Brian Highsmith
@bhighsmith.bsky.social
institutions, inequality, geography, democracy | asst law prof at UCLA
Pinned
Brian Highsmith
@bhighsmith.bsky.social
· Nov 24
🚨We analyzed 138 million geocoded property tax records to quantify how municipal boundaries spatially overlap onto economic segregation in every US metro area—creating disparities in localities’ ability to fund public goods. And we made an interactive map of our results! [1/16]
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
I almost cried during the Bad Bunny show when I saw the workers repairing the electrical system. I spent years working on Puerto Rico's crisis, and this was the one thing I couldn't resolve before moving to the academy. Thanks to the @lpeblog.bsky.social and @lpeproject.bsky.social for sharing this.
If you were confused by the part of Bad Bunny’s halftime show where dancers re-enacted Puerto Rico’s economic struggles under PROMESA’s bankruptcy process, here’s a breakdown of what that moment was all about:
lpeproject.org/blog/how-ban...
lpeproject.org/blog/how-ban...
How Bankruptcy Prioritizes Property Rights Over Public Good
After a recent First Circuit decision, private creditors' bankruptcy rights pose an existential threat to the only electric utility in Puerto Rico. As this outcome shows, we need a new approach to…
lpeproject.org
February 9, 2026 at 5:28 PM
I almost cried during the Bad Bunny show when I saw the workers repairing the electrical system. I spent years working on Puerto Rico's crisis, and this was the one thing I couldn't resolve before moving to the academy. Thanks to the @lpeblog.bsky.social and @lpeproject.bsky.social for sharing this.
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
This, from @jamellebouie.net is exactly right. And I think so many folks have refused to see or admit what Trump is because admitting implicates them, or their families, so denial is easier.
February 8, 2026 at 5:33 PM
This, from @jamellebouie.net is exactly right. And I think so many folks have refused to see or admit what Trump is because admitting implicates them, or their families, so denial is easier.
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
Legally here on a work permit. Arrested when he went to renew it. Not fighting his deportation. Yet he's been in detention 29 days. No access to a lawyer. Has been given no information about his case. Family inquiries also ignored. ICE only responded when local news requested comment.
‘Nobody gives me information’: Jacksonville-area man held in ‘Deportation Depot’ for weeks talks conditions, challenges
Macario Pablo-Reyes, 49, has been held for weeks at the Baker County Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, sometimes referred to as the “Deportation Depot.”
www.news4jax.com
February 6, 2026 at 1:35 PM
Legally here on a work permit. Arrested when he went to renew it. Not fighting his deportation. Yet he's been in detention 29 days. No access to a lawyer. Has been given no information about his case. Family inquiries also ignored. ICE only responded when local news requested comment.
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
Utah is the third state in the past decade where Republicans have packed their supreme court.
Arizona and Georgia Rs did it in 2016 to secure right-wing majorities.
North Carolina Rs tried it in 2018 to prevent the Dem court from overturning their gerrymanders, but voters rejected their power grab
Arizona and Georgia Rs did it in 2016 to secure right-wing majorities.
North Carolina Rs tried it in 2018 to prevent the Dem court from overturning their gerrymanders, but voters rejected their power grab
This hasn’t received nearly enough attention:
Republicans just passed a law to pack Utah’s Supreme Court after it ruled against their congressional gerrymander.
Cox could appoint two more justices before the court hears the GOP’s latest appeal to preserve their gerrymander
Republicans just passed a law to pack Utah’s Supreme Court after it ruled against their congressional gerrymander.
Cox could appoint two more justices before the court hears the GOP’s latest appeal to preserve their gerrymander
Utah governor signs bill adding justices to state Supreme Court as redistricting appeal looms
Once the new seats are filled, Gov. Spencer Cox will have appointed five of the seven justices.
www.nbcnews.com
February 2, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Utah is the third state in the past decade where Republicans have packed their supreme court.
Arizona and Georgia Rs did it in 2016 to secure right-wing majorities.
North Carolina Rs tried it in 2018 to prevent the Dem court from overturning their gerrymanders, but voters rejected their power grab
Arizona and Georgia Rs did it in 2016 to secure right-wing majorities.
North Carolina Rs tried it in 2018 to prevent the Dem court from overturning their gerrymanders, but voters rejected their power grab
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
As I've been saying: defending democracy requires being appropriately alarmed. "There won't be elections!!" is an absurd and counterproductive line, but "they can't possibly do anything bc the federal government doesn't run elections and they don't have the manpower" is unwarranted complacency.
You don't have to believe that the fascists are competent enough to suppress voting everywhere in 2026 or 2028. You just have to believe that they can depress minority turnout in 5-10 cities to affect entire Senate races & the Electoral College. 2024 was decided by 120K votes in 3 states, after all.
February 2, 2026 at 5:27 PM
As I've been saying: defending democracy requires being appropriately alarmed. "There won't be elections!!" is an absurd and counterproductive line, but "they can't possibly do anything bc the federal government doesn't run elections and they don't have the manpower" is unwarranted complacency.
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
10. Of the 104 delegates elected to the state constitutional convention, 24 were Black (depicted in the engraving below).Together these delegates were the framers of Virginia’s new constitution,which guaranteed voting rights, elected govt throughout the state, & a public school system for the state.
February 1, 2026 at 8:32 PM
10. Of the 104 delegates elected to the state constitutional convention, 24 were Black (depicted in the engraving below).Together these delegates were the framers of Virginia’s new constitution,which guaranteed voting rights, elected govt throughout the state, & a public school system for the state.
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
The Utah governor just signed a bill to expand his state's supreme court by two seats.
Conservatives have been angry at a series of judicial rulings, including one that safeguarded direct democracy in 2024 & one that struck down their gerrymander. 1st step of their retaliation.
Conservatives have been angry at a series of judicial rulings, including one that safeguarded direct democracy in 2024 & one that struck down their gerrymander. 1st step of their retaliation.
January 31, 2026 at 7:06 PM
The Utah governor just signed a bill to expand his state's supreme court by two seats.
Conservatives have been angry at a series of judicial rulings, including one that safeguarded direct democracy in 2024 & one that struck down their gerrymander. 1st step of their retaliation.
Conservatives have been angry at a series of judicial rulings, including one that safeguarded direct democracy in 2024 & one that struck down their gerrymander. 1st step of their retaliation.
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
It rules how every other government worker is subject to incredible scrutiny for like everything but if you're a cop you can just do blatant fraud and everyone kinda just shrugs at it
I know this from researching police salaries for a recent paper: many cities have a set of officers taking home more than $500k and they can’t really explain why
oaklandside.org/2026/01/29/o...
oaklandside.org/2026/01/29/o...
One Oakland police officer made $490,000 in overtime. The city can’t find records detailing much of what he did
One OPD officer logged 5,242 total working hours, racking up $490,000 in overtime pay. If he worked more than half of the time in a calendar year, why can't the city tell us what he did?
oaklandside.org
January 31, 2026 at 10:32 PM
It rules how every other government worker is subject to incredible scrutiny for like everything but if you're a cop you can just do blatant fraud and everyone kinda just shrugs at it
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
Federal paramilitaries running up on the rooftops to fire irritants and flash bangs down into a peaceable assembly full of little kids
I was there. They were indiscriminately firing multiple canisters into a huge peaceful crowd. Fucking cowards
February 1, 2026 at 3:01 AM
Federal paramilitaries running up on the rooftops to fire irritants and flash bangs down into a peaceable assembly full of little kids
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
The charges against Don Lemon are ridiculous. He’s a target because he’s black, because he’s media, and because he’s a Trump critic, and because Trump and his minions cannot accept any dissent. It’s deeply pathetic, unamerican, and lawless.
January 30, 2026 at 2:19 PM
The charges against Don Lemon are ridiculous. He’s a target because he’s black, because he’s media, and because he’s a Trump critic, and because Trump and his minions cannot accept any dissent. It’s deeply pathetic, unamerican, and lawless.
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
the arrest of journalists in minneapolis, including don lemon, is more evidence that the only move the administration knows how to make is to use force, and does not know how to respond when that force is met with defiance and indifference.
January 30, 2026 at 4:40 PM
the arrest of journalists in minneapolis, including don lemon, is more evidence that the only move the administration knows how to make is to use force, and does not know how to respond when that force is met with defiance and indifference.
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
Again, it is really important to keep pointing out that this violates both US law & multiple treaties, even though everyone in Congress has decided that Trump is One Special Boy & that he alone is exempt from abiding by the laws, the Constitution, & our treaty obligations.
Le président américain a proféré ce jeudi de nouvelles menaces commerciales à l'encontre du Canada, déclarant sur Truth social qu'il « décertifiait » tous les avions fabriqués au Canada et menaçant d'imposer des droits de douane de 50% sur tous les avions canadiens vendus aux États-Unis.
Trump threatens 50% tariff on Canadian planes sold in U.S.
U.S. President says he is ‘decertifying’ all Canadian-made aircraft
www.theglobeandmail.com
January 30, 2026 at 3:21 AM
Again, it is really important to keep pointing out that this violates both US law & multiple treaties, even though everyone in Congress has decided that Trump is One Special Boy & that he alone is exempt from abiding by the laws, the Constitution, & our treaty obligations.
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
One of the hardest things to explain to people who aren’t here is the very real feeling that we are in a war against the federal government. Not only are we occupied by unaccountable armed, masked paramilitaries, but we are constantly aware our neighbors might be abducted in the blink of an eye.
Was he actually approaching Minnesota as a regime change
January 29, 2026 at 11:04 PM
One of the hardest things to explain to people who aren’t here is the very real feeling that we are in a war against the federal government. Not only are we occupied by unaccountable armed, masked paramilitaries, but we are constantly aware our neighbors might be abducted in the blink of an eye.
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
Massive anti-ICE demonstration at UCLA where thousands of students gathered to show their solidarity with Minneapolis and Minnesota.
January 29, 2026 at 12:12 AM
Massive anti-ICE demonstration at UCLA where thousands of students gathered to show their solidarity with Minneapolis and Minnesota.
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
"They told us what they were going to do. They published it. They put it on a website. And when it happened, the press was surprised."
Hoo boy, everyone should bookmark this @parkermolloy.com piece & make sure everyone involved in media reads it.
Hoo boy, everyone should bookmark this @parkermolloy.com piece & make sure everyone involved in media reads it.
This is Literally the Job
Political journalists need to stop pretending they don't know what Republicans are going to do.
www.readtpa.com
January 27, 2026 at 9:37 PM
"They told us what they were going to do. They published it. They put it on a website. And when it happened, the press was surprised."
Hoo boy, everyone should bookmark this @parkermolloy.com piece & make sure everyone involved in media reads it.
Hoo boy, everyone should bookmark this @parkermolloy.com piece & make sure everyone involved in media reads it.
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
We are at a tipping point on ICE and immigration enforcement. The shootings are so unpopular that Trump appears to have lost his edge on both deportations and immigration more broadly. Abolishing ICE is net popular with independents. & Bovino is out! 2026≠2024 www.gelliottmorris.com/p/trumps-imm...
The ICE shootings are a tipping point
Donald Trump's approval on immigration has collapsed 17 points since taking office, and support for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement has swung 50 points since Sept. 2024.
www.gelliottmorris.com
January 27, 2026 at 1:00 PM
We are at a tipping point on ICE and immigration enforcement. The shootings are so unpopular that Trump appears to have lost his edge on both deportations and immigration more broadly. Abolishing ICE is net popular with independents. & Bovino is out! 2026≠2024 www.gelliottmorris.com/p/trumps-imm...
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
ICE is changing tactics in Maine: "Now, the volunteers in Maine say federal agents have started showing up at their homes and intimidating them or threatening arrest. Some of them, masked and wearing tactical gear, have issued stark warnings not to follow them." www.pressherald.com/2026/01/23/i...
ICE watchers in Maine say they were threatened by federal agents
Community members have been monitoring the activity of immigration agents in Greater Portland.
www.pressherald.com
January 26, 2026 at 11:06 PM
ICE is changing tactics in Maine: "Now, the volunteers in Maine say federal agents have started showing up at their homes and intimidating them or threatening arrest. Some of them, masked and wearing tactical gear, have issued stark warnings not to follow them." www.pressherald.com/2026/01/23/i...
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
A lot of Americans seem to have the idea that Jim Crow regimes were simply flawed democracies. They were authoritarian states that violently enforced caste, disenfranchisement and racial conformity. Nonviolence was the only effective tool. And it turned out to be revolutionary.
Many replies seem to underestimate the violence of colonial rule in arguing nonviolence can’t work against brutality. That’s understandable, especially if your idea of empire comes from glossy British portrayals. But the US civil rights movement has already made the case for it v. homegrown fascists
January 25, 2026 at 9:29 PM
A lot of Americans seem to have the idea that Jim Crow regimes were simply flawed democracies. They were authoritarian states that violently enforced caste, disenfranchisement and racial conformity. Nonviolence was the only effective tool. And it turned out to be revolutionary.
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
Really hard to look at this and all the other examples of bravery and kindness from ordinary people in this moment not think also of the tremendous cowardice exhibited over the past year by some of the richest, most well-protected people in business, media and politics
Let us all have the courage displayed by the residents of Minneapolis.
January 25, 2026 at 2:24 PM
Really hard to look at this and all the other examples of bravery and kindness from ordinary people in this moment not think also of the tremendous cowardice exhibited over the past year by some of the richest, most well-protected people in business, media and politics
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
to say that public opinion matters isn’t to say that everything will stop immediately. what it means is that the administration’s strategic options narrow considerably and their odds of meeting meaningful institutional resistance goes up.
January 25, 2026 at 3:34 PM
to say that public opinion matters isn’t to say that everything will stop immediately. what it means is that the administration’s strategic options narrow considerably and their odds of meeting meaningful institutional resistance goes up.
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
I'm just going to keep saying this until I die:
In a white supremacist patriarchy, you have value only insofar as you serve the white supremacist patriarchy.
Kyle Rittenhouse & Ashli Babbitt did. Renee Good & Alex Pretti didn't. On Jan 6, the insurrectionists did. The cops didn't.
Rinse, repeat.
In a white supremacist patriarchy, you have value only insofar as you serve the white supremacist patriarchy.
Kyle Rittenhouse & Ashli Babbitt did. Renee Good & Alex Pretti didn't. On Jan 6, the insurrectionists did. The cops didn't.
Rinse, repeat.
The people who spent years defending and even lionizing Kyle Rittenhouse and Ashli Babbitt now want us to believe that an unarmed mother in her car and a disarmed nurse were domestic terrorists who deserved to be murdered by law enforcement.
January 25, 2026 at 5:39 AM
I'm just going to keep saying this until I die:
In a white supremacist patriarchy, you have value only insofar as you serve the white supremacist patriarchy.
Kyle Rittenhouse & Ashli Babbitt did. Renee Good & Alex Pretti didn't. On Jan 6, the insurrectionists did. The cops didn't.
Rinse, repeat.
In a white supremacist patriarchy, you have value only insofar as you serve the white supremacist patriarchy.
Kyle Rittenhouse & Ashli Babbitt did. Renee Good & Alex Pretti didn't. On Jan 6, the insurrectionists did. The cops didn't.
Rinse, repeat.
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
"US state power is alone among similarly wealthy states in its comfort with on-demand proof of legitimacy. This “show me your papers” ethos did not emerge out of nowhere. It is an inheritance from the antebellum South."
Slave Patrols and ICE: A Shared History
America's authoritarian approach to immigration enforcement is an echo of its past
buttondown.com
January 25, 2026 at 3:36 PM
"US state power is alone among similarly wealthy states in its comfort with on-demand proof of legitimacy. This “show me your papers” ethos did not emerge out of nowhere. It is an inheritance from the antebellum South."
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
Absolutely reprehensible that AG Bondi is offering ICE stand down in exchange for access to voting rolls. Outrageous and disgusting. It shows ICE is in Minneapolis is not for law enforcement purposes. Instead it’s a way to stir up shit in blue states and extort them.
In the wake of another fatal shooting in Minneapolis.
AG Pam Bondi sends Gov. Walz a letter today making several asks including:
"Allow DOJ Civil Rights division access to state voter rolls"
AG Pam Bondi sends Gov. Walz a letter today making several asks including:
"Allow DOJ Civil Rights division access to state voter rolls"
January 25, 2026 at 2:21 AM
Absolutely reprehensible that AG Bondi is offering ICE stand down in exchange for access to voting rolls. Outrageous and disgusting. It shows ICE is in Minneapolis is not for law enforcement purposes. Instead it’s a way to stir up shit in blue states and extort them.
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
Reminder: If the Supreme Court upholds Trump’s attack on birthright citizenship, some of the ICE officers currently brutalizing Minnesotans may be reassigned to apprehend newborns from the hospital for immediate deportation. Just read the Trump administration’s own memo. slate.com/news-and-pol...
January 25, 2026 at 12:14 AM
Reminder: If the Supreme Court upholds Trump’s attack on birthright citizenship, some of the ICE officers currently brutalizing Minnesotans may be reassigned to apprehend newborns from the hospital for immediate deportation. Just read the Trump administration’s own memo. slate.com/news-and-pol...
Reposted by Brian Highsmith
People are terrified of our government. This isn’t a healthy democracy.
You have to read this. Firsthand affidavit from one of the women who was there and recording the video. She talks about how Alex Pretti was directing traffic when she arrived. She watched him be killed in front of her. She's afraid to go home, worried she'll be arrested.
January 25, 2026 at 1:24 AM
People are terrified of our government. This isn’t a healthy democracy.