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Kristina Cooke

@kristinacooke.bsky.social
7.5K followers 1.5K following 28 posts

I write investigative and narrative stories about immigration and criminal justice for Reuters. 2x Pulitzer Prize winner. Please send story tips! 📍San Francisco kristina.cooke@reuters.com Signal: kristinacooke.08

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Kristina Cooke @kristinacooke.bsky.social · 10h
We documented 40 cases of LGBT migrants who were deported by the US to third countries in Africa that either criminalize same-sex relations or have been described by the State Department as hostile to LGBT people. www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
reuters.com
Trump's deportation push forces dozens of LGBT migrants onto hostile terrain
Two years ago, a mob assaulted Abdou Latifou and threatened to kill him after he was seen kissing the man he loved.
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Reuters @reuters.com · 16h
Trump's deportation push forces dozens of LGBT migrants onto hostile terrain reut.rs/4ANO9un
reut.rs
Trump's deportation push forces dozens of LGBT migrants onto hostile terrain
Two years ago, a mob assaulted Abdou Latifou and threatened to kill him after he was seen kissing the man he loved.
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Kristina Cooke @kristinacooke.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
DHS has obtained at least 47 state voter rolls as part of the hunt for noncitizen voters, an internal email shows. Some of them lack key details such as year of birth, and false positives have included citizens with similar names as immigrants www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
reuters.com
White House pushes for speedy review of voter rolls in hunt for noncitizen voters
The White House has pushed federal agencies to accelerate their review of at least 47 state voter rolls obtained by the Department of Homeland Security, according to an internal email seen by Reuters,...
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Humeyra Pamuk @humeyrapamuk.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
The directive to prioritize immigrant visas at the U.S. missions in Poland and Hungary came from the White House, sources said, although it was not clear why specifically these two countries were singled out. Story here www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...
reuters.com
EXCLUSIVE: US resumes immigrant visa processing for Hungary, Poland as pause remains elsewhere
President Donald Trump's administration resumed processing immigrant visa applications from Hungary and Poland last week while maintaining a temporary pause on immigrant ‌visa appointments elsewhere, ...
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Humeyra Pamuk @humeyrapamuk.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
SCOOP: President Donald Trump's administration resumed processing immigrant visa applications from Hungary and Poland last week while maintaining a temporary pause on immigrant visa appointments elsewhere, people familiar tell me & @kristinacooke.bsky.social & @jonathanlanday.bsky.social
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Nate Raymond @nateraymond.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Scoop: The U.S. State Department has drafted guidance requiring parents applying for passports for their children ​to provide proof of their own citizenship or immigration status as part of President Trump's latest effort to limit birthright ‌citizenship, @kristinacooke.bsky.social and I report.
reuters.com
EXCLUSIVE: Trump birthright curbs may prompt US passport checks on parents
The U.S. State Department has proposed requiring parents applying for passports for their children ​to provide proof of their own citizenship or immigration status as part of President Donald Trump's ...
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Brad Heath @bradheath.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
President Trump administration's pledged to crack down on sex trafficking. Instead, investigations have stalled and prosecutions declined because of staffing shortages, funding cuts, immigration enforcement and growing distrust of the government among victims. www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
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Kristina Cooke @kristinacooke.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Aurora's 6-year-old daughter spent more than six months in a U.S. child migrant shelter while her mother worked to get her out. They were finally reunited in late March. Days later, ICE detained them and sent them to a family detention center. www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
reuters.com
EXCLUSIVE: Thousands of children, sponsors arrested by ICE after tips from US child migrant agency
More than 12,000 people have been arrested ‌by U.S. immigration authorities following tips from the Office of Refugee Resettlement during President Donald Trump’s second term.
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Brad Heath @bradheath.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
NEW: The death rate for people detained by U.S. immigration authorities has more than doubled since President Trump returned to office and began a mass deportation campaign. www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
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Brad Heath @bradheath.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Trump vowed to fight crime in Minneapolis. Prosecutions plunged. From me, @agoudsward.bsky.social and @kristinacooke.bsky.social www.reuters.com/world/americ...
reuters.com
Trump vowed to fight crime in Minneapolis. Prosecutions plunged
A Reuters review found the number of U.S. drug, gun and other prosecutions fell sharply as investigators focused on immigration and about half the federal prosecutors in Minnesota left.
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Ted Hesson @tedhesson.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Exclusive: ICE arrested more than 800 people after tips from US airport security agency, w/ @kristinacooke.bsky.social www.reuters.com/world/ice-ar...
reuters.com
Exclusive: ICE arrested more than 800 people after tips from US airport security agency
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested more than 800 people following tips ​shared by federal airport security officials from the start of Donald Trump's presidency through February 2026, i...
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Sergio olmos @sergioolmos.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Border Patrol agents have been roving from city to city over the last 15 months, far from their home bases in California and elsewhere along the U.S.-Mexico border, engaged in an unprecedented mass deportation campaign.  A collaboration w/ @calmatters.org @evidentmedia.org and @bellingcat.com
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Brad Heath @bradheath.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
NEW: Hundreds of judges around the country have ruled more than 4,400 times since October that President Donald Trump’s administration is detaining immigrants unlawfully, a Reuters review of court records found. The government keeps doing it nonetheless. www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
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Kristina Cooke @kristinacooke.bsky.social · 04/01/2026
Maduro is out but his top allies still hold power www.reuters.com/world/americ...
reuters.com
Maduro is out but his top allies still hold power in Venezuela
Under Venezuela's constitution, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez becomes acting president in Maduro's absence.
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Brad Heath @bradheath.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
To give you a sense of how big a departure this year, the government doesn't do this for wanted criminals.
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Ted Hesson @tedhesson.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
The email from a U.S. immigration officer presented Kelly and Yerson Vargas with a stark choice: accept deportation or risk being charged with a crime and separated from their 6-year-old daughter. Inside Trump’s pressure tactics w/ @kristinacooke.bsky.social www.reuters.com/world/us/ice...
reuters.com
As Trump misses deportation goals, ICE pushes migrants to give up their cases
The email from a U.S. immigration officer presented Kelly and Yerson Vargas with a stark choice: accept deportation to their native Colombia or risk being charged with a crime and separated from their...
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Los Angeles Times @latimes.com · 02/11/2025
US citizen shot from behind as he warned ICE agents children would be coming to get bus, lawyers say
latimes.com
U.S. citizen shot from behind as he warned ICE agents about children gathering at bus stop, lawyers say
Lawyers for Carlos Jimenez said he was in fear after an agent threatened him with chemical spray, then pointed a gun at him.
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Charles Ornstein @charlesornstein.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
NEW: “I Don’t Feel Safe.” Black Memphis Residents Report Harassment by Trump’s Police Task Force, by @wendicthomas.bsky.social @katieburgess.bsky.social w/ @mlk50.com
propublica.org
“I Don’t Feel Safe”: Black Memphis Residents Report Harassment by Trump’s Police Task Force
A pastor was pulled over for looking lost. A 72-year-old was marched out in his bathrobe due to mistaken identity. Memphis’ mayor welcomed the federal law enforcement surge, but some residents say the...
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Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
“The Government sometimes makes brief investigative stops. . . . If the officers learn that the individual they stopped is a U. S. citizen or otherwise lawfully in the United States, they promptly let the individual go.” Justice Kavanaugh in Vasquez Perdomo: www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...
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Chicago Sun-Times @chicago.suntimes.com · 06/10/2025
Body-camera video appears to contradict the government’s claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed. trib.al/9Sxu9IN
trib.al
Attorney for woman shot by Border Patrol claims officer said 'Do something b-----' before shooting
Body-camera video appears to contradict the government's claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney claimed. A judge ordered Martinez and a co-defendant released pending trial.
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Dan Mihalopoulos @dmihalopoulos.bsky.social · 05/10/2025
Of all the things we’ve seen in Chicago, can’t recall anything like these scenes, reportedly from 63rd and Kostner on the South Side
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Kat Stafford @katstafford.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
Journalism that fails to infuse a historically informed lens is akin to covering the smoke but never asking who lit the fire. History-centered journalism should be the framework within every newsroom.
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Kristina Cooke @kristinacooke.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
I spoke to a Venezuelan woman who was arrested in this raid and later released with her 4yo son. She said agents broke down their door, pointed guns at them and made sexualized remarks about Venezuelan women. When she returned to her apartment it was boarded up and all her possessions were gone.
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Dan Mihalopoulos @dmihalopoulos.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
In which a top US Border Patrol official, incredibly, tells my tall and Anglo colleague @chipmitchell1.bsky.social that he's not the type they're looking for as they go about downtown Chicago arresting people based on "how they look" chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...
chicago.suntimes.com
Feds in military gear flood downtown Chicago; top border official says arrests based on 'how they look'
The immigration agents were spotted making arrests in downtown Chicago and River North neighborhood early Sunday.
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Ted Hesson @tedhesson.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
Exclusive: Guatemalan document undercuts U.S. claims on child deportations, w/ Emily Green and @kristinacooke.bsky.social www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
reuters.com
Exclusive: Guatemalan document undercuts U.S. claims on child deportations
Many family members of unaccompanied Guatemalan migrant children who are part of a group the Trump administration attempted to deport over the weekend did not want their children returned to Guatemala, according to an internal Guatemalan government report that contradicts assertions made by U.S. officials.
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Brad Heath @bradheath.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
NEW FROM @reuters.com: Top U.S. law firms have sharply scaled back their efforts to challenge the federal government in court, especially on behalf of pro bono clients, in the face of threats from President Trump. www.reuters.com/investigatio...
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Kristina Cooke @kristinacooke.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
My colleague Diego Ore tells the story of a family who self-deported to Mexico. As they passed Mexican customs, officials confiscated their truck and took $5,000, the family's entire savings, for what they called a fine.
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Kristina Cooke @kristinacooke.bsky.social · 27/07/2025
This week, I wrote about Ingrid Mejia, a Guatemalan egg farmworker who spent more than four months in ICE detention after a traffic misdemeanor, while her 3-year-old son, a U.S. citizen, was stuck in foster care. www.reuters.com/world/us/an-...
reuters.com
An American toddler in foster care, a mom in ICE detention
A brief jail sentence turned into over four months in an immigration detention cell for the mother and an extended stay in foster care for son
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The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 02/05/2025
To date, the Trump Administration has refused to share the names of the men it has sent to El Salvador. One attorney involved in the advocacy efforts described her clients as “ghosts.”
newyorker.com
Trump’s Deportees to El Salvador Are Now “Ghosts” in U.S. Courts
Even as the Administration refuses to reveal the names of those it has deported under the Alien Enemies Act, a network of lawyers and advocates is fighting to keep their cases alive.
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Ted Hesson @tedhesson.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
Jeferson Escalona, who DHS said was a “self-admitted” member of Tren de Aragua: "They're making false accusations about me. I don't belong to any gang." W/ @kristinacooke.bsky.social www.reuters.com/world/americ...
reuters.com
SOS: Migrants held in Texas fear notorious El Salvador prison
Venezuelan detainees in Texas fear the Trump administration will send them to El Salvador's notorious CECOT maximum security prison.
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Kristina Cooke @kristinacooke.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
After Trump's order on refugee status for Afrikaners, hundreds of white South Africans joined informal WhatsApp groups where they share information about the process. In one, applicants discussed potentially chartering a flight for their pet dogs. www.reuters.com/world/us-foc...
reuters.com
US focuses on persecution claims as white South Africans seek resettlement
U.S. officials have interviewed white South Africans seeking refugee status about their troubles with land disputes, crime and perceived racism, while refugees from other countries are being deported or barred from the United States.
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Senator Chris Van Hollen @vanhollen.senate.gov · 18/04/2025
I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar. Tonight I had that chance. I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love. I look forward to providing a full update upon my return.
Photo of Senator Chris Van Hollen with Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
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Houston Chronicle @houstonchronicle.com · 13/04/2025
EXCLUSIVE: A woman last month flagged down a Houston police officer to tell them about a car crash. The officer responded by calling federal immigration authorities on her. www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...
houstonchronicle.com
Exclusive: Houston police are cooperating with ICE, experts say
Experts say the reports reveal a growing sense of cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration officials.
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Jacob Bogage @jacobbogage.bsky.social · 12/04/2025
🚨 WaPo exclusive — The Trump admin has set its sights on deporting **1 MILLION** immigrants this year. How it went from a quiet ambition to a White House strategy. Scooping with @mariasacchetti.bsky.social.
washingtonpost.com
‘One million.’ The private goal driving Trump’s push for mass deportations.
Immigration officers and analysts are increasingly skeptical the Trump administration can deport that many immigrants in a single year.
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Evident @evidentmedia.org · 08/04/2025
An investigation into obtained arrest records contradicts the U.S. Customs & Border Protection's messaging that Operation Return to Sender was a "highly targeted” law enforcement action. Full report from Evident, @calmatters.org, @sergioolmos.bsky.social & @bellingcat.com: evidentmedia.live/44fZ1mX
A U.S. border patrol unit traveled 300 miles to carry out sweeping arrests in “Operation Return to Sender” — which the unit was calling a “highly targeted” action.

Documents we obtained show that, of the 78 individuals arrested, only one of the individuals was previously known to border patrol. The other 77 were not listed as having a deportation order or criminal history.
— Reporting by Evident, CalMatters & Bellingcat
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Ted Hesson @tedhesson.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
Asked why the Trump admin will not release details on cases of alleged gang members sent to El Salvador, Noem defended the government’s assessment. “We’re confident that people that are there should be there, and they should stay there for the rest of their lives" www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
reuters.com
Trump's bid to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members faces new US court limits
U.S. judges said on Wednesday they would impose new limits on President Donald Trump's attempts to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members under a wartime law, after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a broad ban on such removals in another court.
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Ted Hesson @tedhesson.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
The Trump administration plans to fine migrants under deportation orders up to $998 a day if they fail to leave the United States and to seize their property if they do not pay, according to documents reviewed by Reuters. W/ @kristinacooke.bsky.social www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
reuters.com
Trump plans to fine migrants $998 a day for failing to leave after deportation order
The Trump administration plans to fine migrants under deportation orders up to $998 a day if they fail to leave the United States and to seize their property if they do not pay, according to documents reviewed by Reuters.
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Kristina Cooke @kristinacooke.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
We talked to 50 families of Venezuelans sent to El Salvador. They said their loved ones were barbers, tattoo artists, construction workers; many had tattoos that honored family members and their professions. They all said they had no links to Tren de Aragua.
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Lawrence Hurley @lawrencehurley.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
As a journalist, I'm pleased that everyone connected with the Trump administration seems to be in agreement that people shouldn't be punished for handing over sensitive information to reporters.
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Ted Hesson @tedhesson.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
Family members of Venezuelan migrants who suspect their loved ones were sent to El Salvador as part of a rapid US deportation operation over the weekend are struggling to get more information as a legal battle plays out. @kristinacooke.bsky.social and Sarah Kinosian www.reuters.com/world/americ...
reuters.com
Relatives of missing Venezuelan migrants desperate for answers after US deportations to El Salvador
Family members of Venezuelan migrants who suspect their loved ones were sent to El Salvador as part of a rapid U.S. deportation operation over the weekend are struggling to get more information as a legal battle plays out.
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Ted Hesson @tedhesson.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
Exclusive: Trump plans to revoke legal status of Ukrainians who fled to US - w/ @kristinacooke.bsky.social www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
reuters.com
Exclusive: Trump plans to revoke legal status of Ukrainians who fled to US, sources say
U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is planning to revoke temporary legal status for some 240,000 Ukrainians who fled the conflict with Russia, a senior Trump official and three sources familiar with the matter said, potentially putting them on a fast-track to deportation.
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Kristina Cooke @kristinacooke.bsky.social · 23/02/2025
The Trump administration is directing immigration agents to track down hundreds of thousands of migrant children who entered the US without their parents, according to an internal memo reviewed by Reuters. W/ Marisa Taylor and @tedhesson.bsky.social
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Kristina Cooke @kristinacooke.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
New from me and @tedhesson.bsky.social on Trump's immigration crackdown. Includes the story of Blaiss Che from Cameroon, who was detained by ICE despite having valid Temporary Protected Status www.reuters.com/investigates...
reuters.com
Inside Trump's immigration crackdown as net widens
Trump kicked off a wide-ranging immigration crackdown after taking office on January 20, allocating federal resources to track down, arrest and deport immigrants without legal status.
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Tom Jawetz @tomjawetz.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
First reporting I’ve seen identifying someone taken to Guantanamo. Appears to be someone who got a CBP One appointment and was in custody from the moment he appeared at a POE for inspection.
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Alejandro Serrano @serranoalej.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
New: An undocumented Texan is facing deportation after he and his wife got pulled over last week in Lubbock for an alleged traffic violation while they were out buying baby formula. The officer called ICE. www.texastribune.org/2025/01/29/t...
texastribune.org
An immigrant faces deportation after a routine traffic stop in Texas, sparking more fear
Advocates worry that rapidly shifting federal and state immigration initiatives will prompt more city police to funnel migrants without criminal records to federal agents.
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Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
Asked why Trump has not done anything about prices, despite that being the main reason people voted for him, Lindsey Graham says well Trump really only cares about immigration anyway.
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 18/01/2025
Addendum: this is a good article to read if you want to understand what ICE operations look like in the modern era. It's from 2019, as Trump was first ramping up internal enforcement. www.nytimes.com/2019/10/02/m...
nytimes.com
How ICE Picks Its Targets in the Surveillance Age (Published 2019)
After two officers came to a Pacific Northwest community, longtime residents began to disappear — a testament to the agency’s quiet embrace of big data.
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Kristina Cooke @kristinacooke.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
About a third of the 1.4 million people with final deportation orders live in the Florida and Texas enforcement areas - both states which have supported crackdowns w/ @tedhesson.bsky.social www.reuters.com/world/americ...
reuters.com
The migrants on the frontline of Trump’s mass deportation plan
Blanca Figueroa and Severiano Martinez have known from the start of their eight-year marriage that she was at risk of deportation because she entered the United States illegally.
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Kristina Cooke @kristinacooke.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
Biden is poised to hand Trump the most "quiet and stable border" in years, said Doris Meissner, a senior fellow with the non-partisan Migration Policy Institute. Story by @tedhesson.bsky.social www.reuters.com/world/americ...
reuters.com
Migrant arrests at US-Mexico border lower than when Trump left office
The number of migrants arrested illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in December was lower than when President-elect Donald Trump ended his first term in 2020, according to preliminary figures shared with Reuters, a relative calm that Trump could upend with sweeping changes.
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Marla Dickerson @lamarla.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
How do Mexico's #cartels get their hands on all those #fentanyl chemicals from China? Meet "Javier" and "El 23" www.reuters.com/investigates...
reuters.com
The shadowy ‘brokers’ smuggling fentanyl chemicals for Mexican cartels
Chemical brokers are the supply chiefs of the fentanyl trade, smuggling key ingredients from China to Mexico. Bribes, trickery and violence help them feed the pipeline.
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