Dear John, CMD's latest investigation documents the growing alarm over the number of people being kidnapped from their homes, workplaces, court houses, and streets in America without due process by masked ICE agents and essentially disappeared from their families, lawyers, and communities. Our team has also revealed the red-state crackdown on squatters being pushed by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), who funds ALEC, and the right-wing groups bankrolling Texas' brazen attempt to rig the 2026 congressional elections with a mid-decade gerrymander. And we published a discussion between guest contributor Alex Carlin and Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) on the need for bipartisan climate action. | |
Here's the Latest from CMD | |
Alarm Grows Over Immigrants Being Disappeared in America To counter Trump’s immigration dragnet, a coalition of immigrant rights, faith, rule of law, and pro-democracy organizations has come together to focus on the human toll of these aggressive policies, to call attention to the Trump administration’s disregard for due process, and to demand accountability from immigration enforcement agencies. Read the full story here. | |
Red States Are Suddenly Cracking Down on Squatters – Despite No Evidence of a Crisis The legislative assault on housing-insecure Americans is being pushed by the corporation-friendly American Legislative Exchange Council. (Published in partnership with Rolling Stone.) Read the full story here. | |
Prominent Right-Wing Groups Bankroll the Guru Behind the Texas Gerrymander Major right-wing funders bankroll the GOP gerrymandering guru responsible for engineering new Texas maps to lock up MAGA control of the U.S. House of Representatives, an examination of tax filings by the Center for Media and Democracy shows. Read the full story here. | |
Who Funds ALEC? ALEC’s largest identifiable funder is the Milwaukee-based Bradley Foundation, which funneled $3.6 million into its coffers between 2019 and 2024. Some of the funds were used to bankroll ALEC CARE, the pay-to-pay group’s controversial voter management campaign software. Read the full story here. | |
A Conversation with California Congressman Mark DeSaulnier About Bipartisan Climate Action Guest contributor Alex Carlin spoke with U.S. Representative Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) about the climate emergency and the need to push beyond partisan acrimony to restore healthy oceans with innovative solutions. Read the full story here. | |
CMD in the News Our research has recently been cited by or featured in the following publications: - Bleeding Heartland: “Former Iowa lawmaker gives master class on sucking up to Trump”
- Unicorn Riot: “The Deep Ties and Deeper Pockets of Minnesota’s Far-Right”
- The 74: “28 Bills, Ten Commandments and 1 Source: A Christian Right ‘Bill Mill’”
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Thank you for following our investigations and for your continued support! Team CMD | |
