Vera Institute of Justice
@vera.org
We’re fighting to secure equal justice for all, end mass incarceration, and strengthen families + communities
For people behind bars, in-person visits offer rare moments of peace, hope, and connection. Incarcerated writer David Sell shares how a suspension of these visits in NY State hurt families and disrupted the path toward rehabilitation: https://www.vera.org/news/disrupting-family-visitation
December 5, 2025 at 5:20 PM
For people behind bars, in-person visits offer rare moments of peace, hope, and connection. Incarcerated writer David Sell shares how a suspension of these visits in NY State hurt families and disrupted the path toward rehabilitation: https://www.vera.org/news/disrupting-family-visitation
In response to the Trump administration’s attacks on due process, the Fairness to Freedom campaign issued the following statement condemning the administration’s latest actions that restrict legal pathways for immigrants and their families: www.vera.org/newsroom/fai...
Fairness to Freedom Campaign Condemns Administration’s Restriction of…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: media@vera.org WASHINGTON, DC – Over the last week, the Trump administration issued multiple sweeping policy changes…
www.vera.org
December 4, 2025 at 9:36 PM
In response to the Trump administration’s attacks on due process, the Fairness to Freedom campaign issued the following statement condemning the administration’s latest actions that restrict legal pathways for immigrants and their families: www.vera.org/newsroom/fai...
📣 Everyone in the United States has the right to due process—regardless of where they were born.
December 4, 2025 at 7:01 PM
📣 Everyone in the United States has the right to due process—regardless of where they were born.
Though she has returned to the U.S., she remains detained by ICE while her case proceeds. Expedited removals don’t just separate families. They also strip immigrants seeking safety of due process and a fair chance to remain rooted in their communities.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/u...
She Was Deported in Error. Her Child Was Left Behind.
www.nytimes.com
December 4, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Though she has returned to the U.S., she remains detained by ICE while her case proceeds. Expedited removals don’t just separate families. They also strip immigrants seeking safety of due process and a fair chance to remain rooted in their communities.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/u...
In 2021, several ICE facilities in #NJ closed following state legislation that prohibited new, expanded, or renewed detention contracts. Shortly after, ICE began detaining people at Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania & it rapidly became the largest detention center in the Northeast.
December 4, 2025 at 1:57 AM
In 2021, several ICE facilities in #NJ closed following state legislation that prohibited new, expanded, or renewed detention contracts. Shortly after, ICE began detaining people at Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania & it rapidly became the largest detention center in the Northeast.
Violent courthouse arrests. Family separation. Teenagers forced to await their immigration proceedings in adult prisons.
This is the reality of the Trump administration's war on immigrants.
This is the reality of the Trump administration's war on immigrants.
December 3, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Violent courthouse arrests. Family separation. Teenagers forced to await their immigration proceedings in adult prisons.
This is the reality of the Trump administration's war on immigrants.
This is the reality of the Trump administration's war on immigrants.
🚨 President Trump has undermined the democratic principles of due process and fairness, yet again.
Yesterday, his administration fired eight immigration judges in New York City, adding to the nationwide removal of over 100 judges this year.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/01/n...
Yesterday, his administration fired eight immigration judges in New York City, adding to the nationwide removal of over 100 judges this year.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/01/n...
Trump Administration Fires 8 Immigration Judges in New York
www.nytimes.com
December 2, 2025 at 11:00 PM
🚨 President Trump has undermined the democratic principles of due process and fairness, yet again.
Yesterday, his administration fired eight immigration judges in New York City, adding to the nationwide removal of over 100 judges this year.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/01/n...
Yesterday, his administration fired eight immigration judges in New York City, adding to the nationwide removal of over 100 judges this year.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/01/n...
Access to safe, stable housing is a human right. Vera is honored to receive the Public Justice Center's Outstanding Partner Award for our work supporting Maryland’s Fair Chance Housing Act.
www.publicjustice.org/en/news/givi...
www.publicjustice.org/en/news/givi...
Public Justice Center
www.publicjustice.org
December 2, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Access to safe, stable housing is a human right. Vera is honored to receive the Public Justice Center's Outstanding Partner Award for our work supporting Maryland’s Fair Chance Housing Act.
www.publicjustice.org/en/news/givi...
www.publicjustice.org/en/news/givi...
Last month, in a video obtained by @thenyic.bsky.social, law enforcement forcefully stormed a #Queens home without announcing themselves or showing a warrant, in search of someone who no longer lived there.
www.amny.com/news/ice-rai...
www.amny.com/news/ice-rai...
Armed ICE agents terrorized Queens family while raiding home in search of person who does not live there, nonprofit says | amNewYork
Gun-toting ICE agents allegedly forced their way into a Queens home last week without announcing themselves or presenting a warrant for a person who no longer
www.amny.com
December 1, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Last month, in a video obtained by @thenyic.bsky.social, law enforcement forcefully stormed a #Queens home without announcing themselves or showing a warrant, in search of someone who no longer lived there.
www.amny.com/news/ice-rai...
www.amny.com/news/ice-rai...
Justice belongs to all of us, and we must defend it together.
Donate today and your gift will go 3X as far to defend the rights of everyone harmed by the criminal justice and immigration systems:
Donate today and your gift will go 3X as far to defend the rights of everyone harmed by the criminal justice and immigration systems:
Donate to the Vera Institute of Justice
With your support, we can transform our justice systems.
secure.vera.org
December 1, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Justice belongs to all of us, and we must defend it together.
Donate today and your gift will go 3X as far to defend the rights of everyone harmed by the criminal justice and immigration systems:
Donate today and your gift will go 3X as far to defend the rights of everyone harmed by the criminal justice and immigration systems:
Vera works in communities around the country to:
➡️ Defend immigrants from mass deportation
➡️ Protect the dignity of incarcerated people
➡️ Make our communities safer for all
Every gift before #GivingTuesday will be TRIPLED to power urgent change: https://secure.vera.org/a/gw2025-3x
➡️ Defend immigrants from mass deportation
➡️ Protect the dignity of incarcerated people
➡️ Make our communities safer for all
Every gift before #GivingTuesday will be TRIPLED to power urgent change: https://secure.vera.org/a/gw2025-3x
Donate to the Vera Institute of Justice
With your support, we can transform our justice systems.
secure.vera.org
November 29, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Vera works in communities around the country to:
➡️ Defend immigrants from mass deportation
➡️ Protect the dignity of incarcerated people
➡️ Make our communities safer for all
Every gift before #GivingTuesday will be TRIPLED to power urgent change: https://secure.vera.org/a/gw2025-3x
➡️ Defend immigrants from mass deportation
➡️ Protect the dignity of incarcerated people
➡️ Make our communities safer for all
Every gift before #GivingTuesday will be TRIPLED to power urgent change: https://secure.vera.org/a/gw2025-3x
Immigrants’ rights, equal justice, and our communities are on the line.
Your 3X matched gift helps us fight back. Can we count on your support? https://secure.vera.org/a/gw2025-3x?ms=don_comm_all_bluesky_Vera26_ctr_GivingWeekSocial&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=all&utm_campaign=all_GivingWeekSocial
Your 3X matched gift helps us fight back. Can we count on your support? https://secure.vera.org/a/gw2025-3x?ms=don_comm_all_bluesky_Vera26_ctr_GivingWeekSocial&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=all&utm_campaign=all_GivingWeekSocial
Donate to the Vera Institute of Justice
With your support, we can transform our justice systems.
secure.vera.org
November 28, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Immigrants’ rights, equal justice, and our communities are on the line.
Your 3X matched gift helps us fight back. Can we count on your support? https://secure.vera.org/a/gw2025-3x?ms=don_comm_all_bluesky_Vera26_ctr_GivingWeekSocial&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=all&utm_campaign=all_GivingWeekSocial
Your 3X matched gift helps us fight back. Can we count on your support? https://secure.vera.org/a/gw2025-3x?ms=don_comm_all_bluesky_Vera26_ctr_GivingWeekSocial&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=all&utm_campaign=all_GivingWeekSocial
Vera works across the U.S. to transform the criminal justice and immigration systems so that wealth doesn’t determine freedom, fewer people are incarcerated, and everyone behind bars is treated with dignity.
Make a 3X gift now to support this vital work: secure.vera.org/a/gw2025-3x?...
Make a 3X gift now to support this vital work: secure.vera.org/a/gw2025-3x?...
November 26, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Vera works across the U.S. to transform the criminal justice and immigration systems so that wealth doesn’t determine freedom, fewer people are incarcerated, and everyone behind bars is treated with dignity.
Make a 3X gift now to support this vital work: secure.vera.org/a/gw2025-3x?...
Make a 3X gift now to support this vital work: secure.vera.org/a/gw2025-3x?...
Vera's Daniela Gilbert and Benjamin Heller have been invited to join New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s transition committees.
These appointments allow them to bring their expertise in safety, equity, and community-centered reform to this moment of civic leadership.
These appointments allow them to bring their expertise in safety, equity, and community-centered reform to this moment of civic leadership.
November 26, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Vera's Daniela Gilbert and Benjamin Heller have been invited to join New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s transition committees.
These appointments allow them to bring their expertise in safety, equity, and community-centered reform to this moment of civic leadership.
These appointments allow them to bring their expertise in safety, equity, and community-centered reform to this moment of civic leadership.
Border Patrol is using a secretive program to track drivers across the U.S. This surveillance has led to searches, interrogations, and arrests of people because their everyday movement was deemed “suspicious”—and it disproportionately targets immigrants.
apnews.com/article/immi...
apnews.com/article/immi...
Border Patrol is monitoring US drivers and detaining those with 'suspicious' travel patterns
The U.S. Border Patrol is monitoring millions of American drivers nationwide in a secretive program to identify and detain people whose travel patterns it deems suspicious.
apnews.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Border Patrol is using a secretive program to track drivers across the U.S. This surveillance has led to searches, interrogations, and arrests of people because their everyday movement was deemed “suspicious”—and it disproportionately targets immigrants.
apnews.com/article/immi...
apnews.com/article/immi...
Over 16 years, ICE has detained people across 1,397 facilities total—not only private detention facilities and local jails, but also unexpected places that are excluded from public reporting, such as hotels, hospitals, airports, and military bases.
November 25, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Over 16 years, ICE has detained people across 1,397 facilities total—not only private detention facilities and local jails, but also unexpected places that are excluded from public reporting, such as hotels, hospitals, airports, and military bases.
“People are being forced to make incredibly hard choices about their families, about their jobs.” - Vera's Shayna Kessler.
As voluntary departures spike, the root cause is clear: the erosion of due process in our immigration system: documentedny.com/2025/11/24/d...
As voluntary departures spike, the root cause is clear: the erosion of due process in our immigration system: documentedny.com/2025/11/24/d...
Voluntary Departures of Detained Immigrants Have Surged 1,373 Percent - Documented
Driven by bond policy changes and harsh detainment conditions, the number of immigrants choosing voluntary departure over fighting deportation has increased 1,373 percent this summer.
documentedny.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:44 PM
“People are being forced to make incredibly hard choices about their families, about their jobs.” - Vera's Shayna Kessler.
As voluntary departures spike, the root cause is clear: the erosion of due process in our immigration system: documentedny.com/2025/11/24/d...
As voluntary departures spike, the root cause is clear: the erosion of due process in our immigration system: documentedny.com/2025/11/24/d...
Mass incarceration is a public health crisis.
Learn how incarceration impacts the health of people behind bars and beyond. ⬇️
Learn how incarceration impacts the health of people behind bars and beyond. ⬇️
November 25, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Mass incarceration is a public health crisis.
Learn how incarceration impacts the health of people behind bars and beyond. ⬇️
Learn how incarceration impacts the health of people behind bars and beyond. ⬇️
Justice belongs to all of us, and we must defend it together.
Donate today and your gift will go 3X as far to defend the rights of everyone harmed by the criminal justice and immigration systems:
Donate today and your gift will go 3X as far to defend the rights of everyone harmed by the criminal justice and immigration systems:
Donate to the Vera Institute of Justice
With your support, we can transform our justice systems.
secure.vera.org
November 24, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Justice belongs to all of us, and we must defend it together.
Donate today and your gift will go 3X as far to defend the rights of everyone harmed by the criminal justice and immigration systems:
Donate today and your gift will go 3X as far to defend the rights of everyone harmed by the criminal justice and immigration systems:
As Vera and other advocates predicted, Prop 36 is straining budgets in California, without improving community safety or public health.
New reporting from @voiceofsandiego.org breaks down how the policy is straining both San Diego County’s budget and justice system:
New reporting from @voiceofsandiego.org breaks down how the policy is straining both San Diego County’s budget and justice system:
Proposition 36 Hits County Budget Hard
Implementing Proposition 36 is costing county government tens of millions of dollars at a time of major budget uncertainty.
voiceofsandiego.org
November 20, 2025 at 3:55 PM
As Vera and other advocates predicted, Prop 36 is straining budgets in California, without improving community safety or public health.
New reporting from @voiceofsandiego.org breaks down how the policy is straining both San Diego County’s budget and justice system:
New reporting from @voiceofsandiego.org breaks down how the policy is straining both San Diego County’s budget and justice system:
Across the U.S., surging detention populations are creating dangerous conditions: people are being denied adequate beds and clean clothes and even basic health care. Read about the conditions at Pine Prairie, an ICE Processing Center in #Louisiana: lailluminator.com/2025/11/13/i...
Conditions at Louisiana ICE lockup worsen as detainees increase, immigrant rights advocates say • Louisiana Illuminator
Advocates say capacity issues are leading to worsening conditions at the facility that already has a long history of complaints alleging human rights abuses and civil rights violations.
lailluminator.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Across the U.S., surging detention populations are creating dangerous conditions: people are being denied adequate beds and clean clothes and even basic health care. Read about the conditions at Pine Prairie, an ICE Processing Center in #Louisiana: lailluminator.com/2025/11/13/i...
Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity. Yet for more than a century, dehumanizing images of people in the criminal justice and immigration systems have been used in U.S. politics to stoke fear.
Vera's Ed Chung reflects on this unjust history:
Vera's Ed Chung reflects on this unjust history:
Using detainees and prisoners as photo props has a long history in American politics
Photos and video of immigrants in custody have been a hallmark of President Donald Trump’s administration, and illustrate his agenda to crack down on immigration.
apnews.com
November 19, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity. Yet for more than a century, dehumanizing images of people in the criminal justice and immigration systems have been used in U.S. politics to stoke fear.
Vera's Ed Chung reflects on this unjust history:
Vera's Ed Chung reflects on this unjust history:
"Second chances and healing can coexist. They must coexist—for survivors, for those who have caused harm, and for every life touched in between."
@famm.org's Alexia Pitter and other survivors share a vision for justice rooted in healing and change: www.vera.org/news/listen-...
@famm.org's Alexia Pitter and other survivors share a vision for justice rooted in healing and change: www.vera.org/news/listen-...
Listen to Their Stories: These Crime Survivors Don’t Want More Prison
These crime survivors and the leader of a crime survivors organization highlight the need for sentencing that focuses on healing and change, not just…
www.vera.org
November 18, 2025 at 5:16 PM
"Second chances and healing can coexist. They must coexist—for survivors, for those who have caused harm, and for every life touched in between."
@famm.org's Alexia Pitter and other survivors share a vision for justice rooted in healing and change: www.vera.org/news/listen-...
@famm.org's Alexia Pitter and other survivors share a vision for justice rooted in healing and change: www.vera.org/news/listen-...
On October 30, the Vera Institute of Justice announced that Nick Turner, the organization's current President and Director, will conclude his tenure in May 2026 after almost thirteen years of service during which he led efforts to make the criminal justice and immigration systems fairer for all.
November 18, 2025 at 3:45 PM
On October 30, the Vera Institute of Justice announced that Nick Turner, the organization's current President and Director, will conclude his tenure in May 2026 after almost thirteen years of service during which he led efforts to make the criminal justice and immigration systems fairer for all.