Vera Institute of Justice
@vera.org
We’re fighting to secure equal justice for all, end mass incarceration, and strengthen families + communities
Yesterday, alongside a coalition of elected officials, legal service providers, advocates, and impacted families, we urged New York State to take immediate action to protect immigrants. Humane solutions are imperative amid countless federal attacks. www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/a...
‘Out of New York now': Anti-ICE protesters march day after deadly Minneapolis shooting
Anti-ICE protesters have gathered in Lower Manhattan a day after the deadly Minneapolis shooting to protest ICE’s actions when an agent shot and killed a woman. While the large crowd originally gather...
www.nbcnewyork.com
January 9, 2026 at 8:13 PM
Yesterday, alongside a coalition of elected officials, legal service providers, advocates, and impacted families, we urged New York State to take immediate action to protect immigrants. Humane solutions are imperative amid countless federal attacks. www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/a...
Parole, a period of supervised release from prison, can be a vital tool for transformation. Yet too often, parole systems lack transparency and fairness in determining who is released.
Here's why it's crucial that states improve and expand parole: https://www.vera.org/news/parole-101
Here's why it's crucial that states improve and expand parole: https://www.vera.org/news/parole-101
Parole 101: People in Prison Deserve Second Chances
We need to expand parole. Many states are doing the opposite.
www.vera.org
January 9, 2026 at 6:02 PM
Parole, a period of supervised release from prison, can be a vital tool for transformation. Yet too often, parole systems lack transparency and fairness in determining who is released.
Here's why it's crucial that states improve and expand parole: https://www.vera.org/news/parole-101
Here's why it's crucial that states improve and expand parole: https://www.vera.org/news/parole-101
Immigrants contribute greatly to the U.S., from strengthening communities to supporting economic growth. These facts should shape urgent system reform, but progress cannot happen when politicians continue to spread harmful myths about immigrants.
www.vera.org/news/debunki...
www.vera.org/news/debunki...
Debunking the Lies Politicians Say About Immigrants
As critical elections approach, voters are being bombarded with harmful myths , misrepresentations, and outright lies about people who are immigrants.…
www.vera.org
January 8, 2026 at 9:51 PM
Immigrants contribute greatly to the U.S., from strengthening communities to supporting economic growth. These facts should shape urgent system reform, but progress cannot happen when politicians continue to spread harmful myths about immigrants.
www.vera.org/news/debunki...
www.vera.org/news/debunki...
‼️ Get ICE out of our communities!
Masked, heavily armed ICE agents continue to detain people in spaces that should be safe for everyone. This MUST stop. Add your name to help get ICE out of our communities: secure.vera.org/a/stand-up-t...
Masked, heavily armed ICE agents continue to detain people in spaces that should be safe for everyone. This MUST stop. Add your name to help get ICE out of our communities: secure.vera.org/a/stand-up-t...
January 8, 2026 at 8:08 PM
‼️ Get ICE out of our communities!
Masked, heavily armed ICE agents continue to detain people in spaces that should be safe for everyone. This MUST stop. Add your name to help get ICE out of our communities: secure.vera.org/a/stand-up-t...
Masked, heavily armed ICE agents continue to detain people in spaces that should be safe for everyone. This MUST stop. Add your name to help get ICE out of our communities: secure.vera.org/a/stand-up-t...
Today, the Campaign for Access, Representation, and Equity (CARE) for Immigrant Families urged immediate and decisive state action to protect Immigrant New Yorkers from the Trump administration’s cruel and indiscriminate attacks.
www.vera.org/newsroom/as-...
www.vera.org/newsroom/as-...
As Federal Immigration Crackdown Intensifies, Coalition Calls for…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: [email protected] PHOTOS: LINK VIDEO: LINK FROM STREAM NEW YORK — After a Minneapolis resident was horrifically…
www.vera.org
January 8, 2026 at 6:54 PM
Today, the Campaign for Access, Representation, and Equity (CARE) for Immigrant Families urged immediate and decisive state action to protect Immigrant New Yorkers from the Trump administration’s cruel and indiscriminate attacks.
www.vera.org/newsroom/as-...
www.vera.org/newsroom/as-...
In a new op-ed for @cityandstateny.bsky.social, NY State Senator Michael Gianaris, Assemblymember Catalina Cruz, and NY State Senator John Liu call for immediate funding for immigrant legal defense to protect immigrant New Yorkers from cruel federal attacks.
Opinion: Fund immigrant legal defense now
When due process is attacked, New York must respond swiftly.
www.cityandstateny.com
January 8, 2026 at 3:22 PM
In a new op-ed for @cityandstateny.bsky.social, NY State Senator Michael Gianaris, Assemblymember Catalina Cruz, and NY State Senator John Liu call for immediate funding for immigrant legal defense to protect immigrant New Yorkers from cruel federal attacks.
In January 2023, Memphis police officers beat Tyre Nichols to death. He should still be alive today.
Keyana Dixon reflects on navigating the loss of her brother three years later:
Keyana Dixon reflects on navigating the loss of her brother three years later:
A Sister’s Love and Grief: Keyana Dixon opens up about the death of her brother, Tyré Nichols
Words by Keyana Dixon as told to Brittany Brown. Video directed by Kevin Wurm / MLK50 / CatchLight Local / Report For America. Keyana Dixon agreed to meet
mlk50.com
January 7, 2026 at 9:51 PM
In January 2023, Memphis police officers beat Tyre Nichols to death. He should still be alive today.
Keyana Dixon reflects on navigating the loss of her brother three years later:
Keyana Dixon reflects on navigating the loss of her brother three years later:
Even minor interactions with the criminal justice system can have far-reaching impacts that shape people's lives for years.
From family separation to unemployment, here's how these collateral consequences perpetuate cycles of harm:
From family separation to unemployment, here's how these collateral consequences perpetuate cycles of harm:
How “Collateral Consequences” Keep People Trapped in the Legal System
During a search of Penelope Harris’s Bronx apartment in 2010, police found 10 grams of cannabis. Even in the days before cannabis legalization in New…
www.vera.org
January 7, 2026 at 8:43 PM
Even minor interactions with the criminal justice system can have far-reaching impacts that shape people's lives for years.
From family separation to unemployment, here's how these collateral consequences perpetuate cycles of harm:
From family separation to unemployment, here's how these collateral consequences perpetuate cycles of harm:
Dehumanizing language fuels fear, harm, and injustice toward immigrant communities. Amid the Trump administration’s relentless attacks on immigrants, it’s crucial to reject lies and choose language that respects the humanity of all people.
www.vera.org/news/no-pers...
www.vera.org/news/no-pers...
No Person Is Illegal—the Language We Use for Immigration Matters
Far too often in political discourse and media accounts, human beings seeking food, shelter, and safety are described as “natural disasters.” Dehumanizing…
www.vera.org
January 6, 2026 at 3:58 PM
Dehumanizing language fuels fear, harm, and injustice toward immigrant communities. Amid the Trump administration’s relentless attacks on immigrants, it’s crucial to reject lies and choose language that respects the humanity of all people.
www.vera.org/news/no-pers...
www.vera.org/news/no-pers...
The criminal justice system currently overuses prison to deliver punishment and perceived safety. Instead, it must prioritize alternatives to incarceration that are proven to work: community-centered programs that promote healing and behavioral change.
www.vera.org/news/what-do...
www.vera.org/news/what-do...
What Do Alternatives to Incarceration Actually Look Like?
Research shows that incarceration is often harmful and counterproductive. Some alternatives to incarceration can help prevent harm while keeping…
www.vera.org
January 5, 2026 at 2:29 PM
The criminal justice system currently overuses prison to deliver punishment and perceived safety. Instead, it must prioritize alternatives to incarceration that are proven to work: community-centered programs that promote healing and behavioral change.
www.vera.org/news/what-do...
www.vera.org/news/what-do...
Since the launch of the Second Chance Pell Experimental Sites Initiative (SCP) in 2016, more than 45,000 incarcerated students have enrolled in SCP programs. Today, there are more than 750,000 people in prison eligible to enroll in a postsecondary program.
January 2, 2026 at 3:13 PM
Since the launch of the Second Chance Pell Experimental Sites Initiative (SCP) in 2016, more than 45,000 incarcerated students have enrolled in SCP programs. Today, there are more than 750,000 people in prison eligible to enroll in a postsecondary program.
New year, same fight for justice.
Start the year off with purpose by exploring Vera’s Intro to Criminal Justice Reform series: https://www.vera.org/news/intro-to-criminal-justice-reform
Start the year off with purpose by exploring Vera’s Intro to Criminal Justice Reform series: https://www.vera.org/news/intro-to-criminal-justice-reform
Intro to Criminal Justice Reform
Want to learn about criminal justice reform? Start here.
www.vera.org
January 1, 2026 at 6:00 PM
New year, same fight for justice.
Start the year off with purpose by exploring Vera’s Intro to Criminal Justice Reform series: https://www.vera.org/news/intro-to-criminal-justice-reform
Start the year off with purpose by exploring Vera’s Intro to Criminal Justice Reform series: https://www.vera.org/news/intro-to-criminal-justice-reform
⏰ LAST CALL: Our 5X match ends tonight.
Donate now to fuel our fight for justice in the year ahead: https://secure.vera.org/a/fy26-eoy5xb?ms=don_comm_all_bluesky_Vera25_ctr_EOYSocial&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=all&utm_campaign=all_EOYSocial
Donate now to fuel our fight for justice in the year ahead: https://secure.vera.org/a/fy26-eoy5xb?ms=don_comm_all_bluesky_Vera25_ctr_EOYSocial&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=all&utm_campaign=all_EOYSocial
Donate to the Vera Institute of Justice
Make your 5X MATCHED gift now. With your support, we can transform our justice systems.
secure.vera.org
January 1, 2026 at 12:00 AM
⏰ LAST CALL: Our 5X match ends tonight.
Donate now to fuel our fight for justice in the year ahead: https://secure.vera.org/a/fy26-eoy5xb?ms=don_comm_all_bluesky_Vera25_ctr_EOYSocial&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=all&utm_campaign=all_EOYSocial
Donate now to fuel our fight for justice in the year ahead: https://secure.vera.org/a/fy26-eoy5xb?ms=don_comm_all_bluesky_Vera25_ctr_EOYSocial&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=all&utm_campaign=all_EOYSocial
Giving people access to Pell Grants—need-based financial aid for college coursework— while they are behind bars could make a huge difference to the communities they return to. Access to college in prison can help fill employment gaps and end the cycle of incarceration for many.
December 31, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Giving people access to Pell Grants—need-based financial aid for college coursework— while they are behind bars could make a huge difference to the communities they return to. Access to college in prison can help fill employment gaps and end the cycle of incarceration for many.
Justice is on the line.
Act fast: Your gift goes 5X as far today to protect people and communities. Give now before time runs out: https://secure.vera.org/a/fy26-eoy5xb?ms=don_comm_all_bluesky_Vera25_ctr_EOYSocial&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=all&utm_campaign=all_EOYSocial
Act fast: Your gift goes 5X as far today to protect people and communities. Give now before time runs out: https://secure.vera.org/a/fy26-eoy5xb?ms=don_comm_all_bluesky_Vera25_ctr_EOYSocial&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=all&utm_campaign=all_EOYSocial
Donate to the Vera Institute of Justice
Make your 5X MATCHED gift now. With your support, we can transform our justice systems.
secure.vera.org
December 30, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Justice is on the line.
Act fast: Your gift goes 5X as far today to protect people and communities. Give now before time runs out: https://secure.vera.org/a/fy26-eoy5xb?ms=don_comm_all_bluesky_Vera25_ctr_EOYSocial&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=all&utm_campaign=all_EOYSocial
Act fast: Your gift goes 5X as far today to protect people and communities. Give now before time runs out: https://secure.vera.org/a/fy26-eoy5xb?ms=don_comm_all_bluesky_Vera25_ctr_EOYSocial&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=all&utm_campaign=all_EOYSocial
Donate now and your gift will go 2X as far to help:
✅ Transform prison environments to ensure people can live with dignity
✅ Defend due process
✅ Remove barriers to housing for formerly incarcerated people
Support this vital work: https://secure.vera.org/a/fy26-eoy2x
✅ Transform prison environments to ensure people can live with dignity
✅ Defend due process
✅ Remove barriers to housing for formerly incarcerated people
Support this vital work: https://secure.vera.org/a/fy26-eoy2x
Donate to the Vera Institute of Justice
Make your 2X MATCHED gift now. With your support, we can transform our justice systems.
secure.vera.org
December 29, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Donate now and your gift will go 2X as far to help:
✅ Transform prison environments to ensure people can live with dignity
✅ Defend due process
✅ Remove barriers to housing for formerly incarcerated people
Support this vital work: https://secure.vera.org/a/fy26-eoy2x
✅ Transform prison environments to ensure people can live with dignity
✅ Defend due process
✅ Remove barriers to housing for formerly incarcerated people
Support this vital work: https://secure.vera.org/a/fy26-eoy2x
Together, we made real progress this year in the fight for a safer, more just future, but there is so much work ahead.
Can we count on you to make a 2X matched gift to fuel our work in 2026? http://bit.ly/4pUP2LR
Can we count on you to make a 2X matched gift to fuel our work in 2026? http://bit.ly/4pUP2LR
December 26, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Together, we made real progress this year in the fight for a safer, more just future, but there is so much work ahead.
Can we count on you to make a 2X matched gift to fuel our work in 2026? http://bit.ly/4pUP2LR
Can we count on you to make a 2X matched gift to fuel our work in 2026? http://bit.ly/4pUP2LR
The harsh conditions within jails and prisons do not create safe outcomes for our communities. Diversion programs instead center people’s needs with the goals of reducing incarceration rates, protecting public safety, and promoting healthy communities.
December 26, 2025 at 4:42 PM
The harsh conditions within jails and prisons do not create safe outcomes for our communities. Diversion programs instead center people’s needs with the goals of reducing incarceration rates, protecting public safety, and promoting healthy communities.
More people are in immigration detention than ever before. ICE has moved thousands of people—families, immigrants with legal status, and even children—through its multi-billion-dollar detention network.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
The Complex Deportation Network Behind Trump’s Immigration Crackdown
An analysis of data on every ICE arrest, detention stay and deportation reveals the complexity and reach of President Trump’s immigration crackdown.
www.nytimes.com
December 23, 2025 at 10:18 PM
More people are in immigration detention than ever before. ICE has moved thousands of people—families, immigrants with legal status, and even children—through its multi-billion-dollar detention network.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
In July, the Trump administration moved to block judges from granting bond to detained immigrants. Since then, judges have called the policy unconstitutional, and immigration attorneys have secured bond hearings or releases for their clients.
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
Migrants blocked from bond hearings are fighting back, and winning
DHS issued a policy blocking migrants from having bond hearings. But immigration attorneys are starting to win cases in which judges call the detentions illegal.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 23, 2025 at 5:56 PM
In July, the Trump administration moved to block judges from granting bond to detained immigrants. Since then, judges have called the policy unconstitutional, and immigration attorneys have secured bond hearings or releases for their clients.
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
As people across the country gather with loved ones this holiday season, the nearly 2 million people behind bars spend this time of year isolated from family, left to piece together traditions within the confines of prison.
December 23, 2025 at 3:54 PM
As people across the country gather with loved ones this holiday season, the nearly 2 million people behind bars spend this time of year isolated from family, left to piece together traditions within the confines of prison.
Day 12 of Vera’s 12 Days of Action: Stay in the know.
Separating families, cutting critical programs, and deploying cruel immigration enforcement tactics—these are just a few of the Trump administration’s attacks on our most vulnerable communities and on the nation’s core democratic values.
Separating families, cutting critical programs, and deploying cruel immigration enforcement tactics—these are just a few of the Trump administration’s attacks on our most vulnerable communities and on the nation’s core democratic values.
December 23, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Day 12 of Vera’s 12 Days of Action: Stay in the know.
Separating families, cutting critical programs, and deploying cruel immigration enforcement tactics—these are just a few of the Trump administration’s attacks on our most vulnerable communities and on the nation’s core democratic values.
Separating families, cutting critical programs, and deploying cruel immigration enforcement tactics—these are just a few of the Trump administration’s attacks on our most vulnerable communities and on the nation’s core democratic values.
Day 11 of Vera’s 12 Days of Action: Donate to support Vera’s crucial work.
We need you in the fight to end mass incarceration and transform the criminal justice and immigration systems. Donate now to protect families, strengthen communities, and hold systems accountable: secure.vera.org/a/donate
We need you in the fight to end mass incarceration and transform the criminal justice and immigration systems. Donate now to protect families, strengthen communities, and hold systems accountable: secure.vera.org/a/donate
December 22, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Day 11 of Vera’s 12 Days of Action: Donate to support Vera’s crucial work.
We need you in the fight to end mass incarceration and transform the criminal justice and immigration systems. Donate now to protect families, strengthen communities, and hold systems accountable: secure.vera.org/a/donate
We need you in the fight to end mass incarceration and transform the criminal justice and immigration systems. Donate now to protect families, strengthen communities, and hold systems accountable: secure.vera.org/a/donate
In September, ICE raids in Chicago resulted in thousands of arrests. A new analysis from @TheMarshallProject reveals that people were sent to jails and detention centers across 13 states—underscoring tightly the carceral and immigration systems are linked.
ICE Data Reveals What Happened to 1,600 People Arrested During Chicago’s Blitz
Most of those arrested were swiftly shuttled to a sprawling array of detention centers in 13 states, many with reports of troubling conditions.
www.themarshallproject.org
December 22, 2025 at 4:04 PM
In September, ICE raids in Chicago resulted in thousands of arrests. A new analysis from @TheMarshallProject reveals that people were sent to jails and detention centers across 13 states—underscoring tightly the carceral and immigration systems are linked.
“The federal government exists…to invest in programs, services and solutions that actually work to make our lives better, and not to do the exact opposite of what the evidence tells us.” —Vera’s Insha Rahman on the federal cuts to lifesaving antiviolence grants
December 22, 2025 at 2:39 PM
“The federal government exists…to invest in programs, services and solutions that actually work to make our lives better, and not to do the exact opposite of what the evidence tells us.” —Vera’s Insha Rahman on the federal cuts to lifesaving antiviolence grants