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McKenzie Funk

@mckenziefunk.com

Reporter @propublica.org, author of The Hank Show and Windfall | Signal: mckenziefunk.01 | Other secure contacts: http://keybase.io/mckenziefunk

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Latest posts by McKenzie Funk @mckenziefunk.com

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Nike Is Moving Jobs to Low-Wage Regions of Indonesia After moving manufacturing to the developing world to save on labor, Nike and other apparel brands are shifting employment in their Indonesian supply chain away from high-wage parts of the country and...

NEW: Nike says its factory workers should earn enough to pay their basic needs and have some money left over.

In Indonesia, its factory workforce has shrunk where the minimum wage is considered enough to live on.

And it has grown, dramatically, where the opposite is true.

03.03.2026 16:05 πŸ‘ 165 πŸ” 46 πŸ’¬ 5 πŸ“Œ 5
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End Child Detention Letter with signatures Feb 26 2026

Citing reporting by @propublica.org and others, nearly 4,000 doctors, nurses and health professionals sent a letter to DHS Sec Kristi Noem calling for the immediate release of all children currently in immigration detention. Full letter: tinyurl.com/yz2amueb 1/

02.03.2026 20:10 πŸ‘ 567 πŸ” 237 πŸ’¬ 5 πŸ“Œ 13

Hello! I’m the reporter who has been tracking citizens detained by immigration agents. And last night, I noticed something: A lot of them were at the State of the Union, including a number of whom I’ve written about.

Their stories should be known:

25.02.2026 23:21 πŸ‘ 1066 πŸ” 481 πŸ’¬ 12 πŸ“Œ 17
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Seized Art, Eavesdropping Guards: Parents Describe a Clampdown at Dilley Detention Center as Kids Shared Their Stories Detainees told ProPublica that art supplies have been removed in room searches, immigrants have lost access to Gmail and staff hover within earshot during video calls.

Amid what detainees say is a clampdown in Dilley, TX, including seizures of kids' drawings and crayons, Christian Hinojosa stuffed letters in her jacket to hide them from guards. She told @micarosenberg.bsky.social and me her story. We published the letters today.

www.propublica.org/article/dill...

26.02.2026 21:58 πŸ‘ 202 πŸ” 107 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 8
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πŸ“½οΈ WATCH: We went inside the immigrant family detention center in Dilley, Texas.

Listen to what kids told reporter @micarosenberg.bsky.social about their life in detention β€” and the things they’ve lost and left behind.

Read more: https://propub.li/4toqME6

13.02.2026 02:02 πŸ‘ 961 πŸ” 563 πŸ’¬ 29 πŸ“Œ 34
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The Kids Trump Sent to ICE’s Dilley Detention Center ProPublica went inside the immigrant detention center for families in Dilley, Texas. Children held there told us about the anguish of being ripped from their lives in the United States and the fear of...

Read our full story that details how we got inside the Dilley detention center for immigrant families here: www.propublica.org/article/life...

09.02.2026 11:21 πŸ‘ 350 πŸ” 196 πŸ’¬ 5 πŸ“Œ 6

1/ ProPublica collected handwritten letters in mid-January from children held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, the same facility where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was taken.

Hundreds of kids are still detained.

We’ll let the children’s words speak for themselves. 🧡

09.02.2026 12:25 πŸ‘ 11564 πŸ” 7422 πŸ’¬ 197 πŸ“Œ 827
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This is 18-mo-old Amalia waving to me when she was detained.

She was hospitalized with a respiratory infection while at ICE’s Dilley facility for immigrant families.

She’s one of dozens of detainees who I spoke to via video and phone calls, letters and an in-person visit. 🧡1/

09.02.2026 11:21 πŸ‘ 1501 πŸ” 679 πŸ’¬ 21 πŸ“Œ 79
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We Found More Than 40 Cases of Immigration Agents Using Banned Chokeholds and Other Moves That Can Cut Off Breathing Civilians have had apparent seizures. One had his eyes roll back. Another had ribs broken. β€œI felt like I was going to pass out and die,” said a 16-year-old citizen put in a chokehold. The government ...

Our story: www.propublica.org/article/vide...

15.01.2026 23:22 πŸ‘ 206 πŸ” 80 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 3

"No puedo respirar"β€”the same phrase @nicolefoy.bsky.social and I heard while reporting our recent @propublica.org story about immigration agents' use of banned chokeholds. These and other neck restraints have been prohibited since at least 2011 in detention facilities: www.ice.gov/doclib/deten...

15.01.2026 23:21 πŸ‘ 315 πŸ” 107 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 4
A teenage boy with dark hair and a black and gold football jersey holds his helmet, standing on the side line of a green football field

A teenage boy with dark hair and a black and gold football jersey holds his helmet, standing on the side line of a green football field

I’m one of the ProPublica reporters who has been documenting the aggressive tactics federal agents are using against immigrants & U.S. citizens

All eyes are on Minnesota right now, but I want to tell you about Arnoldo Bazan, a 16-YO citizen in Houston who was choked by immigration agents in October

15.01.2026 21:31 πŸ‘ 1797 πŸ” 829 πŸ’¬ 16 πŸ“Œ 66

This is an outstanding and infuriating story, very well done, and well worth a read even with all else that’s going on.

15.01.2026 19:33 πŸ‘ 98 πŸ” 24 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1
Retired ICE agent breaks down deadly Minneapolis shooting
Retired ICE agent breaks down deadly Minneapolis shooting YouTube video by CBS Evening News

Breaking from CBS: the officer who killed Renee Good "suffered internal bleeding"

Also from CBS, a few days ago: "but the direction of the tires appears to be facing away from the officer"

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ywL...

14.01.2026 20:39 πŸ‘ 17 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 1
Farewell for now Guy Oron writes a heartfelt letter about his nearly four years working at Real Change, expressing gratitude to readers for their support and pride his impactful journalism.

Thank you to my editors, fellow staff, vendors and volunteers, and most importantly, our readers. I couldn’t have done it without all of you. Read my full farewell letter here:
www.realchangenews.org/news/2025/12...

12.12.2025 02:04 πŸ‘ 33 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 1
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Inside ICE Air: Flight Attendants on Deportation Planes Say Disaster Is β€œOnly a Matter of Time” Current and former flight attendants for GlobalX, the private charter airline at the center of Trump’s immigration crackdown, expressed concern about their inability to treat passengers humanely and t...

At @propublica.org we reported in April on how ICE Air flight attendants feel about having to transport shackled passengers: www.propublica.org/article/insi...

26.11.2025 00:26 πŸ‘ 215 πŸ” 80 πŸ’¬ 9 πŸ“Œ 0
Screenshot of story text: 
β€œYou need to go because you are American,” Rahel told him. β€œI will stay here because I am Eritrean.” She smiled weakly, trying to put on a brave face for him. β€œRemember, mommy is a fighter and she’s going to fight,” she said.

Rahel was moved from one place to the next until eventually she boarded a plane, its destination unclear. She realized that, if there were an emergency, she would not be able to reach the oxygen mask with her shackled hands.

She complained to an ICE officer.

β€œNothing we can do,” she said he told her. β€œThese are the rules.”

She couldn’t stop imagining that the cabin would experience air loss and she would die trying to reach her mask.

When the plane landed, Rahel saw that another detainee had begun menstruating and blood had seeped through her clothes and onto her seat. She would remain like this, blood drenching her clothes, as she moved from the plane to buses and walked in front of dozens of officers.

β€œHow can this be happening in America?” Rahel thought.

Screenshot of story text: β€œYou need to go because you are American,” Rahel told him. β€œI will stay here because I am Eritrean.” She smiled weakly, trying to put on a brave face for him. β€œRemember, mommy is a fighter and she’s going to fight,” she said. Rahel was moved from one place to the next until eventually she boarded a plane, its destination unclear. She realized that, if there were an emergency, she would not be able to reach the oxygen mask with her shackled hands. She complained to an ICE officer. β€œNothing we can do,” she said he told her. β€œThese are the rules.” She couldn’t stop imagining that the cabin would experience air loss and she would die trying to reach her mask. When the plane landed, Rahel saw that another detainee had begun menstruating and blood had seeped through her clothes and onto her seat. She would remain like this, blood drenching her clothes, as she moved from the plane to buses and walked in front of dozens of officers. β€œHow can this be happening in America?” Rahel thought.

Incredible @matinastevis.bsky.social story about an asylum-seeker kept apart from her son and family as she ping-ponged back and forth between U.S. and Canadian immigration officials has a telling detail about ICE Air.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/w...

26.11.2025 00:24 πŸ‘ 145 πŸ” 65 πŸ’¬ 6 πŸ“Œ 1
Article text: β€œIn South Carolina, a Colombian family of five went to a government office for a fingerprinting appointment, only to have the parents detained while the children β€” ages 5, 11 and 15 β€” were sent into the shelter system for four months. In South Florida, a 17-year-old from Guatemala was taken into custody because officers couldn't make contact with his dad after a traffic stop; his dad is deaf. In Maryland, a 17-year-old from Mexico ended up in a shelter after making a wrong turn onto military property.”

Article text: β€œIn South Carolina, a Colombian family of five went to a government office for a fingerprinting appointment, only to have the parents detained while the children β€” ages 5, 11 and 15 β€” were sent into the shelter system for four months. In South Florida, a 17-year-old from Guatemala was taken into custody because officers couldn't make contact with his dad after a traffic stop; his dad is deaf. In Maryland, a 17-year-old from Mexico ended up in a shelter after making a wrong turn onto military property.”

"A cracked windshield, a waiting officer, a forgotten document: The new family separations often start in the most mundane ways." From our story out today: www.propublica.org/article/ice-...

24.11.2025 20:50 πŸ‘ 66 πŸ” 36 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 3
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1. This year traffic stops by Florida cops have led to at least two dozen immigrant kids being separated from their family or caregivers and placed in federal shelters.

For one 15-year-old, it began with a cracked windshield.

24.11.2025 19:26 πŸ‘ 183 πŸ” 65 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 3
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ICE Sent 600 Immigrant Kids to Detention in Federal Shelters This Year. It’s a New Record. Under a zero tolerance policy, the first Trump administration separated immigrant children from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border. New data suggests separations are happening all over the count...

NEW: Today we published a new investigation into something happening largely out of view: immigrant kids getting separated from their families and placed in federal shelters, in some cases after something as mundane as a traffic stop🧡 1/
www.propublica.org/article/ice-...

24.11.2025 18:58 πŸ‘ 187 πŸ” 118 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 11
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What the U.S. Government Is Dismissing That Could Seed a Bird Flu Pandemic Egg producers suspect bird flu is traveling through the air. After a disastrous Midwestern outbreak early this year, we tested that theory and found that where the wind blew, the virus followed. Vacci...

Amazing research by @natlash.bsky.social on how the wind helped spread the bird flu virus around Ohio and beyond. Scary β€” and terrifically nerdy www.propublica.org/article/bird...

18.11.2025 14:39 πŸ‘ 159 πŸ” 48 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 6
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β€œI Lost Everything”: Venezuelans Were Rounded Up in a Dramatic Midnight Raid but Never Charged With a Crime Authorities said Tren de Aragua β€œterrorists” had taken over the building. A ProPublica investigation found little evidence to back up the government’s claims. For the first time, the Venezuelans arres...

A Black Hawk helicopter. SWAT teams repelling to the roof. 300 agents. Flash-bang grenades. A TV crew.

β€œIt’s 20,000 of them running through my house like we got Saddam Hussein in the closet."

For all that, fed prosecutors filed no criminal charges against anyone who was arrested.

Stunning report.

13.11.2025 14:35 πŸ‘ 842 πŸ” 393 πŸ’¬ 14 πŸ“Œ 11

War ravaged” Portland? @robwdavis.bsky.social , Steve Suo, and Joanna Shan watched hundreds and hundreds of videos to find out. (And the federal government, apparently, did not.)

06.11.2025 05:11 πŸ‘ 34 πŸ” 9 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Veterans with cancer struggling to get VA benefits... because it's breast cancer... because they're men... because "gender ideology extremism" caused this cancer?

31.10.2025 18:29 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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So a few months ago, we detailed how immigration agents were breaking car windows to grab the people inside.

Well, it turns out one agent just did that *with his gun* and mistakenly shot the person inside and a U.S. marshal.

www.cnn.com/2025/10/21/u...

21.10.2025 21:38 πŸ‘ 440 πŸ” 245 πŸ’¬ 26 πŸ“Œ 11
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Idaho Banned Vaccine Mandates. Activists Want to Make It a Model for the Country. The Idaho Medical Freedom Act makes it illegal to require anyone to take a vaccine or receive β€œmedical intervention.” Leslie Manookian, the activist behind the law, hopes to make it a β€œsocietal norm” ...

Idaho's new "law runs against one of the hallmarks of modern public health: that a person’s full participation in society depends on their willingness to follow certain rules." By the great @audreydutton.bsky.social www.propublica.org/article/idah...

21.10.2025 00:14 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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How Trump is Building a Violent, Shadowy Federal Police Force Trump’s DHS appointees have dismantled civil rights guardrails, protected agents’ anonymity and encouraged them to wear masks, threatened groups that stood in their way, and overwhelmed legal challeng...

Panicked kidnapping reports during immigration raids in Santa Ana:

β€œHe’s bleeding,” one 911 caller said. β€œThey dumped him into a white van. It doesn’t say ICE”...

Another: β€œShould we just run?”

New story by @davidmcswane.bsky.social and @hannahallam.bsky.social www.propublica.org/article/trum...

21.10.2025 00:08 πŸ‘ 11 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
White words on a black background read:

50+ 
Immigration agents have the authority to detain whom they reasonably suspect are in the country illegally. We found more than 50 Americans who were held after agents questioned their citizenship. They were almost all Latino.

~130
Agents also can arrest citizens who allegedly interfered with or assaulted officers. We compiled cases of about 130 Americans, including a dozen elected officials, accused of assaulting or impeding officers. 

~20
Among the citizens detained are nearly 20 children, including two with cancer.

White words on a black background read: 50+ Immigration agents have the authority to detain whom they reasonably suspect are in the country illegally. We found more than 50 Americans who were held after agents questioned their citizenship. They were almost all Latino. ~130 Agents also can arrest citizens who allegedly interfered with or assaulted officers. We compiled cases of about 130 Americans, including a dozen elected officials, accused of assaulting or impeding officers. ~20 Among the citizens detained are nearly 20 children, including two with cancer.

Hi, I'm the ProPublica reporter who's been tracking an unusual stat: U.S. citizens grabbed by immigration agents.

I did it because the government isn’t.

This is what I found.

18.10.2025 14:11 πŸ‘ 17274 πŸ” 8050 πŸ’¬ 302 πŸ“Œ 242

Let me help you with that, Speaker Johnson.

This is what we documented.

www.propublica.org/article/immi...

17.10.2025 16:33 πŸ‘ 621 πŸ” 192 πŸ’¬ 37 πŸ“Œ 6
Screenshot of an October 16, 2025 tweet by the Department of Homeland Security claiming that ProPublica's reporting that more than 170 U.S. citizens have been arrested by immigration authorities since January was "fake news" and that DHS enforcement operations are "HIGHLY TARGETED"

Screenshot of an October 16, 2025 tweet by the Department of Homeland Security claiming that ProPublica's reporting that more than 170 U.S. citizens have been arrested by immigration authorities since January was "fake news" and that DHS enforcement operations are "HIGHLY TARGETED"

Over on Twitter, DHS just questioned @nicolefoy.bsky.social's vital @propublica.org reporting on American citizens arrested by immigration agents, calling her story "fake news." Butβ€”whoops!β€”they conveniently forgot the link. Here it is. Check the receipts. www.propublica.org/article/immi...

16.10.2025 22:27 πŸ‘ 583 πŸ” 218 πŸ’¬ 20 πŸ“Œ 14

The reality of Kavanaugh stops: American citizens dragged, tackled, beaten, tased, and shot by immigration agents. Citizens held in the rain while in their underwear. A pregnant citizen's door blown off while Kristi Noem watched. Important story by @nicolefoy.bsky.social of @propublica.org

16.10.2025 17:38 πŸ‘ 778 πŸ” 391 πŸ’¬ 11 πŸ“Œ 15