Catherine Cool knew Eddie Reyes-Ochoa was special the moment she saw him, profile framed by the tight nook of the prep station at Los Tres Amigos restaurant of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. He was all of 5’3” tall, skinny as a board, elbows deep in hot water.

ICE Detains Kiln Man, Leaving Pregnant Wife Alone: ‘We’ve Done What the Government Told Us’

Eddie Reyes-Ochoa, just weeks from earning his green card, was detained by ICE and taken to an immigration detention center in Natchez, Mississippi.

mississippifreepress.org

As beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside.

If you're reading this, my cat and I have boarded a one-way flight out of the United States. The Trump administration wrongfully denied my work permit renewal; after months of demanding that they follow the law, we have run out of legal recourse, and I have no choice but to leave the country. (🧵)

Support Alex's Emergency Relocation + Next Steps on Give In May

Alex is leaving the US after his work permit renewal was wrongfully denied by Trump's USCIS.

giveinmay.org

Unearthed reports reveal that RFK Jr. fired every full-time CDC cruise ship sanitation inspector ahead of the Hantavirus cruise ship outbreak. www.cbsnews.com/news/cdc-cru...

It isn’t just the FBI. I reported last month that a significant percentage of federal air marshals—who are supposed to protect *commercial* air travel—have been reassigned since last summer to guard ICE charter flights. gillianbrockell.com/extremely-da...

‘Extremely dangerous’ reassignment of TSA’s federal air marshals for ICE flights more widespread than previously known

Hundreds of air marshals, who are supposed to protect commercial air travel, have replaced ICE agents on deportation flights since last summer.

gillianbrockell.com

Akela Lacy@akelalacy.bsky.social · 5mo ago

NEW: Trump diverted >9,100 FBI personnel to work on immigration during the first 9 months of this term, per public records I obtained. He multiplied them by a factor of 23 - from 279 before he took office to >6500 by September. theintercept.com/2026/05/01/f...

BREAKING: Israel and Max Makoka are FREE, released from ICE and ORR custody to continue their legal battle to stay in the US at home in Diamondhead!

Israel and Max Makoka Are Coming Home After ICE Arrests Galvanized Their Mississippi Community

Israel and Max Makoka, the Hancock High School students whom ICE arrested, are free after Mississippi's U.S. senators intervened.

mississippifreepress.org

Today, the story of Israel and Max Makoka. Two brothers from the Republic of Congo, legally residing in the U.S. for years, snatched, zip-tied and detained by ICE agents at a school bus stop. Israel, who turned 18 only weeks ago, was swiftly sent to CLIPC in Jena. Max, 15, was secreted out of state.

Max and Israel Makoka Were Waiting for a Hancock High School Bus. ICE Took Them Instead.

ICE detained Max and Israel Makoka, two Hancock County high school students who were waiting for a bus when agents arrested them.

mississippifreepress.org

"What may be a month long trial" he said, two months before closing arguments. God punishes hubris in everyone, but he starts with journalists.

Nick Judin@nickjudin.bsky.social · 9mo ago

This is how I felt in court. Also this is day 3 of what may be a month long trial. They're not even halfway done with Davis as a witness!

We have the results of Trey Reed's autopsy from the Mississippi State Medical Examiner's Office. Consistent with the preliminary findings of the Bolivar County Coroner's Office, Reed's death has been ruled a suicide by hanging. An independent autopsy is expected to follow.

Autopsy Finds Trey Reed’s Hanging Death at Delta State Was a Suicide

Delta State University student Trey Reed’s death was a suicide, Cleveland Chief of Police Travis Tribble said, announcing the results of an autopsy.

mississippifreepress.org

Cleveland PD has announced Trey Reed's autopsy results. "On September 17, 2025, the Mississippi State Medical Examiner's Office conducted an autopsy. Findings were consistent with the initial investigation, determining the cause of death to be hanging and the manner of death as suicide."

A response from the Grenada County Sheriff's Department on the initial confusion over where Trey Reed was found: Ricky Williamson, chief deputy, says that neither he nor his investigator Sonja Willis, who informed the family of Trey Reed of his passing on Monday, specified where he had been found.

Updates from Delta State University press event this morning. 1. DSU President Dan Ennis acknowledges that the University has yet to get in contact with Trey Reed's mother, explaining that Trey provided two names as next of kin, and the university was bound to respect that.

The family of Trey Reed is seeking an independent autopsy following the Delta State University student’s death on Monday, when his body was found hanging in a tree on campus.

Trey Reed’s Family Calls for an Independent Autopsy After Tree Hanging Death

Demartravion “Trey” Reed’s family is seeking an independent autopsy after the Delta State University student was found hanging in a tree.

mississippifreepress.org

These are two very similar stories of Mississippi families torn apart by ICE. But Kerlin Moreno-Orellana's story has gotten way less attention on social media than Kasper Eriksen's did, and thus his family's GoFundMe is getting WAY less support. It's a big disparity.

Ashton Pittman@ashtonpittman.bsky.social · last yr.

Two brothers, ages 8 and 10, stared nervously into news cameras, speaking with quiet determination to a group of onlookers much older than themselves. “We need our dad back home,” the 8-year-old said. ICE took custody of their father, Kerlin Moreno-Orellana, that morning.

Two Mississippians were arrested for illegal dumping in Jackson on June 16. One, Christy Parker, was quickly released. Kerlin Moreno-Orellana was not. His arrest triggered an alert in a vast federal network of immigration enforcement. Now, it's unclear when and if he will see his family again.

Children Beg for Father’s Release After ICE Detains Jackson Man

Activists are calling on immigration officials to release Kerlin Moreno-Orellana from ICE custody after his arrest for illegal dumping.

mississippifreepress.org

We asked people who lived in homeless encampments that were cleared out in city “sweeps” to write about what object was the hardest for them to lose. “They took my baby pictures and my moms obituaries,” a 29-year-old in California wrote.

“I Have Lost Everything”: The Toll of Cities’ Homeless Sweeps

Cities often take belongings — including important documents and irreplaceable mementos — when they conduct sweeps of homeless encampments. ProPublica gave notecards to people across the country so…

projects.propublica.org

"In reviewing more than 300 sexual misconduct and assault complaints against Chicago police officers, the Invisible Institute and ProPublica found a pattern of the department failing to vigorously investigate accusations of sexual assault by officers" www.propublica.org/article/chic...

Chicago Police Dismissed a Recruit’s Claims That a Colleague Sexually Assaulted Her. Then He was Accused Again and Again.

The Invisible Institute and ProPublica reviewed over 300 complaints accusing Chicago officers of sexual assault and misconduct. Time and time again, the police department downplayed or ignored claims,...

propublica.org

No major updates on Kasper Eriksen's status after today's hearing. Soon, Eriksen is seeking a reopening of his order of removal. If granted, he can request bond, which would allow him to be released from CLIPC while his case progresses. For now he remains detained in Jena.

This is a huge, huge deal. I can't think of many places in America more deserving of dedicated, in-depth coverage than the Mississippi Delta. Cannot wait to collaborate with this talented young journalist.

Donna Ladd said what she said. 😘@donnerkay.bsky.social · last yr.

DRUM ROLL🥁 Meet our 8th (!) @mississippifreepress.org reporter (and our 3rd concurrent Report for America corps member!) Jaylin will lead our new bureau in her native Mississippi Delta. Thank you, RFA for supporting our journalism vision and growth. www.reportforamerica.org/members/jayl...

One morning, sitting in an immigration office in Memphis, Kasper Eriksen found himself transformed. A day before, he was a welding foreman, a husband and father of four. Now, he was a detainee, bound and shackled in a detention shuttle in Tennessee. www.mississippifreepress.org/ice-arrests-...

ICE Arrests Mississippi Father at His Citizenship Hearing

ICE arrested Kasper Eriksen, a Mississippi father, at his citizenship hearing, imprisoning him and threatening him with deportation.

mississippifreepress.org

For two weeks, disabled Mississippians at risk of abuse had no agency capable of intervening on their behalf, due to delayed federal funding for Disability Rights Mississippi. Under a Trump budget proposal, those services may be lost permanently. www.mississippifreepress.org/disability-r...

Disability Rights in Mississippi Threatened Amid Federal Cuts

Funding delays forced the agency that advocates for disabled people in Mississippi to stop taking new clients, endangering their rights.

mississippifreepress.org

Some concept arts from "The Twilight World" french/german animated feature project directed by Werner Herzog (Psyop / Sun Creature). Story: Michael Arias ("Tekkonkinkreet") & Luca Vitale. Visual development: Linnea Serte & Katsuya Terada.

Catsuka@catsuka.bsky.social · 2y ago

Renowned German director Werner Herzog (60-year career) is currently developing his first animated feature "The Twilight World" (based on his novel). Script: @michaelarias.net ("Tekkonkinkreet") & Luca Vitale. Production: Psyop & Sun Creature. www.cartoon-media.eu/movie/projec...

THREAD: There’s a dire situation in Vietnam, at the largest Agent Orange spill in the country. When Trump and Marco Rubio cancelled foreign aid, froze funding and began dismantling USAID, those who were cleaning up the Bien Hoa air base had to halt work. 1/

NEW: Who is *actually* running DOGE? Insiders told us @propublica.org that the named administrator Amy Gleason is only in charge on paper, while Musk’s top lieutenants really run the show. The latest w/ @chrisbing.bsky.social + Avi Asher-Schapiro: www.propublica.org/article/doge...

Who’s Running the DOGE Wrecking Machine: The World’s Richest Man or a Little-Known Bureaucrat?

Insiders tell ProPublica that Amy Gleason is only in charge on paper, while Musk’s top lieutenants really run DOGE. One person who has been in meetings with Gleason described her as having “little to ...

propublica.org

George Lowe's Space Ghost was a continual presence in my childhood. He was my Carson-the only talk show I ever loved. I hope I'll carry a small piece of that wit with me forever.

George Lowe, voice actor known and beloved for his irreverent Space Ghost, dies at 67

George Lowe, best known as the voice of Space Ghost on Adult Swim's cult-favorite show 'Space Ghost Coast to Coast,' died Sunday at age 67.

latimes.com

The final vote: 51-45, with 4 people absent. CLOTURE FAILS, A CONGRESSIONAL SPORTS BAN WILL NOT HAPPEN. Democrats hold firm, not a single dem voted for cloture. MAJOR victory for everyone who called in today and this week in support of trans people.

A campaign of deliberate, targeted mass rape against a minority group. A blood debt.

NPR@npr.org · 2y ago

The Bureau of Prisons is moving forward with plans to move transgender inmates out of prisons that align with their gender identity and into facilities that align with their assigned sex at birth.

It's not this simple, because international alliances in such a unipolar world are hard to come by, but still, every country should baseline understand that the US can never, ever be trusted. Zero upside from a relationship of trust with this country. Don't be stupid.

As the United States' poisoned relationship with Ukraine finally unravels, I'm thinking about the odd-but deep-Mississippi connections to the Ukraine lobby. Deeply curious what conversations Haley Barbour and Roger Wicker are having today. www.mississippifreepress.org/mississippi-...

Mississippi Lobbyists, Associates in Thick of Trump’s Ukraine-Russia Web - Mississippi Free Press

A key figure in Trump's impeachment inquiry has an ongoing and paid association with lobbying firm BGR Group, started by former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, as well as a paid position as executive ...

mississippifreepress.org