The USA Disappeared Tracker
A new project.
Yes, I am still working on those genocide posts, but I’m also starting a new project: The USA Disappeared Tracker.
Primarily on BlueSky I will be keeping track of persons politically arrested, politically disappeared, and those recovered based on reports that - at my sole discretion - I deem credible. Right now I only intend to rely on reports from major media outlets or from actual journalists, even if independent, that have sufficient history and credibility that I trust them (e.g. Marisa Kabas). If you know of a politically arrested or disappeared person and have evidence that hasn’t been reported in major or credible independent media I am happy to look at it, but I am not a trained journalist and do not (yet) have the kinds of contacts that would allow me to easily verify things. So if you intend to send me evidence directly, please be aware that I will ask you if I can share it with a journalist who might be able to help me confirm the story, and if you decline that permission I may be unable to add your person(s) to the tracker.
This does not mean that I won’t publicize unconfirmed stories of political arrests or disappearance: I’m happy to do that, but I’m going to keep the official number of persons limited to those I believe are confirmed to have been detained by the government for a political purpose.
There are limits to this approach, of course. It won’t be a good measure of the havoc at the border. It is unfortunately true that border detentions are broadly authorized under law, and if someone at Customs & Border Patrol believes that a visitor intends to violate their visa, they require very little in the way of evidence to detain someone. It’s unjust, it’s bad, and an agent/officer’s willingness to detain on a whim is almost certainly influenced by the rhetoric of political leaders. But that’s still not the same as the types of political detentions and disappearances that are exemplified by yesterday’s arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbian University graduate student with US permanent residence (AKA “a green card”) who is married to a US citizen.
Khalil’s arrest is also being counted by me as a disappearance because neither his family nor his lawyers can locate him. This doesn’t mean that his location will not be identified later. It doesn’t even mean that the disappearance is intentional. The government could be engaged in bad record keeping and communication. It could also be intending to disappear him but later claim miscommunication if pressure forces them to reveal his location. However sources I deem reliable have reported that Khalil’s authorization to be in the country was cancelled without notice and that questions asked of ICE were referred to the White House. For me this is sufficient evidence that Khalil has been politically detained, and given the inability to contact him, politically disappeared.
If this effort becomes large enough, I’ll probably start a Ghost newsletter to keep my thoughts here from getting overwhelmed by any single topic, no matter how important. In the meantime, please follow me over on BlueSky. Crip Dyke is my main account while USA Disappeared Tracker will be focussed on this single issue.
Crip Dyke also writes for the delightfully cussmouthed Wonkette!
Who knew trans writers are allowed over 800 followers on BlueSky. It might actually be illegal for you to try to join in.