NEW: An immigrant dad waited 5 mts for a fingerprinting appt required to reunite with his daughter. In that time, the toddler was sexually abused in government care. “I just think that if they would have moved faster, nothing like that would have happened,” the dad said. apnews.com/article/immi...

NEW: A Senate report estimates it costs the U.S. $413,000 to send a deportee to Eswatini, a small African country participating in third-country deportations. A detainee released today said they were flown in a private jet to a prison with few resources. apnews.com/article/immi...

The Gámez-Cuéllar family has been reunited.

The 18 year old Mariachi band member, Antonio Gamez-Cuéllar was released this afternoon after his family was detained by ICE last week. He was held separately from his family at a detention center in Raymondville, Texas. He’s seen here in the maroon shirt. Story: apnews.com/article/immi...

The Gámez-Cuéllar family has been released from Dilley! We just picked them up.

It’s now past 7 pm and the long lines seen all day at McAllen’s Lark Community Center are closed but anyone in line will get to vote. Voters have averaged an hour to an hour and a half waiting to cast their ballots.

NEW: An uncomfortable but essential read. We heard about the trauma endured by children in detention at Dilley, including the mother whose child used a plastic knife to hurt herself and the haunting images she created to vent her fears. “We are all Liam,” one mom said. apnews.com/article/chil...

The U.S. military used a laser to shoot down a Customs and Border Protection drone, members of Congress said Thursday, and the Federal Aviation Administration responded by closing more airspace near El Paso, Texas. apnews.com/article/mili...

NEW: Legal advocates filed a motion today seeking to stop CBP agents from urging immigrant youth entering the country without their parents to voluntarily deport themselves under a federal policy introduced September. Attorneys say it circumvents TVPRA. apnews.com/article/cbp-...

New campaign from @childrens-rights.bsky.social will let people send encouraging messages to immigrant families at the Dilley detention center: www.childrensrights.org/l/theyre-rem...

Thank you to everyone who demanded freedom for Liam. We won’t stop until all children and families are home.

Just visited with Liam and his father at Dilley detention center. I demanded his release and told him how much his family, his school, and our country loves him and is praying for him.

NEW: Dozens of detained immigrant families braved the cold outside the Dilley, TX facility to protest conditions and long detentions, sparked by the recent arrest of 5 y.o. Liam Conejo Ramos. A detainee said the boy & his dad briefly participated. apnews.com/article/texa...

Media gets ten spaces at today’s trial for former Uvalde schools officer Adrian Gonzales. Spots were allotted after all journalists decided Uvalde’s newspaper should have a permanent seat. Support local journalism. (I’ll also be inside. No cells or computers allowed.)

NEW: A Dec. 1 report from ICE indicated that about 400 immigrant children were held in custody for more than the 20-day limit during the reporting period from August to September. Legal advocates say the government is failing to safeguard children. apnews.com/article/immi...

NEW: A federal judge issued an order Wednesday requiring the Trump administration to again consider granting protection from deportation to certain vulnerable young immigrants under the Special Immigrant Juvenile status program, also known as SIJS. apnews.com/article/immi...

JUST IN: ICE didn’t say how much migrants would get or when the offer would take effect, but The AP obtained an email to migrant shelters saying children 14 years of age and older would get $2,500 each. Children were given 24 hours to respond. apnews.com/article/ice-...

Update: DHS shared a response to today’s decision from Judge Timothy J. Kelly, a Trump appointee. For context, the government initially claimed Guatemalan parents asked for their kids back to be reunited, but they retracted that last week following contradictory evidence.

New: Judge grants preliminary injunction to block Trump admin from immediately deporting Guatemalan migrant children who came to the U.S. alone back to their home country. BUT, he did not expand class to cover Honduran children who attorneys believe are targeted next. apnews.com/article/trum...

New: Bottled water sold for $1.21, dismissed medical pleas and faith tested at family detention facility in Dilley, TX apnews.com/article/immi...

A week after the U.S. attempted to remove about 80 Guatemalan children in the middle of the night, advocates began hearing they were preparing to do the same this weekend with Honduran children and preemptively sued to block it. Story ✍️ Leah Willingham apnews.com/article/immi...

NEW: Chaotic showdown over Guatemalan children exposes fault lines in Trump’s deportation push. ✍️with @ruskygal and Sonia Pérez D. apnews.com/article/immi...

NEW: Two internal emails obtained by AP indicate a policy shift that now allows ICE to show up, interview, and arrest some parents trying to reunite with their children. Advocates say it’s using kids as bait; the government says it’s necessary vetting. apnews.com/article/immi...

Breaking: Judge denied the Trump administration’s request to terminate the Flores Settlement Agreement which protects immigrant children in federal custody. The judge noted the government made improvements, but attributed them to the agreement. Story: apnews.com/article/immi...

NEW: A fed judge weighing Trump administration's request to end protections for immigrant children asked the government why time in custody is high despite low crossings. “It seems counterintuitive that should happen unless it’s willful,” the judge asked. apnews.com/article/trum...

As the Trump administration intensifies deportation activity around the country, some immigrants — including many who have lived in the RGV for decades — are unwilling to leave their homes, even for necessary medical care. ✍️: AP’s Amanda Seitz/Jacquelyn Martin apnews.com/article/trum...

NEW: Attorneys sue to restore deportation protections for abused and neglected migrant children apnews.com/article/immi...

NEW: Immigrants and legal advocates filed a class-action lawsuit to stop ICE officers from arresting migrants who appear at immigration courts for previously scheduled hearings and placing them on a fast-track to deportation. via AP's Martha Bellisle apnews.com/article/immi...

Some tragic news: BP agent from the Rio Grande Valley drowned after saving his children caught in a rip current at SPI.

Update: Hours before the shooting at the McAllen border patrol station, police in Weslaco stopped the gunman’s father who was concerned and looking for his son. He told police he psychological issues and had weapons in his car. apnews.com/article/mcal...

An apparent immigration enforcement operation at a Laredo warehouse construction site led to chaos Thursday morning, sending people running from the area and crossing a busy highway. Via @kgnsnews.bsky.social www.kgns.tv/2025/06/26/a...

NEW: Adults fighting kids for clean water, despondent toddlers and a child with swollen feet denied a medical exam - these first-hand accounts from immigrant families are offering a glimpse at conditions in TX detention centers. according to court filing. apnews.com/article/migr...

Just in: Immigration advocates filed a class action lawsuit Wednesday over the Trump administration’s use of a proclamation that effectively put an end to being able to seek asylum at ports of entry to the United States. apnews.com/article/immi...

New: Trump administration investigates border shelters for smuggling, then sends them more immigrants. This time, ICE is releasing adults and families, mostly from internal operations, to shelters in Phoenix, Laredo, & El Paso. Reporting with @elliotspagat.bsky.social apnews.com/article/bord...

🚨BREAKING NEWS🚨 The Trump Administration just filed a motion to terminate the Flores Settlement Agreement, a 1997 landmark court order that protects children in immigration detention. An end to Flores would put kids in danger of indefinite detention and subject them to cruel & inhumane treatment.

Breaking: Federal government just filed to end Flores Settlement Agreement, a policy that has assured migrant children in federal custody are kept in safe conditions since the 90s. apnews.com/article/immi...

BREAKING: Moody's strips the U.S. government of top credit rating, saying presidents and lawmakers have failed to reverse rising debts.

Breaking: A lawsuit was just filed by @youthlaw.bsky.social and @democracyforward.org challenging ORR policies that have prohibited release of numerous children to their families. In past 3 months, average custody times for children in ORR grew from 37 days to 112. apnews.com/article/immi...

Story: Venezuelans subject to removal under wartime act have 12 hours to decide on contesting, docs show. apnews.com/article/immi...

BREAKING: The US is now only giving migrants 12 hours to decide whether they want to contest removal under the wartime authority, Alien Enemies Act, down from 24 hours. The government attempted to seal the document but judge just unsealed it.

Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño today shared his opposition to bill HB 4660 affecting beach access in Boca Chica beach near Spacex. Context on bills by KRGV’s Christian von Preysing: krgv.com/videos/new-bil…

An important note on the possible future use of the Alien Enemies Act, via @elliotspagat.bsky.social:

New: Judges in TX and NY temporarily barred the US from deporting Venezuelans jailed in parts of those two states while their lawyers challenge the Trump administration’s use of a rarely-invoked law letting presidents imprison and deport noncitizens in times of war. Story: apnews.com/article/trum...

New: Migrants who were temporarily allowed to live in the United States by using a Biden-era online appointment app have been told to leave the country "immediately," officials said Monday. It was unclear how many beneficiaries would be affected. apnews.com/article/immi...

Story I worked on Friday with @apnews.com’s @valontheborder.bsky.social: apnews.com/article/texa... At least 4 dead after severe storms in the South Texas-Mexico border region and hundreds rescued

Today I spoke with a man who had knee-depth water in his rented Palm Valley home. Despite the hardship of losing valuables, him and his wife worried most about their pets, including an Axolotl which needs a precise water temperature. Story: apnews.com/article/texa...

This follows similar efforts by the Trump admin to criminalize the very organizations the federal government itself previously approved for grants. This is a dangerous, dangerous effort; these are groups which worked directly with DHS and met stringent standards already.

BREAKING: DHS/FEMA sent letters today over “significant concerns” that federal grants used to address a surge of migration under former President Joe Biden were used for illegal activities, wrote the acting administrator of FEMA in a letter obtained by AP. apnews.com/article/bord...