Tag Archives: Houston

Independent: Outrage after California fourth grader is detained by ICE agents during immigration hearing

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Parents and teachers in southern California are urgently asking for help to find a fourth grader who is being “held captive” by immigration authorities in Texas.

Torrance Elementary School student Martir Garcia Lara attended an immigration court appointment with his father in Houston on May 29 “when suddenly they were detained and separated from each other,” according to a message from the school’s Parent Teacher Association.

The boy and his father are reportedly in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.

“He’s alone and he’s not able to return home,” PTA president Jasmin King told KTLA.

“We have not received any information on why they were detained,” she said. “All we know is that Martir is just a fourth grader who’s by himself, without his dad, without a parent, and just in a place that he probably doesn’t know, so we can only imagine what he might be feeling.”

A fourth-grader! What a catch!

Homan’s bully boys must be really proud of themselves today!

Outrage after California fourth grader is detained by ICE during immigration hearing
Martir Garcia Lara was ordered into custody in Houston as federal agents target courthouses nationwide

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/california-ice-arrest-elementary-school-b2763614.html

Houston Chronicle: Foreign Texas A&M student’s arrest and immigration hold leads to questions of legality

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A Texas A&M University student with Chinese citizenship faces a federal firearms charge and an immigration hold just a month after the U.S. reinstated student visas for him and more than 1,000 other international students amid an outcry over their terminations.

Liluyue Xu’s case is complicated by the alleged involvement of his potential future father-in-law, a Texas Department of Public Safety official who apparently triggered the chain of events that led to his arrest, Xu’s attorneys said. A DPS agent was the first to send a tip to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in February, saying he suspected Xu of illegally possessing weapons and selling steroids, according to court documents.

Sounds like his girlfriend’s family ratted him out!

Dude, you might want to think twice about marrying into that family. 😀

Foreign Texas A&M student faces federal weapons charge and immigration hold
Liluyue Xu’s case is complicated by the alleged involvement of his potential future father-in-law, a Texas DPS official.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/article/texas-am-student-china-charge-20342850.php

Raleigh News & Observer: More Than 400 ICE Arrests in Border State

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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested over 400 illegal immigrants in Houston during a weeklong operation. Among those arrested, more than 260 had prior criminal records. ICE is reportedly using a “hub and spoke” system to speed up removals, allowing for deportation within 24 to 72 hours of arrest.

How many of these 400 have any violations worse than a parking ticket, if even that much? ICE is just doing whatever they can to get their numbers up, regardless of the human cost. They have zero credibility at this point.

More Than 400 ICE Arrests in Border State
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/more-than-400-ice-arrests-in-border-state/ss-AA1Fj5Ec

MSNBC: Trump’s attacks on Springsteen and Oprah aren’t legally sound. That’s not the point.

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What history can tell us about celebrity campaign endorsements — and their impact.

Nothing seems to incite angry social media posts from President Trump quite like criticism from celebrities. And while celebrities in 2025 seem less interested in feuding with the volatile president, Bruce Springsteen did manage to poke the bear with an unsparing speech delivered before a May 14 concert in Manchester.

The president noticed. On Truth Social, Trump called Springsteen “a pushy, obnoxious JERK” with “atrophied skin.” But the pettiness didn’t stop with dermatological insults. In the early hours of May 19, Trump escalated even further, implying without evidence that Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign paid Springsteen and other stars, including Oprah Winfrey and Beyoncé, for their performances at campaign events, which was a “MAJOR AND ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION.” He proclaimed his intention to “call for a major investigation into this matter.” 

Springsteen isn’t backing down in the wake of Trump’s stream of attacks, and musicians like Neil Young and Eddie Vedder have since come to his defense. The doubling and tripling down is so far mostly symbolic. But could Trump really investigate celebrity endorsements?

I don’t think so. Celebrities typically do not get paid for making endorsements. According to the Federal Election Commission, candidates can pay for endorsements as long as they are listed as a campaign expenditure. The Harris campaign has denied paying celebrities directly, claiming that any money sent to Winfrey ($1 million), Beyoncé ($165,000) and others are event production expenses paid out in accordance with federal election law.

“Usually I am reluctant to respond to rumors in general, but these days I realize that if you don’t stop a lie, it gets bigger. I was not paid a dime,” Winfrey said in video response to the Trump post….

Tina Knowles issued a similar denial last year when the same rumors circulated about her daughter: “The lie is that Beyonce was paid 10 million dollars to speak at a rally in Houston for Vice President Kamala Harris. When In Fact: Beyonce did not receive a penny for speaking at a Presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harrris’ Rally in Houston.”

Opinion | Trump’s call to “investigate” Bruce Springsteen ignores the reality of celebrity endorsements
What history can tell us about celebrity campaign endorsements — and their impact.

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-truth-social-springsteen-oprah-beyonce-campaign-fraud-rcna208260

Houston Chronicle: Houston judge orders U.S. to locate Venezuelan refugee seeker deported to El Salvador

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A Houston judge on Monday ordered the U.S. government to track down a Venezuelan man who is believed to have been deported to El Salvador after government attorneys told the court they did not know where he was. 

Widmer Josneyder Agelviz Sanguino, 24, was taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody last fall after arriving in Houston as a refugee, but his family and attorneys stopped hearing from him on March 15 as his asylum case was awaiting a decision. Days later, his name appeared on a flight manifest published by CBS News identifying the 238 Venezuelan men who had been deported to a mega prison in El Salvador.

Neither his family nor his team has had contact with him since.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/immigration/article/houston-judge-venezuelan-deportation-20335757.php

India Today: First flight departs US under Trump’s $1,000 ‘self-deport’ deal

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  • DHS launched first charter flight for migrants opting self-deport with USD 1,000 stipend
  • Flight carried 64 people from Honduras and Colombia, departing Houston
  • Participants received travel aid, stipend and chance to return legally later

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has conducted its first charter flight for migrants who agreed to “self-deport” under a new program that offers a USD 1,000 stipend to those voluntarily leaving the United States.

The self-deportation program was announced in March. Since then, the administration has paid for some migrants’ tickets to return to their home countries via commercial airlines. Monday’s flight departed Houston at about 9:30 a.m., carrying 64 people from Honduras and Colombia, according to a DHS official.

A “chance to return legally later”? Unlikely as long as King Donald reigns.

First flight departs US under Trump’s $1,000 ‘self-deport’ deal
The Trump administration launched a self-deportation program offering USD 1,000 to migrants who leave voluntarily. DHS conducted the first charter flight Monday, returning 64 people to Colombia and Honduras.

https://www.indiatoday.in/world/us-news/story/first-flight-departs-us-under-trumps-1000-self-deport-deal-glbs-2727328-2025-05-20

Houston Chronicle: ICE reportedly visiting homes of Houston migrant children, sparking fear of sponsor deportations

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Alexa Sendukas, managing attorney at the Galveston-Houston Immigration Project, said in recent weeks, 18 of her clients sponsoring unaccompanied children have reported ICE officers in plain clothes have visited or called their homes, prompting fear and concern they are being targeted for deportation.

The visits have also been reported in recent weeks across the U.S as an effort to crack down on potential human trafficking, The Washington Post reported.

Sendukas said the visits — which in some cases, clients have told her involved ICE agents asking sponsors for their immigration status — are concerning because sponsors and their homes have already gone through rigorous vetting by contractors part of the Office of Refugee Resettlement.

Most clients have reported that four ICE officers visit their homes, with 3 men and 1 woman, and ask varying questions, from asking how the child is doing in school to wanting to speak to the child and see their bedroom, Sendukas said. She added all the unaccompanied minors have already had removal orders dimissed through immigration court, or are in proceeding to have them dismissed.

But the immigration status of the children’s sponsors, whom the immigration project does not represent, is not entirely known, Sendukas said.

“If ICE does go after undocumented sponsors, we’re looking at the next version of family separation, and it will be devastating,” she said. “We have young children who are going to be irreparably harmed.”

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/trending/article/ice-dhs-welfare-checks-migrant-children-houston-20295086.php

Houston Chronicle: ICE touts big arrest numbers in Houston region, but not much context as to who is being deported

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Federal immigration authorities earlier this week announced more than 400 arrests and 500 deportations in the Houston district as part of what they said was a seven-day operation, but who was caught up in the crackdown remains largely a mystery.

The roundup occurred between May 4 and 10, but authorities provided little in the way of information that would help verify the information. While 400 arrests sounds like a big number, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Houston field office covers 54 counties across a large swath of southeast Texas. And there’s no list of names or specific charges facing those arrested.

Officials with the federal immigration office said they’re following longstanding policy that requires them to balance providing public information with the individuals’ rights to privacy in how they release information about the raids.

The recent news release is a perfect example of the difficulty in verifying information about the immigration system – longstanding issues that have been exacerbated by a presidential administration eager to tout its toughness on immigration, immigration experts said.

“In no way is the (President Donald) Trump administration new in issuing seemingly random numbers that don’t make sense,” said Aron Thorn, a senior attorney on the Beyond Borders team with the Texas Civil Rights Project. “…What is new is the extreme nature of the chest-beating around the numbers.”

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/ice-operation-houston-arrests-deportations-unclear-20328747.php

Washington Post: This Los Angeles port is among the first casualties of Trump’s trade war

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Empty berths and idle cranes show the effects of sky-high tariffs on Chinese goods.

The number of shipping containers that arrived at the nation’s top container port last week was roughly one-third lower than during the same period last year — a sharper decline than during the depths of the Great Recession. More than one-fifth of the giant ships that were scheduled to call in Los Angeles this month have already canceled, and that number is expected to rise.

Trump’s 145 percent tariffs on Chinese goods — and Beijing’s triple-digit retaliation — are bringing a swift halt to the trans-Pacific flow of electronics, clothing, furniture, industrial parts and everything else that the world’s two largest economies exchange.

los-angeles-port-tariffs-trade-tensions

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/05/11/los-angeles-port-tariffs-trade-tensions

El País: Latino businesses collapse under deportation terror: ‘What is happening now is worse than what we experienced during Covid’

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In January, just days after Donald Trump was sworn in as president, immigration agents came to Dana Beauty Salon in Mount Rainer, Maryland, located just two minutes from the Washington D.C. border. They were looking for one of the employees, an undocumented migrant, who was taken into custody and is being held at a detention center in New Hampshire pending a court hearing. That day changed the life of the salon’s owner, Daysi García. “They showed up one day, I think it was a Thursday. By the time the weekend came around, no one was coming in, our workers weren’t coming in for their shifts, not even the clients were coming in,” she recalls sadly.

…

“What is happening now is worse than what we experienced during Covid. Back then, people could put on a mask and come in. Now, they don’t even want to leave their homes,” says García.

Latino businesses collapse under deportation terror: ‘What is happening now is worse than what we experienced during Covid’

Meanwhile, Nero fiddles, Trump plays golf.