Tina Vasquez

Censorship of Pro-Palestine Speech in the Music Industry Shows the Power of Demands for Decolonization The liberation of Palestine is a threat to how we live today—that’s precisely why we should keep calling for it.

This week, I wrote about how the liberation of Palestine would require widespread decolonial action. Through an analysis of Kneecap's body of work and their unapologetic solidarity, I write about how Palestine challenges the very world we live in today, for @theflytrapmedia.com (free post):

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Censorship of Pro-Palestine Speech in the Music Industry Shows the Power of Demands for Decolonization The liberation of Palestine is a threat to how we live today—that’s precisely why we should keep calling for it.

wherein @nicolefroio.bsky.social brings it yet AGAIN on the topic of music + colonization, and don't even get me started on the art this week -- this illo is phenomenal, just LOOK AT THE TEXTURE

EXCLUSIVE: A Democrat-led civil rights watchdog agency opened a sweeping investigation into the federal gov’s response to allegations of antisemitism on college campuses. The review may bring a rare dose of official scrutiny to Trump’s confrontations w/ universities. www.reuters.com/legal/govern...

Housing Haunts Me If only getting a mortgage was as easy as opening a book.

I really enjoyed working on this piece on horror, the haunted house, and the politics of housing with @freeblackgirl.bsky.social for @theflytrapmedia.com; what makes it even better is this KILLER illustration from @meowwwls.bsky.social

This is the kind of cultural criticism I love doing!

Censorship of Pro-Palestine Speech in the Music Industry Shows the Power of Demands for Decolonization The liberation of Palestine is a threat to how we live today—that’s precisely why we should keep calling for it.

Early @theflytrapmedia.com this week: The outstanding @nicolefroio.bsky.social on censoring bands who speak out about Palestine by an establishment terrified of decolonization.

Hopefully the whole Bari Weiss thing and Ezra Klein thing starts waking people up to the fact that corporate media is mostly populated with mediocre people who have made millions and gained unbelievable influence because they threaten nothing and tell wealthy people exactly what they want to hear.

When Adoption Promises Are Broken Many birth mothers hope to maintain contact with their child. But their agreements with adoptive parents can be fragile.

If you want to understand open adoption, it makes sense to start with birth parents—yet studies of them are few. 2+ yrs ago, I began talking w/ birth mothers to try to understand what living in an open adoption is like for them, and what rights or options they might have if challenges were to arise.

She managed to get a farmworker visa. Once in the U.S., she endured abuse. A Prism investigation reveals that women are routinely shut out of the H-2A program. Those who get in report doing non-agricultural labor and facing sexual violence and trafficking

I’ll share more soon about some wild records I obtained, but for now, I’m resharing my recently-published H-2A investigation about gender-based violence in the program.

This reporting takes a very long time to produce, to ensure the safety of migrant workers. I am grateful that they stay in touch with me and entrust me with their questions and concerns, but most of all that they see journalism as a useful tool.

I am already working on another story about wage theft in the H-2A program that will publish by the end of the year, and I’m mapping out stories for next year based on concerns and information provided by H-2A workers and farmworker organizers and advocates.

What we can know for certain is that the presence of federal immigration agents means there will be a mind boggling level of surveillance at the event.

We are obviously dealing with ICE unleashed under Trump 2.0, and we’ve all now seen videos of CBP agents in neighborhoods violently detaining immigrants and American citizen onlookers. So, I understand the concern and it’s very hard to gauge what will happen.

In the past (even under Trump), CBP has said they attend the event to provide extra security and the arm of ICE known as Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) has said it’s there to crackdown on the sale of counterfeit items.

ICE Says It Won't Round Up Immigrants at the Super Bowl. Should Minnesotans Believe Them? Although ICE claims it will not be in Minnesota to conduct immigration enforcement and Minneapolis is designated as a so-called sanctuary city, residents say there is still cause for concern.

I’ve seen a lot of people posting about their concern regarding DHS presence at the Super Bowl. I wrote this piece in 2018 about this very thing. Essentially, there is a long practice of federal immigration agencies having a presence at the sporting event.

Housing Haunts Me If only getting a mortgage was as easy as opening a book.

Happy Spooky Flytrap Friday!! You know what's spooky? The housing market! @sesmith.lol writes about how they are haunted by buying somewhere to live and how that millenial trend has spawned a new housing-related horror genre in literature: the-flytrap.ghost.io/housing-haun...

Mario is our colleague; someone who has spent years reporting critical stories about immigrant communities. His deportation is Unconstitutional, but make no mistake, it is VERY American. Where are the free speech warriors when a journalist is fucking deported for working in the field?

Journalist Mario Guevara is reporting that he will be deported to El Salvador today, after spending more than 100 days in detention after he was arrested on June 14 while covering a "No Kings" protest near Atlanta, GA. The charges against him were dropped, but DHS pursued deportation anyways.

A screenshot from Publisher's Lunch: Jennifer L. Armentrout and Hellmann's In a promotion designed for BookTok enjoyment, Jennifer L. Armentrout’s just-published THE PRIMAL OF BLOOD AND BONE is available in a special, limited-edition "garlic-scented copy, infused with Hellmann’s Garlic Aioli to create a one-of-a-kind, Craven-proof book." They explain: "This exclusive edition is printed with garlic-infused ink, designed to ward off Armentrout’s bloodthirsty monsters, the Craven. While humans may dread garlic breath, Hellmann’s has cleverly transformed this social faux pas into an unexpected – and delicious – form of supernatural protection."

no no the publishing industry is doing fine, why do you ask

ICEBlock Owner After Apple Removes App: ‘We Are Determined to Fight This’ Apple removed ICEBlock reportedly after direct pressure from Department of Justice officials. “I am incredibly disappointed by Apple's actions today. Capitulating to an authoritarian regime is never t...

so the US government just forced a tech company to delete an app it doesn’t like, which is totally normal stuff

www.404media.co/iceblock-own...

Have you read my latest investigation into gender-based violence in the H-2A agricultural visa program? You can here, or at @prismreports.org:

Massive immigration raid on Chicago apartment building leaves residents reeling: 'I feel defeated' The Department of Homeland Security said federal agents with Border Patrol, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested 37 people in the raid.

"Rodrick Johnson, 67, is one of many residents who were detained by federal agents during the South Shore raid. A U.S. citizen, he said agents broke through his door and dragged him out in zip ties."

Such good reporting on the exploitative H-2A visa program!

Have you read my latest investigation into gender-based violence in the H-2A agricultural visa program? You can here, or at @prismreports.org:

You can message me at tina@prismreports.org

She managed to get a farmworker visa. Once in the U.S., she endured abuse. A Prism investigation reveals that women are routinely shut out of the H-2A program. Those who get in report doing non-agricultural labor and facing sexual violence and trafficking

NEW: In my investigation for @prismreports.org published today, I report on how rare it is for women to obtain H-2A agricultural visas to work in the U.S. When they do, many report experiencing gender-based violence:

In case you missed it: I published another investigation into the H-2A agricultural visa program. This time, I reported on the gender-based violence experienced by women like Isabella, a Mexican worker trafficked to the South as part of the program & subsequently abused & robbed of her wages:

'Ice Barbie' Kristi Noem: The Face of Our Slide Into Fascism Kristi Noem’s appearance is designed for reality TV and her aesthetic reflects the brutality of the Trump administration.

This is one of the excellent points @tinavasquez.bsky.social makes in her @theflytrapmedia.com piece about Kristi Noem. DHS can barely buy a fucking drink at the bar. the-flytrap.ghost.io/ice-barbie-k...

'Ice Barbie' Kristi Noem: The Face of Our Slide Into Fascism Kristi Noem’s appearance is designed for reality TV and her aesthetic reflects the brutality of the Trump administration.

the misogyny question has already been well-covered by @tinavasquez.bsky.social for @theflytrapmedia.com: