Valerie Gonzalez

“If it continues for a long enough period of time, then it could therefore lead to increased prices, because we are not processing the amount of beef that consumers are currently demanding,” the VP of communications for Kansas Livestock Association said. apnews.com/article/meat...

“El tribunal ordenó su expulsión a pesar de que estaban presentes”, explicó Alex McGriff, del NIJC a @apnews.com @valontheborder.bsky.social Algunas personas han recibido ordenes de deportacion estando DENTRO del edificio en donde se encuentra el tribunal de inmigracion de Chicago:

“The court ordered them removed despite the fact that they were not absent,” said NIJC attorney Alex McGriff to @apnews.com @valontheborder.bsky.social People are being issued deportation orders for failing to appear even while they're INSIDE the Chicago immigration court building seeking help.

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...

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...

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...

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...

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-...

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...

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

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

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...

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...

“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

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.

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: 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...

The Gámez-Cuéllar family has been reunited.

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.

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...

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-...

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...

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...

Media gets ten spaces at today’s trial for former Uvalde schools officer Adrian Gonzales. Spots were allotted after all journalists decided Uvalde’s newspaper should have a permanent seat. Support local journalism. (I’ll also be inside. No cells or computers allowed.)

NEW: A Dec. 1 report from ICE indicated that about 400 immigrant children were held in custody for more than the 20-day limit during the reporting period from August to September. Legal advocates say the government is failing to safeguard children. apnews.com/article/immi...

NEW: A federal judge issued an order Wednesday requiring the Trump administration to again consider granting protection from deportation to certain vulnerable young immigrants under the Special Immigrant Juvenile status program, also known as SIJS. apnews.com/article/immi...

JUST IN: ICE didn’t say how much migrants would get or when the offer would take effect, but The AP obtained an email to migrant shelters saying children 14 years of age and older would get $2,500 each. Children were given 24 hours to respond. apnews.com/article/ice-...

Update: DHS shared a response to today’s decision from Judge Timothy J. Kelly, a Trump appointee. For context, the government initially claimed Guatemalan parents asked for their kids back to be reunited, but they retracted that last week following contradictory evidence.

New: Bottled water sold for $1.21, dismissed medical pleas and faith tested at family detention facility in Dilley, TX apnews.com/article/immi...