alec karakatsanis

It’s not one or the other. Different actors have different levels of sophistication. Most of the elite pundits and political operatives are far more aware. But many ordinary people just don’t know enough about it.

One thing some Democrats I’ve talked to miss is that when they call for all the ICE agents in Minneapolis to have body cameras record everyone they interact with it undermines the demand that the agents leave.

This. I started Julian Go's Policing Empire this afternoon and it's incredibly relevant.

Among other things the intro makes clear how domestic militarization has historically required a racialization co-factor to justify importing coloniality from the periphery.

Otherwise, the centralization of wealth and authoritarian control will continue to plague all of the world's unequal societies, and the hope for a flourishing future for all the humans, plants, and animals on the planet will dwindle.

Do not let your outrage and your learning stop with ICE. Develop an understanding of the connections between federal repression and local policing, between repressive bureaucracies at home and abroad, between the actors who profit on it in 50 languages, etc.

The policies and investments of the U.S. are supercharging all of these technologies and practices around the world from the smallest towns in the U.S. to the biggest global metropolises. And politicians in the U.S. have the power to do something about it.

(2) ensuring mechanisms of community control, democratic accountability, and legal vindication for *every violation of the law* by powerful people or institutions without immunities or other procedural technicalities that now make it hard to have civil rights cases adjudicated on their merits.

(1) reducing the size and power of ICE and other repressive bureaucracies *across the board*;

Do not take seriously anyone who is not talking about and working toward simple solutions on each of these fronts:

The current state of the Democratic Party is failing miserably at the former, and our legal system has shown itself to lack the rigor, capacity, and integrity to ensure the latter.

The only coherent positions are (1) to reduce the size and power of these institutions--used by ruling class elites across the world to protect inequalities of many kinds--and (2) to enforce robust mechanisms for accountable vindication of basic human rights.

THREAD. ICE is in the news, and rightly so, but a lot of the commentary fails to see how the underlying surveillance tech, militarization, infrastructure, policies/practices/training, and corporate profiteers are shared by other domestic agencies and repressive bureaucracies in other countries.

From George Floyd to Alex Pretti: “Copaganda” Author on Myths About Immigration, Crime & Policing As calls grow to defund and abolish ICE, author Alec Karakatsanis warns that activists should take care to not fall for “copaganda,” which “takes ordinary people who are outraged over what’s happening...

Much of the public believes violent crime is a major problem, even though it's at historic lows in the United States. This disconnect is "the product of carefully cultivated propaganda," says author @equalityalec.bsky.social.
https://www.democracynow.org/2026/1/27/alec_karakatsanis

Of course there are many other things to be done, including some that are more important, like taking on the budget, size, and power of ICE and other repressive bureaucracies. But this is a really easy one.

One of the lessons I've learned in 20 years of law is that some of the most important (but ignored) laws in our society are those that give ordinary people the right to enforce their own rights. The government is simply incapable of doing this, and that's why private rights of action are essential.

Relatedly, Democrats should be insisting on clearing paths to liability for private corporations and individuals who assist any federal employee in any constitutional violation, like a tech company (just to pick a random, totally irrelevant example.)

This would be extremely easy. It would mean inserting a few words into existing federal law. It's astonishing that you don't see this talking point or policy proposal gaining huge traction among Democrats and pundits.

THREAD. There's one proposal that would make a difference and that is popular across the population: if ICE or any other federal employee violates your constitutional rights, you should be able to sue them for damages without any immunity or other procedural technicalities that now make it harder.

Incredibly, the Democrats aren’t even united on supporting a simple law to let people sue ICE agents for any constitutional violations they commit by removing various procedural technicalities that now exist.

Two images from NYT about ICE tracking protestors with facial recognition and cancelling Global Entry and TSA precheck for protesters.

Notice that Democratic Party leaders are not only not proposing meaningful measures to stop this, but they are actively proposing to *keep giving ICE money to do it.*

It Was the Most Violent Prison in America. Then the Guards Went on Strike What happens when a group of incarcerated men are left to self govern? In Walpole State Prison in 1973, “peace reigned”—until the guards were sent back in.

I always recommend people spend less time consuming news and more time with long form journalism. Well, this is one of the best things you'll read. It's a hopeful story that has long been inspiring to me, and it's told beautifully here: www.gq.com/story/walpol...

This seems important
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Even in very dark moments, it is inspiring to work alongside so many amazing people who are devoting their lives to reminding our society about its commitments to liberty, human connection, and justice. And to enforcing them.

The fight against the everyday brutality and lawlessness in the punishment bureaucracy is ongoing. Every victory where the courts affirm that the government cannot put a human being in a cage without extremely good reasons is vital.

A couple weeks ago we won a case striking down the cash bail system in Tulsa, Oklahoma. No human being should be caged solely because their loved ones lack sufficient cash to pay for their freedom.

THREAD. Yesterday we won a landmark injunction striking down the cash bail system in Riverside, California.

You can also let us know if you want to make a donation to help provide free books to others. Finally, you can let us know if you want to order copies of the hardcover (with royalties donated) in bulk. If you order in bulk, we can get you at least a 40% discount.

If you are someone who sends books to prisoners or a teacher/professor who would like to distribute the book to students but whose students cannot afford it, please reach out to contact@civilrightscorps.org

When I published Copaganda, in addition to all royalties going to charity fighting state repression, we also did something unique. We made sure that the book will always be *free* to anyone confined in detention and to any teachers whose students cannot afford to buy one: bsky.app/profile/equa...

In this moment, I cannot emphasized enough how important it is to understand what Democrats and mainstream news media are doing to blunt and misdirect outrage over ICE to "reforms" and talking points that are utterly fraudulent and that will only increase the repressive capacities of the government.