Shannon Heffernan for The Marshall Project

Government

How Trump is trying to expand the already colossal U.S. prison system

An officer patrols at the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York City.

Politics

'Perverse' incentives: How local governments might cash in on Trump's migrant detention

Caroline Detention Facility in Bowling Green, Virginia, a former regional jail, has been contracted by the US Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to house undocumented adult immigrant detainees for violations of immigration laws.

Society

Incarcerated firefighters do risky, low-pay work. Many say it's the best job behind bars.

Inmates (in orange) help firefighters (L) to extinguish the last embers in the hills of Mandeville Canyon after the Palisades Fire burned part of it in January 2025.

Politics

Tim Walz on criminal justice: 5 things to know

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz arrives to speak at a press conference regarding new gun legislation at City Hall on August 1, 2024 in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Society

Even where abortion is legal, there are high barriers to obtaining one while in jail

Demonstrator holds a cardboard sign that says "Abortion Access Everywhere" standing with activists for a rally at the Federal Building Plaza in Chicago, Illinois.

News

Low pay, understaffed shifts, and dangerous conditions: New data shows a worsening prison staffing shortage crisis

close up of barbed wire fence spiral at Dade County Correctional Facility in FL