iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Anna Arons @annaarons.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Come for wild facts--in half the country, you (anyone!) can walk into a courthouse and demand that the state take a kid from their family and place them in foster care!--& stay for broader reflections on our carceral mode of governance & the state's conscription of private people in that project.

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Anna Arons @annaarons.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

"Private Prosecution and the State" is out now in NYU L. Rev.! papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

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Anna Arons @annaarons.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

There are some in immigration scholarship - Abel Rodriguez has something forthcoming in Temple L. Rev. (The Necropolitics of Immigration Enforcement), and there's this by Eunice Lee! scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcont...

scholarship.law.upenn.edu

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Anna Arons @annaarons.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

Also worth adding that officers misrepresenting their authority to enter a home (i.e. "you must let me in," "you're required to let me in under the law") itself invalidates consent to the search, under a line of cases going back to Bumper v. North Carolina.

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Timothy Burke @bubbaprog.xyz · 25/06/2025

"GOOD FUCKING RIDDANCE"

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Angus Johnston @angus.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

"Tonight was not our night. Tonight was Assemblyman Mamdani's night. I called him. I congratulated him." —Cuomo

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ProPublica @propublica.org · 20/06/2025

NEW: The New York State Legislature passed a bill banning anonymous complaints to the state child abuse hotline. The change comes in the wake of a 2023 ProPublica investigation that showed how the hotline had been weaponized by people endlessly calling in baseless allegations against exes or rivals.

propublica.org

New York Bans Anonymous Child Welfare Reports

New legislation will require callers to the state child abuse hotline to identify themselves. ProPublica’s reporting in 2023 found that many anonymous callers made false allegations that led to intrus...

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Anna Arons @annaarons.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

(I kept thinking I’d wait til the world was less awful to post this but am reminded that the world will always be the world and I find hope & meaning in imagining and working toward a better version of my little corner of it.) (3/3)

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Anna Arons @annaarons.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

And ultimately argue that by focusing too heavily on how to shore up consent, we may miss opportunities to meaningfully reduce surveillance of race-class subjugated families. (2/3)

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Anna Arons @annaarons.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

Out now, Family Regulation’s Consent Problem! In which I describe (some of!) the incredibly coercive & unconstitutional methods the state uses to extract families’ consent to home searches… columbialawreview.org/content/fami... (1/3)

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Joshua Holland @joshuaholland.bsky.social · 14/06/2025

It’s not just that they normalize political violence. They also accuse the left of engaging in mostly imaginary violence, which gives unhinged right-wingers justification to “retaliate.”

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Nikki McCann Ramírez @nikkimcr.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

Padilla: If this is how DHS responds to a senator with a question you can only imagine what they're doing to farm workers, to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California.

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New York Working Families Party @nywfp.bsky.social · 31/05/2025

As NYWFP works to consolidate support around its slate of candidates, we're proud to rank @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social #1 🥳 To give voters clear guidance, we're ranking a full slate of 5 candidates. When we unite, we can defeat Cuomo & elect a mayor who fights for us. Let's get this done!

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Orin Kerr @orinkerr.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

SCOTUS rules, 7-2, that detainees the Administration suspects of being TdA members, and wants to deport under the Alien Enemies Act, need more notice that was given and cannot at present be deported. Kavanaugh concurs. Alito & Thomas dissent. supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...

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becca laurie @imbeccable.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

bill de blasio in park slope, ordering his breakfast sandwich as “mi sandwich especial” and quoting the onion headline omg www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

Screenshot from The New Yorker: One morning a few weeks ago, I met de Blasio at his regular coffee shop in Park Slope. He had just come from the gym—the same one that he’d insisted on commuting to every morning from Gracie Mansion, no matter how much grief the press gave him for it—and was wearing sweats. He held forth among his fellow-patrons with a spirit of magnanimous, possibly unreciprocated camaraderie, greeting a startled man by the door with a familiar “How you doing, brother?” and ordering his breakfast (scrambled egg whites, cheddar, ham, and tomato on multigrain toast) as “mi sandwich especial.” These days, de Blasio most often makes the news for his love life or for such momentous moves as dyeing his salt-and-pepper crewcut. But he’s sensed a bit of de Blasio nostalgia creeping into town. “Since I left office, the No. 1 thing that people come up to me on the street and talk about is pre-K,” he told me, lacing his iced espresso with a heavy pour of simple syrup. “The No. 2 thing that people talk about is that Onion headline.” He quoted it for me, savoring every word: “Well, well, well, not so easy to find a mayor that doesn’t suck shit, huh?”

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Anna Arons @annaarons.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

Anyway. Beware that if you say something to me in court, I may turn it into a 50k-word article. (An honor, really!)

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Anna Arons @annaarons.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

As we increasingly acknowledge that the fam. reg. system is part of a carceral web, we can see how this view augments agency power & facilitates agencies' pathologization & punishment of poor families, Black, Latino, & Native families, disabled parents, & immigrant families.

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Anna Arons @annaarons.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

What I found was her view of her job isn't anomalous--plenty of family regulation prosecutors see their role as representing agencies, not the public interest, as if criminal prosecutors represented the police, not the public interest. (...I know, I know. But here, we do away even w/ the pretense!)

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Anna Arons @annaarons.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

She sought to separate the family even as she acknowledged her position was legally quite weak and it went against her own judgment as to what was "right" for the family. A wild position! One that reallllly made me want to figure out what, exactly, the job of a family regulation prosecutor is.

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Anna Arons @annaarons.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

My paper, Prosecuting Families, is out! As with so many good ideas, it began when a prosecutor said something to me in court that enraged me--this time, "Don't blame me, Ms. Arons, I'm just doing my job!" as she sought to separate 2 tiny kids from their mom. scholarship.law.upenn.edu/penn_law_rev...

scholarship.law.upenn.edu

Prosecuting Families

Hundreds of thousands of parents are prosecuted in the family regulation system each year. Their cases are investigated by family regulation agencies and prosecuted by lawyers employed by the governme...

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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

ACLU filed a class habeas petition in the Southern District of New York following Monday's SCOTUS order that challenges to Trump's Alien Enemies Act proclamation must be brought in habeas. SDNY is where the two individual plaintiffs, at least when filed, were located. assets.aclu.org/live/uploads...

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
G.F.F.;* and J.G.O.;* on their own behalf and on behalf of others similarly-situated,
Petitioners-Plaintiffs,
V.
DONALD J. TRUMP, in his official capacity as President of the United States; PAMELA BONDI,
Attorney General of the United States, in her official capacity; KRISTI NOEM, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in her official capacity; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; TODD LYONS,
Acting Director of the Director of U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in his official capacity; U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT; MARCO RUBIO,
Secretary of State, in his official capacity; U.S.
STATE DEPARTMENT; WILLIAM P. JOYCE, in his official capacity as acting New York Field Office Director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; PAUL ARTETA, in his official capacity as the Director of the Orange County Correctional Facility;
Case No. 1:25-cv-02886
Respondents-Defendants.
CLASS PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS AND CLASS COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF

8. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 et seq. (habeas
corpus), art. I, § 9, cl. 2 of the U.S. Constitution (Suspension Clause), 28 U.S.C. § 1346 (United
States as defendant), 28 U.S.C. § 1361 (mandamus), and 28 U.S.C. § 1651 (All Writs Act).
9. The Court may grant relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241; 28 U.S.C. § 2243; the
Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2201 et seq.; the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651; and
the Court's inherent equitable powers.
10. Venue is proper in this District under 28 U.S.C. § 2241; 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b); and,
28 U.S.C. § 1391(e)(1) because at the time of the filing of this action the Petitioners were detained in the Respondents' custody within the Southern District of New York; a substantial part of the events and omissions giving rise to the claim occurred in this district; Respondents
Joyce and Arteta reside in this district; and Respondents are agencies of the United States or
officers of the United States acting in their official capacity.

PRAYER FOR RELIEF
WHEREFORE, Petitioners respectfully pray this Court to:
a. Assume jurisdiction over this matter;
b. Certify this action as a class action on behalf of the proposed Petitioner Class, appoint the
Petitioners as class representatives, and appoint the undersigned counsel as class counsel;
c. Grant a temporary restraining order to preserve the status quo pending further proceedings;
d. Enjoin Respondents from transferring Petitioners out of this district during the pendency
of this litigation;
e. Grant a writ of habeas corpus to Petitioners that enjoins Defendants from removing them
pursuant to the Proclamation;
f. Enjoin Respondents from removing Petitioners pursuant to the Proclamation;
g. Declare unlawful the Proclamation;
h. Award Petitioners' counsel reasonable attorneys' fees under the Equal Access to Justice
Act, and any other applicable statute or regulation; and
i. Grant such further relief as the Court deems just, equitable, and appropriate.

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Anna Arons @annaarons.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

And I also discovered today that they don't know who Jason Biggs is. American Pie, a forgotten cinematic masterpiece!

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Brandon Johnson @bjeromy.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

My friend and former @nyulaw.bsky.social colleague @hdamonfeng.bsky.social has written an excellent and important piece in @slate.com highlighting more of the Trump administration’s cruelty. slate.com/news-and-pol...

slate.com

Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Is Specifically Targeting Children Again

Immigration officials are threatening to prioritize unaccompanied immigrant children for deportation.

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Anna Arons @annaarons.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

My favorite moment every year is when I have to describe what a "party line" is, and then disclose that in my rural childhood, my family had one...

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Haiyun Damon-Feng @hdamonfeng.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

Among the Trump administration’s ongoing assaults on lawyers is its very real threat to take away critical legal services from vulnerable kids. My write-up for @slate.bsky.social is below.

slate.com

Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Is Specifically Targeting Children Again

Immigration officials are threatening to prioritize unaccompanied immigrant children for deportation.

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Anna Arons @annaarons.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

A small horror, among many - the federal Child Welfare Information Gateway has taken down its pages on racial disproportionality in the family regulation system. (& a moment to be grateful for @waybackmachine.bsky.social!)

childwelfare.gov

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I Scare You Like Sound Dog @chadstanton.blacksky.app · 22/12/2024

Important people understand a part of the development of these projects is making sure the use case for the police is built in. We’re not getting ever more intrusive surveillance as a side effect of convenience but with the idea police departments etc will buy them for the purpose of surveillance.

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Anna Arons @annaarons.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

Just another very normal day for New York's very normal mayor!

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Anna Arons @annaarons.bsky.social · 03/09/2024

It's exciting & an immense privilege & a little weird to get to transform one's outrage into articles and - hopefully - into action. Grateful for the people I've learned from & am inspired by & looking forward to learning more.

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Anna Arons @annaarons.bsky.social · 03/09/2024

Very happy to share that my article, Family Regulation's Consent Problem, will run in @ColumLRev! I argue that fam reg "consent" searches regularly violate the Constituion. . . & that the Constitution is a woefully incomplete solution to surveillance of marginalized communities.

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Anna Arons @annaarons.bsky.social · 29/03/2024

NY DOC is putting everyone on lockdown and cancelling all visits during the eclipse. Dehumanization for dehumanization's sake. (And as just a little extra spice, also ordering eclipse glasses for everyone?)...

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Anna Arons @annaarons.bsky.social · 09/03/2024

Delighted to share that Family Regulation Prosecutors will be published in @PennLRev. Thanks to all (including the prosecutors who inspired this when I was in practice. . .) who helped make this stronger! Draft is available here & comments are welcome!...

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Anna Arons @annaarons.bsky.social · 20/02/2024

(& on a personal and selfish level, it is a thrill to know that an article I wrote played even a small role in the generation of this litigation.) (7/7) papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abs…

papers.ssrn.com

The Empty Promise of the Fourth Amendment in the Family R...

Each year, state agents search the homes of hundreds of t...

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Anna Arons @annaarons.bsky.social · 20/02/2024

Too often in family court we act like the Fourth Amendment doesn’t exist. And in any individual case, a parent asserting their rights can threaten their family’s integrity. That’s why systemic challenges like this lawsuit is so important! (6/x)

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Anna Arons @annaarons.bsky.social · 20/02/2024

Today, @FamJusLawCenter, @PaulWeissLLP, @ecbawm, and the @NYULaw Family Defense Clinic sued the City on behalf of 9 awe-inspiring plaintiffs and a class they represent, to disrupt these searches and hold ACS to the constitution. I’m thrilled to be part of this litigation. (5/x)

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Anna Arons @annaarons.bsky.social · 20/02/2024

Most of these searches do not turn up evidence of maltreatment. In fact, more than 80% of investigations close without a finding of child maltreatment. And yet, these searches alone cause tremendous trauma to parents and children. (4/x)

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Anna Arons @annaarons.bsky.social · 20/02/2024

During these searches, ACS looks everywhere in the home – opening refrigerators and kitchen cabinets, poking around medicine cabinets, looking in children’s rooms, and often strip-searching children. (3/x)

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Anna Arons @annaarons.bsky.social · 20/02/2024

The 4th Amd makes warrantless home searches presumptively unreasonable but less than 1% of these searches are authorized by courts. Instead, ACS coerces consent - threatening to take kids or call police, misrepresenting parents' rights & ACS’s authority, the list goes on. (2/x)

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Anna Arons @annaarons.bsky.social · 20/02/2024

Every year, NYC’s family regulation agency searches the homes of tens of thousands of New Yorkers, almost all of them poor and Black or Latinx. www.nytimes.com/2024/02/20/nyregion…...

nytimes.com

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Anna Arons @annaarons.bsky.social · 11/01/2024

What's the opposite of finding a silver lining? One might say that's what I did...

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Anna Arons @annaarons.bsky.social · 11/01/2024

In it, I look at a recent SCOTUS victory (!) for civil rights and use it to highlight society's fundamentally distorted view of what is reasonable for marginalized parents to do and what is reasonable for state actors to do when they refuse to comply w/ state actors' demands.

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