Isabela Dias
@isabelaalhadeff.bsky.social
Reporter at Mother Jones covering immigration, Latin America, and more. Falo português.
Proton Mail: isabelaalhadeff@proton.me
Signal: isabeladias.14
https://www.motherjones.com/author/isabela-dias/
Proton Mail: isabelaalhadeff@proton.me
Signal: isabeladias.14
https://www.motherjones.com/author/isabela-dias/
Pinned
Isabela Dias
@isabelaalhadeff.bsky.social
· Nov 11
Then they came for the Dreamers
Immigrants brought here as children were told they wouldn’t be deported. Now, they’re being targeted anyway.
www.motherjones.com
Catalina “Xóchitl” Santiago spent nearly two months in ICE detention—despite having protection under DACA—until a federal judge ruled that the government had no reason to keep her in custody and ordered her release.
DHS is still vowing to "explore every available option to remove" her. My latest:
DHS is still vowing to "explore every available option to remove" her. My latest:
This year felt like a decade. I wanted to highlight some of the immigration reporting I've done over the past 12 months:
In January, I wrote about the big money fueling the right's plot to end birthright citizenship.
In January, I wrote about the big money fueling the right's plot to end birthright citizenship.
The big-money right-wing push to upend the Constitution—and kill birthright citizenship
“We’re in totally uncharted territory.”
www.motherjones.com
December 29, 2025 at 7:51 PM
This year felt like a decade. I wanted to highlight some of the immigration reporting I've done over the past 12 months:
In January, I wrote about the big money fueling the right's plot to end birthright citizenship.
In January, I wrote about the big money fueling the right's plot to end birthright citizenship.
All asylum decisions paused. Naturalization ceremonies canceled. Green card applications on hold.
The Trump administration's blanket restrictions on legal immigration "don’t just disrupt paperwork, they derail lives.” My latest for @motherjones.com:
The Trump administration's blanket restrictions on legal immigration "don’t just disrupt paperwork, they derail lives.” My latest for @motherjones.com:
Trump Is “basically shutting down the legal immigration system”
In response to the DC shooting, the administration is blocking pathways for rule-following and vulnerable immigrants.
www.motherjones.com
December 12, 2025 at 6:45 PM
All asylum decisions paused. Naturalization ceremonies canceled. Green card applications on hold.
The Trump administration's blanket restrictions on legal immigration "don’t just disrupt paperwork, they derail lives.” My latest for @motherjones.com:
The Trump administration's blanket restrictions on legal immigration "don’t just disrupt paperwork, they derail lives.” My latest for @motherjones.com:
Reporter @dfriedman.bsky.social asked the Pentagon about Pete Hegseth’s mentor. Then the threats began.
I asked the Pentagon about Pete Hegseth's mentor. Then the threats started.
Journalism in the second Trump administration gets personal.
ow.ly
December 11, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Reporter @dfriedman.bsky.social asked the Pentagon about Pete Hegseth’s mentor. Then the threats began.
Reposted by Isabela Dias
“Asian wife sharing,” Pentagon press policy, and me: Journalism in the second Trump administration gets personal. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
I asked the Pentagon about Pete Hegseth's mentor. Then the threats started.
Journalism in the second Trump administration gets personal.
www.motherjones.com
December 11, 2025 at 2:17 PM
“Asian wife sharing,” Pentagon press policy, and me: Journalism in the second Trump administration gets personal. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Much of the current immigration policymaking—if this rampant clampdown and unleashing of brutalizing force can be called that—seems to be now distilled to a simple modus operandi: we do it because we can. My reflection on a year of hell for immigrants and the Trump administration's casual cruelty:
A year of hell for immigrants
In the first Trump administration, cruelty was the point. Now, it is the norm.
www.motherjones.com
December 10, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Much of the current immigration policymaking—if this rampant clampdown and unleashing of brutalizing force can be called that—seems to be now distilled to a simple modus operandi: we do it because we can. My reflection on a year of hell for immigrants and the Trump administration's casual cruelty:
After 20 years in the Navy, Buzz Grambo thought he'd spend his retirement playing video games and watching baseball. Instead, he patrols the streets of Baltimore to protect his neighbors from ICE. He even upgraded his scooter to a Segway that reaches 26 mph to keep up with the agents. My latest:
Meet the veteran who chases ICE on a scooter
Clifford “Buzz” Grambo patrols the streets of Baltimore to keep his neighbors safe—and make federal agents uncomfortable.
www.motherjones.com
November 20, 2025 at 7:14 PM
After 20 years in the Navy, Buzz Grambo thought he'd spend his retirement playing video games and watching baseball. Instead, he patrols the streets of Baltimore to protect his neighbors from ICE. He even upgraded his scooter to a Segway that reaches 26 mph to keep up with the agents. My latest:
Reposted by Isabela Dias
I’ve spent a lot of the last three years investigating the rise of anti-trans politics. Often, it came back to the controversy over trans women athletes.
So I teamed up with @pablo.show to look into the leading figure on the issue: Riley Gaines.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202... 1/
So I teamed up with @pablo.show to look into the leading figure on the issue: Riley Gaines.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202... 1/
How right-wing superstar Riley Gaines built an anti-trans empire
The swimmer tied a trans woman for fifth. The MAGA industrial complex took care of the rest.
www.motherjones.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:25 PM
I’ve spent a lot of the last three years investigating the rise of anti-trans politics. Often, it came back to the controversy over trans women athletes.
So I teamed up with @pablo.show to look into the leading figure on the issue: Riley Gaines.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202... 1/
So I teamed up with @pablo.show to look into the leading figure on the issue: Riley Gaines.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202... 1/
Catalina “Xóchitl” Santiago spent nearly two months in ICE detention—despite having protection under DACA—until a federal judge ruled that the government had no reason to keep her in custody and ordered her release.
DHS is still vowing to "explore every available option to remove" her. My latest:
DHS is still vowing to "explore every available option to remove" her. My latest:
Then they came for the Dreamers
Immigrants brought here as children were told they wouldn’t be deported. Now, they’re being targeted anyway.
www.motherjones.com
November 11, 2025 at 10:22 PM
Catalina “Xóchitl” Santiago spent nearly two months in ICE detention—despite having protection under DACA—until a federal judge ruled that the government had no reason to keep her in custody and ordered her release.
DHS is still vowing to "explore every available option to remove" her. My latest:
DHS is still vowing to "explore every available option to remove" her. My latest:
Reposted by Isabela Dias
Then they came for the Dreamers.
Read @isabelaalhadeff.bsky.social's heartbreaking look at the fear and chaos the Trump administration has wrought onto the lives of young people brought to the United States.
"A real betrayal."
Read @isabelaalhadeff.bsky.social's heartbreaking look at the fear and chaos the Trump administration has wrought onto the lives of young people brought to the United States.
"A real betrayal."
Then they came for the Dreamers
Immigrants brought here as children were told they wouldn’t be deported. Now, they’re being targeted anyway.
www.motherjones.com
November 11, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Then they came for the Dreamers.
Read @isabelaalhadeff.bsky.social's heartbreaking look at the fear and chaos the Trump administration has wrought onto the lives of young people brought to the United States.
"A real betrayal."
Read @isabelaalhadeff.bsky.social's heartbreaking look at the fear and chaos the Trump administration has wrought onto the lives of young people brought to the United States.
"A real betrayal."
Reposted by Isabela Dias
Some background on the absolute monarchy where the Trump administration is now paying to imprison people deported by ICE
Story here: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Story here: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
October 8, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Some background on the absolute monarchy where the Trump administration is now paying to imprison people deported by ICE
Story here: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Story here: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Russ Vought's neighbors have strong feelings about him:
"You asked what it is like living near such a man. Frankly, I'd rather not, but this is a wonderful neighborhood and, unlike Mr. Vought himself, we do not want our neighbors (even Mr. Vought) to be traumatized. So we just live with it."
"You asked what it is like living near such a man. Frankly, I'd rather not, but this is a wonderful neighborhood and, unlike Mr. Vought himself, we do not want our neighbors (even Mr. Vought) to be traumatized. So we just live with it."
Russ Vought is Trump’s shutdown hero. His neighbors think his work is "abhorrent."
The people living near Trump's "grim reaper" of government cuts have put up signs letting him know they stand with federal workers.
www.motherjones.com
October 5, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Russ Vought's neighbors have strong feelings about him:
"You asked what it is like living near such a man. Frankly, I'd rather not, but this is a wonderful neighborhood and, unlike Mr. Vought himself, we do not want our neighbors (even Mr. Vought) to be traumatized. So we just live with it."
"You asked what it is like living near such a man. Frankly, I'd rather not, but this is a wonderful neighborhood and, unlike Mr. Vought himself, we do not want our neighbors (even Mr. Vought) to be traumatized. So we just live with it."
Reposted by Isabela Dias
@isabelaalhadeff.bsky.social wrote what remains the definitive profile of Russel Vought last year. He's going to try and use the shut down to further his dream of an imperial Christian presidency and "traumatizing" federal workers www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
The bureaucrat who could make Trump's authoritarian dreams real
Russ Vought has a plan to take presidential power to new heights.
www.motherjones.com
October 1, 2025 at 7:55 PM
@isabelaalhadeff.bsky.social wrote what remains the definitive profile of Russel Vought last year. He's going to try and use the shut down to further his dream of an imperial Christian presidency and "traumatizing" federal workers www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Isabela Dias
It's the last day of our September fundraiser!
Please consider supporting our non-profit newsroom as we double down on fearless reporting—just as corporate media caves to Donald Trump.
Your donations will be matched dollar-for-dollar. Thank you so much!
Please consider supporting our non-profit newsroom as we double down on fearless reporting—just as corporate media caves to Donald Trump.
Your donations will be matched dollar-for-dollar. Thank you so much!
secure.motherjones.com
September 30, 2025 at 1:41 PM
It's the last day of our September fundraiser!
Please consider supporting our non-profit newsroom as we double down on fearless reporting—just as corporate media caves to Donald Trump.
Your donations will be matched dollar-for-dollar. Thank you so much!
Please consider supporting our non-profit newsroom as we double down on fearless reporting—just as corporate media caves to Donald Trump.
Your donations will be matched dollar-for-dollar. Thank you so much!
"It’s a blueprint for authoritarianism wrapped in barbed wire and dressed up as local revival.”
ICE has its eyes on an idle Core Civic-owned prison in Walsenburg. Local officials have welcomed the potential influx of money and jobs. But residents are pushing back. My latest for @motherjones.com:
ICE has its eyes on an idle Core Civic-owned prison in Walsenburg. Local officials have welcomed the potential influx of money and jobs. But residents are pushing back. My latest for @motherjones.com:
"Godsend" or "concentration camp"? A lucrative ICE deal divides a Colorado town.
Trump has unleashed a gold rush among private prison companies taking on immigration detention. In cash-strapped cities, residents aren’t sure the money is worth it.
www.motherjones.com
September 29, 2025 at 1:35 PM
"It’s a blueprint for authoritarianism wrapped in barbed wire and dressed up as local revival.”
ICE has its eyes on an idle Core Civic-owned prison in Walsenburg. Local officials have welcomed the potential influx of money and jobs. But residents are pushing back. My latest for @motherjones.com:
ICE has its eyes on an idle Core Civic-owned prison in Walsenburg. Local officials have welcomed the potential influx of money and jobs. But residents are pushing back. My latest for @motherjones.com:
In another loss in the courts for Trump, a federal judge just blocked the administration from revoking legal status from hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans and Haitians in the United States. Judge Chen ruled that the termination of TPS exceeded the DHS Secretary’s authority and violated the law.
Trump is making thousands of rule-abiding immigrants undocumented
Inside the largest delegalization campaign in modern US history.
www.motherjones.com
September 5, 2025 at 8:00 PM
In another loss in the courts for Trump, a federal judge just blocked the administration from revoking legal status from hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans and Haitians in the United States. Judge Chen ruled that the termination of TPS exceeded the DHS Secretary’s authority and violated the law.
Today, DHS announced the termination of the 2021 TPS designation for Venezuela, adding to the largest de-legalization push in modern US history: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Trump is making thousands of rule-abiding immigrants undocumented
Inside the largest delegalization campaign in modern US history.
www.motherjones.com
September 4, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Today, DHS announced the termination of the 2021 TPS designation for Venezuela, adding to the largest de-legalization push in modern US history: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Isabela Dias
“They’re going to kill me here,” Neri Alvarado thought.
Alvarado was allegedly targeted by the Trump administration because of his tattoo of an autism awareness ribbon. Now, free from El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison, Alvarado wants the world to know what they lived through.
Alvarado was allegedly targeted by the Trump administration because of his tattoo of an autism awareness ribbon. Now, free from El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison, Alvarado wants the world to know what they lived through.
August 25, 2025 at 6:11 PM
“They’re going to kill me here,” Neri Alvarado thought.
Alvarado was allegedly targeted by the Trump administration because of his tattoo of an autism awareness ribbon. Now, free from El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison, Alvarado wants the world to know what they lived through.
Alvarado was allegedly targeted by the Trump administration because of his tattoo of an autism awareness ribbon. Now, free from El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison, Alvarado wants the world to know what they lived through.
Reposted by Isabela Dias
Proud to announce that we’ve been nominated for six Online Journalism Awards, including General Excellence in Journalism!
Here's a thread of some of our amazing stories that've been recognized this year. 🧵
Here's a thread of some of our amazing stories that've been recognized this year. 🧵
2025 Online Journalism Awards
awards.journalists.org
August 22, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Proud to announce that we’ve been nominated for six Online Journalism Awards, including General Excellence in Journalism!
Here's a thread of some of our amazing stories that've been recognized this year. 🧵
Here's a thread of some of our amazing stories that've been recognized this year. 🧵
“There’s no family here, there are no lawyers here, nobody exists here.”
For four months, Neri Alvarado, Julio Zambrano, and so many others wondered if they were ever going to leave CECOT alive. Now, they want to clear their names and justice for what they had to endure. With @nlanard.bsky.social:
For four months, Neri Alvarado, Julio Zambrano, and so many others wondered if they were ever going to leave CECOT alive. Now, they want to clear their names and justice for what they had to endure. With @nlanard.bsky.social:
“What they did there was torture us”
Now free, the Venezuelan men the Trump administration sent to El Salvador want the world to know what they lived through.
www.motherjones.com
August 7, 2025 at 6:17 PM
“There’s no family here, there are no lawyers here, nobody exists here.”
For four months, Neri Alvarado, Julio Zambrano, and so many others wondered if they were ever going to leave CECOT alive. Now, they want to clear their names and justice for what they had to endure. With @nlanard.bsky.social:
For four months, Neri Alvarado, Julio Zambrano, and so many others wondered if they were ever going to leave CECOT alive. Now, they want to clear their names and justice for what they had to endure. With @nlanard.bsky.social:
“You enter legally, and suddenly, because of someone else’s whim, you’re illegal. It doesn’t make sense.”
I wrote about the hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan TPS holders losing legal status overnight as a result of the Trump administration's mass deportation push.
I wrote about the hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan TPS holders losing legal status overnight as a result of the Trump administration's mass deportation push.
Trump is making thousands of rule-abiding immigrants undocumented
Inside the largest delegalization campaign in modern US history.
www.motherjones.com
July 28, 2025 at 3:13 PM
“You enter legally, and suddenly, because of someone else’s whim, you’re illegal. It doesn’t make sense.”
I wrote about the hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan TPS holders losing legal status overnight as a result of the Trump administration's mass deportation push.
I wrote about the hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan TPS holders losing legal status overnight as a result of the Trump administration's mass deportation push.
"The female guards would count to 20 as they administered the beatings, and if the prisoners complained or cried out, they would start again...Tito Martínez, one of the inmates, recalled that a prison nurse was watching. 'Hit the piñata,' she cheered."
No One Was Supposed to Leave Alive
Venezuelans deported by the Trump administration say they were tortured during their four months in CECOT.
www.theatlantic.com
July 24, 2025 at 3:42 PM
"The female guards would count to 20 as they administered the beatings, and if the prisoners complained or cried out, they would start again...Tito Martínez, one of the inmates, recalled that a prison nurse was watching. 'Hit the piñata,' she cheered."
Late last night, Julio Zambrano's sister sent me this photo of him home with his mother in Venezuela.
July 22, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Late last night, Julio Zambrano's sister sent me this photo of him home with his mother in Venezuela.
Today, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to reinstate a legal representation program for detained immigrants with mental health issues who are deemed unfit to represent themselves in court.
I wrote about how critical this government-appointed counsel service is here:
I wrote about how critical this government-appointed counsel service is here:
Trump's DOJ stripped lifeline legal services from the most vulnerable detained immigrants
"Without a lawyer, people don't have a prayer. They don't have a chance in hell."
www.motherjones.com
July 21, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Today, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to reinstate a legal representation program for detained immigrants with mental health issues who are deemed unfit to represent themselves in court.
I wrote about how critical this government-appointed counsel service is here:
I wrote about how critical this government-appointed counsel service is here:
Maria Quevedo, the mother of Eddie Adolfo Hurtado Quevedo, told us she was feeling relieved but still scared.
“Happy because God gave me the gift of seeing my son free on my birthday. Scared because my son is going to Venezuela, where he was threatened by the [paramilitary group] colectivos.”
“Happy because God gave me the gift of seeing my son free on my birthday. Scared because my son is going to Venezuela, where he was threatened by the [paramilitary group] colectivos.”
"The bitterness is still there. The anger about what happened to him is still there.”
After four months, more than 200 men sent to El Salvador have been released from CECOT and returned to Venezuela. @nlanard.bsky.social and I spoke with family members and friends waiting to be reunited with them.
After four months, more than 200 men sent to El Salvador have been released from CECOT and returned to Venezuela. @nlanard.bsky.social and I spoke with family members and friends waiting to be reunited with them.
"We were kidnapped"
On Friday, more than 200 Venezuelans disappeared to a megaprison in El Salvador returned home. The horror stories are already emerging.
www.motherjones.com
July 19, 2025 at 2:22 AM
Maria Quevedo, the mother of Eddie Adolfo Hurtado Quevedo, told us she was feeling relieved but still scared.
“Happy because God gave me the gift of seeing my son free on my birthday. Scared because my son is going to Venezuela, where he was threatened by the [paramilitary group] colectivos.”
“Happy because God gave me the gift of seeing my son free on my birthday. Scared because my son is going to Venezuela, where he was threatened by the [paramilitary group] colectivos.”
"The bitterness is still there. The anger about what happened to him is still there.”
After four months, more than 200 men sent to El Salvador have been released from CECOT and returned to Venezuela. @nlanard.bsky.social and I spoke with family members and friends waiting to be reunited with them.
After four months, more than 200 men sent to El Salvador have been released from CECOT and returned to Venezuela. @nlanard.bsky.social and I spoke with family members and friends waiting to be reunited with them.
"We were kidnapped"
On Friday, more than 200 Venezuelans disappeared to a megaprison in El Salvador returned home. The horror stories are already emerging.
www.motherjones.com
July 19, 2025 at 2:08 AM
"The bitterness is still there. The anger about what happened to him is still there.”
After four months, more than 200 men sent to El Salvador have been released from CECOT and returned to Venezuela. @nlanard.bsky.social and I spoke with family members and friends waiting to be reunited with them.
After four months, more than 200 men sent to El Salvador have been released from CECOT and returned to Venezuela. @nlanard.bsky.social and I spoke with family members and friends waiting to be reunited with them.