Meg Anderson
Meg Anderson is a correspondent on NPR's National Desk. She covers criminal justice issues, including how cities respond to mental health crises, the intersection of local policing and immigration enforcement, conditions behind bars, and how vulnerable populations like young people and people with cognitive disabilities interact with the criminal legal system. She extensively covered the immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota in early 2026 and its aftermath. Previously, she served as a producer on NPR's investigations team, including on the Peabody award-winning series Lost Mothers. She has also reported for NPR's politics and education desks, and for WAMU, the local public radio station in Washington, D.C. She welcomes tips, and can be reached via encrypted message on Signal at mma.05.
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The killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti during the ICE surge in Minneapolis last winter was a pivotal moment for the country. After Democrats' sweeping wins this week, their deaths at the hands of immigration agents will likely be the targets of renewed investigations. -
Real-time crime-center software is a sometimes overlooked but powerful tool allowing police to aggregate immense amounts of data, significantly expanding their surveillance reach. -
The family of a woman killed during an immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota is filing two civil suits against the federal government.
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Some communities dispatch mental health clinicians as an alternative to a police response for emergency calls. Researchers consider a program in Durham, North Carolina, to be a success.
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Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to spend up to $20 million to purchase high-tech gloves that deliver electric shocks to people they're trying to detain.
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An ACLU report looks at widespread use of force in immigration enforcement in the first year of President Trump's return to office. Recent fatal shootings in Texas and Maine have renewed scrutiny on the agency's tactics. -
A newly revealed Department of Homeland Security document outlines plans to issue local police facial recognition technology, a move that will expand the scope of ICE surveillance.
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ICE is expanding its use of iris recognition technology, with plans to deploy hundreds of scanning devices across the country. The practice raises concerns among privacy experts that the Department of Homeland Security is amassing a database of biometric data. -
The federal government is offering local law enforcement incentives to join a program that gives their officers authority to make immigration arrests. Police leaders say the funds, which include money for salaries, equipment and vehicles, are enticing. -
ICE seems to be changing from aggressive immigration enforcement on city streets to an apparent return to operations that rely heavily on local law enforcement. But even in Florida, where sheriffs are required to cooperate with ICE, some conservative sheriffs have concerns about pursuing immigrants with no criminal records.
