Michael Grabell

Senior Editor

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Michael Grabell is a senior editor with ProPublica. Grabell has previously written about economic issues, labor, immigration and trade. He has reported on the ground from more than 35 states, as well as some of the remotest villages in Alaska and Guatemala. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic and The New York Times and on Vice and NPR.

Grabell has won two George Polk awards and has twice been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize — in 2021, as part of a team covering COVID-19, and in 2019, with Ginger Thompson and Topher Sanders, for stories that helped expose the impact of family separation at the border and abuse in immigrant children’s shelters. The latter work also won a Peabody award and was a finalist for the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting.

He previously won the Gerald Loeb Award for business journalism for his investigation into the dismantling of workers’ compensation and an ASNE award for reporting on diversity for his series on the growth of temp work in the economy.

Millions of Essential Workers Are Being Left Out of COVID-19 Workplace Safety Protections, Thanks to OSHA

Even as the federal worker-safety agency has been inundated with complaints, it has rolled back safety standards and virtually eliminated non-health care workplaces from government protection.

¿Qué sucedería si se enferman los empleados que cortan las carnes del país?

Al mismo tiempo que las empacadoras de carne se agilizan para tratar de satisfacer la demanda, sus empleados comienzan a contraer COVID-19. Sin embargo algunos de ellos dicen que se están presentando al trabajo enfermos por no tener licencia con goce de sueldo por enfermedad y por la posibilidad de ser penalizados si se quedan en su casa.

What Happens If Workers Cutting Up the Nation’s Meat Get Sick?

As meatpackers rush to meet demand, their employees are starting to get COVID-19. But some workers say they’re going to work ill because they don’t have paid sick days and can be penalized for staying home.

We Tracked the Last Time the Government Bailed Out the Economy. Here’s What to Know About the $1 Trillion Coronavirus Plan.

A decade ago, the government spent more than $1 trillion to bail out companies and stimulate the economy. What have we learned since then?

Una de las pediatras que atendió a niños inmigrantes describe un patrón de brechas en la atención médica proporcionada en los albergues

¿Qué tan preparada está la administración de Trump para la corriente de menores no acompañados en la frontera? Una queja nueva señala que los albergues en Nueva Jersey ya habían fallado al no responder adecuadamente cuando tuvieron niños lastimados o enfermos.

Pediatrician Who Treated Immigrant Children Describes Pattern of Lapses in Medical Care in Shelters

How prepared is the Trump administration for an influx of unaccompanied minors at the border? A new complaint shows shelters in New Jersey were already failing to respond when kids got hurt or sick.

Senators Demand Investigation Into Sexual Abuse at Immigrant Children’s Shelters

Sens. Charles Grassley and Dianne Feinstein said they are particularly concerned that allegations of sexual assault of unaccompanied minors aren’t being properly investigated.

En los albergues para menores inmigrantes, los casos de agresión sexual se abren y cierran en un dos por tres

En distintos lugares del país, niños denuncian casos de agresión sexual en los albergues para menores inmigrantes. Alex decidió dar a conocer su situación cuando informó en el albergue que dos adolescentes mayores que él lo arrastraron a uno de los dormitorios. El incidente quedó grabado en un video de vigilancia, pero su caso nunca fue investigado. Alex no es el único.

In Immigrant Children’s Shelters, Sexual Assault Cases Are Open and Shut

Across the country, kids are reporting sexual assaults in immigrant children’s shelters. Alex decided to come forward. He told the shelter two older teens dragged him into a bedroom. There was surveillance video. But Alex's case wasn't investigated. His isn’t the only one.

Agency Policing Tent City for Immigrant Kids Lacks Experience Investigating Sex Crimes Involving Children

The Federal Protective Service, which primarily secures federal buildings, has been charged with responding to incidents at the shelter with 2,800 immigrant children in Tornillo, Texas.

“Humanitarian Crisis” Looms as Arizona Threatens to Revoke Immigrant Children Shelter Licenses

The state says Southwest Key displayed a “flippant attitude” after sexual abuse reports. But can the federal government survive without the largest operator of immigrant children shelters as Trump policies put the system near capacity?

Trabajador acusado de abusar sexualmente a ocho menores de edad en albergue para inmigrantes

Alegatos en contra de un cuidador de menores son lo último en una serie de acusaciones serias de abuso sexual en los albergues del gobierno para jóvenes inmigrantes.

Worker Charged With Sexually Molesting Eight Children at Immigrant Shelter

The allegations against the Southwest Key youth care worker are the latest in a series of serious accusations of sexual abuse inside the government’s immigrant youth shelters.

Refugios para jóvenes inmigrantes: “Si eres un depredador, es una mina de oro”

Obtuvimos informes policiales y registros de llamadas de más de dos tercios de los albergues que hospedan a niños inmigrantes. Esto es lo que muestran.

Immigrant Youth Shelters: “If You’re a Predator, It’s a Gold Mine”

We obtained police reports and call logs from more than two-thirds of the shelters housing immigrant children. Here’s what they show.

Trump Vowed to Punish Companies That Moved Jobs Overseas. Is Congress Rewarding Them?

Despite President Donald Trump’s crackdown on foreign trade, Congress is about to waive tariffs for companies to import products they once made in the U.S.

Florida Bill Seeks to Stop Arrests of Injured Immigrant Workers

The bill follows an investigation by ProPublica and NPR, which found that insurance companies were turning in unauthorized immigrants who were injured on the job.

Who Would Pay $26,000 to Work in a Chicken Plant?

Chicken plants have recruited thousands of foreign workers in recent years through a little-known program to fill jobs they say Americans won’t do.

Legisladores de Florida revisarán la ley que persigue a trabajadores lesionados indocumentados

Citando una investigación de NPR y ProPublica, una poderosa legisladora de Florida y un grupo nacional contra el fraude de seguros criticaron una ley usada por las aseguradoras para delatar a trabajadores indocumentados cuando se lesionan y evitar pagar compensación laboral.

Florida Lawmakers to Review Law Targeting Injured Undocumented Workers

Citing an NPR and ProPublica investigation, a top Florida lawmaker and a national insurance fraud group criticized a law used by insurers to turn in injured undocumented workers and avoid paying workers’ comp benefits.

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