Through zoning ordinances and public pressure, localities fight plans to treat immigrants like packages. Their successes can offer a blueprint for broader resistance.

For those of us keeping score at home of President Trump’s shifting rationales for war this past weekend, one of his more striking claims is that bombs were dropped in Iran to protect the right to protest. Trump—who infamously mused about shooting American protestors during his first term—has not exactly shied away this time around from aggressively, if not forcefully, repressing dissent in his own country.

Criminal justice and immigration reform are facing unprecedented threats during the 47th presidency. From mass deportations and a more punitive approach to charging and sentencing to a weaponized Department of Justice and a constitutional showdown with the courts, Vera's researchers and policy experts are tracking this administration's actions and making meaning of the latest developments out of Washington and its impact across the country.

On October 23, 2025, Democracy Forward filed suit against the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to compel the release of public records about the Trump-Vance administration’s abrupt termination of more than $800 million in DOJ grants that supported programs on violence prevention, crime victim services, and community safety.

The past decade has seen increasing momentum for bail reform, with lawmakers, prosecutors, and courts across the country shifting the focus of bail decisions from ability to pay to fairness and public safety. However, reformers must frequently contend with fears that limiting or eliminating money bail will lead to a rise in crime. The data shows that these fears are unfounded, and they shouldn’t stand in the way of reforms that can make our criminal justice system more equitable and humane.

This newsletter is about the dangerous weaponization of crime, which prevents us from both taking a hard look at why crime happens and developing serious solutions to prevent it.