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Erica Hellerstein

@ehellerstein.bsky.social

1.5K followers 329 following 169 posts

Global human rights journalist | 2026-27 Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellow @umwallacehouse.bsky.social | Formerly senior immigration reporter @eltimpano.bsky.social + senior reporter @codastory.com |Bay Area-raised and CA forever| www.ericahellerstein.com

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Erica Hellerstein @ehellerstein.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Thrilled to share that my collab w/ KQED's Close All Tabs podcast took home an award from the Public Media Journalists Association. Our 35-minute episode -- reported from Ukraine -- was honored with second place in the Enterprise Reporting category. www.pmja.org/pmja-2026-aw...

PMJA 2026 Awards Announcement - Public Media Journalists Association

Reposted by Erica Hellerstein

Ms. Magazine @msmagazine.com · 09/07/2026

As immigration enforcement intensifies, parents across the Bay Area are making detailed plans for who will care for their children if they are detained, deported, or otherwise separated from their families. #MsReads via @eltimpano.bsky.social

Preparing for the unthinkable

As immigration enforcement intensifies, parents across the Bay Area are making detailed plans for who will care for their children if they are detained, deported, or otherwise separated from their…

Erica Hellerstein @ehellerstein.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

I'm back from a month of touching grass - nice to see my last feature from @eltimpano.bsky.social republished by @19thnews.org ! Read it below:

Reposted by Erica Hellerstein

El Tímpano @eltimpano.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Despite becoming a U.S. citizen two years ago, an Oakland mother recently began planning for her children in case she is detained or deported. @ehellerstein.bsky.social examines the growing use of family preparedness plans in the Bay Area. www.eltimpano.org/english/immi...

Preparing for the unthinkable

As immigration enforcement intensifies, parents across the Bay Area are making detailed plans for who will care for their children if they are detained, deported, or otherwise separated from their fam...

Erica Hellerstein @ehellerstein.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

My last article for @eltimpano.bsky.social: I met the main source of this story at a workshop a few months ago. Despite winning her asylum case and becoming a US citizen, she was preparing for an unthinkable eventuality: That she could get detained, deported, and separated from her children:

Erica Hellerstein @ehellerstein.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

What a nice last day gift from KQED's The Bay, which, in honor of the World Cup, just re-upped our episode from last year about the immigrant youth finding refuge in the beautiful game. I hope you'll give it a listen! ⚽ www.kqed.org/news/1208726...

The Immigrant Youth Finding Safety in Local Soccer Leagues | KQED

Before the World Cup touched down in the Bay Area, local soccer leagues have provided a rare place of solace for immigrant youth.

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Erica Hellerstein @ehellerstein.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

My final article for @eltimpano.bsky.social explores how immigrant parents are preparing for the possibility of detention and deportation, and grappling with the fear those preparations bring into family life. I hope you'll give it a read: www.eltimpano.org/english/immi...

Preparing for the unthinkable

As immigration enforcement intensifies, parents across the Bay Area are making detailed plans for who will care for their children if they are detained, deported, or otherwise separated from their fam...

Erica Hellerstein @ehellerstein.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

My final article for @eltimpano.bsky.social explores how immigrant parents are preparing for the possibility of detention and deportation, and grappling with the fear those preparations bring into family life. I hope you'll give it a read: www.eltimpano.org/newsletter/p...

Parents prepare for the unthinkable

The Weekly Dispatch Plus, an El Tímpano farewell. Welcome to El Tímpano’s Weekly Dispatch. I’m Erica Hellerstein, senior immigration, labor, and economics reporter. One of the first lessons you learn ...

Erica Hellerstein @ehellerstein.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

One of my last articles for ET!

Erica Hellerstein @ehellerstein.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

For six months, a decentralized network of volunteers has stood watch outside Oakland schools with large immigrant populations, keeping an eye out for ICE. i joined them on shifts outside East Oakland schools. "I feel safer with them around," a parent told me. www.eltimpano.org/english/immi...

Neighborhood watch

After Trump threatened an ICE surge in the Bay Area, hundreds of volunteers began standing guard outside Oakland schools. Six months later, they say the work has only just begun.

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Reposted by Erica Hellerstein

El Tímpano @eltimpano.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Last week, a procedural deadline quietly passed for people seeking asylum in the U.S. @ehellerstein.bsky.social unpacks the local impact of the new change and why it represents a fundamental shift from how the asylum system has historically functioned. www.eltimpano.org/newsletter/d...

Death by 1000 cuts to asylum leaves Bay Area immigrants in limbo

Community-powered immigration news from the Bay Area.

Reposted by Erica Hellerstein

Jorge Liboreiro @jorgeliboreiro.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Member states and the European Parliament have struck a deal on the Return Regulation to build deportation camps (aka return hubs) in faraway countries. It’s a turning point for migration policy. The EU migration enters uncharted territory.

EU approves strictest-ever migration law, including return hubs

A new EU law will allow migrant return hubs outside the bloc and home searches in a bid to crack down on irregular migration. Civil society groups point to a “xenophobic" turn in EU politics. #EuropeN...

Erica Hellerstein @ehellerstein.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Was out last week when the Weekly Dispatch was named the best politics/policy newsletter in California by the Sacramento Press Club, beating out Politico! It's a lot of work to put out a comprehensively reported, community-powered newsletter every week, but very worth it. Congrats to the team!

Reposted by Erica Hellerstein

El Tímpano @eltimpano.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

Since 2015, more than 6,300 youth who immigrated to the U.S. alone have resettled in Alameda County. But many of those children now face an uncertain future amid potential cuts on both the state and federal level, @ehellerstein.bsky.social reports. www.eltimpano.org/newsletter/w...

With funding imperiled, thousands of unaccompanied minors in California could be left without legal aid

Community-powered immigration news from the Bay Area.

Erica Hellerstein @ehellerstein.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

A little bit of Friday ~personal news~ I'm beyond honored (and a bit in shock) that I've been selected as a Knight-Wallace Fellow at the University of Michigan 😭 I'll be spending the academic yr in Ann Arbor working on a project about America's history wars. wallacehouse.umich.edu/announcing-t...

wallacehouse.umich.edu

Meet 2026-2027 Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellows

This cohort of 19 journalists will join us in the fall and spend an academic year tackling individual journalism projects and pursuing solutions to help newsrooms respond to today's challenges. Meet t...

Erica Hellerstein @ehellerstein.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

What an honor to see the Weekly Dispatch as a finalist in the Sacramento Press Club's Golden State Journalism Award for the best politics/policy newsletter. When we launched this, I had no idea what I was doing. I've since written 40+ originally reported editions sacpressclub.org/6th-golden-s...

sacpressclub.org

6th Annual Golden State Journalism Finalists

The Sacramento Press Club is proud to announce the finalists in The Golden State Journalism Awards, the club’s sixth annual journalism contest, honoring the best work centered on state politics and pu...

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Reposted by Erica Hellerstein

El Tímpano @eltimpano.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Next week, Gov. Newsom will release a revision of CA’s proposed 2026-27 state budget. @ehellerstein.bsky.social explains the clash over the future of health care access for 200,000 lawfully present immigrants set to lose Medi-Cal due to changes enacted in H.R. 1. www.eltimpano.org/newsletter/s...

State lawmakers and Newsom clash over immigrant health care

A week before the release of Governor Gavin Newsom's revised 2026-27 California budget, the state finds itself at a crossroads.

Reposted by Erica Hellerstein

Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

From the terrific new book Undue Process by NBC immigration reporter Julia Ainsley: How the Trump administration fired a DHS press person because she refused to call undocumented immigrants "scumbags" in a press release.

Erica Hellerstein @ehellerstein.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Why hasn't the Bay seen the kinds of large-scale, sweeping ICE raids that have paralyzed life in Minneapolis, Chicago, and LA? It may be because of four structural constraints, unique to the region, that together make it harder to carry out mass deportations 👇 www.eltimpano.org/newsletter/w...

Why has the Bay Area avoided large-scale immigration raids?

A new study by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute offers a compelling explanation.

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Reposted by Erica Hellerstein

dell cameron @dell.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

April 2: guards cut all phone access in the housing units without warning. When detainees protested, CRS officers allegedly punched a man, threw another to the ground, kicked him in the head, and pinned him by the neck. A third detainee's wrist was broken. The entire cage was pepper-sprayed.

miamiherald.com

Alligator Alcatraz phones were cut off. Then the beatings began, court docs say

Attorneys say the Trump and DeSantis administrations are disregarding a court order requiring access to phones and attorneys for detainees.

Reposted by Erica Hellerstein

El Tímpano @eltimpano.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

In our latest Weekly Dispatch, @ehellerstein.bsky.social unpacks how policy changes like the federal government’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act may be exacerbating the health care affordability crisis for California Latinos. www.eltimpano.org/newsletter/l...

Latino Californians awash in medical debt amid sweeping cuts to health care

Community-powered immigration news from the Bay Area.

Reposted by Erica Hellerstein

Digital Brain @yourdigitalbrain.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Female octopuses throw rocks at males that bother them, documented in Octopus tetricus

Reposted by Erica Hellerstein

Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

ICE agents shot another driver -- on Tues. He had just asked to call his wife. They shot him six times. One bullet his jaw. Now he can't speak and has been mostly unconscious. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/09/u...

Victim in ICE Shooting Suffered at Least Six Wounds, His Lawyer Says

Reposted by Erica Hellerstein

El Tímpano @eltimpano.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

As California commemorated its first Farmworkers Day last week, @ehellerstein.bsky.social spoke to Bay Area women-led organizations that support immigrant workers about how they are processing the recent revelations about César Chavez—and where to go from here. www.eltimpano.org/newsletter/a...

As California marks its first Farmworkers Day, labor advocates reflect on Chavez allegations and what comes next

The Weekly Dispatch Community-powered immigration news from the Bay Area. Welcome to El Tímpano’s Weekly Dispatch. I’m Erica Hellerstein, senior immigration, labor, and economics reporter. In previous...

Reposted by Erica Hellerstein

Jeanne Theoharis @jeannetheoharis.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

On the 58th anniversary of Dr. King's assassination, it's time to reckon with the media's troubling role in the civil rights struggle. (I pitched this to @nytimes.com who found it "fascinating..[but] the news is making deeper & certainly more historical pieces very hard." But they're the news.) A 🧵

Erica Hellerstein @ehellerstein.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

I've been on a self-imposed social media hiatus to touch grass, but have not been posting my work. My latest - an analysis of the César Chavez revelations + what they reveal abt the conditions under which abuse metastasizes. www.eltimpano.org/newsletter/a...

As California marks its first Farmworkers Day, labor advocates reflect on Chavez allegations and what comes next

The Weekly Dispatch Community-powered immigration news from the Bay Area. Welcome to El Tímpano’s Weekly Dispatch. I’m Erica Hellerstein, senior immigration, labor, and economics reporter. In previous...

Erica Hellerstein @ehellerstein.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Great great reporting here by @onofftherecord.bsky.social

Erica Hellerstein @ehellerstein.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

On April 1, new changes will go into effect that will cut off food stamp benefits for immigrants w/ humanitarian protections, like refugees, asylees, & trafficking survivors. Here in the East Bay, thousands are likely to lose benefits as a result, I found. www.eltimpano.org/newsletter/t...

Thousands of East Bay immigrants will lose food stamps beginning April 1

Starting April 1, new federal rules will limit who qualifies for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known in California as CalFresh.

Reposted by Erica Hellerstein

El Tímpano @eltimpano.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

In today's Weekly Dispatch by @ehellerstein.bsky.social, how new federal rules will limit who qualifies for SNAP, known in California as CalFresh. “Unfortunately, the numbers are higher than we originally anticipated." www.eltimpano.org/newsletter/t...

Thousands of East Bay immigrants will lose food stamps beginning April 1

Starting April 1, new federal rules will limit who qualifies for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known in California as CalFresh.

Reposted by Erica Hellerstein

El Tímpano @eltimpano.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

In our latest Weekly Dispatch by @ehellerstein.bsky.social unpacks what the crackdown on DACA recipients means for California, which is home to the nation’s largest Dreamer population, and includes thousands of estimated DACA holders in the East Bay. www.eltimpano.org/newsletter/a...

A NorCal DACA recipient was deported to Mexico. She’s not the only one

The Weekly Dispatch Community-powered immigration news from the Bay Area. Welcome to El Tímpano’s Weekly Dispatch. I’m Erica Hellerstein, senior immigration, labor, and economics reporter. Like many o...

Erica Hellerstein @ehellerstein.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

Last month, a 42-year-old DACA recipient living in Sacramento, was deported to Mexico after spending 27 years in the U.S. Her story reflects a wider pattern unfolding under the second Trump administration: ICE is targeting Dreamers in unprecedented numbers. www.eltimpano.org/newsletter/a...

A NorCal DACA recipient was deported to Mexico. She’s not the only one

The Weekly Dispatch Community-powered immigration news from the Bay Area. Welcome to El Tímpano’s Weekly Dispatch. I’m Erica Hellerstein, senior immigration, labor, and economics reporter. Like many o...

Erica Hellerstein @ehellerstein.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

Typical NYT coverage of the Bay. Bad headline. Facile observations. Fearmongering. Next! www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/u...

The Bay Area Considers the Unthinkable: Life Without BART

Reposted by Erica Hellerstein

El Tímpano @eltimpano.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

In our latest Weekly Dispatch, @ehellerstein.bsky.social unpacks a newly proposed federal housing policy that takes direct aim at mixed status families, threatening housing stability for thousands of Californians. www.eltimpano.org/newsletter/t...

Thousands of mixed-status California families could lose housing under proposed federal rule

We unpack a newly proposed federal housing policy that takes direct aim at mixed status families, threatening housing stability for thousands of Californians.

Erica Hellerstein @ehellerstein.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

These are Kenyan contractors based out of Nairobi who for years have been speaking out against their horrific working conditions & its toll on their mental health. Most of them are young & vulnerable. If you want to learn more abt them, read my 2023 investigation: www.codastory.com/authoritaria...

In Nairobi’s Silicon Savanna, African workers are taking on Big Tech - Coda Story

Content moderators for TikTok, Meta and ChatGPT are demanding that tech companies reckon with the human toll of their enterprise.

Erica Hellerstein @ehellerstein.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

Since Nov, 4 ppl have died, 40 have been hospitalized, & 3 have gotten liver transplants after eating toxic mushrooms in CA. The majority appear to be immigrants & Spanish speakers. I talked to the wife-a Mam speaker from Guatemala-of one of the transplant patients: www.eltimpano.org/english/heal...

Deadly lookalikes

A surge in toxic mushroom growth after heavy rain has disproportionately sickened Spanish-speaking and immigrant communities across California.

Reposted by Erica Hellerstein

Lora Kolodny @lorak.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Border Patrol released Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a 56 yo man, nearly blind with serious medical conditions, at "an old address & his family had since moved" in Buffalo, NY in the winter. "His family was not initially notified." He was found dead. @news4buffalo.bsky.social www.wivb.com/news/local-n...

Reposted by Erica Hellerstein

El Tímpano @eltimpano.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

In today's Weekly Dispatch by @ehellerstein.bsky.social: Why a delegation of Bay Area immigrants’ rights groups traveled to the Twin Cities to offer support and music to a city facing an immigration crackdown. www.eltimpano.org/english/immi...

The Bay Area bears witness in Minneapolis

Why a delegation of Bay Area immigrants’ rights groups traveled to the Twin Cities to offer support and music to a city facing an immigration crackdown.

Reposted by Erica Hellerstein

ProPublica @propublica.org · 09/02/2026

1/ ProPublica collected handwritten letters in mid-January from children held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, the same facility where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was taken. Hundreds of kids are still detained. We’ll let the children’s words speak for themselves. 🧵

Erica Hellerstein @ehellerstein.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

I'm just smiling bc 1) Benito made a show for people who know history, and 2) so many people in town for the Super Bowl are shocked to realize the Bay Area is one of the most beautiful places on earth & that they fell for the organized right wing propaganda campaign

Reposted by Erica Hellerstein

Mike Hixenbaugh @mikehixenbaugh.com · 06/02/2026

This is Maria, a 6-year-old detained by ICE last year. She began to unravel soon after arriving at a detention center in Texas, wetting the bed after years without accidents, crying through the night and begging to breastfeed again. Most of all, she wanted to be reunited with her cat, Milo. 1/

Photo shows a young girl with her cat

Reposted by Erica Hellerstein

El Tímpano @eltimpano.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

While it’s unclear if the Trump admin will deploy ICE agents to the Super Bowl as it has promised, local rapid response networks are working 24/7 to ensure immigrants feel safe as thousands flock to the Bay. Latest Weekly Dispatch by @ehellerstein.bsky.social: www.eltimpano.org/newsletter/b...

Bay Area to ICE ahead of Super Bowl: We’re ready

The Weekly Dispatch Community-powered immigration news from the Bay Area. Welcome to El Tímpano’s Weekly Dispatch. I’m Erica Hellerstein, senior immigration, labor, and economics reporter. There are m...

Reposted by Erica Hellerstein

Freedom of the Press Foundation @freedom.press · 04/02/2026

DHS Secretary says filming ICE is illegal and amounts to doxxing. They’re absolutely wrong. Recording law enforcement in public spaces is protected by the First Amendment — and courts have affirmed that right time and again. Watch @freedom.press’s @trevortimm.bsky.social explain.

Erica Hellerstein @ehellerstein.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

Just talked to an organizer in the Bay a few minutes ago who told me Minneapolis has led to an explosion of interest in hyperlocal foot patrols and neighborhood pods locally. This has been happening since LA. Networks sharing lessons across state lines & replicating successful strategies.

Erica Hellerstein @ehellerstein.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

And tbh, the people who have the most interesting perspectives + whose voices are most valuable rn will probably be shut out. People whose parents pay their rent and who have rich techie partners who foot the bills will be able to publish a few fancy mag pieces a yr and call it a day. Journalism!

Reposted by Erica Hellerstein

Freedom of the Press Foundation @freedom.press · 02/02/2026

🔴 Three things you should know about the arrests of Don Lemon and Georgia Fort (hint: this never ends well for the government). 1. They were just doing their job. 2. The government keeps losing these cases. 3. We must call out attacks on journalists of color. Watch @adamrose.bsky.social explain:

3 things you need to know about the arrests of Don Lemon and Georgia Fort

YouTube video by Freedom of the Press Foundation

Reposted by Erica Hellerstein

El Tímpano @eltimpano.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

Friday's demonstration in Fruitvale was part of a nationwide strike held in solidarity with immigrants and residents of Minneapolis. El Tímpano's @ehellerstein.bsky.social and @kat-nagasawa.bsky.social spoke with participants about what motivated them to show up. www.eltimpano.org/english/immi...

Hundreds rally in Fruitvale Plaza for anti-ICE ‘National Shutdown’ protest

The demonstration was part of a nationwide general strike held in solidarity with immigrants and residents of Minneapolis as ICE agents intensify immigration enforcement.

Erica Hellerstein @ehellerstein.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

Precisely why I've been losing sleep over what could happen in Oakland

Reposted by Erica Hellerstein

Sahan Journal @sahanjournal.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

A statement from Sahan Journal, Minnesota Star Tribune, Minnesota Public Radio, Minnesota Reformer, Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, Center for Broadcast Journalism and Minnesota Newspaper Association:

Reposted by Erica Hellerstein

Aura Bogado @aurabogado.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

Georgia Fort's is chilling, and it's being overshadowed by the equally chilling arrest of Don Lemon. A GoFundMe is being set up for Fort. In the meantime, you can support her work directly – without paying massive fundraising platform fees – through her website: www.georgiafort.com/support

georgiafort.com

Support Independent Journalism | GF

Reposted by Erica Hellerstein

The Sidney Hillman Foundation @sidneyhillman.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

It's not just Don Lemon! Journalist and BLCK Press Founder Georgia Fort was arrested for reporting on a Minneapolis church protest.

spokesman-recorder.com

Georgia Fort Arrested After St. Paul Church Protest

Georgia Fort arrested after federal agents executed a warrant tied to a St. Paul church protest she documented as a journalist.