Josh Page
@joshpage.bsky.social
Sociology prof. at Univ. of Minnesota. Law, Criminal Punishment, Politics, and Labor. New book: Legal Plunder: The Predatory Dimensions of Criminal Justice.
Pinned
Josh Page
@joshpage.bsky.social
· Jul 8
It's hard to believe, but today is the day -- the release date for Legal Plunder: The Predatory Dimensions of Criminal Justice, a book that @joshpage.bsky.social and I have been working on for most of the past decade. If you’d like to check it out, you can get 30% off by entering the code UCPNEW.
Legal Plunder
A searing, historically rich account of how US policing and punishment have been retrofitted over the last four decades to extract public and private revenues from America’s poorest and most vulnerabl...
press.uchicago.edu
Legal Plunder: The Predatory Dimensions of Criminal Justice, my book w/ @joesoss.bsky.social, is now available. 30% off through @uchicagopress.bsky.social (see below). Look out for info about book-related events beginning in late-August.
The federal occupation of Minnesota must be understood as an assault not only on the people of the state but also on fundamental democratic principles of due process, equal protection, and rule of law.
https://dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/trump-2026-midterm-elections-democracy-twin-cities/
https://dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/trump-2026-midterm-elections-democracy-twin-cities/
Operation Metro Surge Wasn't the End - Dissent Magazine
The Minnesota movement still holds important lessons for those working to defend democracy in the Trump era.
dissentmagazine.org
September 18, 2026 at 6:01 PM
Reposted by Josh Page
A not-uncommon sequence of events:
1) the government charges a non-citizen with a crime
2) ICE files a detainer because the person is charged with a crime
3) the prosecutor argues that the person is a “flight risk” who cannot be released from jail, because if he’s released, ICE will deport him
1) the government charges a non-citizen with a crime
2) ICE files a detainer because the person is charged with a crime
3) the prosecutor argues that the person is a “flight risk” who cannot be released from jail, because if he’s released, ICE will deport him
September 16, 2026 at 11:33 PM
A not-uncommon sequence of events:
1) the government charges a non-citizen with a crime
2) ICE files a detainer because the person is charged with a crime
3) the prosecutor argues that the person is a “flight risk” who cannot be released from jail, because if he’s released, ICE will deport him
1) the government charges a non-citizen with a crime
2) ICE files a detainer because the person is charged with a crime
3) the prosecutor argues that the person is a “flight risk” who cannot be released from jail, because if he’s released, ICE will deport him
Reposted by Josh Page
New Gallup polling finds that 71% of Americans approve of labor unions and 56 million Americans would join a union tomrorow if they could.
We are witnessing a historic rebirth of worker power.
If you want a better life for you and your children, join or support a union.
We are witnessing a historic rebirth of worker power.
If you want a better life for you and your children, join or support a union.
Unions are extremely popular: 56 million workers would join a union if they could
New Gallup polling finds that 71% of people in the U.S. approve of unions, continuing the highest period of favorability in over 60 years. This coincides with the greatest number of workers represente...
www.epi.org
September 8, 2026 at 9:18 PM
New Gallup polling finds that 71% of Americans approve of labor unions and 56 million Americans would join a union tomrorow if they could.
We are witnessing a historic rebirth of worker power.
If you want a better life for you and your children, join or support a union.
We are witnessing a historic rebirth of worker power.
If you want a better life for you and your children, join or support a union.
Reposted by Josh Page
Oklahoma prison inmates operated political, insurance calls centers behind bars oklahomavoice.com/2026/08/30/o...
Oklahoma prison inmates operated political, insurance calls centers behind bars • Oklahoma Voice
Contracts obtained via an open records request confirm that a company called HBW Leads and the Oklahoma Department of Corrections have established several call centers since January.
oklahomavoice.com
September 8, 2026 at 2:51 PM
Oklahoma prison inmates operated political, insurance calls centers behind bars oklahomavoice.com/2026/08/30/o...
Reposted by Josh Page
Happy Labor Day
In NYC, Mayor Mamdani has launched the Office of Worker Power, designed to connect workers who want to unionize with education and resources.
Former US Labor Sec Julie Su is overseeing the effort & the executive director comes from the UAW.
"When workers can organize, everything changes," said Su.
Former US Labor Sec Julie Su is overseeing the effort & the executive director comes from the UAW.
"When workers can organize, everything changes," said Su.
Mamdani Opens Office of Worker Power - The American Prospect
The new city agency intends to connect workers who want to unionize with resources and organizing contacts, and use worker stories of exploitation to inform policy.
prospect.org
September 8, 2026 at 1:29 AM
Happy Labor Day
Reposted by Josh Page
Incredible start to #APSA2026! Huge congratulations to our #APE scholars - Elizabeth Thom, @joesoss.bsky.social, @joshpage.bsky.social, @kathleenthelen.bsky.social - for taking home three major awards last night. Such well-deserved recognition for cutting-edge American Political Economy scholarship!
September 3, 2026 at 4:03 PM
Incredible start to #APSA2026! Huge congratulations to our #APE scholars - Elizabeth Thom, @joesoss.bsky.social, @joshpage.bsky.social, @kathleenthelen.bsky.social - for taking home three major awards last night. Such well-deserved recognition for cutting-edge American Political Economy scholarship!
This!
September 3, 2026 at 3:08 PM
This!
Reposted by Josh Page
This gallery of ICE crop/seed art at this year's Minnesota State Fair is incredible, especially the one based on Pablo Picasso's Guernica by Jennifer Nelson, which features the last words of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Morse code: www.cropart.com/Resist.pdf
August 27, 2026 at 5:34 PM
This gallery of ICE crop/seed art at this year's Minnesota State Fair is incredible, especially the one based on Pablo Picasso's Guernica by Jennifer Nelson, which features the last words of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Morse code: www.cropart.com/Resist.pdf
Reposted by Josh Page
"If you are not in a union, let my case be the reason that you consider joining one. If you don't have a union, let my case perhaps be a reason why you might think of starting one." @karenattiah.bsky.social @postguild.bsky.social @wbng.org
Getting my job back at the Washington Post would not have been possible if it wasn’t for me belonging to a union.
@postguild.bsky.social and @wbng.org are the unions I belong to. I was able to challenge my wrongful termination because of the collective bargaining agreement / union contract!
@postguild.bsky.social and @wbng.org are the unions I belong to. I was able to challenge my wrongful termination because of the collective bargaining agreement / union contract!
August 27, 2026 at 2:10 PM
"If you are not in a union, let my case be the reason that you consider joining one. If you don't have a union, let my case perhaps be a reason why you might think of starting one." @karenattiah.bsky.social @postguild.bsky.social @wbng.org
Reposted by Josh Page
I used ICE case records data to calculate national, cumulative, and facility-by-facility detained population totals.
This is an update of an analysis that I ran in April of this year.
adamjsawyer.com/posts/ice-fa...
This is an update of an analysis that I ran in April of this year.
adamjsawyer.com/posts/ice-fa...
August 26, 2026 at 11:16 PM
I used ICE case records data to calculate national, cumulative, and facility-by-facility detained population totals.
This is an update of an analysis that I ran in April of this year.
adamjsawyer.com/posts/ice-fa...
This is an update of an analysis that I ran in April of this year.
adamjsawyer.com/posts/ice-fa...
Reposted by Josh Page
Alex Pretti's Father: "That's how we found out — watching it on TV. Watching our son be shot 10 times on TV, in the back, trying to help somebody…with a camera in one hand, and his left hand empty in the air."
August 25, 2026 at 2:56 PM
Alex Pretti's Father: "That's how we found out — watching it on TV. Watching our son be shot 10 times on TV, in the back, trying to help somebody…with a camera in one hand, and his left hand empty in the air."
The good folks at @radioagainst.bsky.social had @kerametr.bsky.social and I on to discuss our essay in @dissentmag.bsky.social on the political uses and abuses of "the worst of the worst" framework, in criminal punishment and immigrant detention. Thanks, Sasha Lilley for an engaging conversation.
The Trump administration has justified the mass incarceration of immigrants by asserting that it’s going after the most violent offenders. @kerametr.bsky.social and Joshua Page, delve into the worst of the worse — from three strikes to mass detention. @dissentmag.bsky.social kpfa.org/episode/agai...
Immigrant Detention and the "Worst of the Worst" | KPFA
The Trump administration has justified the mass incarceration and deportation of immigrants by asserting that it’s going after the most violent offenders. Scholars of law and punishment, Keramet Reite...
kpfa.org
August 24, 2026 at 8:38 PM
The good folks at @radioagainst.bsky.social had @kerametr.bsky.social and I on to discuss our essay in @dissentmag.bsky.social on the political uses and abuses of "the worst of the worst" framework, in criminal punishment and immigrant detention. Thanks, Sasha Lilley for an engaging conversation.
Reposted by Josh Page
yep, i will note that the fugitive slave act was used to try to kidnap free blacks and sell them into slavery
Breaking my heart this morning:
“Fitting ankle monitors on noncitizens without a criminal history who remain in compliance with their immigration cases has little precedent.”
True in the narrowest sense. False given how the history of slavery and peonage roars through each part of this story.
“Fitting ankle monitors on noncitizens without a criminal history who remain in compliance with their immigration cases has little precedent.”
True in the narrowest sense. False given how the history of slavery and peonage roars through each part of this story.
In Ohio, Haitians Feel Shaken by Ankle Monitors and Increased ICE Presence
The devices, which will make it easier for authorities to locate immigrants in Springfield if large-scale deportations begin, have intensified a sense of dread.
www.nytimes.com
August 22, 2026 at 2:38 PM
yep, i will note that the fugitive slave act was used to try to kidnap free blacks and sell them into slavery
Reposted by Josh Page
From the US and France to Iraq, Chile, and the Philippines, "Imperial Entanglements of Policing," edited by @juliango.bsky.social and @stschrader1.bsky.social, examines how imperialism and colonialism have shaped, and been facilitated by, policing. Read the intro for free now: buff.ly/5GRC7JH
August 21, 2026 at 2:04 PM
From the US and France to Iraq, Chile, and the Philippines, "Imperial Entanglements of Policing," edited by @juliango.bsky.social and @stschrader1.bsky.social, examines how imperialism and colonialism have shaped, and been facilitated by, policing. Read the intro for free now: buff.ly/5GRC7JH
Reposted by Josh Page
Police unions have sought to mobilize public opinion against those seen as a threat to their autonomy, incubating a right-wing politics that has found its full expression in President Donald Trump.
The Origins of Police Power - Dissent Magazine
An interview with Stuart Schrader, author of Blue Power: How Police Organized to Protect and Serve Themselves, about how U.S. police unions built themselves into a formidable political force, and whether the movement is more fragile than it appears.
dissentmagazine.org
August 20, 2026 at 4:30 PM
Police unions have sought to mobilize public opinion against those seen as a threat to their autonomy, incubating a right-wing politics that has found its full expression in President Donald Trump.
Reposted by Josh Page
New York's corrections department is not implementing the solitary confinement reform passed in 2021. But the corrections union and Republicans are still blaming the law for violence in prisons and saying it must be repealed.
From Katie Rose Quandt.
prospect.org/2026/08/19/p...
From Katie Rose Quandt.
prospect.org/2026/08/19/p...
Proponents of Solitary Confinement Attempt to Stifle Reform - The American Prospect
A New York correctional union and Republican backers are weaponizing a false narrative about solitary confinement and violence.
prospect.org
August 19, 2026 at 2:14 PM
New York's corrections department is not implementing the solitary confinement reform passed in 2021. But the corrections union and Republicans are still blaming the law for violence in prisons and saying it must be repealed.
From Katie Rose Quandt.
prospect.org/2026/08/19/p...
From Katie Rose Quandt.
prospect.org/2026/08/19/p...
Reposted by Josh Page
The list of incentives available to law enforcement agencies that join ICE's 287(g) program now (or will) include:
- $100K grants for new vehicles.
- Payroll reimbursement for 287(g) designated officers.
- Up to $22,500 for each "wellness check" completed on immigrant minors in their district.
- $100K grants for new vehicles.
- Payroll reimbursement for 287(g) designated officers.
- Up to $22,500 for each "wellness check" completed on immigrant minors in their district.
tl;dr: DHS is moving forward with a search for a vendor + insurer to offer professional liability insurance to participating 287(g) officers, and with ICE reimbursing coverage costs up to $250/officer/year.
Back in January, DHS posted a vague RFI for a 287(g) Program - Outreach and Implementation Program Management contract.
In the RFI questionnaire, interested vendors were asked if they "have a mechanism to provide liability protection to participating officers".
In the RFI questionnaire, interested vendors were asked if they "have a mechanism to provide liability protection to participating officers".
August 18, 2026 at 3:09 PM
The list of incentives available to law enforcement agencies that join ICE's 287(g) program now (or will) include:
- $100K grants for new vehicles.
- Payroll reimbursement for 287(g) designated officers.
- Up to $22,500 for each "wellness check" completed on immigrant minors in their district.
- $100K grants for new vehicles.
- Payroll reimbursement for 287(g) designated officers.
- Up to $22,500 for each "wellness check" completed on immigrant minors in their district.
Reposted by Josh Page
🗣️CHECK IT OUT🗣️ Read April D. Fernandes' review of 'Legal Plunder: The Predatory Dimensions of Criminal Justice' by @joshpage.bsky.social and @joesoss.bsky.social. Now available as part of #TheoreticalCrim's third issue of 2026: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
August 17, 2026 at 4:19 PM
🗣️CHECK IT OUT🗣️ Read April D. Fernandes' review of 'Legal Plunder: The Predatory Dimensions of Criminal Justice' by @joshpage.bsky.social and @joesoss.bsky.social. Now available as part of #TheoreticalCrim's third issue of 2026: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Josh Page
"Unsanitary food and water, lack of medical care, widespread physical abuse... along with racist abuse and a complete absence of justice and due process"
ICE spends $14 million PER DAY on detention, and its facilities are still hellscapes rife with abuse.
ICE spends $14 million PER DAY on detention, and its facilities are still hellscapes rife with abuse.
Hunger strikes spreading in ICE jails amid due process violations, advocates say
Immigrant rights advocates say more detainees are risking their lives to protest inhumane conditions and legal rights violations
prismreports.org
August 15, 2026 at 1:15 PM
"Unsanitary food and water, lack of medical care, widespread physical abuse... along with racist abuse and a complete absence of justice and due process"
ICE spends $14 million PER DAY on detention, and its facilities are still hellscapes rife with abuse.
ICE spends $14 million PER DAY on detention, and its facilities are still hellscapes rife with abuse.
Reposted by Josh Page
Between 2025 and 2026, the number of people detained by ICE on any given day grew by nearly 60%.
Thanks to Trump's deportation agenda, expanded immigration detention accounts for almost all of the growth in mass incarceration since last year.
Thanks to Trump's deportation agenda, expanded immigration detention accounts for almost all of the growth in mass incarceration since last year.
August 12, 2026 at 8:20 PM
Between 2025 and 2026, the number of people detained by ICE on any given day grew by nearly 60%.
Thanks to Trump's deportation agenda, expanded immigration detention accounts for almost all of the growth in mass incarceration since last year.
Thanks to Trump's deportation agenda, expanded immigration detention accounts for almost all of the growth in mass incarceration since last year.
Reposted by Josh Page
I'd heard NYT had finally gotten access to the men sent to Eswatini. This from Nicholas Casey is the kind of incredible and *moral* work only big institutions can do, and should do more of.
Grateful for "loudmouths" like Roberto Mosquera.
www.nytimes.com/2026/08/12/m...
Grateful for "loudmouths" like Roberto Mosquera.
www.nytimes.com/2026/08/12/m...
He Was Deported to Eswatini in Southern Africa. He May Never Go Free. (Gift Article)
As the Trump administration sends a growing number of immigrants to countries they have no connection to, some find themselves imprisoned with no way out.
www.nytimes.com
August 12, 2026 at 3:11 PM
I'd heard NYT had finally gotten access to the men sent to Eswatini. This from Nicholas Casey is the kind of incredible and *moral* work only big institutions can do, and should do more of.
Grateful for "loudmouths" like Roberto Mosquera.
www.nytimes.com/2026/08/12/m...
Grateful for "loudmouths" like Roberto Mosquera.
www.nytimes.com/2026/08/12/m...
Reposted by Josh Page
The relationship between US law enforcement and companies that make messed up weapons and technology is really a "if you build it, they will come" scenario----the appetite for inflicting terror and pain grows and the companies step up to provide it.
What the fuck ICE is buying $20M of *electric shock gloves* apnews.com/article/ice-...
AP Exclusive: ICE plans to give officers gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers may soon be outfitted with gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks that are intended to gain compliance from combative individuals.
apnews.com
August 12, 2026 at 12:17 AM
The relationship between US law enforcement and companies that make messed up weapons and technology is really a "if you build it, they will come" scenario----the appetite for inflicting terror and pain grows and the companies step up to provide it.
Reposted by Josh Page
Revenue grew more than 27% for private prison operator CoreCivic as the company profited from contracts with ICE that support the Trump administration’s mass detention and deportation agenda, according to a shareholders’ report released last week.
CoreCivic CEO Tells Shareholders They’re Benefitting From Mass Deportation
The private prison firm reported increased revenue from contracts and real estate deals with the federal government.
truthout.org
August 10, 2026 at 8:07 PM
Revenue grew more than 27% for private prison operator CoreCivic as the company profited from contracts with ICE that support the Trump administration’s mass detention and deportation agenda, according to a shareholders’ report released last week.
Reposted by Josh Page
New: Universities (CU, CSU, others nationwide) are partnering with AI giants like ChatGPT to roll out university-sanctioned AI
Hear from the students resisting & why some liken their opposition to wartime conscientious objectors
www.denverpost.com/2026/08/07/c... via @denverpost.com #EdColo #AI
Hear from the students resisting & why some liken their opposition to wartime conscientious objectors
www.denverpost.com/2026/08/07/c... via @denverpost.com #EdColo #AI
As Colorado universities align with ChatGPT, student AI resisters take a stand against the ‘plagiarism machine’
“The majority of my participants flat out don’t think AI has a place in education,” said Mirakle Wright, a CU graduate student who is studying resistance to artificial intelligence.
www.denverpost.com
August 7, 2026 at 3:05 PM
New: Universities (CU, CSU, others nationwide) are partnering with AI giants like ChatGPT to roll out university-sanctioned AI
Hear from the students resisting & why some liken their opposition to wartime conscientious objectors
www.denverpost.com/2026/08/07/c... via @denverpost.com #EdColo #AI
Hear from the students resisting & why some liken their opposition to wartime conscientious objectors
www.denverpost.com/2026/08/07/c... via @denverpost.com #EdColo #AI