Excited to be part of the team bringing this case. Horrified that the work needs to be done. And proud to be part of an organization like @publicjustice.bsky.social that challenges the government's use of financial penalties to intimidate and harass

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) allows the government to issue civil fines to people and organizations. Under the Trump administration, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began sending notices of fines to individuals with final deportation orders.

noimmigrationfines.org

The court has heard our demand for public access! Call into the Abrego Garcia hearing TODAY at 1 PM ET - Public Access Dial: 877-336-1831 Access Code: 8393132
@fixthecourt.com

Fantastic article: @leighgoodmark.bsky.social shares critical perspective that incarceration is not the solution. Once exposed to the criminal system, people are often entrapped and deemed worthy of further punishment. The significant harm caused by the system tells us that logic needs to be upended

If prisons & jails say they're "understaffed," maybe they should rethink what their jobs look like in the era of mass incarceration

Take a look at this posting for a Georgia corrections position: Must be prepared to kill people "if necessary"

buff.ly/ksGFqI6

@jesspish.bsky.social has this exactly right and, on top of this, many times sheriffs' actions are totally unchecked by courts or other political actors. State laws leave room for interpretation, which is filled in by sheriffs' interests and biases. So sheriffs get the final say on what the law is

A credibility shortage, to say the least. Keep this in mind when these same "law enforcement" actors start talking about who should and should not be subject to the criminal and immigration punishment systems

@curlyprofessor.bsky.social

Pay-to-stay regimes are the norm in most states, but they don't have to be. Illinois repealed its law, freeing many from the illogical debt that follows many after a disruptive period of incarceration

dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories...

One of the darkest, but less reported, aspects of Trump’s anti-trans order this week IMO is that he directed the DOJ to remove protections for trans prisoners from Prison Rape Elimination Act guidelines. Story at @theappeal.org today from @byadamrhodes.bsky.social: theappeal.org/trump-execut...

The great Justice Thurgood Marshall used to remark that it sometimes seemed like there was a drugs exception to the Constitution. I am worried that we are heading towards a "suspected immigrant" exception to the rule of law.

This county's pay-to-stay policy was finally overturned because "the debt was undercutting other county programs meant to reduce recidivism." You don't say. Strapping someone with debt as they walk out the jail's doors is an all too common practice with no rational justification

For folks who want to learn more about the incomparable (and often unchecked) power county sheriffs hold, this seems like it will be a great event

Myriad state laws and practices give governments the ability to exact further punishment through medical bills and other fees. Make no mistake, these monetary charges are about punishment, not "compensating" the government or covering costs.

Increasingly, jail space is used as a revenue generator. Local governments are incentivized by state and fed law to fill beds so they can charge

Excellent reporting from @themarshallproject.org on how that trend will continue in the next administration

www.themarshallproject.org/2025/01/04/d...

Police accountability, but only if you can afford it

And here’s the kicker, as Stephannie Stokes (who wrote this story) reported in a follow-up piece: After taking their kids away, Georgia often bills parents for the cost of foster care.

One mother was charged nearly $13,000, with interest, and threatened with jail when she couldn’t pay.

The policies underlying the criminal system often have little to do with protecting the public. Here, the officers admitted to the allegations but received no jail time. Anyone else in their position would have been seen as a threat to the public and put behind bars