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Melissa Sanchez

@melissa-sanchez.bsky.social
11K followers 456 following 261 posts

Reporter at @ProPublica.org interested in immigration and labor. Based in Chicago. Also a fan of parenting memes and @propublicaguild.org

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Reposted by Melissa Sanchez
Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I've been a reporter for a long time and this might be the strangest thing I've ever done. We've been reporting on privatization of schools this year and found that just about anyone can open a private school in most states. So we asked, Could reporters do it?
propublica.org
Almost Anyone Can Start a Private School. We Put This to the Test.
Our reporting has shown how easily people — some with questionable backgrounds — have founded their own private schools in barns, strip malls and other places. That led us to an experiment: If the hur...
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Jodi Cohen @jodiscohen.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
It started with a question: If it was so easy to start a private school in some states — and even access public money — could we as @propublica reporters do it? Find out what @jenniferberryhawes.bsky.social, @jsmithrichards.bsky.social and I learned: www.propublica.org/article/prop...
propublica.org
Almost Anyone Can Start a Private School. We Put This to the Test.
Our reporting has shown how easily people — some with questionable backgrounds — have founded their own private schools in barns, strip malls and other places. That led us to an experiment: If the hur...
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 26/09/2026
6/ The next day, an email popped in my inbox: 'Welcome to the DraftKings VIP Showcase.' I couldn’t believe it. My night of loss chasing was being rewarded. Reading the fine print, I was floored: The more I spent on long-odds wagers, the faster I’d advance through the ranks.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 26/09/2026
Hey, ProPublica reporter Jake Pearson here. I’m taking over the account to tell you about my new story. For months, I posed as a problem gambler on DraftKings to test the company's "responsible gaming" safeguards. Spoiler alert: They made me a VIP — and I lost $10K. Here's how it all went down. 🧵
Selfie taken by ProPublica reporter Jake Pearson, a man wearing a backwards baseball cap and an orange T-shirt.
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Melissa Sanchez @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Some of the best reporting and writing I have read all year … so impressive by @ggarciaroberts.bsky.social
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Reposted by Melissa Sanchez
Cengiz Yar @cengizyar.com · 10/09/2026
Baseball fan? You need to read this.
propublica.org
How the Dominican Baseball Factory Traps Young Players and Their Families With False Promises
Teams make handshake deals with players as young as 11 while moneylenders prey on their families. The industry is corrupt, but Major League Baseball and the players union have done little about it.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 05/09/2026
In Mississippi and Louisiana, judges usually take three months or more to decide if someone should be released from detention. Meanwhile, in Minnesota, which experienced a surge in appeals early this year, courts often decide in less than two weeks. Full story: propub.li/4csLJaa
A cropped map showing how long habeas cases take to close, by district. Gray dots throughout represent immigration detention facilities. Regions are shaded lighter purple if they have fewer cases, or darker purple if they have more cases. An arrow points to Minnesota with this text: In Minnesota, where more than 1,500 habeas petitions have been filed since January 2025, cases have closed in a median of just 12 days. Another arrow points to Oklahoma with this text: In Oklahoma's Western District, habeas cases take a median of 63 days. An arrow points to Louisiana with the text: Over 2,600 petitions have been filed in Louisiana, which has many ICE detention centers. Cases have taken a median of 89 days to close. Finally, an arrow points to Mississippi with this text: Cases have taken a median of 92 days to close in Mississippi's Southern District, where the Adams County Correctional Center is located. Source: ProPublica analysis of court records, as of Aug. 25, and Deportation Data Project. Districts with fewer than 10 cases closed not shown. Carla
Astudillo/ProPublica
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Sharon Lerner @fastlerner.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
The podcast of how Kris Hansen discovered ¸— or, really, rediscovered — PFAS in the blood of the general public
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Jessica Lussenhop @jlussenhop.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
🎧NEW EPISODE🎧 As a Minnesotan and the daughter of a former 3M scientist, this one was a little bit personal. The incomparable @fastlerner.bsky.social asks the question, how does a multibillion dollar corporation keep a planet-sized secret... a secret? Listen here: www.propublica.org/podcast/fore...
Photo of Kris Hansen, former 3M scientist, in front of snowy scenery
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Melissa Sanchez @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Awesome reporting here by @aurabogado.bsky.social on how both local police and prosecutors across Illinois (a supposedly sanctuary state) are tipping off ICE.
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Melissa Sanchez @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
I am so delighted that our incredible new podcast team decided to make an episode on our reporting on that big ICE raid at a Chicago apartment complex. It’s truly an incredible episode. Listen to hear the voices of the men detained that night - plus a cute cameo from my 5-year old daughter 😍
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Amanda Katz @katzish.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Just phenomenal reporting and analysis by M. Gessen on what’s happening to trans folks in Kansas—major compromises to civil rights, public accommodations, and plain old quality of life www.nytimes.com/2026/08/13/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | What’s Happening in Kansas Should Alarm Us All (Gift Article)
Is Kansas just the beginning?
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Lynda Lopez @lyndab08.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
“Residents who say they were victims of misconduct during Operation Midway Blitz — along with lawyers and immigration advocates in Chicago —escalated a months-long push for local accountability Monday by filing nine police reports alleging crimes by immigration agents.”
blockclubchicago.org
Chicagoans Alleging Crimes By ICE Agents Seek Police Help After Feds ‘Fail To Act’
A coalition of alleged victims and immigration advocates filed nine police reports Monday against federal agents linked to last fall’s Operation Midway Blitz.
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Melissa Sanchez @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Chilling episode. I had wept in anger as I read these stories when they came out over the past year. Listening to what happened though, and hearing the voices of the victims and the abusers and the people in power who let this happen, was an absolute gut punch.
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Jesse Eisinger @jeisinger.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
New title! New cover! Coming next year, inshallah... www.simonandschuster.com/books/Make-T...
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 31/07/2026
Still, we’re proud of this contract. It will meaningfully improve our members’ lives and help make ProPublica a better place to work. We will remain vigilant to ensure the company fully follows this contract. www.propublicaguild.org/updates/prop...
propublicaguild.org
ProPublica Guild Ratifies First Contract — ProPublica Guild
Members of the ProPublica Guild, which represents more than 150 workers across the nonprofit investigative newsroom, overwhelmingly voted to ratify our first contract on Friday, exactly three years si...
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 31/07/2026
At the start of bargaining, management said many of the things we’ve won were impossible. They fought us hard on provisions across this contract, especially on topics such as AI, where they are retaining too much control.
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 31/07/2026
✍️ Expanded book and creative leave options. ✅ Protections against managers, freelancers and long-term temps doing unit work. 🤝 Profit sharing when members’ work is optioned.
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 31/07/2026
⏱️ Guaranteed comp time when members must work extra hours. 🌴 Vacation rollover and payout. 🏢 Flexibility in the organization’s return-to-office policy.
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 31/07/2026
💰Robust layoff protections, including enhanced severance for long-term employees and an industry-leading 14-month recall commitment. ⛔🤖Creation of a committee where bargaining unit members will have a say in issues related to AI, including in the company’s AI policy.
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 31/07/2026
⚖️ Substantial reforms to ProPublica’s disciplinary process, including a mandate that the company follow transparent and fair steps when disciplining a worker for performance reasons.
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 31/07/2026
🏥 A guarantee to maintain health insurance quality and coverage. 🏥 Secured a new health insurance option with a better premium split that has already saved members with dependents thousands each year.
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 31/07/2026
💵 A $75,000 salary minimum, up from about $62,000 when we formed our union in 2023.
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 31/07/2026
💵 Many of our lowest-paid members will receive an immediate raise, followed by a 4.5% pay increase in 2027. All members are guaranteed a minimum general wage increase each year that averages above 3%. This deal will also help correct regional pay disparities.
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Melissa Sanchez @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
We have a contract. I’m so, so happy we got a deal that lifts salary floors, establishes a clear and fair disciplinary system and gives us job protections. I’m proud of what we have achieved and delighted that now we can all return to focusing on the journalism we care about so much. ✊🏼
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Anna Clark @annaleighclark.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
I drove up to Sault Ste. Marie, in Michigan's far north, and walked nearly three miles across a grand old bridge at the "hinge" of the Great Lakes to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
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Megan O'Matz @megomatz.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
GOP Rep. Jack Bergman of Michigan has been virtually silent during Trump’s second term about tariffs on Canada, even as they harm his constituents on the border./ Reporting by: @annaleighclark.bsky.social
propublica.org
As Trump’s Tariff War With Canada Drags On, This Border Community Suffers Without a Voice
Under an intensifying trade war, parts of northern Michigan are feeling the financial pain. But with a president intent on conflict and a congressman silent on the issue, these Michiganders see no sig...
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Joaquin Sapien @jbsapien.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
A few weeks ago, after two years of work, I published a story unlike any I’d encountered in my 18 years at ProPublica. I’ve been off social media for a while, but I felt compelled to share some of my reporting journey here. 🧵
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 16/07/2026
We found that thousands of parents have been separated from U.S. citizen children and at least 79 kids were doused with chemical agents. 🗓️ On July 21, join us for a virtual discussion on how children have been caught in Trump's immigration crackdown: propub.li/4fiHDSF
Text: How Children Have Been Caught in Trump's Immigration Crackdown: Join us for a discussion about how families and children are being affected in new ways by President Donald Trump's mass deportation campaign. Tuesday, July 21. 4 p.m. EST. Register at propublica.org/events. Events supported by the Diamonstein-Spielvogel Foundation. Image: A woman walks a young boy down a dimly lit hallway with blue walls.
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Melissa Sanchez @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
This is an incredibly difficult story to read about children who are sexually abused by kids, and grow up to abuse kids themselves. (And a church where you either forgive or go to hell.) Careful, painstaking work by @jeremykohler.bsky.social and Andy Mannix. I could not stop crying as I read this.
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 15/07/2026
“ProPublica should be the example for the industry,” says reporter Mark Olalde, “that means fair pay… that means layoff protections, and that means guardrails around artificial intelligence.” Learn more about our fight for a fair contract at propublicaguild.org
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 15/07/2026
Reporter Lisa Song says that it “just doesn’t make sense” for ProPublica management to require a rigid RTO policy. Our members work long hours and need a flexible RTO policy to do their best work.
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Blair Paddock @blairpaddock.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
NEW: 375 days without stepping foot outside. Three men at Menard Correctional Center allege they were kept in solitary confinement for months on end, instead confined to filthy and unventilated cells so small they couldn’t fully extend their arms. They're suing IDOC. news.wttw.com/2026/07/14/3...
news.wttw.com
375 Days Without Stepping Foot Outside: Lawsuit Alleges No Yard Time for Some Incarcerated at Menard Prison
Three men filed a lawsuit Monday against administrators at the Illinois Department of Corrections and Menard Correctional Center, alleging that they inflicted cruel and unusual punishment on the plain...
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Katie Worth @katieworth.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Adding my voice to those calling for a GREAT first contract between @propublica.org and its union @propublicaguild.org
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 14/07/2026
“A flexible hybrid schedule allows us to retain and support employees long term as they grow professionally and personally, building and caring for their families,” says visual editor Alex Bandoni, who worries that a rigid RTO policy will especially impact parents.
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Kirsten Berg @kirstenberg.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
It takes a lot for me to make a video of myself. But I care about these issues deeply, so here I am, adding my voice to the chorus of my courageous colleagues calling for a fair contract. Please consider following @propublicaguild.org and supporting us as we try to make our newsroom even better.
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Jessica Lussenhop @jlussenhop.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
It is hard to overstate how proud I am to know @deldeib.bsky.social, whose journalism consistently brings the health of pregnant people and newborn babies to the fore AND makes real change: www.propublica.org/article/vita...
propublica.org
Lawmakers Call for CDC to Track Vitamin K Shot Refusals, Cite ProPublica Report
Two members of Congress are urging federal officials to monitor vitamin K shot refusals by parents and the potential consequences for their newborns, including severe bleeding or death.
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 10/07/2026
“I really care about A.I. in this contract and getting really strong guardrails to protect our work,” says grants coordinator Eli Oberman. Management has said they want to have responsible A.I. policies – but we need them to put those policies in a contract!
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 09/07/2026
“I care most about a contract that will lift the salary floors of our lowest paid employees so that they can afford to live in the cities that we work in,” says research reporter Kirsten Berg. We deserve a fair contract now!
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 09/07/2026
“It's time for management to come to the table with some real movement so we can close out this contract and get back to focusing on that work that we love doing,” says interactive story designer Anna Donlan. We need management to agree to a reasonable wage proposal now.
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 08/07/2026
Some ProPublicans are “penalized by @propublica.org’s pay structure because we live in areas deemed to be having a lower cost of living,” says reporter Max Blau. Management must agree to fairer wages in our contract.
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 07/07/2026
“We have people living in areas with wildly different costs of living and currently our pay scales don’t really account for that,” says Texas-based reporter Zach Despart. All of our union members must make a living wage.
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kyleayers.bsky.social @kyleayers.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Not saying that game was stolen from Egypt but it is now on display at museum in London.
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 06/07/2026
Lisa Riordan Seville, senior video producer at @propublica.org: “We're asking for wages that allow people to take care of their families, pay the rising costs of housing and food ... so they can continue to do the kind of work that wins Pulitzers and holds power to account.”
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 06/07/2026
Dan Phiffer is a software engineer who helps build the ProPublica website: “It's been very frustrating to see such a stark contrast between those efforts to get AI right, in practice, with management's vague and unfettered bargaining position.”
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 06/07/2026
“In a media industry that's doing constant layoffs,” says senior YouTube producer Elizabeth Macaulay, “it means so much to know that you are secure in your workplace and that you can continue to do your best work.”
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Melissa Sanchez @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Horrific story of how badly this administration has handled detentions of immigrants with mental health issues
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 02/07/2026
“I love my job … I love the people I work with,” says reporter Duaa Eldeib, “and to continue to do that work, we need wages that keep up with inflation.” Visit propublicaguild.org to help ProPublica workers win a strong first contract.
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ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 02/07/2026
“ProPublica is … a shining light in a very troubled journalism industry,” says reporter Anna Barry-Jester, but “management is refusing to agree to basic layoff protections.” Help us win a fair contract with strong layoff protections: propublicaguild.org
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