Jodi Cohen
@jodiscohen.bsky.social
Reporter, @propublica.org
www.propublica.org/people/jodi-cohen
www.propublica.org/people/jodi-cohen
ADDITIONAL STORY TODAY: What the Trump administration’s videos from the midnight Chicago raid *didn’t* show:
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
November 17, 2025 at 2:21 PM
ADDITIONAL STORY TODAY: What the Trump administration’s videos from the midnight Chicago raid *didn’t* show:
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
16/ I hope you will read the full story. It was a team effort by @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social, @tchristianmiller.bsky.social @mariamelba.bsky.social, Sebastian Rotella, me and many more, part of a collaboration between @propublica.org/ @frontlinepbs.bsky.social
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
“I Lost Everything”: Venezuelans Were Rounded Up in a Dramatic Midnight Raid but Never Charged With a Crime
Authorities said Tren de Aragua “terrorists” had taken over the building. A ProPublica investigation found little evidence to back up the government’s claims. For the first time, the Venezuelans arres...
www.propublica.org
November 16, 2025 at 3:27 PM
16/ I hope you will read the full story. It was a team effort by @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social, @tchristianmiller.bsky.social @mariamelba.bsky.social, Sebastian Rotella, me and many more, part of a collaboration between @propublica.org/ @frontlinepbs.bsky.social
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
15/ A Chicago judge decided the building was too unsafe. She appointed a new property manager and said the tenants should be relocated. All the people who lived at 7500 S. South Shore Drive when the raid began — immigrants and U.S. citizens — may soon be gone.
November 16, 2025 at 3:25 PM
15/ A Chicago judge decided the building was too unsafe. She appointed a new property manager and said the tenants should be relocated. All the people who lived at 7500 S. South Shore Drive when the raid began — immigrants and U.S. citizens — may soon be gone.
14/ She was among the tenants who attended a recent online court hearing about the future of the building. Tenants and city inspectors described ongoing horrible conditions: mice and gnats, exposed wires, leaking pipes, squatters.
November 16, 2025 at 3:25 PM
14/ She was among the tenants who attended a recent online court hearing about the future of the building. Tenants and city inspectors described ongoing horrible conditions: mice and gnats, exposed wires, leaking pipes, squatters.
13/ We met a woman living in a 3rd floor apartment whose legs are amputated. She relies on a wheelchair. The building elevators were broken — again — last week, and she said she is unable to leave the building. “I am trying to move out,” she said.
November 16, 2025 at 3:25 PM
13/ We met a woman living in a 3rd floor apartment whose legs are amputated. She relies on a wheelchair. The building elevators were broken — again — last week, and she said she is unable to leave the building. “I am trying to move out,” she said.
12/ As for the U.S. citizens living in the building? Greg Bovino, the Border Patrol commander of the Chicago operation, said it would make their lives safer. But tenants told us that building conditions have only gotten worse.
November 16, 2025 at 3:24 PM
12/ As for the U.S. citizens living in the building? Greg Bovino, the Border Patrol commander of the Chicago operation, said it would make their lives safer. But tenants told us that building conditions have only gotten worse.
11/ The Department of Homeland Security did not answer our questions about the raid. In a statement, it said the operation was “performed in full compliance of the law.”
November 16, 2025 at 3:23 PM
11/ The Department of Homeland Security did not answer our questions about the raid. In a statement, it said the operation was “performed in full compliance of the law.”
10/ A woman and her three young daughters are in a shelter in Chicago while her husband is detained in Kentucky. She has been given a few months to get U.S. passports for two of her kids, who are citizens, before they leave the country.
November 16, 2025 at 3:22 PM
10/ A woman and her three young daughters are in a shelter in Chicago while her husband is detained in Kentucky. She has been given a few months to get U.S. passports for two of her kids, who are citizens, before they leave the country.
9/ Some are now back in Venezuela. Others remain detained. Several have described being hungry, lonely and sick. At least one man has been diagnosed with tuberculosis since being locked up, his attorney told me this week.
November 16, 2025 at 3:22 PM
9/ Some are now back in Venezuela. Others remain detained. Several have described being hungry, lonely and sick. At least one man has been diagnosed with tuberculosis since being locked up, his attorney told me this week.
8/ We have observed immigration court hearings for 8 of the men. Not once has a government attorney mentioned any pending criminal charges or membership in a gang. Judges have granted some voluntary departure — reserved for people not considered a safety threat.
November 16, 2025 at 3:22 PM
8/ We have observed immigration court hearings for 8 of the men. Not once has a government attorney mentioned any pending criminal charges or membership in a gang. Judges have granted some voluntary departure — reserved for people not considered a safety threat.
7/ During a video call with Jean Carlos Antonio Colmenares Pérez, from a jail in Kentucky, he showed us the room where he was being held with other men. There were 10 sets of bunk beds and 2 toilets. One of the toilets didn’t work. Video from @frontlinepbs.bsky.social:
November 16, 2025 at 3:22 PM
7/ During a video call with Jean Carlos Antonio Colmenares Pérez, from a jail in Kentucky, he showed us the room where he was being held with other men. There were 10 sets of bunk beds and 2 toilets. One of the toilets didn’t work. Video from @frontlinepbs.bsky.social:
6/ She spoke with Ludwing Jeanpier Parra Pérez, whom the government identified as a gang member. He denied it. Our review showed arrests for drug possession and driving w/o a license, charges that were dropped. “I’m very worried. I don’t know why they are saying that,” he said.
November 16, 2025 at 3:19 PM
6/ She spoke with Ludwing Jeanpier Parra Pérez, whom the government identified as a gang member. He denied it. Our review showed arrests for drug possession and driving w/o a license, charges that were dropped. “I’m very worried. I don’t know why they are saying that,” he said.
5/ We sent letters to the men detained in Indiana and in Kentucky, where some were transferred. They began calling. Over the past few weeks, @propublica.org reporter @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social has communicated in Spanish with a dozen Venezuelans taken that night.
November 16, 2025 at 3:19 PM
5/ We sent letters to the men detained in Indiana and in Kentucky, where some were transferred. They began calling. Over the past few weeks, @propublica.org reporter @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social has communicated in Spanish with a dozen Venezuelans taken that night.
4/ We learned that at least 17 men were bused to a county jail in Indiana — 3 ½ hours away. Records show they were booked by noon the day of the raid. The women and children were taken to an immigration processing center in suburban Chicago.
November 16, 2025 at 3:18 PM
4/ We learned that at least 17 men were bused to a county jail in Indiana — 3 ½ hours away. Records show they were booked by noon the day of the raid. The women and children were taken to an immigration processing center in suburban Chicago.
3/ So far, we have identified 21 of them. That allowed us to examine their backgrounds and search for any criminal history. There are limitations to this kind of search because there is no universal database of charges or convictions, but this is what we found:
November 16, 2025 at 3:18 PM
3/ So far, we have identified 21 of them. That allowed us to examine their backgrounds and search for any criminal history. There are limitations to this kind of search because there is no universal database of charges or convictions, but this is what we found:
2/ Their names were not made public, yet @dhsgov said it had detained terrorist gang members and called the operation a success. We @propublica.org set out to determine whether that was true. To do that, we needed to figure out who they were.
November 16, 2025 at 3:17 PM
2/ Their names were not made public, yet @dhsgov said it had detained terrorist gang members and called the operation a success. We @propublica.org set out to determine whether that was true. To do that, we needed to figure out who they were.
1/ I’d like to share what’s happened since Sept. 30, the night of the most dramatic raid of the Trump administration’s Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago. Under the cover of darkness, 37 immigrants were taken from an apartment complex …🧵
November 16, 2025 at 3:17 PM
1/ I’d like to share what’s happened since Sept. 30, the night of the most dramatic raid of the Trump administration’s Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago. Under the cover of darkness, 37 immigrants were taken from an apartment complex …🧵
Reposted by Jodi Cohen
Remember the immigration raid on the apartment complex in Chicago almost two months ago? The one with the Black Hawk helicopter and federal agents rappelling on ropes? @ProPublica decided to take a deeper look. We found little evidence to support the government’s claims. 🧵
November 13, 2025 at 11:06 PM
Remember the immigration raid on the apartment complex in Chicago almost two months ago? The one with the Black Hawk helicopter and federal agents rappelling on ropes? @ProPublica decided to take a deeper look. We found little evidence to support the government’s claims. 🧵
Reposted by Jodi Cohen
We at @propublica.org looked into the immigration raid that happened in Chicago's South Shore in late September. We found many of the Venezuelans detained in that raid, looked into them, and spoke to several of them.
November 13, 2025 at 2:41 PM
We at @propublica.org looked into the immigration raid that happened in Chicago's South Shore in late September. We found many of the Venezuelans detained in that raid, looked into them, and spoke to several of them.
Reposted by Jodi Cohen
You probably saw videos of a nighttime raid in Chicago. Agents rappelling from a helicopter, bursting down doors, questioning brown-skinned immigrants.
We investigated -- and found little evidence to support the government’s claims about Tren de Aragua.
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
We investigated -- and found little evidence to support the government’s claims about Tren de Aragua.
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
“I Lost Everything”: Venezuelans Were Rounded Up in a Dramatic Midnight Raid but Never Charged With a Crime
Authorities said Tren de Aragua “terrorists” had taken over the building. A ProPublica investigation found little evidence to back up the government’s claims. For the first time, the Venezuelans arres...
www.propublica.org
November 13, 2025 at 1:28 PM
You probably saw videos of a nighttime raid in Chicago. Agents rappelling from a helicopter, bursting down doors, questioning brown-skinned immigrants.
We investigated -- and found little evidence to support the government’s claims about Tren de Aragua.
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
We investigated -- and found little evidence to support the government’s claims about Tren de Aragua.
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
Reposted by Jodi Cohen
"Federal prosecutors have not filed criminal charges against anyone who was arrested. Nor have they revealed any evidence showing that two immigrants arrested in the building belonged to the Tren de Aragua gang, or even provided their names."
In Sept, @homelandgov.bsky.social raided a Chicago complex and took dozens of immigrants — under the cover of darkness.
Officials called it a victory against terrorism.
A team @propublica.org set out to check the claims, and find and talk with the Venezuelans:
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
Officials called it a victory against terrorism.
A team @propublica.org set out to check the claims, and find and talk with the Venezuelans:
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
“I Lost Everything”: Venezuelans Were Rounded Up in a Dramatic Midnight Raid but Never Charged With a Crime
Authorities said Tren de Aragua “terrorists” had taken over the building. A ProPublica investigation found little evidence to back up the government’s claims. For the first time, the Venezuelans arres...
www.propublica.org
November 13, 2025 at 1:43 PM
"Federal prosecutors have not filed criminal charges against anyone who was arrested. Nor have they revealed any evidence showing that two immigrants arrested in the building belonged to the Tren de Aragua gang, or even provided their names."
In Sept, @homelandgov.bsky.social raided a Chicago complex and took dozens of immigrants — under the cover of darkness.
Officials called it a victory against terrorism.
A team @propublica.org set out to check the claims, and find and talk with the Venezuelans:
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
Officials called it a victory against terrorism.
A team @propublica.org set out to check the claims, and find and talk with the Venezuelans:
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
“I Lost Everything”: Venezuelans Were Rounded Up in a Dramatic Midnight Raid but Never Charged With a Crime
Authorities said Tren de Aragua “terrorists” had taken over the building. A ProPublica investigation found little evidence to back up the government’s claims. For the first time, the Venezuelans arres...
www.propublica.org
November 13, 2025 at 1:18 PM
In Sept, @homelandgov.bsky.social raided a Chicago complex and took dozens of immigrants — under the cover of darkness.
Officials called it a victory against terrorism.
A team @propublica.org set out to check the claims, and find and talk with the Venezuelans:
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
Officials called it a victory against terrorism.
A team @propublica.org set out to check the claims, and find and talk with the Venezuelans:
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
Reposted by Jodi Cohen
"Following public outcry, the U.S. Department of Education has restored funding for students who have both hearing and vision loss, about a month after cutting it..."
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
Students With Hearing and Vision Loss Get Funding Back Despite Trump’s Anti-DEI Campaign
Following public outcry, the Department of Education has reversed its decision to cut funding for students who have both hearing and vision loss, opting instead to reroute grants to an organization th...
www.propublica.org
October 13, 2025 at 6:29 PM
"Following public outcry, the U.S. Department of Education has restored funding for students who have both hearing and vision loss, about a month after cutting it..."
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
U.S. Department of Education reverses decision and will fund programs for students who are both deaf and blind.
But the money will flow a different way.
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
But the money will flow a different way.
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
Students With Hearing and Vision Loss Get Funding Back Despite Trump’s Anti-DEI Campaign
Following public outcry, the Department of Education has reversed its decision to cut funding for students who have both hearing and vision loss, opting instead to reroute grants to an organization th...
www.propublica.org
October 13, 2025 at 1:43 PM
U.S. Department of Education reverses decision and will fund programs for students who are both deaf and blind.
But the money will flow a different way.
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
But the money will flow a different way.
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
Oops! Everyone needs an editor!
October 6, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Oops! Everyone needs an editor!