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Samantha Michaels

@samanthamichaels.bsky.social
6.3K followers 148 following 99 posts

Investigative reporter at Mother Jones, covering the criminal justice system and immigration www.motherjones.com/author/samantha… smichaels@motherjones.com Signal: smichaels.01

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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Another blow for unaccompanied immigrant minors. Now the Trump administration is taking over their legal representation. Yes, the same administration that is trying to deport them will also be the ones in charge of their defense. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
Trump administration plans to have its own lawyers represent migrant kids
Putting government counsel on both sides "makes me feel like it's all a farce," says one immigration attorney.
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Isabela Dias @isabelaalhadeff.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
ICE took Luis and his son Andrés into custody together. Then, the agency separated them transferring the boy as "unaccompanied" to ORR, which cares for migrant kids with no parent or legal guardian. Andrés ended up in foster care. The new interior family separations w/ @samanthamichaels.bsky.social:
motherjones.com
“You kidnapped my son”
ICE is now separating children from their parents and deeming them “unaccompanied.”
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Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
ICE is now separating children from their parents in the nation’s interior and deeming them “unaccompanied.” www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
“You kidnapped my son”
ICE is now separating children from their parents and deeming them “unaccompanied.”
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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
ICE arrested a dad with his son—then confusingly declared the boy "unaccompanied." As a result, he went to foster care. Scenes like this are playing out across the country. “They’re kidnapping people’s kids,” a former official told us. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
“You kidnapped my son”
ICE is now separating children from their parents and deeming them “unaccompanied.”
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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Immigration lawyers are doing heroic work right now. Here's an investigation into the extreme lengths the administration has gone to try to stop them. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
First Trump came for immigrants. Then he came for their lawyers.
How legal aid groups survived the administration's attacks—barely.
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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Community members say officers are abusing a law that requires them to stay 25 feet back....this video shows you exactly what they mean. www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHJe...
motherjones.com
Memphis has spent a year under federal occupation. ICE would rather you didn't notice.
Watch as these officers arrest an activist for documenting from a reasonable distance.
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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Memphis has been occupied by ICE for a YEAR....why aren't more people aware of it? www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
Memphis has spent a year under federal occupation. ICE would rather you didn't notice.
Watch as these officers arrest an activist for documenting from a reasonable distance.
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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
When judges have to build safe rooms at home and keep their kids from playing outside because they face so many threats, you know you have a problem... www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
Politicians' reckless rhetoric is putting federal judges in danger
A new report highlights growing harassment and violent threats against jurists and their families.
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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
We are deporting children who have no caregivers in their home countries—who escaped dangerous situations and are being sent back, all alone. www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/26/c...
chicagotribune.com
Immigration judges in Chicago deporting abused, neglected children in violation of their due process: attorneys
An immigration judge entered removal proceedings against some of the children, despite their attempts to seek a long-held legal protection to remain in safety in the United States due to abuse or negl...
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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
very thought-provoking reflection on an absolutely devastating trial "A courtroom is not the right place for this, I found myself thinking more than once. Which is ridiculous because the courtroom is the only place we have for this." www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...
washingtonpost.com
Column | The abject hell of the Lindsay Clancy trial
She’s on trial for the murder of her three children, but she’s already been damned.
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Schuyler Mitchell @schuylermitchell.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
NEW: Police are spending hundreds of thousands of opioid settlement dollars on Flock cameras and other AI-powered license plate readers. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
Police are spending opioid settlement funds on Flock cameras
Historic opioid settlements were supposed to be a lifeline for underserved communities. But much of that money is flowing to law enforcement.
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Julia Métraux @juliametraux.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
An ICE agent directed Emilio, a Venezuelan Deaf man, to get onto a bus. He asked for an interpreter and didn’t get one. When he saw a Mexican flag, he realized he was being deported to Mexico, sans passport. My latest for @motherjones.com. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
How Trump’s deportation machine deprives Deaf people of their humanity
An extra layer of cruelty is added by limiting communication access for Deaf people.
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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
This story is a reminder that it's important to fact-check when ICE says someone is a violent criminal. They said this guy had four assault charges, but he didn't. They still deported him. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
A young immigrant's deportation nightmare
ICE is going to war against kids who have a special legal status.
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Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
@nlanard.bsky.social has written the best analysis of what happened in Michigan and elsewhere that you'll read today: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
Michigan’s primary reckoning for the Democrats
Despite record outside spending, Abdul El-Sayed and a slate of left-leaning candidates triumphed over establishment and incumbent rivals.
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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Ever think about what it's like to be a kid whose parents are detained by ICE? This is a heartbreaking but important listen—it follows siblings from two families whose lives have been turned upside down revealnews.org/podcast/ice-...
revealnews.org
Children are being left behind as ICE detains parents across the country
Six miles from Mar-a-Lago, Guatemalan families are being ripped apart. Kids are left to fend for themselves as ICE detains their parents.
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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Remember the babies who were ripped from their parents' arms at the border in 2018? Now they're a little older, and Trump is going after them again. Devastating story by @isabelaalhadeff.bsky.social www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
Separated at the border, torn apart again
Years after being split up and reunited, a family gets caught in Trump’s immigration dragnet.
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Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
I've been joking with journalist friends that I went to a rural diner in Trump country and all I found were secret Democrats and a non-voter. It's true! How Schuylkill County, PA, rose up against an ICE warehouse—and decades of being treated as a "dumping ground" www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
How the threat of an ICE detention center galvanized a Trump-country coal town
“We do deserve better than a plethora of data centers, detention centers, warehouses, biosolids processing plants, massive landfills.”
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Noah Lanard @nlanard.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
We spoke with former friends and family of the ICE officer who reportedly killed Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine. Court records show how ICE gave a lifeline to a man who'd been accused of abuse by two ex-wives before becoming "voluntarily underemployed." www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
What ICE should have known when it hired David Brouillette
The officer who killed a young father in Maine had been accused of abuse by two ex-wives. He was also eligible to skip weeks of training in Georgia.
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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
You know the ICE officer who killed someone in Maine and was then accused by two ex-wives of abuse? Turns out he was likely eligible to skip a significant portion of training after ICE hired him, due to a policy change under this administration. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
What ICE should have known when it hired David Brouillette
The officer who killed a young father in Maine had been accused of abuse by two ex-wives. He was also eligible to skip weeks of training in Georgia.
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 15/07/2026
On Monday, Joan Sebastian Guerrero was shot and killed by ICE agents in Biddeford, Maine. Reports say Guerrero was authorized to legally work in the US and not even ICE's target. @annayeo.bsky.social was on the ground Tuesday in Biddeford and spoke with locals—including one man who knew Guerrero.
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Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
ICE took Mom and Dad. Now the Perez kids are home alone.
Four American siblings left to fend for themselves—and they're not the only ones.
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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
When I visited a month after the task force launched, I was shocked by what I was seeing. My deep dive here: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
I'm a veteran criminal justice reporter. I've never seen anything like ICE-occupied Memphis.
“It’s about as sad as you can possibly imagine."
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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Reminder that this huge ICE operation in Memphis is STILL happening. I'm not sure most people have heard of it—it's a big task force of immigration officers along with officers from other local and federal agencies. The task force killed 2 people in the past 4 days: www.cnn.com/2026/07/09/u...
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 09/07/2026
On Tuesday morning, ICE agents shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. Now, as hundreds march in Houston and Salgado’s family demands an impartial investigation, DHS is using a familiar playbook: They are blaming Salgado for his own death by asserting he “weaponized his vehicle."
motherjones.com
ICE keeps using the same justification for killing drivers
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was shot dead by immigration agents on the way to work. DHS claims he was using his vehicle as a weapon.
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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
They’ve said this about nearly everyone they’ve shot in a moving car, and they’ve lied nearly every time.
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Julia Lurie @julialurie.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
1/ Last summer, I noticed I was calmer and happier than I'd been in years. It took me months to realize that my mood shift dovetailed with another change: getting my IUD removed. So I started digging into the research on birth control and mental health. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
Did birth control make my depression worse?
What I wish I'd known about my IUD.
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Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Today, SCOTUS ruled that states can ban trans girls from girls' sports. To get there, it watered down the way it analyzes Constitutional protections against sex discrimination. My analysis with comments from @maryrziegler.bsky.social and @avaayers.bsky.social: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
The Supreme Court's trans athlete ruling is a threat to gender equality
Justice Brett Kavanaugh is "not only creating a bad precedent for trans people, he’s significantly lowering the protection all women get."
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Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Our investigation into the small number of billionaire networks funding amicus briefs to the Supreme Court. Couldn't have done this without the incredible work of @melissa.news
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Sophie Hurwitz @hurwitz.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Things that could make you part of a conspiracy include: - wearing a shirt that says “I’m antifa!” - owning a bullhorn - using a devil emoji in a groupchat www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
DOJ's new ICE protest indictment is its most absurd yet
Federal prosecutors' latest antifa conspiracy involves wearing a sweatshirt that says “I'm antifa!”
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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
The story of the four Perez siblings is heartbreaking but important. I’m grateful to these kids for letting us see how Trump’s immigration polices are affecting them, and truly inspired by how hard they are working to support each other during this nightmare. 8/8 www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
ICE took Mom and Dad. Now the Perez kids are home alone.
Four American siblings left to fend for themselves—and they're not the only ones.
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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Making matters worse: Before Trump 2.0, deported parents could decide whether they wanted their kids to join them abroad, and ICE was supposed to facilitate that choice. Now, ICE will do so only if “operationally feasible.” Parents are being separated from their infants and struggling to reunite 7/x
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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
The face of family separation is changing. It's increasingly affecting US citizen kids—Americans who've lived their entire lives here, who want to go to college and pursue their dreams, but now have to choose between that and staying together. 6/x (all photos by the incredible Saul Martinez)
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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
I’m not sure people realize how huge this problem is. During Trump 1.0, ~5,000 kids were separated from parents at the border. During Trump 2.0, the Brookings Institution estimates *145,000* US citizen kids have been separated, mostly in the country's interior www.brookings.edu/articles/how... 5/x
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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Around the country, ICE is arresting people and not asking if they have kids at home. While reporting, I heard about a dad who begged in vain for officers to let him call his babysitter; about parents stepping off deportation flights in tears because they didn’t know whether their kids were safe 4/x
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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Eliza, 21, had to leave college to take over the family landscaping business and become like a second mother to the others. “She’s really trying to work hard so we can buy the stuff we want, like clothes, school supplies, food,” says her sister Jessica. 3/x
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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Meet Cynthia, Jessica, Eliza, and Romeo Perez. They’ve spent their entire lives in Lake Worth Beach, Florida. Their mom and dad were detained last fall while driving to work. And the siblings’ lives were turned upside-down. 2/x
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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Imagine being a kid and learning both your parents were arrested by ICE. You’ll have to pay rent and survive on your own. I shadowed four siblings—US citizens near Mar-a-Lago—as they try to do that. I'll be thinking about their story for a long time 1/x www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
ICE took Mom and Dad. Now the Perez kids are home alone.
Four American siblings left to fend for themselves—and they're not the only ones.
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19thnews @19thnews.org · 31/05/2026
The Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women is withholding $150 million meant to help survivors of domestic violence. Gender-based violence service organizations across the country report radio silence on the status of applications, some submitted over a year ago.
19thnews.org
No one to answer the phone: What a missing $150 million means for domestic violence services
The 19th reached out to over 250 domestic violence shelters, organizations and municipalities that have received federal grants in the past to determine the impact of withheld funds.
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 03/06/2026
Trump congratulated him on his freedom. Alligator Alcatraz left him with a stroke.
motherjones.com
Trump congratulated him on his freedom. Alligator Alcatraz left him with a stroke.
The six months Justo Betancourt spent at the Everglades camp "broke me mentally and emotionally."
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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
This story is long but worth your time. Incredible reporting and writing www.cnn.com/interactive/...
cnn.com
The shooting finally stopped. Then came everything else
Few ever see how a community carries on after a deadly school shooting. Survivors of last year’s attack on Minneapolis' Annunciation Catholic School want you to know: In class and at home, the anguish...
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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Always listen to Insha Rahman if you want to make sense of political messaging around crime and safety. Loved this interview with The New Republic newrepublic.com/article/2111...
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 02/06/2026
ICE’s Delaney Hall is being slammed with lawsuits. The state of New Jersey is suing GEO Group, the company that operates it, seeking a court order for full access by health inspectors, who since Wednesday have lacked it.
motherjones.com
ICE's Delaney Hall is being slammed with lawsuits
The converted prison "should be closed because of health and human safety,” Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said.
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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
ICE deports a mother, who begs for the right to bring her 3-year-old son. ICE refuses. Her son then goes to a man who abuses and kills him. ICE blames the mother for "abandoning" her son to a murderer. www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
washingtonpost.com
DHS allows mother it deported without her toddler to return for his burial
Wendy Hernandez Reyes denies she “abandoned” her son, as ICE claimed. In an extraordinary act, she was allowed to come back to the U.S. for his burial.
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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
ICE is transferring people rapidly from facility to facility, state to state, so there's not time to file habeas claims www.themarshallproject.org/2026/06/01/i...
themarshallproject.org
ICE Detained Them, and Then They Vanished
Under Trump, the U.S. increasingly sends immigrants all over the nation with little warning, leaving families and attorneys unsure where they are.
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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
This video footage of ICE officers pushing Delaney Hall protesters into the street as trucks drive by had me gasping repeatedly. Follow journalist @noturtlesoup17.bsky.social, who's been documenting it all www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
Watch: The violent ICE crackdown comes to New Jersey
"Agents regularly push protesters into the street, even when trucks are driving by."
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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Why aren't more people talking about the ICE surge in Memphis? www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
Memphis is “under full-blown occupation” by ICE. Here’s why you may not know that.
Community members face retaliation for trying to spread the word out, a lawsuit alleges.
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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
If you want to learn more about how women are being blamed and incarcerated for other people's violence, please also check out this story www.motherjones.com/criminal-jus...
motherjones.com
Why is a mother serving more time than the man who abused her daughter?
Failure-to-protect laws are incarcerating women all over the country—for other people's violence.
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Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Did you know there's a law that incarcerates mothers because they couldn't stop their boyfriends' violence? Women are being thrown in prison for decades, and I had a chance to talk about it on this podcast. I hope you'll listen. www.exactlyrightmedia.com/the-knife-a-...
exactlyrightmedia.com
The Knife: A True Crime Podcast — EXACTLY RIGHT
The Knife: A True Crime Podcast is a weekly true crime podcast from journalist/producers Hannah Smith and Patia Eaton. It's a show about people who’ve been dropped into a story they didn't start, bu...
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Liliana Segura @lilianasegura.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
I’ll eventually write about this but it’s important to keep in mind that we will not be seeing firing squad (or any federal executions) anytime soon for myriad reasons, including that — unlike Trump’s first term — there’s no one left on the fed row in imminent danger of an execution date.
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