News/Politics thread by @FrancescaDnunz

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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. 🧵

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As a Texan, this scrappy little magazine has a special place in my heart. I've appreciated the Observer's work since my early college days at UT, before I even knew I'd go into journalism.

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I've always admired its reporters' resolve to uncover corruption, write songful and snarky prose, and tell human stories in pursuit of making this state a better place.

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The Observer would never ask its reporters to chase clicks instead of stories with moral force, bend its knees for an authoritarian figure, or shy away from telling it like it is for fear of upsetting a power broker.

It was such a privilege to work with such great colleagues.

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Here's some reporting I'm proud of from the last two years:

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1/ In 2024, I found that DPS wrote *in their own report* that an FBI surveillance plane saw a man point a gun at migrants near Eagle Pass.

The man, Jeremy Allred, even admitted to police that he “did brandish a rifle in the presence” of migrants.

texasobserver.org/celeste-sparks…

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But Allred, who is legally barred from possessing a firearm due to previous domestic assault conviction, wasn't charged that day.

In fact, he returned to the border a few weeks later for an anti-immigration rally. Then the FBI arrested him.

texasobserver.org/border-vigilan…

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2/ Border residents generously shared stories about their lives in an increasingly militarized place.

In Eagle Pass, activists sought permission from the Texas Military Department to enter a state-occupied city park to mourn migrants who drowned there.

texasobserver.org/mourning-migra…

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3/ In Reynosa and Matamoros, asylum seekers recounted their experiences of waiting months for a CBPOne appointment to cross the bridge into Texas.

texasobserver.org/asylum-matamor…

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4/ In a team team w colleagues at multiple fabulous partner orgs, we reported on Border911, dark money + charity orgs led by former intel officers and ex-feds that spread anti-immigration propaganda and laid groundwork for presidential election challenges

texasobserver.org/border-911-mis…

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Some of them cashed in on border security-related government contracts.

Several people involved with Border 911 were given homeland security leadership positions after Trump's inauguration.

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Tom Homan is the border czar. Rodney Scott leads CBP. Sara Carter is the drug czar. Victor Avila also joined Carter at the ONDCP.

Derek Maltz had a stint as head of the DEA before pivoting back to work at a surveillance company, where he was promoted

texasobserver.org/dea-derek-malt…

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Border911's Jaeson Jones didn't get a fed gov position, though an idea he normalized via his gig at Newsmax came to fruition after last Jan's inauguration.

Jones was on a years-long quest to see cartels formally designated as foreign terrorist orgs
texasobserver.org/the-border-pro…

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5/ Operation Lone Star turbocharged DPS’ surveillance capabilities.

The lege passed an AI regulatory framework last session, but it does not create protections against AI-enabled surveillance

texasobserver.org/texas-dps-surv…

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6/ Sometimes I got to document joy

I saw the TX premiere of the new Selena movie at SXSW.

Throughout the film, attendees put their hearts on display. They cheered. They erupted in laughter. Some sobbed, as if Selena were, too, part of their own family.

texasobserver.org/the-love-and-l…

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7/ I found an instance of immigration agents targeting a construction worker at his home and labeling him as a gang member -- not because he had tattoos or a criminal record, but for the shoes he wore at a border checkpoint in Guatemala two yrs prior

texasobserver.org/venezuelan-det…

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8/ I wrote about police in Chihuahua, Mexico offering Texas cops and US feds access to their growing state surveillance system

thank you to my colleagues at @utvmx for guidance and assistance on this, and to the @pulitzercenter for funding + support

texasobserver.org/texas-chihuahu…

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9/ Last April, police announced they busted a gang gathering and arrested nearly 50 ppl

I spoke w attendees + family members in TX and Venezuela. Attendees described seeing 30-50 officers, tear gas, drones, and a SWAT tank.

It was a birthday party.

texasobserver.org/officials-tren…

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10/ Six months later, the Hays County DA's office dropped the only criminal charges — which came from traffic stops earlier in the night, not the raid of the house where the party took place

texasobserver.org/prosecutors-dr…

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11/ 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. Last June, agents arrested him just before his 50th birthday.

texasobserver.org/trump-ice-arre…

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12/ Through firing off records requests, I found that under Operation Lone Star, DPS dramatically expanded its drone fleet.

They have about as many UAS as Border Patrol. DPS has dispatched these drones to protests and an immigration raid

texasobserver.org/texas-dps-dron…

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13/ Also under OLS, DPS acquired a warrantless phone tracking tool. It has committed to paying millions more for the next few years. Sheriffs, city cops, and federal agents have it, too.

We took a look at how it is used, but we still know very little

texasobserver.org/texas-police-i…

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I am grateful to my editors for helping me grow, and for guiding and improving my work. A huge thank you to my colleagues for the camaraderie, and to my sources for allowing me to tell these stories

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If you speak Spanish, have investigative chops, and want to cover immigration enforcement in the Lone Star State, apply to take my job!!

the deadline to apply for the David McHam fellowship is 2/6

texasobserver.org/jobs/

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I'll say more soon about my next move. For now, I can say I'm staying on this beat.

if you have tips about ICE, Border Patrol, or any of the federal agencies where officers have been re-assigned to immigration enforcement, my Signal is FrancescaDnunz.08

some professional news: Monday is my last day at the Texas...

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