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Agents from multiple federal agencies carried out immigration enforcement operations in Austin and San Antonio on Sunday, federal officials said.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with the Drug Enforcement Agency, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives collaborated on “enhanced targeted operations” in both cities, an ICE spokesperson said. A similar operation took place Sunday morning in the Rio Grande Valley, a local station reported.
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The spokesperson said the operations were to “enforce U.S. immigration law and preserve public safety and national security by keeping potentially dangerous criminal aliens out of our communities.” The official did not say what kind of offenses the targeted individuals were suspected of committing or whether anyone was detained.
KXAN first reported ICE was conducting an operation in the Austin area on Sunday afternoon through a spokesperson for the DEA’s Houston division. DEA spokesperson Sally Sparks said the agency’s Houston office “mobilized every agent in our division,” whose jurisdiction spans from Brownsville to Corpus Christi, Del Rio and Waco.
“We got information that we had to mobilize, so we mobilized,” Sparks told The Texas Tribune. “The majority of our agents assisted.”
A Houston DEA post on X on Sunday showed photos of law enforcement officers in a residential area escorting a man in handcuffs.
Neither ICE nor the DEA answered questions about the scale of the operations. Spokespeople for the Travis and Bexar counties’ sheriff’s offices said they had not been notified of the operations. A spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, said Doggett did not receive advance notice that ICE would conduct an operation in Austin.
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Sunday’s operations came less than one week after President Donald Trump began his second term as president and promised mass deportations across the country. Trump issued more than a dozen immigration-related executive orders last week, including halting the use of an app that lets migrants make appointments to request asylum and authorizing immigration officers to raid sensitive locations such as churches, schools and hospitals.
The Trump administration has also directed federal officials to investigate and potentially prosecute local officials who interfere with deportation efforts. Some local Texas officials said they are ready to assist Trump, though they have offered scant details on how they would cooperate. A group of Texas lawmakers asked state education officials last week for clear guidance on how school districts should prepare for federal immigration enforcement.
Federal officials also conducted raids in Chicago on Sunday, and ICE officials have been directed to increase the number of people they arrest from a few hundred per day to at least 1,200 to 1,500, The Washington Post reported Sunday. ICE made 956 arrests Sunday and sent 554 requests to take custody of individuals currently being held in jails, prisons or other confinement facilities, the agency said in a Sunday evening post on X.
Trump’s actions over the past week have left some migrants stranded on the U.S.-Mexico border, and the threat of deportation has left others in fear. Texas is home to approximately 1.6 million undocumented people, according to a Pew Research Center Report.
Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez and Texas A&M defensive end Cashius Howell were named finalists for the Bednarik Award, which is presented annually to college football’s defensive player of the year.
Ohio State safety Caleb Downs was the third finalist.
Rodriguez and Howell have spearheaded their respective teams’ push for a conference title and a College Football Playoff bid. Both players are in a position to compete in the Big 12 and SEC Championships, respectively, with a win on Saturday.
Howell has manned the defensive line for one of the three remaining undefeated FBS teams, contributing an SEC-leading 11.5 sacks. He is a four-time SEC defensive lineman of the week and leads all defensive ends with six pass breakups.
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Texas A&M’s defense ranks first nationally in 3rd down defense and second in FBS with 39.0 sacks.
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Rodriguez has aided Texas Tech in its best start since 2008 and its highest-ranked scoring defense in over a decade.
Although he has contributed only a sack to the nation’s leader in team sacks, the senior inside linebacker leads the country with seven forced fumbles. He also has four interceptions.
Rodriguez has taken over social media over the past four weeks, earning the Heisman fan vote in four consecutive weeks.
Rodriguez and Howell are also finalists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Lombardi Award.
The Bednarik Award winner will be announced as part of the ESPN’s college football awards show, which will be broadcast live on ESPN on Friday, Dec. 12.
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Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed named finalist for Davey O’Brien Award
Texas Tech’s Joey McGuire named Region 4 AFCA Coach of the Year
Find more Texas A&M coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
Find more Texas Tech coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
S.E. Jenkins is a digital content producer for CBS Texas. She has also been a Digital Content Producer in Tallahassee and Myrtle Beach. S.E. graduated with journalism degrees from Texas State University, Aarhus Universitet and City, University of London.
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/ CBS Texas
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A 17-year-old has been charged in the shooting of a North Texas DoorDash delivery driver late last month, Mesquite police said.
Investigators discovered that just before 12:30 a.m. on Oct. 27, the driver was making a delivery to a home in the 2000 block of Birch Bend when a man wearing dark clothing approached and started shooting at him.
The suspect, later identified as 17-year-old Ledavion Sockwell, fled the area.
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Responding officers found the delivery driver had been shot multiple times and rendered aid until fire department personnel arrived and took the driver to the hospital. The delivery driver survived the shooting.
Late Monday afternoon, the Mesquite Police Department Major Crimes Unit and Mesquite Tactical Unit executed a search and arrest warrant for Sockwell in the 1400 block of Regent St. He was taken into custody without incident.
The Texas Longhorns are hoping to make a few waves in the last days before Early Signing Day, with Georgetown running back Jett Walker flipping his commitment from the Minnesota Golden Gophers
The Longhorns looked to add another running back to the class, and despite the late offer and visit, were able to add the Georgetown product to the class. Walker reported 20 offers, but seemingly focused his recruitment on West Virginia and Houston, visiting both during the summer visit window. Earlier in November, Walker visited with P.J. Fleck and the Golden Gophers, committing shortly after his visit. However, the Longhorns entered the race just three weeks later and after a visit to the Forty Acres, he was ready to flip.
The 6-foot-2, 215-pound back was highly productive during his two years with the Eagles, rushing for 3,837 yards and 61 touchdowns in his junior and senior campaigns. Before moving to Georgetown, he played varsity as both a freshman and sophomore at Lampassas, rushing for more than 2,000 yards and 23 touchdowns.
Walker is commitment No. 22 for the class, joining four-star back Derrek Cooper in Chad Scott’s group for the 2026 cycle. Both backs fit the larger body type that head coach Steve Sarkisian and Scott have favored in recent years, with Walker looking like a downhill runner with good contact balance that could make a difference in short-yardage situations.
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Walker was not alone on his trip to the Forty Acres for the Longhorns’ win over Arkansas, as the Longhorns look to add a few more key pieces as the cycle concludes.