NEW: Scenes of chaos reported today in immigration courtrooms after attorneys are showing up claiming the Trump administration asked them to take over the children’s cases, without having given prior notice to the judge, attorney of record or child. apnews.com/article/migr...

A $150M contract for migrant kids’ lawyers goes to a Trump-linked Texas firm, raising concerns

Legal aid groups are raising concerns after the Trump administration awarded a $150 million contract to a small Texas law firm with limited experience in immigration law.

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Latest: Trump administration plans to award a $150M contract to Houston based law firm with ties to administration. The contract is set to run for a year and provide legal services to unaccompanied immigrant kids, just days after contract with network expired. apnews.com/live/trump-n...

Live updates: Senate panel advances Blanche’s nomination for attorney general

Todd Blanche's nomination for attorney general was advanced by a Senate committee Tuesday after he rescinded a $1.8 billion fund for President Donald Trump’s political allies.

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NEW: The Trump administration is packing immigration courts and giving less notice ahead of hearings in an effort to clear the backlog. Data shows a historic rise in people missing court and ordered deported as the system struggles to keep up. apnews.com/article/trum...

Breakneck pace in immigration courts is driving up deportation orders

The Trump administration is packing immigration courtrooms and giving less lead-time on hearings in an effort to clear a decades-long backlog.

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NEW: Advocates warn thousands of migrant children who came to the U.S. alone could lose legal representation in immigration court and increase their risk of deportation as the Trump administration allows a contract with legal services providers to expire. apnews.com/article/migr...

Thousands of migrant children in the US could face new deportation risks as legal aid deal expires

Migrant children who came to the U.S. alone could soon face immigration court without legal representation.

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New: An RGV mother deported to Mexico despite having DACA filed a lawsuit against the federal government after it notified her it would be terminating her DACA status because of “unauthorized travel” stemming from her deportation. apnews.com/article/daca...

US cites 'unauthorized travel' to end DACA status for a mother of 3 deported to Mexico

A woman deported to Mexico despite having legal permission to remain in the U.S. has filed suit against the federal government.

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Sister Leticia Ugboaja, a nun arrested on a Sunday morning walking to mass in McAllen, TX, in June, showed up to her ICE check-in today. Her attorney, Carlos M. Garcia, said no ankle monitor was placed but government is still pursuing a third country removal. Context: apnews.com/video/nun-wh...

Nun speaks out for first time about being detained by ICE while walking to Mass in Texas. Reporting by @valontheborder.bsky.social apnews.com/article/nun-...

Nun speaks out for first time about being detained by ICE while walking to Mass in Texas

A nun who was taken into immigration custody last month in Texas is speaking out for the first time about her arrest while walking to Mass.

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More than 600 border buoys, most owned by DHS and some from TX, went adrift along the Rio Grande after floodwaters swept them up Thursday. Most were captured, but residents worry about the damage these buoys, some weighing 1K lbs., could do to international bridges. apnews.com/article/texa...

Texas floods have left high waters and a big cleanup job after hundreds of people are rescued

First responders in storm-battered Texas are again rushing to people trapped in high waters after more heavy rain widened the danger from floods that have killed at least two people and left hundreds ...

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BREAKING: More than 100 Venezuelans who were deported from the U.S. hours before the earthquakes are missing after their hotel collapsed.

More than 100 Venezuelans who were deported from the US hours before the earthquakes are missing

Survivors say more than 100 people just deported from the United States were being held in a hotel when earthquakes struck Venezuela, setting off a scramble to find survivors and bodies buried in the rubble.

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A nun was released from immigration custody after she was arrested walking to Mass in her habit in South Texas. apnews.com/article/nun-...

ICE releases a Texas nun intercepted walking to church dressed in her habit

Diocese officials in south Texas say a nun walking to church dressed in her habit was detained by ICE officers and later released after members of Congress intervened.

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NEW: A Democratic U.S. senator warns the Trump administration is getting ready to round up 500 immigrant children in a hasty effort to remove them from the country, bypassing legal protections. It would be their second attempt. Story with AP’s Rebecca Santana. apnews.com/853585bc4efd...

US Senator warns of administration plan to hastily remove over 500 unaccompanied migrant children

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Democratic U.S. senator warns the Trump administration is getting ready to round up 500 immigrant children in a hasty effort to remove them from the country, bypassing legal protec...

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NEW: Organizations that give legal assistance to children who came to the U.S. alone said agents from ICE and HHS tried to enter their offices in what the groups described as part of a campaign to intimidate legal services providers. At least three received these visits. apnews.com/article/bord...

Legal groups that help migrant children say law enforcement visits were attempt at intimidation

Organizations providing legal aid to unaccompanied migrant children say agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Health and Human Services attempted to enter their offices.

apnews.com

“The impact was not limited to undocumented immigrants, but really to immigrants who are here legally as well as people within their families who are citizens.” apnews.com/article/immi... By @valontheborder.bsky.social

A Texas town may offer a preview of a Trump plan to force noncitizens from public housing

A bungled message from a South Texas housing authority prompted mass flight. The situation in Port Isabel offers a glimpse of what could happen nationwide if a Trump administration proposal takes…

apnews.com

So many talented and experienced reporters were laid off. My heart feels heavy for my colleagues who gave so much of themselves for such a quick exit.

AP NewsGuild@apnewsguild.bsky.social · 3mo ago

1/5 On May 15, Associated Press leadership cut 20 guild covered staff. Layoffs included U.S. news, photographers, investigations, business and sports across 12 states.

NEW: Port Isabel Housing Authority bungled a message to residents in Feb. indicating a proposal ending housing assistance to mixed-status families would be taking effect. What happened there could be a glimpse of the nationwide impact if the rule takes effect. apnews.com/article/immi...

A Texas town may offer a preview of a Trump plan to force noncitizens from public housing

A bungled message from a South Texas housing authority prompted mass flight. The situation in Port Isabel offers a glimpse of what could happen nationwide if a Trump administration proposal takes effe...

apnews.com

New: Three years after her 8 year old daughter died in CBP custody, her mom takes medication to help her fall asleep after feeling her daughter’s body go limp in her arms. Today the Texas Civil Rights Project filed a wrongful death lawsuit. apnews.com/article/immi...

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...

3-year-old immigrant suffered alleged sexual abuse during months in federal custody, family says

An immigrant family is grappling with the ordeal suffered by a 3-year-old girl who endured alleged sexual abuse while her father fought for five months for her release from federal custody.

apnews.com

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...

Cambodian man deported by the US to Eswatini is being repatriated, his lawyer says

A lawyer for a Cambodian man deported by the United States to the African kingdom of Eswatini says he has been released from a prison to be repatriated.

apnews.com

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...

Worms in food, poor medical care, lights on 24/7: Families tell of life in Texas detention center

When ICE officers in Minneapolis detained a 5-year-old boy and his father last month and sent them to a Texas detention center, many Americans were alarmed.

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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...

Lawmakers say US military used laser to take down Border Protection drone

Members of Congress say the U.S. military used a laser to shoot down a Customs and Border Patrol drone.

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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-...

Legal advocates seek to halt CBP policy pressuring unaccompanied children to self-deport

Legal advocates are asking a judge to stop U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents from urging unaccompanied immigrant children to voluntarily deport themselves.

apnews.com

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...

They’re Remembered: Messages for Children at Dilley | Children's Rights

This Valentine's Day, show the children at Dilley that they're on our minds—and we're not looking away. Your words, your children's drawings, your messages of hope—they will be delivered directly into...

childrensrights.org

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...

Immigrant families protest at Texas facility housing 5-year-old boy, father detained in Minnesota

Dozens of immigrant families protested behind the fences of a Texas detention facility where a 5-year-old boy Ecuadorian boy and his father were sent this week after being detained in Minnesota.

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