Allen Siegler

Send us news tips on I.C.E. in Mississippi Advocates have told Mississippi Today about sightings of immigration officials across the state, including in the Jackson metro area, and our reporters are working to cover these stories. But we need your help.

Advocates have told Mississippi Today about sightings of immigration officials across the state, including in the Jackson metro area, and our reporters are working to cover these stories. But we need your help.

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.

Quick surgeries, scars and facelifts that fade: Complaints pile up about a Jackson plastic surgeon Some patients say they are unhappy with scarring and other problems after having facial plastic surgery by Dr. Adair Blackledge of Jackson. Blackledge says he prides himself on neat work and good patient care, and that critics have harassed him and his staff.

Quick surgeries, scars and facelifts that fade: Complaints pile up about a Jackson plastic surgeon

Some patients say they are unhappy with scarring and other problems after having facial plastic surgery by Dr. Adair Blackledge of Jackson. Blackledge says he prides himself on neat work and good…

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🧵 Mississippi Today filed public records requests with 147 cities, towns and counties to find out how each is – or isn’t – spending opioid settlement dollars. Here are some of the biggest takeaways.

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Deaths at child care centers are rare, but they still reveal a broken system Day care deaths are rare, but complaints about injuries, neglect, abuse and unsafe conditions are more common. Together, they show an industry with too few resources to guarantee safety at an affordable price. 

Deaths at child care centers are rare, but they still reveal a broken system

Day care deaths are rare, but complaints about injuries, neglect, abuse and unsafe conditions are more common. Together, they show an industry with too few resources to guarantee safety at an affordable price. 

‘I didn’t have a voice’: Mississippi poultry industry’s use and alleged abuse of immigrant workers Six years after ICE raids on Mississippi poultry plants, current and former immigrant workers say deteriorated conditions persist for both those undocumented and on work visas.

‘I didn’t have a voice’: Mississippi poultry industry’s use and alleged abuse of immigrant workers

Six years after ICE raids on Mississippi poultry plants, current and former immigrant workers say deteriorated conditions persist for both those undocumented and on work visas.

Mississippi Marketplace: Magnolia State preps for the AI boom Mississippi, the Deep South and the nation are seeing a boom in artificial intelligence data center construction. The centers promise economic growth, but there are concerns about their environmental impact and that they create relatively few jobs.

Mississippi Marketplace: Magnolia State preps for the AI boom

Mississippi, the Deep South and the nation are seeing a boom in artificial intelligence data center construction. The centers promise economic growth, but there are concerns about their environmental impact and that they create…

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Mississippi Today is looking to speak to residents of Jackson and Mississippi who utilize federally-funded assistance programs.

If you are interested, please fill out this survey.

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Ex-corrections official alleges widespread medical neglect and mismanagement in Mississippi’s prison system The same year the state agreed to pay VitalCore $100 million in taxpayer funds to provide health care to people incarcerated in Mississippi prisons, a top official at the Mississippi Department of Corrections, asked about an inmate's rotting leg, remarked that the company "sucks."

Ex-corrections official alleges widespread medical neglect and mismanagement in Mississippi’s prison system

The same year the state agreed to pay VitalCore $100 million in taxpayer funds to provide health care to people incarcerated in Mississippi prisons, a top official at the Mississippi…

Health Editor - Mississippi Today Mississippi Today is seeking an experienced journalist who can lead our health team.

@mississippitoday.org is hiring for the position of Health Editor! They seek an experienced journalist who can lead their health team and who understands the health considerations of rural and suburban Mississippians alike. Learn more and apply here: mississippitoday.org/careers/heal...

Signs of Violence in Sheriff’s Office Dated Back YearsMississippi Today The FBI and a Mississippi sheriff investigated complaints about brutal assaults, but the deputies accused remained on the force and were never charged.

The FBI and a Mississippi sheriff investigated complaints about brutal assaults, but the deputies accused remained on the force and were never charged.

mississippitoday.org/2025/07/10/r...

New vending machine provides free medicine to fight opioid overdoses NFL player Jeffery Simmons chooses his native Mississippi as a site for free distribution of naloxone.

New vending machine provides free medicine to fight opioid overdoses

NFL player Jeffery Simmons chooses his native Mississippi as a site for free distribution of naloxone.

Randy Johnson's photography business logo?

10/10 no notes 😅

Death penalty foes ask governor to stop execution - Mississippi Today Gov. Tate Reeves says he will not block the execution of Mississippi's oldest and longest-serving death row inmate.

Gov. Tate Reeves said he will not stop the execution of Richard Jordan, Mississippi’s oldest and longest-serving inmate. New from @mississippitoday.org mississippitoday.org/2025/06/24/d...

Decade of daring: McMullen young writers make 10th workshop special Aspiring authors honed their craft during the McMullen Young Writers Workshop at Millsaps College in Jackson.

Decade of daring: McMullen young writers make 10th workshop special

Aspiring authors honed their craft during the McMullen Young Writers Workshop at Millsaps College in Jackson.

Lawmaker probing Mississippi’s prisons finds inmates suffering from treatable diseases as corrections asks for more money 'When they beg me for supplies because they make them reuse colostomy bags over and over that don’t fit, when they are bowel and bladder incontinent and they don’t provide diapers to them it is hard for me to hear that (MDOC) feels that they provide adequate care.' -- House Corrections Chairwoman Becky Currie

Lawmaker probing Mississippi’s prisons finds inmates suffering from treatable diseases as corrections asks for more money

'When they beg me for supplies because they make them reuse colostomy bags over and over that don’t fit, when they are bowel and bladder incontinent and they don’t provide…

Baby tests positive for meth after day in child care - Mississippi Today The Mississippi Department of Health, which is responsible for regulating and licensing day care centers, fined Little Blessings $50 after the incident.

A doctor told a mom her baby had ingested methamphetamine while at Little Blessings Daycare.

The Mississippi Department of Health fined Little Blessings $50 after the incident.

My boss Kate Royals' perplexing new @mississippitoday.org investigation: mississippitoday.org/2025/06/17/c...

UMMC’s records system asks if patients are citizens, but hospital won’t say why The field was not added by Epic, the electronic health record system used by UMMC, a spokesperson for the software company told Mississippi Today. 

UMMC’s records system asks if patients are citizens, but hospital won’t say why

The field was not added by Epic, the electronic health record system used by UMMC, a spokesperson for the software company told Mississippi Today. 

Mississippi's Opioid Settlement Funds - Mississippi Today Mississippi is expected to receive $370 million in opioid settlement funds and we're following how the state and local governments are spending it.

Follow this and other @mississippitoday.org opioid settlement stories here mississippitoday.org/mississippi-...

Parents worry opioid money not properly spent - Mississippi Today Parents who lost children to addiction expressed concern that their local elected officials hadn’t sought the voices of people in their shoes and worried these funds could be used in ways that wouldn’...

The Aultmans, a South Mississippi couple, just lost their daughter to an overdose last month. They're not confident the area's local governments will use opioid settlements so other families won't share their experience.

My latest @mississippitoday.org story mississippitoday.org/2025/06/11/p...

‘Sinners’ puts ‘truth on screen’ for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians It’s a small part in a big movie, but for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, their scene in "Sinners" is a huge deal.

‘Sinners’ puts ‘truth on screen’ for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians

It’s a small part in a big movie, but for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, their scene in "Sinners" is a huge deal.

Bulk of opioid settlement dollars in hands of lawmakers - Mississippi Today Public health advocates and Mississippians affected by the crisis worry the setup for the state's opioid settlement funds could enable the dollars to be spent on purposes other than ending the overdos...

Mississippi has a plan for its opioid settlement distribution. It allows the Legislature to spend tens of millions of dollars on purposes other than the public health crisis.

My latest story for @mississippitoday.org mississippitoday.org/2025/06/03/m...

He Died Without Getting Mental Health Care He Sought. A New Lawsuit Says His Insurer’s Ghost Network Is to Blame. The mother of Ravi Coutinho, the subject of a recent ProPublica investigation, is suing Centene for publishing “misleading” information that gave her son a false impression about the kinds of mental h...

NEW: The mother of an Arizona man who died after being unable to find mental health treatment is suing his health insurer, saying it broke the law by publishing false information that misled its customers.

By @maxblau.bsky.social

Where Jackson creativity is the “blueprint for resistance,” Briarwood Arts Center is the brick, mortar Brown hopes that his persistence and dedication to creating safe spaces inspires others in Jackson to imagine what’s possible for their neighborhoods.

Where Jackson creativity is the “blueprint for resistance,” Briarwood Arts Center is the brick, mortar

Brown hopes that his persistence and dedication to creating safe spaces inspires others in Jackson to imagine what’s possible for their neighborhoods.

In Jackson’s ‘white Republican bastion,’ population changes shape council race The hotly contested race reflects what political observers and ward residents have known for years now: Northeast Jackson is not quite the “white Republican bastion” it once was. 

In Jackson’s ‘white Republican bastion,’ population changes shape council race

The hotly contested race reflects what political observers and ward residents have known for years now: Northeast Jackson is not quite the “white Republican bastion” it once was. 

‘Why is this not being covered?’: Moms with Blue Cross must pay or forego lactation support - Mississippi Today Moms in Mississippi now face out-of-pocket costs of over $100 per session for breastfeeding help – and are calling on lawmakers and the state’s largest private insurer to step up. 

Moms in Mississippi now face out-of-pocket costs of over $100 per session for breastfeeding help – and are calling on lawmakers and the state’s largest private insurer to step up.

mississippitoday.org/2025/05/28/w...

Delta groups secure $5 million grant to improve dental care for older adults It’s the first time Delta Dental’s foundation, the philanthropic arm of the national dental insurance company, has funded a senior oral health partnership outside of California or Washington, D.C.

It’s the first time Delta Dental’s foundation, the philanthropic arm of the national dental insurance company, has funded a senior oral health partnership outside of California or Washington, D.C.

Katherine Lin joins Mississippi Today through partnership with Report for America - Mississippi Today At Mississippi Today, Lin will report on development, where politics and economics intersect throughout the state.

Katherine Lin will report on development, where politics and economics intersect throughout the state.