There are ways to beat back unpopular federal building plans outside of courtrooms, says Rick Su, an expert on the intersection of local government and immigration. “When local communities have prevailed, it hasn’t necessarily been on legal grounds.”
https://boltsmag.org/how-state-and-local-leaders-are-responding-to-ice-your-questions-answered/
Several congressmembers face challengers from the left in Tuesday's Democratic primaries in New York. Two races feature candidates who ran for mayor last year—Brad Lander, who is challenging Dan Goldman, and Michael Blake, who is challenging Richie Torres.
https://boltsmag.org/whats-on-the-ballot/june-2026-elections-guide/#June23
When North Carolina created a new clemency process, 191 incarcerated people who were convicted as children petitioned to the review board. The board led to clemency to only 14 people, and then it disbanded.
https://boltsmag.org/north-carolina-clemency-juvenile-sentences/
Andrew Guthrie Ferguson says transparency around surveillance technology is essential: “We should not be asking police what technologies are in use, we should know and have approved of them before our tax dollars were used to buy them.”
https://boltsmag.org/everything-everywhere-all-at-once-surveillance-your-questions-answered/
Oregon Public Broadcasting reports on a class-action lawsuit to end solitary confinement in the state:
https://www.opb.org/article/2026/06/11/oregon-class-action-lawsuit-solitary-confinement/
David Trone, the founder of a major wine retailer, is once again breaking self-funding records as he spends his personal fortune to regain a seat in the U.S. House.
His primary in Maryland is one of the key races we're watching on Tuesday.
https://boltsmag.org/whats-on-the-ballot/june-2026-elections-guide/#June23
In Louisiana, which has more ICE lockups than almost any state, a crisis of prolonged detention is accelerating. Data suggests that the number of immigrants in ICE custody for more than a year has spiked five-fold since 2024.
Our story with The Lens:
https://boltsmag.org/louisiana-immigration-detention-habeas-crisis/
A sheriff candidate in Alamance County says the sitting sheriff’s policies have left Latino residents fearful. “I’m having to talk to people through the crack of their doors in certain communities because they’re afraid of law enforcement.”
https://boltsmag.org/alamance-county-sheriff-terry-johnson-shannon-long/
An “anti-universal suffrage” conservative influencer is now an election clerk in Utah, KSL dot com reports:
In Utah, two Republican congressmembers face challengers to their right in Tuesday’s GOP primaries. One of the challengers was convicted for riding an ATV on protected federal land but then pardoned by Trump.
Learn more in our election guide.
https://boltsmag.org/whats-on-the-ballot/june-2026-elections-guide/#June23
Many immigrants who have been detained for months or years in Louisiana are filing habeas petitions, which in turn has swamped federal judges’ dockets and made it nearly impossible for judges to act quickly on these emergency pleas for release.
https://boltsmag.org/louisiana-immigration-detention-habeas-crisis/
A pastor running for sheriff in Alamance County, North Carolina, says immigration enforcement should primarily be a federal responsibility. “We’re going to do our job, and our job is not to do what they’re doing, which is, right now, racial profiling.”
https://boltsmag.org/alamance-county-sheriff-terry-johnson-shannon-long/
Read the ruling, including the majority opinion written by Justice Elena Kagan, and the concurrence written by Justice Neil Gorsuch: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-1063_5ifl.pdf
Lauren Gill reported that Virginians who agree to a Fourth Amendment waiver give up protections against unreasonable searches and seizures, allowing police to search them or their home at any time over years-long periods. Governor Spanberger vetoed a bill to limit this in April.
SCOTUS ruled today that a defendant agreeing to waive their right to an appeal is not enforceable in some cases. Justice Gorsuch cited this Bolts story on the practice in Virginia of prosecutors asking defendants to waive their Fourth Amendment rights.
https://boltsmag.org/virginia-fourth-amendment-waivers-spanberger-vetoes-ban/
Prosecutors in Cook County, Illinois, have often objected to issuing certificates of innocence, and compensation, to wrongfully convicted people. But a court just ordered these certificates to be granted automatically in some cases. (w/ Injustice Watch)
https://boltsmag.org/illinois-certificates-of-innocence-compensation/
Bill Ferguson, the Democratic president of the Maryland Senate, angered some in his party this year by opposing a push to draw a new congressional map. His challenger in Tuesday’s primary, tour boat captain Bobby LaPin, has made it an issue in his campaign.
It’s one of the key races to watch next week.
https://boltsmag.org/whats-on-the-ballot/june-2026-elections-guide/#June23
More than 10 years ago, the DOJ accused a North Carolina sheriff of fostering “a culture of discrimination against Latinos.” Now, he’s running for a seventh term in Alamance County.
Our story with NC Local and The Alamance Fabric:
https://boltsmag.org/alamance-county-sheriff-terry-johnson-shannon-long/
NEW from Bolts: Louisiana has more ICE lockups than almost any other state. Now, as a surge in habeas petitions overloads courts, people are being held “unfathomably” long without recourse.
Our new collaboration with The Lens:
https://boltsmag.org/louisiana-immigration-detention-habeas-crisis/
Unraveled reports on a new surge in immigration enforcement operations in Chicago: