Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Join The Temporary, our day by day e-newsletter that retains readers on top of things on essentially the most important Texas information.
Most of the hundreds of migrants arrested on trespassing fees beneath Gov. Greg Abbott’s border safety operation have been locked up in Texas prisons solely after U.S. Border Patrol brokers handed them over to state police, in keeping with a brand new grievance to the U.S. Division of Homeland Safety.
At the very least as soon as, Texas Division of Public Security officers by no means even noticed the arrested migrants on the scene of the alleged trespassing, as a substitute selecting them up from federal brokers at a fuel station and taking them to jail, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas reported Friday in its letter to federal officers.
The ACLU of Texas argued that federal authorities officers shouldn’t be aiding Texas’ controversial “arrest-and-jail” method by sending migrants off to face state fees as a substitute of processing their immigration circumstances.
The grievance stems from an evaluation of police experiences on greater than 350 trespassing arrests made this summer season beneath Abbott’s Operation Lone Star. 1 / 4 of these arrests had been made with Border Patrol involvement, the civil rights group stated, with federal brokers offering surveillance info to state police or each companies working facet by facet and divvying up migrants for arrest or immigration processing based mostly largely on their gender.
Dozens of migrants within the pattern evaluation had been apprehended by Border Patrol brokers who turned them over to DPS.
In its grievance, the ACLU of Texas referred to as for DHS to analyze and halt Border Patrol’s involvement in what it calls “illegal, discriminatory, and anti-immigrant” trespassing arrests. The group’s attorneys argued federal brokers don’t have the precise to assist arrest migrants on state fees, nor prioritize them for state arrest over immigration processing.
“Border Patrol brokers are presently instrumental to Texas’ effectuation of this program that engages in rampant civil rights abuses, that will increase anti-immigrant system, and that makes an attempt to supplant federal immigration coverage,” the attorneys wrote of their grievance. “DHS ought to stop all collusion with state and native officers in [Operation Lone Star] trespass arrests, and transparently and publicly state a coverage of non-collusion.”
The cooperation between federal and Texas authorities in Operation Lone Star contradicts former statements by Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz, who informed Texas Month-to-month final October that Abbott’s program was “an incredible concern” as a result of state police don’t take into account asylum claims. Ortiz stated on the time he “would like to see border safety left to the border-security specialists.”
It additionally contrasts with Abbott’s persistent assaults on President Joe Biden’s administration. Abbott has stated Biden’s lenient insurance policies have required his state to take over immigration enforcement, costing Texas taxpayers greater than $4 billion in lower than two years.
Spokespeople for Abbott, DPS and U.S. Customs and Border Safety didn’t instantly reply to questions concerning the grievance Friday.
Because the variety of folks crossing the Texas-Mexico border skyrocketed final summer season, Abbott ordered DPS troopers to start arresting migrants suspected of illegally crossing the border on trespassing fees. The state fees had been a method for him to bypass federal jurisdiction over immigration legislation and lock up migrants, typically nabbed on personal ranch land or at railyards, in Texas prisons.
Since then, state police have made greater than 5,600 migrant trespassing arrests, in keeping with DPS. (Federal information from August revealed the variety of migrant encounters on the border was greater than they had been earlier than Operation Lone Star started.)
Police had been informed to solely arrest males touring alone, routinely resulting in Border Patrol processing girls, kids and households in a gaggle of apprehended migrants, whereas DPS took within the single males.
Texas’ felony justice system for migrants has since been engulfed in lawsuits and a U.S. Division of Justice investigation over documented wrongful arrests and unlawful detentions in addition to allegations of discriminatory and unconstitutional practices. Many males have languished inside Texas prisons transformed into state jails for immigration-related crimes for months with out attorneys or an opportunity to see a choose.
However whereas DPS information by way of October exhibits state police have made fewer trespassing arrests in current months total, this system continues to be increasing into new counties alongside the state’s southern border.
Final yr, troopers had been largely making the arrests in Kinney County, a conservative rural county the place native officers eagerly jumped into the brand new felony system regardless of its minuscule courtroom system, leading to repeated violations of state legal guidelines on due course of and speedy trials. Now, state police are making migrant trespassing arrests in different border counties as nicely, together with the Democratic stronghold of Webb County.
There, Border Patrol brokers are sometimes closely relied upon to make the arrests, in keeping with the grievance.
In its evaluation of sworn police statements on arrests from late July to late August, the ACLU of Texas stated 29 of the 368 DPS arrests it examined had been made after Border Patrol brokers apprehended the boys when DPS was not on scene in any respect. The grievance listed a number of examples from Webb County, together with an August arrest in Laredo the place DPS met a Border Patrol agent at a fuel station to arrest males the federal officers stated had been apprehended on a non-public ranch.
“[Border Patrol] Agent Kuopa found them, apprehended and positioned them into custody then handed them over to us on the Pump N Store Fuel Station,” DPS Trooper Juan Antonio Juarez III wrote in his arrest report. “After receiving this info and figuring out that the people had been on the property with out consent of the property proprietor and subsequently Criminally Trespassing, I made a decision to tell the agent that we might take all 3 male people in for the felony cost.”
In different arrest experiences, officers stated Border Patrol brokers directed state police to migrants from helicopter or drone surveillance.
It’s unknown when or if DHS will examine or make any adjustments based mostly on Friday’s grievance. In July, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica reported the U.S. Division of Justice was investigating Operation Lone Star after congressional and Texas Democrats, together with civil rights teams, complained that the trespassing arrests illegally discriminated towards migrants based mostly on their race, coloration or nationwide origin.
Disclosure: Texas Month-to-month has been a monetary supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan information group that’s funded partly by donations from members, foundations and company sponsors. Monetary supporters play no position within the Tribune’s journalism. Discover a full listing of them right here.
Good morning. You’re reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day.
As Congress returns from recess today, Democrats are in for a tough family conversation. Four senior House Democrats said on a private call yesterday that they believe President Biden should drop out of the 2024 race. Others have publicly criticized those calling for Biden to step aside. Meanwhile, Biden campaigned in Pennsylvania yesterday like a man on a mission.
Democrats from across the country are weighing in on whether President Joe Biden should remain the party’s nominee for president.
SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images/AFP
hide caption
toggle caption
SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images/AFP
Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge stemming from two fatal 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019, the Justice Department said in a court filing on Sunday. As part of the plea deal, Boeing will pay a $243.6 million fine, invest upwards of $450 million toward safety and compliance programs and be on probation for three years.
France’s far-right party fell far short of getting a majority after a historic number of voters participated in the country’s snap elections. The country saw a 67% voter turnout.
Beryl made landfall in Texas this morning as a Category 1 Hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said in its 5:00 a.m. ET update. More than 100 counties are under a state disaster declaration, and Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said yesterday more may be added. More than 2,500 responders have been dispatched across the state.
If you order more food than everyone else, how do you split the check? Chef and writer Kiki Aranita offers advice.
Malaka Gharib/NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Malaka Gharib/NPR
Dining out with your friends is all fun and games until it’s time to pay for your meal. Splitting the bill is a fine art. New York Magazine food editor Kiki Aranita says there should be “a sense of equality in how the check is divvied up” when the meal ends. She offers advice on how to keep things “fair and square”:
Bolivian women skateboarders — wearing traditional garb — demonstrate their skills on the half pipe.
hide caption
toggle caption
Indigenous arts and culture from across Latin America were on display at this year’s Smithsonian Folklife Festival. From an all-female Bolivian skateboarding crew to artists singing and painting to weaving, people from the Latin American contingent at the festival shared their stories and expertise with excited onlookers like 2-year-old first-time skateboarder Poppy Moore. One of the artists NPR’s team met was Ubaldo Sanchez from Guatemala. His portrait of former President Obama was selected for his White House collection, and he successfully painted a giant kite by the festival’s closing.
📷 See photos from the festival and read about the special connection Sanchez found with NPR’s Marc Silver.
Jennifer Privett takes her Himalayan cat Jean Claude out for a stroll in San Francisco.
Chloe Veltman/NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
Chloe Veltman/NPR
This newsletter was edited by Majd Al-Waheidi. Anandita Bhalerao contributed.
NORTH TEXAS — Sunday night, Beryl officially became a Hurricane again. North Texas can expect winds and heavy rainfall. Flash flooding is possible.
12 a.m. – 2 a.m.: If any isolated storms to our northwest hold together Sunday night, this would be the timeframe they could reach DFW.
2 a.m. – 5 a.m.: Isolated stray hit/miss showers could pop up across the region.
10 a.m. – 3 p.m.: Heavier showers and thunderstorms are possible in the metroplex and especially points to the east. If more showers and storms develop between the frontal boundary and Beryl, they could drop fast-hitting, heavy rainfall.
3 p.m. – 6 p.m.: Remaining activity should diminish or exit East/Northeast.
The latest track shifts a weakening Beryl further east of DFW.
All in all, the heaviest rainfall is trending east of the metroplex with a steep drop-off to the west of Beryl’s potential track. However, due to the interaction with the frontal boundary moving in from the northwest and Beryl, there certainly could be locally much higher amounts if stronger storms develop right over DFW.
Starting late week and amplifying into next week, a large upper-level ridge of high pressure will sit over the south and expand across the central and western United States. We could see extreme heat build back in for the extended forecast as a result.
For the 7-day forecast, Beryl and its associated activity exit the region quickly followed by more heat.
Amid his first visit to Taiwan, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced on Sunday the opening of a Texas-Taiwan trade representative office in Taipei to strengthen business and economic ties between the state and island.
Taiwan-based companies have been expanding into Texas for years, specifically in the semiconductor and petrochemical industries. Totaling $21.3 billion in 2023, Taiwan is Texas’ seventh-largest trade partner, according to Abbott.
One of the notable expansions is by GlobalWafers, a Taiwan-based semiconductor silicon wafer company, which announced in 2022 plans to build a state-of-the-art silicon wafer factory in Sherman, Texas. This facility, expected to be the first of its kind in the United States in over two decades, aims to address the semiconductor supply chain issues in the U.S. by reducing the reliance on imported silicon wafers from Asia. This project is anticipated to create around 1,500 jobs and significantly bolster the state’s local economy.
During a visit to Taiwan on Sunday, Abbott announced the opening of the State of Texas Taiwan Office (STTO), making it the 23rd U.S. state to open an office in Taipei. The STTO, which will operate under Texas’ Economic Development & Tourism Office, was announced in an effort to strengthen business and economic ties between the state and island, with the Republican governor also signing a letter of intent.
Newsweek has reached out to Abbott’s office via email for comment.
SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP/Getty Images
“We understand, both in Texas and in the United States, the importance of a strong Taiwan for the future of the entire globe. One of the best things that we can do to strengthen Taiwan and strengthen its future is by expanding our economic ties, so that Taiwan grows even stronger economically,” Abbott said on a stage with Taiwan Minister of Economic Affairs Jyh-Huei Kuo.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Abbott praised the opening of the office and wrote on Sunday morning, “Taiwan President Lai welcomed our Texas delegation in Taipei. We also announced the opening of a trade representative office for the State of Texas. We do BILLIONS in trade with Taiwan. The country was very hospitable.”
Taiwan President Lai welcomed our Texas delegation in Taipei.
We also announced the opening of a trade representative office for the State of Texas.
We do BILLIONS in trade with Taiwan. The country was very hospitable.https://t.co/RKkxlOHjT0
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) July 7, 2024
According to Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, Texas is an important trading partner as the Lone Star state is the ninth largest export market, with exports exceeding $11.5 billion in 2023.
“During this trip you will open the state of Texas-Taiwan office and sign an economic development statement of intent. I assure that the office will create new and trailblazing opportunities for an even stronger collaboration between Taiwanese and US businesses,” Lai said, according to Taiwan News.
However, the announcement comes as tensions between Taiwan and China continue to grow.
In May, Lai faced China’s largest-scale military exercises in nearly two years. It comes as a response to Lai’s inauguration speech as he asserted that “the Republic of China Taiwan is a sovereign, independent nation,” adding it is “an important link in the global chain of democracies.” While Taiwan has been independently governed since 1949, China views the island as part of its territory and hasn’t ruled out the use of force to unify the nations.
In addition, China has said it would launch a war if Taiwan were ever to officially declare independence. Lai, like his predecessor, former President Tsai Ing-wen, has maintained that there is no need to do so, as Taiwan is already an independent state.
Last week, China issued a no-sail zone warning in waters near Taiwan.
Maritime Safety Administration of China’s eastern Zhejiang province issued the navigational warning for a “military exercises” in the East China Sea from Wednesday to Friday as China’s military deployed 22 aircraft and six vessels.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Tension and stand-offs as South Africa struggles to launch coalition gov’t
4 killed, 9 injured after vehicle crashes into Long Island nail salon
Supreme Court denies Steve Bannon's plea to stay free while he appeals
Video: How Blast Waves Can Injure the Brain
Trump says 'biggest problem' not Biden's age, 'decline,' but his policies in first appearance since debate
Movie review: A Quiet Place, quivering since Day One
Increasing numbers of voters don’t think Biden should be running after debate with Trump — CBS News poll
Caribbean braces for ‘very dangerous’ Hurricane Beryl