John Washington
@jwashing.bsky.social
Journalist and Translator.
Reporting for @azluminaria.org
Newsletter, short essays on books and politics: https://johnwashington.substack.com/
Latest book, The Case for Open Borders: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2199-the
Reporting for @azluminaria.org
Newsletter, short essays on books and politics: https://johnwashington.substack.com/
Latest book, The Case for Open Borders: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2199-the
Reposted by John Washington
Nearly 1400 people have been ordered into Pima County’s Restoration to Competency program to see if they can stand trial
That can mean more than a year in jail, waiting. My colleague @jwashing.bsky.social writes about when jail becomes a mental health facility
azluminaria.org/2025/11/24/w...
That can mean more than a year in jail, waiting. My colleague @jwashing.bsky.social writes about when jail becomes a mental health facility
azluminaria.org/2025/11/24/w...
When jail becomes the mental health treatment plan - AZ Luminaria
Arizona’s competency restoration system pushes people with mental illness into jail. Stacey Brooks’ case shows the dangerous consequences.
azluminaria.org
November 25, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Nearly 1400 people have been ordered into Pima County’s Restoration to Competency program to see if they can stand trial
That can mean more than a year in jail, waiting. My colleague @jwashing.bsky.social writes about when jail becomes a mental health facility
azluminaria.org/2025/11/24/w...
That can mean more than a year in jail, waiting. My colleague @jwashing.bsky.social writes about when jail becomes a mental health facility
azluminaria.org/2025/11/24/w...
Reposted by John Washington
Congress wrote into the law that someone who overstays a visa while applying for asylum is not considered to be accruing “unlawful presence,” but it didn’t explicitly say those people couldn’t be arrested and detained — because it was presumed that they wouldn’t be. Well, Trump is doing it.
We came to LA as refugees from the USSR in 1991. Life wasn’t easy, but we persevered and, I dare say, came to contribute something of worth to this nation.
Had I experienced the following when I was a boy, I don’t know what would have become of me.
www.latimes.com/california/s...
Had I experienced the following when I was a boy, I don’t know what would have become of me.
www.latimes.com/california/s...
November 23, 2025 at 3:54 AM
Congress wrote into the law that someone who overstays a visa while applying for asylum is not considered to be accruing “unlawful presence,” but it didn’t explicitly say those people couldn’t be arrested and detained — because it was presumed that they wouldn’t be. Well, Trump is doing it.
Want some background reading to better understand the slow (but really not that slow) explosion of immigration detention capacity?
My latest newsletter, plus an update on my book in progress.
johnwashington.substack.com/p/reading-re...
My latest newsletter, plus an update on my book in progress.
johnwashington.substack.com/p/reading-re...
November 10, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Want some background reading to better understand the slow (but really not that slow) explosion of immigration detention capacity?
My latest newsletter, plus an update on my book in progress.
johnwashington.substack.com/p/reading-re...
My latest newsletter, plus an update on my book in progress.
johnwashington.substack.com/p/reading-re...
I never realized that when I stick my reporter’s notebook in my back pocket like this the pages flap down.
(Shot by a friend in Rio Negro, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala)
(Shot by a friend in Rio Negro, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala)
October 21, 2025 at 5:16 AM
I never realized that when I stick my reporter’s notebook in my back pocket like this the pages flap down.
(Shot by a friend in Rio Negro, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala)
(Shot by a friend in Rio Negro, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala)
Reposted by John Washington
John Washington has been doing some incredibly impactful storytelling on borders, immigration, and now enforced disappearance. Check out his latest piece and be sure to follow him.
On forced disappearance in Guatemala and the United States
open.substack.com/pub/johnwash...
open.substack.com/pub/johnwash...
“I Know You Want to Find Me, But You’re Not Going To”
On disappearances in Guatemala and the United States
open.substack.com
October 20, 2025 at 10:03 PM
John Washington has been doing some incredibly impactful storytelling on borders, immigration, and now enforced disappearance. Check out his latest piece and be sure to follow him.
On forced disappearance in Guatemala and the United States
open.substack.com/pub/johnwash...
open.substack.com/pub/johnwash...
“I Know You Want to Find Me, But You’re Not Going To”
On disappearances in Guatemala and the United States
open.substack.com
October 20, 2025 at 3:40 PM
On forced disappearance in Guatemala and the United States
open.substack.com/pub/johnwash...
open.substack.com/pub/johnwash...
azluminaria.org/2025/10/07/a...
New jaguar sighting, bold new resolution from Tohono O'odham's San Xavier District:
The jaguar is “a guardian of the people and the natural world,” the resolution reads, “a sacred being with deep connections to O’odham stories and traditional beliefs.”
New jaguar sighting, bold new resolution from Tohono O'odham's San Xavier District:
The jaguar is “a guardian of the people and the natural world,” the resolution reads, “a sacred being with deep connections to O’odham stories and traditional beliefs.”
October 7, 2025 at 4:43 PM
azluminaria.org/2025/10/07/a...
New jaguar sighting, bold new resolution from Tohono O'odham's San Xavier District:
The jaguar is “a guardian of the people and the natural world,” the resolution reads, “a sacred being with deep connections to O’odham stories and traditional beliefs.”
New jaguar sighting, bold new resolution from Tohono O'odham's San Xavier District:
The jaguar is “a guardian of the people and the natural world,” the resolution reads, “a sacred being with deep connections to O’odham stories and traditional beliefs.”
Breaking:
Massive Amazon data center is back in development in Pima County after a fierce fight this summer, in which the greater Tucson community pushed back hard against the developers.
Latest, along with @yanak.bsky.social for @azluminaria.org azluminaria.org/2025/09/17/p...
Massive Amazon data center is back in development in Pima County after a fierce fight this summer, in which the greater Tucson community pushed back hard against the developers.
Latest, along with @yanak.bsky.social for @azluminaria.org azluminaria.org/2025/09/17/p...
Project Blue data center pushes ahead in Pima County promising new low-water cooling tech - AZ Luminaria
Data center developer Beale Infrastructure says it is moving forward with Project Blue, this time promising a greener, slimmer proposal that will use a new low-water air-cooling technology. The compa...
azluminaria.org
September 17, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Breaking:
Massive Amazon data center is back in development in Pima County after a fierce fight this summer, in which the greater Tucson community pushed back hard against the developers.
Latest, along with @yanak.bsky.social for @azluminaria.org azluminaria.org/2025/09/17/p...
Massive Amazon data center is back in development in Pima County after a fierce fight this summer, in which the greater Tucson community pushed back hard against the developers.
Latest, along with @yanak.bsky.social for @azluminaria.org azluminaria.org/2025/09/17/p...
Reposted by John Washington
Pima County's jail healthcare provider has been in consistent violation of certain performance indicators over the past year, @jwashing.bsky.social reports
azluminaria.org/2025/09/11/s...
azluminaria.org/2025/09/11/s...
September 11, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Pima County's jail healthcare provider has been in consistent violation of certain performance indicators over the past year, @jwashing.bsky.social reports
azluminaria.org/2025/09/11/s...
azluminaria.org/2025/09/11/s...
I'm writing a new book for @haymarketbooks.org, and I'm writing it fast, so help is most welcome.
More here: johnwashington.substack.com/p/how-to-clo...
More here: johnwashington.substack.com/p/how-to-clo...
September 8, 2025 at 7:06 PM
I'm writing a new book for @haymarketbooks.org, and I'm writing it fast, so help is most welcome.
More here: johnwashington.substack.com/p/how-to-clo...
More here: johnwashington.substack.com/p/how-to-clo...
More on Project Blue, the proposed and (for now) scuttled mega data center project in Tucson.
We're releasing some of the early planning docs, obtained via public records requests, which list alternate sites.
Latest from @azluminaria.org
azluminaria.org/2025/08/15/p...
We're releasing some of the early planning docs, obtained via public records requests, which list alternate sites.
Latest from @azluminaria.org
azluminaria.org/2025/08/15/p...
Plan B for Project Blue: Records reveal 3 other sites considered for controversial data center - AZ Luminaria
While Tucson City Council seems to have closed the door on the proposed Project Blue data center, the questions about resource use in the desert that consumed elected officials, experts and community ...
azluminaria.org
August 15, 2025 at 6:00 PM
More on Project Blue, the proposed and (for now) scuttled mega data center project in Tucson.
We're releasing some of the early planning docs, obtained via public records requests, which list alternate sites.
Latest from @azluminaria.org
azluminaria.org/2025/08/15/p...
We're releasing some of the early planning docs, obtained via public records requests, which list alternate sites.
Latest from @azluminaria.org
azluminaria.org/2025/08/15/p...
Responding to vehement opposition and public service journalism, Tucson's mayor/council unanimously vote to reject a mega data center project from Amazon.
Tucson ain't Eddington.
Read @yanak.bsky.social's latest from city hall.
azluminaria.org/2025/08/06/t...
Tucson ain't Eddington.
Read @yanak.bsky.social's latest from city hall.
azluminaria.org/2025/08/06/t...
Tucson City Council rejects Project Blue data center amid intense community pressure - AZ Luminaria
The Tucson city council voted unanimously Wednesday against bringing the massive and water-devouring Project Blue data center — tied to tech giant Amazon — into city limits. After weeks of escalating ...
azluminaria.org
August 6, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Responding to vehement opposition and public service journalism, Tucson's mayor/council unanimously vote to reject a mega data center project from Amazon.
Tucson ain't Eddington.
Read @yanak.bsky.social's latest from city hall.
azluminaria.org/2025/08/06/t...
Tucson ain't Eddington.
Read @yanak.bsky.social's latest from city hall.
azluminaria.org/2025/08/06/t...
Tucson City council member Nikki Lee says controversial Amazon-run data center project is inevitable.
“Project Blue has multiple paths to build here, and every intention to do so,” Lee wrote in her newsletter today, “regardless of what the City of Tucson decides.”
azluminaria.org/2025/08/05/t...
“Project Blue has multiple paths to build here, and every intention to do so,” Lee wrote in her newsletter today, “regardless of what the City of Tucson decides.”
azluminaria.org/2025/08/05/t...
Project Blue data center inevitable says Tucson council member Nikki Lee - AZ Luminaria
Council member Nikki Lee said Tuesday that the Project Blue data center may be built no matter what the Tucson City Council decides.
azluminaria.org
August 5, 2025 at 11:17 PM
Tucson City council member Nikki Lee says controversial Amazon-run data center project is inevitable.
“Project Blue has multiple paths to build here, and every intention to do so,” Lee wrote in her newsletter today, “regardless of what the City of Tucson decides.”
azluminaria.org/2025/08/05/t...
“Project Blue has multiple paths to build here, and every intention to do so,” Lee wrote in her newsletter today, “regardless of what the City of Tucson decides.”
azluminaria.org/2025/08/05/t...
Reposted by John Washington
📽️ WATCH: “The U.S. sent us to El Salvador so that El Salvador could do the dirty work that the U.S. couldn’t.”
Hear from Juan José Ramos Ramos, Andry Omar Blanco Bonilla and Wilmer José Vega Sandia — three of 230+ Venezuelan men the Trump administration sent to CECOT — in their own words:
Hear from Juan José Ramos Ramos, Andry Omar Blanco Bonilla and Wilmer José Vega Sandia — three of 230+ Venezuelan men the Trump administration sent to CECOT — in their own words:
August 4, 2025 at 3:01 AM
📽️ WATCH: “The U.S. sent us to El Salvador so that El Salvador could do the dirty work that the U.S. couldn’t.”
Hear from Juan José Ramos Ramos, Andry Omar Blanco Bonilla and Wilmer José Vega Sandia — three of 230+ Venezuelan men the Trump administration sent to CECOT — in their own words:
Hear from Juan José Ramos Ramos, Andry Omar Blanco Bonilla and Wilmer José Vega Sandia — three of 230+ Venezuelan men the Trump administration sent to CECOT — in their own words:
Reposted by John Washington
ICE GOONS draw guns on humanitarian aid workers
July 31, 2025 at 3:43 PM
ICE GOONS draw guns on humanitarian aid workers
More on Tucson's Project Blue, the Amazon data center project cloaked in secrecy for years.
@yanak.bsky.social and I pieced together more of the timeline, finding that City of Tucson officials moved to annex the land BEFORE the first public hearing on the project.
azluminaria.org/2025/07/28/c...
@yanak.bsky.social and I pieced together more of the timeline, finding that City of Tucson officials moved to annex the land BEFORE the first public hearing on the project.
azluminaria.org/2025/07/28/c...
City annexation filing reveals next steps for Project Blue data center - AZ Luminaria
Even before its first public meeting on a controversial and long-secretive 290-acre data center project, the city of Tucson had already filed a petition with the Pima County Recorder’s Office to begin...
azluminaria.org
July 29, 2025 at 2:25 AM
More on Tucson's Project Blue, the Amazon data center project cloaked in secrecy for years.
@yanak.bsky.social and I pieced together more of the timeline, finding that City of Tucson officials moved to annex the land BEFORE the first public hearing on the project.
azluminaria.org/2025/07/28/c...
@yanak.bsky.social and I pieced together more of the timeline, finding that City of Tucson officials moved to annex the land BEFORE the first public hearing on the project.
azluminaria.org/2025/07/28/c...
This is the moment we're in:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Immigration agents told a teenage US citizen: ‘You’ve got no rights.’ He secretly recorded his brutal arrest
Video from Kenny Laynez-Ambrosio, 18, puts fresh scrutiny on the harsh tactics used to reach the Trump administration’s ambitious enforcement targets
www.theguardian.com
July 25, 2025 at 8:17 PM
This is the moment we're in:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
I responded to @markskrikorian.bsky.social's review and misapprehension of my book, The Case for Open Borders.
My latest newsletter.
johnwashington.substack.com/p/case-count...
My latest newsletter.
johnwashington.substack.com/p/case-count...
July 25, 2025 at 1:38 PM
I responded to @markskrikorian.bsky.social's review and misapprehension of my book, The Case for Open Borders.
My latest newsletter.
johnwashington.substack.com/p/case-count...
My latest newsletter.
johnwashington.substack.com/p/case-count...
I spoke with Dora Rodriguez, Tucson-based immigrant activist who nearly died crossing the desert in 1980, about her memoir.
Latest for @azluminaria.org
azluminaria.org/2025/07/23/l...
Latest for @azluminaria.org
azluminaria.org/2025/07/23/l...
Local immigrant rights activist Dora Rodriguez, on surviving a border crossing — and her new memoir - AZ Luminaria
In the summer of 1980, Dora Rodriguez almost died in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Along with a group of 30 people, most of them having fled violence and the beginnings of a gruesome civil war ...
azluminaria.org
July 23, 2025 at 11:14 PM
I spoke with Dora Rodriguez, Tucson-based immigrant activist who nearly died crossing the desert in 1980, about her memoir.
Latest for @azluminaria.org
azluminaria.org/2025/07/23/l...
Latest for @azluminaria.org
azluminaria.org/2025/07/23/l...
🚨Scoop🚨
The mysterious giant data center planned for Tucson is named in a 2023 doc we obtained from Pima County: Amazon Web Services.
The data center—H20 and electricity intensive—has sparked fierce public pushback
Latest w/ @yanak.bsky.social for @azluminaria.org
azluminaria.org/2025/07/21/a...
The mysterious giant data center planned for Tucson is named in a 2023 doc we obtained from Pima County: Amazon Web Services.
The data center—H20 and electricity intensive—has sparked fierce public pushback
Latest w/ @yanak.bsky.social for @azluminaria.org
azluminaria.org/2025/07/21/a...
Amazon Web Services is company behind Tucson’s Project Blue, according to 2023 county memo - AZ Luminaria
Amazon Web Services is revealed to be the company behind the Project Blue data center proposed for Tucson.
azluminaria.org
July 22, 2025 at 12:50 AM
🚨Scoop🚨
The mysterious giant data center planned for Tucson is named in a 2023 doc we obtained from Pima County: Amazon Web Services.
The data center—H20 and electricity intensive—has sparked fierce public pushback
Latest w/ @yanak.bsky.social for @azluminaria.org
azluminaria.org/2025/07/21/a...
The mysterious giant data center planned for Tucson is named in a 2023 doc we obtained from Pima County: Amazon Web Services.
The data center—H20 and electricity intensive—has sparked fierce public pushback
Latest w/ @yanak.bsky.social for @azluminaria.org
azluminaria.org/2025/07/21/a...
Reposted by John Washington
NEW EPISODE: Award-winning journalist @azluminaria.org's @jwashing.bsky.social on his writing at @nyrb-imprints.bsky.social, “The Roots of Bukele’s Gulag.”
Support our work at patreon.com/thisishell
thisishell.com/episodes/1846
Support our work at patreon.com/thisishell
thisishell.com/episodes/1846
Episode 1846: Deep Background on Bukele's Gulags in El Salvador / John Washington
Bukele's Gulags
thisishell.com
July 10, 2025 at 4:15 PM
NEW EPISODE: Award-winning journalist @azluminaria.org's @jwashing.bsky.social on his writing at @nyrb-imprints.bsky.social, “The Roots of Bukele’s Gulag.”
Support our work at patreon.com/thisishell
thisishell.com/episodes/1846
Support our work at patreon.com/thisishell
thisishell.com/episodes/1846
Enjoyed this in-depth convo w/ @chuckmertz.bsky.social on This Is Hell!.
We discussed deep context of US-Salvadoran relations and Trump admins test-case deportation policies, following my recent work for @nybooks.com
thisishell.com/interviews/1...
www.nybooks.com/online/2025/...
We discussed deep context of US-Salvadoran relations and Trump admins test-case deportation policies, following my recent work for @nybooks.com
thisishell.com/interviews/1...
www.nybooks.com/online/2025/...
Deep Background on Bukele's Gulags in El Salvador / John Washington
John Washington joins us to discuss his recent piece in the New York Review of Books, "The Roots of Bukele’s Gulag." An all new "Rotten History" and "The Moment of Truth" segments follow the interview...
thisishell.com
July 10, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Enjoyed this in-depth convo w/ @chuckmertz.bsky.social on This Is Hell!.
We discussed deep context of US-Salvadoran relations and Trump admins test-case deportation policies, following my recent work for @nybooks.com
thisishell.com/interviews/1...
www.nybooks.com/online/2025/...
We discussed deep context of US-Salvadoran relations and Trump admins test-case deportation policies, following my recent work for @nybooks.com
thisishell.com/interviews/1...
www.nybooks.com/online/2025/...
RIP, Fanny.
She was a brilliant torchlight of a writer.
Also a friend.
Read her work.
She was a brilliant torchlight of a writer.
Also a friend.
Read her work.
Beloved, visionary Fanny Howe, a beacon of ferocity, honesty & integrity—a fighter in all senses of the term—has moved on. Read her. The powerful voice does not depart. It only grows louder….
1940-2025
www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazi...
1940-2025
www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazi...
A Hymn
The paper slept but the night in me woke up. While birds swept over the water like pot-bellied angels beautiful bells rang to assist the hoist. Then they kill themselves offstage, away from the pages ...
www.poetryfoundation.org
July 10, 2025 at 4:44 AM
RIP, Fanny.
She was a brilliant torchlight of a writer.
Also a friend.
Read her work.
She was a brilliant torchlight of a writer.
Also a friend.
Read her work.
Reposted by John Washington
Imagine people migrating freely and negotiating a niche in their new communities.
This 34-min. podcast is an excellent summary of ideas from @jwashing.bsky.social’s humane book.
99percentinvisible.org/episode/633-...
This 34-min. podcast is an excellent summary of ideas from @jwashing.bsky.social’s humane book.
99percentinvisible.org/episode/633-...
Open Borders - 99% Invisible
A border is an idea so powerful that we never even have to see it to believe it. Or believe in it. Global borders can be sites of peace and conflict, violence and celebration, opportunity and confinem...
99percentinvisible.org
July 8, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Imagine people migrating freely and negotiating a niche in their new communities.
This 34-min. podcast is an excellent summary of ideas from @jwashing.bsky.social’s humane book.
99percentinvisible.org/episode/633-...
This 34-min. podcast is an excellent summary of ideas from @jwashing.bsky.social’s humane book.
99percentinvisible.org/episode/633-...
Honored for the dedicated episode from @99pi.org about my book and open borders.
Give it a listen here: 99percentinvisible.org/episode/633-...
Special thanks to producer Lasha Madan.
@haymarketbooks.org
Give it a listen here: 99percentinvisible.org/episode/633-...
Special thanks to producer Lasha Madan.
@haymarketbooks.org
Open Borders - 99% Invisible
A border is an idea so powerful that we never even have to see it to believe it. Or believe in it. Global borders can be sites of peace and conflict, violence and celebration, opportunity and confinem...
99percentinvisible.org
July 3, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Honored for the dedicated episode from @99pi.org about my book and open borders.
Give it a listen here: 99percentinvisible.org/episode/633-...
Special thanks to producer Lasha Madan.
@haymarketbooks.org
Give it a listen here: 99percentinvisible.org/episode/633-...
Special thanks to producer Lasha Madan.
@haymarketbooks.org