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North Texas interfaith leaders meet in Dallas to voice stance on immigration

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North Texas interfaith leaders meet in Dallas to voice stance on immigration


More than 30 faith leaders from across North Texas met outside the Kessler Park United Methodist Church in Dallas on Monday afternoon.

The press conference was organized by Faith Commons, an interfaith organization founded in 2018 that promotes the “common good” by addressing issues that affect society and culture.

Monday’s press conference was to take a public stance on immigration and the removal process of migrants under the Trump Administration.

“People need to have the opportunity to defend themselves and to have a defense with a lawyer and in a court of law,” Dr. George Mason, founder of Faith Commons said. “But when you are (prematurely) convicted and claim to be called a criminal before you even have the opportunities to defend yourself, that’s just inexcusable in our country.”

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Mason and those gathered in support called for the community and other leaders of faith to recognize that holding government leaders and immigration agencies accountable.

“Beyond the question of what is legal is the question of what is moral. And for us, that means treating every human being with absolute dignity and respect and recognizing that when our language dehumanizes people in various ways, it diminishes all us,” Mason said. “We want to elevate the language and the humanity of this conversation to begin with. Then we want to recognize that every person is owed due process in this country. And when people are being rounded up and deported without due process, that violates not only our American law, but also our spiritual values.”

According to Amreena Hussain, the vice president of the Indian American Muslims Council Dallas Chapter, people in her community have voiced fears of traveling.

”My husband is actually in India right now. His father has passed away and his travel has been a source of great anxiety for us,” Hussain said. “There’s also a deep fear about almost what it feels like, extra-judicial. Detentions at this point without due process, so there’s definitely that that we’re affected by.”

This comes as President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order that is aimed to identify non-compliant cities and states. A list of sanctuary cities and states, according to the Trump administration, could be created within the month.

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“To hear from those leaders saying that we as a church, or we as a mosque, or we at the temple have your back, and we’re ready to put in the fight for you, that means a lot to people,” Hussain said. “Part of being a person of faith is to not be quiet in times of injustice and that matters a lot.”

The group made reference to the migrants detained inside the ICE Bluebonnet Detention Facility in Anson, which currently houses Venezuelans at risk of deportation. The migrants, in many cases, have been flagged for their tattoos and accused of ties to the Tren de Aragua gang.

The facility is at the center of a Supreme Court ruling on deportation. Last Saturday, the Supreme Court temporarily blocked deportations of Venezuelans under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.

“Let’s not just make them symbols of something. They matter as individuals,” Mason said. “And when people have been detained, and when we don’t know where they are, they have been disappeared, then we have to be relentless in demanding to know where they are. Because they matter to God and they matter to all of us in our communities.”

The interfaith leaders will meet again on Friday to determine dates for prayer vigils that are to be held outside of the Dallas ICE Office in an effort to push for the fair treatment of immigrants.

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Texas sues Netflix for allegedly spying on kids, addicting users

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Texas sues Netflix for allegedly spying on kids, addicting users


Netflix was sued Monday (May 11) by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who accused the streaming company of spying on children and other consumers by collecting their data without consent, and designing its platform to be addictive. Ram Nabong reports.



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Texas sues Netflix, alleges platform spied on kids and collected data

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Texas sues Netflix, alleges platform spied on kids and collected data


The state of Texas announced a lawsuit against streaming giant Netflix on Monday, accusing the company of spying on children and other consumers by collecting their data without consent and designing the platform to be addictive.

Texas claims that Netflix has falsely represented to consumers that it didn’t collect or share user data while it actually tracked and sold viewers’ habits and preferences to commercial data brokers and advertising technology companies.

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The lawsuit, filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, claims that “Netflix’s endgame is simple and lucrative: get children and families glued to the screen, harvest their data while they are stuck there, and then monetize the data for a handsome profit.”

The state of Texas announced a lawsuit against streaming giant Netflix on Monday. (Nikos Pekiaridis/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“When you watch Netflix, Netflix watched you,” Texas added in the lawsuit.

NETFLIX CO-FOUNDER REED HASTINGS TO STEP DOWN, DEPARTURE IS ‘SPOOKING INVESTORS’

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NFLX NETFLIX INC. 85.39 -2.10 -2.40%

The complaint quotes comments made by former CEO Reed Hastings who said in 2020, while he was still leading the streaming company, that “we don’t collect anything,” amid questions over Big Tech companies’ data collection practices.

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Netflix was also accused of quietly using “dark patterns” to keep users watching on its platform, such as an autoplay feature that starts a new show after a different show ends.

NETFLIX RAISES SUBSCRIPTION PRICES ACROSS ALL PLANS

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed the lawsuit. (Cheney Orr/Reuters)

Paxton said in a press release that Netflix “has built a surveillance program designed to illegally collect and profit from Texans’ personal data without their consent, and my office will do everything in our power to stop it.”

The attorney general said he’s charging Netflix under the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act and seeks to require Netflix to stop the unlawful collection and disclosure of user data, require Netflix to disable autoplay by default on kid’s profiles, and to secure injunctive relief and civil penalties.

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FOX Business reached out to Netflix for comment.

Reuters contributed to this report.



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6 people found dead inside a boxcar in Texas, officials say | CNN

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6 people found dead inside a boxcar in Texas, officials say | CNN


Six people were found dead inside a cargo train boxcar in a Texas city along the southern border on Sunday, officials said.

The bodies were found in a Union Pacific train at a rail yard in Laredo, around 160 miles south of San Antonio, just after 3:30 p.m. local time, said Jose Espinoza, a public information officer with the Laredo Police Department.

The circumstances of their deaths are unknown, said Laredo police spokesperson Joe Baeza, according to CNN affiliate KGNS, and an investigation is underway.

Union Pacific operates across the border and is the only railroad that services all access points into Mexico, according to the freight company’s website.

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Temperatures on Sunday afternoon in Laredo were in the low-mid 90s, though it’s unclear whether heat was a factor.

Union Pacific said it was saddened by the incident and is working closely with law enforcement to investigate.

Laredo police said they received a call around 3 p.m. from an employee at the Union Pacific rail yard, KGNS reported. The bodies were discovered during a routine rail car inspection, police said. No survivors were found.

CNN has reached out to Laredo police for more information.

“It’s a very early phase of the investigation. There’s not a lot to reveal right now,” Baeza said, KGNS reported.

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The immigration status and ages of the deceased are not yet known, Espinoza said.

US Customs and Border Protection referred CNN to the Laredo Police Department, saying “The incident remains under investigation by Laredo Police Department and Homeland Security Investigation and Texas Rangers.”

CNN has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security, HSI and the Texas Department of Public Safety.

“It’s a very unfortunate event,” Espinoza told CNN. “It was too many lives that were lost.”

This story has been updated with additional information.

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