NEW: Texas DPS touts one of the largest drone programs in the country. Since the launch of Operation Lone Star in 2021, DPS has more than doubled its drone inventory. Now, DPS has almost as many drones as the US Border Patrol. www.texasobserver.org/texas-dps-dr...

Excited to see the Texas Observer's nonprofit board grow at the end of this year, adding @maudbeelman.bsky.social, @blibal.bsky.social, and Gabriela Resto-Montero: www.texasobserver.org/board/

NEW: Texas DPS touts one of the largest drone programs in the country. Since the launch of Operation Lone Star in 2021, DPS has more than doubled its drone inventory. Now, DPS has almost as many drones as the US Border Patrol. www.texasobserver.org/texas-dps-dr...

I'm here, I'm queer, I belong in Texas, too. thebarbedwire.com asked me to take a moment to introduce myself, and why our state needs reporters like me, and media where we can see our stories reflected. This one starts when I'm just 13 years old...

UPDATE: I re-requested a bunch of records about the Hays County multi-agency raid, since the only criminal charges were dropped in October. DPS declined to release more records, citing an ongoing FBI investigation. www.texasobserver.org/prosecutors-...

If you follow my work you know that I often ask my audience to support my journalism. This time, it's different. My fiancee's mother has been diagnosed with stage IV cancer. She's on fixed income and we had to relocate her to Dallas for care. She needs your help. www.gofundme.com/f/extend-pat...

Last Thanksgiving, two Dallas Police officers knocked on my door, citing a tip from the FBI national threat operations center that I was beating my girlfriend. The incident report confirms this. Today, I obtained a file from the FBI via FOIA that states the FBI has no record of receiving such a tip.

A reminder that seven years ago almost to the day, the CIA determined that Mohammed Bin Salman ordered the killing of @washingtonpost.com journalist Jamal Khashoggi. I hired and worked with Jamal for a year. www.washingtonpost.com/world/nation...

In April, state + fed police raided a bday party near Austin, arresting ~50 people including nine kids. Cops claimed w/o evidence they’d busted a Tren de Aragua gathering, + only charged two people w/ a crime. Now, the local DA has dropped both charges www.texasobserver.org/prosecutors-...

You probably saw videos of a nighttime raid in Chicago. Agents rappelling from a helicopter, bursting down doors, questioning brown-skinned immigrants. We investigated -- and found little evidence to support the government’s claims about Tren de Aragua. www.propublica.org/article/chic...

NEW: The notorious 287(g) task force program has finally reached the Texas Department of Public Safety, raising fears of widespread racial profiling. In other words: Texas is deputizing some of its state officers to act as roving ICE agents. www.texasobserver.org/texas-dps-28...

BIG news for Texas. State troopers in Texas will now have the authority to make immigration arrests, same as ICE and Border Patrol. Whether this means all state troopers, or only a subset of officers, will get trained and authorized to carry out this duty remains to be seen.

NEW: The notorious 287(g) task force program has finally reached the Texas Department of Public Safety, raising fears of widespread racial profiling. In other words: Texas is deputizing some of its state officers to act as roving ICE agents. www.texasobserver.org/texas-dps-28...

New incredible detail here: ICE says a match in its facial recognition app Mobile Fortify is a "definitive" determination of a person's status, and that this overrides birth certificates. This is an app ICE is using in the field to scan people www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-...

A decade ago, Douglas Menjivar became a whistleblower and activist after he was raped in ICE detention. He married a US citizen, but wasn't able to get a green card. In June, agents arrested him just before his 50th birthday. 🧵 www.texasobserver.org/trump-ice-ar...

Panicked kidnapping reports during immigration raids in Santa Ana: “He’s bleeding,” one 911 caller said. “They dumped him into a white van. It doesn’t say ICE”... Another: “Should we just run?” New story by @davidmcswane.bsky.social and @hannahallam.bsky.social www.propublica.org/article/trum...

A decade ago, Douglas Menjivar became a whistleblower and activist after he was raped in ICE detention. He married a US citizen, but wasn't able to get a green card. In June, agents arrested him just before his 50th birthday. 🧵 www.texasobserver.org/trump-ice-ar...

New from @francescadnunz.bsky.social: It was two days before his 50th birthday and he already had plans to celebrate with his wife, a U.S. citizen. Instead, ICE placed him in a detention center he once protested against.

Citing the “martyrdom” of Charlie Kirk, Texas AG Ken Paxton says his office is pursuing sweeping undercover investigations into “leftist” groups. “To those demented souls who seek to kill, steal, and destroy our country, know this: you cannot hide, you cannot escape, and justice is coming."

🚨NEW: For the first time in history, the single largest group of people arrested in the interior and sent to ICE detention is people with NO criminal record. As of yesterday's data release, 40%(!) of those arrested in the interior and detained by ICE had no prior conviction or pending charges.

Top story, from @francescadnunz.bsky.social: As a result of the raid, ICE arrested 35 people on federal charges of attempted illegal entry, according to a report obtained from DPS. But authorities never offered any evidence that the party attendees actually were Tren de Aragua members.

After spending around a year in ICE detention, Laura, a Nigerian mother of two, was told by her then-lawyer that she would be released and able to see her kids. But under Trump, that never happened.

In April, authorities raided what they say was a Tren de Aragua gathering. Attendees say it was a birthday party. Among those detained included a homeless barber/DoorDash driver, and three people who fled Venezuela years ago *because of* that gang 🧵 www.texasobserver.org/officials-tr...

New from @francescadnunz.bsky.social: A highly publicized multi-agency raid in Hays County resulted in dozens of arrests on low-level immigration charges and left an Austin mother's life in tatters. It also fit a pattern of unproven gang-related accusations.

Mario Guevara is here legally and is not facing any criminal charges. He is being thrown out of the country for nothing but reporting news.

Featured story, from @francescadnunz.bsky.social: By Escalona Mújicas’ account, before he opened his car door at the traffic stop, an agent told him “The President does not want to see Haitians, Nicaraguans, Cubans, or Venezuelans here.”

The border Mexican state of Chihuahua is raising a 20-story AI-powered surveillance building called 'Centinela'. This massive investment in surveillance raises concerns about civil liberties. Story by AI Fellow @francescadnunz.bsky.social for @texasobserver.org. bit.ly/46h18GP

mil gracias a @aristeguionline.bsky.social por destacar nuestra investigación en el @texasobserver.org sobre la Plataforma Centinela, el sistema de vigilancia que el estado de Chihuahua está construyendo y ha ofrecido compartir con autoridades en EEUU y Texas aristeguinoticias.com/090925/arist...

NEW: Chihuahua, Mexico's most sprawling state, is building a surveillance system. Once complete, it'll have almost 10K cameras, including some w/ facial recognition capabilities. Authorities offered to share access with US police—including Texas DPS. 🧵 www.texasobserver.org/texas-chihua...

NEW: Chihuahua, Mexico's most sprawling state, is building a surveillance system. Once complete, it'll have almost 10K cameras, including some w/ facial recognition capabilities. Authorities offered to share access with US police—including Texas DPS. 🧵 www.texasobserver.org/texas-chihua...

“It’s like seeing the eye of Sauron hanging over your city.” From @francescadnunz.bsky.social in our magazine: A massive surveillance tower looming over Juárez is just part of a AI-powered network that extends far beyond the Texas-Mexico border.

We're very pleased to announce Bellingcat and @texasobserver.org won this award- congratulations to @tristanl.ee and @stevanzetti.bsky.social for their hard work on this series of reporting. The winners of the category 'general excellence in an online newsroom' will be announced in September.

the small town gossip I've come across in police records is truly unmatched and, from the officer at the scene: "I didn't take any photographs of the dead chikens."

New from @francescadnunz.bsky.social: “What are they hiding, if they will break the law and not let a member of Congress in? What are they hiding if they’ll violate constitutional rights and not let a lawyer in?”

NEW: at least a dozen members of Congress have been denied entry to immigration facilities this year when they showed up to conduct oversight as Trump has ramped up his mass deportation efforts. Now they are suing the Trump administration. www.texasobserver.org/dems-in-cong...

From @francescadnunz.bsky.social: “He has never been imprisoned or had a criminal record. His life has always been marked by hard work and integrity. He has no connection to the Tren de Aragua case.”

Jesús Escalona has no criminal record in the US or Venezuela. ICE labeled him a "documented" gang member. Per a police report, it appears to stem from a border checkpoint in Guatemala, where Jesús said he was stopped by local police—and US authorities—while migrating to Texas🧵

So many disturbing details in this piece... Texas DPS arrested a man under the Enemy Aliens Act. ICE claims he is gang member but has zero documentation and calls a reporter "insane" for asking. Cops turned their cameras off... Great reporting by @francescadnunz.bsky.social in @texasobserver.org

Jesús Escalona has no criminal record in the US or Venezuela. ICE labeled him a "documented" gang member. Per a police report, it appears to stem from a border checkpoint in Guatemala, where Jesús said he was stopped by local police—and US authorities—while migrating to Texas🧵

New today from @francescadnunz.bsky.social: “He has never been imprisoned or had a criminal record. His life has always been marked by hard work and integrity. He has no connection to the Tren de Aragua case.”

I’m outside the Don Hutto ICE detention center in Taylor, Texas CoreCivic just denied Congressman Greg Casar access to the facility

I’m outside the Don Hutto ICE detention center in Taylor, Texas CoreCivic just denied Congressman Greg Casar access to the facility

NEW: Nearly 1.5 million Texans now live in jurisdictions where sheriffs or police chiefs have agreed to train some of their officers to act as immigration agents in the streets of their communities. 🧵 www.texasobserver.org/ice-task-for...

I spent months investigating the Canary Mission blacklisting website — and today, a senior ICE official confirmed in court that the Department of Homeland Security has been using Canary Mission to target students. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

NEW: Texas lawmakers are ordering all sheriff's offices to seek federal collaboration agreements with ICE. Those agreements may be limited to jailhouses—or they may convert deputies into roving immigration agents. 🧵 texasobserver.org/legislature-... w/ @gusbova.bsky.social

NEW from @francescadnunz.bsky.social and @gusbova.bsky.social: SB 8 was deemed a priority by Lt Governor Dan Patrick, and it is the most significant anti-immigrant legislation to pass this session. Its impacts could be far-reaching, depending on implementation.

Featured story, from @michellepitcher.bsky.social: Clinton Young spent nearly two decades condemned to die. His peaceful, productive time out on bond poses questions about how Texas decides who lives long enough to get another chance.

From @francescadnunz.bsky.social in 2024: Ever since Governor Greg Abbott ramped up border militarization in the area by placing dangerous buoys in the river, these mourners have assembled under the moniker the Border Vigil to remember the lives of those lost crossing.

Mayday = HELP ME May Day = Help me... pick these flowers

Featured story, from @byjustinmiller.bsky.social: Under red rule, Texas has not just returned to a one-party state; it’s a one-party state controlled by just a very few politicians, who’ve used their longevity to consolidate unprecedented levels of power.