@mprnews.org has been consistently knocking it out of the park, along with outfits like @sahanjournal.bsky.social and @minnesotareformer.com. So grateful for their great work under terrible circumstances. Indie and non-profit news are critical rn: www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/ice-...

1/ BREAKING: Government documents reviewed by ProPublica identify Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa, 43, and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez, 35, as the two who fired their weapons during the deadly encounter with Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

BREAKING: The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.

WARNING, fellow journalists: As @nicoschmidt.io explains, attackers are trying to hijack reporters' Signal accounts by tricking people into handing over their 2FA codes. www.linkedin.com/posts/nicosc...

Post-publication, one subject of this story who did not respond to requests for comment, has stated on video: "Basically North Texas Patriot Front guys have like a network of businesses—it’s like five or so—of businesses we own." Update at bottom: www.texasobserver.org/revealed-fou...

some professional news: today is my first day at @propublica.org I'm joining the powerhouse national immigration team as fellow for two years. if you have tips about ICE, Border Patrol, or immigration detention: FrancescaDnunz.08 on Signal 📩 [email protected]

Feds have created a drone no fly zone that will stop people from filming ICE. It's not just above stationary facilities, but convoys of vehicles too. www.404media.co/feds-create-...

some professional news: Monday is my last day at the Texas Observer. I'll be able to say more soon about where I'm going next. I'm staying on the immigration enforcement beat. 🧵

Thanks @democracynow.org for giving me a chance to share a new @propublica.org investigation from @mckenziefunk.com & me Here's the story: www.propublica.org/article/vide...

New: meet ELITE, the Palantir app ICE is using to find neighborhoods to raid. Map interface; officers search for immigrants; click person to bring up individual dossier. This is clearest link between what Palantir is building and ICE's activities on the ground yet www.404media.co/elite-the-pa...

NEW: Police—sheriffs, Texas state cops, and even ICE—can follow the location of your smart phone without a warrant. Yet, we know little about how this software has been used. via @texasobserver.org + @pulitzercenter.org www.texasobserver.org/texas-police...

From @francescadnunz.bsky.social: Police—sheriffs, Texas state cops, and even ICE—can follow the location of your smart phone without a warrant. Yet, we know little about how this software has been used. Presented with support from @pulitzercenter.org

This week, 404 Media obtained material that explains how Tangles and Webloc, two surveillance systems ICE recently purchased, work. Webloc can track phones without a warrant and follow their owners home or to their employer. Watch now:

BREAKING: James Rodden, an ICE prosecutor who the Observer identified last year as the operator of an X account that posted “America is a White nation," “‘Migrants’ are all criminals,” and apparent praise of Adolf Hitler, appeared to be back at work Tuesday. www.texasobserver.org/ice-prosecut...

92% of private schools already enrolled in Texas’ voucher programs serving kids beyond kindergarten are religious. @texasobserver.org found many of these exclude non-Christian and LGBTQ+ kids. #TxEd #TxLege #TexasSchools #ProtectPublicSchools #SchoolVouchers www.texasobserver.org/texas-vouche...

New from @francescadnunz.bsky.social: Civil liberties experts are raising the alarm about "Tangles," a law-enforcement surveillance software that allows police to bypass judicial oversight by spying on smartphone users without a warrant.

NEW: Police—sheriffs, Texas state cops, and even ICE—can follow the location of your smart phone without a warrant. Yet, we know little about how this software has been used. via @texasobserver.org + @pulitzercenter.org www.texasobserver.org/texas-police...

We're hiring for our David McHam Fellowship for Investigative Reporting! This one-to-two-year full-time fellowship allows experienced journalists to pursue investigative projects and enterprise stories. More details here: www.texasobserver.org/jobs/ Apply by Feb 6!

404 Media has obtained material that explains how two surveillance systems ICE recently purchased, work. One can track phones without a warrant and follow their owners home or to their employer. @evystadium.bsky.social has more. Scoop by @josephcox.bsky.social: www.404media.co/inside-ices-...

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.