The Marshall Project
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The Marshall Project
@themarshallproject.org
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Surveillance technology has long been part of policing the border. ICE’s growing raids are bringing it to many other areas.
How AI Surveillance Tech is Creeping From the Southern Border Into the Rest of the Country
Surveillance technology has long been part of policing the border. ICE’s growing raids are bringing it to many other areas.
www.themarshallproject.org
February 10, 2026 at 4:00 PM
We found over 70,000 cases referred to law enforcement over allegations of substance use during pregnancy — and that’s a significant undercount.

In many cases, the referrals began with false positive results from flawed drug tests — sometimes triggered by the women’s prescribed medications.
Tens of Thousands of Mothers Were Flagged to Police Over Flawed Drug Tests at Childbirth
The Marshall Project found more than 70,000 cases referred to law enforcement over allegations of substance use during pregnancy — and that’s a significant undercount.
www.themarshallproject.org
February 10, 2026 at 2:52 PM
In early January, a St. Paul woman and her husband tried to follow a caravan of ICE officers. The couple told Minnesota Public Radio that ICE agents soon surrounded their vehicle. One of them and greeted the woman by her name, suggesting they had used her license plate to identify her.
‘We Know Where You Live.’ Protesters Say ICE Agents Retaliate With Threats, Investigations
ICE observers and critics report being audited, pulled over, called by name or followed home by agents.
www.themarshallproject.org
February 9, 2026 at 8:52 PM
In today’s Opening Statement, we featured a landmark ruling that gives the feds more power to detain people without a bond hearing. There were also dozens of new links on Minnesota and sentencing news for a disgraced funeral home director. mailchi.mp/themarshallp...
February 9, 2026 at 6:48 PM
When someone dies in jail or prison, the circumstances surrounding their death are often shrouded in secrecy. Along with grief, their loved ones are left with basic, unanswered questions.
Pushing for Answers After a Loved One Dies Behind Bars
After a family member passes away in prison or jail, people are often left with basic questions. To get answers, they have to get creative.
www.themarshallproject.org
February 9, 2026 at 4:32 PM
The technology deployed on the border includes everything from hyper-visible tethered aerostats to stealthy devices like unattended ground sensors to detect footsteps, and license plate scanners disguised as traffic cones.

And border tech isn't staying at the border.
How AI Surveillance Tech is Creeping From the Southern Border Into the Rest of the Country
Surveillance technology has long been part of policing the border. ICE’s growing raids are bringing it to many other areas.
www.themarshallproject.org
February 9, 2026 at 2:42 PM
A 2013 prison hunger strike in California led to a dramatic decline in the use of solitary confinement. More than a decade later, people impacted by solitary reflect on the toll of separation.
Echoes of Isolation
A 2013 prison hunger strike in California led to a dramatic decline in the use of solitary confinement. More than a decade later, people impacted by solitary reflect on the toll of separation.
www.themarshallproject.org
February 6, 2026 at 10:00 PM
"...the $25 a week I made was a nice hike from a job like pantry detail, which earned less than $16 a week. However, I soon learned that being detained for a crime isn’t easy on anybody, and that mental health woes can surface in many different ways."
I Had a Tough Job at My Brooklyn Jail: Keeping Men From Taking Their Own Lives
As a suicide prevention aide, I had to make sure my fellow detainees didn’t harm themselves. It was surprisingly easy to get such a complex job.
www.themarshallproject.org
February 6, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Today’s Opening Statement leads with a ruling that blocks ICE from getting access to your tax information. We covered the flailing Justice Department, more wrenching coverage from Minnesota, and a story about open records abuse on YouTube: mailchi.mp/themarshallp...
February 6, 2026 at 6:01 PM
Michael Papp’s body was cold and stiff inside his secluded Cuyahoga County jail cell when a corrections officer finally opened the door.

Officers reportedly walked the pod 50 times, peeking inside cells for signs of life. Yet, somehow, they missed a dead body.
How Jail Staff’s Deadly Errors Cost Lives in Cleveland
Jail administrators fail to fix mistakes that continue to cost lives, an analysis of state records by The Marshall Project - Cleveland shows.
www.themarshallproject.org
February 6, 2026 at 5:15 PM
🚗 📧 For the next few weeks, our Closing Argument newsletter will be on the road, bringing you stories about the border, ICE, juvenile justice and bail reform from around the Southwest. Subscribe now and get the newsletter in your inbox tomorrow:
Closing Argument
Get (free) criminal justice news, from daily updates to weekly insights.
www.themarshallproject.org
February 6, 2026 at 4:30 PM
After the co-owner of a St. Paul store criticized immigration crackdown in a national television interview, workers said federal agents showed up to audit employee records.

In another case, protesters observing ICE said officers called them by name, and even led them back to their own home.
‘We Know Where You Live.’ Protesters Say ICE Agents Retaliate With Threats, Investigations
ICE observers and critics report being audited, pulled over, called by name or followed home by agents.
www.themarshallproject.org
February 6, 2026 at 3:43 PM
As another round of extreme low temperatures sweeps parts of the U.S., people in dilapidated jails and prisons face an increased risk of illness and even death.

The threat of losing power, poor heating systems and a general lack of medical attention can compound problems in frigid conditions.
When Temps Plunge, Dilapidated Jails and Prisons Put Lives at Risk
Aging infrastructure is a major challenge when it comes to extreme weather in prisons, jails and detention facilities in the U.S.
www.themarshallproject.org
February 6, 2026 at 2:46 PM
"Death row breeds anxiety. Each of us faces himself and has a choice of whether to thrive or deteriorate. Some guys, even those with lots of education, lose their minds — maybe due to paranoia, drugs, complacency — and so you make it a priority to be there for them."
A Death Row Prisoner’s Parting Interview
Days before his scheduled execution in Texas, Ramiro Gonzales speaks on faith, legacy — and apologizing to the family of his victim, Bridget Townsend.
www.themarshallproject.org
February 5, 2026 at 9:00 PM
A key Mississippi lawmaker has passed a major hurdle on a bill that calls for tougher oversight of deaths inside the state’s notorious prisons, following an investigation by The Marshall Project - Jackson, Mississippi Today, Clarion Ledger, Hattiesburg American and The Mississippi Link.
Mississippi Lawmakers Push Prison Reform After Dozens of Deaths Exposed
A reform bill that would set up an oversight committee to review each prison death comes after a joint news investigation by several local outlets.
www.themarshallproject.org
February 5, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Today’s Opening Statement, our daily newsletter, brings news of a guilty plea from a Cleveland judge whose conflicts and tampering case we’ve followed for years. There are dozens of new links on Minnesota and a grace note to a federal judge. mailchi.mp/themarshallp...
February 5, 2026 at 5:23 PM
“We’re talking about subtle transactions of intimidation here,” said Kalfani Ture, a senior fellow at Yale’s Urban Ethnography Project and former police officer. “Repression doesn’t always operate in the dramatic. It often operates in the mundane.”
‘We Know Where You Live.’ Protesters Say ICE Agents Retaliate With Threats, Investigations
ICE observers and critics report being audited, pulled over, called by name or followed home by agents.
www.themarshallproject.org
February 5, 2026 at 4:00 PM
A former judge admits to guilt in a criminal case sparked by reporting by The Marshall Project - Cleveland. Sentencing will be at a later date.
How Celebrezze Guilty Plea Tarnishes Long Family Legacy
A former judge admits to guilt in a criminal case sparked by reporting by The Marshall Project - Cleveland. Sentencing will be at a later date.
www.themarshallproject.org
February 5, 2026 at 2:54 PM
"I was losing myself. I remember my mother telling me, 'You gotta understand that they can lock up your body, but they can’t lock up your mind. In your mind, you have to find your freedom.'

And that’s what acting became for me."
‘Sing Sing’ Actor Jon-Adrian ‘JJ’ Velazquez Reflects on the Power of Prison Theater
JJ Velazquez served nearly 24 years for a murder he didn’t commit. A unique prison arts program transformed him into an actor and activist.
www.themarshallproject.org
February 4, 2026 at 10:01 PM
Reposted by The Marshall Project
Today the @macarthurjustice.bsky.social held a memorial for Honesty Bishop, who @katiereports.bsky.social and I wrote about last year. She would have been 34. Her story is tragic and unbelievable, but her strength led to the end of the very Missouri prison policy that tormented her.
For 2,000 days, a prisoner's pleas from solitary were ignored. Now Missouri is changing its policy
Honesty Bishop was attacked by her cellmate. Missouri prison officials deemed her sexually active and kept her in isolation for more than 2,000 days.
www.stlpr.org
February 3, 2026 at 1:42 AM
Michael Papp’s body was cold and stiff inside his secluded Cuyahoga County jail cell when a corrections officer finally opened the door.

Officers reportedly walked the pod 50 times, peeking inside cells for signs of life. Yet, somehow, they missed a dead body.
How Jail Staff’s Deadly Errors Cost Lives in Cleveland
Jail administrators fail to fix mistakes that continue to cost lives, an analysis of state records by The Marshall Project - Cleveland shows.
www.themarshallproject.org
February 4, 2026 at 8:00 PM
The number of children in ICE detention on a given day has skyrocketed, jumping more than sixfold since the start of the second Trump administration. The Marshall Project analyzed data obtained by the Deportation Data Project and found that ICE held around 170 children on an average day under Trump.
Children in ICE Detention Skyrocket in Trump’s Second Term
With a six-fold jump in children in detention, advocates allege harrowing conditions are putting kids’ lives at risk.
www.themarshallproject.org
February 4, 2026 at 6:01 PM
Today’s Opening Statement, our daily newsletter, features a look at ICE intimidation tactics in Minnesota and a prison reform bill in Mississippi that follows our look at in-custody deaths there. There’s also plenty on Trump’s weaponization tactics. mailchi.mp/themarshallp...
February 4, 2026 at 5:00 PM
A key Mississippi lawmaker has passed a major hurdle on a bill that calls for tougher oversight of deaths inside the state’s notorious prisons, following an investigation by The Marshall Project - Jackson, Mississippi Today, Clarion Ledger, Hattiesburg American and The Mississippi Link.
Mississippi Lawmakers Push Prison Reform After Dozens of Deaths Exposed
A reform bill that would set up an oversight committee to review each prison death comes after a joint news investigation by several local outlets.
www.themarshallproject.org
February 4, 2026 at 4:15 PM
In a scathing 83-page ruling issued Monday evening, U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes sided with a group of five young Haitian adults who sued the government, claiming officials sought to end temporary protected status for them without adequately determining whether conditions had improved in Haiti.
Judge Denies Trump Bid to End Protected Status for Haitians as ICE Fears Loom
Roughly 350,000 Haitians are in the U.S. through legal status granted because of natural disasters and armed conflict in their home country.
www.themarshallproject.org
February 4, 2026 at 3:15 PM