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The cruel and indiscriminate immigration enforcement happening across the U.S.impacts our communities, doing all harm and no good. In this moment—when our communities are under attack, families are being torn apart, neighbors are disappearing, immigrant children are being kidnapped, and due process is being dismantled—there is no other option than to combat these injustices.

It’s up to us to protect ourselves and our communities. That’s how we fight back and build a future where people are treated with dignity and respect, no matter where they were born. Swipe to learn your rights during an ICE encounter. ➡️

#ImmigrantRights #WeProtectUs #ICEraids #UniversalRepresentation #KYR #KnowYourRights #Trump

The cruel and indiscriminate immigration enforcement happening across the U.S.impacts our communities, doing all harm and no good. In this moment—when our communities are under attack, families are being torn apart, neighbors are disappearing, immigrant children are being kidnapped, and due process is being dismantled—there is no other option than to combat these injustices.

It’s up to us to protect ourselves and our communities. That’s how we fight back and build a future where people are treated with dignity and respect, no matter where they were born. Swipe to learn your rights during an ICE encounter. ➡️

#ImmigrantRights #WeProtectUs #ICEraids #UniversalRepresentation #KYR #KnowYourRights #Trump

The cruel and indiscriminate immigration enforcement happening across the U.S.impacts our communities, doing all harm and no good. In this moment—when our communities are under attack, families are being torn apart, neighbors are disappearing, immigrant children are being kidnapped, and due process is being dismantled—there is no other option than to combat these injustices.

It’s up to us to protect ourselves and our communities. That’s how we fight back and build a future where people are treated with dignity and respect, no matter where they were born. Swipe to learn your rights during an ICE encounter. ➡️

#ImmigrantRights #WeProtectUs #ICEraids #UniversalRepresentation #KYR #KnowYourRights #Trump

The cruel and indiscriminate immigration enforcement happening across the U.S.impacts our communities, doing all harm and no good. In this moment—when our communities are under attack, families are being torn apart, neighbors are disappearing, immigrant children are being kidnapped, and due process is being dismantled—there is no other option than to combat these injustices.

It’s up to us to protect ourselves and our communities. That’s how we fight back and build a future where people are treated with dignity and respect, no matter where they were born. Swipe to learn your rights during an ICE encounter. ➡️

#ImmigrantRights #WeProtectUs #ICEraids #UniversalRepresentation #KYR #KnowYourRights #Trump

The cruel and indiscriminate immigration enforcement happening across the U.S.impacts our communities, doing all harm and no good. In this moment—when our communities are under attack, families are being torn apart, neighbors are disappearing, immigrant children are being kidnapped, and due process is being dismantled—there is no other option than to combat these injustices.

It’s up to us to protect ourselves and our communities. That’s how we fight back and build a future where people are treated with dignity and respect, no matter where they were born. Swipe to learn your rights during an ICE encounter. ➡️

#ImmigrantRights #WeProtectUs #ICEraids #UniversalRepresentation #KYR #KnowYourRights #Trump

The cruel and indiscriminate immigration enforcement happening across the U.S.impacts our communities, doing all harm and no good. In this moment—when our communities are under attack, families are being torn apart, neighbors are disappearing, immigrant children are being kidnapped, and due process is being dismantled—there is no other option than to combat these injustices.

It’s up to us to protect ourselves and our communities. That’s how we fight back and build a future where people are treated with dignity and respect, no matter where they were born. Swipe to learn your rights during an ICE encounter. ➡️

#ImmigrantRights #WeProtectUs #ICEraids #UniversalRepresentation #KYR #KnowYourRights #Trump

#BREAKING: Today, with our partners at the Center for Children and Youth Justice, Chinese for Affirmative Action d/b/a Stop AAPI Hate, FORCE Detroit, and Health Resources in Action, the Vera Institute of Justice is filing a class action lawsuit to win relief for hundreds of organizations impacted by the DOJ’s federal funding cuts.

“The arbitrary termination of Vera's federal funding and those of our essential partners and peers, totaling $820 million across 200+ organizations in more than 35 states, undermines the very programs and services that save lives and make communities safer.” —Nick Turner, president and director of the Vera Institute of Justice

The named plaintiffs in the suit, representing every organization similarly affected by the cuts, are asking a federal court to stop the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) from unlawfully terminating these grants that support community violence intervention, victim services, and youth and criminal justice reform. The coalition is represented by Democracy Forward and Perry Law , and the case is Vera Institute of Justice, et al. v. United States Department of Justice, et al.

Tap the link in our bio to read our full statement. #JusticeReform #BreakingNews

🚨 The #DOJ terminated our funding for programs that make prisons safer, support disabled trafficking survivors, and build community-centered crisis response. Effective immediately.  
 
❗ The message from the #Trump administration is clear: Safety and justice are no longer priorities for this administration.  

Vera knows what it takes to build safe, healthy, and thriving communities. Every day, our teams of researchers, advocates, and experts partner with corrections departments and community-based organizations to develop solutions that safely reduce the number of people behind bars and stop the cycle of violence, poverty, and homelessness caused by the criminal legal system.  
 
We’re not going anywhere. #CriminalLegalReform
#DepartmentOfJustice

NEW: Despite ICE’s unrelenting terror against immigrant communities, today’s legislation fails to tackle the informal collusion that puts so many of our community members at risk. With New York for All, Albany had a chance to meet the moment and end all forms of collusion with ICE.

This legislative session is not over. We will keep fighting for New York for All!

NEW: Despite ICE’s unrelenting terror against immigrant communities, today’s legislation fails to tackle the informal collusion that puts so many of our community members at risk. With New York for All, Albany had a chance to meet the moment and end all forms of collusion with ICE.

This legislative session is not over. We will keep fighting for New York for All!

NEW: Despite ICE’s unrelenting terror against immigrant communities, today’s legislation fails to tackle the informal collusion that puts so many of our community members at risk. With New York for All, Albany had a chance to meet the moment and end all forms of collusion with ICE.

This legislative session is not over. We will keep fighting for New York for All!

NEW: Despite ICE’s unrelenting terror against immigrant communities, today’s legislation fails to tackle the informal collusion that puts so many of our community members at risk. With New York for All, Albany had a chance to meet the moment and end all forms of collusion with ICE.

This legislative session is not over. We will keep fighting for New York for All!

NEW: Despite ICE’s unrelenting terror against immigrant communities, today’s legislation fails to tackle the informal collusion that puts so many of our community members at risk. With New York for All, Albany had a chance to meet the moment and end all forms of collusion with ICE.

This legislative session is not over. We will keep fighting for New York for All!

NEW: Despite ICE’s unrelenting terror against immigrant communities, today’s legislation fails to tackle the informal collusion that puts so many of our community members at risk. With New York for All, Albany had a chance to meet the moment and end all forms of collusion with ICE.

This legislative session is not over. We will keep fighting for New York for All!

NEW: Despite ICE’s unrelenting terror against immigrant communities, today’s legislation fails to tackle the informal collusion that puts so many of our community members at risk. With New York for All, Albany had a chance to meet the moment and end all forms of collusion with ICE.

This legislative session is not over. We will keep fighting for New York for All!

Too often, politicians and pundits assume that voters want policies that are “tough on crime.” In reality, a majority of voters—including independents—prefer leaders who are “serious about safety.”

Being serious about safety means embracing solutions that prioritize safety, accountability, and justice over tougher punishment. These include modernizing outdated sentencing laws, making sure public safety and not wealth determines who stays in jail pending trial, reducing penalties for drug offenses, and expanding parole.

On issues from overdose prevention to violence intervention, mental health crisis response to sentencing reform, being serious about safety is both effective and popular. The question facing public officials is: will you lead on implementing a better approach to criminal justice, or will you be left playing catch-up?

Read the full report at the link in our bio.

Too often, politicians and pundits assume that voters want policies that are “tough on crime.” In reality, a majority of voters—including independents—prefer leaders who are “serious about safety.”

Being serious about safety means embracing solutions that prioritize safety, accountability, and justice over tougher punishment. These include modernizing outdated sentencing laws, making sure public safety and not wealth determines who stays in jail pending trial, reducing penalties for drug offenses, and expanding parole.

On issues from overdose prevention to violence intervention, mental health crisis response to sentencing reform, being serious about safety is both effective and popular. The question facing public officials is: will you lead on implementing a better approach to criminal justice, or will you be left playing catch-up?

Read the full report at the link in our bio.

Too often, politicians and pundits assume that voters want policies that are “tough on crime.” In reality, a majority of voters—including independents—prefer leaders who are “serious about safety.”

Being serious about safety means embracing solutions that prioritize safety, accountability, and justice over tougher punishment. These include modernizing outdated sentencing laws, making sure public safety and not wealth determines who stays in jail pending trial, reducing penalties for drug offenses, and expanding parole.

On issues from overdose prevention to violence intervention, mental health crisis response to sentencing reform, being serious about safety is both effective and popular. The question facing public officials is: will you lead on implementing a better approach to criminal justice, or will you be left playing catch-up?

Read the full report at the link in our bio.

Mohammed and Aisha came here seeking safety for their children. They deserve due process, not the threat of removal. Pass the Access to Representation Act NOW. ⚖️

🗣️ Take action: nyic.me/ara

This afternoon the @verainstitute delegation visited Moabit - an Open Prison in Berlin. In essence, it’s is a super low-security prison where 90% have broad privileges, including the freedom to work and visit family and friends off site, in some cases returning only to sleep at night. There are random spot checks when prisoners return for the evening. 25% of Berlin prisoners are in an open prison.

It’s still a prison - but the freedom and trust is unlike anything I’ve seen in America. The campus looks like a small college and the buildings look like youth hostels. Small rooms with inexpensive wooden furniture and real doors. No bars. Shared bathrooms, showers and kitchens. No barbed wire (why would there be?). But also no internet (you can use a cell phone outside but check it in when you return). Eligibility is based on whether the staff thinks you are ready to benefit and not a flight risk - it doesn’t matter how serious the crime you committed. Just whether you’ll thrive. 0.01 percent go AWOL.

Moved by one prisoner we met in the wood shop. They don’t teach those skills at Moabit - they want you to get workforce training on the outside and have partnerships set up for that purpose — but he learned the trade while in a closed prison. He said being in open prison made him feel alive, because life is freedom. He was brought to Germany from Turkey when he was 1 but never became a citizen and is at risk of deportation after release. The workshop was filled with dangerous tools: saws, chisels, screw drivers etc.

The prison is not even close to capacity. The director believes many more prisoners would thrive at Moabit but the system is afraid that one violation by one prisoner could set the work back.

Daryl Norcott, Director of Community Partnerships and Special Projects at AMEND, explains how AMEND uses a public health framework to address harm inside prisons.

Instead of looking only at punishment or control, this approach asks deeper questions: What conditions are causing harm? What environments are people exposed to? And what kind of care, support, and rehabilitation would help people return home healthier, safer, and better prepared for their communities?

Public health is recognizing that people cannot all be treated with the same one-size-fits-all response. Inside carceral settings, true rehabilitation requires individualized care, right support, at the right time, for the right person. When prisons become places of health, learning, and rehabilitation, the impact reaches far beyond prison walls. It strengthens families, improves reentry, and helps create safer communities for everyone.

With Robert P. Roche III

Watch the full episode on AMEND at The Last Mile Radio at the link below:https://youtu.be/Pxdwwj0Fx10?si=SigZkDEIoO1PsU-U

#TheLastMile #TheLastMileRadio #TheBrennanCenterForJustice #VeraInstitute

MIDA is a universal representation program that provides free, high-quality legal services to detained immigrants. Vera’s new report, “The Impact of Legal Representation on Detained Immigrants Facing Deportation,” unpacks the ways having a MIDA attorney increased detained immigrants’ chances of securing relief from deportation by 366%. Unlike in criminal court, there is NO guaranteed government-funded attorney in immigration court. As a result, millions of immigrants face deportation in the U.S., often without a lawyer. The Midwest Immigrant Defenders Alliance (MIDA) is changing that.

Legal representation IS a solution that promotes fairness, allows communities to live in safety and stability, and IS ESSENTIAL to due process. Click the #LinkInBio to read the full report.

#DueProcessForAll #ImmigrantRights

Last night, the House of Representatives approved CORCA, a bill that would dramatically expand DHS power and authorize sweeping access to personal data without meaningful safeguards.

We all want safety, accountability, and effective response to crime. But this isn't a safety bill—it's a surveillance bill. #Congress #DHS

stitched from @mrwilliamsprek

“Mayor Mamdani’s executive budget demonstrates his commitment to being serious about safety... For the critics who question these investments in prevention and community-based care, which will keep New Yorkers safe and help close Rikers Island, they represent just a tiny fraction of the nearly $3 billion New York City spends on its jails every year...New Yorkers deserve access to services that do more than intervene after a crisis has taken place.”—Vera’s Benjamin Heller

#Breaking: Mayor Zohran Mamdani released his FY27 Executive Budget, focusing on investments that will help New Yorkers meet their needs, prevent crime and break its cycle, and reduce the flow of people to Rikers Island.

The budget includes:

➡️ $40M for the Office of Community Safety
➡️ $26M for the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes
➡️ $47M for community-based mental health treatment
️➡️ Reductions in the uniformed headcount at the Department of corrections

These historic investments are how we build a safer, more stable #NYC: by investing in community-based care and safety. We look forward to working with the Mamdani administration to build the infrastructure needed to prevent harm, interrupt cycles of violence, and move beyond arrest and incarceration. Click the #LinkInBio to read our full statement.

What happens when prisons stop viewing safety as purely “command and control” and begin treating incarceration as a public health issue?

In our latest episode of The Last Mile Radio, @lbeisen Eisen of the @brennancenter for Justice explores how traditional prison systems often discourage correctional officers from building even the most basic human connections with incarcerated people — using someone’s name, asking about their family, or simply engaging in conversation.

Amend is working to fundamentally rethink that model.
Using a public health framework, Amend approaches prisons as environments that shape the health, behavior, and wellbeing of everyone inside — including correctional officers. Instead of focusing only on punishment and enforcement, the model emphasizes normalization, dynamic security, communication, staff wellness, and reducing the underlying conditions that contribute to violence and instability.

What makes this approach different is that correctional officers are not left out of the reform process. Instead, they are central to it.

In Washington State, officers participating in Amend described these interactions as some of the most meaningful moments of their careers. Through consistent communication, mentorship, and relationship-building, officers are able to connect with incarcerated individuals in ways that improve safety, reduce tension, and restore a sense of humanity on both sides of the system.

A more humane prison system does not begin with policy alone. It begins with culture change — one that recognizes dignity, builds trust, and creates healthier environments for everyone living and working inside prison walls.

Go to link in bio for more information.

#TheLastMile #TheLastMileRadio #BrennanCenterForJustice #Amend #PrisonReform CriminalJusticeReform