Michael Squires
@mgsquires.bsky.social
ProPublica’s Southwest editor. Investigative journalism in #Arizona, #Colorado, #Nevada, #NewMexico and #Utah.
Signal: mgsquires.87
Signal: mgsquires.87
Pinned
Michael Squires
@mgsquires.bsky.social
· Oct 21
This County Was the “Model” for Local Police Carrying Out Immigration Raids. It Ended in Civil Rights Violations.
Under Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Maricopa County was one of the first testing grounds for ICE’s 287(g) program, which lets local police enforce immigration laws. Many Arizonans say those abuses parallel what...
www.propublica.org
More than a decade ago Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s deputies carried out immigration raids. Now hundreds of departments are partnering with ICE. AZ Latinos see Arpaio as the beginning of what playing out nationally. “They did the experiment, and basically now they’re implementing it at the national level.”
“Email correspondence obtained by ProPublica shows that government officials were alerted to the presence of PFAS in pants used by wildland firefighters as early as 2021.”
Via @abestreep.bsky.social
Via @abestreep.bsky.social
Firefighters Wore Gear Containing “Forever Chemicals.” The Forest Service Knew and Stayed Silent for Years.
As early as 2021, government officials were alerted to the presence of potentially dangerous chemicals known as PFAS in pants used by wildland firefighters, according to emails obtained by ProPublica.
www.propublica.org
February 11, 2026 at 3:40 AM
“Email correspondence obtained by ProPublica shows that government officials were alerted to the presence of PFAS in pants used by wildland firefighters as early as 2021.”
Via @abestreep.bsky.social
Via @abestreep.bsky.social
Reposted by Michael Squires
A note from our editors:
February 1, 2026 at 9:10 PM
A note from our editors:
Reposted by Michael Squires
1/ BREAKING: Government documents reviewed by ProPublica identify Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa, 43, and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez, 35, as the two who fired their weapons during the deadly encounter with Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
Two CBP Agents Identified in Alex Pretti Shooting
The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raym...
www.propublica.org
February 1, 2026 at 9:12 PM
1/ BREAKING: Government documents reviewed by ProPublica identify Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa, 43, and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez, 35, as the two who fired their weapons during the deadly encounter with Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
Jesús Ochoa is a Border Patrol agent who joined CBP in 2018. Reymundo Gutierrez joined in 2014 and works for CBP’s Office of Field Operations.
Two CBP Agents Identified in Alex Pretti Shooting
The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raym...
www.propublica.org
February 1, 2026 at 9:58 PM
Jesús Ochoa is a Border Patrol agent who joined CBP in 2018. Reymundo Gutierrez joined in 2014 and works for CBP’s Office of Field Operations.
Reposted by Michael Squires
1/ NEW: @propublica.org has obtained a search warrant that the FBI is executing for records related to the contested 2020 election in Fulton County, Ga., which has not yet been widely shared. It’s an extraordinary document.
Link: www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
Link: www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
1-28-26 Fulton Warrant
www.documentcloud.org
January 28, 2026 at 10:56 PM
1/ NEW: @propublica.org has obtained a search warrant that the FBI is executing for records related to the contested 2020 election in Fulton County, Ga., which has not yet been widely shared. It’s an extraordinary document.
Link: www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
Link: www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
Reposted by Michael Squires
Residents I’ve spoken to are furious and want the agents out of their city. I’ve seen tense encounters in grocery story parking lots, housing developments, and neighborhoods. I've covered unrest around the world and the anger among protesters here is among the most intense I've ever experienced.
January 24, 2026 at 10:38 PM
Residents I’ve spoken to are furious and want the agents out of their city. I’ve seen tense encounters in grocery story parking lots, housing developments, and neighborhoods. I've covered unrest around the world and the anger among protesters here is among the most intense I've ever experienced.
Reposted by Michael Squires
I’ve been in Minneapolis the last few days reporting on the ICE raids happening across the city. This morning federal agents shot and killed a man, identified by the AP as Alex Pretti. This marks the third shooting by federal agents since Operation Metro Surge started in Minnesota last month.
January 24, 2026 at 10:38 PM
I’ve been in Minneapolis the last few days reporting on the ICE raids happening across the city. This morning federal agents shot and killed a man, identified by the AP as Alex Pretti. This marks the third shooting by federal agents since Operation Metro Surge started in Minnesota last month.
Drug-testing labs typically report results in black and white: positive or negative. But a little-known fact about the industry is that those results are often based on standards that are wholly discretionary.
www.propublica.org/article/drug...
www.propublica.org/article/drug...
Her Parenting Time Was Restricted After a Positive Drug Test. By Federal Standards, It Would’ve Been Negative.
In the child welfare system, the threshold at which a drug test is considered positive varies widely from one jurisdiction to the next. There’s no industry consensus on what, or if anything, should be...
www.propublica.org
January 7, 2026 at 10:30 PM
Drug-testing labs typically report results in black and white: positive or negative. But a little-known fact about the industry is that those results are often based on standards that are wholly discretionary.
www.propublica.org/article/drug...
www.propublica.org/article/drug...
Reposted by Michael Squires
Reposted by Michael Squires
THREAD: It was supposed to be a routine surgery. So when the doctor stepped out, Sandra Parker wasn’t sure she heard right.
Her husband’s heart couldn’t have stopped for more than 5 or 6 minutes, the doctor was saying.
“That’s not a lot of time,” Mrs. Parker thought. “Is it?”
Her husband’s heart couldn’t have stopped for more than 5 or 6 minutes, the doctor was saying.
“That’s not a lot of time,” Mrs. Parker thought. “Is it?”
December 7, 2025 at 2:00 PM
THREAD: It was supposed to be a routine surgery. So when the doctor stepped out, Sandra Parker wasn’t sure she heard right.
Her husband’s heart couldn’t have stopped for more than 5 or 6 minutes, the doctor was saying.
“That’s not a lot of time,” Mrs. Parker thought. “Is it?”
Her husband’s heart couldn’t have stopped for more than 5 or 6 minutes, the doctor was saying.
“That’s not a lot of time,” Mrs. Parker thought. “Is it?”
“The Department of Homeland Security spent $220M but has kept at least one beneficiary of the nine-figure ad deal a secret, records and interviews show: a Republican consulting firm with long-standing personal and business ties to Kristi Noem and her senior aides at DHS.”
Firm Tied to Kristi Noem Secretly Got Money From $220 Million DHS Ad Contracts
The company is run by the husband of Noem’s chief DHS spokesperson and has personal and business ties to Noem and her aides. DHS invoked the “emergency” at the border to skirt competitive bidding rule...
www.propublica.org
November 14, 2025 at 3:30 PM
“The Department of Homeland Security spent $220M but has kept at least one beneficiary of the nine-figure ad deal a secret, records and interviews show: a Republican consulting firm with long-standing personal and business ties to Kristi Noem and her senior aides at DHS.”
Amazing kicker on @robwdavis.bsky.social’s story about Fox News’ misleading coverage of Portland before Trump sent in troops.
www.propublica.org/article/port...
www.propublica.org/article/port...
November 12, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Amazing kicker on @robwdavis.bsky.social’s story about Fox News’ misleading coverage of Portland before Trump sent in troops.
www.propublica.org/article/port...
www.propublica.org/article/port...
Reposted by Michael Squires
Every oil state disposes of toxic wastewater underground. But in Oklahoma, it hasn't been staying there, creating large, ongoing pollution events known as "purges."
An investigation a year in the making for @readfrontier.bsky.social and @propublica.org
www.readfrontier.org/stories/toxi...
An investigation a year in the making for @readfrontier.bsky.social and @propublica.org
www.readfrontier.org/stories/toxi...
Toxic wastewater from oil fields keeps pouring out of the ground. Oklahoma regulators failed to stop it.
Salt water laced with cancer-causing chemicals, a byproduct of oil and gas drilling, is spewing from old wells. Experts warn of a pollution crisis spreading underground and threatening Oklahoma’s drin...
www.readfrontier.org
October 31, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Every oil state disposes of toxic wastewater underground. But in Oklahoma, it hasn't been staying there, creating large, ongoing pollution events known as "purges."
An investigation a year in the making for @readfrontier.bsky.social and @propublica.org
www.readfrontier.org/stories/toxi...
An investigation a year in the making for @readfrontier.bsky.social and @propublica.org
www.readfrontier.org/stories/toxi...
Reposted by Michael Squires
More than a decade ago Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s deputies carried out immigration raids. Now hundreds of departments are partnering with ICE. AZ Latinos see Arpaio as the beginning of what playing out nationally. “They did the experiment, and basically now they’re implementing it at the national level.”
This County Was the “Model” for Local Police Carrying Out Immigration Raids. It Ended in Civil Rights Violations.
Under Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Maricopa County was one of the first testing grounds for ICE’s 287(g) program, which lets local police enforce immigration laws. Many Arizonans say those abuses parallel what...
www.propublica.org
October 21, 2025 at 3:46 PM
More than a decade ago Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s deputies carried out immigration raids. Now hundreds of departments are partnering with ICE. AZ Latinos see Arpaio as the beginning of what playing out nationally. “They did the experiment, and basically now they’re implementing it at the national level.”
More than a decade ago Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s deputies carried out immigration raids. Now hundreds of departments are partnering with ICE. AZ Latinos see Arpaio as the beginning of what playing out nationally. “They did the experiment, and basically now they’re implementing it at the national level.”
This County Was the “Model” for Local Police Carrying Out Immigration Raids. It Ended in Civil Rights Violations.
Under Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Maricopa County was one of the first testing grounds for ICE’s 287(g) program, which lets local police enforce immigration laws. Many Arizonans say those abuses parallel what...
www.propublica.org
October 21, 2025 at 3:46 PM
More than a decade ago Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s deputies carried out immigration raids. Now hundreds of departments are partnering with ICE. AZ Latinos see Arpaio as the beginning of what playing out nationally. “They did the experiment, and basically now they’re implementing it at the national level.”
Reposted by Michael Squires
I have always loved @propublica.org's mission statement. It speaks to method as much as mission, and does not shrink from describling their journalism as a moral undertaking. www.propublica.org/about/
October 13, 2025 at 1:59 AM
I have always loved @propublica.org's mission statement. It speaks to method as much as mission, and does not shrink from describling their journalism as a moral undertaking. www.propublica.org/about/
Reposted by Michael Squires
Said it a thousand times, but the fact that the general public does not understand the difference between an opinion writer and a reporter is a real fucking problem.
October 12, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Said it a thousand times, but the fact that the general public does not understand the difference between an opinion writer and a reporter is a real fucking problem.
Our latest on Boring Co.’s alleged flouting of environmental regulations as it builds a tunnel-transportation system beneath Las Vegas. www.propublica.org/article/elon...
Elon Musk’s Boring Co. Accused of Nearly 800 Environmental Violations on Las Vegas Project
Nevada could’ve fined the company more than $3 million, but regulators are seeking a reduced penalty of $242,800, citing an “extraordinary number of violations.”
www.propublica.org
October 10, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Our latest on Boring Co.’s alleged flouting of environmental regulations as it builds a tunnel-transportation system beneath Las Vegas. www.propublica.org/article/elon...
Reposted by Michael Squires
There are 600,000 of you who now follow us on Bluesky 🦋
As journalists ourselves, we understand that regularly reading stories about broken systems can take a toll, and we never take the community here for granted.
Thank you to all of you who care deeply about the work we do.
As journalists ourselves, we understand that regularly reading stories about broken systems can take a toll, and we never take the community here for granted.
Thank you to all of you who care deeply about the work we do.
September 16, 2025 at 1:15 AM
There are 600,000 of you who now follow us on Bluesky 🦋
As journalists ourselves, we understand that regularly reading stories about broken systems can take a toll, and we never take the community here for granted.
Thank you to all of you who care deeply about the work we do.
As journalists ourselves, we understand that regularly reading stories about broken systems can take a toll, and we never take the community here for granted.
Thank you to all of you who care deeply about the work we do.
Reposted by Michael Squires
NEW: Ignoring urgently needed reforms in favor of fruitlessly trying to find evidence of fraud, DOGE descended on the Social Security Administration “thinking it should work like a McDonald’s,” the agency’s former acting chief reveals to ProPublica.
The Untold Saga of What Happened When DOGE Stormed Social Security
DOGE has ignored urgently needed reforms and upgrades at the Social Security Administration, according to dozens of insiders and 15 hours of candid interviews with the former acting chief of the agenc...
www.propublica.org
September 8, 2025 at 11:00 AM
NEW: Ignoring urgently needed reforms in favor of fruitlessly trying to find evidence of fraud, DOGE descended on the Social Security Administration “thinking it should work like a McDonald’s,” the agency’s former acting chief reveals to ProPublica.
Department of Gore
September 5, 2025 at 4:24 AM
Department of Gore
Reposted by Michael Squires
NEW: The oil industry touts Texas as a success story in controlling climate-warming methane emissions.
The state’s regulator, however, grants nearly every request to burn or vent gas into the atmosphere.
The state’s regulator, however, grants nearly every request to burn or vent gas into the atmosphere.
Trump Says America’s Oil Industry Is Cleaner Than Other Countries’. New Data Shows Massive Emissions From Texas Wells.
The oil industry touts Texas as a success story in controlling climate-warming methane emissions. The state’s regulator, however, grants nearly every request to burn or vent gas into the atmosphere.
www.propublica.org
September 3, 2025 at 11:30 AM
NEW: The oil industry touts Texas as a success story in controlling climate-warming methane emissions.
The state’s regulator, however, grants nearly every request to burn or vent gas into the atmosphere.
The state’s regulator, however, grants nearly every request to burn or vent gas into the atmosphere.
Reposted by Michael Squires
I'm going to publish the entirety of an exchange I just had with the press office of the DOJ. I want you to see how they are talking about truth.
August 14, 2025 at 2:52 PM
I'm going to publish the entirety of an exchange I just had with the press office of the DOJ. I want you to see how they are talking about truth.
Reposted by Michael Squires
Spend some time with the handwritten notes on what people lost in sweeps. Heart-wrenching and infuriating.
August 15, 2025 at 3:01 AM
Spend some time with the handwritten notes on what people lost in sweeps. Heart-wrenching and infuriating.
Reposted by Michael Squires
Seizure medication, wheelchairs, Social Security cards, dentures, urns of ashes, work uniforms — just some of what's been thrown away during cruel, degrading, utterly counterproductive homeless sweeps.
A good time to revisit this gutting @propublica.org story:
A good time to revisit this gutting @propublica.org story:
August 15, 2025 at 2:52 AM
Seizure medication, wheelchairs, Social Security cards, dentures, urns of ashes, work uniforms — just some of what's been thrown away during cruel, degrading, utterly counterproductive homeless sweeps.
A good time to revisit this gutting @propublica.org story:
A good time to revisit this gutting @propublica.org story: