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Sarah Pierce

@sarahpierce.bsky.social
208 followers 173 following 121 posts

Director of Social Policy at Third Way; Former USCIS, HSGAC, & Migration Policy Institute. Views are my own. www.thirdway.org/about/staff/sarah-…

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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Democrats should embrace angel families. Republicans will keep pushing the sanctuary narrative. Democrats need a better answer: frame participation policies around public safety & hold this Admin accountable for its MANY failures to keep communities safe. www.thirdway.org/memo/democra...
thirdway.org
Democrats Need a New Approach to Sanctuary Cities
Third Way is a national think tank and advocacy organization that champions moderate policy and political ideas. Our work on the center left acts as a critical bulwark against political extremism.
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Last week, I testified at a sanctuary cities hearing where two grieving "angel" parents asked Democrats to care. We should. That doesn’t mean accepting Trump’s anti-immigrant story. It means honoring every victim, examining failures, & fixing what's actually wrong www.thirdway.org/memo/democra...
thirdway.org
Democrats Need a New Approach to Sanctuary Cities
Third Way is a national think tank and advocacy organization that champions moderate policy and political ideas. Our work on the center left acts as a critical bulwark against political extremism.
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Trump & Republicans aren't just pouring money into ICE. They're shifting the focus of law enforcement. That doesn't just increase immigration enforcement. It distorts the mission of our public safety infrastructure. See more in this brilliant & important op-ed: www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...
usatoday.com
When law enforcement takes on immigration, our safety is the cost | Opinion
President Donald Trump signed a $70 billion funding bill, pushing law enforcement into immigration enforcement. But this is more than a budget story.
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Yesterday I testified on sanctuary policies. The parents who also testified deserved a serious debate about public safety & a functioning immigration system. Instead, Republicans used the hearing to mislead & defend an admin chasing deportation numbers over safety. www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXqx...
youtube.com
TW's Sarah Pierce Testifies at House Judiciary Committee Hearing on Sanctuary Cities
YouTube video by ThirdWayVideo
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
🚨 This week is Police Week — a fitting time to examine this admin's utter failure to support police & public safety. To start, the majority of DOJ public safety funds from FY25—LAST YEAR—still have not been granted. That's delays for police departments, prosecutors, & more.
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
Also great work by @gallego.senate.gov & 29 Dem senators drawing attention to this issue. The Senators say it best: "This diversion represents...a stunning abdication of the basic responsibilities of the executive branch to the American people, and a direct threat to the security of...the country."
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Greg resists facism @gregwalk.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
Read this.
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
Last April, I left @uscisgov.bsky.social heartbroken by how career civil servants were treated — and honestly terrified for what that meant for America’s legal immigration system. What I saw inside wasn’t normal — and I couldn’t unsee it.
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America's Voice @americasvoice.bsky.social · 21/12/2025
“The single biggest difference between this version of the Trump administration and the last one is the shift from the border to the interior of the country.” @sarahpierce.bsky.social details how the administration’s anti-immigrant agenda has reshaped immigration enforcement across the country.
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
From the inside & out, USCIS is being pushed away from its Congressionally-mandated mission and into immigration enforcement As I told NYT, when USCIS is used for rapid-response enforcement or mass “re-vetting,” everyone loses—families, employers, & the system’s credibility.
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
New data shows the Trump administration's attack on due process is working exactly as intended... In FY25, in absentia removal orders (those handed down when a noncitizen fails to show up for immigration court) increased by 40% overall & by more than 160% for asylum applicants.
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
“Hiding your friends as subcontractors is like playing hide the salami with the taxpayer,” - Charles Tiefer
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
Effective immigration enforcement depends on cooperation with local police — not conflict. Yet this administration keeps undermining that partnership: first with a bogus “sanctuary list" it deleted after sheriffs pushed back. Now by poaching police to quickly fill ICE’s ranks.
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
"In Albuquerque and elsewhere, ICE has attempted to recruit officers from local law enforcement, a desperate move local police chiefs rightly warn will compromise local public safety. Diverting local officers from investigating violent crimes... does nothing to make our streets safer."
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
“Sanctuary cities” aren’t lawless — they’re practical. Local police are balancing safety and resources while D.C. plays politics. NYT Magazine's latest backs up what I argued for @thirdway.bsky.social: sanctuary policies are about smart governance, not defiance.
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
Human trafficking spikes at events like the Super Bowl. Yet this admin is deploying ICE to arrest “illegal aliens” in response to a halftime performance. They’ve pulled officers who fight trafficking to instead do civil immigration enforcement—a perfect snapshot of their broken priorities.
Screen shot of a NY Times article entitled “Kristi Noem says ICE will be ‘all over’ the Super Bowl”
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
Excited to share my first piece with @thirdway.bsky.social: breaking down what “sanctuary” really means—and why the Trump admin’s narrative doesn’t match reality. Spoiler: every jurisdiction in America helps ICE. Here’s the real story ⬇️
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 03/10/2025
NEW: ProPublica obtained records from the Department of Agriculture that detail the millions of pounds of food, down to the number of eggs, that never reached food banks because of the Trump administration’s cuts to an aid program.
projects.propublica.org
Trump Canceled 94 Million Pounds of Food Aid. Here’s What Never Arrived.
ProPublica obtained records from the Department of Agriculture that detail the millions of pounds of food, down to the number of eggs, that never reached food banks because of the administration’s cut...
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Aura Bogado @aurabogado.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
Shelters that house unaccompanied minors are bracing for "Freaky Friday," the start of an ICE operation that will first issue letters to children, seeking to pressure them to return to the countries they've fled in exchange for a cash payment. If they decline, their parents will be targeted by ICE.
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
This is horrific. The harder it gets for the Trump admin to reach their arrest & deportation quotas, the more ruthless their pressure for self-deportation will get. This time? They’re trying to get kids to self-deport.
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Melissa Ryan @melissaryan.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
I always pay attention to what stories People Magazine and other consumer media outlets cover. That's how you can tell that something has broken through the usual political and news bubbles. This horrific Chicago story has broken through. people.com/ice-agents-o...
people.com
ICE Agents Rappel from Helicopter in Overnight Chicago Raid, Dragging Kids from Beds to U-Hauls
Overnight on Tuesday, Sept. 30, federal agents from different agencies raided an apartment building on the South Side of Chicago, pulling men, women and children — some of them allegedly naked — from ...
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
Even before the $45 billion for detention money started leaving the government, Trump officials were already self-dealing. When contract bidders hire someone with direct ties to the border czar to ‘help win work,’ that’s not innovation — it’s corruption.
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Anjali Enjeti @anjalienjeti.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
My god. “Watson said she saw agents dragging residents, including kids, out of the building without any clothes on and into U-Haul vans. Kids were separated from their mothers…’It was heartbreaking to watch…seeing kids coming out buck naked and taken from their mothers, it was horrible.’”
chicago.suntimes.com
Massive immigration raid on Chicago apartment building leaves residents reeling: 'I feel defeated'
The Department of Homeland Security said federal agents with Border Patrol, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested 37 people in the raid.
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
Surreal moment for America. Needless to say, if the normal police ever pulled something like this — pulling every single person out of an apartment building and handcuffing them to run warrant checks — they would be sued into oblivion. Yet ICE is going to get away with it entirely.
"It was scary, because I had never had a gun in my face," Fisher said. "They asked my name and my date of birth and asked me, did I have any warrants? And I told them, 'No, 'Ididn't."
Fisher said she was handcuffed before being released around 3 a.m., and she was told that if anyone had any kind of warrant out for them, even if it was unrelated to immigration, they would not be released.
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
Excited to share my first piece with @thirdway.bsky.social: breaking down what “sanctuary” really means—and why the Trump admin’s narrative doesn’t match reality. Spoiler: every jurisdiction in America helps ICE. Here’s the real story ⬇️
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
This is also a frightening sign of what is to come. If diverting TENS OF THOUSANDS of federal law enforcement officers to deportations & causing mass distress with nonstop at-large arrests is still keeping them at numbers well below their goas & Obama's numbers... what will they do next?
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
One week from today! Come view a sneak peek of "Credible Fear", a forthcoming feature length documentary about the asylum system, & join a discussion with @yaelschacher.bsky.social & myself. Date: Sept 24, 6pm Location: Immigrant Food, Ballston Tickets: www.eventbrite.com/e/credible-f...
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
12 Senate Dems on Armed Services write strongly against use of military as immigration judges: "the Trump administration views skilled personnel as pawns to be traded between agencies, rather than as professionals essential to their core missions, in order to advance misguided immigration policies"
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
"At DHS, Trump has ordered agents formerly dedicated to investigating and arresting human traffickers to focus on deporting immigrants." This is not an administration that cares about public safety. This is an administration that cares about padding its deportation numbers.
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
This new @thirdway.bsky.social memo is just as relevant for immigration. "Dismissing voters’ legitimate concerns about crime & public safety will only confirm their suspicions that at best, you’re not serious about these issues, & at worst, your policy stances are making things worse"
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
As helpful as streamlining & simplifying H-2As could be, a reform that allowed farmers to legally employ unauthorized immigrants that they have long worked with & trust, would be far more effective. For decades, 40-55% of farmworkers have been unauthorized.
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Former ICE Director John Sandweg, expressing concern that the Trump administration is prioritizing padding their deportation numbers over public safety: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NLy...
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
The State Department's Diplomatic Security Service-- which should be investigating human trafficking, passport or visa fraud, etc.-- is now added to the long list of agencies pursuing the admin's deportation numbers instead of focusing on public safety.
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
"I'm angry that society has a playbook for reacting to dead children-- but still can't answer the only question that matters: How do we stop it from happening again?" - Sam Hasler, Annunciation School parent www.startribune.com/annunciation...
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New Dems @newdems.bsky.social · 29/08/2025
Proud to have the support of @sarahpierce.bsky.social for our recently released Immigration & Border Security Framework. New Dems are committed to using commonsense policies that address our more important issues.
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 28/08/2025
Public opinion is shifting on immigration & (as long as Stephen Miller is in the White House) the Trump admin is not shifting with it. Democrats need to define themselves on immigration with clarity & purpose. Dems can be the party of balanced solutions vs. Trump's rage & noise.
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
This is a perfect (& terrifying) example of what happens when you prioritize politics over public safety: real threats go unaddressed. It is great to see both former & current HSI agents speaking out against this admin's diversion of resources away from important investigations.
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
This is not normal. Because of this administration's reckless pursuit of interior immigration enforcement & their own administrative error, this man became a political liability. They're now showing how broad the president's authority is to terrorize his political foes.
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
This is a big yes BUT issue. Yes, the name derives from the movement to protect those fleeing Central American proxy wars... BUT, there is WAY more at play.
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
Now that we're regularly seeing HSI agents popping up in routine immigration raids & even patrolling DC streets, it’s worth asking: what 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 HSI be doing? Let’s reintroduce the agency & its vital public safety mission. 🧵
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Julia Gelatt @juliagelatt.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
DC, Maryland, and Virginia all offer limited-use driver’s licenses for unauthorized immigrants. This means most residents can get a legal license, but also that some may be forced to show officers a document that strongly indicates they lack legal status.
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
This is a frightening endangerment of the integrity of government statistics.
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
Unauthorized immigrants pay nearly $100 billion each year in taxes. With actions like this, why would they continue to do so? This administration cares about immigration enforcement above all else.
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
Nowadays everything is labeled family separation, but this is legitimate. ICE needs cooperation to deport families on commercial flights. @haleaziz.bsky.social found that if families fail to cooperate (ex due to fear of persecution), ICE separates them. Taking kids to incentivize deportation.
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
We've been here before. This helpful piece by @juliagelatt.bsky.social & @migrationpolicy.bsky.social explains why an effort to exclude unauthorized immigrants from the Census is likely to end up also excluding tens of millions of U.S. citizens. migrationpolicy.org/news/millions-…
migrationpolicy.org
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
The $29b given to ICE "exceeds the budgets for all other non-immigration federal law enforcement functions put together, eclipsing funding to agencies whose law enforcement missions involve pursuing terrorists, violent criminals, sex offenders, fentanyl & other drug traffickers, & gun traffickers."
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
20 states are now authorized to support ICE with Title 32 troops: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, & Wyoming. www.csmonitor.com/USA/2025/080...
csmonitor.com
National Guard takes new role aiding immigration operations in GOP states
The Trump administration is expanding National Guard support at immigration detention sites. Florida activated troops on Tuesday.
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Just Security @justsecurity.org · 06/08/2025
Big Budget Act Creates a ‘Deportation Industrial Complex' That Will be Hard to Dismantle By @margyoh.bsky.social On the long-term consequences of the massive influx of funds for DHS/ICE deportation forces, the ties to for-profit detention companies, and absence of funds for legal process.
justsecurity.org
Big Budget Act Creates a ‘Deportation Industrial Complex' That Will be Hard to Dismantle
An assessment of how DHS and ICE will spend new funds and the balance between deportation enforcement and the system's humanitarian goals.
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
Wow, after their initial sanctuary jurisdiction list drew widespread criticism & was pulled down within days, the admin has published ANOTHER sanctuary jurisdiction list. First list by DHS: 14 states, 415 counties & 227 cities New list by DOJ: 13 states, 4 counties & 18 cities
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Sarah Pierce @sarahpierce.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
Having this come out the same day as reports of a blatantly illegal new ICE policy to ER immigrants after their first encounter with ICE really paints the picture of an admin willing to do anything to drive up numbers, no matter the cost. It was never about public safety.
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