"Immigration Nation": Essential Reporting on the Intersection of Deportation and the Criminal Justice System
On Friday, the Marshall Project will release the 1st edition of a short-run newsletter on how Trump's immigration enforcement policies are leveraging the criminal justice system to fuel deportations.
One of my favorite sources for top-notch reporting about America’s broken criminal justice system is the Marshall Project. So when I learned that they were launching a new newsletter miniseries called Immigration Nation, about how the Trump administration is doubling down on leveraging the criminal justice system to fuel mass deportation, I was excited to share this important resource.
The Marshall Project is an incredibly valuable source of reporting on a range of issues, from their rare and valuable survey of sheriffs on their views on race and immigration, to their ongoing coverage of the death penalty, policing, and prison conditions. And yes, they also cover immigration. (I work with their data journalists often and they are fantastic.)
You’ve likely heard me talk about conferences and books about ‘crimmigration’ (the intersection of criminal and immigration law) and seen my analyses of ICE data regarding immigrants’ criminal histories. But to be honest with you, I don’t have the capacity or platform to provide in-depth policy analysis, on-the-ground reporting, and historical context that is needed to truly unpack all of these explicit and implicit connections.
That’s where the Marshall Project’s new immigration reporting project comes in. Immigration Nation is a limited-run newsletter that examines the Trump administration's efforts to leverage local and state criminal justice systems to fuel mass deportation. Because Immigration Nation is a focused miniseries newsletter—like a season of NPR’s Serial—signing up isn’t a lifetime commitment.
From talking with the Marshall Project about the project, Immigration Nation is designed to be much more of a curated and well-developed deep-dive into policies and stories across the country, including how victims of domestic violence are now afraid to call the cops to the resurrection of outdated prisons to house immigrant detainees.
Understanding the intersection of the criminal legal system and the immigration enforcement system is so important right now, which is why I am grateful to know that the Marshall Project will be covering it.
When I learn about creative resources for understanding immigration, I like to share them as widely as possible. I’m eager to read the first issue of the newsletter, which comes out mid-morning this Friday. I encourage you to sign up at the link below. 🔽
And let me know what you think when you get the first edition! It is sure to be a conversation-starter.
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