J. David McSwane
@davidmcswane.bsky.social
Reporter @propublica.org
Author, “Pandemic, Inc.”
Colorado boy. 🐏
david.mcswane@propublica.org.
Signal: 202-556-3836
Author, “Pandemic, Inc.”
Colorado boy. 🐏
david.mcswane@propublica.org.
Signal: 202-556-3836
Reposted by J. David McSwane
NEW: How a Planned Disney World Vacation Turned Into Four Months in Immigration Detention
9-year-old Maria Antonia begged her mom to take her to the park’s annual Halloween celebration. But as soon as she arrived at Miami International Airport, everything started going wrong.
9-year-old Maria Antonia begged her mom to take her to the park’s annual Halloween celebration. But as soon as she arrived at Miami International Airport, everything started going wrong.
How a Planned Disney World Vacation Turned Into Four Months in Immigration Detention
A 9-year-old shares her story of being held at the nation’s only operating detention center for immigrant families in Dilley, Texas.
www.propublica.org
February 14, 2026 at 2:30 PM
NEW: How a Planned Disney World Vacation Turned Into Four Months in Immigration Detention
9-year-old Maria Antonia begged her mom to take her to the park’s annual Halloween celebration. But as soon as she arrived at Miami International Airport, everything started going wrong.
9-year-old Maria Antonia begged her mom to take her to the park’s annual Halloween celebration. But as soon as she arrived at Miami International Airport, everything started going wrong.
Reposted by J. David McSwane
Habeas cases filed by immigrants claiming their detention is illegal have taken off to levels we have never seen before. Just look at that chart.
www.propublica.org/article/habe...
www.propublica.org/article/habe...
February 10, 2026 at 12:15 PM
Habeas cases filed by immigrants claiming their detention is illegal have taken off to levels we have never seen before. Just look at that chart.
www.propublica.org/article/habe...
www.propublica.org/article/habe...
Reposted by J. David McSwane
NEW: ICE has a plan to lease offices across the US as part of a secret, months-long expansion campaign.
Today, @wired.com is publishing dozens of those locations. Many are near schools, medical offices, and places of worship.
Vital work from @leahfeiger.bsky.social that I'm proud to publish.
Today, @wired.com is publishing dozens of those locations. Many are near schools, medical offices, and places of worship.
Vital work from @leahfeiger.bsky.social that I'm proud to publish.
ICE Is Expanding Across the US at Breakneck Speed. Here’s Where It’s Going Next
ICE plans to lease offices throughout the US as part of a secret, months-long expansion campaign. WIRED is publishing dozens of these locations.
www.wired.com
February 10, 2026 at 4:13 PM
NEW: ICE has a plan to lease offices across the US as part of a secret, months-long expansion campaign.
Today, @wired.com is publishing dozens of those locations. Many are near schools, medical offices, and places of worship.
Vital work from @leahfeiger.bsky.social that I'm proud to publish.
Today, @wired.com is publishing dozens of those locations. Many are near schools, medical offices, and places of worship.
Vital work from @leahfeiger.bsky.social that I'm proud to publish.
That was an artful middle finger.
February 9, 2026 at 1:38 AM
That was an artful middle finger.
Reposted by J. David McSwane
In my 30 years in journalism, I don't believe I've seen anyone beclown himself as thoroughly and as profoundly as Will Lewis has. Good riddance.
www.ft.com/content/5fa6...
www.ft.com/content/5fa6...
Will Lewis steps down as Washington Post publisher and CEO after job cuts
British journalist’s tenure was controversial after being appointed by Jeff Bezos to turn around the newspaper
www.ft.com
February 7, 2026 at 11:24 PM
In my 30 years in journalism, I don't believe I've seen anyone beclown himself as thoroughly and as profoundly as Will Lewis has. Good riddance.
www.ft.com/content/5fa6...
www.ft.com/content/5fa6...
Halibut that? 🥁
Six fishermen who cast a line in the frozen Saguenay River in the Canadian province of Quebec worked for more than two hours to reel in an Atlantic halibut that broke local records. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/w...
February 8, 2026 at 2:43 AM
Halibut that? 🥁
Reposted by J. David McSwane
TB and Covid active in a troubled El Paso immigrant tent camp where 3 people have died over a 6 week period ( including one ruled a homicide) & following a measles outbreak at the Dilley family detention center. Reach out if you have info on Dilley/ East Montana
www.texastribune.org/2026/02/07/i...
www.texastribune.org/2026/02/07/i...
Two tuberculosis cases detected at Camp East Montana ICE facility
Eighteen cases of COVID-19 were also identified. U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar on Friday visited the 5,000-bed tent facility on the Fort Bliss Army base and said she saw many "chronic issues."
www.texastribune.org
February 7, 2026 at 6:03 PM
TB and Covid active in a troubled El Paso immigrant tent camp where 3 people have died over a 6 week period ( including one ruled a homicide) & following a measles outbreak at the Dilley family detention center. Reach out if you have info on Dilley/ East Montana
www.texastribune.org/2026/02/07/i...
www.texastribune.org/2026/02/07/i...
Reposted by J. David McSwane
Federal prosecutors had a warrant to collect evidence from Renee Good’s vehicle after an immigration agent fatally shot her, but Trump administration officials ordered them to stop investigating. About a dozen prosecutors have since resigned, leaving the Minnesota U.S. attorney’s office in turmoil.
Prosecutors Began Investigating Renee Good’s Killing. Washington Told Them to Stop.
www.nytimes.com
February 7, 2026 at 5:09 PM
Federal prosecutors had a warrant to collect evidence from Renee Good’s vehicle after an immigration agent fatally shot her, but Trump administration officials ordered them to stop investigating. About a dozen prosecutors have since resigned, leaving the Minnesota U.S. attorney’s office in turmoil.
Reposted by J. David McSwane
Maria is one of hundreds of children, who — like Liam Ramos — have been held at a Texas detention facility where parents say children languish as they’re served contaminated food, receive little education and struggle to obtain basic medical care.
Here's our attempt at telling their stories. 2/
Here's our attempt at telling their stories. 2/
Children trapped in Texas immigration facility recount nightmares, inedible food, no school
A photo of Liam Conejo Ramos, a scared 5-year-old, drew attention to a detention center in Dilley, Texas. Advocates say his experience reflects what hundreds of children have endured out of public vie...
www.nbcnews.com
February 6, 2026 at 6:25 PM
Maria is one of hundreds of children, who — like Liam Ramos — have been held at a Texas detention facility where parents say children languish as they’re served contaminated food, receive little education and struggle to obtain basic medical care.
Here's our attempt at telling their stories. 2/
Here's our attempt at telling their stories. 2/
Reposted by J. David McSwane
‘One officer told me that I "had no chance of returning to Minnesota" and that "the best thing for (me] is self-deportation." …
She offered me $2600 to self-deport.
I refused.
I wanted to talk to my attorney.
They didn't tell me the judge had already ordered my release and return to Minnesota.’
She offered me $2600 to self-deport.
I refused.
I wanted to talk to my attorney.
They didn't tell me the judge had already ordered my release and return to Minnesota.’
![…
25. This Cibola jail was horrible. It was cramped. I was chained up again.
The officers mocked
me and called me their enemy. They laughed at me. I was kept at the jail for what felt like around three hours. I wasn't given an explanation for why I was there.
26. Security
guards then put me on a bus. I think it was around January 27.
No one said
anything about where I was going. I was handcuffed. It felt like the middle of the night. It was freezing cold in the bus because the driver had the AC on. We had no jackets. The bus eventually took me back to El Paso in the carly morning of Tuesday, January 27th.
27. I was put in a cold cell where I had to sleep on the bare cement floor. Around 10 in the morning my cellmate asked to speak to an ICE officer. Three officers came into the cell so I had a chance to speak to them too. One officer told me that I "had no chance of returning to Minnesota" and that "the best thing for (me] is self-deportation." She told me that if I fought my case, I would spend two to three more months here in El Paso. She offered me $2600 to self-deport. I refused. I wanted to talk to my attorney. They didn't tell me the judge had already ordered my release and return to Minnesota. If I hadn't managed to talk to my attorney who told me a while back that I was ordered released. I might have given up at this point and signed the self-deportation forms because the conditions were so unbearable.
…
30. When I was taken back to the detention center from the airport, after missing the flight, I overheard an ICE officer saying in English, "the judge in Minnesota wants this one back." I was put in a cold jail cell again until early next morning (January 28). But again no one had told me directly that a judge had ordered my release
…
32. When I arrived in Minneapolis, I was handed off to ICE
… I had to sign lots of papers saying that I wasn't going to be a part of any "groups." I didn't know what they meant by "groups." They never told me why I was detained](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:5cn3kbi4g5blrtahon34xbu4/bafkreiccqxmfncofjqinoveiqscwale2ox5xpiqt46veqjdh3jmimkrxhq@jpeg)
February 5, 2026 at 6:04 AM
‘One officer told me that I "had no chance of returning to Minnesota" and that "the best thing for (me] is self-deportation." …
She offered me $2600 to self-deport.
I refused.
I wanted to talk to my attorney.
They didn't tell me the judge had already ordered my release and return to Minnesota.’
She offered me $2600 to self-deport.
I refused.
I wanted to talk to my attorney.
They didn't tell me the judge had already ordered my release and return to Minnesota.’
Reposted by J. David McSwane
Our members joined the #SaveThePost rally in D.C. today to protest the mass layoffs at the Washington Post. We stand in solidarity with @postguild.bsky.social. Support laid off workers: www.gofundme.com/f/standing-t... + www.gofundme.com/f/support-fo... ✊
![Hand-made signs with cut-out letters. One says "We [heart] Post Reporters". The other uses the print newspaper section heds to write: "METRO, SPORTS, STYLE, THE WORLD PROTECT THE WASHINGTON POST"](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cdv2pqnwpgqvwp7i4h6qqm3m/bafkreibt5xze7sty3i2mulq2oh6alsktwcgbtzptvcitmctt67pd3rpkbe@jpeg)
February 5, 2026 at 8:40 PM
Our members joined the #SaveThePost rally in D.C. today to protest the mass layoffs at the Washington Post. We stand in solidarity with @postguild.bsky.social. Support laid off workers: www.gofundme.com/f/standing-t... + www.gofundme.com/f/support-fo... ✊
In almost every instance, President Donald Trump’s administration blamed the injured and dead for the shooting within hours of the incident, raising questions about whether federal officials can fairly and objectively investigate their own.
“You’re Not Going to Investigate a Federal Officer”
It doesn’t happen often, but local law enforcement can arrest and charge federal agents. Legal experts say there’s a moral obligation to at least try to hold federal immigration officers accountable w...
www.propublica.org
February 5, 2026 at 4:22 PM
In almost every instance, President Donald Trump’s administration blamed the injured and dead for the shooting within hours of the incident, raising questions about whether federal officials can fairly and objectively investigate their own.
Reposted by J. David McSwane
I expected the cuts would be bad but I'm honestly stunned and sickened seeing how many great journalists the Washington Post just lost. People who nailed huge investigations, documented war zones, exposed horrific crimes, dropped all at once for failures they did not cause.
February 4, 2026 at 4:29 PM
I expected the cuts would be bad but I'm honestly stunned and sickened seeing how many great journalists the Washington Post just lost. People who nailed huge investigations, documented war zones, exposed horrific crimes, dropped all at once for failures they did not cause.
Reposted by J. David McSwane
I'm not sure what to make of it, but every Somali I represent in immigration court currently (8 of them) have today had their hearings cancelled and their judges reassigned. They're now all assigned to a video judge from Louisiana and scheduled for court hearing in one month. 🧵
February 4, 2026 at 8:01 PM
I'm not sure what to make of it, but every Somali I represent in immigration court currently (8 of them) have today had their hearings cancelled and their judges reassigned. They're now all assigned to a video judge from Louisiana and scheduled for court hearing in one month. 🧵
Reposted by J. David McSwane
NEWS: The cuts were so severe that at least one department head asked to leave The Post rather than be included in the planning.
Peter Finn, The Post's international editor, requested that he be laid off once he learned about the scope of the cuts to his section.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...
Peter Finn, The Post's international editor, requested that he be laid off once he learned about the scope of the cuts to his section.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...
Washington Post Begins Sweeping Layoffs
www.nytimes.com
February 4, 2026 at 3:11 PM
NEWS: The cuts were so severe that at least one department head asked to leave The Post rather than be included in the planning.
Peter Finn, The Post's international editor, requested that he be laid off once he learned about the scope of the cuts to his section.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...
Peter Finn, The Post's international editor, requested that he be laid off once he learned about the scope of the cuts to his section.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...
Reposted by J. David McSwane
Jeff Bezos gave $75 million to support Melania Trump's vanity film, but he doesn't have the money for the hundreds of journalists he laid off at The Post today.
Democracy dies with Bezos – unless we fight back. Here's how you can help:
newsguild.org/mass-layoffs...
Democracy dies with Bezos – unless we fight back. Here's how you can help:
newsguild.org/mass-layoffs...
Mass layoffs at Washington Post; hundreds of journalists cut as Bezos gives millions to Melania Trump | The NewsGuild - TNG-CWA
The Washington Post on Wednesday announced a devastating number of layoffs to journalists, decimating one of the most important newsrooms in the country.
newsguild.org
February 4, 2026 at 8:56 PM
Jeff Bezos gave $75 million to support Melania Trump's vanity film, but he doesn't have the money for the hundreds of journalists he laid off at The Post today.
Democracy dies with Bezos – unless we fight back. Here's how you can help:
newsguild.org/mass-layoffs...
Democracy dies with Bezos – unless we fight back. Here's how you can help:
newsguild.org/mass-layoffs...
Reposted by J. David McSwane
Bezos isn't destroying the Washington Post because it isn't profitable. He's destroying the Washington Post because he's calculated that a robust free press threatens the ability of his class to warp society around their interests
February 4, 2026 at 2:24 PM
Bezos isn't destroying the Washington Post because it isn't profitable. He's destroying the Washington Post because he's calculated that a robust free press threatens the ability of his class to warp society around their interests
Reposted by J. David McSwane
Many people who think they can get news anywhere still care about sports, and sports fans want coverage focused on *their* team. For local and regional outlets, fans mean subscriptions, clicks, shares. Killing the sports desk cuts revenue and makes you just another national outlet in a sea of them.
the sports desk drives the money for the rest of the operation and killing it is a move done by people who have no clue what they’re doing or how their own business works
February 4, 2026 at 2:36 PM
Many people who think they can get news anywhere still care about sports, and sports fans want coverage focused on *their* team. For local and regional outlets, fans mean subscriptions, clicks, shares. Killing the sports desk cuts revenue and makes you just another national outlet in a sea of them.
Reposted by J. David McSwane
the $75 million Jeff Bezos set on fire for that Melania propaganda piece could have funded most independent newsrooms for literally decades
always bears repeating that this is NOT a financial decision. jeff bezos is worth over 250 billion dollars. he can afford to lose many millions and never even notice it. this is, at its core, a political and personal decision by bezos to destroy the post
WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington Post says one-third of its staff across all departments, not just the newsroom, is being laid off.
February 4, 2026 at 3:11 PM
the $75 million Jeff Bezos set on fire for that Melania propaganda piece could have funded most independent newsrooms for literally decades
Reposted by J. David McSwane
A staggering statement from former Washington Post editor Marty Baron: "This ranks among the darkest days in the history of one of the world's greatest news organizations."
February 4, 2026 at 2:34 PM
A staggering statement from former Washington Post editor Marty Baron: "This ranks among the darkest days in the history of one of the world's greatest news organizations."
Reposted by J. David McSwane
Reposted by J. David McSwane
BREAKING: The Trump administration repeatedly said the aggressive apartment raid in Chicago last fall was prompted by intel on a gang takeover.
New docs show the real motivation was to get alleged squatters. And the landlord and manager helped them.
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
New docs show the real motivation was to get alleged squatters. And the landlord and manager helped them.
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
The Real Story Behind the Midnight Immigration Raid on a Chicago Apartment Building
The Trump administration has claimed the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua had taken over the building. But new documents make no mention of the gang and reveal federal agents had information about “ille...
www.propublica.org
February 4, 2026 at 3:47 PM
BREAKING: The Trump administration repeatedly said the aggressive apartment raid in Chicago last fall was prompted by intel on a gang takeover.
New docs show the real motivation was to get alleged squatters. And the landlord and manager helped them.
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
New docs show the real motivation was to get alleged squatters. And the landlord and manager helped them.
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
Reposted by J. David McSwane
This is absolutely insane: DHS claims the right to subpoena your emails and to send investigators to your house. In this case, because a retiree sent the mildest possible criticism to a prosecutor. No judges involved.
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
Homeland Security is targeting Americans with this secretive legal weapon
Under Trump, the Department of Homeland Security has weaponized administrative subpoenas to attack free speech, according to privacy and civil rights groups.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 3, 2026 at 12:41 PM
This is absolutely insane: DHS claims the right to subpoena your emails and to send investigators to your house. In this case, because a retiree sent the mildest possible criticism to a prosecutor. No judges involved.
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
Reposted by J. David McSwane
"I do not have the words to articulate how it feels to watch this unfold in Minneapolis, a city that I have grown to know and love after moving here," our photojournalist @peterdicampo.bsky.social writes. "I knew then that walking these streets would never feel the same."
More: propub.li/4rptLKC
More: propub.li/4rptLKC
February 3, 2026 at 1:15 AM
"I do not have the words to articulate how it feels to watch this unfold in Minneapolis, a city that I have grown to know and love after moving here," our photojournalist @peterdicampo.bsky.social writes. "I knew then that walking these streets would never feel the same."
More: propub.li/4rptLKC
More: propub.li/4rptLKC