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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh

@colleenputzelkav.bsky.social
220 followers 55 following 61 posts

Associate Policy Analyst, U.S. Immigration Policy Program at Migration Policy Institute. Follow all border developments and data closely. All views my own.

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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
It has been one year since the Trump admin invoked the Alien Enemies Act and began targeting international students with a novel provision of the INA but thus far faced resistance in the courts with these and other policies. Read more here: www.migrationpolicy.org/article/trum...
migrationpolicy.org
The Trump Administration’s Immigration Policies Encounter Resistance in the Courts
Federal judges have provided significant opposition to the Trump administration’s immigration policies during its second term. The courts have halted or slowed a number of administration initiatives, ...
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
A pleasure speaking with Ron at The Gaggle on E-Verify and worksite enforcement. Give it a listen where you listen to your podcasts!
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Julia Gelatt @juliagelatt.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
With news of ICE's focus on Maine, recommending my colleagues @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social & Valerie Lacarte's profile of ME's small immigrant population. ME's immigrants are a mix of long-settled, well-integrated folks, and newcomers from diverse origins, bolstering the workforce of an aging state
migrationpolicy.org
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
Reshaping who is welcome and who belongs is the undertone of the first year of changes to the U.S. immigration system in the first year of the Trump administration Read our full report by @kathleenbush.bsky.social, Muz Chishti, and me here: www.migrationpolicy.org/article/trum...
migrationpolicy.org
Unleashing Power in New Ways: Immigration in the First Year of Trump 2.0
U.S. immigration policy, practice, and enforcement changed dramatically over the first year of President Donald Trump's second term, touching most corners of the immigration system. The government has...
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
TOMORROW: Beyond Shock & Awe: Immigration Actions in the 1st year under Trump 2.0 Join @kathleenbush.bsky.social & @migrationpolicy.bsky.social colleagues Muz Chisti and Doris Meissner as we unravel the sweeping changes to immigration policy this last year www.migrationpolicy.org/events/immig...
migrationpolicy.org
Beyond “Shock and Awe”: Immigration Actions in the First Year under Trump 2.0
MPI analysts assess the immigration actions taken during President Trump's first year back in office, detail the legal state of play, and analyze the actual effects on the labor market, U.S. communiti...
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David J. Bier @davidjbier.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
NEW data I've received: Just 5% of people detained by ICE since October 1 have had violent criminal convictions, 3/4 had no criminal convictions at all. Most "criminals" had immigration, traffic, and vice offenses. Not the "worst of the worst"...
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
Increased immigration enforcement, especially at workplaces, may bring the 30-year old E-Verify program back into the national conversation. But the administration remains amibavlent about the program-both touting its use and warning against reliance. Read more in MPI's latest bit.ly/MPIeverify
bit.ly
Employment Verification: The Next Front for U.S. Immigration Enforcement?
E-Verify has been heralded as a key way to control unauthorized immigration to the United States, but federal efforts to expand the system stalled. There has been movement at the state level over the ...
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Ariel G Ruiz Soto @ruizags.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
With a steep decrease in migrant arrivals at the US-MX border, the Trump administration has directed its focus to enforcement in the US interior. In a NEW @migrationpolicy.bsky.social short read, I describe key data trends using the latest FY25 data. ⬇️ www.migrationpolicy.org/news/new-era...
migrationpolicy.org
A New Era of Immigration Enforcement Unfolds in the U.S. Interior and at the Border under Trump 2.0
The transformation in U.S. immigration enforcement taking place at the U.S.-Mexico border and in communities across the United States during the second Trump term is tangibly captured in government da...
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
"Maine offers an example of an important question facing policymakers nationwide how to manage broad policy challenges, such as housing and labor shortages, while simultaneously assisting communities in need of additional support immigrant and U.S. born alike" www.migrationpolicy.org/research/mai...
migrationpolicy.org
Maine’s Immigrant Communities: Diverse Origins, Characteristics, and Challenges
Maine’s immigrant population, though relatively small, is a notably diverse mix of long-settled residents and newcomers from many parts of the world. At a time when the U.S.-born workforce in Maine is...
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Julia Gelatt @juliagelatt.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
Happy to share that MPI has updated its online data tool that profiles the country's unauthorized immigrant population at the national, state, and local level to use 2023 American Community Survey data. Check it out here:
migrationpolicy.org
Unauthorized Immigrant Population Profiles
Use this unique data tool to learn about unauthorized immigrant populations in the U.S. and by state and for top counties. Get detailed data profiles for the United States, 43 states (plus the Distric...
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
abcnews.go.com/Politics/coa...
abcnews.go.com
Coast Guard launches ‘Operation River Wall’ on Rio Grande along southern border
U.S. Coast Guard is deploying more resources to the U.S. southern border on the Rio Grande River, according to the agency.
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
The Trump administration continues to increase the use of U.S. military in immigration enforcement Coast Guard presence on the southern border has tripled since the start of the administration, and continues to grow
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
Pay-to-go programs have had mixed results in the U.S. and other countries. Still in its nascent stages it remains to be seen if the Trump administration will develop the right formula to bolster is efforts to achieve a mass deportation campaign by incentivizing self deportations.
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
It is built on a system of incentives and disincentives including a $1,000 exit bonus and government funded travel alongside fines, arrest, detention, and removal. The backdrop, however, may prove more potent. Heightened enforcement, high profile arrests, and threats to benefits contribute to fear
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
🔔 The Trump administration is ambitiously promoting "self-deportation" In my latest with Muzaffar Chishti, we look at the building of this enterprise and examine the components of past successes and failures in the U.S. and other countries bit.ly/SelfDeportat...
bit.ly
Can the Trump Administration’s “Self-Deportation” Campaign Succeed?
The Trump administration has launched an ambitious campaign to encourage “self-deportation” as a complement to its muscular immigration enforcement operations. While a somewhat similar U.S. attempt in...
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
Reporting indicates that smugglers are adapting to these policies with migrants taking more remote passages to the border and trying to enter without detection. Previously, migrants arrived on U.S. soil and waited for officials to be processed. This change means migration is now more dangerous.
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
98 percent of those who arrived irregularly were processed for removal or ICE detention, just 1 individual was released with a NTA. With lower border numbers and few opportunities to access protection, the majority of migrants are processed for removal rather than released.
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
Migrant encounters have largely returned to historical trends with the majority being single adults from Mexico, a stark contrast from the diversification of migrants seen under Biden's term. Encounters at and between POEs saw upticks and 93% and 72%, respectively, were from Mexico.
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
📣New CBP data from May provide key insights into how migration has shifted under new policies. ‼️How and where people arrive to the border has changed though encounters remain low and trends of the previous months continue. 🧵Below on these changes and their implications
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
I wrote about this and other phenomena of an enforcement-only approach, link below: www.migrationpolicy.org/news/low-mig...
migrationpolicy.org
Can Near-Historic Low Migrant Encounter Levels at the U.S.-Mexico Border Be Sustained?
Migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border have fallen to lows not seen since the 1960s. But can this trend continue amid a sharp policy shift to a deterrence-focused approach, setting aside a carro...
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
The enforcement-centric policies may have reduced migration to the U.S.-Mexico border, but migration does not stop. Smugglers adapt to changing policies and migration has now become more remote and more dangerous. www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
nbcnews.com
Amid Trump's southern border clampdown, smugglers and migrants use deadlier routes into U.S.
The flow of migrants has dropped significantly, but thousands are still trying to cross, and smugglers are increasingly finding ways to send migrants alone through treacherous terrain.
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
Since January, irregular arrivals to the U.S.-Mexico border have hit lows not seen since the 1960s. The real test will be whether these lows can be sustained absent key ingredients that led to them in the first place. Read my latest here: www.migrationpolicy.org/news/low-mig...
migrationpolicy.org
Can Near-Historic Low Migrant Encounter Levels at the U.S.-Mexico Border Be Sustained?
Migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border have fallen to lows not seen since the 1960s. But can this trend continue amid a sharp policy shift to a deterrence-focused approach, setting aside a carro...
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Kathleen Bush-Joseph @kathleenbush.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
Big news in a humanitarian parole court case: Yesterday, a lower court judge said USCIS needs to process parolees' applications for asylum & work permits Also certified a nationwide class covering certain Ukrainians, Afghans, Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans & more
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
📣In my latest with Muzaffar Chishti we map out the administration's attempt to expand ICE's access to even more databases like IRS, USPS, and SSA. We also untangle the web of databases ICE already has access to, including its reliance on private data companies. Read ⬇️ bit.ly/ICE-data-col...
bit.ly
Seeking to Ramp Up Deportations, the Trump Administration Quietly Expands a Vast Web of Data
In its bid to ramp up deportations, the Trump administration is granting ICE access to a swath of government databases that were previously off limits for immigration enforcement, including sensitive ...
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 15/05/2025
Judge dismisses nearly 100 trespassing charges in "National Defense Areas" along the border citing that intent to enter a military area must be proved. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/15/u...
nytimes.com
Judge Dismisses ‘Trespassing’ Charges Promoted by Trump in Border ‘Defense Area’
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Julia Gelatt @juliagelatt.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
New MPI estimates - with Demographer Jenny Van Hook - show that Pres. Trump's EO on birthright citizenship would grow the population of people without legal status in the U.S., not shrink it. Unauthorized population would be 5.4 million larger in 2075 than under current practice.
migrationpolicy.org
Repealing Birthright Citizenship Would Significantly Increase the Size of the U.S. Unauthorized Population
Repealing birthright citizenship for babies born on U.S. soil to unauthorized immigrants or temporary visa holders would have a contrary result from its stated aim of reducing the unauthorized immigra...
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
El Paso was the busiest sector with nearly 2K encounters, followed by Rio Grande Valley and Tucson with 1K apiece. As military bases expand along the border, it is possible that migration patterns may shift once again, away from highly militarized areas.
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
Migration patterns continue to return to historical trends. Both at and between ports of entry, 84 percent of encounters were of single adults, and 93 percent and 73 percent, respectively, were encounters of Mexican nationals. Encounters of most other nationalities continue to decrease.
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
Disposition data show that 98 percent of all border crossers were processed with either expedited removal, reinstatement of removal, voluntary return, or turned over to ICE while just two people were processed with an NTA and released from custody. No one was processed through MPP.
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
📣NEW April CBP data shows a slight increase in encounters btwn POEs to 8K, primarily driven by an increase in Mexican nationals. It is the highest month of encounters so far in this term for the Trump administration. 🧵below by @migrationpolicy.bsky.social colleague @ruizags.bsky.social and me
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Dhruv Mehrotra @dmehro.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
CBP quietly revoked protections for at-risk people in custody—including pregnant women, infants, the elderly, and those with serious medical conditions—calling them “misaligned” with enforcement priorities. The rules required basics like diapers, formula, and water. www.wired.com/story/cbp-re...
wired.com
US Customs and Border Protection Quietly Revokes Protections for Pregnant Women and Infants
CBP's acting commissioner has rescinded four Biden-era policies that aimed to protect vulnerable people in the agency's custody, including mothers, infants, and the elderly.
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Kathleen Bush-Joseph @kathleenbush.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
There were 1.8 million asylum applications pending at the immigration courts, as of March 2025 In particular, asylum cases are a big impediment to Trump's mass deportation plans: --they take longer to adjudicate because --they're more complex & --they can result in protection from deportation
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
Hablé con @citylimitsnews.bsky.social sobre los cambios en los primeros 100 días de la administración de Trump incluyendo deportaciones y los cambios en la frontera. Escucha aquí citylimits.org/podcast-que-...
citylimits.org
PODCAST: ¿Qué cambios ha realizado Trump en materia de inmigración durante los primeros 100 días de su segundo mandato? - City Limits
En este breve lapso, el presidente Trump ha adoptado 181 medidas en materia de inmigración, más que las 94 que tomó el expresidente Joe Biden en el mismo periodo y seis veces más que las que tomó Trum...
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Charlie Savage @charliesavage.bsky.social · 06/05/2025
In response to @freedom.press FOIA request, ODNI declassified & released an intel memo contradicting a key claim Trump made to invoke the Alien Enemies Act Confirms reporting the Trump admin characterized as false & used to justify weakening limits on leak inquiries www.nytimes.com/2025/05/05/u...
nytimes.com
Spy Agencies Do Not Think Venezuela Directs Gang, Declassified Memo Shows
The release of the memo further undercuts the Trump administration’s rationale for using the Alien Enemies Act to deport scores of Venezuelans to a prison in El Salvador.
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Nick Miroff @nickmiroff.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
Inbox: ICE says it has deported 65,682 and made 66,463 arrests during Trump's first 100 days. The agency says it now has 579 signed or pending 287(g) agreements with police and sheriff's departments -- 444 of them since Jan. 20.
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
www.migrationpolicy.org/article/trum...
migrationpolicy.org
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
In the first 100 days, the Trump administration has taken 175 immigration related actions drastically shaking up the U.S. immigration system. My @migrationpolicy.bsky.social colleagues @kathleenbush.bsky.social and Muzaffar Chishti unpack these changes in their latest, link below.
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Migration Policy Institute @migrationpolicy.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
Repealing birthright citizenship would mean: 🔹swelling the size of the existing unauthorized population 🔹creating a multigenerational class of US-born residents deprived of full rights Our Senior Fellow Michael Fix explains what's at stake, in new op-ed👇 riponsociety.org/article/shou...
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
While low encounters have been achieved over this years long story, access to protection is now severely limited at the border. As in Trump 1st term, border numbers decreased at first and then rose again. Border encounters are dynamic and depend on much more than U.S. policy alone.
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Phase 3: The Trump administration came into office and on day one cancelled all pending and future CBP One appts, rendering asylum virtually inaccessible at the Southern border.
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Phase 2: The June 2024 Secure the Border rule, which made asylum inaccessible for most of those arriving between ports of entry and encouraged the use of CBP One caused a precipitous drop in irregular encounters. In Nov 2024, for the first time, more encounters occurred at POEs than btwn
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Phase 1: In March of 2024, increased Mexican enforcement at the U.S.-Mexico border and throughout the country started a trend of lower border encounters following the high of 250K irregular border encounters in December 2023.
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
📣New CBP data from March show 7K encounters between ports of entry, the lowest since 1967 when border encounters averaged 6K per month. 💡Rather than an isolated event, this low is part of a years long three-phased story 🧵Below with @migrationpolicy.bsky.social colleague @ruizags.bsky.social
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
cisneros.columbian.gwu.edu/trump-admini...
cisneros.columbian.gwu.edu
Trump Administration Immigration Actions | Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute | Columbian College of Arts & Sciences | The George Washington University
Event page for MMWIR
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
This Friday @kathleenbush.bsky.social and I will be presenting on the Trump administration's actions thus far including an update on the promise of mass deportations, border enforcement efforts, and the dramatic shifts in the U.S. government. Register at the link in comments
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Kathleen Bush-Joseph @kathleenbush.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
On 4/4, @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social & I are going to talk about the Trump admin's initial immigration actions @georgetown-sfs.bsky.social We will talk about ICE arrests, deportations, litigation & more Register to watch online: cisneros.columbian.gwu.edu/trump-admini...
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Kathleen Bush-Joseph @kathleenbush.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
DEPORTATIONS DATA--sources say ICE & CBP have made 113,000 arrests & 100,000+ deportations since Trump's inauguration Puts the admin on pace to deport a little over 500,000 people per year from interior & at the border nypost.com/2025/03/31/u...
nypost.com
Exclusive | Trump administration has arrested 113K migrants, deported over 100K since taking office
“He’s doing what he was voted in to do. Point blank!” an ICE source told The Post Monday.
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
📣The Trump administration is digging deep into the history books and dusting off legal authorities typically reserved for times of war or civil unrest We unpack this new chapter of Alien Registration and Alien Enemies Act in my latest with Muzaffar Chishti bit.ly/TrumpWartime...
bit.ly
Tapping Ancient Wartime and Security Laws, Trump Administration Dramatically Expands Immigration Powers
The Trump administration is tapping ancient war-time and national security laws, including the 1798 Alien Enemies Act and 1940 Alien Registration Act, in unprecedented ways for general immigration enf...
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
When border encounters reached historical highs, these funds were a lifeline for the vital services offered by orgs on the border and interior. ‼️Border Patrol actively coordinated with these organizations and local governments noted their vital role in reducing chaos in border cities.
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Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh @colleenputzelkav.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
The funds came with strict guidelines ◾ Percentages of allocated funds were capped for various categories like overhead, food, or transportation. ◾ Only migrants who had been screened and vetted by federal authorities could receive services under these funds
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