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USA Today
3 days ago
- Politics
- USA Today
Trump administration reverses pause on immigration ICE raids on farms, hotels, restaurants
Trump administration reverses pause on immigration ICE raids on farms, hotels, restaurants Show Caption Hide Caption National Anthem sang in Spanish before Dodgers game Singer and social media star Nezza opted to sing the National Anthem in Spanish over the weekend amid ongoing protests and immigration raids in L.A. Fox - LA The Trump administration has reversed an order to pause immigration raids targeting farms, hotels, restaurants and meat-packing plants, The Washington Post reports. The reversal came just days after officials were instructed to refrain from conducting immigration operations in these locations. The Washington Post reports that officials with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, including members of the Department of Homeland Security Investigations division, told agency leaders that they must continue immigration raids targeting these locations. The order comes as President Donald Trump's top aide, Stephen Miller, has demanded that ICE carry out 3,000 arrests each day. More: The U.S. has 'No Kings' say hundreds of El Pasoans who joined anti-Trump protest The Trump administration issued a pause on raids following a post from President Donald Trump on Thursday, June 12, questioning the economic impacts of these raids. In a post on Truth Social, he acknowledged concerns from agricultural and hospitality businesses about losing 'very good, long-time workers' due to broad enforcement actions. Farmworkers' unions across the U.S. stated that the pause on raids was not respected. Leaders of the Border Agricultural Workers project in El Paso stated that raids were carried out in the days following the pause. "We don't trust it," said Rosemary Rojas, who works with the El Paso-based Border Agricultural Workers Project. "It doesn't matter if it is signed, it doesn't matter if it comes out of Trump's mouth, it doesn't matter where it comes from. We are seeing the opposite." More: 'It is a setup': ICE arrests migrants after their hearings at El Paso federal courthouse 'Targeting criminals' during immigration ICE raids Trump entered office promising to carry out a campaign of mass deportation, largely targeting alleged criminals. But the administration has targeted immigrants in legal immigration processes and people who work in the service industry. 'There will be no safe spaces for industries who harbor violent criminals or purposely try to undermine ICE's efforts,' Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary for DHS, said Monday, according to the Washington Post. 'Worksite enforcement remains a cornerstone of our efforts to safeguard public safety, national security and economic stability.' More: For the first time in decades, the US-Mexico border is silent. Here's why However, the unions that represent farmworkers challenge the narrative that criminals are working in the fields, harvesting produce or packing meat products. "Criminals do not work on the farms, they do not hide on the farms," said Rosemary Rojas, who works with the El Paso-based Border Agricultural Workers Project. "This is such a false lie." Programs exist to enable farm workers to enter the United States legally and remain in the country. While it is estimated that 42% of farm workers are undocumented, many farm workers often come to the U.S. through the H-2A visa program or are already U.S. residents, Rojas said. Trump has promised to expand his immigration enforcement raids into cities like Chicago and New York following the mass raids in Los Angeles, which resulted in the spread of massive protests across the United States. Jeff Abbott covers the border for the El Paso Times and can be reached at:jdabbott@ @palabrasdeabajo on Twitter or @ on Bluesky.
Business Journals
06-06-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
Plan for 3 new towers near downtown Austin approved
El Paso-based Hunt Companies has secured the zoning it needs to build three high-rises across the river from downtown Austin. Read more about the skyline-changing plans in this report, which includes a list of Austin-area construction companies.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
No Sanctuary For Stash Houses: Texas Court Backs Paxton's Border Crackdown
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton won a significant legal victory at the state's highest court, clearing the path for his lawsuit against a border aid organization to proceed. The Supreme Court of Texas overturned a lower court injunction that had halted Paxton's prosecution of Annunciation House, an El Paso nonprofit accused of illegally harboring undocumented immigrants. 'Today is a great victory for Texas, secure borders, and the rule of law,' Paxton said in a press release following the ruling. 'Annunciation House has flagrantly violated our laws by harboring illegal aliens and assisting them to enter further into our country.' The case stems from a 2024 lawsuit filed by Paxton's office against the El Paso-based organization. The Attorney General alleges the group operates as a 'stash house' in violation of Texas Penal Code provisions. Paxton's legal team built its case on what it describes as substantial public evidence and employee admissions. They argue that these revelations demonstrate systematic law violations by the nonprofit organization. An El Paso County district judge initially granted Annunciation House's request for an injunction, effectively halting the state's legal action against the Catholic-affiliated aid group. The state Supreme Court's decision addressed more than just procedural matters. Justices explicitly rejected claims that Paxton targeted the organization because of its religious connections. The high court found 'no evidence to support' accusations of religious discrimination in the case. Justices also reminded the trial court to presume the Attorney General acted in 'good faith' and with 'legality.' Paxton vowed to continue his enforcement efforts against similar organizations. 'I will do everything in my power to stop them and any other NGO breaking our laws,' he stated. Amy Warr, an attorney for Annunciation House, argued before the Texas Supreme Court that the religious organization has not broken any laws and has never hidden immigrants from law enforcement officers. She claimed that Paxton's attack against the nongovernmental organization is just anti-immigration political rhetoric, the El Paso Times reported. The ruling represents another chapter in ongoing tensions over immigration enforcement along the Texas-Mexico border. Humanitarian aid organizations are frequently caught between federal immigration policy and state-level prosecution efforts. With the injunction lifted, the case returns to the trial court level. Annunciation House will face the underlying criminal allegations in proceedings that can now proceed.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
El Pasoan residents march to demand respect for border community's dignity and rights
Borderland residents continue to voice their repudiation of the Trump administration's anti-immigrant policies. The march brought together faith leaders, union representatives from the AFL-CIO and farm workers organizations to defend the dignity of the community amidst attacks from the Trump administration, which has sought to paint the border community as a chaotic place overrun by illegal immigration. The late morning sun beat down on a hundred or so marchers who joined the protest to reclaim dignity and rights of residents in the Borderland. Those who joined marched from the barrio of Chihuahuita near the Paso del Norte bridge to Parque San Jacinto. Over a hundred people came out Saturday, May 3, from across the El Pasoan community to reject the Trump administration's attacks on migrants, on health care and against workers. Protesters carried signs defending due process, migrant rights and the rights to education as a group of Matachines danced and other protesters carried giant marionetas. Saturday's march was organized by the El Paso-based Border Network for Human Rights. "We are all Americans, whether we are migrants or non-migrants," Fernando García, the executive director of the Border Network for Human Rights, said. "Today is the reaffirmation of our human rights, of our civil rights, and also for our dignity as a community at the border." The number of migrants crossing the southern border with Mexico are at the lowest levels in decades. More: Federal judge declines to block Trump's immigration enforcement in sacred places The march comes as the Trump administration has increased his attacks on immigrants, arbitrarily arresting migrants and deporting many without due process. The escalation has generated fear within immigrant communities, but the march is another way of breaking the fear, said Rosemary Rojas with the Border Agricultural Workers Project, who joined the march. "Right now and every day we have to make our voices heard, we have to be visible," Rojas said. "The dignity that has been stripped and the fear that has been injected is not justice." More: Mexico moves to outlaw foreign propaganda after US runs anti-migrant ad across border Saturday's march also raises concerns and rejects the cuts coming to the federal government. The Trump administration's gutting of federal government, including rolling back the Department of Education and the gutting of health and social services, is raising concern for El Paso's elected officials. "There is a lot of uncertainty right now with funding," El Paso City Rep. Josh Acevedo of District 2 said. "We don't realize that the federal government gives El Paso hundreds of millions of dollars. Public safety is going to be affected by losing money; our public health is going to be affected. We need to make sure that people know. We ring the alarm that this is happening because our quality of life is going to go down because of these cuts." Saturday's march comes as the Trump administration has increased the presence of the U.S. military into the El Paso community. The Pentagon extended a border military zone into the El Paso area Friday, May 2. The new militarized zone permits active duty military personnel to arrest migrants who illegally cross the southern border with Mexico. More: Congressional Democrats demand answers as Trump reverses revoking of student visas The marchers rejected this militarization and criminalization of the Borderland. "Our community has been subjected to massive militarization," García said. "Trump just extended the militarization to El Paso. This administration is treating us as criminals. We are members of this society. Both immigrant and non-immigrant are under attack, denying our basic due process, our access to education, and health care." Jeff Abbott covers the border for The El Paso Times and can be reached at:jdabbott@ @palabrasdeabajo on Twitter or @ on Bluesky. This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Pasoans march to defend rights and dignity amidst militarization
Washington Post
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Judge orders release of Venezuelan couple accused of being ‘alien enemies'
A U.S. district court judge has ordered two Venezuelan nationals living in Washington to be released from immigration custody, saying the federal government has failed to provide substantial evidence to declare either of them was an 'alien enemy' warranting removal under President Donald Trump's order invoking the Alien Enemies Act. The decision, issued Friday by El Paso-based senior U.S. District Judge David Briones, marks the first time a judge has ruled that the Trump administration had erred in classifying someone as an 'alien enemy' and ordered a release. Many of the relatives and attorneys for men the Trump administration has sent to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act have strongly denied that they are Tren de Aragua gang members. The Supreme Court ruled that the government needed to give anyone labeled an 'alien enemy' a chance to contest that designation.
