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Rahim Kurwa

@rahimk.bsky.social

2.4K followers 2.7K following 550 posts

assoc prof at uic Indefensible Spaces: Policing and the Struggle for Housing is available at https://www.ucpress.edu/books/indefensible-spaces/paper www.rahimkurwa.com

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Rahim Kurwa @rahimk.bsky.social · Jun 10

It's publication day for Indefensible Spaces: Policing and the Struggle for Housing, available in paper & free .epub! It traces a century of struggle over Los Angeles' periphery, culminating in the use of policing to expel and repress Black tenants. Here's a look at its chapters:

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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 14h

George was just trying to get to work.

ICE pepper-sprayed him, dragged him from his car, locked him in a detention center, and placed him on suicide watch. He even missed his young daughter’s birthday in the process.

This man is a veteran and American citizen. Don't look away.

The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 15h

"They put me on suicide watch and they put me in the cell, I'm naked, in like a hospital dress and just a concrete bed with like a mattress, like a thin mattress and, they leave the light on 24/7."

@timmiller.bsky.social talked to a veteran who ICE wrongly detained and brutalized

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Heba Gowayed هبة جويد @hebagowayed.bsky.social · 10h

The normalization of “public expression” causing arrest on a college campus is really something. People are blaming the Trump administration but this is the central building block of the fascist turn and it precedes Trump — the work of institutions maligned as bastions of woke. If only.

Miriam Posner @miriamposner.com · 13h

Found this just incredibly depressing, more than anything.

An easel sign reads, “UCLA
ATTENTION
No events are permitted in this area today. Per Policy 852, this location is NOT designated for public expression activities.
Individuals participating in an event or a public expression activity in this area are subject to discipline and/or arrest.
Scan for policy information.”

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Ashton Pittman @ashtonpittman.bsky.social · 10h

ICE left David, a 17-year-old boy, stranded on the side of Interstate 20 after pulling over his immigrant father, Hector, in Mississippi.

David began running in the scorching sun after the car and watched as it disappeared from sight—soon headed to a Louisiana ICE prison.

Here's their story.

ICE Stranded a 17-Year-Old on I-20 After Arresting His Father. The Mississippi Dad Now Faces Deportation.

A 17-year-old watched as ICE arrested his immigrant father, Hector, on I-20 in June. The family faces mounting legal fees and the risk of deportation.

www.mississippifreepress.org

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Sophie Sherry @sophiesherry.bsky.social · 14h

During a military-style raid on a building in Chicago’s South Shore, one resident heard a knock on his door.   It wasn’t the feds — it was a mom and her 7-year-old daughter, pleading for help.

He let them hide in his unit for the next 3 days.

chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

Neighbor shielded 7-year-old during South Shore federal raid: ‘I didn’t want them to take her’

During the Sept. 30 raid one tenant protected a terrified girl and her mom. Remnants at the complex, including a detailed map of all the units, offer clues to what authorities may have known before th...

chicago.suntimes.com

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Gregory Pratt @royalpratt.bsky.social · 14h

ICE went after rideshare drivers at O’Hare today, according to statement from Illinois Drivers Alliance

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Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth @leniann.bsky.social · 12h

This brown skinned landscaper was minding his business on a job in Edgewater when 3 masked ICE thugs took him away. Then on leaving the 3 reportedly got out of their car, turned their guns on a woman and tried to get into her car for apparently driving too close searching for parking near her home

Graphic in black, blue, red and white

COMMUNITY SAFETY ALERT
ALERTA DE SEGURIDAD COMUNITARIA
OCTOBER 10, 2025
This morning at approximately 9:30am ICE detained at least one person near Sheridan and Catalpa. Please be aware. Call 855-435-7693 to report sightings or for support if someone you know is detained. Also report any sightings
to my office 773-784-5277.
Esta mañana, aproximadamente a las 9:30, ICE detuvo a una persona cerca de Sheridan y Catalpa. Por favor, estén atentos. Llamen al 855-435-7693 para informar de observaciones de agentes federales o para pedir ayuda si alguien que conocen ha sido detenido.
También informen de los avistamientos a mi oficina, al 773-784-5277.

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Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · 16h

Washington Supreme Court Justice Mungia has an extraordinary opinion condemning "the underlying racism and prejudices that are woven into the very fabric" of SCOTUS opinions about Native people.

"We must clearly, loudly, and unequivocally state that was wrong.”
www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf...

MUNGIA, J. (concurring)—I concur with the majority’s opinion.1
And yet I
dissent. Not from the majority’s opinion, but I dissent from the racism embedded in the
federal case law that applies to this dispute.
FEDERAL INDIAN LAW IS A PRODUCT OF THE RACIST BELIEFS ENDEMIC IN OUR SOCIETY
AND OUR LEGAL SYSTEM
While it is certainly necessary to follow federal case law on issues involving
Native American tribes and their members, at the same time it is important to call out that
the very foundations of those opinions were based on racism and white supremacy. By
doing this, readers of our opinions will have no doubt that the current court disavows, and
condemns, those racist sentiments, beliefs, and statements.

Since the founding of our country, the federal government has characterized
Native Americans as “savages”: They were “uncivilized.” They had little claim to the
land upon which they lived. At times, the federal government attempted to eradicate
Native Americans through genocidal policies. At other times, the federal government
employed ethnic cleansing by forcibly removing children from their parents’ homes to
strip them from their culture, their language, and their beings.2
Federal Indian case law arises from those racist underpinnings.
The majority correctly cites to Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, 30 U.S. (5 Pet.) 1, 8
L. Ed. 25 (1831), which is one of the foundational cases involving tribal sovereignty.
That opinion is rife with racist attitudes toward Native Americans. Chief Justice John
Marshall, writing for the majority, describes a tribe’s relationship to the federal
government as one of “ward to his guardian.” Id. at 17. In effect, the opinion presents
tribal members as children, and the federal government as the adult. That theme would
follow in later opinions by the United States Supreme Court—as would the theme of
white supremacy.
Cherokee Nation began with the premise that Native American tribes, once strong
and powerful, were no match for the white race and so found themselves “gradually
sinking beneath our superior policy, our arts and our arms.” Id. at 15. The white man
was considered the teacher, the Native Americans the pupils:

Meanwhile they are in a state of pupilage. Their relation to the United
States resembles that of a ward to his guardian.
Id. at 17.
This characterization of superior to inferior, teacher to student, guardian to ward,
was repeated in later United States Supreme Court opinions.
In Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock, 187 U.S. 553, 23 S. Ct. 216, 47 L. Ed. 299 (1903),
often characterized as the “American Indian Dred Scott,”
3
the Court used that rationale to
justify ruling that the United States could break its treaties with Native American tribes.
These Indian tribes are the wards of the nation. They are communities
dependent on the United States. Dependent largely for their daily food.
Dependent for their political rights. . . . From their very weakness and
helplessness . . . there arises the duty of protection, and with it the power.
Id. at 567 (quoting United States v. Kagama, 118 U.S. 375, 383-84, 6 S. Ct. 1109, 30 L.
Ed. 228 (1886)).
Our court also carries the shame of denigrating Native Americans by using that
same characterization: “The Indian was a child, and a dangerous child, of nature, to be
both protected and restrained.” State v. Towessnute, 89 Wash. 478, 482, 154 P. 805
(1916), judgment vacated and opinion repudiated by 197 Wn.2d 574, 486 P.3d 111
(2020).
3 See A

Returning to Cherokee Nation, Justice William Johnson’s separate opinion was
less tempered in how he considered the various Native American tribes:
I cannot but think that there are strong reasons for doubting the
applicability of the epithet state, to a people so low in the grade of
organized society as our Indian tribes most generally are.
Cherokee Nation, 30 U.S. at 21. Native Americans were not to be treated as “equals to
equals” but, instead, the United States was the conqueror and Native Americans the
conquered. Id. at 23.
In discussing Native Americans, Justice Johnson employed another racist trope
used by judges both before and after him: Native Americans were uncivilized savages.
[W]e have extended to them the means and inducement to become
agricultural and civilized. . . . Independently of the general influence of
humanity, these people were restless, warlike, and signally cruel.
. . . .
But I think it very clear that the constitution neither speaks of them as states
or foreign states, but as just what they were, Indian tribes . . . which the law
of nations would regard as nothing more than wandering hordes, held
together only by ties of blood and habit, and having neither laws or
government, beyond what is required in a savage state.
Id. at 23, 27-28.
This same characterization was used by Justice Stanley Matthews in Ex parte KanGi-Shun-Ca (otherwise known as Crow Dog), 109 U.S. 556, 3 S. Ct. 396, 27 L. Ed. 1030
(1883). Justice Matthews described Native Americans as leading a savage life.

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Benjamin Balthaser @blbalthaser.bsky.social · 1d

Trump deserves no credit for this ceasefire - even in a backhanded way. He could have stopped the war this entire past year. If you have to thank someone - and there is little to be thankful for given the ruins of Gaza - please thank the global protest movement.

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Philip Bump @pbump.com · 1d

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Carceral Abolition @carceralabolition.bsky.social · 1d

Judge temporarily blocks Trump’s effort to deploy national guard in Chicago

Much-anticipated judgment centers on efforts by Trump administration to use troops to aid immigration crackdown www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Judge temporarily blocks Trump’s effort to deploy national guard in Chicago

Much-anticipated judgment centers on efforts by Trump administration to use troops to aid immigration crackdown

www.theguardian.com

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Heather Cherone @heathercherone.bsky.social · 1d

Perry: The federal government is "temporarily enjoined from ordering the federalization and deployment of the National Guard of the United States within Illinois."

That's it. Thanks again for following.

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QuoProQuid @quoproquid.bsky.social · 1d

what do you even say. what do you even say.

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awkword @awkword.bsky.social · 2d

Cops used 83,000 cameras to track a single abortion patient — on her abuser’s tip.

Cops Used 83K Cameras to Track an Abortion Patient—on Her Abuser’s Tip

Turns out the cop was also an abuser

jessica.substack.com

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Jewish Voice for Peace @jvp.bsky.social · 2d

And while the single most important thing right now is saving Palestinian life, Trump’s deal does nothing to address the root cause of injustice: Israel’s brutal military rule and oppression of Palestinians.

Read our full statement in the attached images or at jvp.org/ceasefire2025

First ceasefire, then Palestinian liberation

JVP's statement, after President Trump's announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of ceasefire agreement.

jvp.org

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Jewish Voice for Peace @jvp.bsky.social · 2d

First ceasefire, then Palestinian liberation.

Today, after more than two years of the US-backed Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, President Trump announced that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of ceasefire agreement.

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UC Berkeley Labor Center @ucblaborcenter.bsky.social · 2d

The UC Berkeley Labor Center mourns Kent Wong, our longtime colleague and friend. A passionate champion for workers—especially immigrants—and students, Kent dedicated his life to justice. Our hearts are with our colleagues at the UCLA Labor Center.

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Emissary Of Night | ليلى @diplomatofnight.com · 2d

DropSite receives confirmation that Hamas has agreed to a finalized version of the ceasefire framework and is prepared to sign it tonight

BREAKING: Hamas and Palestinian Factions Agree to Gaza Ceasefire Framework

“From our side, yes,” a senior Hamas official told Drop Site News.

www.dropsitenews.com

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Densho @denshoproject.bsky.social · 2d

Ahead of the Crystal City Pilgrimage this weekend, we explore the history of this lesser-known site of WWII incarceration. Tucked away in South Texas, Crystal City imprisoned over 4,000 people of Japanese, German, & Italian ancestry—including thousands abducted from Latin America—from 1942 to 1948.

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Al Jazeera English @aljazeera.com · 2d

Experts argue Israel's actions in Gaza amount to genocide, surpassing isolated violations of war laws.

Legal scholars: Genocide label crucial in addressing atrocities in Gaza

Experts argue Israel's actions in Gaza amount to genocide, surpassing isolated violations of war laws.

bit.ly

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Emissary Of Night | ليلى @diplomatofnight.com · 2d

It's awesome how "center concedes to right wing framing, loses to right wing anyway" is a story you can find everywhere ever

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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 2d

Federal officers are firing so much tear gas at protesters outside an ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois, that some nearby community members who aren’t even protesting are struggling to breathe when they leave their homes to run errands.

ICE is hounding Chicago area locals with excessive chemical munitions

Agents are firing tear gas and pepper balls on lawful protesters, lawsuits say, sickening even uninvolved residents.

www.motherjones.com

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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 2d

We know more about the massive military-style raid on a Chicago housing complex thanks to the reporting of @southsideweekly.bsky.social, @blockclubchi.bsky.social, and neighborhood resident Eboni Watson who chronicled the event. Among the emerging questions: what's real estate's role in this?

section of text from South Side Weekly's coverage, which says: "The building was purchased by Wisconsin-based investor Trinity Flood in January 2020, according to Cook County records. On October 1, the day after the raid, a judge reviewed an emergency motion from Wells Fargo seeking to appoint Matthew Tarshis of Frontline Real Estate Partners as the property’s receiver.

Flood purchased three multifamily properties in South Shore in 2020. The neighborhood, which had the highest number of eviction filings in Chicago from 2015-2019 according to the Law Center for Better Housing, has seen a rise in outside real estate investors since the 2017 announcement of the Obama Presidential Center’s construction in the neighboring Jackson Park.

Wells Fargo Bank foreclosed on the building in mid-2024, bringing a $27 million lawsuit against Flood for missed loan payments. In late 2024, the City began closing its largest migrant shelters and, through state funding assistance distributed via Catholic Charities and moving support from New Life Church, relocated many families to buildings such as this one."

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unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 2d

(shared with permission) ICE/CBP has been active on Chicago's northwest side this morning—and also met with rapid responders.

Agents reportedly abducted one man from this Dunkin at Belmont and Milwaukee around 9:30am before speeding off.

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Middle East Eye (Unofficial) @middleeasteye-rss.bsky.social · 2d

Malnutrition reaches precarious levels in Gaza Strip - https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/malnutrition-reaches-precarious-levels-gaza-strip

Malnutrition reaches precarious levels in Gaza Strip

<article data-history-node-id="429833" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/malnutrition-reaches-precarious-levels-gaza-strip" class="live-blog-update default clearfix"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/malnutrition-reaches-precarious-levels-gaza-strip" rel="bookmark"> <span class="field field-title">Malnutrition reaches precarious levels in Gaza Strip </span> </a> </h2> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-field-text"><p style="margin-bottom:11px">Two NGOs spoke out on Wednesday about the dire levels of malnutrition in the Gaza Strip.</p> <p> Action Against Hunger and Doctors of the World documented that there was a 700 percent increase in malnutrition cases in July compared to October 2023.</p> <p>But now the situation was far graver. Vincent Stehli, the director of operations at Action Against Hunger, said the NGO’s teams treated between 300 and 400 children under the age of five in September. A few months ago he said the number of cases was under 100.</p> <p>Mr. Stehli, who recently returned from Gaza, said, “"I saw a 7-year-old child who weighed only 6.5 kilos”.</p> <p>The UN has declared a state of famine in Gaza, which has been under an Israeli blockade of food, water and humanitarian aid. A UN report found that Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza.</p> </div> </div> </article>

www.middleeasteye.net

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