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Vera Institute of Justice @vera.org · 1d

Our leaders must advance policies that promote family unity, a strong economy, and thriving immigrant communities. These protections are critically important as we brace for the unjust and unnecessary harm that will come from denying people bond and keeping them locked up.

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Vera Institute of Justice @vera.org · 1d

The systematic dismantling of due process under the Trump administration is on full display:

❗Pressuring immigrants to self-deport
❗Holding them indefinitely in poor conditions
❗Blocking millions from accessing bond
❗Denying immigrants facing deportation a fair hearing

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Vera Institute of Justice @vera.org · 1d

For decades, judges granted bonds to detained immigrants deemed neither flight risks nor public safety threats and allowed them to live in their communities while awaiting lengthy court proceedings. That all vanished in July when ICE reinterpreted immigration law. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/u...

Under Trump Policy, Bonds for Immigrants Facing Deportation Are Vanishing

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Vera Institute of Justice

Children Thrive Action Network @letkidsthrive.bsky.social · 2d

On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) alerted legal service providers serving immigrant children of their plans to incentivize the children to leave the country and abandon their legal rights to seek safety in the United States.

Children’s Advocates Condemn DHS Plans to Pay Children to Return Themselves to Harm - Children Thrive Action Network

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACTS: Melissa Stek, communications consultant, [email protected] Tom Salyers, Director of Communications, [email protected] Washington, DC, October 5, 2025—On Th...

childrenthriveaction.org

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Vera Institute of Justice @vera.org · 1d

Trump is using crime as a pretext to threaten cities like Washington, DC and justify a power grab.

Our elected leaders need to call out this ruse and go on the offense about what actually works to make our cities safe—and it’s not sending in the military.

Sending in the National Guard Won’t Make Our Cities Safer

The federal government has a role to play in public safety, but a military takeover isn’t it.

www.vera.org

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Vera Institute of Justice @vera.org · 1d

MCIU’s effectiveness at providing alternative first response shows underscore the importance of prioritizing care and collaboration.

Vera Institute of Justice @vera.org · 1d

Since 2023, MCIU has:

➡️ Operated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year

➡️ Responded to 2,448 calls in year one

➡️ Resolved nearly 65% of all calls by providing compassionate and immediate care

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Vera Institute of Justice @vera.org · 1d

Over 100 alternative response teams, including New Orleans’ Mobile Crisis Intervention Unit (MCIU), operate across the U.S. These services dispatch trained civilian professionals to answer 911 calls, addressing health and social needs with care and reducing the risks of both harm and incarceration.

Coordinating Alternative First Response: Key Lessons and…

Across the country, local governments have been investing in alternative first response services, which dispatch trained civilian professionals to answer…

www.vera.org

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Vera Institute of Justice @vera.org · 1d

College-in-prison programs:
✅ Reduce violence and improve quality of life behind bars
✅ Expand employment opportunities after release
✅ Lower recidivism

Support incarcerated students returning to school by sending a message of good luck:

Students in prison are returning to school this fall.

Sign the card to congratulate incarcerated students headed back to school.

secure.vera.org

Vera Institute of Justice @vera.org · 5d

🚨ICE is paying NY County jails to detain immigrants.

The immigration detention network is growing across the state, now holding six times more people for federal immigration than it did last year, profiting from detaining many immigrants who have no criminal charges or convictions.

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

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Vera Institute of Justice @vera.org · 5d

Cities across the country, diverse in size and scale of safety challenges have succeeded in establishing a comprehensive approach to public safety, prioritizing investments in a range of resources that meet people’s needs.

💭 What would it look like if #NYC and more cities did the same?

What a Department of Community Safety Could Look Like in New York…

Zohran Mamdani won New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary on a platform of community-centered safety solutions. Here's how they have worked elsewhere.

www.vera.org

Vera Institute of Justice @vera.org · 5d

California is transforming its approach to juvenile justice by investing in community-led programs that keep young people at home, not behind bars.

Ending girls' incarceration isn't just possible, it's essential to making communities stronger and safer.

San Diego advocates push to end girls’ incarceration

With only 25 girls detained, local organizers say the number should be zero — and they’re calling for community-led alternatives.

www.daylightsandiego.org

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Vera Institute of Justice @vera.org · 5d

This is the unfortunate reality for people with conviction histories. New work requirements for Medicaid, which makes employment a prerequisite for access to health care, will compound the existing challenges they face, making breaking the cycle of incarceration that much more difficult.

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Vera Institute of Justice @vera.org · 5d

“It is very difficult to get a job while having a felony...People need a second chance.” —Vanessa Santiago, a formerly incarcerated person who—despite a glowing record at her job—was fired after reporting she was on parole.

www.vera.org/news/the-cha...

The Challenge of Finding a Job After Prison

It wasn’t easy finding work after more than 17 years in prison, but Vanessa Santiago persisted. She was eventually hired at a Lowe’s Home Improvement…

www.vera.org

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Vera Institute of Justice @vera.org · 5d

New York City has the chance to join this movement. By consolidating proven safety strategies under one umbrella, we can build safer, healthier communities for all.

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Vera Institute of Justice @vera.org · 5d

The results speak for themselves:
✅ 62% reduction in homicides in Richmond
✅ 53% drop in use-of-force in Albuquerque
✅ 50% decline in shootings in Newark & Saint Paul

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Vera Institute of Justice @vera.org · 5d

Public safety is about more than policing.

Cities across the U.S.—including Albuquerque, Durham, Newark, and Richmond—have created new city departments that coordinate crisis response, violence prevention, survivor support, and more. www.vera.org/news-spotlig...

What a Department of Community Safety Could Look Like in New York…

Zohran Mamdani won New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary on a platform of community-centered safety solutions. Here's how they have worked elsewhere.

www.vera.org

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Vera Institute of Justice @vera.org · 5d

New York City has the chance to join this movement. By consolidating proven safety strategies under one umbrella, we can build safer, healthier communities for all.

Vera Institute of Justice @vera.org · 5d

The results speak for themselves:
✅ 62% reduction in homicides in Richmond
✅ 53% drop in use-of-force in Albuquerque
✅ 50% decline in shootings in Newark & Saint Paul

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Vera Institute of Justice @vera.org · 6d

Solitary confinement is a harmful form of punishment that may lead to lasting mental illness. Faviola Salinas Zaraté, a mother of three, is one of thousands of people experiencing the psychological toll of isolation in ICE detention. Her story underscores the need to end this unjust practice:

‘Unbearable’: How ICE Is Locking More Immigrants in Solitary Under Trump

A mother of three said she hallucinated after weeks in an ICE segregation cell in Louisiana. She’s one of thousands now facing the psychological toll of isolation.

www.themarshallproject.org

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Vera Institute of Justice @vera.org · 6d

Expanding access to college in prison disrupts mass incarceration while transforming families and communities for the better.

Send a note of encouragement to students in prison going back to school this fall:

Students in prison are returning to school this fall.

Sign the card to congratulate incarcerated students headed back to school.

secure.vera.org

Vera Institute of Justice @vera.org · 7d

Immigration case backlogs must be addressed, but loosening hiring qualifications and tapping military lawyers to serve as immigration judges is not the answer. Yet, that’s exactly what’s happening, and it is depriving families of fairness in the courtroom.
www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/lett...

Immigrants in Houston need legal representation and a fair system

Employing unqualified military personnel as immigration judges is an unnecessary and inhumane policy choice.

www.houstonchronicle.com

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Vera Institute of Justice @vera.org · 7d

Sending the National Guard to cities like Los Angeles and Washington, DC risks undermining trust and civil liberties, without making anyone any safer.

Communities need investments in real solutions proven to prevent crime, like housing and youth programs.

Sending in the National Guard Won’t Make Our Cities Safer

The federal government has a role to play in public safety, but a military takeover isn’t it.

www.vera.org

Vera Institute of Justice @vera.org · 8d

🚨 Right now, courthouse arrests and sweeping raids are stripping members of our immigrant communities of due process. Congress has the power to change this.

TODAY is the day. Urge your lawmaker to support critical investments in fairness and justice in the FY2026 appropriations bill.

Congress Must Act: Protect Due Process and Fund Immigration Legal Counsel Now

The daily assault on due process is throwing immigrant families and children into chaos, leaving them to face court and detention alone.

secure.vera.org

Vera Institute of Justice @vera.org · 8d

Now back in their home countries, they face risks of torture, all due to a legally suspect tactic used by U.S. authorities: third country removals.