online are Border Patrol agents, including the use of a Trojan horse style Penske moving truck at a Los Angeles Home Depot, an operation organized by Bovino.

ICE often gets blamed for what Border Patrol does, as the media and activists often cannot tell the difference between federal agents, and everyone is called "ICE". I'm told there are growing concerns about the political and PR fallout associated with some of the roving patrols Border Patrol is conducting as lawsuits continue to stack up and mid-terms approach next year.

I'm told there is significant friction within different wings of DHS and the administration, with Border Czar Tom Homan & ICE Director Todd Lyons preferring to prioritize targeting criminal aliens & the "worst of the worst" or those with deportation orders, while DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Corey Lewandowski, and BP Commander Bovino prefer to use aggressive tactics to arrest anyone in the US illegally, including but not limited to criminals, to ramp up deportation numbers and achieve President Trump's promises of mass deportations.

I am hearing from both sides of this friction.

One senior DHS official tells me:

"ICE started with the worst of the worst, knowing every target they are hitting, but since Border Patrol started in LA in June, we've (DHS) lost our focus, going too hard, too fast, with limited prioritization. It's getting numbers, but at what cost?".

Border Patrol agents I've talked to defend their tactics, with one telling me:

"What did everyone think mass deportations meant? Only the worst? Tom Homan has said it himself, anyone in the US illegally is on the table."

It's quite a situation, as both sides of this are on the same team, with the same end goals, but different perspectives on how to get there.

Another DHS official confirmed the personnel changes to me on deep background, adding that the moves are based on performance and doing what is needed to achieve the best results.

Official statement to
@FoxNews
via
@TriciaOhio
:

"While we have no personnel changes to announce at this time, the Trump Administration remains laser focused on delivering results and removing violent criminal illegal aliens from this country."
7:57 PM · Oct 27, 2025
·
29.6K
Views

Sofya Aptekar @sofaptekar.bsky.social · 18d

Cool article about public libraries that has some quotes from me. Love to see my work in Spanish (and an unexpected promotion to antropóloga) www.elsaltodiario.com/institucione...

Bibliotecas públicas: un tercer lugar donde ensayar la utopía

Las bibliotecas han sido históricamente objetivo de ataques que no siempre han tomado la forma de incendio o metralla: el desinterés o la censura también son una amenaza para su supervivencia.

www.elsaltodiario.com

Sofya Aptekar @sofaptekar.bsky.social · 21d

Tomorrow evening! Come to discuss debt struggles, including the debt our public schools are in, abortion debt, and military debt.

Sofya Aptekar @sofaptekar.bsky.social · 28d

Join us for this @debtcollective.bsky.social Jubilee School session on Oct. 21. Ill be talking about military labor and debt (even as footage of military workers in food pantry lines is all over the news) debtcollective.org/event/is-a-d...

Is a Debtors’ Revolution the Way?

Presented by South Atlantic Quarterly Special Debt Issue Authors Jason Wozniak, Eleni Schirmer, Braxton Brewington, Sofya Aptekar

debtcollective.org

Sofya Aptekar @sofaptekar.bsky.social · 25d

The Defense Commissary Agency is pushing its predatory credit card on military workers dealing with food insecurity. Under the debt regime we live in, debt is a solution for every problem, for survival itself. It comes at you seemingly from every side, including from your employer/government.

salty toast @toasty.cx · Oct 11

Just throwing this out for anyone who doesn't know: the military star card is a predatory credit card aimed directly at service members so it is not in fact a great option for soldiers across the force as CJ is saying in the screenshot here

Alexander Clarkson @aphclarkson.bsky.social · Oct 11

If this was happening in any other country you'd have journalists and analysts discussing risks of state failure

Sofya Aptekar @sofaptekar.bsky.social · 26d

I went on the American Campus podcast to talk about the other kind of college debt - the debt that our colleges are in. What does the financialization of higher ed mean for the way colleges and universities are governed? americancampuspodcast.buzzsprout.com/2396665/epis...

The university’s creditors with Sofya Aptekar - American Campus Podcast

On hedge funds, private equity, and the financialization of public colleges.References and suggested readings:The Coalition Against Campus Debt. 2024. Lend and Rule: Fighting the Financialization of P...

americancampuspodcast.buzzsprout.com

Sofya Aptekar @sofaptekar.bsky.social · 28d

Join us for this @debtcollective.bsky.social Jubilee School session on Oct. 21. Ill be talking about military labor and debt (even as footage of military workers in food pantry lines is all over the news) debtcollective.org/event/is-a-d...

Is a Debtors’ Revolution the Way?

Presented by South Atlantic Quarterly Special Debt Issue Authors Jason Wozniak, Eleni Schirmer, Braxton Brewington, Sofya Aptekar

debtcollective.org

salty toast @toasty.cx · Oct 11

Just throwing this out for anyone who doesn't know: the military star card is a predatory credit card aimed directly at service members so it is not in fact a great option for soldiers across the force as CJ is saying in the screenshot here

Alexander Clarkson @aphclarkson.bsky.social · Oct 11

If this was happening in any other country you'd have journalists and analysts discussing risks of state failure

Puff the Magic Hater @mskellymhayes.bsky.social · Oct 3

@emanabdelhadi.bsky.social tells these cops about themselves.

Sofya Aptekar @sofaptekar.bsky.social · Oct 3

Fresh example of trash research for my research methods class.

The Independent @the-independent.com · Oct 2

Nearly a third of Americans have had a ‘romantic relationship’ with an AI bot, new survey says

1 in 3 Americans have had a ‘romantic relationship’ with an AI bot, new survey says

www.independent.co.uk

The Independent @the-independent.com · Oct 2

Nearly a third of Americans have had a ‘romantic relationship’ with an AI bot, new survey says

1 in 3 Americans have had a ‘romantic relationship’ with an AI bot, new survey says

www.independent.co.uk

Starbucks Workers United @sbworkersunited.org · Oct 1

✊ALLIES: WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!

> Sign our No Contract No Coffee pledge to commit to not crossing a picket line: bit.ly/NoContractNoCoffee
> Donate to our strike fund by purchasing union-made merch from our store or donating directly: sbworkersunited.org/strike-fund/

No Contract, No Coffee Pledge

 Baristas are the most important part of the Starbucks experience. Baristas open the stores every morning and close them every night. They greet customers, make the coffee, clean up the spills, a...

bit.ly

Sofya Aptekar @sofaptekar.bsky.social · Sep 29

This type of policy deepens the use of naturalization to discipline military labor. For ex., you might not report discrimination or abuse, or not get an injury or condition treated, because you are worried about the consequences that might lead to an uncharacterized or other disqualifying discharge.

Sofya Aptekar @sofaptekar.bsky.social · Sep 29

New USCIS policy regarding military naturalization further limits access to naturalization for immigrants in the military by limiting the types of separations eligible for citizenship. Raises questions about what happens to those naturalized before they are discharged.
www.uscis.gov/sites/defaul...

www.uscis.gov

Lauren McKenzie @themckenziest.gay · Sep 27

Sobbing at these Italians being happy to be stuck in traffic during a strike for Palestine

American Sociological Association @asanews.bsky.social · Sep 24

Take action! You have just a handful of days left to make your voice be heard on the proposed DHS rule that will eliminate Duration of Status & have a detrimental effect on international students. Use ASA’s Action Center to submit your public comment by 9/29. https://bit.ly/ASAaction

Katelyn Burns @katelynburns.com · Sep 23

i have to say, as a trans journalist who has covered the "trans debate" for about a decade now, there is no daylight between how the trump administration and conservatives lie about tylenol and autism and how they've lied about youth trans care.

Sofya Aptekar @sofaptekar.bsky.social · Sep 23

Much prefer Indi Samarajiva: "Fuck your citizenship. It’s barbed wire around an indigenous graveyard. It’s a moat around a colonial crime scene." indi.ca/abolish-citi...

Sofya Aptekar @sofaptekar.bsky.social · Sep 23

With the re-implementation of the revised naturalization test first tried out under Trump pt. 1, pondering this quote from USCIS spokesperson: "American citizenship is the most sacred citizenship in the world." www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...

Notice of Implementation of 2025 Naturalization Civics Test

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS or the Department), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is reimplementing the 2020 Naturalization Civics Test, which was originally announced on ...

www.federalregister.gov

Sofya Aptekar @sofaptekar.bsky.social · Sep 23

With the re-implementation of the revised naturalization test first tried out under Trump pt. 1, pondering this quote from USCIS spokesperson: "American citizenship is the most sacred citizenship in the world." www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...

Notice of Implementation of 2025 Naturalization Civics Test

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS or the Department), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is reimplementing the 2020 Naturalization Civics Test, which was originally announced on ...

www.federalregister.gov

Sofya Aptekar @sofaptekar.bsky.social · Sep 12

Timely and eye opening episode of the excellent @americancampus.bsky.social, especially on TurningPoint's business model. www.buzzsprout.com/2396665/epis...

TurningPointUSA and the Professor Watchlist with Matthew Boedy - American Campus Podcast

Are you on the Professor Watchlist?References mentioned this episode:Matthew Boedy. 2025. The Seven Mountains Mandate: Inside the Sweeping Plan to Christianize America and Destroy Democracy. WJK Books...

www.buzzsprout.com

Sofya Aptekar @sofaptekar.bsky.social · Sep 11

On the difference between cops and the National Guard, @rtfanning.bsky.social reminds us that Guard members "have very little training, and lack much of the discipline that the police have." - they have been moved historically and can be moved now to resist their order.

Sofya Aptekar @sofaptekar.bsky.social · Sep 11

Great interview by @mskellymhayes.bsky.social with @rtfanning.bsky.social. Helpful for understanding the deployment of National Guard to cities, how to respond, and how to fight ICE recruitment. organizingmythoughts.org/what-do-we-s...

What Do We Say When the Soldiers Come?

"There is no honor in this mission," says counter-recruiter Rory Fanning.

organizingmythoughts.org

Sofya Aptekar @sofaptekar.bsky.social · Sep 11

Great interview by @mskellymhayes.bsky.social with @rtfanning.bsky.social. Helpful for understanding the deployment of National Guard to cities, how to respond, and how to fight ICE recruitment. organizingmythoughts.org/what-do-we-s...

What Do We Say When the Soldiers Come?

"There is no honor in this mission," says counter-recruiter Rory Fanning.

organizingmythoughts.org

PSC-CUNY @psc-cuny.org · Sep 9

We are proud co-sponsors of the "New Yorkers Against ICE" rally on Thursday, 9/25 at 6pm in Foley Square.

Albert S. Fu @novumsimulacrum.com · Sep 9

I wrote a piece on tech contracts in higher ed. for Jacobin. The endless outsourcing is troubling for a variety of reasons. Not helping is vendors jumping on the AI hype to offer ever-more-advanced and expensive programs to universities. #CheatGPT

Universities Are Selling Themselves Off Piece by Piece

American higher ed has become a mesh of corporate contracts and outsourced services. From dining halls to student records, private vendors now run many institutions’ most basic operations — atomizing workers and undermining the university’s public mission.

jacobin.com

tamara nopper @tamaranopper.bsky.social · Sep 6

Whatever it’s named and whoever renames it, the Department of Defense, which houses the U.S. military, is the largest employer in the world.

Its name is not the issue. And abolition involves dealing with labor and what work is government work.

Light upyour news

Sign in to Lightnews

Sign up to start reading

Connect Bluesky

Connect with Bluesky

Light up
your news