Michael Grabell
Michael Grabell is a senior editor with ProPublica. Grabell has previously written about economic issues, labor, immigration and trade. He is a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist.
Need to Get in Touch?
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.
They Got Hurt at Work. Then They Got Deported.
How insurance companies use a Florida law to get undocumented immigrants arrested and deported when they get injured on the job — and what it means in Trump’s America.
Senator Demands Answers From Case Farms
An investigation by ProPublica and The New Yorker documented how the chicken company turned to immigrants to work at its plants. Then, when they got hurt or fought back, it used America’s laws against them.
Is Trump Administration’s Visa Push a Way to Win Health Care Votes?
In directing staffers at the Departments of Labor and Homeland Security to draft a rule increasing the number of guest-worker visas, senior political officials specifically highlighted businesses in Maine and Alaska, home to senators who hold crucial health care votes.
Can Low-Wage Industries Survive Without Immigrants and Refugees
Case Farms’ history shows how many sectors like meatpacking depend on immigrants and refugees. Now business leaders fear President Trump’s policies will create a labor shortage.
Sold for Parts
One of the most dangerous companies in the U.S. took advantage of immigrant workers. Then, when they got hurt or fought back, it used America’s laws against them.
Vendidos por Piezas
Una de las empresas más peligrosas en los Estados Unidos se aprovechó de trabajadores inmigrantes. Después, cuando se hicieron daño o se resistieron, la empresa utilizó las leyes americanas contra ellos.
Conociendo los orígenes de la mano de obra de Case Farms
Ensayo Fotográfico: Conociendo los orígenes de la mano de obra de Case Farms
Photos: Returning to the Roots of Case Farms’ Workforce
One of the most dangerous companies in the U.S. took advantage of immigrant workers. Then, when they got hurt or fought back, it used America’s laws against them.
New Bill in Illinois Would Increase Temp Worker Protections
Even as the economy has improved, workers nationwide struggle to find traditional, full-time jobs. Illinois’ would increase safety protections for temp workers and track how many moved into permanent jobs.
U.S. Labor Department: States Are Failing Injured Workers
A new Department of Labor report says cuts to state workers’ comp systems have left injured workers with inadequate benefits and raises the specter of federal oversight. The findings echo those of a ProPublica and NPR investigation last year.