Ben Zipperer
@benzipperer.org
Reposted by Ben Zipperer
As an aside, we’ve been witnessing what ICE can do w/ (very roughly) a 50% increase in funding & a strong desire to do it.
I don’t think anyone is prepared for what the country will look like when their capacity has been tripled. Bad times are ahead, & it’s incumbent on all of us to do what we can.
I don’t think anyone is prepared for what the country will look like when their capacity has been tripled. Bad times are ahead, & it’s incumbent on all of us to do what we can.
One of the most fundamental problems for dealing w/ ICE is the GOP provided years of ICE agent funding in the “Big Beautiful Bill.”
No govt shutdown will end that funding stream, and there aren’t 2/3s votes in each chamber to rescind the funding & override a veto.
Means resistance is what we have.
No govt shutdown will end that funding stream, and there aren’t 2/3s votes in each chamber to rescind the funding & override a veto.
Means resistance is what we have.
January 15, 2026 at 2:33 PM
As an aside, we’ve been witnessing what ICE can do w/ (very roughly) a 50% increase in funding & a strong desire to do it.
I don’t think anyone is prepared for what the country will look like when their capacity has been tripled. Bad times are ahead, & it’s incumbent on all of us to do what we can.
I don’t think anyone is prepared for what the country will look like when their capacity has been tripled. Bad times are ahead, & it’s incumbent on all of us to do what we can.
Reposted by Ben Zipperer
"Officers threw flash bangs and tear gas in my car. I got six kids in the car"
"His wife, Destiny Jackson, told FOX 9 their 6-month-old infant stopped breathing and lost consciousness. She then performed CPR on her baby."
"His wife, Destiny Jackson, told FOX 9 their 6-month-old infant stopped breathing and lost consciousness. She then performed CPR on her baby."
January 15, 2026 at 8:22 PM
"Officers threw flash bangs and tear gas in my car. I got six kids in the car"
"His wife, Destiny Jackson, told FOX 9 their 6-month-old infant stopped breathing and lost consciousness. She then performed CPR on her baby."
"His wife, Destiny Jackson, told FOX 9 their 6-month-old infant stopped breathing and lost consciousness. She then performed CPR on her baby."
Reposted by Ben Zipperer
The Trump-Vance administration just used your taxes to pay for an ICE agent to do this to a 21-year-old kid, who was only protesting because another ICE agent killed a mother of three, who was only there because ICE agents are kidnapping your neighbors
January 15, 2026 at 8:23 PM
The Trump-Vance administration just used your taxes to pay for an ICE agent to do this to a 21-year-old kid, who was only protesting because another ICE agent killed a mother of three, who was only there because ICE agents are kidnapping your neighbors
Reposted by Ben Zipperer
The Star Tribune had an insane graphic about the presence of immigration enforcement in Minneapolis. There are more immigration officers in the metro right now than local police officers.
January 15, 2026 at 12:56 AM
The Star Tribune had an insane graphic about the presence of immigration enforcement in Minneapolis. There are more immigration officers in the metro right now than local police officers.
Reposted by Ben Zipperer
Heard from a public school staffer.
ICE agents follow school buses on their afternoon routes & target some parents picking up kids from bus stops.
If ICE knew anything abt particular parents, they'd go to homes.
Seems they're just leveraging kids' vulnerability & mixing with racial profiling.
ICE agents follow school buses on their afternoon routes & target some parents picking up kids from bus stops.
If ICE knew anything abt particular parents, they'd go to homes.
Seems they're just leveraging kids' vulnerability & mixing with racial profiling.
January 15, 2026 at 2:14 AM
Heard from a public school staffer.
ICE agents follow school buses on their afternoon routes & target some parents picking up kids from bus stops.
If ICE knew anything abt particular parents, they'd go to homes.
Seems they're just leveraging kids' vulnerability & mixing with racial profiling.
ICE agents follow school buses on their afternoon routes & target some parents picking up kids from bus stops.
If ICE knew anything abt particular parents, they'd go to homes.
Seems they're just leveraging kids' vulnerability & mixing with racial profiling.
Reposted by Ben Zipperer
My daughter's preschool now has volunteer watch and rapid response groups (along with food, transport, and other forms of support) and ICE-specific lockdown procedures. What kind of world is this to grow up in?
January 14, 2026 at 4:08 PM
My daughter's preschool now has volunteer watch and rapid response groups (along with food, transport, and other forms of support) and ICE-specific lockdown procedures. What kind of world is this to grow up in?
Reposted by Ben Zipperer
I'm very serious about this. Who knows when sanity will return to the federal government. But when it does, I would sure like every victim of ICE, CBP, and the rest to be able sue their attackers into personal bankruptcy.
Let that be known, and who knows--it might change at least some behavior.
Let that be known, and who knows--it might change at least some behavior.
Two other things for Legs to consider:
1. Extend/eliminate statute of limitations for violent crimes by person operating under color of federal law.
2. Enact reverse-1983 laws w/long or unlimited SOL, potentially allowing future tort suits against federal assailants should Congress reform FTCA.
1. Extend/eliminate statute of limitations for violent crimes by person operating under color of federal law.
2. Enact reverse-1983 laws w/long or unlimited SOL, potentially allowing future tort suits against federal assailants should Congress reform FTCA.
Would like to see governors and state legislatures get state defense forces doing this, too. Puts less onus on civilians and ICE chuds are less likely to get violent with people in uniform.
January 15, 2026 at 3:53 AM
I'm very serious about this. Who knows when sanity will return to the federal government. But when it does, I would sure like every victim of ICE, CBP, and the rest to be able sue their attackers into personal bankruptcy.
Let that be known, and who knows--it might change at least some behavior.
Let that be known, and who knows--it might change at least some behavior.
Reposted by Ben Zipperer
Reposted by Ben Zipperer
Workers across the country are fighting to make ends meet — and the Trump admin’s economic policies, including eroding workers’ rights and union-busting, are not making life more affordable.
It’s time to put working people first. @epi.org:
It’s time to put working people first. @epi.org:
47 ways Trump has made life less affordable in the last year
In the first year of his second term, President Trump has actively made life less affordable for working people. Affordability has two sides—prices and pay. While public debate fixates on rising costs...
www.epi.org
January 14, 2026 at 6:22 PM
Workers across the country are fighting to make ends meet — and the Trump admin’s economic policies, including eroding workers’ rights and union-busting, are not making life more affordable.
It’s time to put working people first. @epi.org:
It’s time to put working people first. @epi.org:
209 House Republicans voted to let employers dodge overtime pay by calling it "training." 6 GOP defectors killed the bill.
GOP defections sink labor bill to ease overtime rules
The bill's collapse marks a setback for Education and Workforce Chair Tim Walberg.
www.politico.com
January 14, 2026 at 8:57 PM
209 House Republicans voted to let employers dodge overtime pay by calling it "training." 6 GOP defectors killed the bill.
Reposted by Ben Zipperer
Perennial reminder of this excellent paper about how secret police forces are swamped with underachievers
“We don’t want clever people. We want mediocrities.”
(Ungated summary here ajps.org/2019/10/08/w...)
“We don’t want clever people. We want mediocrities.”
(Ungated summary here ajps.org/2019/10/08/w...)
January 14, 2026 at 4:17 PM
Perennial reminder of this excellent paper about how secret police forces are swamped with underachievers
“We don’t want clever people. We want mediocrities.”
(Ungated summary here ajps.org/2019/10/08/w...)
“We don’t want clever people. We want mediocrities.”
(Ungated summary here ajps.org/2019/10/08/w...)
Reposted by Ben Zipperer
Interesting anecdote arguing AI is more likely to compete with offshore workers in the short-term given its current level of effectiveness.
Beige Book, Jan 2026, Philly Fed
Beige Book, Jan 2026, Philly Fed
January 14, 2026 at 8:04 PM
Interesting anecdote arguing AI is more likely to compete with offshore workers in the short-term given its current level of effectiveness.
Beige Book, Jan 2026, Philly Fed
Beige Book, Jan 2026, Philly Fed
Reposted by Ben Zipperer
Having seen several abductions up close, it is really hard to convey how much the thing they’re doing is roaming in military convoys until they see someone who is alone and isn’t white, and then jumping out in large numbers, pulling them into a van, and screeching off, all in 90 seconds or so.
"“They specifically asked me if I knew where the Hmong families lived on my street & in the neighborhood.” Lugert-Thom responded, “I don’t know anything about that” & she said they then asked, “Well, what about the Asian families?”"
"“I was a bit shaken & a bit shocked of what I was asked to do.”"
"“I was a bit shaken & a bit shocked of what I was asked to do.”"
A St. Paul resident says federal officers knocked on her door and asked her to identify Hmong and Asian households in her North End neighborhood last week.
January 14, 2026 at 2:31 PM
Having seen several abductions up close, it is really hard to convey how much the thing they’re doing is roaming in military convoys until they see someone who is alone and isn’t white, and then jumping out in large numbers, pulling them into a van, and screeching off, all in 90 seconds or so.
Reposted by Ben Zipperer
"But résumé studies only measure callbacks. They don’t tell us who actually gets hired."
These authors of this brand new preprint wanted to know whether discrimination measured in résumé studies shows up in real hiring.
So they linked a large résumé audit experiment to actual employment data.
These authors of this brand new preprint wanted to know whether discrimination measured in résumé studies shows up in real hiring.
So they linked a large résumé audit experiment to actual employment data.
January 14, 2026 at 6:41 PM
"But résumé studies only measure callbacks. They don’t tell us who actually gets hired."
These authors of this brand new preprint wanted to know whether discrimination measured in résumé studies shows up in real hiring.
So they linked a large résumé audit experiment to actual employment data.
These authors of this brand new preprint wanted to know whether discrimination measured in résumé studies shows up in real hiring.
So they linked a large résumé audit experiment to actual employment data.
ICE used to rarely target people without criminal records, but now these immigrants are actually more likely to be arrested than those with prior convictions
Excellent new @immcouncil.org report documenting this wholesale shift in arrests
Excellent new @immcouncil.org report documenting this wholesale shift in arrests
January 14, 2026 at 4:59 PM
ICE used to rarely target people without criminal records, but now these immigrants are actually more likely to be arrested than those with prior convictions
Excellent new @immcouncil.org report documenting this wholesale shift in arrests
Excellent new @immcouncil.org report documenting this wholesale shift in arrests
This year Virginia could allow half a million state and local government employees to unionize and bargain collectively over wages, benefits, and working conditions
Virginia Workers’ Biggest Win in Decades Could Come in 2026
Virginia lawmakers can empower hundreds of thousands of state and local government workers to unionize and bargain collectively over wages, benefits, and working conditions. Doing so will help make wo...
www.americanprogress.org
January 14, 2026 at 4:07 PM
This year Virginia could allow half a million state and local government employees to unionize and bargain collectively over wages, benefits, and working conditions
How to help tax cheats, increase the deficit, and cut government productivity in one easy step
January 14, 2026 at 3:56 PM
How to help tax cheats, increase the deficit, and cut government productivity in one easy step
Reposted by Ben Zipperer
ICE abducted and injured (bruised cheek) a 1-year old who is the daughter of a US citizen detained as part of a Kavanaugh Stop.
"Federal agents allegedly drive off with baby in car after father detained in Cypress Park raid."
Federal agents allegedly drive off with baby in car after father detained in Cypress Park raid
The father, who is a U.S. citizen, was detained for allegedly throwing rocks at agents. He says agents then drove off in his car, with his 1-year-old daughter in the backseat.
abc7.com
January 14, 2026 at 2:51 PM
ICE abducted and injured (bruised cheek) a 1-year old who is the daughter of a US citizen detained as part of a Kavanaugh Stop.
Reposted by Ben Zipperer
Total 2025 deportations could have reached around 400 to 500 thousand.
ICE deportations surged in the second half of the year. CBP data for the past 12 months is still missing.
ICE deportations surged in the second half of the year. CBP data for the past 12 months is still missing.
January 14, 2026 at 4:15 AM
Total 2025 deportations could have reached around 400 to 500 thousand.
ICE deportations surged in the second half of the year. CBP data for the past 12 months is still missing.
ICE deportations surged in the second half of the year. CBP data for the past 12 months is still missing.
Reposted by Ben Zipperer
The worker, identified as TJ Sabula in the Washington Post, said “I don’t feel as though fate looks upon you often, and when it does, you better be ready to seize the opportunity. And today I think I did that.” www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
January 14, 2026 at 3:02 AM
The worker, identified as TJ Sabula in the Washington Post, said “I don’t feel as though fate looks upon you often, and when it does, you better be ready to seize the opportunity. And today I think I did that.” www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Ben Zipperer
This is 10th-grader Arnoldo Bazan.
A citizen.
Immigration agents grabbed him and put him in a chokehold.
"We're from the United States bro!' he screamed.
Agents took and sold his phone
And when he finally got home hours later, his shirt was ripped, he neck had angry, red welts, and he sobbed.
A citizen.
Immigration agents grabbed him and put him in a chokehold.
"We're from the United States bro!' he screamed.
Agents took and sold his phone
And when he finally got home hours later, his shirt was ripped, he neck had angry, red welts, and he sobbed.
January 13, 2026 at 10:20 PM
This is 10th-grader Arnoldo Bazan.
A citizen.
Immigration agents grabbed him and put him in a chokehold.
"We're from the United States bro!' he screamed.
Agents took and sold his phone
And when he finally got home hours later, his shirt was ripped, he neck had angry, red welts, and he sobbed.
A citizen.
Immigration agents grabbed him and put him in a chokehold.
"We're from the United States bro!' he screamed.
Agents took and sold his phone
And when he finally got home hours later, his shirt was ripped, he neck had angry, red welts, and he sobbed.
Reposted by Ben Zipperer
BREAKING: James Rodden, an ICE prosecutor who the Observer identified last year as the operator of an X account that posted “America is a White nation," “‘Migrants’ are all criminals,” and apparent praise of Adolf Hitler, appeared to be back at work Tuesday.
www.texasobserver.org/ice-prosecut...
www.texasobserver.org/ice-prosecut...
ICE Prosecutor Who Runs Racist X Account Returns to Dallas Immigration Court
James Rodden, who the Observer identified last year as the operator of the account that routinely posted hateful statements, appeared to be back at work Tuesday.
www.texasobserver.org
January 14, 2026 at 12:43 AM
BREAKING: James Rodden, an ICE prosecutor who the Observer identified last year as the operator of an X account that posted “America is a White nation," “‘Migrants’ are all criminals,” and apparent praise of Adolf Hitler, appeared to be back at work Tuesday.
www.texasobserver.org/ice-prosecut...
www.texasobserver.org/ice-prosecut...
Very useful ranges of population and employment changes with more reasonable deportation estimates than the CBO undercount.
ICE deportations in 2025 ran about 30% higher than last year, but now the daily rate has nearly doubled
ICE deportations in 2025 ran about 30% higher than last year, but now the daily rate has nearly doubled
January 13, 2026 at 8:53 PM
Very useful ranges of population and employment changes with more reasonable deportation estimates than the CBO undercount.
ICE deportations in 2025 ran about 30% higher than last year, but now the daily rate has nearly doubled
ICE deportations in 2025 ran about 30% higher than last year, but now the daily rate has nearly doubled
Reposted by Ben Zipperer
With @stanveuger.bsky.social and @taraelizwatson.bsky.social, we have an update on our near-term immigration analysis under Trump. Here's our range of likely outcomes for breakeven employment. Could be negative **this year**.
Full piece: www.brookings.edu/articles/mac...
Full piece: www.brookings.edu/articles/mac...
January 13, 2026 at 5:41 PM
With @stanveuger.bsky.social and @taraelizwatson.bsky.social, we have an update on our near-term immigration analysis under Trump. Here's our range of likely outcomes for breakeven employment. Could be negative **this year**.
Full piece: www.brookings.edu/articles/mac...
Full piece: www.brookings.edu/articles/mac...
Reposted by Ben Zipperer
I get this question a lot (not always in such polite language), so worth addressing directly. (Short thread)
Sincere, non-rhetorical question: what agency is the source of these numbers? And how fully do you trust them?
January 13, 2026 at 3:32 PM
I get this question a lot (not always in such polite language), so worth addressing directly. (Short thread)