Chris Gelardi
@chrisgelardi.bsky.social
1.6K followers 260 following 160 posts
Exasperated journalist investigating the criminal-legal system for @nysfocus.bsky.social. Also The Intercept, The Nation, many more. He/him. Send tips ⬇️ https://linktr.ee/chrisgelardi
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Reposted by Chris Gelardi
nycsouthpaw.bsky.social
Still thinking about this by the way paragraph in the Sun Times piece on the apartment building raid. Full story: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...
A similar raid was carried out in suburban Elgin, when agents led by U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem rode in a military vehicle and blew down the front door of a home where they detained six people, including two U.S. citizens.
Reposted by Chris Gelardi
alexarriaga.bsky.social
My friend who owns a tortillería in Chicago
Reposted by Chris Gelardi
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
130 immigration judges have been fired or forced out since Trump took office, a figure which doesn't even include the count of those who have retired or quit (quite a few). The Trump admin is systematically moving to kill a fair day in court for immigrants facing removal.
kathleenbush.bsky.social
Union Says Trump Has Fired More Immigration Judges

From @law360.bsky.social

The govt has fired at least 16 judges without cause in recent days, adding to the dozens of judges who have left or been fired

"The firings bring up to 130 the number of immigration judges that have been fired...
Union Says Trump Has Fired More Immigration Judges - Law360
The union that represents the judges who hear immigration cases said the government has fired at least 16 judges without cause in recent days, adding to the dozens of judges who have left or been fire...
www.law360.com
chrisgelardi.bsky.social
It finally happened. I stepped on a rat while running.
chrisgelardi.bsky.social
"Where is our governor?"

Eleven state legislators were arrested at a Manhattan federal building while protesting ICE. The legislature ended this year's session without taking up flagship immigration protection bills.

From Isabelle Taft:
nysfocus.com/2025/09/19/l...
‘We Must Escalate’: Arrested Legislators Call Out ICE and Albany
Three months after the state legislature ended session without passing immigration protections, 15 elected officials faced down arrest to protest ICE and…
nysfocus.com
chrisgelardi.bsky.social
New York doens't allow private immigration detention, and the state has only one ICE-run detention center, so the feds are seeking to expand their use of county jails. Sheriffs are obliging.

From @juliarock.bsky.social and Isabelle Taft:
nysfocus.com/2025/09/16/i...
ICE Detentions in New York County Jails Have Exploded
So far this year, the state's county jails have held six times more people for federal immigration authorities than they did in all of 2024.
nysfocus.com
Reposted by Chris Gelardi
brianpjcronin.bsky.social
Anyway are we gonna keep talking about how we found out today that Trump sent Navy SEALS to North Korea to plant a listening device but instead they panicked and murdered a bunch of random fishermen or is that just gonna get memory holed
chrisgelardi.bsky.social
I'm incredibly excited to welcome Isabelle Taft as @nysfocus.bsky.social's immigration reporter. She's a dogged journalist who is going to rock it during these dark, eventful times.

Her first piece is up today, give it a read:
nysfocus.com/2025/09/04/t...

And send tips: [email protected]
Young New York Immigrants at Risk After Trump Ends Protections
New Yorkers are suing to reverse a Trump administration policy change that has upended the futures of tens of thousands of young immigrants.
nysfocus.com
Reposted by Chris Gelardi
colinreports.bsky.social
More crucial work from @chrisgelardi.bsky.social on the fallout from prison guards’ wildcat strike in the spring. As staffing woes continue, local jails are holding thousands of people meant to be in prison — 10x the level at the beginning of this year. nysfocus.com/2025/09/02/c...
CHART: The State-Ready Jail Backlog

[Across all jails, shows the number of “state-ready” people in local jails increase from 234 in January to 2473 in June, then decrease slightly in July to 2234]
chrisgelardi.bsky.social
New in @nysfocus.bsky.social: The New York state prison system's crisis, ongoing since a guard strike earlier this year, has been trickling down to local jails. The backlog of "state ready" incarceratd people was up some 700 percent in July.
nysfocus.com/2025/09/02/c...
Prison Staffing Woes Leave Thousands Stuck in County Jails
After a strike led state prisons to stop accepting new prisoners, local jails have been left holding thousands of extra people.
nysfocus.com
Reposted by Chris Gelardi
nickturse.bsky.social
Trump Boasts of Strike on “Drug-Carrying Boat” from Venezuela

The U.S. military carried out an attack on a "drug vessel" in the Caribbean. It could mark the first shots of a new war.

theintercept.com/2025/09/02/t...
Trump Boasts of Strike on “Drug-Carrying Boat” from Venezuela
The U.S. military carried out an attack on a "drug vessel" in the Caribbean. It could mark the first shots of a new war.
theintercept.com
chrisgelardi.bsky.social
"Marco Rubio said on X that the vessel was being operated by a 'designated narco-terrorist organization.'"

This is what happens when Congress spends three decades allowing presidents to use made up "designations" to justify unchecked military power.
apnews.com/article/vene...
Trump says US has carried out strike against drug-carrying vessel that departed from Venezuela
President Donald Trump says the U.S. has carried out a strike in the southern Caribbean against a drug-carrying vessel that departed from Venezuela.
apnews.com
Reposted by Chris Gelardi
chrisgelardi.bsky.social
Everything that civil liberties advocates have spent years warning about is coming true under the second Trump admin.
chrisgelardi.bsky.social
Arizona uses a shady nonprofit and sus lawsuits for a surveillance tool that tracks innocent ppl's remittances and other wire transfers.

ICE is a top user. Now, there's proof that ICE uses it to track those accused of basic immigration violations.

Stories by @shawnmusgrave.bsky.social ⬇️
chrisgelardi.bsky.social
🗣️ New york did not eliminate cash bail

🗣️ Bail reform has not led to increases in crime or recidivism

🗣️ Pretrial detention increases likelihood of rearrest

Trump Targets Bail Reform in Latest Threat to New York’s Federal Funding
nysfocus.com/2025/08/26/t...
Trump Targets Bail Reform in Latest Threat to New York’s Federal…
New York’s bail reform law didn’t eliminate cash bail and hasn’t led to increased crime or recidivism. The Trump administration is still targeting it.
nysfocus.com