John Woodrow Cox
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johnwoodrowcox.bsky.social
John Woodrow Cox
@johnwoodrowcox.bsky.social
Washington Post enterprise | CHILDREN UNDER FIRE: An American Crisis (https://shorturl.at/KrAnY) | john.cox@washpost.com | Signal: @johnwoodrowcox.01
ICE is now indefinitely holding the Afghan father of two — who hasn't been charged with any crime — in his high-stakes asylum case we've written about over the past two months.

wapo.st/3Lwidpi
ICE indefinitely holds man facing no charges in high-stakes asylum case
If he’s deported to Afghanistan, he expects the Taliban to kill him. The Trump administration says he remains under a “National Security” investigation.
wapo.st
November 7, 2025 at 3:23 PM
My latest: The Trump administration has presented misleading evidence and arguments in a high-stakes asylum hearing—and it could lead to the execution of a father of two who helped the U.S. cause in Afghanistan

The case may have sweeping consequences for thousands of migrants.
wapo.st/433Qsun
Trump administration makes misleading case in high-stakes asylum hearing
Homeland Security asked a judge to deport a man to Afghanistan, where he expects the Taliban to kill him. The case could affect thousands of asylum seekers.
wapo.st
October 30, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Reposted by John Woodrow Cox
In this week's #LongreadsTop5 ⬇️
• The American Dream, dashed (@washingtonpost.com)
• Remembering D’Angelo (@the-ringer.bsky.social)
• DIY DNA (@noemamag.com)
• What media bias really looks like (@motherjones.com)
• Mummy dearest (Edify)

longreads.com/2025/10/17/l...
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week - Longreads
Featuring stories by John Woodrow Cox, Justin Sayles, Aryn Baker, Moran Barkai and Paul Tullis, and Russell Cobb and Sarah Brandvold.
longreads.com
October 17, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Reposted by John Woodrow Cox
"At a time when the courts are denying a record number of asylum claims, a judge will soon decide whether he should be deported. If he is returned, he expects the Taliban to be waiting for him."

@johnwoodrowcox.bsky.social for @washingtonpost.com: www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
He supported the U.S. war in Afghanistan. Now he may be deported to the Taliban.
He supported America’s war, escaped Afghanistan and started a family in the U.S. Then ICE arrested him. If he is deported, he expects the Taliban to kill him.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 16, 2025 at 5:16 PM
My latest, on a man who supported the war in Afghanistan, came to the U.S. legally, applied for asylum, had two kids, became a bookkeeper, bought an American flag bumper sticker.

Then ICE arrested him. If he's deported, he expects the Taliban to kill him.
wapo.st/49aGaw2
He supported the U.S. war in Afghanistan. Now he may be deported to the Taliban.
He supported America’s war, escaped Afghanistan and started a family in the U.S. Then ICE arrested him. If he is deported, he expects the Taliban to kill him.
wapo.st
October 15, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Reposted by John Woodrow Cox
Unbelievable story of Afghan refugee, a highly vetted fluent English speaker who helped the US against the Taliban and now lives here with his US citizen kids, declared “illegal” and perhaps about to be shipped home by the Trump admin to his likely death
October 14, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Reposted by John Woodrow Cox
New on the backlash to Jim Acosta's "interview" of a dead Parkland teen's AI avatar, with its clunky phrases ("so much fun to the series") and "ghoulish" display.

"Can't possibly represent what that child wants to say in any reasonable way"

www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2... @willoremus.com
Jim Acosta sparks fury with ‘interview’ of dead Parkland teen’s AI avatar
The video adds to the growing list of AI-video resurrections that people have called “unsettling” and “grotesque.”
www.washingtonpost.com
August 5, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Last month, we profiled JJ Ficken, a Colorado farmer whose life was upended by Trump's policies. Four days later, the USDA called: The grant money he feared would never come was on its way. Checks for dozens of other desperate farmers should soon follow:
wapo.st/3ISIUDu
The Post exposed this farmer’s struggle. Then the USDA called.
JJ Ficken signed up for a federal grant along with 140 other farmers across the country. In January, Trump froze the funding, upending many of their lives.
wapo.st
July 31, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Reposted by John Woodrow Cox
1. “Abandoned by Trump, a Farmer and a Migrant Search for a Better Future” @johnwoodrowcox.bsky.social, Sarah Blaskey, Matt McClain

"To survive the administration’s cuts and cruelty, a Trump voter and an immigrant needed each other."

www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
Abandoned by Trump, a farmer and a migrant search for a better future
With grants canceled and billions of dollars in jeopardy, Trump’s cuts are devastating American farmers and plunging families into uncertainty.
www.washingtonpost.com
July 25, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Reposted by John Woodrow Cox
This heartbreaking story by @JohnWoodrowCox.bsky.social is gorgeously, empathetically written. The details could only have come from extraordinary reporting. This piece will be taught in journalism schools. wapo.st/44pck4q
In the dark, amid screams, a Camp Mystic counselor had 16 girls and one headlamp
As the Texas floodwaters rushed into their Camp Mystic cabins, the teen counselors braved the unknown.
wapo.st
July 12, 2025 at 3:50 PM
My latest, from Camp Mystic: The story of one teenage counselor's extraordinary courage amid so much loss.

Deeply grateful to Ainslie Bashara for sharing.
wapo.st/44pck4q
In the dark, amid screams, a Camp Mystic counselor had 16 girls and one headlamp
As the Texas floodwaters rushed into their Camp Mystic cabins, the teen counselors braved the unknown.
wapo.st
July 12, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Reposted by John Woodrow Cox
. @johnwoodrowcox.bsky.social consistently writes humanizing narrative, but this article is next-level good. It's about a farmer who was promised a federal grant to hire a Guatemalan worker—only to have the Trump administration freeze the funds as "DEI." With Sarah Blakely; photos by Matt McClain.
Abandoned by Trump, a farmer and a migrant search for a better future
With grants canceled and billions of dollars in jeopardy, Trump’s cuts are devastating American farmers and plunging families into uncertainty.
wapo.st
June 21, 2025 at 6:06 PM
On today's front page, the story of a farmer, a migrant and what it means to make a commitment.

Part of our examination into how President Trump’s policies are reshaping the lives of Americans, with reporting from Sarah Blaskey and photos from Matt McClain.
wapo.st/4liDorF
Abandoned by Trump, a farmer and a migrant search for a better future
With grants canceled and billions of dollars in jeopardy, Trump’s cuts are devastating American farmers and plunging families into uncertainty.
wapo.st
June 22, 2025 at 12:26 PM
After threats against schools exploded last year, police arrested hundreds of students.

This is the story of what happened in one Florida county where the sheriff perp walked, and publicly shamed, children as young as 11.

w/ @hannahnatanson.bsky.social:
www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
Children joked about school shootings. Then the sheriff sent them to jail.
Thousands of students made threats after the Apalachee High shooting in Georgia, a Post analysis finds. Nearly 500 were arrested.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 3, 2025 at 3:49 PM