Robert C. Richards

Robert Richards

@rrichard09.bsky.social

3.1K followers 8.6K following 550 posts

I study how people talk about politics and law and participate in governing their communities. Opinions expressed here are mine alone, not those of my employers or institutions.
https://rcrjr.wordpress.com

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Political science 19%

Environmental science 17%

Posts Replies Media Videos

Robert Richards @rrichard09.bsky.social · 5h

a thing I thought today: a Texan was U.S. president during all of 1968

Reposted by Robert C. Richards

David Gura @davidgura.bsky.social · 6h

When @jasonleopold.bsky.social told me the Justice Department inexplicably redacted the “J.P.” from “J.P. Morgan” in a J.P. Morgan research note, I didn’t believe him.

But here it is:

Robert Richards @rrichard09.bsky.social · 7h

apparently; see:
search.worldcat.org/search?q=kw%...

kw:festschrift - Search Results

search.worldcat.org

Reposted by Brendan Nyhan, Diane Ravitch, Robert C. Richards

Charlie Savage @charliesavage.bsky.social · 8h

U.S. Failed to Alert Judge to Press Law in Application to Search Reporter’s Home

The Justice Dept. did not address a 1980 law that generally bars warrants for reporting material when it sought to seize a Washington Post reporter’s devices, an unsealed filing shows.

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/u...

U.S. Failed to Alert Judge to Press Law in Application to Search Reporter’s Home

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Robert C. Richards, Rebecca Tushnet, Peter Jacobs

Sam Levin @samtlevin.bsky.social · 8h

After Border Patrol shot two people in Portland, DHS claimed they were "vicious gang members" tied to a past shooting.

But records I obtained reveal a US prosecutor has since directly contradicted DHS, saying, "We're not suggesting he is a gang member." My dive into how DHS' claims have collapsed:

DHS’s account of two Venezuelans shot by border patrol falls apart in court: ‘A smear campaign’

Immigration officials said agent shot two ‘vicious gang members’ in Portland, but records obtained by the Guardian reveal US prosecutor contradicted claims

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Timothy Snyder, Nandita Sharma, Linda J. Skitka , and 12 more Timothy Snyder, Nandita Sharma, Linda J. Skitka, Mor Naaman, Steve Peers, Rosemary A. Joyce, Caroline Krafft, Karen Benjamin Guzzo, Robert C. Richards, David R. Miller, Scott A. Imberman, Amy W. Ando, Kate Starbird, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 8h

BREAKING: Judge Ana Reyes, in DC, issues a stay of DHS Sec. Noem’s decision to end Haiti’s temporary protected status (TPS) designation, a decision that was to go into effect on Tuesday and could have ended legal status for up to 350,000 people overnight. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
FRITZ EMMANUEL LESLY MIOT, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
Case No. 25-cv-02471 (ACR)
V.
DONALD J. TRUMP, et al.,
Defendants.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
On December 2, 1783, then-Commander-in-Chief George Washington penned: "America is open to receive not only the Opulent & respected Stranger, but the oppressed & persecuted of all Nations & Religions." More than two centuries later, Congress reaffirmed President
Washington's vision by establishing the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program. See 8
U.S.C. § 1254a (TPS statute). It provides humanitarian relief to foreign nationals in the United
States who come from disaster-stricken countries. It also brings in substantial revenue, with TPS
holders generating $5.2 billion in taxes annually. See Part VI.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem has a different take.?
eSec Noem
I just met with the President.
I am recommending a full travel ban on every damn country that's been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies.
Our forefathers built this nation on blood, sweat, and the unyielding love of freedom-not for foreign invaders to slaughter our heroes, suck dry our hard-earned tax dollars, or snatch the benefits owed to AMERICANS.
WE DON'T WANT THEM. NOT ONE.
6:52 PM - Dec 1, 2025 - 13.2M Views
' Letter from George Washington to Joshua Holmes (December 2, 1783).
2 Dkt. 90 (Second Am. Compl.) 1110 n.91. But see supra n.l.

So says the official responsible for overseeing the TPS program. And one of those (her word)
"damn" countries is Haiti. Relevant here, three days before making the above post, Secretary
Noem announced she would terminate Haiti's TPS designation as of February 3, 2026. See 90
Fed. Reg. 54733 (Nov. 28, 2025) (Termination).
Plaintiffs are five Haitian TPS holders. They are not, it emerges, "killers, leeches, or
entitlement junkies." They are instead: Fritz Emmanuel Lesly Miot, a neuroscientist researching
Alzheimer's disease, Dkt. 90 (Second Am. Compl. (SAC)) 1 1; Rudolph Civil, a software
engineer at a national bank, id. 1 2; Marlene Gail Noble, a laboratory assistant in a toxicology
department, id. | 3; Marica Merline Laguerre, a college economics major, id. 9| 4; and Vilbrun Dorsainvil, a full-time registered nurse, id. 9|5. They claim that Secretary Noem's decision violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S.C. § 706(2), and the Fifth Amendment of
the U.S. Constitution. The Government counters that the Court does not have jurisdiction, and, in any case, the Secretary did not violate the law.
Plaintiffs seek to stay the Secretary's decision under 5 U.S.C. § 705 pending the outcome
of this litigation. See Dkt. 81 (§ 705 Mot.). To decide their motion, the Court considers first whether it has jurisdiction. It does. See Part II. It then considers: whether Plaintiffs have a
substantial likelihood of success on the merits; whether they will be irreparably harmed absent a
stay; and whether a merged balance of the equities and public interest analysis favors a stay. See
Part III. Each element favors Plaintiffs. See Parts IV, V, and VI.

Finally, the balance of equities and public interest favor a stay. The Government does not
cite any reason termination must occur post haste. Secretary Noem complains of strains unlawful immigrants place on our immigration-enforcement system. Her answer? Turn 352,959
lawful immigrants into unlawful immigrants overnight. She complains of strains to our economy. Her answer? Turn employed lawful immigrants who contribute billions in taxes into the legally unemployable. She complains of strains to our healthcare system. Her answer? Turn the insured into the uninsured. This approach is many things— in the public interest is not one of them.
For the reasons below, the Court GRANTS Plaintiffs' Renewed Motion for a Stay Under
5 U.S.C. § 705, Dkt. 81.

Reposted by Robert C. Richards

The Associated Press @apnews.com · 8h

A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from ending temporary protections that have allowed 350,000 Haitians to live and work in the U.S.

Federal judge blocks Trump administration from ending temporary legal status for Haitians in the US

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from ending temporary protections that have allowed roughly 350,000 Haitians to live and work in the United States.

bit.ly

Reposted by Robert C. Richards

Samantha Michaels @samanthamichaels.bsky.social · 10h

Star Tribune confirms what Mother Jones reported last week—more federal prosecutors are resigning in Minnesota. Here's additional context for why: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Reposted by Robert C. Richards

Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 15h

I'm going to be participating in a online panel with Harvard's Shorenstein Center, Reporting on Power and Policy, at 1PM Eastern today. I will be on with fellow 2025 Nylan Prize winner, Samantha Maldonado, a senior reporter for THE CITY.

You can tune in here: harvard.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Reposted by Timothy Snyder, Robert C. Richards

Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 16h

BREAKING: Judge Cobb has barred DHS from preventing members of Congress from visiting immigration detention facilities without notice, saying the administration's policy likely violated the law requiring their unfettered access. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Reposted by Robert C. Richards, Peter Bergman

Jennifer Doleac @jenniferdoleac.bsky.social · 22h

The Criminal Justice team at Arnold Ventures now has a Slack channel up and running, to share research ideas and opporutunities we see in the policy/practice space, with academic scholars. All researchers are welcome! Email me for the link. [email protected]

Reposted by Robert C. Richards

evacide @evacide.bsky.social · 1d

Why do your organizing over Signal? So that you don't do your organizing on an app that hasn't been tested or reviewed, run by a guy who doesn't tell his users about data breaches and security problems.

www.ibtimes.co.uk/stopice-hack...

StopICE Data Breach Sent Names And Locations of 100,000 Users to The US Government

StopICE, the anti-ICE activist platform, suffered a major security breach exposing names, logins, phone numbers and GPS locations of over 100,000 users to US federal agencies.

www.ibtimes.co.uk

Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 1d

Horrifying. ICE confirms measles outbreak at Dilley family detention center. www.cbsnews.com/news/ice-dil...

ICE halts "all movement" at Texas detention facility due to measles infections

The measles cases at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center were detected Friday, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to CBS News.

www.cbsnews.com

Reposted by Robert C. Richards

daniel sieradski @self.agency · 1d

"Some lawyers say it shows up in subtle ways: raised eyebrows, jokes about being unreachable, skepticism when they ask for time off. Others say it has shaped much bigger decisions, including how visibly Jewish they allow themselves to be at work."

A border official mocked an attorney for observing Shabbat. Orthodox lawyers say the issue is not new.

Orthodox lawyers say observing Shabbat can shape careers — a tension highlighted by recent remarks about a federal prosecutor.

forward.com

Reposted by Robert C. Richards

Timothy McBride @mcbridetd.bsky.social · 1d

Fear and Anger Grow as Thousands Remain Without Power in the South

More than 30 people have died across three Southern states in connection with last week’s storm, and thousands remain without power. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/01/u...

Fear and Anger Grow as Thousands Remain Without Power in the South

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Stephen M. Walt, Elizabeth Saunders, Will Jennings , and 11 more Stephen M. Walt, Elizabeth Saunders, Will Jennings, Brendan Nyhan, Rosemary A. Joyce, Daniel W. Drezner, Robert C. Richards, David R. Miller, Michael H. Whitworth, Jason Lyall, Greg Linden, Colin Woodard, Timothy D. McBride, David Darmofal

Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 1d

A reminder that the Kennedy Center is the literal and legal and congressional designated presidential memorial to JFK. This would be like Trump tearing down the Lincoln Memorial to build something “better.”

HudsonRiverCroc @hudsonrivercroc.bsky.social · 1d

He’s going to tear it down

Reposted by Michael Barnett, Brendan Nyhan, Scott L. Greer , and 6 more Michael Barnett, Brendan Nyhan, Scott L. Greer, David Rothschild, Robert C. Richards, Richard M. Carpiano, Jeannette Sutton, Timothy D. McBride, David Darmofal

CBS News @cbsnews.com · 1d

BREAKING: ICE has halted "all movement" at a Texas detention facility due to measles infections, DHS confirms.

ICE halts "all movement" at Texas detention facility due to measles infections

The measles cases at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center were detected Friday, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to CBS News.

cbsn.ws

Reposted by Robert C. Richards

Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 1d

For the second time Mandy jumps before he’s pushed.

Repercussions for the Epstein Files coming everywhere but America.

Lord Mandelson resigns from Labour Party over Epstein links

www.bbc.co.uk

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Scott L. Greer, Robert C. Richards , and 1 more Anna O. Law, Scott L. Greer, Robert C. Richards, Nathan P. Kalmoe

eric gonzalez juenke @egojunk.bsky.social · 1d

Probably a day to promote this research from David Cortez. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Abstract
Once an exclusively white enterprise, the last forty-five years have witnessed the emergence of a disproportionately Latinx immigration law enforcement workforce. This article addresses the question of why Latinxs elect to work for agencies that have systematically targeted the ethnic communities to which they belong. Where existing scholarship has often implied Latinxs may self-select into immigration law enforcement due to a lack of identification with the immigrant-experience, a dissociation with ethnic identity, and generally restrictionist immigration attitudes, this article finds little empirical evidence to support such an assumption. Analysis of interviews with sixty-one Latinx Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents across Arizona, California, and Texas reveals, instead, Latinxs elect to work in immigration law enforcement in service of economic self-interest and survival, with “money,” “a good job,” and “benefits” cited as the primary motivation(s) behind applying for and accepting a job in immigration. This pattern holds irrespective of individual agents’ levels of identification with the immigrant-experience and particular attitudes toward immigration, and suggests a diversity in the demographics of immigration law enforcement agencies that extends beyond mere race and ethnicity, to include a diversity of perspective and potential for empathy.

Reposted by Philip N. Cohen, Robert C. Richards, Melanie C. Green , and 1 more Philip N. Cohen, Robert C. Richards, Melanie C. Green, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Beth Popp Berman @epopppp.bsky.social · 1d

For those commenting on the agents' surnames.

Reposted by Mark Bray, Brendan Nyhan, Scott L. Greer , and 23 more Mark Bray, Brendan Nyhan, Scott L. Greer, Steve Peers, Andreas Ortmann, Rosemary A. Joyce, Melissa Johnson, Fabián Muniesa, Anders Nilsson, John Foot, Michael Kevane, Robert C. Richards, Melanie C. Green, Janet Murray, David R. Miller, Aaron Sojourner, Gerald Friedman, Anne Norton, Daniel Kuehn, Henry Jones, Umut Özkırımlı, Magda Teter, Pádua Fernandes, Nathan P. Kalmoe, Martin S. Flaherty, Colin Woodard

ProPublica @propublica.org · 1d

BREAKING: The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.

Two CBP Agents Identified in Alex Pretti Shooting

The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raym...

www.propublica.org

Reposted by Robert C. Richards

Kevin M. Levin @civilwarmemory.bsky.social · 1d

This new edition of George Templeton Strong’s diary is fantastic. #booksky

Reposted by Robert C. Richards

Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social · 1d

“Is Donald Trump’s presidency something that can be (and must be) endured before things can return to normal—or is American democracy truly in peril?

For years, Democrats have struggled with this debate.”

x.com/bulwarkonlin...

x.com

Reposted by Joanna Bryson, Robert C. Richards, Laurent Dubois , and 2 more Joanna Bryson, Robert C. Richards, Laurent Dubois, Suzanne Conklin Akbari, Nathan P. Kalmoe

The 14th Amendment Center @the14thcenter.bsky.social · 1d

Week 1 - Black History Month 2026
1. You may have seen this image of Black men voting during Reconstruction, and assumed it is a depiction of voting after the passage of the 15th Amendment (which outlaws denying the right to vote based on race).

Reposted by Robert C. Richards

Damon Kiesow @damon.kiesow.net · 1d

What's up in Springfield, Ohio?

Read local: www.springfieldnewssun.com/local/clark-...

Clark County Sheriff’s Office to ‘maintain the peace’ as TPS ends, will not enforce immigration laws

The Clark County Sheriff's Office has no indication of immigration enforcement in Springfield.

www.springfieldnewssun.com

Reposted by Matthew Bunn, Robert C. Richards, Gerald Friedman

Barack Obama @barackobama.bsky.social · 1d

Black History Month is a time to recognize the lived, shared experience of all Black folks who have fundamentally shaped, challenged, and ultimately strengthened America. It’s about taking an unvarnished look at the past so that we can create a better future.

Reposted by Anne Applebaum, Ashish Arora, Scott L. Greer , and 6 more Anne Applebaum, Ashish Arora, Scott L. Greer, Robert C. Richards, David R. Miller, Martha Albertson Fineman, Nikolay Marinov, Kate Starbird, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 1d

I testified Friday before Gov. Pritzker's commission studying abuses of ICE and CBP and tried to explain how the agencies went so far off track. It's actually way worse than I ever realized. Please read and share my testimony as Congress considers reform: www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/accountabi...

Accountability for ICE and CBP

However bad you think the corruption and misconduct at ICE and CBP is — the reality is far far worse.

www.doomsdayscenario.co

Reposted by Robert C. Richards

Lydia Kiesling @lydiakiesling.bsky.social · 1d

I keep thinking about the difference between the feds who chaotically unloaded teargas on thousands of people after a few minutes of chanting vs. the crowd, which moved slowly and carefully even while people were choking & blind from gas. People looked out for each other & didn't panic. We will win.

Reposted by Robert C. Richards, Eric D. Knowles, Nathan P. Kalmoe

Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 1d

I wrote about the New York Times refusing to call Neo-segregationists by their true names, the DARVO style of writing about race, and some great articles and books I read this week.

If you haven't subscribed to my newsletter with @hebagowayed.bsky.social yet, now is the time.