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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 10d

I spoke with @thesundaylongread.bsky.social for their podcast, which was recorded live in front of the MFA students of @ugagrady.bsky.social. We chatted about how I reported on ghost networks for @propublica.org's "America's Mental Barrier" series.

Listen here: sundaylongread.com/2025/09/26/p...

Q&A: ProPublica’s Max Blau on bridging investigation and narrative, live at University of Georgia - The Sunday Long Read

The SLR Podcast hit the road (somewhat virtually) for the first time this summer. SLR co-founder Jacob Feldman spoke to ProPublica’s Max Blau at the University of Georgia in partnership with the schoo...

sundaylongread.com

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Reposted by Max Blau

ProPublica @propublica.org · 11d

Sofi left behind her child in Mexico for the promise of providing him a better life by coming to the U.S. on a farmworker visa. She ended up in a trap.

“Not all of us get to be smiled upon by the United States,” she said.

By @maxblau.bsky.social

A Farmworkers Visa Promised Her a Better Life. It Was a Trap.

Sofi left behind her child in Mexico for the promise of providing him a better life. She ended up a victim of an operation that is alleged to have exploited the H-2A visa program — and the workers it ...

projects.propublica.org

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Reposted by Max Blau

EvilReporterChick @evilreporterchick.bsky.social · 11d

Kudos to UGA MFA alum @maxblau.bsky.social for reporting a terrific story and thanks to @thesundaylongread.bsky.social for featuring him and our program on its podcast. Take a listen! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/p...

“Proximity is power” : Max Blau on mixing investigative and feature writing (Live at UGA)

Podcast Episode · The Sunday Long Read Podcast · 09/26/2025 · 1h 11m

podcasts.apple.com

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Reposted by Max Blau

The Sunday Long Read @thesundaylongread.bsky.social · 12d

Don't miss our Q&A with @propublica.org's @maxblau.bsky.social on bridging investigation and narrative, live at the University of Georgia. sundaylongread.com/2025/09/26/p...

Q&A: ProPublica’s Max Blau on bridging investigation and narrative, live at University of Georgia - The Sunday Long Read

The SLR Podcast hit the road (somewhat virtually) for the first time this summer. SLR co-founder Jacob Feldman spoke to ProPublica’s Max Blau at the University of Georgia in partnership with the schoo...

sundaylongread.com

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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 15d

I went on @slate.com's What Next podcast to discuss my ongoing H-2A visa series for @propublica.org. Listen to our convo about the perils of the program, tough choices facing foreign farmworkers, and the difficulties of clamping down on abuse and exploitation.
slate.com/podcasts/wha...

Trump’s Attack on Visas

Working illegally is riskier, but working legally is becoming impossible.

slate.com

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Reposted by Max Blau

Rob Gunther @1robgunther.bsky.social · 15d

Does your food come from a system of modern day slavery here in the US? I'm guest-hosting for Mary Harris today on What Next, @slate.com's daily news pod. ProPublica's @maxblau.bsky.social joined to share his reporting on H-2A visas for seasonal farmworkers, who will be more vulnerable under Trump.

Trump’s Attack on Visas

Working illegally is riskier, but working legally is becoming impossible.

slate.com

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Reposted by Max Blau

ProPublica @propublica.org · 18d

In 2021, Javier Sanchez Mendoza Jr. pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in forced labor as part of a federal investigation that exposed widespread abuses of H-2A workers across Georgia.

This is the story of what one of those workers endured.

By @maxblau.bsky.social

A Farmworkers Visa Promised Her a Better Life. It Was a Trap.

Sofi left behind her child in Mexico for the promise of providing him a better life. She ended up a victim of an operation that is alleged to have exploited the H-2A visa program — and the workers it…

projects.propublica.org

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Reposted by Max Blau

Longreads @longreads.com · 20d

"She was sold the American dream with a farmworker visa. She ended up in a nightmare." — @maxblau.bsky.social & Zaydee Sanchez @propublica.org

A Farmworkers Visa Promised Her a Better Life. It Was a Trap.

Sofi left behind her child in Mexico for the promise of providing him a better life. She ended up a victim of an operation that is alleged to have exploited the H-2A visa program — and the workers it…

projects.propublica.org

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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 21d

A big thanks to @wbur.org for chatting with me about @propublica.org's investigative series into harms happening within America's H-2A program. You can listen here: www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2...

Migrant workers ensnared in 'slavery' scheme on American farms

A federal investigation known as Operation Blooming Onion exposed widespread abuses of H-2A workers across Georgia, ranging from wage theft to sexual abuse.

www.wbur.org

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Reposted by Max Blau

ProPublica @propublica.org · 22d

NEW: The H-2A visa program has failed to protect migrant farmworkers from wage theft, forced labor, violence and death.

Here’s what experts, lawyers and advocates think would make the program safer.

By @maxblau.bsky.social

Employers Have Exploited and Abused H-2A Farmworkers for Years. It Doesn’t Have to Be That Way.

The seasonal visa program has failed to protect migrant farmworkers from wage theft, forced labor, violence and death. Experts, lawyers and advocates say there are ways to reduce and even stop the har...

www.propublica.org

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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 22d

I’m continuing to report on the state of the H-2A program in the months ahead. Are you a H-2A worker? Do you employ H-2A workers? Are you a regulator? Or have another role related to the H-2A program? I’d like to hear from you. Please get in touch: propublica.org/people/max-b...

Max Blau, Reporter

I cover health care, the environment, agriculture and immigration for ProPublica’s South unit.

propublica.org

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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 22d

The H-2A visa program has failed to protect migrant farmworkers from wage theft, forced labor, violence and death. Experts, lawyers and advocates say there are ways to reduce and even prevent the harms. Here's what they think would make the program safer. www.propublica.org/article/h-2a...

Employers Have Exploited and Abused H-2A Farmworkers for Years. It Doesn’t Have to Be That Way.

The seasonal visa program has failed to protect migrant farmworkers from wage theft, forced labor, violence and death. Experts, lawyers and advocates say there are ways to reduce and even stop the har...

www.propublica.org

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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 25d

Read Sofi’s full story and learn more about the challenges facing America’s H-2A program in our ongoing series. Got a tip? Contact us at propublica.org/tips

How to Contact ProPublica or Send a Tip Securely — ProPublica

Our job is to hold people and institutions accountable. To do that, we need evidence.

propublica.org

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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 25d

This past June, the Trump administration went one step further, suspending any enforcement of the new program’s rules until that litigation is resolved.

The number of H-2A visas issued has increased every year since Sofi arrived.

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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 25d

But though this case revealed how easy it is to exploit and abuse visaholders, little has changed. The Biden administration increased protections for H-2A workers, but several lawsuits filed by states including Georgia have prevented them from fully going into effect.

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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 25d

Mendoza declined multiple requests for an interview and did not provide comments in response to ProPublica’s letters detailing the case. His lawyer has maintained that his relationship with Sofi was consensual. Here’s more details on how we were able to report this story.

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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 25d

Mendoza himself brought over 565 people into the country, with pending visa applications for hundreds more. He wasn’t the biggest player of them all. But a lead investigator testified that he was, unquestionably, the most brutal.

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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 25d

Mendoza became one of the first people indicted in Operation Blooming Onion, which exposed widespread abuses of H-2A workers in Georgia. He later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in forced labor.

Operation Blooming Onion is one of the largest H-2A trafficking investigations ever.

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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 25d

After he was released from jail, Mendoza tracked Sofi down, kidnapped her and drove her to a cemetery. According to evidence detailed in a police report, on the way there Mendoza sought advice from a colleague in Mexico on what to do. The colleague said he should kill her.

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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 25d

Mendoza forced her to live at his house and sign a marriage license. He threatened to have her deported. He repeatedly raped her. But then she escaped. She called the police, and Mendoza was arrested.

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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 25d

A labor contractor named Javier Sanchez Mendoza Jr. helped Sofi secure an H-2A visa for a job at a blueberry farm in Georgia. But he ignored the terms of her contract. She was not sent out to work in the fields like the others. She would not be paid at all.

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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 25d

Sofi left behind her child in Mexico for the promise of providing him a better life. But the farmworker visa that allowed her to come to the U.S. legally ended up being a trap. projects.propublica.org/h2a-visa-far...

A Farmworkers Visa Promised Her a Better Life. It Was a Trap.

Sofi left behind her child in Mexico for the promise of providing him a better life. She ended up a victim of an operation that is alleged to have exploited the H-2A visa program — and the workers it ...

projects.propublica.org

1 21 91

Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · 25d

Over the past few years, I’ve been fascinated with one of the largest federal investigations happening in Georgia, known as Operation Blooming Onion. So I partnered with Zaydee Sanchez to uncover the untold story of an unnamed victim at the heart of the case. 🧵

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Reposted by Max Blau

ProPublica @propublica.org · Jun 8

The mother of Ravi Coutinho, the subject of a recent ProPublica investigation, is suing Centene for publishing “misleading” information that gave her son a false impression about the kinds of mental health care that were actually available.

By @maxblau.bsky.social‬

He Died Without Getting Mental Health Care He Sought. A New Lawsuit Says His Insurer’s Ghost Network Is to Blame.

The mother of Ravi Coutinho, the subject of a recent ProPublica investigation, is suing Centene for publishing “misleading” information that gave her son a false impression about the kinds of mental…

www.propublica.org

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Max Blau @maxblau.bsky.social · Jun 2

In case you missed the original story about Ravi's encounters with a ghost network, you can read that here: www.propublica.org/article/ambe...

“I Don’t Want to Die”: Needing Mental Health Care, He Got Trapped in His Insurer’s Ghost Network

Ravi Coutinho bought a health insurance plan thinking it would deliver on its promise of access to mental health providers. But even after 21 phone calls and multiple hospitalizations, no one could fi...

www.propublica.org

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