Rahim Kurwa
@rahimk.bsky.social
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
Indefensible Spaces: Policing and the Struggle for Housing is available at https://www.ucpress.edu/books/indefensible-spaces/paper
www.rahimkurwa.com
Pinned
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:
Reposted by Rahim Kurwa
Reposted by Rahim Kurwa
I’m going to keep hammering this point: the excesses of ICE we see now are entirely contiguous with our system of policing more broadly, and the reason that almost no politician wants to threaten real consequences for ICE agents is because it opens the door to making the same demands of the cops
January 19, 2026 at 6:06 PM
I’m going to keep hammering this point: the excesses of ICE we see now are entirely contiguous with our system of policing more broadly, and the reason that almost no politician wants to threaten real consequences for ICE agents is because it opens the door to making the same demands of the cops
Reposted by Rahim Kurwa
California state government required flags to be flown at half mast when this guy died btw.
The coalition in power thinks Martin Luther King Jr is bad. I think Martin Luther King Jr is good. Something to reflect on. #MLKDay
January 19, 2026 at 6:01 PM
California state government required flags to be flown at half mast when this guy died btw.
Reposted by Rahim Kurwa
New from 404 Media: ICE's facial recognition app, which the agency is using to decide who to detain and deport, misidentified a woman. Twice.
ICE says results of the app are definitive and override a birth certificate; obviously this case shows the app is inaccurate
www.404media.co/ices-facial-...
ICE says results of the app are definitive and override a birth certificate; obviously this case shows the app is inaccurate
www.404media.co/ices-facial-...
ICE’s Facial Recognition App Misidentified a Woman. Twice
In testimony from a CBP official obtained by 404 Media, the official described how Mobile Fortify returned two different names after scanning a woman's face during an immigration raid. ICE has said th...
www.404media.co
January 19, 2026 at 2:31 PM
New from 404 Media: ICE's facial recognition app, which the agency is using to decide who to detain and deport, misidentified a woman. Twice.
ICE says results of the app are definitive and override a birth certificate; obviously this case shows the app is inaccurate
www.404media.co/ices-facial-...
ICE says results of the app are definitive and override a birth certificate; obviously this case shows the app is inaccurate
www.404media.co/ices-facial-...
Reposted by Rahim Kurwa
It was inevitable.
Amazon's Ring to partner with Flock, a network of AI cameras used by ICE, feds, and police | TechCrunch
Agencies that use Flock can request that Ring doorbell users share footage to help with "evidence collection and investigative work."
techcrunch.com
January 19, 2026 at 8:02 AM
It was inevitable.
Reposted by Rahim Kurwa
Four attorneys told ABC News they have been denied access to their clients at the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, where they are being held, which they say would violate 5th & 6th Amendment rights to due process & the right to consult with counsel. abcnews.go.com/US/lawyers-a...
Lawyers allege Dept. of Homeland Security is denying legal counsel to Minnesota detainees
Four attorneys told ABC News they have been denied access to their clients at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, where they are being held.
abcnews.go.com
January 19, 2026 at 7:02 AM
Four attorneys told ABC News they have been denied access to their clients at the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, where they are being held, which they say would violate 5th & 6th Amendment rights to due process & the right to consult with counsel. abcnews.go.com/US/lawyers-a...
Reposted by Rahim Kurwa
ICE ended up returning the man, Saly, after realizing he’s a fucking US citizen with no criminal record, per his sister-in-law. These fucking animals.
January 19, 2026 at 5:41 AM
ICE ended up returning the man, Saly, after realizing he’s a fucking US citizen with no criminal record, per his sister-in-law. These fucking animals.
Reposted by Rahim Kurwa
The DOJ is not investigating ICE agent Jonathan Ross for the fatal shooting of Renee Good, a top official said Sunday.
The top DOJ official confirmed that an investigation is underway into Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
The top DOJ official confirmed that an investigation is underway into Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
Justice Department says it has no plans to investigate ICE agent who killed Renee Good and confirms Walz, Frey probe
Frey and the governor’s office both said Sunday that the DOJ has not contacted them about the investigation.
bit.ly
January 18, 2026 at 8:32 PM
The DOJ is not investigating ICE agent Jonathan Ross for the fatal shooting of Renee Good, a top official said Sunday.
The top DOJ official confirmed that an investigation is underway into Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
The top DOJ official confirmed that an investigation is underway into Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
Reposted by Rahim Kurwa
Quite a quote from Texans LB Azeez Al-Shaair, who was asked about his STOP THE GENOCIDE eye black after today’s game
www.usatoday.com/story/sports...
www.usatoday.com/story/sports...
January 19, 2026 at 4:13 AM
Quite a quote from Texans LB Azeez Al-Shaair, who was asked about his STOP THE GENOCIDE eye black after today’s game
www.usatoday.com/story/sports...
www.usatoday.com/story/sports...
Reposted by Rahim Kurwa
Reposted by Rahim Kurwa
For years, private parties—citizens and organizations alike—have been able to sue government officials for violating the VRA. But a federal appeals court has said they cannot, and the U.S. Supreme Court will soon consider the issue.
Seven Legal Questions That Will Shape Democracy in 2026
Courts are set to decide a host of cases that will determine the fate of the VRA, confront the latest restrictions on direct democracy, and affect ballot access and redistricting.
boltsmag.org
January 19, 2026 at 1:00 AM
For years, private parties—citizens and organizations alike—have been able to sue government officials for violating the VRA. But a federal appeals court has said they cannot, and the U.S. Supreme Court will soon consider the issue.
Reposted by Rahim Kurwa
Squeezing Palestianians out of the West Bank and systematically erasing thousands of years of culture and community is also genocide, even when it's taking place at the hands of settlers, not the Israeli military.
The calculated erasure of Ras Ein Al-Auja
Israeli state-backed settler violence is displacing the southern Jordan Valley’s last herding community, advancing efforts to empty Area C of Palestinians.
www.972mag.com
January 18, 2026 at 11:21 PM
Squeezing Palestianians out of the West Bank and systematically erasing thousands of years of culture and community is also genocide, even when it's taking place at the hands of settlers, not the Israeli military.
Reposted by Rahim Kurwa
🔴 Israel killed up to 15 people in Gaza yesterday, including women and children, wiping out entire families. The pretext was an alleged clash with fighters in western Rafah 2 days ago...
Follow the thread below for the sequence Israel itself laid out for the killings it carried out yesterday: 🧵
Follow the thread below for the sequence Israel itself laid out for the killings it carried out yesterday: 🧵
January 17, 2026 at 12:50 AM
🔴 Israel killed up to 15 people in Gaza yesterday, including women and children, wiping out entire families. The pretext was an alleged clash with fighters in western Rafah 2 days ago...
Follow the thread below for the sequence Israel itself laid out for the killings it carried out yesterday: 🧵
Follow the thread below for the sequence Israel itself laid out for the killings it carried out yesterday: 🧵
Reposted by Rahim Kurwa
Hedaya Al-Kafarna, 55, is living on the ground floor of a building that appears close to collapse.
Displaced from Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza to Rafah, then Khan Younis, she has now ended up on the coast of Gaza City.
“Seven times we’ve been displaced, moving from place to place. Our life is...
Displaced from Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza to Rafah, then Khan Younis, she has now ended up on the coast of Gaza City.
“Seven times we’ve been displaced, moving from place to place. Our life is...
January 18, 2026 at 8:16 PM
Hedaya Al-Kafarna, 55, is living on the ground floor of a building that appears close to collapse.
Displaced from Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza to Rafah, then Khan Younis, she has now ended up on the coast of Gaza City.
“Seven times we’ve been displaced, moving from place to place. Our life is...
Displaced from Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza to Rafah, then Khan Younis, she has now ended up on the coast of Gaza City.
“Seven times we’ve been displaced, moving from place to place. Our life is...
Reposted by Rahim Kurwa
Ben Shapiro: "Israel did not commit a genocide in Gaza"
Gavin Newsom: "I agree with you."
Gavin Newsom: "I agree with you."
January 17, 2026 at 6:39 PM
Ben Shapiro: "Israel did not commit a genocide in Gaza"
Gavin Newsom: "I agree with you."
Gavin Newsom: "I agree with you."
Reposted by Rahim Kurwa
Depressing that as we slide ever more decisively into totalitarianism, university leaders hold dearer to the idiotic and deadly notion of “institutional neutrality.”
January 18, 2026 at 4:21 PM
Depressing that as we slide ever more decisively into totalitarianism, university leaders hold dearer to the idiotic and deadly notion of “institutional neutrality.”
Reposted by Rahim Kurwa
ABC News reporting 1,500 active duty soldiers are on standby to deploy to MINNESOTA.
The soldiers are from the 11th Airborne Division, based at Joint Base Elmendorf--Richardson, one of the Army's premier infantry formations.
The division is also the military's leading formation for Arctic warfare
The soldiers are from the 11th Airborne Division, based at Joint Base Elmendorf--Richardson, one of the Army's premier infantry formations.
The division is also the military's leading formation for Arctic warfare
Hundreds of active-duty soldiers on standby, 2 defense officials say
abcnews.go.com
January 18, 2026 at 3:05 AM
ABC News reporting 1,500 active duty soldiers are on standby to deploy to MINNESOTA.
The soldiers are from the 11th Airborne Division, based at Joint Base Elmendorf--Richardson, one of the Army's premier infantry formations.
The division is also the military's leading formation for Arctic warfare
The soldiers are from the 11th Airborne Division, based at Joint Base Elmendorf--Richardson, one of the Army's premier infantry formations.
The division is also the military's leading formation for Arctic warfare
Reposted by Rahim Kurwa
Guilty until proven innocent
www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
January 18, 2026 at 12:16 AM
Guilty until proven innocent
www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
Reposted by Rahim Kurwa
The Trump admin is moving to quickly deport two men who witnessed, they say, ICE guards choke a fellow detainee to death.
The admin moved to deport men right after they spoke the Washington Post.
This is the death that the medical examiner has already ruled likely homicide.
wapo.st/4qR1T1U
The admin moved to deport men right after they spoke the Washington Post.
This is the death that the medical examiner has already ruled likely homicide.
wapo.st/4qR1T1U
DHS seeking to deport two men who said fellow ICE detainee was killed
The two men’s eyewitness accounts of the Jan. 3 death of Geraldo Lunas Campos at a Texas detention camp differ from the Department of Homeland Security’s account of the incident.
wapo.st
January 18, 2026 at 12:10 AM
The Trump admin is moving to quickly deport two men who witnessed, they say, ICE guards choke a fellow detainee to death.
The admin moved to deport men right after they spoke the Washington Post.
This is the death that the medical examiner has already ruled likely homicide.
wapo.st/4qR1T1U
The admin moved to deport men right after they spoke the Washington Post.
This is the death that the medical examiner has already ruled likely homicide.
wapo.st/4qR1T1U
Reposted by Rahim Kurwa
How much more in your face can it be?
"Why are you asking me for my paperwork?"
"Because of your accent."
"You have an accent too."
"Where were you born sir?"
"Where were you born at?"
"Put your hands behind your back."
"Why are you asking me for my paperwork?"
"Because of your accent."
"You have an accent too."
"Where were you born sir?"
"Where were you born at?"
"Put your hands behind your back."
January 17, 2026 at 9:16 PM
How much more in your face can it be?
"Why are you asking me for my paperwork?"
"Because of your accent."
"You have an accent too."
"Where were you born sir?"
"Where were you born at?"
"Put your hands behind your back."
"Why are you asking me for my paperwork?"
"Because of your accent."
"You have an accent too."
"Where were you born sir?"
"Where were you born at?"
"Put your hands behind your back."
Reposted by Rahim Kurwa
Even students who stay at home from school in Minneapolis are not safe. A hybrid class stopped while a virtual student's apartment building was raided by immigration agents. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/dispatch-f...
January 17, 2026 at 2:31 PM
Even students who stay at home from school in Minneapolis are not safe. A hybrid class stopped while a virtual student's apartment building was raided by immigration agents. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/dispatch-f...
Reposted by Rahim Kurwa
Peter Yazzie, a Navajo man, was asked by ICE agents to prove he was a US citizen. He produced both US and Navajo IDs. They didn't care. www.azcentral.com/story/news/p...
January 17, 2026 at 5:01 AM
Peter Yazzie, a Navajo man, was asked by ICE agents to prove he was a US citizen. He produced both US and Navajo IDs. They didn't care. www.azcentral.com/story/news/p...
Reposted by Rahim Kurwa
I find it necessary these days to affirm the obvious because the descent into fascism is mostly a continuous, not discrete, process so here it goes:
these are internal checkpoints by secret police for what is routine freedom of movement.
these are internal checkpoints by secret police for what is routine freedom of movement.
It’s been reported locally, but I’m not sure how much national notice this has gotten. As part of this invasion by shithead goons, they are putting ICE agents in jetbridges and other parts of the airport at Minneapolis-Saint Paul. If you are flying Delta via MSP, you are putting yourself at risk.
ICE agents to begin checking documents at MSP airport, patrol jet bridges - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will begin checking documents of travelers and workers at MSP airport, with patrols inside jet bridges.
www.bizjournals.com
January 16, 2026 at 3:29 PM
I find it necessary these days to affirm the obvious because the descent into fascism is mostly a continuous, not discrete, process so here it goes:
these are internal checkpoints by secret police for what is routine freedom of movement.
these are internal checkpoints by secret police for what is routine freedom of movement.
Progressive Caucus Backs Bill To Redirect ICE Money To Affordable Housing
www.huffpost.com/entry/doj-fe...
www.huffpost.com/entry/doj-fe...
Progressive Caucus Backs Bill To Redirect ICE Money To Affordable Housing
www.huffpost.com
January 17, 2026 at 12:27 AM
Progressive Caucus Backs Bill To Redirect ICE Money To Affordable Housing
www.huffpost.com/entry/doj-fe...
www.huffpost.com/entry/doj-fe...