Tabitha Bonilla
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tabithabonilla.bsky.social
Tabitha Bonilla
@tabithabonilla.bsky.social

Political Scientist st NU's SESP, IPR, and CSDD. Research: communication around politics and policy, examining identity and representation.

MT native finding my way in the Midwest.

Political science 42%
Communication & Media Studies 28%
A family friend was telling us about what her husband shared about his experience in Broadview before he was deported back to Mexico. She's been sharing to friends and family because she's just in disbelief & horror what her husband told her. She wasn't able to talk to him until he was in Mexico.
this morning, ICE went into a Spanish language immersion daycare and took a teacher from the building in front of screaming and crying kids and parents at dropoff and the daycare had to shut down for the day (near Lane Tech, where they were yesterday). Really hoping today's "theme" is not "daycare."
Indiana University has fired the staff director of the student newspaper, after disputes in which university leadership tried to pressure him to prevent students from publishing news.
I spoke to a Venezuelan woman who was arrested in this raid and later released with her 4yo son. She said agents broke down their door, pointed guns at them and made sexualized remarks about Venezuelan women. When she returned to her apartment it was boarded up and all her possessions were gone.
“ABC7 spoke to Pertissue Fisher, a woman who lives in the building. She said ICE agents took everyone in the building, including her, and asked questions later….’They was bringing the kids down, too, had them zip tied to each other.’”

It can’t happen here, you say. But it is happening.
ICE agents raid South Shore apartments; Trump says Chicago could become military training ground
ICE agents raided a South Shore apartment building overnight as the city braces for a possible military deployment.
abc7chicago.com
My book w/@profsorelle.bsky.social will be out in January! These ideas have brewed since I interned at Queens Legal Services 20 years ago. The book is for anyone who cares about people, justice, power & democracy. Much more to share more in the coming months!

press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
Uncivil Democracy
How the civil legal system undermines the political lives of marginalized communities
press.princeton.edu
When we use the concepts of "political violence" or "support for political violence," I've noticed that some are referring only to nonstate actors. Others also include state-directed political violence (e.g., using ICE on political enemies).

Huge differences in the implications

BBC International Editor Jeremy Bowen has confirmed that the entire Al Jazeera team in Gaza City has been killed.

Will you take clients?
NEW: Read Mr Abrego's account of unthinkable torture inside CECOT prison in El Salvador. My latest: content warning: www.muellershewrote.com/p/mr-abregos...
Mr. Abrego's Account of Torture at CECOT in El Salvador
Mr. Abrego has filed an amended complaint asking the court to declare the government's actions unlawful and to order his release. He describes his torture in El Salvador in the complaint.
www.muellershewrote.com

Reposted by Tabitha Bonilla

⁉️In survey experiments, should you ask covariates before the treatment?

➡️ @asdurso.bsky.social @tabithabonilla.bsky.social G.Bogdanowicz study the effects of placing sensitive items in different parts of the survey and offer guidance on optimal ordering www.cambridge.org/core/journal... #FirstView
Contributing to the  lit on where to place moderators in an experiment (shoutouts 🧵), @tabithabonilla.bsky.social, Genni and I consider whether items measuring prejudice are subject to unique considerations. Does asking these questions pre-treatment affect the experiment? @psrm.bsky.social
Where to place sensitive questions? Experiments on survey response order and measures of discriminatory attitudes | Political Science Research and Methods | Cambridge Core
Where to place sensitive questions? Experiments on survey response order and measures of discriminatory attitudes
www.cambridge.org
ICE is going to parks in Los Angeles and kidnapping nannies who are caring for small children

The children are witnessing these kidnappings and being held in custody until their parents are contacted

Women and children in parks
Sen. Alex Padilla was just removed from Kristi Noem's press conference in Los Angeles (video: Bill Melugin/Fox News)
REPORTER: When could the administration resume interviews for foreign students visa?

TRUMP: On what?

REPORTER: Foreign student visas

TRUMP: For the French?

REPORTER: All the foreign students

TRUMP: What are you referring-- foreign visas for what?
"Women are PIs on 58% of the canceled grants, although they are PIs on only 34% of all active NSF grants.

Similarly, Blacks are PIs on 17% of the terminated grants, although they make only 4% of the total pool. Hispanic PIs and those with disabilities were twice as likely to lose a grant."
Another scoop from Jeff Mervis (@policyhound.bsky.social): NSF's ~1400 grant terminations have disproportionately affected PIs from groups underrepresented in science: women, racial & ethnic minorities, & those with disabilities. 1/3
www.science.org/content/arti...
Trump officials take steps toward a radically different NSF
Efforts to shrink staff, budget, and focus have alarmed members of Congress
www.science.org
MSNBC @msnbc.com · May 2
Trump administration settles with Maine over funding freeze after dispute over trans athletes
Trump administration settles with Maine over funding freeze after dispute over trans athletes
In response, the state will drop its lawsuit that had been filed against the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
www.nbcnews.com

Reposted by Tabitha Bonilla

We're now accepting submissions for a mini conference at Boulder (co-organized w/ PRIEC). We'll have both traditional presentations and a poster session. We esp. welcome submissions from those on the market who may not be able to attend APSA in-person.

forms.gle/QAn1rW8NxscX...
2025 Barney Ford Lab Annual Meeting
The Barney Ford Lab at CU Boulder is happy to announce that we are welcoming proposals for our annual meeting. Our annual meeting will take place in beautiful Boulder CO on Friday September 19th, 2025...
forms.gle

Thanks to Mary for leading the charge. And tagging @quinnmulroy.bsky.social
In a new working paper, IPR's Mary McGrath, Quinn Mulroy,
@tabithabonilla.bsky.social, and their co-authors find that emailing students simple, clear instructions about how to cast a ballot increased voter turnout among young people. http://spr.ly/633292vEU5

Reposted by Tabitha Bonilla

In a new working paper, IPR's Mary McGrath, Quinn Mulroy,
@tabithabonilla.bsky.social, and their co-authors find that emailing students simple, clear instructions about how to cast a ballot increased voter turnout among young people. http://spr.ly/633292vEU5

Congratulations!

Reposted by Tabitha Bonilla

Shared a bit about our grant termination and the consequences of other canceled grants at UW-Madison. pbswisconsin.org/news-item/mi...
Michael Wagner on federal research grant cuts at UW-Madison
UW-Madison journalism professor Michael Wagner discusses the termination of a federal grant to study communication about vaccination and the consequences of funding cuts for university researchers.
pbswisconsin.org

I am so sorry.

Reposted by Tabitha Bonilla

As I posted earlier, arresting judges is usually an authoritarian endgame move. The arrest of Judge Dugan here in the US is happening while courts are still pushing back, which is deeply concerning. I dig into the data & implications in my latest.
When Judges Become Targets: Judicial Resistance Meets Authoritarian Escalation
An endgame tactic arrives early? A judge's arrest signals a dangerous new phase.
open.substack.com
Even established authoritarian regimes consider arresting defiant judges an extreme tactic—a serious escalation usually reserved for after one-party rule is firmly entrenched. Seeing a judge arrested in the US today should alarm everyone who values democratic governance. This cannot be allowed. 🧵
“the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is pleased to announce a special funding opportunity to support the design and creation of statues of important American historical figures for the planned National Garden of American Heroes.” bit.ly/42KlpCz
NEH Announces Grant Opportunity to Create Statues of Iconic Americans for the National Garden of American Heroes
bit.ly
They're going after the accreditation of universities and threatening to revoke the ability of accreditors if they don't crack down on DEI and LGBTQ people in academia.

www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
Reforming Accreditation to Strengthen Higher Education
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1.
www.whitehouse.gov