Shira Wisotsky
@shirawis.bsky.social
Civil rights lawyer at LSNJ, focusing on the rights of noncitizens in detention. Views always my own and never legal advice. Otherwise an avid reader, puppy parent, nature photographer, and devoted auntie.
Reposted by Shira Wisotsky
I finally managed to write up my thoughts on the CECOT, and other, disappearances. I put a lot into this, please read and share. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/how-...
How Trump Is Disappearing Migrants
From CECOT to domestic jails, the Trump administration is engaging in incommunicado detention to cut migrants off from legal protections.
www.lawfaremedia.org
May 13, 2025 at 5:59 PM
I finally managed to write up my thoughts on the CECOT, and other, disappearances. I put a lot into this, please read and share. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/how-...
This.
It's genuinely hard to express to sort of normal not politically plugged in non-lawyers *how* lawless the Trump administration is, and I think that's some part of the problem.
You sound like you're hyperventilating, but it's just a flat description of what is going on.
You sound like you're hyperventilating, but it's just a flat description of what is going on.
April 15, 2025 at 5:17 PM
This.
Reposted by Shira Wisotsky
Offices that helped survivors of violence and discrimination from inside the immigration system have been gutted by the Trump administration.
DHS shuts ‘open door’ for women and queer immigrants to report abuse, advocates say
Offices that helped survivors of violence and discrimination from inside the immigration system have been gutted by the Trump administration.
19thnews.org
April 15, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Offices that helped survivors of violence and discrimination from inside the immigration system have been gutted by the Trump administration.
Reposted by Shira Wisotsky
I know this sounds like pedantic scolding but I really do believe that doubling down on the idea that criminal records are a meaningful distinction is like carefully digging a pit that we can be shoved into.
April 9, 2025 at 2:48 PM
I know this sounds like pedantic scolding but I really do believe that doubling down on the idea that criminal records are a meaningful distinction is like carefully digging a pit that we can be shoved into.
Reposted by Shira Wisotsky
A federal court’s jurisdiction does *not* stop at the water’s edge. The question is whether the *defendants* are subject to the court order, not *where* the conduct being challenged takes place.
Were it otherwise, the government could act lawlessly overseas and courts would be powerless to stop it.
Were it otherwise, the government could act lawlessly overseas and courts would be powerless to stop it.
March 16, 2025 at 8:23 PM
A federal court’s jurisdiction does *not* stop at the water’s edge. The question is whether the *defendants* are subject to the court order, not *where* the conduct being challenged takes place.
Were it otherwise, the government could act lawlessly overseas and courts would be powerless to stop it.
Were it otherwise, the government could act lawlessly overseas and courts would be powerless to stop it.
Reposted by Shira Wisotsky
“You don’t get a lawyer??” “Wait you’re not allowed to want to be an immigrant?” “What do you mean you can’t get status even if you’ve been here 20 years?” “They’re not federal courts?” “You can be denied asylum even if the judge thinks you’ll probably be killed??” “The application costs HOW much??”
March 13, 2025 at 8:47 PM
“You don’t get a lawyer??” “Wait you’re not allowed to want to be an immigrant?” “What do you mean you can’t get status even if you’ve been here 20 years?” “They’re not federal courts?” “You can be denied asylum even if the judge thinks you’ll probably be killed??” “The application costs HOW much??”
Reposted by Shira Wisotsky
Today in NJ, the GEO Group and DHS announced that Delaney Hall, a privately owned jail contracted by ICE between 2011 and 2017 and the subject of recent lawsuits, will reopen in Newark with the capacity to detain up to 1,000 people—more than quadrupling detention capacity in the state.
Trump to Reopen 1,000-Bed Detention Center for Migrants in New Jersey
The center in Newark, just miles from Manhattan, is close to an international airport and is expected to have space for as many as 1,000 migrants.
www.nytimes.com
February 27, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Today in NJ, the GEO Group and DHS announced that Delaney Hall, a privately owned jail contracted by ICE between 2011 and 2017 and the subject of recent lawsuits, will reopen in Newark with the capacity to detain up to 1,000 people—more than quadrupling detention capacity in the state.
Reposted by Shira Wisotsky
Yep. We all know the deaths are coming; for now, not intentional, but due to gross negligence and the routine terrible conditions of ICE and BOP detention and the medical neglect which is routine in those facilities. And when the first deaths do happen, the White House will go "so?"
I think most people are intuitively aware of this but something like the official White House account posting an “ASMR” video of shackled immigrants is not just cruel for its own sake, it’s intentional envelope-pushing to ramp up to desensitization over inhumane detention, camps, and deaths
February 19, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Yep. We all know the deaths are coming; for now, not intentional, but due to gross negligence and the routine terrible conditions of ICE and BOP detention and the medical neglect which is routine in those facilities. And when the first deaths do happen, the White House will go "so?"
Reposted by Shira Wisotsky
If you’ve been scolded by the Pope AND by the Auschwitz Memorial in the same week, it’s time to take a minute and reconsider your choices.
Hey @JDVance, and @elonmusk, and @realDonaldTrump it looks like the Auschwitz Memorial wants to educate you.
STOP LYING TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
STOP LYING TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
February 17, 2025 at 11:52 PM
If you’ve been scolded by the Pope AND by the Auschwitz Memorial in the same week, it’s time to take a minute and reconsider your choices.
Reposted by Shira Wisotsky
"What happened last night is the most direct assault on the authority of Congress, I believe, in the history of the United States. It is blatantly unconstitutional," Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) says of Trump's OMB halting all federal grants.
"If this stands, then Congress may as well adjourn."
"If this stands, then Congress may as well adjourn."
January 28, 2025 at 5:35 PM
"What happened last night is the most direct assault on the authority of Congress, I believe, in the history of the United States. It is blatantly unconstitutional," Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) says of Trump's OMB halting all federal grants.
"If this stands, then Congress may as well adjourn."
"If this stands, then Congress may as well adjourn."
Reposted by Shira Wisotsky
There is really no need to write lengthy expositions on why executive orders can't trump constitutional text. "No" is a complete sentence.
January 20, 2025 at 7:07 PM
There is really no need to write lengthy expositions on why executive orders can't trump constitutional text. "No" is a complete sentence.
Reposted by Shira Wisotsky
Breaking: On its way out, Biden administration dumps news of 12 previously undisclosed deaths of migrants by Customs and Border Protection. Read this substack from @foiaroundnfindout.bsky.social. detentionkills.substack.com/p/afterjoe-b...
"After"Joe Biden
Biden's CBP dumps news of 12 previously undisclosed deaths before last day in office.
detentionkills.substack.com
January 18, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Breaking: On its way out, Biden administration dumps news of 12 previously undisclosed deaths of migrants by Customs and Border Protection. Read this substack from @foiaroundnfindout.bsky.social. detentionkills.substack.com/p/afterjoe-b...
Reposted by Shira Wisotsky
⚠️ URGENT ACTION ALERT TO STOP ANTI-IMMIGRANT BILL ⚠️
✨Call your Senators via the Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121
✨Once you're connected, say: "Hello, I am a constituent, and I urge the Senator to vote NO on the Laken Riley Act."
✨After you're done, ask 3 of your friends to call
✨Call your Senators via the Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121
✨Once you're connected, say: "Hello, I am a constituent, and I urge the Senator to vote NO on the Laken Riley Act."
✨After you're done, ask 3 of your friends to call
The Laken-Riley Act will lead to many more people being detained without access to bond and will have a disproportionate impact of Black and brown immigrants. DWN demands that Congress reject this bill. Learn more about why we oppose this bill from @nilc.org. 2/2
NILC Opposes the Laken Riley Act
The Laken Riley Act exploits personal tragedy to fuel anti-immigrant rhetoric and undermines constitutional protections without improving public safety.
www.nilc.org
January 8, 2025 at 9:59 PM
⚠️ URGENT ACTION ALERT TO STOP ANTI-IMMIGRANT BILL ⚠️
✨Call your Senators via the Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121
✨Once you're connected, say: "Hello, I am a constituent, and I urge the Senator to vote NO on the Laken Riley Act."
✨After you're done, ask 3 of your friends to call
✨Call your Senators via the Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121
✨Once you're connected, say: "Hello, I am a constituent, and I urge the Senator to vote NO on the Laken Riley Act."
✨After you're done, ask 3 of your friends to call
Reposted by Shira Wisotsky
"The very concept of the rule of law is premised on an expectation of stability and consistency in how law is practiced." slate.com/news-and-pol... great @sifill.bsky.social piece on the Roberts majority's chaotic, cruel approach to judging.
I’m a Seasoned Litigator. Sam Alito’s Recent Questions Have Made Me Cringe.
I am still enough of an institutionalist that it pains me to hear Supreme Court justices embarrassing themselves on the bench.
slate.com
December 20, 2024 at 4:12 PM
"The very concept of the rule of law is premised on an expectation of stability and consistency in how law is practiced." slate.com/news-and-pol... great @sifill.bsky.social piece on the Roberts majority's chaotic, cruel approach to judging.
Reposted by Shira Wisotsky
It’s too early to know how exactly Trump will carry out his mass deportation plans, but one thing is certain: private prison company profits stand to skyrocket.
What Trump’s Victory Means for the Private Prison Industry
The two largest companies that manage detention centers and correctional facilities are poised to profit from aggressive immigration policies.
www.brennancenter.org
December 1, 2024 at 1:15 PM
It’s too early to know how exactly Trump will carry out his mass deportation plans, but one thing is certain: private prison company profits stand to skyrocket.