News from the South - Texas News Feed
ICE operation targeted immigrants in Austin and San Antonio
Multi-agency operation targeted immigrants in Austin and San Antonio
“Multi-agency operation targeted immigrants in Austin and San Antonio” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
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.
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.
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.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/26/texas-immigration-deportation-ice-austin-san-antonio/.
The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.
News from the South - Texas News Feed
International charities and NGOs call for end to controversial Israeli-backed aid group in Gaza
SUMMARY: Dozens of international charities, including Oxfam and Amnesty, called for the disbanding of the Israeli and U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) due to repeated violence and chaos at aid sites. Since May 26, over 500 Palestinians have been killed near aid distribution hubs guarded by armed contractors, which Palestinians must travel long distances to reach. At least seven were recently killed seeking aid amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes that have killed thousands in Gaza since October 2023. The war has claimed over 56,000 Palestinian lives, with half women and children. Netanyahu will visit Washington to discuss the conflict and trade, amid mounting humanitarian crises including suspended dialysis services in Gaza.
The post International charities and NGOs call for end to controversial Israeli-backed aid group in Gaza appeared first on www.kxan.com
News from the South - Texas News Feed
MAP: Which school districts increased teacher pay for the 2025-26 school year?
SUMMARY: For the 2025-26 school year, Central Texas school districts are setting starting teacher salaries amid budget planning. Of 58 districts, 19 have released salary data. Del Valle ISD offers the highest starting salary at $60,000, followed by Manor ISD at $57,669. Several others offer over $50,000, while a few remain below $50,000, with Mason ISD at $40,000. The state minimum salary increased by $300 to $33,960. Eleven districts raised starting pay, led by Llano ISD’s 8.5% increase. House Bill 2 allocates $4.2 billion for teacher raises, but retention funds apply only after three years, leaving starting salaries unchanged unless districts decide otherwise.
The post MAP: Which school districts increased teacher pay for the 2025-26 school year? appeared first on www.kxan.com
News from the South - Texas News Feed
The payment trick that’s costing used car buyers and sellers thousands
SUMMARY: As used car sales peak in July, scams targeting buyers and sellers are on the rise. John Mattery reports that counterfeit checks are a common trick, with scammers sending fake checks for more than the asking price and asking sellers to return part to a shipping company. Seller Matt Neff experienced this with his 1948 Packard. Buyers, like Dejan Wallace, can also be targeted on platforms like Facebook Marketplace, where sellers may rush sales and propose suspicious payments. To avoid losing money, never cash checks and send funds back or wire money to strangers, and always insist on in-person meetings and test drives.
If you’re thinking about buying or selling a used car this summer, consumer experts say now is the time to be extra cautious.
-
Mississippi Today5 days ago
Defendant in auditor’s ‘second largest’ embezzlement case in history goes free
-
News from the South - Louisiana News Feed7 days ago
3 lawsuits filed against CVS, Louisiana AG announces
-
Our Mississippi Home6 days ago
From ‘I’m Bored’ to ‘Let’s Explore’: A Summer Scavenger Hunt Through Mississippi History
-
News from the South - Missouri News Feed7 days ago
Residents provide feedback in Kearney Street Corridor redevelopment meeting
-
News from the South - Texas News Feed6 days ago
The Rio Grande Valley as Heart of LGBTQ+ Resistance and Joy
-
News from the South - Louisiana News Feed6 days ago
Louisiana’s energy efficiency ‘slush fund’: $80 million, few rules
-
News from the South - Georgia News Feed4 days ago
Are you addicted to ‘fridge cigarettes’? Here’s what the Gen Z term means
-
News from the South - Virginia News Feed6 days ago
Democrats pour $400K into Virginia House races as key battlegrounds emerge